The Pocket Site

Stefano Barone does things I never new possible with a guitar. You can buy his CD at CANdYRAT Music. More modern guitar music for your browsing pleasure with CANdYRAT on Myspace. Wow, just wow…

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar… and the coffee…

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things-your God, your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favourite passions-things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car.The sand is everything else-the small stuff.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18 holes. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.” Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

Body Positive: Boosting body image at any weight.

I stumbled across this site, and tought it had some really valid content for everybody. I was especially intrigued by the section on Children and Weight.

10 Things No One Tells You About Parenthood…

nough said ;P

That’s what I call taking a chance! Not sure exactly where this pic came from (Update: here, from Getty Images), but it definitely carries a story. I immediately thought of the risks a couple has to take sometimes to keep a partnership going. Scary stuff eh…

Stuff recently published an article about the international Mens Health Week. In an interview with the Australian branch of Mensline, they discussed how mens counselling is often quite different in nature from womens counselling, a fact that can often be overlooked. They went on to say that “Men are also more comfortable with the anonymity of telephone counselling, … There’s still a lot of shame associated with face to face counselling, and men have difficulty acknowledging that they’re not coping.” Having been in an emotionally trying time myself, its good to know that I’m not the only one who has difficulty expressing and confronting such issues. Problem solving is not always the best way to deal.

While I havn’t availed myself of their service, its nice to know that they are there as a kind of backstop if we need it http://www.mensline.org.nz/

best of craigslist : Advice to Young Men from an Old Man

I stumbled across this tonight. I’m sure I’ve read something similar before, but either way its pretty cool. Me, I’m young at heart .

Updated (Jan 2009): spellchecked and punctuation cleaned up

…except when they get boosted from your car parked in your own driveway! This is exactly what happened on Saturday night to my flatmate!

I got up on Sunday morning and got DJ up, did the normal breakfast things, then for some odd reason went to check the mail… I know, I know, no mail on Sunday lol! As I walk out the front door, I think that’s odd, there’s too much daylight under the car. After looking a bit closer one of the wheels is … Read more…

Update (Jan 2009): from my original blog at http://snap-happy3216.blogspot.com replicated here since it has a nice photo

Once upon a ti…. oh wait, thats for a make believe story. Well I’ve had several people ask about the name for this blog and so I decided to write it down. Not long before I started writing in here, I realized my digital camera needed more memory. The piddly on board memory block only carried up to 16 hi res pics at a time. Read more…

After a while…

After a while you learn
the subtle difference between
holding a hand and chaining a soul
and you learn
that love doesn’t mean leaning
and company doesn’t always mean security.
And you begin to learn
that kisses aren’t contracts
and presents aren’t promises
and you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and your eyes ahead
with the grace of woman, not the grief of a child
and you learn
to build all your roads on today
because tomorrow’s ground is
too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down
in mid-flight.
After a while you learn
that even sunshine burns
if you get too much
so you plant your own garden
and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone
to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure
you really are strong
you really do have worth
and you learn
and you learn…

Veronica A. Shoffstall