Hope

Rick Reilly is one of my favorite sports writers and you owe it to yourself to read this piece. Where would any of us be without hope?

Cake Wrecks - Try Not to Stare

Whelp, it's already a good day. Pretty sure I found my new favorite website.

World Wide Waste-of-time

In case you'd lost hope in the internet's ability to time suck: Have no fear. Please don't click if you have things you actually need to accomplish today.

Rock Throwing

I just got back from the Summer INN and as I indulged in my post-Summer-INN-ritual-bowl-of-cereal, I noticed TiVo's red light was on. "But the Daily Show doesn't start for half an hour..." Aw, how sweet! TiVo had a surprise for me. Driving home, I had thought I would turn on NBC to see Phelps win the medals I already knew he had won even though I would see the highlights a bajillion times. But TiVo had other ideas and it turned out to be Demetri Martin: Person. I turned it on and Demetri was in the middle of his "Large Pad" segment. If you haven't seen it, you owe it to yourself to check it out. Make sure you at least get to the part about rock throwing. If you make it through that and have time for more (in other words, you don't need to go change because you peed your pants), you can listen to him sing. He is what you might call a brilliant comedian. Or at least you should call him such.

I wish I got home this early on Tuesdays during the school year. Luckily, I don't even need to be here for TiVo to know what I like. Who needs a boyfriend when you have a roommate like TiVo?

Speaking of which (or not), I started re-reading Richard Foster's book on prayer today. He literally wrote the book on prayer. And he called it Prayer. I appreciate his simplicity. It's true, I love Foster and this book particularly. (I guess that's obvious since this is a re-read.) Foster has a way of making the lofty and spiritual down-to-earth and obtainable. The concept that most stood out as I read his first offering on "Simple Prayer" was this:
"The only place that God can bless us is right where we are, because that is the only place that we are." This is something I have heard expressed a variety of ways, but really stood out to me this morning. Not only is it important for us not to be waiting for the weekend, for our next job, for "this busy week" to be over, to get married, to have kids, to earn enough, to (insert what will lead to happiness here), but it is actually IMPOSSIBLE to be blessed in any moment outside of this one. For whatever reason, that struck me this morning and reminded me to be "present where I'm present," which is an oft-said Gaffism.

I'm off to be present with my pillow and Patito (the giant stuffed duck who shares my bed). But, if you're looking for more laughs, see if you can't hunt down the Daily Show clip that just aired of correspondent Rob Riggle reporting from China about the food. HILARIOUS.