Our hotel, The Peabody Orlando.
Trips
A real post about Orlando is to follow, but being away from my desk Wednesday through Monday has left me swamped with work. I also have Birchbox, Julep Maven, Mother’s Day and our impromptu trip to Christiansburg to talk about. Prepare yourself, the blogs are coming. Wait, what does ‘wordless’ mean again?
Wordless Wednesday
Max was our first dog. He was a present for Christmas 1999 from my parents’ coworker and friend (an amazing woman who passed away a few years ago). He was a sweet and playful boy, one of the best dogs ever. He passed away on Sunday from complications of Cushing’s.
Rest in peace Max, July 26th 1999 – May 13th 2012
Life
It’s not a vacation because I’ll be in Orlando from tomorrow morning until Saturday night for a business conference, but it’s kind of a vacation because part of the conference will be at Universal Studios, and I’m only stuck doing training and seminars until 4:30.
Now seriously people, I have some more work stuff to do so my workload is taken care of while I’m out of town and I still haven’t packed and I still have clothes that need to be washed. What the fuck have I been doing the last week? Not preparing for this trip, that’s what. But at least we’re flying business class so we won’t be wedged in between ten other people or something else awful. And we’re the row right behind first class so there will be plenty of leg room and the possibility of sneaking up to first class. Maybe? I’m probably going to get tasered by an Air Marshall. If you don’t hear from me in awhile assume the worst and know that I love you for bothering to read my blog.
Also, this.
Life
Easy answer: I don’t know.
Less easy answer: I went to church when I was younger. I learned about Jesus and the Bible in Sunday School. There were a few years I went to church regularly, but it wasn’t a major part of my upbringing. I can’t really pin point exactly when I stopped believing. For me there was no defining moment when I decided God didn’t exist. It was more of a gradual decline in faith starting from the time I was about 9 or 10. I had questions that the Bible couldn’t answer. Such as, “How do we know the Bible is true?” and “If God is so powerful, why doesn’t he just show up and let us know he’s here?”. When I couldn’t find the answers I sought in church, I turned to my local library and my own logical thinking. Honestly, the more information I uncovered and the more thinking I did, the further I grew from the church.
I’m not saying people who believe in God don’t think or have information. As a matter of fact, I know quite a few people who have studied their religion immensely and come away with more faith in their belief system, and that’s awesome. I have zero issue with people who believe in religion, but I do dislike when people with religion assume that those without are somehow lacking.
If you derive happiness and peace from your religion, that’s great. To me, that’s the most important part of religion. Not the bullshit about whose god is better or whose holy text is right. But you have to understand that there are people out there who don’t need religion to have a meaningful life. If you think the joy you get from God is the greatest joy there is, that’s probably true. For you. Doesn’t mean it’s true for me.
I know many religious people are respectful and considerate of others, but unfortunately many are not. To those who pity someone who doesn’t “know” God, or who thinks I’m facing eternal damnation because I don’t believe the same as you: I’m sorry, but I have zero fucks to give. The fact of the matter is that I would never look down on you for your choice of belief, and I simply ask for the same in return.
