Had to put this one up, it was just TOO correct

Your Birthdate: December 20

You are a virtual roller coaster of emotions, and most people enjoy the ride. Your mood tends to set the tone of the room, and when you're happy, this is a good thing. When you get in a dark mood, watch out - it's very hard to get you out of it. It's sometimes hard for you to cheer up, and your gloom can be contagious. Your strength: Your warm heart Your weakness: Trouble controlling your emotions Your power color: Black Your power symbol: Musical note Your power month: February

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

-Jacked from Phi

Huh. That's actually pretty creepy, how accurate this one is for me. About the only thing NOT accurate is the "most people enjoy the ride". I try to be very exclusive with whom I allow on my roller-coaster, so complete strangers don't get too weirded out. But it is true, I can go from incredibly content and/or happy to living on the South Side of depression. Getting back on the North Side can be really difficult. I guess it's kind of like a roller-coaster that way too . . . the cars can go much faster when they're helped by gravity than when they're fighting it.

And I could go into the metaphor of gravity being a very serious thing, but I'll skip irony for now. Take this one and see what it gives you. Phi's was pretty damn accurate, too.

"An Outpouring" or "Thoughts on Fairy Tale Endings"

"I have a dream," he said slowly. "I persist in dreaming it, although it has often seemed to me that it could never come true. I dream of a home with a hearth-fire in it, a cat and a dog, the footsteps of friends - and you!"

Two people, meant from day one for each other, find happiness at long last.

Or . . .

A child is reunited with her lost kitten. The down-and-out sports star makes one last glorious return to "go out on top". The hero recovers from the lethal sickness, and all is well. The knight slays the fierce dragon, rescues the princess, and they live happily ever after.

Don't you love the way things work out in fiction, despite all manner of obstacles? The way good will always triumph over evil, as predictable as the sun rising? The blessed assurance that things will always end on a note of sincere encouragement? The inspirational message that if this person could overcome these problems, you can too? The way a character's love life can be so haphazard, yet still end exactly as we think it should?

Don't you love happy endings?

Don't you love the way things are so simplified in fiction, despite life being proof to the contrary? How being inept (or in some cases, completely clueless) can still equte to catching the crook? Don't you love how an inspirational story can make you feel like more of a failure for even thinking of quitting? Or how a beautiful happily ever after can make you feel utterly alone and miserable?

Don't you hate happy endings?

The Passing of a Warrior

This post is dedicated to the memory of a unique and amazing individual. The Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, has passed on, leaving a strange gap in me. While some may say it was bound to happen at some point, given his lifestyle, it still shocked and saddened me to learn of Mr. Irwin's death. It also puzzled me; why should the death of someone I have never met affect me so?

After thinking it over for awhile, I have decided the biggest reason I will miss Steve Irwin is related to what he represented: Wildlife conservation and increasing public knowledge of wildlife. Steve Irwin was a passionate advocate of both the aforementioned, and his influence will be sorely missed. It is safe to say there is no one quite like Mr. Irwin, nor is it likely that there ever will be again. His dedication to the protection and conservation of animals, from the highly endangered species to the more commonplace, was worthy of respect.

I am not a "tree-hugger" or a "nature zealot" myself, but I do recognize that the protection of ecosystems (and the creatures that comprise them) is of very serious importance. It is for this reason, more so than any other, that I mourn the passing of the late Steve Irwin. He was an amazing man with a true gift when it came to interaction with wildlife. He was a self-proclaimed "wildlife warrior", fighting to increase public awareness and protect the world we all call home. And with The Crocodile Hunter's death only hours old, his fervor, unequaled and blazingly genuine, is already painfully absent.

Godspeed, Steve Irwin. I, for one, will miss you.