"Love can cross borders and love can break walls"

The sense of joy about being back Home is, for me, in Shaun Jacob's song "love can" (go on, youtube it while you read my post). It's deeply special to have the kind of sense of belonging that we all have, and to be honest, it is entirely rare and powerful that we used to, can still, and probably always, bring out the best in each other - when we have never even met. i've had a week of really long days at work, and couldn't check in here for a bit, but that crazy stupid grin was on my face too i have faith that over time, even if we aren't all here all the time, the rest of the maniacs will find us - if this page could just show up on google, google is powerful enough to bring us all together. we all need to do a real life gathering at some point (i'll probably be in the states january 2014; i'm just throwing it out there) - oem-con, could that be a thing?

Forum stuff:
- So it's taking time to figure out this board (how to join, how to set up a profile, how to configure it to look more like Home), but the best thing was learning how to turn the lights off: it's not OEM if darkness (=black background) does not fall. If anyone remembers other technicalities of the old board (font type, size etc), i'm nerdy enough to set those right too.
- Luna, where did "Purple the deadly soul catcher" come from as a name? It always seemed too edgy & cool to question it, but hey, I think we've been friends long enough for you to reveal its origins now
- Whatever happened to our vice prez Simonfeld?
- Misty: Sworn Enemies of Escalators (SEE) was the Tooms subclub; the numbers started with "66". We were devotees of Eugene, the flesh eating contortionist Tooms (DEFECT) on the Liver Liberation Front.
- lol XPN you were almost spot on with your OEM number! some things are hard wired inside us.
- i haven't seen the comic either but read about it.

Pinterest:
Keri, you're speaking my language. I don't have a Pinterest account, but am a devoted visitor. There are so many fresh quotations superimposed on even better images, and they're often quite inspirational: I love printing them out and hanging them up in my clinic (sort of like a real-life version of pinterest. i clip the pages on wire suspended on the wall). I run a youth-oriented clinic in an impoverished community: this year my pet project has been to try and create a sense of beauty and optimism. the world could do with more beautiful places that say "i care".

In Real Life:
- Terri, HOW is Riley 21 already? unbelievable that she is all grown up already. Warm birthday wishes to her.
- To philosophise, Luna, I'm not sure where it is we're all rushing out to, really, but the modern world overwhelms me. i work 6 days a week officially, 7 unofficially, and last week i worked 7:30am to 10:30pm days, and the only time i got to myself was the down times on airplanes. you and i have discussed this before and made promises to each other not to do this. i broke them again.
- (((((Luna))))) you are GREAT, Luna, a special person with heart, talent and warmth, and you deserve a person who sees this in you, and we will be here to keep reminding you of that. let's find out what happened to the skeet-ulrich lookalike that worked in that coffeeshop all those years ago - maybe he's worth looking up stay in character, my dear friend.
- Abra, your calling is to nurture kids. That's just you. It's always going to be you and I'm glad there are people like you to do it. It's meaningful work and what a great legacy for the world you are building.
- Moving house. yikes. i sympathise. isn't that it's own life story, Red? isn't it just amazing what you find when you have to pack?

TV:
- havent seen downton abbey or game of thrones yet (no gasps, please, it's not polite.)
- what is joss whedon up to these days? i'm on a mission to find firefly but its a rare commodity in south africa.
- Bryson: i am a fellow "how i met your mother" fan it's the perfect ode to friendship. as seasons go on it becomes sadder and more drama than comedy. season 4's last episode, called "the leap", is my favourite one ever: it aired at a time when i was making my own leap of faith in life. tell me when you get to it.
- TXF 5th season: the memory of it moves me. Red, we would hand out an OEM number to your forever-guy, if we could remember what number we're at. i used to keep the numbers locked away in a top-secret facility, but south africa being what it is, my laptop got stolen and with it, everything OEM-related. my personal opinion is that you should tell mike that no more episodes were made after "fight the future" - end on a high; let him live in a perfect world. i think that would be an act of love on your part.

Movies:
- Baz Luhrmann fans: can we talk about how great "the great gatsby" was? *wow*. in an age where all of us have seen and done it all, baz still knows how to create a spectacle. i got my own copy of "Strictly Ballroom" this year: it's where the genius began
- did i say i just saw avatar a month or so ago. i regret having put it off for so long.

Musics:
I'm loving this sound (what genre is it exactly?) - Shaun Jacobs (Love Can - this guy is insanely talented, the lyrics are so positive, listen to him!), the Lumineers (Ho Hey), Phillip Phillips (gone gone gone). there's a simplicity and honesty about this sound that is pure and uncomplicated.

Fatima
"Love can see through what our eyes can't undo...
Take my hand
It's not that we're lost
We're just plotting a different course than we initially thought"
- shaun jacobs, love can