So... What's your sign?

Mine's Capricorn... The horoscopes offered by Yahoo.com to members on their MyYahoo page have a tendency to be fairly accurate more often than not. Very rarely do I read mine and say, "What the heck is this talking about?" It was creepy how accurate it was about last New Year's Eve and Day... and in fact the entire first week of 2005. Very creepy. It said I'd be walking around in a fog of "oh, really?", as if someone just switched on the light in a dark room that I'd been trying to find my way through, but that I'd just sit back, take it all in, and prudently not share my thoughts with others and that is exactly what was going on... Very creepy...

Here's what it says today:

"Daily Capricorn Forecast [courtesy of Yahoo.com]
"Quickie: Sharing news of your day means nothing unless you share your feelings about it too."

So here goes... Today, I've started trying to set up an exercise support group with my friends. We always say that we all need to exercise more, just to be healthier, but we never seem to actually do it. I figure if we start setting up appointments with each other to go jogging or biking or swimming or go to one of the free aerobics classes at the USF Fitness Center we might actually exercise more. I just hope at least a few of them respond to the e-mail. Getting answers via e-mail or phone has been like pulling teeth lately except from Maria, who tends to be very prompt, but she's living in Orlando until she finishes this semester at UCF...

I think I'm going to have to give this losing weight thing yet another try if I want this neck thing to go away... I'm trying to convince myself that plastic surgery is out of my price range for the foreseeable future. I erased yesterday's blog entry about that earlier this evening, feeling like it was... wrong to have written it in the first place... I usually try to resist those kinds of urges, to censor myself, but I didn't that time. I'm embarrassed about the depth of my vanity and insecurities. It basically was about how I've come to the conclusion that the one seemingly unfixable thing about me that drives me to distraction and makes me self-conscious beyond belief is how my upper-neck area looks in profile. Can't stand it, want it fixed... the sooner, the better. Told my parents this evening that I'd like to look into plastic surgery to fix it. Mom was supportive, I think... and Dad, well, I think he's skeptical that I'll go through with it. He's probably right. I hate doctors... possibly even more than I hate my profile... possibly... That remains to be seen... which is very difficult for me to admit...

"Overview: You'd never admit it, but you tend to be superstitious, especially about sharing secrets. At this point, you need to spill the beans, and do it now -- maybe even twice."

... Unlike me admitting that I'm superstitious... I'm quite surprisingly superstitious. It's one odd thing about Capricorns, since typically Capricorns are extremely pragmatic and firmly planted in reality. I always say "bread and butter" like my grandmother did if she was walking next to someone and they passed around opposite sides of an object in their path. She said if she didn't that a terrible thing would come between her and that person. I never let someone else take a ring off my finger for the same reason. I rinse my hands with clean water before entering a house after coming from a cemetery to keep misfortune away. All of those I got from my Bubbe, which she said her mother brought with her from Russia. I also kinda buy into Astrology as a psuedoscience... kinda... I also knock wood, toss salt over my shoulder, and I've been known to do things to avert the "evil eye" and avoid tempting fate. And I always, always say the Shema as the airplane I'm in takes off or lands, just in case...

"Daily extended (by Astrology.com): Prepare yourself, because you're due for that thrice-yearly irritating astrological period: Mercury's retrograde, and this lasts for three weeks but classically feels as if it lasts a lot longer. While none of your best-laid plans will probably work out the way you want them to, at least knowing that it's coming can help you, right? Don't be mad at anyone who's late or absent, especially since you may have a turn at that yourself next time around. Be patient."

Oh goody! The autumn Mercury in retrograde... This one tends to kick me in the butt more than others. During one a few years ago (before I knew about them), I had my two car accidents within three weeks of each other. Other little unpleasant things often occur during these three weeks... Supposedly, it is unlucky to get married or do any kind of major business during Mercury's retrograde because it's like Murphy's Law in overdrive. Looks like I should probably take a deep breath, learn to meditate and chill so as not to get stressed out.

On a mostly unrelated side of things, I found a pretty cool blog while trying to find the text of the Avot ("The Ancestors" prayer of Jewish liturgy... one of my favorites, it's got a great rhythm) earlier this evening (And I can't find it anywhere. Yet another reason why I need my own copy of "Gates of Prayer" at home.). Here's a link: http://velveteenrabbi.blogs.com/ . Gonna have to remember to follow this one...