The measure of a man is the way he bears up under misfortune.
       - Plutarch

Plutarch hit it on the head. What does a man have to bear up when he is in abundance? Bearing up your abundance never did anyone good, it would be one way of cultivating anger and misunderstanding. It is rather noticeable that inspirational stories are the ones that come from people's triumph over adversities. Wanting to be drop dead gorgeous is wistful thinking, that's normal. But when push comes to shove, the prayer to be strong and courageous is the one cried out more.

Perish the thought of the day when people would think good looks, money or intelligence is what defines a person.

Today in the year 1915, around 25,000 women marched the streets of New York City for the right to vote. Looking back and glancing around now makes me thankful for those 25,000 women who risked ridicule and badgering for a cause they never knew they'd win.

Women have been exercising their right for the past 92 years and very soon might have a representative running in this coming elections. Several women in history have made contributions in all aspects of society: science, literature, academe and art.

Being a woman, living and knowing of the opportunities and potential I have in me has never clouded my thoughts about a woman's prime reason for living. Some have taken their womanhood too seriously that they wield it as a weapon to threaten and debase a man's role . While there are men who have not reached their potential or even explored the honorable and authoritative function that has been bestowed upon them. That's one thing about change, there is always a stormy day to endure

Today, I browsed at Oprah's O Magazine site. It wasn't updated though, August issue fully explains Oprah's editorial and posted question at the end. Everything has its purpose.

Have you experienced those times that an event, chance meeting, acceptance at a company, surprise visit or getting lost? Try and recall, surely as you experienced that moment of uncertainty or clueless-ness the picture becomes clearer…sooner or later.

Oprah's editorial was about the loss of her Lab pup, Gracie to a freak accident and the lesson she learned from the heartache. I admire Oprah being honest enough to write about being human and sharing how vulnerable we are. It takes a lot for things to sink in, especially when these are things that we can't control.

The impact of her Gracie's death had made her realize to slow down.

Society's basic unit is the family. No one can say they exist all to themselves and not thank the mix of genes that has made them what they are. My sister e-mailed a story that started out with a woman being bumped by a stranger, when he apologized she accepted. After work she goes home and prepares dinner, as she turned and bumped into her son…in the process spilling some soup from the pot. She screamed at him and told him to get out of her way. That night in bed she reflected on her behavior and was impressed to go check the kitchen. On the floor were several flowers on the floor by the sink, trampled on.They were meant for her…

In short, the one who really mattered was the one hurt the most. People tend to be too accommodating to strangers when their families get the raw end of the deal.

The day ended with an e-mail sent to my sister and finally opening the lines of communication after 2 months of estrangement.

Just the other day, when i got to the office i was informed that the desk top I was assigned to was changed. First thing I did was to check my mp3 file even before making a user account and defining my personal settings. My suspicion proved true, the new unit had no music in it !!!

Having music blaring in my ears helps me zone in on my work, besides having earphones discourages others from chatting it up.

Appealing my dilemma to our Technical Head, I explained that 'music is my office'. Being a nice guy, he shared his files, put it in D drive and wished me luck for the day.

After my shift, I pondered over my need to have music while writing. Call it a quirk, I think people who create for a living need their own background music.