Journal Entries for Jeannette H. Riley
A Vivacious Life of Color
April 1st, 2009 8:14 pm MDT
The bee--does it care who are?
It spends its time traveling from flower to flower, collecting pollen. Like a wisp of woodsmoke, it will die, only to be replaced by another.
Do dogs judge us? Their main concern is love, companionship, and getting a few juicy bones during their short time on earth. Their precious lives too are like wisps of smoke, and they leave only their barking, tail-wagging memories behind.
What of us? Do we care who we are? Do our parents? Our friends? What defines us during our brief, ephemeral lives? Money? Success? Relationships? Accomplishments?
How many of us let our fires burn bright? Fires hot enough to soar to the treetops? How many let their inner sap fuel and color their fire to brilliant shades of many colors?
Sadly, many souls self-dampen their own fires with fear--fear that produces thick, choking smoke.
In the Southern California mountains, a certain plant only blooms and germinates when a brushfire reaches a certain temperature. These types of fires burn with incredible intensity, leaving a seemingly pallid path of destruction. But after the smoke clears, flowers that require fire blooom, and the landscape undergoes a recyclatory transformation.
Enough writing about fire and science. And enough on abstract theories!
Let me tell you about a woman named Jeanette. Only a few have been priveleged to meet her--to see her attend church, go shopping at Borders, eat with her friends, dance with joy.
Jeanette lives in a decidedly male body. She has a male voice, and lives much of her life as a male. Yet, her soul is pure female. Her fire burns brightest when she can express her femininity. It's not that she hates her male side, but she feels so stifled by the stereotypical expectations that classify her as male. She is also acutely aware of genetic females' frustration with their own set of forced stereotypical expectations--oh, say having to wear pink dresses or black stockings.
But Jeanette finds that to be only male means producing only boring, gray, wispy woodsmore--from a dying fire.
But to express her female side? Oh, her fire burns hot, and expels bright, magical plumes of smoke of aqua, green, purple, and yes...pink.
But in the end, why does it matter that she get to wear red heels, nylons, pretty blouses and glittery makeup? It matters because this is who she is. Have you ever told a butterfly to not emerge from its cocoon--to remain a lowly caterpillar? An unemerged butterfly represents potential unfulfilled, lost beauty, and a wondeful gift that the world will never receive.
So when Jeanette's sappy flame finally goes out, it will be at the end of a colorful and dramatic fireworks show. Throughout this life of color, she will live, love, risk, win, and lose. She hopes that the residue of her colorful smoke will make the way fertile for others to follow their own unique and colorful dreams.
first manicure
June 8th, 2008 7:36 pm MDT
Well, amazingly enough, I got my first ever manicure today. My nails look so nice now! I think I will start getting regular manicures, as well as pedicures. Pretty nails just add to the whole look!
Old flame, Sex and the City, etc.
May 31st, 2008 7:55 pm MDT
Well, I will begin that an old flame of mine wants me to go out with her and her girlfriend to have a girls night out in Dallas, Texas. They will help me pick out an outfit, and then we will hit the town! I plan on going in September, and I cannot wait! Should be a blast. She has gone from girlfriend to "girlfriend." Makes me happy.
Also, isn't Sex and the City cool? I went to a see a different movie tonight, but so many women were walking in to see Sex and the City, and so many of them were decked out in heels and uber-fashionista dress. Made me want to go shopping, down a few Cosmopolitans and go see Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda! 
Great Article!
July 25th, 2006 8:57 pm MDT
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A male lawyer who appeared in a New Zealand court dressed in an ankle-length skirt, lace stockings and a diamond brooch said Tuesday he was protesting against a male bias in the country's justice system.Rob Moodie, a former New Zealand Police union secretary, stunned the courtroom Monday when he appeared in women's clothing at a hearing related to a long-running case involving the death of a man in a bridge collapse on a North Island farm. Moodie said he wore the two-piece women's suit because of what he described as a boys' network in the court room."I'm objecting to the male ethos that is dominating this case and from now on I'm going to be dressing as a girl in my daily life," Moodie told Reuters."It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't seen the gung-ho attitude in this case. The more this goes on and the deeper the cover-up gets, the frocks will get prettier," he said.Moodie, who said he was wearing a skirt while talking to Reuters by telephone, is married with three children but said he had a strong female gender bias."The sexes are not opposite, they're complementary," he said, drawing comparisons with New Zealand's hugely popular All Blacks rugby side."The front row of the All Blacks is a very important part of maleness and is not to be disparaged at all, but neither should the guy who wants to do ballet," Moodie said.
trying to get ratings
April 4th, 2006 12:37 pm MDT
Okay, just a rant here.... Don't you just love those girls who send the exact same message out to like 100 others saying "you look good, tell me what I look like" so they can have 50 ratings by the second day of the month? Kind of irritating cuz you can see right through their compliments, which are the exact same to everyone just about, in the hopes that they can have their 9.8 with 50 votes..... That's kind of lame..... On a good note, spring dresses can be worn soon.....yay!!!!!
