For the next couple of weeks, I am re-releasing some old comics from a few years ago at the rate of one-a-day until July 1st.

1. Kansas. In 2008, I went to Kansas to visit my husband’s family.
2. The Sunflower State. I didn’t know what to expect. It was everything I had expected and more– including a tornado! Stay tuned.
3. What’s in Kansas? Kansas was a complete unknown to me.
4. Tornado Alley. I knew Kansas was famous for tornados, I just didn’t really expect to be in one.
5. Cawker City: Home to the World’s Largest Ball of Sisal Twine. The day started out, um, normally…
6. Rain Tornado. A rain tornado is one you can’t see, because of rain and darkness, until it hits you.
7. Tornado Shelter. The more doors you can put between yourself and the tornado, the better.
8. Tornado in Manhattan Kansas. It destroyed the True Value Hardware store. The K-State campus nuclear reactor wasn’t damaged.
9. Tornado in Chapman, Kansas. Everything you know can change in a matter of minutes.
10. Kansas Flip-flops. I found people from Kansas to be generous, practical and unpretentious.
11. Prairie Cathedrals. Parts of Kansas are so featureless that one often uses non-geographic landmarks for navigation.
12. Toilet Alley. Everyday life can sometimes seem rather dull.
13. Deja Vu. Everyday life can sometimes seem rather dull, without surprises.
14. Driving and Sex. This is my friend Dani’s favorite Encore Seraphine comic.
15. The Pretty Girl. Losing one’s confidence is a horrible feeling.

Halt! Who goes there? It’s just meee!
Cyber-thieves recently hacked the International Monetary Fund. They also successfully hacked Sony, Google and Lockheed. Malicious hackers also breached WordPress.com, potentially impacting Yahoo, Flickr, NASA and the New York Times. Other hacked sites include the U.S. Postal Service and Hyundai.

Meanwhile, I can’t remember my own passwords. I forget also the answers to password reminder questions like “Who was your first grade teacher?”
It was either Miss Canfield, Miss Landers or Mrs. Rayburn, but I’m not completely sure which…

Perhaps most frightening of all is the fact that these type of attacks could quite easily be directed towards Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) organizations, for example Energy and Water, where the impact of such a breach would have severe, immediate and potentially life-threatening consequences for everyday citizens.
Quotation from Mohan Koo, Dtex Systems

Tonight, I’m at the top of the proverbial mountain. I’ve arrived at the pinnacle.
This is it. Ta-da.
Tomorrow is my birthday, the one that changes everything. It’s the big four-oh.
No, I’m not Sisyphus. There is no huge boulder to roll back downhill, allowing me to start over. My punishment reward is to keep going.
Here’s what I’m blessed with: I’m comfortable in my own skin; I have a strong sense of self; Being 40 is 10 times easier than being 20.
I’ll get through this, even if it kills me.

Only good girls keep diaries. Bad girls don’t have time.
Quotation from Tallulah Bankhead

“I was blackballed by seven Pizza joints.” (Sarah Colonna on Youtube)

A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.
Quotation from Maya Angelou

Great news. My office isn’t going to be closed! I’ve suspected this for several months, especially after we got new computers in January. I’m going to continue taking classes though, because I don’t ever want to feel occupationally vulnerable again.

You with the sad eyes don’t be discouraged
I realize it’s hard to take courage
In a world full of people, you can lose sight of it all
And the darkness inside you can make you feel so small
But I see your true colors shining through
I see your true colors and that’s why I love you
Lyric from Cyndi Lauper, True Colors

Too often, I judge my worth by how others see me. It’s a social thing, not unique to women. I think I could be happier if I was different. I wish I was either [choose one] taller, older, younger, thinner, prettier, more athletic; I want longer hair, shorter hair, shinier hair, highlights, boobs, better complexion, smaller feet, longer fingers. I wish I didn’t wear glasses. I eat well and exercise regularly. I don’t rest enough. Do you like yourself?

No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.
Quotation from Oscar Wilde

It is better to be beautiful than to be good, but it is better to be good than to be ugly.
Another quotation from Oscar Wilde

Anniversaire heureux, Northie!

When you have an ugly hair day, conventional wisdom says to put your hair into a ponytail or wear a hair accessory. The other option is to wear an invisibility cloak.

Scientists at UC Berkeley have taken a major step toward making Harry Potter’s disguise of choice a reality. They’ve engineered two new materials — one using a fishnet of metal layers, the other using tiny silver wires — that neither absorb nor reflect light, causing it instead to bend backward.
Quotation from Time Magazine

I’m fine but you’re obviously having a bad hair day.
Quotation from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992 movie)

Here’s my plan: I want to be practical. I want to work in the writing/photography/graphics field, but my background is in banking/economics/finance. I need to be completely honest with myself, but I’m torn. Do I make the risky choice or the safe choice? Tell me– What should I do?

Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.
Quotation from Janis Joplin

I have been struggling for many years in pursuit of a career in opera and am finding that it’s the people who have money behind them who are getting places, whether or not they have the best voices… So, yes, I’d marry for money at this point. After all, having the career would make me happy.
Quotation from “pvlstar” on iVillage.com

While $1 million or $2 million may sound like a lot to people making $30,000, it’s hardly enough to transform someone’s life or make them “rich” by contemporary billionaire standards.
Quotation from Robert Frank, Marrying for Love of Money

I’ve been flying by the seat of my pants. It has been a month since I’ve been told my department will be shutting down in six to twelve months, so time is precious. I’ve decided to take the Series 66 Registered Investment Advisor examination. I don’t know if that’s really what I want to do, but it gives me another option to pursue careerwise. And that means my updates to Encore Seraphine (and my time online) will be less frequent for a few weeks to a month.
Yes, I’m doing this on purpose. I love you all, and thank you for understanding.

Happy were she could finish forth her fate
In some unhaunted desert, where, obscure
From all society, from love and hate
Of worldly folk; then might she sleep secure.
Poem from Robert Devereux, A Passion of my Lord of Essex

I want to be free. No responsibilities. Sitting in a cafe drinking kir royale while reading a book, observing life and people between the pages until they become real.

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
Quotation from Steve Jobs, Commencement address delivered to Stanford University

It’s like being in high school and knowing I’ll graduate in six months. The real world is out there and I’m wondering what I’m going to do. People tell me: “Some day you’ll look back at this and think how wonderful it was.” Ha!

Richard Vernon: What did you want to be when you were young?
Carl: When I was a kid, I wanted to be John Lennon.
Richard Vernon: Carl, don’t be a goof. I’m making a serious point here.
Quotation from the movie The Breakfast Club

Andrew Clark: You don’t have any goals.
John Bender: Oh but I do.
Andrew Clark: Yeah?
John Bender: I wanna be just like you. I figure all I need is a lobotomy and some tights.
Another quotation from the movie The Breakfast Club