Not

This challenge is deceptively simple.

Your task? To write an entry in which every sentence begins with the word "not."

The Survivor who wins Immunity this week will have to choose who will be going with them to the Final Tribal Council, where the Sole Survivor will be named!

Good Luck!

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Not everyone's credo in life begins with a negative, I know, but it works great for me. Not phrases are what my personal Life's Little Lessons are composed of. Not to knock anyone's way of doing things, but I believe I learn best from remembering the mistakes I've made in the ways I've made them. (Not only that, but I've been accused of being ass-backwards more than once.)

Not wanting to keep ya'll in suspense any longer, I present to you Bisa's Life's Lessons: (Not being the type of person to leave well enough alone, I've made some additional notes for ya'll for clarity)

• Not to go very long between checking my priorities and making sure they are in order. (Not to infer that after checking said priorities I actually act on them, but I DO make sure they're in order.)
• Not to live my life for anyone else. (Not expecting anyone to examine that statement too closely since I do care for two young children who are my life.)
• Not to expect approval from everyone for every little thing I do. (Not that I should anyway - refer to the matter of the two young children above.)
• Not to forget that answering "How naked?" to the request of "I want you naked" is not only incredibly stupid but also hysterically funny in a pathetic sort of way. (Not nakedly hysterical or nakedly funny or even nakedly pathetic - just sort of hysterically, pathetically funny in a slightly embarrassing, half-naked kind of way.)
• Not to forget to find the humor in a situation. (Not that I didn't just DO that above, see?)
• Not to let myself get sucked into dramas I can't control or fix. (Not that I haven't done exactly that by entering DS5 in the FIRST place. Not that I mean anything by that of course. Not a chance.)
• Not to forget that sometimes one has to look past another's behavior to find the source of a conflict. (Not being able to express oneself during moments of stress isn't uncommon. Not quite.)
• Not to take time nor people for granted. (Not saying I haven't ever done this, it's a learning process. Not that this list itself isn't a learning process, because it is. Not that there's a snowball's chance in hell that I'm ever going to take the time to do a list like this again. Not happening.)
• Not to ever dumb myself down for approval. (Not that I haven't been tempted, like the only time I went out on a blind date. Not just because that one instance was with X and we all know how that ended up, don't we? Not gonna draw conclusions from that, are you?)
• Not to leave Kimo alone with the cat and a new can of bean dip. (Not that this item needs any explanation.)
• Not to be anyone's doormat. (Not unless there's some really good kinky sex involved. Not that I'm admitting being into kinky sex. Not gonna go there.)
• Not to forget that I'm strong, intelligent and capable - especially when I'm feeling weak, stupid and incompetent. (Not even when I've asked someone "how naked", or when I just handed Kimo a can of bean dip on the way out the door, or when I'm attempting to write an IC. Not remotely the same feelings..........Not buying it, are you?)
• Not to mix Vicodin and Prednisone if I'd like to be even marginally functional. (Not that there aren't times when mixing them doesn't sound like a great idea because being anything other than marginally functional would be delightful. Not saying that I'm given to going out and getting myself royally smashed. Not that I wouldn't mind right about ohhhh now.)
• Not to deny myself short, recuperative pity parties. (Not that I've ever really considered denying myself any kind of party. Not that I'm a party animal but I'd like to make you think maybe I am one.)
• Not to get irretrievably stuck in pity parties. (Not to be confused with being pitifully stuck in irretrievable parties. Not making a helluva lot of sense at this point am I? Not to fear, dear reader, just refer to the above item concerning the mixture of Vicodin and Prednisone.)
• Not to forget to really listen to the meaning behind people's words, as well as the words themselves. (Not overly complicated, yet it amazes me the lack of people who extend this courtesy... heh.)
• Not to leave anything remotely important to me or expensive at Jasper level. (Not a hard concept for anyone with a small, sharp-toothed canine to comprehend.)
• Not to neglect myself or deny myself something that makes me happy out of fear of it being seen as superfluous. (Not that there aren't plenty of other reasons I'm forced to deny myself such things, but I'm not going there!)
• Not to be afraid to voice my concerns and opinions. (Not that I've demonstrated a problem with doing that to my knowledge. Not having a problem believing that one, are ya?)
• Not to forget to laugh at myself and realize I'm adorkable and it's okay. (Not that anybody else is invited to laugh at me first because - you guessed it - they're not!)
• Not to be judgmental. (Not even when I'm tempted to be judgmental towards myself, which, if you ask the guy in my life, he'll tell you I tend to be. Not that you're going to GET to ask him, because I'm not giving out his e-mail address. Not aware I even have a guy in my life, are ya?)
• Not to go grocery shopping while starving or PMSing, or starving while PMSing. (Not a foreign concept to some of ya'll, huh?)
• Not to let one day go by without telling and showing my kids how much I love them. (Not going to even attempt anything cute after that one, cuz it's my number one rule in life. Not going to explain why I didn't list it first though, heh.)
• Not to rub Icy Hot on a freshly shaved leg, no matter how bad the muscles ache. (Not opposed to rubbing it on a lover's er... wait, I already tried convincing everyone I don't know anything about kinky sex didn't I? Not gonna change my tune either.)
• Not to get too concerned about pissing off the X, because he's now someone else's problem. (Not a bad deal, that. Not that I couldn't spend a few minutes letting that sink in while sipping a nice glass of wine. Not the right moment though.)
• Not to forget that I am loved. (Not that this has anything to do with the previously mentioned alleged lover that I'm not admitting I have, and whose alleged e-mail address will remain unavailable.)
• Not to EVER walk out of the house again without having my keys in my hand even if it means the car isn't warmed up in the winter. (Not that I didn't find the whole episode hilarious ... the next day ... after the bruises faded some.)
• Not to forget "To Thine Own Self Be True." (Not to say that being true to someone else isn't a nice concept too. Not possible without the first one though, is it?)
• Not to forget to laugh. (Not likely to forget this one since I am the sole adult in a house filled by two young boys and, in case you forgot, a horny, flatulent dog named Jasper. Not funny, you say? Not a single parent are ya?)
• Not to ever hit the Done! button on Add An Entry without doing a damn Cntrl A/Cntrl C first. (Not necessary to elaborate on this one, is it?)
• Not to forget that 100 years from now it won't matter the type of house I lived in, the kind of car I drove, the trips I took, or the size of my bank account, but that the world may just be a better place because I was important in the lives of two wonderful children. (Not a bad outlook to live by, huh?)

Words and Images � bisa-pet