Kate wants to know what it means when you get a fortune cookie that is barren of a fortune. We decided it means you get to create your own fortune, but I'm Googling confirmation of that.

Recycle Your Emptiness by Steve Ramirez

"An empty fortune cookie
is a scary proposition.

Especially if you
'think too much,'
because you'll find that you've
supplicated yourself before the alien
Gods of Fortune,
whispering the sacred mantra
'¿Que Paso?'
but they've looked you over,
smiled infinitely mysteriously
and replied
"Tabula rasa, baby.
Tabula rasa."

The pessimist
grasps the concept of planets misaligned,
a bad moon rising and a dartboard
abandoned in the corner of a dusty office
to wait for the next budget meeting;
they've written the book on
the Law of Conservation of Happiness,
because happiness isn't created or destroyed,
it only changes form
passing among the land-owning elite
with occasional detours downtown.

The optimist,
however,
realizes their fortune
simply reads,
'Šin bed.' "

Random Senseless Beauty

"This time, when I opened my cookie, there was no fortune. No slip of paper that I imagine an elderly wise man on a mountain top writing out onto an ancient scroll. No little slip of print that was likely manufactured by the ton at some massive fortune outlet factory. No fortune at all. My roommate laughed merrily - the joke was on me. At first I laughed, and said - How perfect! How Zen! How many egg rolls are left for breakfast tomorrow?

The more I thought about it, the more I had to think about. What was the message of no message at all?

Do I not need a fortune right now? If I am on the right track, and doing everything right in my life at this point, maybe a fortune would only confuse me, or put me on the wrong path. Maybe I am so stressed out right now that worrying about how to interpret a fortune would only give me more to think about. (Even though no fortune is stressing me more!)

Perhaps the lack of fortune is showing me the lack of thought on my part to the spiritual path I am on. I don¹t spend a lot of time working on my spiritual development. Should I drop everything else to make the time? Is now the right time to direct all of my energy to this?

Is the message of nothing precisely that - Nothing? We all get so caught up in our lives and ourselves that we often don¹t spend any time just daydreaming. Just being. Perhaps I should meditate more often and get to that pure clear place where Nothing exists. It¹s really hard to find the time to turn within. There is so much going on every day that I am delighted when I find ten whole minutes to sit quietly. The message could have been alluding to this - that I need to drop many of my projects and do Nothing sometimes.

It could be that I need to surround myself with Nothing right now. I usually live in a whirlwind of paper, magazines, trinkets, odds and ends. Could the mystic be telling me to clean my bedroom and my area at the office? Is it time for me to let go of all my precious junk? Is tidiness the path to enlightenment?

The message could have been ³Don¹t believe in symbols.² Sometimes I over analyze dreams, signs, everyday occurrences. Should I stop reading so much meaning into everything? Are there no real signs? Are there no outside signs, and true wisdom only comes from within?

There are two clear messages I received from the fortuneless fortune cookie. One - Let a good meal just be a good meal. And two - I think too much."

Okay, time to spill the beans. A long time ago, I gave congratulations without being able to name names, but now the truth can be told. Illinois librarians, are you sitting down? Andy's engaged! Yes, Mr. Bullen his fine self is going to officially acquire the title of husband. Please take a moment to congratulate him! You have to admire anyone who pops the question on the Ides of March because it's their anniversary! I hope he's not too angry with me for this....  ;-)