The Chair

When I lived in Quito, I spent a lot of time in this chair. I was usually reading, writing, organizing or watching the BBC's 'Sea of Souls'. If I wasn't out with my friends, I was attacking paper with a vengeance rather uncomfortably in this spot. Saturday afternoons were spent listening to James Blunt while writing away. Afternoons, weekends, nights....

I can't even listen to those cds any more. I can't sit still long enough to capture thoughts in the way I used to. There are many a days I wish I could sit in a chair and try to get it all down on paper.

Hard Lessons

I very much dislike when people say "it's the little things" that matter most. I actually can't stand this concept because I believe IT'S EVERYTHING. Absolutely every little bit including the good, bad, big, small, important, trivial; Every little thing makes up your world and each and every detail matters. From the lunch you eat, the questions you ask or answer, the emails you send, the hugs you give or don't give, to the delete button you accidentally pushed on a file that contained every bit of your written life since you were in high school. The aggregate of events and actions, big or small, is your life. So don't say it's the "little things" because it's EVERYTHING.

If you don't believe me, ask a woman whose husband just died or a child whose parent is no longer on this earth. Big AND little moments matter.

I've learned some hard lessons in the last few weeks because I have not been paying attention. I accidentally deleted a folder with an excel workbook titled "medley of goodness", which included everything I've ever written as well as items from high school I was adding from notebooks I used to write in. It appears the file is unrecoverable. ($45 later) I'm still pondering what to do next. If only I could go back and undelete that action...However, that is not an available option. I was given the advice to save everything in multiple places. That isn't how I roll. So we'll see what is next or what I'll do about my 'medley of goodness' going forward. Important lesson: PAY ATTENTION TO EVERYTHING YOU ARE DOING.

I've also had the sad situation of losing long time family friends to another person. All I can say is daggers. Just plain old medieval English daggers. That is all I have to say about that. Important lesson: LET GO EVEN IF IT HURTS.

I've learned to mind myself with the car as I accidentally left it in power mode overnight and had to jump it. I spent a day learning about Volvo batteries and reading the owner's manual (Yes, I read manuals). Did you know they put batteries in the cargo space in the trunk??? Weird! If only the recycling containers had not stolen my attention... Important lesson: FOCUS ON ONE THING AT A TIME. DON'T BE EASILY DISTRACTED. AND OF COURSE: PAY ATTENTION. Multi-tasking is not your friend. Don't be deceived.

Another hard lesson I learned is what it feels like to be number two. I was warned about this previously but hadn't really thought about it, as the cautioning was a long time ago. Then the thought dawned on me while standing in the kitchen eating a double tomato basil pizza veggie burger. I now have a new understanding of 'best friend'. Important lesson: ACCEPT THINGS FOR WHAT THEY ARE AND FOR WHAT THEY ARE NOT.

I'd write more but I have to go try to buy a mini book from Elise. I missed out last time because I couldn't decide on a book and they were gone before I could get one. Some situations require that you DON'T HESITATE - another lesson.

Now go pay attention to EVERYTHING before the rest of the day is lost.

SPARKLER ART

Here is some sparkler art from the 4th of July. All photos courtesy of Peter.





I heart sparklers :)

Air Mail

There is a letter coming my way now any day. The purple marker squiggles across the ten double sided pages will be familiar. I know the girl who wrote those words and have a faint recollection of the thoughtfully written advice she administered across those bright white pages a year ago. I often wonder what that girl would say if she knew what I've done (and not done) this year. Will she be disappointed? Happy? Glad? Worried? Anxious? Encouraging? Loving? Is she going to kick my ass for being grumpy, lazy, and sad for the first part of my return? I can hear her now faintly whispering in the back of my mind. As each day gets closer and closer to her words arriving in my mail box, I get more and more anxious. I have a feeling she's going to be mad at me. I have a feeling she's going to make me cry. But I also know she's going to forgive me and offer some much needed inspiration. After all, it's her expectations with which I've had difficulty dealing.

Her twelve months of patiently sitting on a shelf are coming to a close.

I also wonder about the messenger as it quite possibly could be hand delivered by a kindred soul I no doubt would want to hug.

Regardless of the delivery method of my air mail, I know it's coming. I can hear it.

I'm over here for now....

For the time being, I'm over here. I needed a change of scenery.

Times are a Changing

MSN.com featured a great article today about how Americans are changing the way they shop. The article highlighted changes in fundamental American life that will lead to some interesting trends in the future. Very englightening. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Umeployed - Want to Get Away???

So you're unemployed and need something to do until you find a job?? I stumbled upon an article and slide show at Travel + Leisure. I wish I had found it when I had three months of free time.... Very interesting ideas.

The Story Of Stuff

Courtesy of my friends at Two Girls Go Green, I found one of the most enlightening yet disturbing presentations I've ever seen. Do yourself a favor and get an education by watching The Story of Stuff right now.

Photo from agreenSpan.org

(It wouldn't hurt you to read that story either.)

Year of Reading Dangerously - March

This month's pick for my challenge:

"Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Review - "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold"

The prospect of reading this book excited me tremendously. I couldn't wait to dive into a story about which everyone raved. I picked it for my February Reading Dangerously Challenge. Unfortunately, the novel left me disappointed. I found the plot with its twists and interwoven characters to be confusing at times. All of this was sorted out by the end but I found myself saying, "that is all???" The characters were not as intriguing as I had hoped, the action was typical of this genre and the end was anticlimactic. Le Carré's famous work was rather predictable for me, which is probably why I didn't enjoy it as much as others did. I'd say it was a more mediocre read if this type of fiction piques your interest. Unfortunately, I was unimpressed and have very little to write about this mediocre book.

There was one quotation I really liked from the story:

"Everywhere that air of conspiracy which generates among people who have been up since dawn- of superiority almost, from the common experience of having seen the night disappear and the morning come. The staff had that look which is informed by the mystery of dawn and animated by the cold and they treated the passengers and their luggage with the remoteness of men returned from the front: ordinary mortals had nothing for them that morning."