Connected and Committed

vase

I'm discovering more about confidence as I take on these new job responsibilities. There's a place inside that opens up like an oasis when you put yourself out there, gain experience and trust more in your abilities. The blue in these glass pieces feels like that oasis - strong and pungent and alive.

super hero

This weekend Little Man and I discovered the story about the senior in high school with autism who played an amazing 4:00 of basketball. Every time I watched the film clip on the computer, tears were rolling down my face. Such a perfect example of reaching for what resonates, dabbling until you come alive, and shining so that others can find their way. True to autistic perserverance, hanging out around the game that he loves and putting his all into it in the form that was available to him, converged into one crazy night that millions now will benefit from. He's raising awareness of autism and all its various faces, he's providing an example of what's possible when doors are not closed. And the community of Greece Athena High School are to be praised for the way they embraced this young man over the years as one of their own. That flood of people rushing to put him on their shoulders at the buzzer wasn't just for show.

Another movie I attempted to watch recently was Maria Full of Grace. I knew what it was about when I put it in the dvd player, and I got as far as her flight to New York, but at that point my inner radar was kicking in, requiring that I remind myself that I want to deliberately insert a different kind of vibe into my life when I have the option, so I stopped there. I may watch Defending Your Life, which I remember thoroughly enjoying when it first came out way back when there was only VHS.

long week

I realized it's been almost a week since I last posted, an accurate reflection of how intense this week was. I am learning new job duties and acquiring them alongside the old ones which are not going away. Stressful. And time seems to take on another dimension - there isn't enough. I'm hoping, maybe even knowing, that this too shall pass and as I get more familiar with the rhythms of it all, I will return to feeling good about it. Right now it's a jumble with much jaw clenching.

Winged Migration and Spirited Away helped distract me from work thoughts in the evenings. The first is a feast of nature photography. I want to know how they got up next to various types of birds while they were flying without them being scared off - a decoy with a camera strapped to it somehow? I haven't watched the entire thing, but so far I've traveled to just about all the continents.

The second is Japanese animation and fantasy of the most delightful order. I may check out the other titles by this director just to experience more delight and positive feelings.

I am fortunate to have been chosen to receive 16 free weeks of creativity coaching from a trainee of Eric Maisel's. I emailed in to be a participant a few months ago and suddenly have been contacted to begin. Nice vortex of the universe to line that up just now. Thanks!

siding! chimney!

movies

So - me and you and everyone we know I enjoyed immensely. The photography was crisp and clear, the story was about dreams becoming real, and the acting didn't require a suspension of disbelief - I was "in" right away. Not every minute, but right away.

I could send out the code word "macaroni" all over the place - wouldn't that be cool to see it everywhere? I do.

The six year-old playing a seven-year old has a blog, if you're interested. Since I'm the parent of a young person who's soul radiates from him like a beacon, I appreciate it when I bump into that quality in other young people.

Then there was Baraka. This was a visual chocolate experience. No words, no words necessary, just lush imagery from places on the globe I'll never go, places on the globe I've been. The first few sequences from nature relaxed me instantly, to the point where I wanted to order wallpaper of what I was seeing.

To what lengths the producers and the director went in order to bring this footage to life is the story I'd like to see - The Making of Baraka. Maybe it's out there already.

Of course there is an inescapable message here that some already embrace - I wanted more. I wanted contrast between tribal and civilized man, but let's pan back to tribal, shall we? Give me more of what would help, rather than leave me with what one might question is working.

 

my bliss

festive mood

I had a blast helping my son make these for his classmates. I admit that I did most of the work, but it felt so good to crank them out over a few days' time. Note to self: I liked making a large quantity of something that embraced creativity in the execution.

Happy Heart Day, peopes!

rainbow row

siding!

OK, Universe - today I saw four, count 'em, four Jaguars, their signature hood ornament sleeking out at me every time, as they came within 20 feet of me while I was driving around at lunchtime. What is up with that?

movies II

This week it's been The Razor's Edge and Wings of Desire.

Totally loved the first one. Murray's ability to be serious for a few minutes even way back in 1984 when this was released made it easy for me to get what he's been doing lately in film. The story line of having the courage to say no to a life that you don't resonate with, one that you know will leave you empty and in despair, well, that's the kind of story I'll eat up. The courage and the confidence and the knowing, mixed in with all the human foibles we all possess. That's what I loved about this movie.

Then there was Desire. Ugh. So devoid of emotion I couldn't stand it anymore. I pressed "Stop" after 15 minutes. If I am a spoiled American with the attention span of a butterfly, so be it, but I don't think so. If City of Angels was based on this film, I prefer the American version.

Next on the docket is Me and you and everyone we know. I think this one will be a huge favorite. I did infringe on one of the criteria for this saga in that checking it out involved paying a $2 "Feature DVD" fee at the library. But that's OK. I could wait until it shifts to the regular dvd rack. But then I'd be sending myself the wrong message. No more lack mentality.

rules to live by

I almost gagged on that word "rules" - I almost stopped typing because it apparently has developed such a negative connotation in my experience. Ack. But I shall perservere in order to share this nugget with you. Suggestion, maybe. Proposal. Point of view. Those are better.

However, since The Power Ranger Ultimate Sticker Book is finally on the "Hold" shelf at Border's as we speak, there is much latitude in gratitude.

action!!

Action was exploding on the construction site today, so I am told - no pics as of yet, but the siding is going up, the electrical is going in, plumbing too. Yee haw!

The transition from one job description to another where I work has begun in earnest as well. My laptop has not arrived yet, but the case it will travel in has - I felt a bit like Melanie Griffith's character in 9 to 5 today, hanging out with the big dogs and having a great time.

My Canadian boss told me that my name will be broadcast in a meeting tomorrow as the communications point person for this mondo project we're choreographing, to all the folks at HQ who haven't been brought up to speed so far, so to speak. And he told me that I was nominated during a meeting today to perform certain follow-up tasks because of my well-known persistence skills :~)

Even though my learning curve will be steep, it's going to be so much fun.

And my gut tells me so every step of the way. I've been crafting this job for years in my imagination, defining the kinds of tasks I wanted to do and what kind of people I wanted to work with, and now that I've gotten where I spend most of my time in Emotion Land nearer to one end of the spectrum than the other, things are falling into place quite nicely.

I highly recommend it :~)

resistance a mondo

In case you are one of the few people on the planet who does not regularly stop by the Superhero Journal blog, here is an excellent post on dealing with resistance, a fav topic of mine. I especially like the part where she describes what operating from a place of least resistance feels like:

...when I say easy I don't mean without challenges, I mean, with ease...

Stop by and take a look, inhale her soothing writing. You deserve it.

I've been tagged by Lani

4 Jobs

teacher

sub-sandwich maker

pizza maker

drugstore clerk

4 Places I've lived

Rome, Italy

Greenwich (basically), Connecticut

Charleston, South Carolina

Portland, Oregon

4 TV shows

Project Runway - that's the only show I"ll plan my life around

4 movies I can watch over and over

The only time I've ever done this was in my teaching days when viewing the original Romeo and Juliet with six classes of adolescents, several years in a row.  I grew to love it :~)

4 websites I visit daily (see my blog list to the right:)

Superhero Journal

Jen Gray

Dooce

Wish Jar Journal

4 vacation places

Taiwan

Japan

Turkey

Prague

4 favorite cuisines

any real preferably ethnic food that is prepared with joy and no preservatives

4 places I'd rather be right now

working from home

living in the country

an Italian village for the bread and vegetables and olive oil and pasta and...

in the mountains

4 people to tag

I'd rather not.

build it and they will come

I was hearing those voices again - go to the thrift store, go to the thrift store - and these were the treasures I was supposed to find:

Mmmmmmm - yummy texture soul-candy, if there ever was.

So - ya doin' your taxes yet?

piggies

Piggies - as in piggie bank. I see them everywhere these days, and one showed up in this collage I made for a class I'm taking. I'm thinking that my beliefs around abundance and money are shifting, and these porcine beauties are along for the ride to let me know.

There's something going on with the people that I happen upon too - this afternoon I was in line at the post office looking for a pen to fill out a form, and the man in front of me offered one to me, just like that. This attitude adjustment stuff really works.

Just finishing Dreamkeeper from "The List." It's pretty decent - a clever way to tell the stories we need to hear. I'd recommend it. No preaching, no vague esoteric inferences, just good stories, and good acting.

The spider and the coyote steal the show.