Month: April 2010
I know a Zen Master
Uh huh! Yes I do!
The Master knows how to simplify life.
Food, brief exercise, then long periods of, er, meditation.
At least I think that’s meditation.
Yesterday I had an anxious day. Lots of reasons, my own mental weirdness, no need to detail it all here. But really rather hyped up and I could find no way to calm down.
At the end of the day, I sat on the couch, still fretting, trying to let go. That’s when the Zen master came and sat on me.
And did this:
(Turn up your sound…about a 500k file, runs 14 seconds)*
Suddenly I was listening to the sound of contentment. Pure, simplicity of peace.
And I exhaled that tense breath that had been pent up inside my chest all day.
The muscles started to relax.
And I felt…calm.
Damn Feline might be on to something. She should charge for this kind of therapy!
Here, the master holds a yoga pose…and holds it…and holds it…..
*If the embedded player doesn’t work in your browser, you can click here instead.
Cheating my way to a daily blog post
Cranky. Oh so very cranky. Crakasaurus kind of cranky.
And so, may as well channel my snark for the good of my daily blog post goal.
Today I’m retreating to an old trick used before on this blog, a conversation with the Imagination Prompt Generator.
It spits out a thought provoking prompt. I reply with the first thing that comes to mind.
Herewith, no cheating, taking the prompts exactly as they show up.
IPG: What keeps me going?
Me: A finely balanced concoction of sugar, fat and salt (not necessarily in that order) combined with various quantities of coffee, beer and margaritas, (not necessarily in that order).
IPG: Generalizations are…
Me: Generally useful in a generic sort of way.
IPG: Define kindness.
Me: Refraining from ramming my automobile into the $#&*head who cut me off, and when I honked to notify him of the pending collision, flipped me off, then called me an unflattering name.
I did not sway into his lane. I did not nearly remove the driver’s side fender of HIS sh**ty work truck. I was minding my own business when he came swerving into me.
I could have retaliated when he pulled over and stopped at the mobile taco truck.
I refrained.
THAT is digging deep for kindness.
IPG: If your best friend was right here, what would you say?
Me: They built a new Sonic Drive-In twenty miles from here. Load up, I’ll drive.
IPG: Five books that changed your life are…
Me: Ooh, this is going to be a tough one.
Gonna go with:
Red Sky at Morning by Richard Bradford
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn
Johathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
and
Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
This is in no way a comprehensive list because so many books have changed my life.
If you were to ask me again tomorrow, the list might change. Also, I only picked fiction…there is a whole other list for non-fiction.
IPG: Describe a favorite childhood friend and something you did with her or him.
The visible ones? Juuuust kidding…sort of.
I’d have to say going to the rollerskating rink with my childhood best friend Kathy, wearing bell-bottom jeans and shaking it to the Bee Gees.
Kathy rocked. Wonder what she’s up to these days….
IPG: ____ was my favorite cartoon because…
Looney Tunes. Because they are all oh so very sarcastic.
That’s always appealed to me, ya big maroon!
If I had 15 minutes to evacuate my home before it was to be destroyed by a hurricane, what 10 things would I grab (not including people or pets)?
Oh geez. That presupposes that I have a presence of mind about these things. I imagine if someone said “15 minutes! Go!” I’d spend about fourteen and a half running around in circles howling and freaking out.
Assuming my husband and pets are safe and I have the luxury of grabbing stuff….
Hmm. Hard to say, really, as I don’t get bound up in material things.
The few things that matter most are my wedding ring and some of my folk’s old photo albums.
I’d say my camera gear, but honestly, that can be replaced. My clothes and shoes can also be replaced.
Maybe some vintage family items my mom gave me. And my backup drives with years of my writing stored safely.
Other than that….
Honestly, it is hard for me to come up with a solid 10 items off the top of my head. My family and my pets are everything and most of the rest is replaceable.
But this one has me thinking. A lot.
Maybe this is the question to end on. It’s at least distracted me from my oh so very grumpy state of mind.
Better get back to it.
As the poem goes, Thursdays child has far to go…..
With that, onward to the rest of the day!
When being thrifty throws you into the wayback machine
So I was at Target the other day, picking up many items on my household list.
You know, toilet paper, dish soap, etc.
On my list was a need for some new razors. You know, the weather is warming up a bit, might need to take a weed whacker to the ol’ winter legs…
TMI, I know.
So anyhow…razors are expensive! Dang expensive. So being a child of depression era parents, I did what any overly fiscally conservative girl would do.
I grabbed a pack of razors from the clearance bin.
Hey, they are Schick Xtreme 3! That’s a good brand!
So tonight, I decided to take a long soak in a bath after a chilly rainy day, and I broke out one of my new razors to get some smooth skin happenin’.
Suddenly, my bathroom smells like Louie’s Backyard on South Padre Island at the high tide of Spring Break.
You know, that odd chemically tropical combination of Malibu spiced rum and way too much Hawaiian Tropic tanning oil?
Yeah.
That’s weird.
Why does my bathroom smell like that?
Turns out the clearance rack razors come with “Scented Handles by Hawaiian Tropic”.
Ew.
Apparently I’m not the only one that thinks a scented handle on my razor is weird. Hence the very deep discount in the clearance bin. Schick’s weird marketing idea is my gain!
With three, count them, three blades, my legs are super smooth.
Spotty memories are but a small down payment on the steep price of beauty.
*twitch* I cannot contain the excitement!
Whooo! I spent most of yesterday with a big surge of adrenaline running through my veins.
At 10:00 in the morning, right on the dot, tickets went on sale for the summer concert series at a local venue.
A very fabulous local venue. An intimate venue located up in the mountains, with beautiful acoustics. It is one of my favorite places to be.
But that’s not the point.
The point is….
I got tickets to see Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson! Live! (mostly) In concert!
Me! Eighth row!
Wheeeeee!
Ok, to be honest, I could take or leave Kris. Yes, he’s one of the finest songwriters ever, but the singing voice…eh, not so much.
But Merle. Oh Merle. I celebrated Merle on this very blog almost three years ago (back when The Good Man was known as The Cute Boy).
I love Merle. He’s a legend. He’s the soundtrack to my college years. He’s amazing!
If anyone in New Mexico loves Merle like I do, he’s playing the Inn of the Mountain Gods in July. Just sayin…..
I cannot believe I actually get the chance to see a legend in concert. I cannot stand myself, I’m so excited!
During my 10:00 am frenzy, I also scored tickets to see The Gipsy Kings. We’re in the third row for this show.
*sproiinnnnng* goes my circuitry.
Beyond excited!
Whooooooo! : runs in circles around the office :
