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Not the Dalai Lama

But still good advice…

And some of it is damn timely today.  ;o)

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R’s:
Respect for self
Respect for others and
Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

foodbank

Kendra pointed out this blog on Jersey Bites – over 100 bloggers getting the word out that the Food Bank is experiencing a decrease in donations and an increase in demand because of the economy.  My company is doing a food drive, but I decided I’m going to donate money instead (I’m hoping it goes further if they buy in bulk!)  Here’s how you can help!

1. Make a monetary contribution: Visit www.njfoodbank.org.
2. Donate food: Drop off a bag of food at your local food pantry.
3. Organize a food drive: We can help explain the logistics of starting a food drive. Just call 908-355-FOOD.
4. Help “Check Out Hunger:” Look for the “Check Out Hunger” coupons at your local supermarket and donate. No donation is too small!

If you are a blogger, help spread the word!

 

All pics are here.

And awayyyyyy we go…..

Final countdown.

Less than 5 hours till starting location for NY santacon is announced.

Want to see my to-do list?? Sure ya do.  (I’m stuck in the office still, anxious to leave and cross things off!!)

– shopping at Walgreens for snacks and costuming items/makeup.
– make christmas poi.
– finish my costume.
– run to friend’s house to pick up stuff from her that I’m borrowing.
– figure out which camera to take. make sure batteries are charged and memory card is empty.
– pack bag for tomorrow. fill camelback with alcohol!

– toss air mattresses and sleeping bags in car for hotel. (IN MORNING)
– possibly run to staples for new wireless router cuz yeah. if you can’t tell how addicted I am to the internet you don’t know me well enough. (home internet works now, but the router doesn’t.) this was totally going to get pushed to sunday but i have a geek boyfriend ;o) (yay!)
– shower & crash

Tomorrow:

– get up. get dressed. complain about cold and lack of caffeine.
– air mattresses in car.
– COFFEE.
– drive to hotel. check in if possible.
– PATH to NY, get to starting location.

And it’s all downhill from there 😀

Holiday Bokeh Photography

holiday bokeh, originally uploaded by micsalac.

 

Must. Experiment. With. This.

if I had more hours in the evening (after sewing costumes) I would try it out and bring the camera to santacon… maybe I’ll bring it to philly… NY is crazy and I don’t want anything to happen to my camera, nor be worried about watching it all day.

http://www.diyphotography.net/diy_create_your_own_bokeh

I set up a group text message thing, only for people that I (or my merry band of Deviant elves) know personally, for NYC and PEX santacons.

If that means you, and you want updates on where we are during santacon, let me know. (I need either your email or your phone #.  my email is k8et1120 (at) gmail (dot) com.)

If I don’t know you – and I see a lot of people finding my blog looking for santacon updates – sorry, no offense, please follow my twitter and I’ll try to keep you up to date as well.  (One person left a comment on my about me page, asking me to email him, but left no email!!)

I do NOT have ANY insider info.  I will only know what is posted at 10 pm friday night, and where we are at any given moment in the city – I won’t know where we are headed when we are travelling.

See you Ho’s soon! 😀

NY Santacon

I’ll post more about this later, but for those who want to stay in touch the day of NYC Santacon, PM me for my number if you don’t have it.

http://nycsantacon.com/  – starting location will be announced night before at 10 pm.

starts at 10 am saturday dec 13. I’m not sure when our group is joining – either for the start, or noonish to be better rested up for a long night ;o)

rather than mass texting people who have asked me for updates (cuz you know my brain! i already forget who asked me first! :D)  subscribe to my twitter and set it to update you via text messages. i’m sure you’ll want to cancel it after santacon, but for now, it’s easiest…

http://twitter.com/k8et

WHOOT! er, i mean HO HO HO!!!

 

** Wear warm layers as festive as you can get, bring a metrocard, booze, water, snacks, comfy shoes.

Reversing Current

Mizz Buttafl’i in her sitting, meditative hooping. Which I am working on, but mine looks much less peaceful than hers does…

Warning: Very stream of consciousness post which meanders.  which shouldn’t shock anyone after the last post ;o)

The sun is peaking through the gray skies, just a little bit.  On my second mug (i.e., third and fourth cup) of coffee.  Either the coffee is getting weaker here or I’m building a resistance again.

Not much different than yesterday, but my mood is definitely brighter.  Mentally adjusting to the changing season, the upcoming solstice.  Pondering once again how summer is a time to share our fire with others, and winter is the time to fuel our own fire and look inwards.

The hoopjams have moved indoors and we are focusing on core work only – hooping on the body, knees to neck.  My inclination is to do little of that.  After hooping the day before thanksgiving, I was sore from the workout.  It’s hard to focus on self, especially in the midst of others.

Today’s post title inspired by the hoopjam, and learning to change currents (directions).  The Hoop Path instructors teach that there is no first/second direction, no right/wrong direction, to encourage hooping in both directions.  When you are used to only hooping counter-clockwise, and more off the body moves, and spinning while hooping (last two are “cheats” since I find it difficult to waist hoop in one spot without dropping it) — to be inside, core moves only, and then be told to change direction?  That’s tricky.  But bringing it inside, doing these restrictions, will only make me (and my hooping) stronger.

And I think that’s why I’m feeling the struggle to change direction.  I need to – it’s that time, in nature, in social scenes, hell – in many more places in my life than I’m capable of changing at the moment.  While I am frustrated with some things and really want to change that direction, I think I should focus on the inward spiral of winter – nurturing not only myself through this time but also our home and spending quality recharge time with each other.

Though more and more, my winters become full of burner events (last year I started driving to philly for conclave in February), and this necessary down time is sacrificed… I will – and this sounds familiar – seek balance and try to focus more on self care.

It may snow this weekend.  But baby we’ve got no place to go (except dinner, in town) so let it snow let it snow let it snow!

So often snow or illness MAKES us stop and rest in the winter.  My holiday wish for everyone is that you find the time to rest and recharge yourself before you catch a cold, and enjoy every beautiful snowfall.*

* Why yes, Mizz Buttafl’i, I AM looking at you when I say this 😀  as well as all my other gorgeous friends and family.

Jumping

Falling in love is like jumping off a cliff blindfolded.  At least at first it is.  The rush of euphoric moments blind us to everything else.

But I think that at some point, true love involves taking off the blindfold, seeing what’s below, and still leaping.  Or wait. We already lept…. OK maybe to not fight for a handhold to stop our fall?

MIxing metaphors like whoa.

But it’s the same metaphor. I have no idea what the point is here, I had some thoughts last night that sounded profound and all, I thought they were coming back to me but apparently not.

The point (maybe) is this. Lately, everyday, I am taking off the blindfold again.  Everyday, I wonder what the hell I am doing on the edge of this cliff. And shortly after, I think of (or see) his smile, I feel or remember his embrace, his heart, his words…

And I leap again.

———-

Maybe it’s the monthly emotional roller coaster.  Maybe it’s a little seasonal depression.  I feel like I am playing grown up, a mockery of adulthood, pretending I have my shit together but really feeling like I have no clue and my life is spiraling out of control.

———-

Wrote the above yesterday but didn’t post it.  Wasn’t making much sense.  Still feeling the blahs – whatever the culprit is, I don’t know.  I think they are temporary.  I hope so.  Trying to do Christmas shopping while worrying about money/personal finances, about commercialism, what it does to us as humans – really? trampling someone just for a sale? sigh.

Sitting here wrapped in my love’s sweatshirt, talking of moving some of his furniture here, hanging on to what’s important, what counts.

My favorite places in the world are places filled with you.  (Brian Andreas)

———–

This month is gonna fly by.  This weekend, lounging, sewing costumes, hanging with friends.  13th – NYC Santacon.  20th – PEX Santacon.  Christmas.  Out of town family/friends passing through.  I may be neglectful of reaching out to you, wrapped up in trying to stay sane through the craziness, but holler if you want to go to Santacon or just meet up for coffee.

It’s the season of light, whatever your faith… Time to remember the brightness as the world gets a little darker, allowing us time to go inwards and find the inner fire that gives us strength to get through the cold.

Keep on burning……

Step Back

me

A coworker just was saying to me yesterday about how life goes faster and faster, and you need to step back. It’s true.

In the past year I’ve had some ups and downs, but by far, the good has outweighed the bad.

It seems like a lifetime ago that I met a Random guy, and yet the months have flown by in the meantime. I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling in the past 6 months, and if I did, it wasn’t for long.

My grandmother passed, but at that point it was a blessing, we didn’t want her to suffer any further.

The memories made with friends and my love this year have been outstanding, and though it’s hard to believe, I know we’ll keep making better and better memories and experiences and adventures. As good as this year was, the next is going to be even more amazing. I just know it.

So my birthday wishes for myself (I don’t believe keeping things secret helps them come true… except for certain circumstances)

~ to continue to share love and adventures with Random ❤
~ to deepen the friendships that I have and spend more time with those I care about
~ to find a more rewarding career or hobby that can become one
~ to let go of guilt over things that are not my fault or not under my control
~ to just be. in the moment.
~ to always be grateful for the blessings in my life

33. I am liking the symmetry, and 3 is always a good number.

It’s gonna be an awesome year 😀