From Danny @ Ocean Spirits

I stumbled upon Danny's blog and added a link on my site 'cause if you are into cetaceans like I am, this is an awesome blog - simple, beautiful and meaningful. I swiped this site today... Very Cool!

Who Knew??!!

Well duh!! So you get a bunch of Jamaicans and you film them dancing - the symmetry is just corollary to the issue and the sexual issue is a no-brainer. Wouldn't it be nice if this was also a predictor of desirability as a mate (ability to provide, fidelity, handiness...)??

Anonymous Face

Recent ether-flirtation confirms a suspicion I have had, and written about in this blog, that there is something a tad too independent, intimidating or just plain weird about me that prohibits or inhibits folks with regard to approaching me. Needless to say, there is the little frisson of mystery which infects us all when attempting to seduce our chosen from a place of anonymity. Very intriguing indeed. However for me, where the rubber doesn't meet the road is when the solicitation goes no further.

Not a complaint - I do enjoy my little frissons - so keep it coming Anonymouses and Pats.

Loathe to do IT!!!!

Inventory - 30,000+ parts in an open dirty warehouse that hasn't changed since 1976..... Ach! We all have things, whether work or personal, that we simple can't stand to do. I'm not suggesting procrastination in the common parlance, but mind-bending loathing. Some of the underlying revulsion may stem from fear, natural disinclination, or rebellion; however in this instance it has much to do with the trend toward entropy of the universe in general. As I meticulously categorize, label and slot, so do the forces that surround me here wantonly misplace, un-kit and disperse. Not to mention the abandon with which the spiders fling silk into every crevice and nook, secreting egg sacs a-plenty and leaving husks of insects at every turn. For a mere few days, my little beauties - gaskets, valves, gauges and o-rings - will revel in their pristine, Dewey-like order dreading the inevitable disarrangment that flows in the wake of my co-workers. I will howl and bark, threaten and cajole, but all to no avail. The evil disruptive forces of nature will mock me as they play havoc.

Bwahahahahahahaha...........

Bee-Ware!!

These kinds of studies are remarkable... for many reasons, and each time I run across one I feel jubilant. Small steps to the realization that we, as humans, are not the penultimate and that intelligence takes so many different forms. I wonder what would have happened if they asked the bees to remember species of flowers, or hive mates? Why test them with a medium/subject matter that has little if any relevance in their little bee world?

We are not superior. When will we understand that evolution is not a process of hierarchy, merely an educated guess and reaction to environmental stimuli?

Runnin' on 5

6 cylinders, 3 cylinders, 5 cylinders... Hey! the damn thing runs. However, (and it is jinx to write this) I do believe the Goose is singing its Swan Song. 11 years, 2 countries, 192,000 miles and a pantload of fun stories later I still don't want to give it up. The plan has been to keep the Goose running well enough to get me back and forth to work and around town, to buy another fun car for weekend and travel use.

I hate car problems...

A Rip-Snorter.....

This is my "horror"-scope for today: (obviously I read this for the comedic content)

"Daily extended (by Astrology.com)You're bringing even more of your patented intensity to every arena of your life at the moment, particularly in the realm of romance. Whatever you've got going on now -- a long-term romance, a fresh and hot new affair, even a couple of potential candidates -- you can expect things to heat up suddenly to a boil. Get out the oven mitts -- you'll be eager to pull the lid off , 'cause it's likely to be burning hot. - "


hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhohohohohohohohohohohohho
guffawguffawguffaw heeheeheeheeheeheehee...
oooooooooooo, i think i hurt myself...

It Just Don't Pay

Go ahead, bite that hand! Look in that mouth! Small things are cause enough for me to draw back into my skin, my mantle, my psychic cloak. As much as I want to connect with new folks, extend the welcoming handshake of my experience, knowledge and empathy; more often than not I draw back a mangled stub of good will. What is it that compels us to lash out - the transference of guilt, of shame, of embarrassment, of our own pain - to minimize those who show the most compassion, who empathize with no reserve?

Perhaps I am too thin-skinned, too sensitive, too impetuous.

But, I like who I am. Someone, someday will like this me too.

Chompers minus 1

My birthday wish came true (no thanks to any of you who got my solicitation). I would have done it anyway, but wanted to see how much my nearest and dearest care for my dental health - apparently very little. Regardless, I am now the proud owner of three beautiful new tooths. There were supposed to be four, but as the first one was being set, lovely Dr. Tom went a bit medieval on my veneer and cracked it smack down the middle. We hastily and glumly moved on to the big appliance but much of the wind had been sucked brutally from our sails. The delightful new porcelains were clamped over my stubs and flashed firmly into place after which ensued much polishing, grinding, shaping, polishing, assessing, grinding, grimacing, polishing...et Voila!

My dental hopes were dashed on the cruel and jagged rocks of mishap, however, all will be well with two more visits, two more nerve deadening sticks and one more carefully applied veneer. With any luck at all, I will be able to post picks before X-mas.

Making the Grade

Sittin' here in Kinko's/FedEx hoping that the print run of our marketing project paper comes out just how I want it. Almost makes me want to invest in a color laser printer so I can have complete control over the publishing process... Right, complete control! Who knows if this counter dude is grocking what I want, 'cause I know my requests are so vastly different and superior to anything he has ever encountered that I am challenging his little cranium (do I smell smoke? do I hear gears grinding??). Of course, my personal investment in this project is significant - my idea, my logo work, my editorializing - not to mention the buy-in of my fellow cohort members. We are all reaching exhaustion as this semester seems just to be revving up. The Sunday meetings, the individual time commitment, the intersection and juxtaposition of two master's classes, one an exercise in right-brain creativity while the other balancing on the opposite end of the see-saw jangling the mathy left-brain.

Yup, using ALL the brain this time around.

Happy B-Day to Me!!!

Another birthday come and gone. Very anti-climactic this year as it was overshadowed by Grandma's 80th on the following day. We all need our moment in the sun, and G-ma had a good one this year. She is basically healthy, happy and unperturbed by the tribulations of many her age. She didn't cry or fart or take her teeth out. She was witty and compelling, one of her true gifts being that of public speaking. I was glad to sit next to her and bask in the glowing compliments from her geriatric peers ("Just SO pretty"... Hmph, an intellect like mine cringes to be "pretty"). Nonetheless, a good time was had by all and it was nice to have something to keep me from dwelling on my own aging.

My New Ball

This is my new office chair. When my former chair was whisked away and given to my brother, this is what I insisted on. I've been using it for a couple of weeks and it is definitely making a difference - back muscles are sore and I spend much less time skulking around in my chair and surfing. It's also fun to bounce on in moments of frivolity.

Stage 2

Stage 1 & 2 of Project Incisors complete. (I didn't even report on Stage 1 (whitening) as it is so unremarkable other than the intense teeth sensitivity. But now I've pearly whites).

Yesterday found me reclining the afternoon away in the capable hands of Dr. Tom, dentist extraordinaire. The whitening took my natural teeth to brightest white and it was time for the offending 20-yr old bridge to meet its demise 'neath the spinning burr. Mouth parts fully loaded and charged with Speticaine, I drooled and gagged my way through 2+ hours of removal, impressions, grinding, scraping and packing. Am now sporting a brand new set of temps, little acrylic indicators of the monumental porcelains to come.

Upon reflecting, literally, I wonder whose mouth this is? (making chopping motions on the arm) How did I deserve these teeth? How will I be served by these teeth??

WEIRD! Probably one of the weirder happenings of my past 20 years.

Stay tuned for Stage 3 (and pics!)

Reluctant Bodhisattva

Someone much wiser about these things than I once told me I was "bodhisattva" - "...Bodhisattva practices not for her or his enlightenment alone, but for the enlightenment of all beings. The Bodhisattva vows to remain in this world of ignorance and confusion, vows to be willing to experience whatever living beings experience, until all beings are liberated."

I wasn't particularly convinced at the time because I never viewed myself as compassionate or truly altruistic. Lately I have put those "bodhi" thoughts into the hopper and have arrived at a couple of alternatives.

1) Imbued by the spirit of "bodhi" I am striving to fulfill that destiny

OR

2) The path of the "bodhi" is being enlightened to me so that I might change my kharma.

I can't decide if these two paths are mutually exclusive or complimentary - no doubt some combination, as enlightenment is rarely straightforward and uncomplicated by corollary issues. So if I am finding myself in similar and recurring situations, can I conclude that those situations are the fulfillment of my "bodhi" destiny or the chances to make change?