If I did one thing right in 2009...

Ode to a baby feijoa triumph tree












Oh, feijoa tree, oh feijoa tree -- wait, that can't be right...

Oh, Little Triumph in the ground
I set atop some "Doo"

I felt such joy the day I found
A leafy friend in you.

The way we met I'll ne'er forget
Although I had to leave.

We share a special bond and yet
There's more we could achieve.

I gave you space for branching out
Beside the lovely Bay

And placed your roots with little doubt
That you'll anchor away!

I celebrate your beauty rare
Your leaves of icy green

Your rosy flowers I compare
To Christmas trees' I've seen.

I'll hurry back when West winds blow
So please don't feel distressed,

For in the meantime John and Jo
Will care for you the best!

Passive Aggressive

Grrrr.

I wish I had a better understanding of what others see in me. I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on what I like (and don't). I try to respect people with whom I come into contact. Maybe, after all of these years of toughening up, I'm still too sensitive. I guess what frustrates me the most (at least sometimes) is feeling like I've been treated like garbage and figuring out that somehow it's my fault. That situation still floors me every time.

I was fascinated by a book I found about how we are perceived. The findings of the author's research had shown that when we try to guess what someone we've just met thinks of us, we're wrong nearly 90% of the time. So, maybe just engaging my ears and saving the talking/venting for my blog could keep me out of some trouble.

Yeah, my musical taste is different from most folks I know -- at least a little bit, if not the polar opposite. I'll keep working on not taking an attack on my music as a personal one. I love lyrics and often use various songs' as a mantra to pull me out of a slump (like now, for instance).

I feel very grateful to have survived a pretty exhausting week. I have two beautiful and glorious days off (even if the weather turns against me) ahead. I plan to do some serious resting and recuperating.

Today's picture is from a much happier time. I'm looking forward to having another similar experience (I hope) in 2010!

With Flair

I wish I had thought of these!

Quotes, humor and inspiration...

Cosmic alignment

-- Kelly Angard/Nina Potts-Jefferies?

Patience is a virtue.
Resentfulness is not.

Forgive yourself and others
To cherish what you've got.



Laughter is contagious in its undiluted state.
Joyful war it wages and steps in to seal my fate.

Helplessly endeavouring to curb a giggles case
Shoulders hunched and quivering with tension in my face

If I can't contain it and I'm ROTFL
My heart becomes more fit; and endorphins flow as well!

I admit a preference for some pealing, patent mirth
Chemical prescriptions rarely seem to match its worth

Maybe not the answer to all obstacles we face
But it helps fight cancer and in healing has a place

Not a mere placebo know the clowns Patch Adams casts
As Mary P. Poole said, "He who laughs, lasts."

Denied

I love feeling wanted
I hate being spare

I'll press on, undaunted
I'm far more aware

The lowest deterrents
I could consider

Are that I'm too fervent
or, perhaps, a quitter

I'll try again, next year
If I'm so inclined

If my calendar's clear
And I'm still unsigned.

No Day But Today (- oh, and Yesterday)

I love spectacular Wellington days. Sadly, there aren't enough of them. Perhaps it's because of this that I am better prepared to appreciate the ones I experience!

Today I found time to do some spring cleaning and go on a short skate. The first of two end-of-term shows went pretty well. I can't complain, anyway. I shifted some furniture around in what I hope will be a beneficial position, according to the principles of Feng Shui. Of course I still have great aspirations of downsizing a significant percentage of my stuff, at a *dramatic pause* later date.

Yesterday I went to Body Jam class in the morning; I used to love doing that, but I hadn't been in quite a while. I checked out the Museum of Wellington City and Sea in the afternoon. Trying my hand(s) at the knots was my favorite. In the evening I saw Where the Wild Things Are -- SO cool.

Later, I went to sing some Karaoke and didn't make the strongest song choices. Oh, well. Maybe I wouldn't have been available for the Motown gig that's coming up, anyway. I think I need to lift my game if I want to continue telling people that I have a degree in singing! The low point of the day was trying to leave the club for my 10-minute walk home and having some people basically force me to take a cab that they called, in spite of my efforts to explain that I had walked around LA and NYC at all hours and was fine. I got the driver to turn the corner and let me out -- $5.80 poorer. Grrrr.





Saturday was better. The weather was stunning; work was quiet. I was really grateful to find some new walking/running shoes on sale, during my lunch break. My old ones were way too broken down to offer any good support and cushioning. I managed to score a last-minute comp to a concert I had wanted to attend but couldn't afford. The musicians are all so versatile and really good-looking. I'm a bit envious. Somehow, I also squeezed in a brief skate between work and the show! Good stuff.

Friday after work I resurrected a nearly-forgotten artist date that was once my weekly tradition. I worked out at the gym, grabbed some stir fry for dinner, and caught the last half hour in the downtown library's music room before they closed. I couldn't believe how much muscle memory I still had for my II-V-I's. I felt creatively replenished. I was a bit too excited to have made it to the gym, though. I tried nearly everything. I'm still sore.

I've been documenting the past few days in photos...

Cultivating Disfunctionality

"I wanted to write about the moment when your addictions no longer hide the truth from you. When your whole life breaks down. That's the moment when you have to somehow choose what your life is going to be about." - Chuck Palahnuik

I hear we all have our addictions. I prefer to think of some of mine as "winning formulas." I share Chuck Palahniuk's admiration for addicts. "In a world where everybody is waiting for some blind, random disaster, or some sudden disease, the addict has the comfort of knowing what will most likely wait for him down the road. He's taken some control over his ultimate fate, and his addiction keeps the cause of death from being a total surprise.”

So, why are my addictions mostly confined to blogging, skating, listening to Meet the Robinsons, and eating chocolate? I was told (in jest?) that I would have to start drinking when I started my current job. Why haven't I?
Well, for one thing, alcoholic beverages are pretty expensive (both for my wallet and my RDI of calories). I don't mind being different from the "norm"; I've had a lot of practice marching to my own drummer.

I consider myself very lucky that I haven't had much interaction with people for whom alcoholism is a serious problem. Even coming across stories about accidents drinking has caused is upsetting enough. However, I hope that, if I ever find myself inextricably involved with someone who needs help, I won't back down from the challenge of assisting them in their escape from dependency. While I don't want to let their problem become mine, I also don't want to support their self-destruction.

I won't claim not to have any curiosity about the many things I haven't tried. Certain ones just don't seem worth the risk, to me, especially having learned a tiny bit about the psychology of addictions.

I also admit that what works for me wouldn't work for a lot of others (and vice versa). I choose not to barge into anyone's life and start trying to inspire changes that appear positive to me; I would appreciate it if others offered me the same respect.

That being said, I really do like the quote I read recently about the liver. "The liver is necessary for survival. Hence, the name."