The Sneezes

Today I feel like my nose is going to fall of. I cannot seem to stop sneezing. They are coming in pairs or triplets. It's getting to the point to where Robert won't Gesundheit me until he's heard at least two sneezes.

I have already attempted all known remedies, so now I'm just whining.

I Am Actually Still Here

... but I haven't had anything I've really wanted to write about.

Solstice Jam

I went to two Winter Solstice celebrations this year.

On Friday December 19, I went to the Solstice Service at the Universalist Church. They told a story of The Sun Cow and the Thief. The only reference to it I could find online was at this link, which is the transcript of a sermon given at a Unitarian/Universalist church at some point: http://uubedford.org/spirituality/sermons/815-qeverywhere-there-is-lightq-or-qlet-go-of-the-cowq.html  The story was told with an impressive mask on the person playing the thief. The Sun Cow was a cardboard cutout. The service included singing, a 12 minute meditation in the darkness, and then a big sun made of twinkle lights.

On Saturday December 20, I went to a Shamanic Winter Solstice Blessing which is put on every year by Jaime Meyer. http://www.drummingthesoulawake.com/12th-annual-winter-solstice-blessing.html  I've been before and will go again. I brought my drum and drummed along with all the drumming drummers, and experienced a trip into a sacred space. I also bought some delicious toffee from a vendor who was set up there. (http://www.wintergoddessfoods.com/) I have plans to go to one of Jamie Meyer's drum circles, since I discovered that they are in the neighborhood once a month.

In a completely and utterly different vein of things, I'm currently giving Mind Bomb by The The a re-listen, since it blew my mind when I was a teenager. I still think it's a great record.

December 19, 2014

Wednesday I only left the house once to go to the store for 10 minutes. That meant that I was extremely busy with work, since I was telecommuting all day, but I managed to find time to bake a loaf of homemade sourdough bread and make open face artistic grilled cheese sandwiches on them.

Even if I'm stupid busy working from home, I am still able to multitask in the kitchen, which is nice. My bread turned out awesome, and since my shopping trip involved some pancetta, the grilled sandwiches were quite fancified.

Thursday I made it out for an evening commitment I have that day of the week, which was nice. I put in an 11 hour day though, which was less nice.

Today is Friday, and usually on Friday's I like to make  a pizza. Today is no different. Next Friday, I plan to make two pizza's because there will be guests. My hope is that I will not be too busy with work to interact with my guests, but even if I can't interact with them, feeding them is the next best thing.

Making an Effort

In an effort to stir up some of my own creativity and give breath to a part of my brain that gets often ignored, I'm going to take a stab at updating my blog again.

I will be perfectly fine if nobody notices.

I just noticed my last blog entry was dated February 13, 2013.

Since then, I've entered a relationship, we live together and bake together and cook together and are silly together. Emotionally and spiritually I feel like I have that thing that nobody said existed. More about that in another post I think .

Since then, work has become very busy and I no longer have had the time to keep my exercise routine. I haven't been running in awhile. I don't like this. I like to be active. I have dreams about running. Then again, I have a lot of dreams. I remember at least one dream a night. I usually forget by the end of the day, but some memorable ones stick for years.

I spend so much time dealing with my day job (which has turned into a day and night job) that I feel like I don't have a whole lot left. I suspect that feeling is not accurate, in fact I'm counting on it.

This Friday I'm going to a Solstice celebration at the Universalist Church, and this Saturday I'm going to a Shamanic Solstice Blessing. I'm looking forward to the second one more than the first because I've been to that one before and I know what I'm in for, and it's awesome. Anything involving drumming resonates with me. I love that feeling when there is a huge room full of people drumming drums, and a heartbeat of sound emerges from the chaos. It feels like the string that connects us to the energy of All That Is.

I am going to make an effort to post in this thing each day, just to write something besides a Facebook status update.

Ciao for now.

Because I'm Really a 12 Year Old

As many have gathered, I enjoy reading bad British Tabloids like the Daily Mail. Occasionally they will have SCIENCE! articles. This morning, I read the following article:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2277954/Japanese-scientists-discover-sea-slugs-RE-GROW-penis-old-drops-sex.html

Okay, I did not actually read the entire article. I read the headline and the first paragraph and started giggling, because I'm obviously about 12 years old. 

Then I made this:

The thought occurred to me that scientists must study the sexual habits of creatures like this just so that they can come up with terms like "penis-in-waiting."

Now excuse me while I go look at something very sad so that I can stop giggling. 

I'll Be Your Best Friend...

Ever since I was little, I have noticed that some people have a "best friend." In elementary school, it was someone who you confided in above others, in high school it was someone who wouldn't steal your boyfriend, and in adulthood, well... I've noticed a lot of people mention a phantom best friend who doesn't ever really make an appearance or who they barely ever talk to OR people suddenly elevating a new friend to the position of "Best Friend" or "Bestie" (The word "bestie" makes me gag, kind of like "hubby") OR it's actually someone who has been their closest friend for a long time and they are always together. That last one is actually the one I see the most rarely. 

When I was in 4th or 5th grade, there was a new student at my school who picked me to be her best friend. She started to get mean when I would talk to other people. She would tell me what to do, then have a tantrum when I resisted. As a natural introvert, I didn't always want to have someone dragging me around and making me do stuff. She was only at the school for about a week before her parents pulled her out. I'm not sure whatever happened to her. I don't think she had any idea what a friend is. At that time in my life, I didn't really have any idea what a friend was either.

I don't have a best friend, and I don't want one. I try to have an equality based social life. I value each and every person who comes in and out of my life.

I have a lot of friends who I love and care about, but I know how it feels to have a friend who is important to me tell me about their "Best Friend." It feels like I'm being rejected, and I could never hope to achieve the type of importance which the "Best Friend" has achieved in their life. It's safest for me to just sort of file that sort of statement. 

If you're my friend, you're my friend and that's that. I'm not going to rank you above or below anyone else. Maybe I only see you once a year. Maybe I see you several times a week. Maybe we mostly chat on Facebook because your life is busy. Maybe I see you at the Y all the time. Maybe I haven't seen you in ages. What would factor into the "Best Friend" ranking system? How would I choose? Is it like with a romantic partner where the feeling has to be mutual? It's too much for me to think about. I guess I wouldn't really want to find out if any of my friends like me less than I like them. I'd rather be blissfully unaware of that one. Having never actually been the most important person in another person's life (I am excluding situations in which that distinction was only used to manipulate me into doing things I otherwise would not have done) I guess I feel perfectly satisfied to stay out of the whole ranking table when it comes to friendship. 

The bottom line is, I'm too old for high school bullshit, so I at least try to be mature in my dealings with others, and leave the immaturity for the coffee shop.