I was fast asleep when in the distance I awoke to a sneeze. It sounded at least a few houses away.
Nothing huge and explosive. Just a polite, sweet little.. "choooo". I rolled over on my back and stared at the ceiling wondering if I whispered god bless you would that person hear it? If I could hear the sneeze. Then, couldn't he hear my response back?
I was nervous to find out, so I rolled back over and fell back to sleep.
I told that story to a friend and he rambled on and on about how sound travels on cool, windless nights and that a low noise could be heard as far as six miles away.
Six miles away!
I mentioned that to another friend who thought that was absurd!
But, I didn't.
Because there is nothing more resounding than an expected phone call that never rings.
Or the deafening silence that follows the question, "you still love me, don't you?"
Or hearing a heart shatter into a million pieces after hearing a loved one has died.
So ... no. All of a sudden, six miles doesn't seem so far away.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Suggestions anyone?
In this month's Sunset magazine, there's an article on Palm Springs. Have you read it yet? I'm going to to take that issue with me on my upcoming road trip down south. I've been there a few times and have always enjoyed it. And at the beginning of Spring, I'm taking an out-of-state friend with me to that desert town where she has never been. She's also a fan of the cool, retro 1950s/1960s style that Palm Springs is so well-known for.
She already booked the hotel in Palm Springs. "I worry," she says to me. "I need to book everything two months in advance..."
I tend to go through life by the seat of my pants. This trip I don't want to do that. (Well. She doesn't want me to do that). My job is to plan two nights and two days anywhere in the greater Los Angeles area.
As soon as I pick up my friend at the airport, we'll drive straight down to L.A. I'm thinking of booking our first night in Santa Monica. There's a hotel I've stayed at before, but it could be fun to go somewhere new. I tend to only go to the same places whenever I'm down there. On the last day before we head north, we will also stay in the L.A. area.
I'm curious. Can I trouble you to suggest places to see or stay? A restaurant to people-watch or a place to eat with a view? I want to know about the tourist-places as well as those places only the local know about. Do you know of any fun stores to browse through but not malls.
In other words, if you were going to entertain guests from out of state, where would you take them? If you feel more comfortable sending me a personal email, please do, but if you want to post a comment, I'm sure others could benefit as well.
Even a link to a website would be helpful.
I really appreciate it. Thank you!
She already booked the hotel in Palm Springs. "I worry," she says to me. "I need to book everything two months in advance..."
I tend to go through life by the seat of my pants. This trip I don't want to do that. (Well. She doesn't want me to do that). My job is to plan two nights and two days anywhere in the greater Los Angeles area.
As soon as I pick up my friend at the airport, we'll drive straight down to L.A. I'm thinking of booking our first night in Santa Monica. There's a hotel I've stayed at before, but it could be fun to go somewhere new. I tend to only go to the same places whenever I'm down there. On the last day before we head north, we will also stay in the L.A. area.
I'm curious. Can I trouble you to suggest places to see or stay? A restaurant to people-watch or a place to eat with a view? I want to know about the tourist-places as well as those places only the local know about. Do you know of any fun stores to browse through but not malls.
In other words, if you were going to entertain guests from out of state, where would you take them? If you feel more comfortable sending me a personal email, please do, but if you want to post a comment, I'm sure others could benefit as well.
Even a link to a website would be helpful.
I really appreciate it. Thank you!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
More fabric
This was a fun and easy design to do for fabric. This is classified as a coordinate fabric to go along with the Dick and Jane fabric I designed. Ya know what made this most fun? I put in names of friends and family members. Can you spot your name? The fabric is a bit blurred because I snapped this photo off a bulk in our NYC office and felt bashful so took the picture without a flash. This pattern comes in a zillion different colors... including various pastels and primary colors.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
James Brown
My mom leaves me the funniest phone messages sometimes. Here is one I received today:
"Shawwwnnaa Maria! Shawny! Shawwwwnnnyyy! Are you there? It's nothing important. But I was just gonna tell you.... Can you believe John Brown's body.... or whatever his name is.... is still at his house?! He died at Christmas! And they're just gonna move it some other place and it's been in his house this whole time! Man! I can't imagine! I just can't imagine such a thing!
Okay. I just wanted to share that important message to you. Okay. Talk you later. Bye!
"Shawwwnnaa Maria! Shawny! Shawwwwnnnyyy! Are you there? It's nothing important. But I was just gonna tell you.... Can you believe John Brown's body.... or whatever his name is.... is still at his house?! He died at Christmas! And they're just gonna move it some other place and it's been in his house this whole time! Man! I can't imagine! I just can't imagine such a thing!
Okay. I just wanted to share that important message to you. Okay. Talk you later. Bye!
Thursday, January 18, 2007
These friends of mine
Ever wonder if your life is random or deliberate? Are we all living out a script that has perhaps already been written for us since time began?
I've been telling people since I was old enough to talk that I picked my mom to be my mom before I was born. I still believe that.
There are people I meet who are so familiar to me. My soul recognizes them instantly and there is a rich, deep connection. It's as though I have known them more than a lifetime. They are friends of mine that have always been.
I squint my eyes and think long and hard and try to remember them from before I met them.
Sometimes when I'm walking down a crowded sidewalk I wonder if I could have met or seen any of those people before. Masses of seemingly unfamiliar faces passing me by completely unaware of my presence and me of theirs. But perhaps I have connected with a few of those faces before. Perhaps we met while on vacation somewhere. Or maybe we have driven behind each other on the highway or they are a cousin to someone I know or I went to kindergarden with them or I read their blog or we've exchanged emails back and forth.
A friend and I have an agreement to pay the other person $20 if either of us runs into someone we know while we're on vacation together. It will happen at some time or another. I really believe that. I want to be the one who wins.
(not for the $20 but I want to run into someone I know in some obscure place far, far away.)
In 1987, I drove up to Seattle from San Francisco all by myself. Between Shasta, California and Centralia, Washington, I noticed the same car passing me at times and other times, I would pass them, but we drove alongside, behind and in front of each other for a long stretch of hours. They were my traveling buddies. Then... without any warning, they exited off the highway without even a wave or a toot-toot of the horn.
I remember missing them the rest of my drive. I thought they could at least motion to me through the window that they were exiting. Give me the option to exit, too. I laughed when I just wrote that. What a silly imagination. But their traveling beside me really did help me feel safe and the journey didn't seem as long. They were like my angel friends. Unknown people who help me on my way.
I believe our life is lot like that journey. There are people just like the travelers, who come into our lives at a particular time and they complete the job they are supposed to do and then move on. Others stay the course; we can not imagine not having each other in our lives at all times.
There's another set of friends we disconnect just for a time. Be it a marriage or a move or a life change that has distracted us being friends for a time. I really believe we will all be connected again.
Have you ever dreamed of someone you haven't thought of in years, and the following day you bump into them at a grocery store. Or they call you on the phone. See what I mean?
A couple years after I solo-drove to Seattle, I was flying home from a business trip in Chicago ... but stopped in Denver to spend New Years with a friend in Aspen. It was a fun flight; the plane was nearly empty so the flight attendants passed out complimentary champagne to everyone while we sang auld lang syne. I sat next to a woman who worked for Hewlett-Packard. Two years later, I am on a flight from Seattle to San Francisco and in mid-flight, she turns around in her seat and sees me sitting there across the aisle and behind her one row. She says, "Weren't you on that fun flight to Denver with me?!"
Such a small world! We talked a few minutes, waved and went on. But that wasn't the end of it. Maybe it was another year or two that had passed and I boarded a crowded airport shuttle to take me home when I see her sitting there next to an empty seat. We both recognized each other instantly and she motions for me to sit with her. She still worked for Hewlett-Packard but had gotten a job transfer near my home. What a coincidence! Again! She handed me her business card and I told her I would show her around town. I meant to call her. But. I got busy and the house needed cleaning and I had to do laundry and go on that road trip and eventually I misplaced her business card and time went on.
Later that year, while reading the newspaper, I read about a horrible car accident and a woman was killed. I recognized her name as the same woman I kept meeting over and over again. The shock and sadness soaked my shirt.
Who was she? Why did we keep meeting in so many different places? What did that mean? Would my life be different if we ever became friends? Is my life already different because we missed that connection?
Friends in my life. Friends for all time. Friends still unknown and unmet. You and I. We are connected. And I appreciate you. More than you'll ever know.
I've been telling people since I was old enough to talk that I picked my mom to be my mom before I was born. I still believe that.
There are people I meet who are so familiar to me. My soul recognizes them instantly and there is a rich, deep connection. It's as though I have known them more than a lifetime. They are friends of mine that have always been.
I squint my eyes and think long and hard and try to remember them from before I met them.
Sometimes when I'm walking down a crowded sidewalk I wonder if I could have met or seen any of those people before. Masses of seemingly unfamiliar faces passing me by completely unaware of my presence and me of theirs. But perhaps I have connected with a few of those faces before. Perhaps we met while on vacation somewhere. Or maybe we have driven behind each other on the highway or they are a cousin to someone I know or I went to kindergarden with them or I read their blog or we've exchanged emails back and forth.
A friend and I have an agreement to pay the other person $20 if either of us runs into someone we know while we're on vacation together. It will happen at some time or another. I really believe that. I want to be the one who wins.
(not for the $20 but I want to run into someone I know in some obscure place far, far away.)
In 1987, I drove up to Seattle from San Francisco all by myself. Between Shasta, California and Centralia, Washington, I noticed the same car passing me at times and other times, I would pass them, but we drove alongside, behind and in front of each other for a long stretch of hours. They were my traveling buddies. Then... without any warning, they exited off the highway without even a wave or a toot-toot of the horn.
I remember missing them the rest of my drive. I thought they could at least motion to me through the window that they were exiting. Give me the option to exit, too. I laughed when I just wrote that. What a silly imagination. But their traveling beside me really did help me feel safe and the journey didn't seem as long. They were like my angel friends. Unknown people who help me on my way.
I believe our life is lot like that journey. There are people just like the travelers, who come into our lives at a particular time and they complete the job they are supposed to do and then move on. Others stay the course; we can not imagine not having each other in our lives at all times.
There's another set of friends we disconnect just for a time. Be it a marriage or a move or a life change that has distracted us being friends for a time. I really believe we will all be connected again.
Have you ever dreamed of someone you haven't thought of in years, and the following day you bump into them at a grocery store. Or they call you on the phone. See what I mean?
A couple years after I solo-drove to Seattle, I was flying home from a business trip in Chicago ... but stopped in Denver to spend New Years with a friend in Aspen. It was a fun flight; the plane was nearly empty so the flight attendants passed out complimentary champagne to everyone while we sang auld lang syne. I sat next to a woman who worked for Hewlett-Packard. Two years later, I am on a flight from Seattle to San Francisco and in mid-flight, she turns around in her seat and sees me sitting there across the aisle and behind her one row. She says, "Weren't you on that fun flight to Denver with me?!"
Such a small world! We talked a few minutes, waved and went on. But that wasn't the end of it. Maybe it was another year or two that had passed and I boarded a crowded airport shuttle to take me home when I see her sitting there next to an empty seat. We both recognized each other instantly and she motions for me to sit with her. She still worked for Hewlett-Packard but had gotten a job transfer near my home. What a coincidence! Again! She handed me her business card and I told her I would show her around town. I meant to call her. But. I got busy and the house needed cleaning and I had to do laundry and go on that road trip and eventually I misplaced her business card and time went on.
Later that year, while reading the newspaper, I read about a horrible car accident and a woman was killed. I recognized her name as the same woman I kept meeting over and over again. The shock and sadness soaked my shirt.
Who was she? Why did we keep meeting in so many different places? What did that mean? Would my life be different if we ever became friends? Is my life already different because we missed that connection?
Friends in my life. Friends for all time. Friends still unknown and unmet. You and I. We are connected. And I appreciate you. More than you'll ever know.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Hungry for more
I walked into a deli to order a sandwich when a sweet voice asked, "Is there a seat I can sit where it is warmer?"
No one responded to her, so I turned to look toward the voice and instantly recognized her being blind. "Noo, there aren't any seats any warmer than the one you are sitting in." I said to her.
"What's your name?" She asked me, eager for conversation.
"My name is Shawn." I replied. "What is yours?"
"My name is Suzie." She smiled. "Are you enjoying your day so far, Shawn?"
"Yes, " I replied. "Are you?"
"Oh yes! I come here once a week for a sandwich. Do you come here often, Shawn?"
"No, it's my first time."
"Did you have a nice Christmas, Shawn?"
"Oh yes! Did you?" I inquired.
"Yes! I got leg warmers!"
Right then, the guy behind the counter told me my sandwich was ready.
"My sandwich is ready. I need to go now," I said to her.
"Shawn? Before you go, can you see if I've dropped any food on me? I tend to get so messy..."
I look down and there is a scattering of crumbs and tomato slices and lettuce remains. I ask for napkins behind the counter and cleaned her blouse off. "Thank you, Shawn. What do you do for a living?"
I said, "Today I'm designing fabric."
"Oh Shawn! I LOVE fabric!" she said.
I know she was more hungry for friendship than she was for her lunch. But I felt I had no friendship to offer a blind woman. I felt instantly small and puny and selfish.
I said goodbye and wandered out into the parking lot and as I drove off, I turned back to peek inside the deli window where Susie sat all alone. The napkin where I cleaned her off, was still crumpled in my hand, reminding me of what just took place.
I thought about Suzie and wondered how she got up the courage to eat at the deli each week by herself. I thought of her seeing a person as they really are without judgment. And I thought of my judgement without really seeing the person. I wondered how much more she sees than most of us ever will see.
I ate my turkey, bacon, avacado sandwich and when I was through, I looked down at the empty wrapper, still noticeably hungry for something more.
No one responded to her, so I turned to look toward the voice and instantly recognized her being blind. "Noo, there aren't any seats any warmer than the one you are sitting in." I said to her.
"What's your name?" She asked me, eager for conversation.
"My name is Shawn." I replied. "What is yours?"
"My name is Suzie." She smiled. "Are you enjoying your day so far, Shawn?"
"Yes, " I replied. "Are you?"
"Oh yes! I come here once a week for a sandwich. Do you come here often, Shawn?"
"No, it's my first time."
"Did you have a nice Christmas, Shawn?"
"Oh yes! Did you?" I inquired.
"Yes! I got leg warmers!"
Right then, the guy behind the counter told me my sandwich was ready.
"My sandwich is ready. I need to go now," I said to her.
"Shawn? Before you go, can you see if I've dropped any food on me? I tend to get so messy..."
I look down and there is a scattering of crumbs and tomato slices and lettuce remains. I ask for napkins behind the counter and cleaned her blouse off. "Thank you, Shawn. What do you do for a living?"
I said, "Today I'm designing fabric."
"Oh Shawn! I LOVE fabric!" she said.
I know she was more hungry for friendship than she was for her lunch. But I felt I had no friendship to offer a blind woman. I felt instantly small and puny and selfish.
I said goodbye and wandered out into the parking lot and as I drove off, I turned back to peek inside the deli window where Susie sat all alone. The napkin where I cleaned her off, was still crumpled in my hand, reminding me of what just took place.
I thought about Suzie and wondered how she got up the courage to eat at the deli each week by herself. I thought of her seeing a person as they really are without judgment. And I thought of my judgement without really seeing the person. I wondered how much more she sees than most of us ever will see.
I ate my turkey, bacon, avacado sandwich and when I was through, I looked down at the empty wrapper, still noticeably hungry for something more.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
The haunted house
Everytime I walk past this house, chills tingle down my spine. Whenever I walk along the sidewalk out in front, I feel frightened. It feels ... well, it feels haunted to me.
I never stop to linger. I walk rather quickly along my way feeling nervous and afraid feeling the hairs on my arm rise.
I'm never sure what street this house is on, but whenever I'm on a walk and notice it, I cross and walk on the far side of the street.
I went on a walk with a friend last night. We had our cameras with us and he spontaneously decided to snap the photo of this house I fear.
He sent it to me in an email stating he didn't know what those round things are in the photo. They didn't show up anywhere else on his other photos.
In google, I typed in ghosts and clicked on a site and couldn't believe what I saw!
Do you believe in ghosts? I think for now on, I'll trust my instincts and I'll just miss this street altogether on my next walk. Well, wouldn't you?
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Buzz (around)
I love the word Buzz.
It has an assortment of all sorts of meanings.
For instance, you can say "give me a buzz" to someone you want a phone call from while sitting in a barber chair and walk out with a completely different haircut than you intended.
"There's a buzz in the room" could mean... "do you hear the excitement in the air?" or it could mean "watch out and don't let that bee sting you."
And, feeling a buzz can mean something different, too. You won't want to feel a buzz if you're putting in a new light fixture. But a buzz is kinda nice when you're sitting in front a fire with an adult beverage.
Another meaning of Buzz is to move. Zip around. Scoot around. Buzz around.
So here is my scooter girl buzzing around Paris with a buzz in the air and one in her hair.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Beginning a new year
What a year this has been!
I didn't write down any new resolutions, because I do that all the time. I call it my wish list. I carry this small black book around with me everywhere I go and jot down my hopes and wishes and dreams every time I think of one. It's not every day. It's not every week. But it's always there for me so I don't forget it when the wish happens to me.
I have loved 2006! I know I will always look back on this year and feel warm. My Nana used to say every Christmas. "We're all here this year and we need to give thanks because we never know who might not be with us next year."
As a child, my eyes would dart around the room staring at everyone there, wondering their fate. Worried. For a moment, I would forget about Santa and his reindeer and presents. I would run and hug them all.
"Please don't leave me!" I would silently pray to each of them.
As I get older, I worry about that much more.
I am knowing too many sick people. Cancer is a thief. It steals time. Our days are already short with worry. Then comes this relentless disease, unfair as a hailstorm at harvest time. I feared it for myself this past summer. Now I know a handful of people I love dearly who are battling this.
This I know for all of us: Life is short. Days spin by much too quickly.
Take more time to be with those you love. Let this be a year of slowing down this maddening pace we all live in. S--L--O--W down. Look up at the moon. Use your best china. Soap yourself with that fancy soap shaped like a rose, collecting dust in your fancy unused soap dish. Light your unused candles. Call that friend you swore never to call again "because I'm always the one who calls". Don't hold a grudge. Don't resist a "thank you" because someone's behavior is what you expected and felt deserved. Say "i'm sorry" more and "you owe me an apology" less. Enjoy your friends. Be grateful for those who love you and treat them with care because there will be days you will need them the most and you will have been glad you didn't shoo them away. And be. Simply be. Be grateful. Laugh hard. Remain sensitive. Seek out the beauty in things.
I will be doing the same.
I didn't write down any new resolutions, because I do that all the time. I call it my wish list. I carry this small black book around with me everywhere I go and jot down my hopes and wishes and dreams every time I think of one. It's not every day. It's not every week. But it's always there for me so I don't forget it when the wish happens to me.
I have loved 2006! I know I will always look back on this year and feel warm. My Nana used to say every Christmas. "We're all here this year and we need to give thanks because we never know who might not be with us next year."
As a child, my eyes would dart around the room staring at everyone there, wondering their fate. Worried. For a moment, I would forget about Santa and his reindeer and presents. I would run and hug them all.
"Please don't leave me!" I would silently pray to each of them.
As I get older, I worry about that much more.
I am knowing too many sick people. Cancer is a thief. It steals time. Our days are already short with worry. Then comes this relentless disease, unfair as a hailstorm at harvest time. I feared it for myself this past summer. Now I know a handful of people I love dearly who are battling this.
This I know for all of us: Life is short. Days spin by much too quickly.
Take more time to be with those you love. Let this be a year of slowing down this maddening pace we all live in. S--L--O--W down. Look up at the moon. Use your best china. Soap yourself with that fancy soap shaped like a rose, collecting dust in your fancy unused soap dish. Light your unused candles. Call that friend you swore never to call again "because I'm always the one who calls". Don't hold a grudge. Don't resist a "thank you" because someone's behavior is what you expected and felt deserved. Say "i'm sorry" more and "you owe me an apology" less. Enjoy your friends. Be grateful for those who love you and treat them with care because there will be days you will need them the most and you will have been glad you didn't shoo them away. And be. Simply be. Be grateful. Laugh hard. Remain sensitive. Seek out the beauty in things.
I will be doing the same.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Carrots left behind
Santa has come and gone. My 2-year-old nephew shows me the remainder of the carrots the reindeer left behind on his front porch from the night before. In his tiny hand, he shows me the teeth marks that remain on the half-eaten carrots.He was so worried Santa would get stuck in their fireplace. But he made it just fine. --We all did.
Oh the magic of Christmas.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Christmas Eve
Whew.
I just spent most of my morning and part of my afternoon digging around the tape with my fingernail looking for the end so I could tape and wrap gifts that looks like a one-armed-blind-person has wrapped.
I'm out of tissue so the shirt I am giving my brother looks quite bare and cheap, folded in that large box. Except for the tags attached, it almost has that used look to it. I'm out of gift tags so I'm writing on the wrapping paper. Every other gift is missing about an inch of wrapping paper on the bottom because I underestimated how much to cut. As I neatly placed the many items for my college-age nephew in a box, I thought so long and hard for ... now looks like a lousy idea so I added a $20 dollar bill along with it to make it look more valuable. The earrings I am giving to another, wrapped in tissue without a box looks like I found it in my own jewelry box. How old am I? By my wrapping job, I would guess about eight.
Oh, I know in the end, when I go to bed tomorrow night, I will look back on Christmas and think back to the wonderful day. They will hardly notice in the excitement of opening presents that my gift wrapping wasn't just right. Inevitably, someone will accidently open the wrong gift addressed to another. And another gift will have gotten thrown out by accident when someone becomes over zealous throwing out the wrapping paper to clean up the mess.
Every year I vow to plan sooner. To buy gifts through-out the year. To take more time with the gift-wrapping. Each year comes and goes... and I still haven't made good on my intentions.
I admire those who had their shopping done a month ago and who have time to decorate and have clean houses and perfectly wrapped gifts and entertain guests.
One year in my early 20s, I decided to make cookies. Bad idea. After spending about $80 in ingredients, I ended up only giving out a pathetic plate of 4 or 5 cookies to each person. "Those cookies cost me about $5 each!" I wanted to tell them... and I probably did tell them.
When I was 6 years old I gave my mom a box of love . She opened it up and said, "Shawn, there's nothing in this empty box." I said, "Sure there is! It's a whole box full of love!"
She still has that box. If I had known she would keep it a lifetime, I would have decorated the inside of the box a little bit nicer.
I'm off to the stores for a tiny bit more shopping. And I've procrastinated enough... wishing you all peace and joy.
Merry Christmas.
I just spent most of my morning and part of my afternoon digging around the tape with my fingernail looking for the end so I could tape and wrap gifts that looks like a one-armed-blind-person has wrapped.
I'm out of tissue so the shirt I am giving my brother looks quite bare and cheap, folded in that large box. Except for the tags attached, it almost has that used look to it. I'm out of gift tags so I'm writing on the wrapping paper. Every other gift is missing about an inch of wrapping paper on the bottom because I underestimated how much to cut. As I neatly placed the many items for my college-age nephew in a box, I thought so long and hard for ... now looks like a lousy idea so I added a $20 dollar bill along with it to make it look more valuable. The earrings I am giving to another, wrapped in tissue without a box looks like I found it in my own jewelry box. How old am I? By my wrapping job, I would guess about eight.
Oh, I know in the end, when I go to bed tomorrow night, I will look back on Christmas and think back to the wonderful day. They will hardly notice in the excitement of opening presents that my gift wrapping wasn't just right. Inevitably, someone will accidently open the wrong gift addressed to another. And another gift will have gotten thrown out by accident when someone becomes over zealous throwing out the wrapping paper to clean up the mess.
Every year I vow to plan sooner. To buy gifts through-out the year. To take more time with the gift-wrapping. Each year comes and goes... and I still haven't made good on my intentions.
I admire those who had their shopping done a month ago and who have time to decorate and have clean houses and perfectly wrapped gifts and entertain guests.
One year in my early 20s, I decided to make cookies. Bad idea. After spending about $80 in ingredients, I ended up only giving out a pathetic plate of 4 or 5 cookies to each person. "Those cookies cost me about $5 each!" I wanted to tell them... and I probably did tell them.
When I was 6 years old I gave my mom a box of love . She opened it up and said, "Shawn, there's nothing in this empty box." I said, "Sure there is! It's a whole box full of love!"
She still has that box. If I had known she would keep it a lifetime, I would have decorated the inside of the box a little bit nicer.
I'm off to the stores for a tiny bit more shopping. And I've procrastinated enough... wishing you all peace and joy.
Merry Christmas.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
I've been tagged!
I've seen others tagged to answer a questionaire, but this is my first time and by two people at once! Crunchybits and Doodlestreet both tagged me so here goes:
Four jobs I have had that were not related to my art field:
1. SALES. I sold children's records door to door all over the country. Boise, Idaho - Des Moines, Iowa - Salem, Oregon - Portsmouth, Virginia - Downey, California - Spokane, Washington - Houston, Texas - Lincoln, Nebraska - Bartlesville, Oklahoma - Edina, Minnesota - Reynoldsburg, Ohio. I hated it. Especially on cold rainy days. Sometimes I would sit on the curb and draw out my experiences in comic strip form. One time I won a free shirt for selling the most records in a single day. That was the only reward I got for going door to door. Oh yeah. My other reward was building lots of character in me.
2. RECEPTIONIST. The Company was Strategic Pacific. That was the hardest two words for me to try and say over the phone. I could never get it right. Over and over and over again, the telephone would ring and I felt like Lucy trying to say Vitametavegmin. "Good morning. Spacific Strategic, Suspific Pustific...". My job lasted only one very long day.
3. SALES CLERK. When I was a young adult, I worked at JC Penneys in Olympia, Washington. They only gave me 12-hours a week to work, so I starved, living off air-popped popcorn until I finally got a job at a film company. (well. actually. I was pretty hungry during that job as well).
4. MASSAGE THERAPIST. I would carry my table and lotions and music and sheets to people's homes all over the Bay Area giving massages. Eventually I quit because I needed a massage.
Four websites I visit daily:
1. Apartment Therapy. I LOVE this website. You can visit it ten times a day and there will always be something new posted.
2. Ikea Hacker.
3. Design Sponge.
4. Print Pattern.
Four places I have lived:
1. Pennsylvania (Norristown and Lafayette Hill)
2. Texas (Lindale)
3. Washington (Olympia, Tacoma and Fife)
4. California (San Rafael, Fairfax, San Ramon, Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa)
Four movies I can see over and over again:
1. The Secret. (I've seen this already 3 or 4 times in the past four months).
2. Fifteen years ago, I watched Hook three times in 11 days. So many people I know hated that movie. But it touched something in me and kept grabbing at my heart and soul.
3. Goldie Hawn movies always makes me laugh.
4. Kathy and Mo (not really a movie but an HBO special) "you look vera vera perty tonight".
Four TV shows I have enjoyed as an adult:
1. 30Something
2. Melrose Place
3. Survivor and The Biggest Loser
4. Lost
Four TV shows I have enjoyed as a kid:
1. The Brady Bunch
2. The Mary Tyler Moore Show and later the Rhoda show.
3. The Carol Burnett Show
4. The Doris Day Show
Four places I have gone on vacation:
1. Boston, MA
2. Oahu and Maui, Hawaii
3. Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
4. Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Four favorite foods:
1. Cheese
2. Salty things and chocolate covered salty things, like pretzels. Or chocolate covered nuts. or chocolate covered peanut butter. I'm not particularly fond of chocolate on its own.
3. Barbecued filet mignon or salmon
4. Artichokes and avacados and salads, too
The people I am tagging:
Janet and Monica
Four jobs I have had that were not related to my art field:
1. SALES. I sold children's records door to door all over the country. Boise, Idaho - Des Moines, Iowa - Salem, Oregon - Portsmouth, Virginia - Downey, California - Spokane, Washington - Houston, Texas - Lincoln, Nebraska - Bartlesville, Oklahoma - Edina, Minnesota - Reynoldsburg, Ohio. I hated it. Especially on cold rainy days. Sometimes I would sit on the curb and draw out my experiences in comic strip form. One time I won a free shirt for selling the most records in a single day. That was the only reward I got for going door to door. Oh yeah. My other reward was building lots of character in me.
2. RECEPTIONIST. The Company was Strategic Pacific. That was the hardest two words for me to try and say over the phone. I could never get it right. Over and over and over again, the telephone would ring and I felt like Lucy trying to say Vitametavegmin. "Good morning. Spacific Strategic, Suspific Pustific...". My job lasted only one very long day.
3. SALES CLERK. When I was a young adult, I worked at JC Penneys in Olympia, Washington. They only gave me 12-hours a week to work, so I starved, living off air-popped popcorn until I finally got a job at a film company. (well. actually. I was pretty hungry during that job as well).
4. MASSAGE THERAPIST. I would carry my table and lotions and music and sheets to people's homes all over the Bay Area giving massages. Eventually I quit because I needed a massage.
Four websites I visit daily:
1. Apartment Therapy. I LOVE this website. You can visit it ten times a day and there will always be something new posted.
2. Ikea Hacker.
3. Design Sponge.
4. Print Pattern.
Four places I have lived:
1. Pennsylvania (Norristown and Lafayette Hill)
2. Texas (Lindale)
3. Washington (Olympia, Tacoma and Fife)
4. California (San Rafael, Fairfax, San Ramon, Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa)
Four movies I can see over and over again:
1. The Secret. (I've seen this already 3 or 4 times in the past four months).
2. Fifteen years ago, I watched Hook three times in 11 days. So many people I know hated that movie. But it touched something in me and kept grabbing at my heart and soul.
3. Goldie Hawn movies always makes me laugh.
4. Kathy and Mo (not really a movie but an HBO special) "you look vera vera perty tonight".
Four TV shows I have enjoyed as an adult:
1. 30Something
2. Melrose Place
3. Survivor and The Biggest Loser
4. Lost
Four TV shows I have enjoyed as a kid:
1. The Brady Bunch
2. The Mary Tyler Moore Show and later the Rhoda show.
3. The Carol Burnett Show
4. The Doris Day Show
Four places I have gone on vacation:
1. Boston, MA
2. Oahu and Maui, Hawaii
3. Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
4. Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Four favorite foods:
1. Cheese
2. Salty things and chocolate covered salty things, like pretzels. Or chocolate covered nuts. or chocolate covered peanut butter. I'm not particularly fond of chocolate on its own.
3. Barbecued filet mignon or salmon
4. Artichokes and avacados and salads, too
The people I am tagging:
Janet and Monica
Monday, December 18, 2006
The Lady in Red
This adorable illustration was drawn by the talented doodlestreet who so graciously sent this to me while I was in NYC and gave me permission to post it. It's a picture of me in my red coat walking down the streets of New York City. I brought the red coat because everyone suggested I wear the red, and I suppose I did stand out more for the cab drivers to find me, but there were times, I sort of felt like maybe I looked like a clown.
I'm not sure what it is with me and airplanes. The last time I flew back from New York, we had an emergency landing in Salt Lake City. This trip, while flying into JFK, we were only a few feet from landing when the huge plane with double aisles, thrusted its engines and the nose of our plane raised it's nose high in the air and we took off again to keep from a near miss of hitting another plane taxing in front of us on the runway.
But, in the end, we all landed safely. The driver holding the sign with my name on it was late to the airport so I had to wait for him on the curb outside. I never saw the sign with my name on it. I had my camera set to take a picture.
I stayed at the Park Central New York in room 1608. I recommend staying here and requesting my room. It's close to everything and from my hotel window, I could see Times Square and all of it's bright dazzling lights. It reminds me of Vegas.
Besides being close to Times Square, I was around the corner from the Ed Sullivan Theatre and just a few blocks from Rockefeller Center and Central Park. And just two doors away from the Carnegie Deli that has the largest sandwiches you will ever eat!
There was so much hustle and bustle outside that I never went into my room very early. The energy of that City kept me awake for hours much longer than I usally am. Each night I would wind my way down the crowded streets to take in the experience. I can't seem to get enough of that City. I can't express in words how it feels to suddenly turn a corner just beyond Radio City Music Hall and see the famous christmas tree in Rockefeller Center for the first time, and feeling it catch my breath. --It was enormous and beautiful. I reached for my camera to snap a quick shot of the tree, when I lost my grip and it slipped out of my hand, crashing down hard onto the concrete sidewalk.
One very significant piece broke off. I sat down on the bench near where it broke and stared long and hard on the ground, hoping to see a reflection of the metal. I looked under the table. And then down into the grate in the ground. Nothing.
To console myself, I walked into the NBC store close by but instead, the security guard at the door pushes me to step back. "We're closing." So I backed up outside and stared into the glass window into the store.
She repeated her words, "We're closing!" I looked back at her and mouthed the words "Can't I just peek in the window?"
She opens the door an inch away, "What'd you say?"
"Can't I stand here and peek through the window?"
"Of course! I was telling the folks behind you that we're closing."
(blush)
I wander around a bit more. And then return to the place where I dropped my camera. I was hoping to see something glisten from the reflection of the lights, but instead the only thing I see is a young couple in love, sitting on the same bench I sat early, staring at her brand new shiny diamonds in her engagement ring.
"Yes! Yes! I will marry you!" she cries and they embrace. Both are crying. And laughing. And staring at the sparkling ring.
I decide to let them be as I continue along the sidewalk back to the hotel. Grateful they created a new memory for me on that bench I only sat on just 20 minutes earlier lost in my search of the broken pieces to my camera.
After work on Friday, I hailed a cab in Chelsea to a friend's home near Times Square. The doorman had a key waiting for me and I carried my bags up to her apartment. And from there, I walked a few blocks to catch the subway. I was supposed to get off at W4th Street/Washington Square to transfer to another train, but when we arrived, I remained standing there on the train, holding on to the pole. We stopped at the Spring Street station and I stayed on. Finally, I decided at the Canal station to jump off and catch a train back to W4th Street/Washington Square. Eventually, I found my way back and got off at Broadway and Lafayette and headed down the street towards Houston to meet her in a neighborhood book store. I loved SoHo and its cobblestone streets and its eclectic neighborhoods in lower Manhattan.
It was a weekend filled with cabs, buses, trains, subway and cars and lots of walking. I missed the rickshaw ride. The weekend ended in Long Island visiting my precious relatives. I'm so happy I didn't fly home on Friday to spend the weekend back in California to start my christmas shopping because the gift of my experience there this weekend, was truely the best gift. And there's still time to shop. But, I'll think about that tomorrow.
Monday, December 11, 2006
I'm off to New York City!
I'm somewhat set for New York City. I have a small suitcase packed. I am about to embark on a brand new experience I have yet to experience on my own.
I will arrive at JFK airport alone and then look for a driver to have my name spelled out on a small sign waiting for me at baggage claim. I hope.
I have seen this so many times in the past but I have yet to see my own name on those signs. This will be the first time I will have my own name printed out. I wonder if they will spell it correctly.
I might say, "Take me to Carnegie Hall!" because I will be staying across the street. If I am lost, I will ask, "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" I wonder if anyone will answer: "Practice, my dear, practice!"
On Tuesday morning, I will roam down to the lobby and out on the street and hail a cab to go to my new place of work for a week. I will sit in the back seat of the cab. Take in the views of the towering City out of my window. Count and make sure I have enough money to pay the cab plus a tip. I will try and pretend to look confident and experienced. I will say say "thanks!" to the cab driver and then push the button to the 5th floor. I will step out into our office and wonder if anyone will recognize me from last September or the Quilt Market in Houston in October and know I'm an employee there, too. But, a west-coast employee.
Will I feel bashful? Oh sure, I will! A little bit afraid? Yup. Wish me well.
As I will be the lady in red. If you happen upon New York City and see a woman in red... give me the thumbs up and if I return it back, then you know it will be me.
I will arrive at JFK airport alone and then look for a driver to have my name spelled out on a small sign waiting for me at baggage claim. I hope.
I have seen this so many times in the past but I have yet to see my own name on those signs. This will be the first time I will have my own name printed out. I wonder if they will spell it correctly.
I might say, "Take me to Carnegie Hall!" because I will be staying across the street. If I am lost, I will ask, "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" I wonder if anyone will answer: "Practice, my dear, practice!"
On Tuesday morning, I will roam down to the lobby and out on the street and hail a cab to go to my new place of work for a week. I will sit in the back seat of the cab. Take in the views of the towering City out of my window. Count and make sure I have enough money to pay the cab plus a tip. I will try and pretend to look confident and experienced. I will say say "thanks!" to the cab driver and then push the button to the 5th floor. I will step out into our office and wonder if anyone will recognize me from last September or the Quilt Market in Houston in October and know I'm an employee there, too. But, a west-coast employee.
Will I feel bashful? Oh sure, I will! A little bit afraid? Yup. Wish me well.
As I will be the lady in red. If you happen upon New York City and see a woman in red... give me the thumbs up and if I return it back, then you know it will be me.
Monday, December 4, 2006
My Childhood Diary from the 70s
A month in the life of me when I was a kid:
March 1: Roxy and I spoke in our fake language while at the store. No one understood, not even us. Watched "Here's Lucy" at 9:00 nite. It was about Lawrence Welk, the old ladies Love him!
March 2: It rained all day. I watched one little bird all by himself, drenching wet, on a little branch in a tree outside my bedroom window, watching all the other birds, 'cause his little wet head is all twisted around looking at them. But he is all by himself and this makes me sad for him.
March 3: Got my B-Sting shot. Me and Terry went to the Library. I got out 3 Books: "Addie Pray", "Go ask Alice" and "Life with Mother Superior." Saw "Paper Moon" again. Starring Ryon O'Neal & Tatum O'Neal (his Daughter).
March 4: Went to Coddingtown. Me, Mom, Kelly, Roxy and Uta. Roxy bought a 45 record of the Defrancos, "Abba Ca Dabra", and "The Most Beautiful Girl". Met a crippled boy.
March 5: It rained today. I got tested in Self-Defense today. I got graded V+ in the Side Kick today. Whatever that means! Overall, I got a V+, V, V. I goofed up in one of them. I forgot to scream and I had to think on it.
March 6: Saw Jimmy Boriolo. This family has 10 boys. No girls! Their house smells like the bathroom does. Had homework!
March 7: Ate dinner at Annette's house. Taped songs from, Carpenters Album. Had fun.
March 8: Me and Roxy played Hocky, on Roller Skates, and used Brooms for a Hockey stick, and a coke can for the Puck. Had fun. Uta & Roxy came by.
March 9: Going to Lake Tahoe! Mom rented me ski-pants for 3.00. Bought me some mittens for $3.99 and Bought some ski-boots for $5.00. Left at 6:00. Me, and Annette sat in camper the whole time. Outside of Placerville we ate at "Sams Restaurant." Real old fassion! Then went to Crazy Horse Ranch. Stayed there for the night & we squaredanced!
March 10: Me and Annette went to a tree-house. Neat-oh! Then went all over the place! Fun! Then left for Heavenly Valley. After we skied, we went down hills on sleds, discs's and intertubes. At night, went to Recreation at Harrahs, cassinos in Nevada. It was cold that night!
March 11: Went skiing from 10:30 - 4:30. Went on JUMP TRAIL. It's only for ski-patrolmen! Left for home at 10 - 6:00. Got home at 11:30. Ate Dinner at Denny's in Roseland at 8:00.
March 12: School! Blah! Had club meeting, today, Had B-Sting shot. I was mad at Roger today. So was Roxy. We had a war. It was fun!
March 13: After school, me, Annette, Roxy, Roger and me played ARMY. When me and Roxy were captured, we had crackers to eat. Because the day before we stuck them in there.
March 14: Went up in Roxy's attic! We found a cubby-hole that fits about six people. We mite have it as our club.
March 15: Me, Wally, Roxy and Roger went to see the show, "Magic Boy" and "adventures with Huckleberry Finn." It was great. Got my bird today. Watched the Waltons! It was good. I haven't missed one yet. I am going to name my parakeet, Pete.
March 16: Went to Blue and Gold dinner, with Wally's cub-scout. Had fun. Annette came with us. Our table won for the best decorated.
March 17: Saint Patrick's Day! I sent the nite at Roxy's. Julie and Grama spent the nite at our house. Had fun! Played blindman's bluff. Made a tent and slept in it. Made Breakfast for her mom. Then we went down to the FAIRGROUNDS. Saw Horseshow. Came back. Played Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, and Wally was Joe Harper. We made a clubhouse out of sticks and grass. We babysitted Roxy until 10:00! Then her mom picked up her. First time taking a bath in 3 years. I've always taken showers. It was fun.
March 18: Rode Mini-Bike around and skied down Roxy's hill on our shoes. Then went iceskating all day. Well, 3:00-5:30. That's as long as it is. Grama spent the nite, again. Got all washed up for school.
March 19: Made our clubhouse in Roxy's Bedroom! Well in her closet. The closet, is neat-oh! It's pretty big, too! We're going to add on, pretty soon. Annette didn't come, so we won't show her until Thursday.
March 20: Adding on some rooms in the closet! 2 offices, 1 meeting Rm, and secret hideout Room for Roger. Roger busted Roxy's door frame, when he was chasing us! Later on, at my house, Roxy and I played EMERGENCY!
March 21: Made MoonRock Cookies. They're good. Janie and Corey Porter came by. They brought us, WHOPPERS, and FUDGE CYCLES. Delicious! Had fun.
March 22: After school, cleaned my room, and Birdcage. Then Wally, me, and Annette were riding on John's tractor, Annette said, "I'm alway's going to ride this!" I told her, she couldn't. Annette went home, without saying, Good-Bye!
March 23: Got my B-Sting shot. Christina and Kevin came over. Did some spying and Detective work. They left at 6:00. Didn't eat until 7:00. I have a sore throat. I think I'm catching a cold. Watched Tom Sawyer on TV.
March 24: Me, Larry, Roxy, Kelly and Wally went Bowling. Went to Rose Bowl. Lanes didn't work. So the man blamed us. And we got KICKED-OUT! Sat on Water Beds, waiting for Mom. They cost 200 Dollars! Expensive! Frames only cost 30 Dollars. But that's a lot!
March 25: Cleaned up house, Nana and Aunt Sister and Buzz came up. Me, Roxy and Wally cleaned up their volkswagen van up. It's like a house! Neat-OH! Then went to Movies with Annette. Saw "The Worlds Greatest Athlete". It was great! Comedy - about Nanu could do any thing in sports good. TOO GOOD! Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha
March 26: Didn't go to school. Too bad a cold. "Death Valley" was Great! Didn't play today, since I was sick. Got Bee Sting Shot.
March 27: Went back to School. Used all my Kleenex in two hours! I can't breathe in any of my noses.
March 28: M.Y.A. came to our school. (Mexican Youth Association) And held an assembly about how they got to be, where they are now.
March 29: In gym, ran 6 Full minutes. Average - 10-11 laps. I made it 12 laps. Almost 13.
March 30: Diane Pedrotti's slumber party! It wasn't as good as Sallie Leaches! Went to bed at 4:00 morn. Had a FUN TIME.
March 31: Came home at 10:00 morn. Everyone did. Woke up at 20 minutes to 8 o'clock. Cleaned up my Room. Then Roxy and I SPYED ON These two boys. They finally saw us an HOUR LATER. And started chasing us! We hid in a secret room in our cave-like clubhouse. They couldn't reach us.
Saturday, December 2, 2006
California in December
This photo shows exactly where I spent a great deal of my afternoon today. I spent it with my lovely mom enjoying the warm outdoors. It was such a beautiful and relaxing Saturday... well, until she discovered she lost her right shoulder pad.
"Oh nooo!" she exclaims while pounding herself all over. "What if it was when we were in that beautiful Tuscany home and someone thought it was a kotex?!"
I stared at my mom with eyes the size of tea cups. I completely understood her fear. What if someone saw it fall from her and then seeing us enjoying our time together, they didn't want to ruin the moment, so they kicked her shoulder pad under a table or into a corner to save herself?
Then I thought, "Mom, at your age, be proud that someone would think it was a kotex!"
My mom thinks the shoulder pads are the best things to ever be invented, though most haven't seen them much since the 1980s.
"Be proud you have your father's shoulders..." she says to me. "I don't have shoulders. Just arms growing out of my neck."
As lopsided as she felt, we spent a day, admiring Christmas decorations and talking to wonderful people... I like to call them unknown friends.
Everyone was out and about putting up Christmas decorations. It really was beautiful.
It confirmed my idea of posting holiday photos for December's Inside Peek, so if any of you would like to participate and send a photo of your holiday decorating, I will post it. (And, thank you by the way, for you brave souls who shared your refrigerator photos). Next month, through-out the month of February, I will post the inside peek of medicine cabinets...
Also, thank you for those who have left me comments. It really is rewarding to have a connection out there in cyberspace. It really does help to have a warm soul saying "i hear you" from across the miles.
I am feeling so grateful today. And my heart feels warm. And, you are a large part because of it.
Thanks.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Planning for New York
I just booked a flight to NYC.
I will be there all week on business and and at an office Christmas Party, but considered extending my stay through the weekend for some added fun.
So, I contacted a friend who lives off Times Square.
"You going to be around that weekend?"
"I should be around, but I may be going to CT because it'll be the last weekend before the Simon's leave for the holidays. So, we may have Christmas then."
(That's Paul Simon and wife Edie Brickell, so who can possibly compete with that invitation?)
I contact a friend in Springfield, New Jersey.
"Hey, you gonna be around that weekend? I'll be flyin' out of Newark on Sunday."
"You are not going to believe this, and I hate to say it, but I have to go out of town, again, on Dec. 14, and I'll be gone for the weekend."
I call my aunt in Lindenhurst, Long Island.
"Are you gonna be around that weekend? I'd like to take the train in and see you and the cousins." (who live in nearby towns).
"Oh sure! We have nothing on the calendar and we'll be in town that weekend. But you should think of flying in and out of JFK because it's so much closer. Just 10 minutes from Rockville Center."
Okay. So I book my flight in and out of JFK instead, and before I receive the email confirmation, my phone rings.
"Shawn? I hope you didn't book your flight yet. I just talked to Camille. She's flying to Florida that weekend. I'll talk to Jerry and Annette and Linda and see what's up with them, but it's so close to Christmas, they might be going out of town themselves. I will be here, though. Would you be bored with just me? And what time is your flight? 5:45? That's dark then and I don't drive in the dark."
"Yes!" I reassure her. "I will miss everyone, but I still want to see you. I can take a train or a towncar or a bus or cab or a shuttle to the airport."
We hang up. And a cloud of unsettleness comes over me. I'm excited but feel a bit of apprehension and worried that I might have booked my flight too soon without really waiting to formulate my plans more.
If this hick-up is an indication of what I'm about to embark upon in a few weeks, then I better settle in, put on my gloves and buckle up for some unexpected adventures. Life has a way of repeating itself.
I will be there all week on business and and at an office Christmas Party, but considered extending my stay through the weekend for some added fun.
So, I contacted a friend who lives off Times Square.
"You going to be around that weekend?"
"I should be around, but I may be going to CT because it'll be the last weekend before the Simon's leave for the holidays. So, we may have Christmas then."
(That's Paul Simon and wife Edie Brickell, so who can possibly compete with that invitation?)
I contact a friend in Springfield, New Jersey.
"Hey, you gonna be around that weekend? I'll be flyin' out of Newark on Sunday."
"You are not going to believe this, and I hate to say it, but I have to go out of town, again, on Dec. 14, and I'll be gone for the weekend."
I call my aunt in Lindenhurst, Long Island.
"Are you gonna be around that weekend? I'd like to take the train in and see you and the cousins." (who live in nearby towns).
"Oh sure! We have nothing on the calendar and we'll be in town that weekend. But you should think of flying in and out of JFK because it's so much closer. Just 10 minutes from Rockville Center."
Okay. So I book my flight in and out of JFK instead, and before I receive the email confirmation, my phone rings.
"Shawn? I hope you didn't book your flight yet. I just talked to Camille. She's flying to Florida that weekend. I'll talk to Jerry and Annette and Linda and see what's up with them, but it's so close to Christmas, they might be going out of town themselves. I will be here, though. Would you be bored with just me? And what time is your flight? 5:45? That's dark then and I don't drive in the dark."
"Yes!" I reassure her. "I will miss everyone, but I still want to see you. I can take a train or a towncar or a bus or cab or a shuttle to the airport."
We hang up. And a cloud of unsettleness comes over me. I'm excited but feel a bit of apprehension and worried that I might have booked my flight too soon without really waiting to formulate my plans more.
If this hick-up is an indication of what I'm about to embark upon in a few weeks, then I better settle in, put on my gloves and buckle up for some unexpected adventures. Life has a way of repeating itself.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Faith and Fate and Friends
I was 19 years old when I spent a hot summer in East Texas at a bible boot camp for young teens. (That's my own affectionate name for it).
I wasn't raised religious. I was born catholic and attended catechism when I was small, but my parents pulled us out when the church began charging money for it.
When I was 17 and on a summer vacation traveling across country with my family and friends, I picked up a tattered-up little paperback book and read it while sitting in the back of a Dodge Van traveling somewhere between California and North Carolina.
This lovely book made me see things in an entirely new way and would undoubtedly change me forever. The book was called Mr. God, this is Anna. It's the story of a 5-year-old girl who's found wandering the streets of London who turns out be quite extraordinary and insightful. It hit such a cord with me and so I longed to have that same close friendship with God as she did.
It was because of that book and two years later, I decided to spend my summer at a bible boot camp in East Texas. I was like fish out of water. Everyone carried around leather bound bibles with their names engraved on the cover. I had a paper-back catholic teenage bible called THE WAY that had faces of teenagers inside the words. I didn't know any of the songs they sang, I didn't know how to pray and was confused by bible stories... thought it was Gepetto living in the belly of a whale and who was Jonah.
One morning we were called into a meeting and were told we were going to be put on teams of four and venture off into small towns around East Texas for a long weekend called a "Faith Outreach". We would be entirely on our own with nothing but a small overnight bag with a change of clothes and $5. We had a week to start exercising our faith by praying in $5. We could only use the $5 dollars that came to us in an act of faith.
I prayed for $5 to come in every single day. Every morning when the mail would arrive, I would eagerly check my mailbox and every morning, I came up empty-handed.
A week later, on the morning of the Faith Outreach, I saw the white school bus circle around up the drive to take us on our adventure. But I still hadn't received my $5. I was embarrassed and disappointed and felt foolish having my small overnight bag packed with clothes. I was convinced everyone would see right through me and know I'm not loved by God as much as they were.
"Does everyone have their $5?!"
I felt my face sting from shame. I raised my hand and was relieved to discover a handful of others who also didn't have $5. We were told to bow our heads and pray once more and then go to our mailboxes to find the money. Sure enough, there was an envelope in my box addressed "To Shawn from Jesus" and there was a $5 dollar bill in there. I recognized Roger's handwriting on the envelope.
Off we went on our adventure! I was let off in the oldest town in Texas called Nacodoches near the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.
Along with three other girls, I stuffed my overnight bag inside the girls' locker room and then walked blocks and blocks down to the K-Mart and ordered All-You-Can-Eat fish sticks for our meal, bought baby ruth candy bars for dessert and umbrellas on that rainy summer day and before we left K-Mart, we realized we had spent nearly all our money.
Back on campus, we met some girls who invited us to stay with them for the weekend.
One of the girl's boyfriend was named Basillio, but they called him Bo. He graciously offered us his Pontiac Trans Am to drive around in during our short stay.
Once the weekend was over and after the white bus picked us up along the highway and drove us back to the bible boot camp, we sat around in a circle and told our stories to each other how we learned faith in our unforgettable adventures. Sitting there in a glowing silence, feeling good how we were all protected and learned of God's faith, the leader passed the offering basket around asking us to thank God by putting the $5 back in the basket. We didn't have our $5. So it cost us another $5 to thank God for teaching us faith. Imagine that! $10 dollars. It took me weeks to pay that off.
Fourteen years later, I become best friends with a girl who lives nearly 2,000 miles away from where I live and who somewhere in a conversation, tells me she went to Stephen F. Austin and one of her room-mate's boyfriend was named Basillio, but they just called him Bo. And she talked of some girls staying in the apartment one hot summer weekend and Bo loaning them his blue Trans Am.
Did I learn about faith that weekend when I was 19? No, of course not. But fourteen years later, I DID learn we live in a small world. And I learned more about fate than faith and even though we didn't meet up that weekend and become fast friends, we did so years later.
I guess what I'm tryin' to say is... I believe that some friendships are meant to happen to each other and no matter the time or the place or the distance in years, if its meant to be, it's meant to be. Its the faith in friendships and the fate that brings it altogether that is more powerful than a 3-day outreach on the backroads of East Texas. And this Thanksgiving I am grateful for such a friendship as this.
I wasn't raised religious. I was born catholic and attended catechism when I was small, but my parents pulled us out when the church began charging money for it.
When I was 17 and on a summer vacation traveling across country with my family and friends, I picked up a tattered-up little paperback book and read it while sitting in the back of a Dodge Van traveling somewhere between California and North Carolina.
This lovely book made me see things in an entirely new way and would undoubtedly change me forever. The book was called Mr. God, this is Anna. It's the story of a 5-year-old girl who's found wandering the streets of London who turns out be quite extraordinary and insightful. It hit such a cord with me and so I longed to have that same close friendship with God as she did.
It was because of that book and two years later, I decided to spend my summer at a bible boot camp in East Texas. I was like fish out of water. Everyone carried around leather bound bibles with their names engraved on the cover. I had a paper-back catholic teenage bible called THE WAY that had faces of teenagers inside the words. I didn't know any of the songs they sang, I didn't know how to pray and was confused by bible stories... thought it was Gepetto living in the belly of a whale and who was Jonah.
One morning we were called into a meeting and were told we were going to be put on teams of four and venture off into small towns around East Texas for a long weekend called a "Faith Outreach". We would be entirely on our own with nothing but a small overnight bag with a change of clothes and $5. We had a week to start exercising our faith by praying in $5. We could only use the $5 dollars that came to us in an act of faith.
I prayed for $5 to come in every single day. Every morning when the mail would arrive, I would eagerly check my mailbox and every morning, I came up empty-handed.
A week later, on the morning of the Faith Outreach, I saw the white school bus circle around up the drive to take us on our adventure. But I still hadn't received my $5. I was embarrassed and disappointed and felt foolish having my small overnight bag packed with clothes. I was convinced everyone would see right through me and know I'm not loved by God as much as they were.
"Does everyone have their $5?!"
I felt my face sting from shame. I raised my hand and was relieved to discover a handful of others who also didn't have $5. We were told to bow our heads and pray once more and then go to our mailboxes to find the money. Sure enough, there was an envelope in my box addressed "To Shawn from Jesus" and there was a $5 dollar bill in there. I recognized Roger's handwriting on the envelope.
Off we went on our adventure! I was let off in the oldest town in Texas called Nacodoches near the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.
Along with three other girls, I stuffed my overnight bag inside the girls' locker room and then walked blocks and blocks down to the K-Mart and ordered All-You-Can-Eat fish sticks for our meal, bought baby ruth candy bars for dessert and umbrellas on that rainy summer day and before we left K-Mart, we realized we had spent nearly all our money.
Back on campus, we met some girls who invited us to stay with them for the weekend.
One of the girl's boyfriend was named Basillio, but they called him Bo. He graciously offered us his Pontiac Trans Am to drive around in during our short stay.
Once the weekend was over and after the white bus picked us up along the highway and drove us back to the bible boot camp, we sat around in a circle and told our stories to each other how we learned faith in our unforgettable adventures. Sitting there in a glowing silence, feeling good how we were all protected and learned of God's faith, the leader passed the offering basket around asking us to thank God by putting the $5 back in the basket. We didn't have our $5. So it cost us another $5 to thank God for teaching us faith. Imagine that! $10 dollars. It took me weeks to pay that off.
Fourteen years later, I become best friends with a girl who lives nearly 2,000 miles away from where I live and who somewhere in a conversation, tells me she went to Stephen F. Austin and one of her room-mate's boyfriend was named Basillio, but they just called him Bo. And she talked of some girls staying in the apartment one hot summer weekend and Bo loaning them his blue Trans Am.
Did I learn about faith that weekend when I was 19? No, of course not. But fourteen years later, I DID learn we live in a small world. And I learned more about fate than faith and even though we didn't meet up that weekend and become fast friends, we did so years later.
I guess what I'm tryin' to say is... I believe that some friendships are meant to happen to each other and no matter the time or the place or the distance in years, if its meant to be, it's meant to be. Its the faith in friendships and the fate that brings it altogether that is more powerful than a 3-day outreach on the backroads of East Texas. And this Thanksgiving I am grateful for such a friendship as this.
Friday, November 17, 2006
My car turns 66666 miles tonight
I don't know why, but this sort of thing thrills me. (I also get excited by seeing the digital clock read: 12:34 or 3:33 –– even 7:23 because that's my birthday. And I don't even like math!)
I was driving home from work this evening and became fixated on my mileage. I wanted to pull over to take the photo, but I was on a dark and windy road and it didn't feel safe, so I snapped this photo, driving around a sharp corner instead.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Me in my bathing suit
So I walk into a Marin County Physical Therapy Office for an appointment. A Seattle friend had recommended a wonderful physical therapist 45 minutes from where I live. "He's wonderful, Shawn!" she told me. "And be sure and wear your bathing suit underneath your clothes because he might want you to sit in a hot tub or put you in a pool to swim laps or sit in a sauna during your session".
"WOW!" I thought. "This is going to be fun!"
Marin has a reputation of being perhaps a bit more holistic, intuitive and spiritual than it's neighboring counties.
I happened to be in the area, so I just walked in to make my appointment.
When I told the receptionist who I wanted to see, she pushed her mouth to the far side of her face and whispered, "he's only working part-time these days." She leans in closer, darting her eyes back and forth, making sure no one is within listening ear: "He's only seeing celebrities at this time..."
I rolled my eyes at her in an amused disbelief and then focused them on the long line of physical therapist's business cards along the counter. From Hellerworkers to Reiki to Reflexology to Sports Medicine. How could I possibly decide which specialist to choose?
My eyes finally stopped and softened upon a woman's name, Sophie. Such a sweet, beautiful name. I picked up her card and plunked it down on the counter saying, "Then I would like to make an appointment with Sophie."
She stepped back and said in a distant voice, "I don't make appointments for Sophie, but I'll give her the message when she's through with her 1 o'clock appointment and she'll call you."
"Fine", I said and drove home.
An hour and a half later, she called me. She was comfortable and inviting as I expected her to be. We made our appointment for the following Tuesday.
Sophie was on time when she greeted me warmly from the waiting room. She lead me down the hallway into one of the rooms and I sat across from her in a chair. She seemed so genuinely interested in me.
I began to tell her about my injuries and how it hurt when ... I did this ... or whenever ... I did that ... and she was extremely kind and gracious. Just as I knew she would be with her beautiful name. She asked me a lot of questions. Her face showed such concern and even sadness when I expressed to her my story.
I glanced down at my watch and worried she wouldn't have enough time to do any bodywork on me as my 50-minute appointment was closing in on us, when she asked, "Can I give you a cup of tea? A glass of water?" I remember being told to drink lots of water before and after a massage because the body can become dehydrated after bodywork, so when she left the room to bring my water, I believed this was my Que to quickly dress down to my bathing suit.
She returned shortly after, and without a change of expression continued asking me questions about my life. I smiled under my breath, thinking, "How "Marin" is she!" Finally, she asked me, "Are you seeing a physical therapist?"
I said, "Well, no. That's why I'm here."
She looks down at me, sitting there, stripped down to only a bathing suit, and without blinking an eye, or a flicker of an expression, she handed me her business card and said, "I'm .. a .. clinical .. psychologist."
"WOW!" I thought. "This is going to be fun!"
Marin has a reputation of being perhaps a bit more holistic, intuitive and spiritual than it's neighboring counties.
I happened to be in the area, so I just walked in to make my appointment.
When I told the receptionist who I wanted to see, she pushed her mouth to the far side of her face and whispered, "he's only working part-time these days." She leans in closer, darting her eyes back and forth, making sure no one is within listening ear: "He's only seeing celebrities at this time..."
I rolled my eyes at her in an amused disbelief and then focused them on the long line of physical therapist's business cards along the counter. From Hellerworkers to Reiki to Reflexology to Sports Medicine. How could I possibly decide which specialist to choose?
My eyes finally stopped and softened upon a woman's name, Sophie. Such a sweet, beautiful name. I picked up her card and plunked it down on the counter saying, "Then I would like to make an appointment with Sophie."
She stepped back and said in a distant voice, "I don't make appointments for Sophie, but I'll give her the message when she's through with her 1 o'clock appointment and she'll call you."
"Fine", I said and drove home.
An hour and a half later, she called me. She was comfortable and inviting as I expected her to be. We made our appointment for the following Tuesday.
Sophie was on time when she greeted me warmly from the waiting room. She lead me down the hallway into one of the rooms and I sat across from her in a chair. She seemed so genuinely interested in me.
I began to tell her about my injuries and how it hurt when ... I did this ... or whenever ... I did that ... and she was extremely kind and gracious. Just as I knew she would be with her beautiful name. She asked me a lot of questions. Her face showed such concern and even sadness when I expressed to her my story.
I glanced down at my watch and worried she wouldn't have enough time to do any bodywork on me as my 50-minute appointment was closing in on us, when she asked, "Can I give you a cup of tea? A glass of water?" I remember being told to drink lots of water before and after a massage because the body can become dehydrated after bodywork, so when she left the room to bring my water, I believed this was my Que to quickly dress down to my bathing suit.
She returned shortly after, and without a change of expression continued asking me questions about my life. I smiled under my breath, thinking, "How "Marin" is she!" Finally, she asked me, "Are you seeing a physical therapist?"
I said, "Well, no. That's why I'm here."
She looks down at me, sitting there, stripped down to only a bathing suit, and without blinking an eye, or a flicker of an expression, she handed me her business card and said, "I'm .. a .. clinical .. psychologist."
Thursday, November 9, 2006
Yes, you can
This video is for you to watch and listen. If you feel your luck is down. When you feel the world owes you something. When you feel uninspired and feel like quitting, please don't. You really can go on. You're much stronger than you know.
I believe in you.
Monday, November 6, 2006
Inside peek of things
I'm sorta bashful to mention this other blog I started, but then I thought, maybe you can help. For the entire month of November, I will post a photo of the inside of a different refrigerator each day. In December I'll pick a different topic for us to peek inside.
I think it'll be fun to post an inside peek into other people's lives. If you would like to take a photo of the inside of your fridge and send it to me, I won't publish your name with the photo. It'll just be yours and my own little secret. But it would help me out and I just think it could be fun.
You can email your photos with the subject title: Fridge Photo to shawn@doodlegirl.com. If you would rather peek inside and not participate... I welcome your visit there anytime.
I think it'll be fun to post an inside peek into other people's lives. If you would like to take a photo of the inside of your fridge and send it to me, I won't publish your name with the photo. It'll just be yours and my own little secret. But it would help me out and I just think it could be fun.
You can email your photos with the subject title: Fridge Photo to shawn@doodlegirl.com. If you would rather peek inside and not participate... I welcome your visit there anytime.
Saturday, November 4, 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
Houston Quilt Market
Here are a few of the Dick & Jane designs I created.I have been so busy! I just returned last night from the International Quilt Market in Houston. It's a huge wholesale trade show event of the year for quilt shops and other quilt and fabric business people from all over the world.
There was an estimated fifty-thousand people roaming around nudging one another, elbow-to-elbow, viewing the newest and latest quilts and fabric.
I really enjoyed my time there. I also happily bonded more with the folks in the New York City office who I met and worked with last month. That was a treat in itself. Getting to know them on a more personal level outside of the office. They are all such wonderful folks and I felt as though I have known them for a much longer time.
And besides that, it was particularly fun for me because my own fabric pattern designs were being showcased. It was so encouraging to see the company I work for being so well-known and so popular at the Quilt Show. I felt so proud to be a part of them. It was a dream come true for both of us. They got the license for Dick and Jane and I got to put it all together. It was fun taking the artwork and recreating it into something new and then finding it later being transformed onto fabric.
I so hope it is a success for them.
It was an amazing show. I found it inspiring to see so much talent and creativity under one gigantic roof. It didn't feel overwhelming. It felt very comfortable. Though I felt a bit out-of-place among quilters ... (I don't sew or knit)... I did feel in-step with the pattern designers. And as I looked from one end of the George R Brown Convention to the other end ... through all the many people down the long aisles, I thought, "I am exactly where I am supposed to be right at this moment."
I really believe that.
I know I have said that before, but it's like a boomerang. This belief doesn't wander far from my thoughts. It keeps returning to me over and over again. That I am at the right place in my life. And that feels really good.
Tonight, I am feeling ultra creative. Here it comes again. The vague feeling that I'm about to embark on some really wonderful creativeness. For a large amount of the day, I felt as though I was sitting in a waiting room, waiting for this incredible idea to erupt forth. My thoughts are swirling around inside my head at a very fast pace, yet hardly visible and just beyond my reach. I can't keep up with it. I want to quiet myself long enough to explore what's there so I can grab it when I see it. But alas... there is housework to do and my suitcase to unpack and bills to be paid and ringing phones to answer and I'm enormously tired and Halloween is here and there is not enough time in the day to be still and invent my creation.
Obligations have made me feel so guilty until a quiet voice inside me said, "You are doing enough."
I am doing enough. I am doing all I can. I am doing the best I can. And I need to believe in that voice. I want to believe in that voice because I want to trust myself, my intuition, my spirit, my creative side and the power of my thoughts.
The time to create will come when it is ready to come.
So tomorrow when I awake, I will just keep my regular pace and believe in the dream.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
The leaves are turning
I love this time of year. The temperatures soar near the 90 degree mark and I love having picnics in the wine country. I spend most of my weekends here. Taking in the sunlight because I know in another week we will have less of it.
This weekend, I didn't have anything planned, which was a nice surprise. I trimmed tree branches, mowed the lawn and pulled weeds. I went on outdoor picnics both days and stared out onto endless vineyards, listening to laughter of others who had the same idea of relaxing picnics in the wine country.
This is my home.
Its so beautiful this time of year. And, all I want to do is be outside in it. So. Off I go.
"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air." ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Don't be so hard on yourself
If you made a mistake today. Or you're feeling like a failure of sorts, please don't. We all make mistakes at one time or another. Things don't always happen the way we have dreamed them to be. Even pyschics get it wrong some times.
Friday, October 6, 2006
Charles Schulz
I adored Charles Schulz. Did you know that precious, unassuming man always had his personal phone number listed in the telephone book?
For five years, I lived in an upstairs apartment drawing every day about my life and feelings and insecurities and daydreaming of becoming a comic strip artist. I would be drawing and then stop and look out my window and send my wishes and hopes and dreams across the park and roof tops. Never knowing, that one of those roof tops I stared at was the roof top of Charles Schulz's art studio!
He and I lived in the same town and it wasn't unusual to see him out and about from time to time. But there was a moment, where our lives crossed and I will never forget it for as long as I live.
I was in a book store flipping through some Calvin and Hobbes comic books, when he gently tapped me on my shoulder and suggested I buy a Peanuts book instead. I looked over at him, gasping, recognized him instantly.. blurting out, "Hi Mr. Browwwn!"
I was wearing a t-shirt with my own comic strip on the front and pointed it out to him, saying he was my inspiration. And being so nervous, I jumbled up my words and expressed I wanted to become a comic stripper because of him.
He smiled and seemed to connect with me and invited me to his studio a few days later.
It was a dream come true.
He gave me a tour and showed me his latest strip he was drawing. He pulled out an unknown, not-yet-published Mutt's comic strip and said, "Patrick McDonnell will have the best strip out there" and I felt warmed that I was seeing all this before it went to print.
He spent a great deal of time looking through my comics and spoke kind and hopeful words to me about them and offered suggestions. Though I arrived there in such a cloak of vulnerability, his kindness wrapped a woolen blanket around me and warmed me to the bone. I believe he recognized parts of me in him and felt a kindred spirit between us.
He personally sent my rough comics out to his syndicate. He even called me a few times. Left messages on my answering machine that I still have on cassette tape. He wrote a couple of notes to me of encouragement. Gave me an autographed book called 40 Years of Life and Art. And, if I wasn't so bashful and if I believed in myself more, who knows what would have happened with my comic career with the help of Charles Schulz? I know he wanted to help me. That's the way he was.
I certainly don't have any regrets today of what happened then, because I'm exactly where I want to be, and I no longer carry the same dream of drawing a comic strip as I once did.
When he died, my heart broke. I went to his Memorial Service and sat up on the left-hand-side of the balcony and cried my eyes out. Santa Rosa felt more empty.
----
About a year after his death, I was showing a friend his studio.
"I don't think this is a good idea, Shawn", she said.
"Oh, c'mon. We'll just peek in the windows."
I pulled into the driveway at One Snoopy Place and the electronic doors swung open and let us through. We parked near the front door and peered into the windows and his studio still looked just like it did when he was alive. I was thrilled!
"Look over there! That's his drawing table!" I shrieked, pecking the window with my finger.
My friend was still nervous, looking around. "Isn't this private property? I think we should leave now..." she said.
And as we got into the car to drive out, the electronic doors didn't open for us.
We were locked inside the gate!
We called Security. They couldn't help us. Their contract ended two weeks earlier and they didn't know who had the code or key to let us out.
It became dark and cold and we sat in my car with my engine and heater on to keep us warm while my friend had that look of "I told you so" on her face.
After a couple of hours, headlights from an oncoming car blinded us for a moment as it drove up through the electronic gates and they opened for us. I darted out as quickly as possible never looking into the oncoming car. I'm sure if I did, I would have seen a face of an angel.
Back at home, she and I talked about our experience of being trapped inside, but it wasn't a scary experience.
We actually felt comforted and safe being there locked inside the gates. Which isn't surprising, really.
Because he was comfortable and safe.
And the world is different without him in it.
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Rewriting Burt's autograph
I'm just a kid spending the weekend at Napa's Silverado Country Club when I glance up from collecting lost golf balls when I see this mustached man who recently caused a stir, posing nearly nude in a centerfold. I feel dizzy seeing him in real life. He and his girlfriend, Dinah Shore are chatting with James Brolin about appaloosas when I asked him for his autograph.
I am giddy with excitement when he scribbles his name down for me, but am horrified by what I see. His name isn't legible at all. The kids in school won't believe that I actually got his autograph!
In my childhood brilliance, I rewrite his name over and over again until I write the way I imagine his signature to look. I carry his autograph inside a sandwich baggy to protect it on my way to school to show my friends. They stand around the tetherball pole staring at his neat penmanship with envy while his real autograph is wadded up in a heap of rubble inside the garbage can.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
My Mac is unstable
I love my Mac, but it's been giving me some problems. It's not even two years old and for the past few months, I've hauled this large computer to our local Apple store three times already for the Mac Genuis to take to test it out and each time, he says, "it tested out okay" and then deletes everything off it and reinstalls my system.
Each time I lose everything I have.
I miss my itunes. (especially the ones I paid for and the free ones I download on Tuesdays that I never made backup copies of). I miss even more my personal photographs I store in iPhotos. Losing email addresses of friends, letters I have saved, personal illustrations and designs and then, what really catches me by surprise, is the loss of the bookmarks of blogs and inspiring places I visit during my free time.
I really do miss these unmet people who's lives have touched mine in such an intimate modern way.
I miss the woman back east who kept posting her home improvement projects online. And the artist's work who walks a mile out of town everyday to draw a picture of what she sees. There was a couple in Seattle who was trying to sell their house and I enjoyed reading their progress. Did they sell it? I won't ever know now. Another blogger who kept me entertained by drawing the backs of people's heads while she attended church. And, another blogger who was stricken with breast cancer. The last time I read her blog, she was going in for another round of chemo. How is she now?
The season has changed from Summer to Fall. I can feel it. The air next to me is warm but when I extend my hand, I feel a touch of cool nipping at my fingers. Soon the leaves will turn from green to yellow and red and orange and then slowly drop to the ground.
And this season begins another cycle. A new season. A new season of blogs I will enjoy and bookmark until the computer might crash again and the cycle begins again. I know this sounds silly (even to me) but I really do miss those whos lives have touched mine over the internet even though they may not be aware they have. And the days feel a bit cooler because of my loss.
Each time I lose everything I have.
I miss my itunes. (especially the ones I paid for and the free ones I download on Tuesdays that I never made backup copies of). I miss even more my personal photographs I store in iPhotos. Losing email addresses of friends, letters I have saved, personal illustrations and designs and then, what really catches me by surprise, is the loss of the bookmarks of blogs and inspiring places I visit during my free time.
I really do miss these unmet people who's lives have touched mine in such an intimate modern way.
I miss the woman back east who kept posting her home improvement projects online. And the artist's work who walks a mile out of town everyday to draw a picture of what she sees. There was a couple in Seattle who was trying to sell their house and I enjoyed reading their progress. Did they sell it? I won't ever know now. Another blogger who kept me entertained by drawing the backs of people's heads while she attended church. And, another blogger who was stricken with breast cancer. The last time I read her blog, she was going in for another round of chemo. How is she now?
The season has changed from Summer to Fall. I can feel it. The air next to me is warm but when I extend my hand, I feel a touch of cool nipping at my fingers. Soon the leaves will turn from green to yellow and red and orange and then slowly drop to the ground.
And this season begins another cycle. A new season. A new season of blogs I will enjoy and bookmark until the computer might crash again and the cycle begins again. I know this sounds silly (even to me) but I really do miss those whos lives have touched mine over the internet even though they may not be aware they have. And the days feel a bit cooler because of my loss.
Friday, September 22, 2006
New York, New York
I'm home from the Big Apple without a hitch! Well,--unless you call experiencing an emergency landing in Salt Lake City a hitch (!)-- everything else went smoothly.
I LOVE New York City. It really is an amazing city. I loved every single moment I was there. Hailing cabs, walking, riding the train, walking and walking. Did I say walking? Looking up was so powerful and it made me dizzy when the clouds passed over the large towering buildings above, looking as if they were toppling down on me.
The first few days I lived and worked in Chelsea. I worked with some really interesting people and I felt so comfortable working there. When my business trip was over, I spent the weekend in a large 5-story brownstone in Midtown, where on a warm evening, we sat on the rooftop talking and taking in the view. The Empire State Building seemed so close, I felt I could reach out and touch it.
On Saturday, we walked from Bryant Park to Rockefeller Center over to St Patricks Cathedral and Trump Towers down to Central Park and Tavern on the Green to the Dakota, over to Times Square and wandered through the large Macy Building and the Empire State Building. It was amazing, zigzagging around people as we walked the busy sidewalks and then stopping to turn a corner and suddenly discover we're on a street I've only seen in movies and tv.
A year ago, I received a pair of my first expensive polarized sunglasses. And seeing through these wonderful glasses, I see things so much more clearly. The colors appear more intense. For instance, this morning I saw clouds in the distance that I couldn't see when I had my sunglasses off.
And that's what New York did to me. I saw things in a newer and clearer way. It gave me a new perspective of seeing life and this world of ours we live in that I would not have normally seen. I'm still unsure of all the feelings stirring about me, since my experience there is still new. But I know I'm not the same.
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