urbandiscount’s Neighborhood

beginning and end

A lojong (mind-training) slogan, with a comment by Pema Chödrön:
Slogan: Two activities: one at the beginning, one at the end.

Comment: In the morning when you wake up, you reflect on the day ahead and aspire to use it to keep a wide-open heart and mind. At the end of the day, before going to sleep, you think over what you have done. If you fulfilled your aspiration, even once, rejoice in that. If you went against your aspiration, rejoice that you are able to see what you did and are no longer living in ignorance. This way you will be inspired to go forward with increasing clarity, confidence, and compassion in the days that follow.

~ Pema Chödrön, “Bite-Sized Buddhism,” Tricycle Fall 2007

::link ::read the complete article

the business of the poet is not to find new emotions, but to use the ordinary ones

The business of the poet is not to find new emotions, but to use the ordinary ones | Quote Snack: ""

People I hope to meet in the next 2 weeks

LeendaDLL
Yesterday
2 comments

Pedro Almodovar
Ringo Starr

I'll definitely be in the same room with them (2 different events, each with limited audiences). Actually meeting them is an unknown.

Things on Wed (cause I was tired on Tues night)

Loathe:

The local house cleaning service hasn't returned my call... yet.

Left knee is extremely painful today (result of last night's burlesque class)

Lost my jacket at burlesque class. Still don't understand how it could be gone - there were only 7 people there and the jacket was huge on me (I bought a 4x) so none of those skinny peeps would have any use for it. I put it on a chair, then the chair was used for class - so whoever moved the chair knows where they put my jacket so it should be there.

Update: It was found. Yay!

Someone knocked on my door before 10am (I was still sleeping, or trying to, though I wouldn't have answered even if I was up and about)

It was my postal carrier. Apparently my order of discounted Yankee candles requires a signature. Why? I don't know. But now I have to haul by butt to the post office. Thanks to my handicap placard, I'll actually be able to park!! (they have 5 or 6 regular spaces and they're always full)

When diet books assume you've spent your life as a chronic dieter and address everything that way (I just started reading Choose to Lose)

Also: That they don't work so well when you're getting off work, not actively reading the book, haven't eaten in 8 hours, Jack in the Box is right there, and a smoothie sounds really good (so did the Jumbo Jack Special. I threw out the hamburger, untouched, but still scarfed the tacos and fries. I'm going to hell.)

Got assigned to a special project at work that is going to be a lot of work

Also learned I've been roped into a weekly meeting at 10a on Mondays (I usually go in at 1pm and Mondays mornings are never good for me)

Off-Site meeting next week: Starts at 8:30a (location TBD) and I don't give a rat's ass about the topic. And I think I have plans the evening prior, so getting up at 6 will double-triple-extra suck

Heard it's going to be 1/2 day meeting and 1/2 day of laser tag. Quadruple suck. I couldn't play laser tag even if I wanted to, which I definitely do not... unless, as a coworker suggested, we get to bring real lasers (since we make them)... free lasik for everyone!!

It's annual review & 2010 goal writing time. UGH!!

Love:

Kitties sleeping late (Moshi was up at 8 to go out but apparently decided it was too cold and came back to bed)

Last night's burlesque class started really bad (first words to us were "they have to buy a boa", which I instantly refused to do) but ended much better... even though I can't do shit because of my knees (the instructor was nice enough to let me "freestyle" on a chair instead of trying to do the routine on the floor). I'm pretty sure the "live performance" (5th class) no longer happens.... either way, Julie & I already plan to skip it.

Watching people react when "the fat chick" kicks ass at something. People assume I'm going to be lazy/shy/boring/slow but I was ON when, at the end of the class, we "performed" the routine with others watching us. Those others were shocked (in a good way) by me. I credit S Factor... it was just like when we perform there... fake it till you make it!! (if you fuck up, just go with it and act like it was on purpose)

My heated bed

I scored a ticket to see Ringo Starr at the Grammy Museum... 200 person audience, Q&A followed by performance (his current band members are famous but I already forgot who they are), free CD, and probably autographs. There's a possibility I'll give up my ticket (same night as burlesque class) but I'm not deciding yet.

If I leave the backdoor open for the kitties to have some play time while I'm doing stuff in the bedroom/backyard, Skritches is really good about coming back indoors on her own. (famous last words - she's outside now)

When I went to look for Skritches, under the house, she was actually inside the house again. Good kitty!!

Hot showers

The Glass Castle. Really good book (I picked it up, used, at the Farmer's Market on Sunday)

The Glass Castle: A Memoir

(500) Days of Summer

[2:15am Thursday update] (500) Days of Summer. Just watched it. Quirky & light & the funny parts were really funny.

2010: What will this new year hold?

It is now 2010. For me it is amazing how fast the first decade of the 21st Century has flown by. Here are my thoughts for the developments that will shape the coming year.

Facebook and Twitter will remain strong as the social networking platforms of choice.
The use of e-books will continue to rise, thanks to the Kindle, and other devices coming on the market such as the Nook from Barnes and Noble.
In the US the healthcare bill will be passed.
Afghanistan will become the focus of the US military once again, and rumblings will continue to come from Iran.

While here in NZ John Key will remain the puppet to the puppet-masters behind the scenes, who will seek to slowly erode what the previous government had put in place.

One final note: I hope that, for Auckland's sake, John Banks does not get elected as mayor of the Auckland super city. It will all come down to who has the deepest coffers!

A local singer I really liked, Lhasa de Sela, died a few days ago. I didn't even know she was sick (breast cancer). She was only 38. From the US originally she was raised in Mexico but moved to Montreal many years ago and was quite well known here. She was such an original talent and sang in English, French, and Spanish.

La Llorona

Lhasa De Sela

I remember wearing out her album, La Lhorona, the summer of 2004 in Tokyo: I'd come home from work and listen to it nearly every single night, reveling in its unusual melodies and lyrics.

We passed that CD around our little apartment complex, actually: Dave was crazy about it and used to play one of her songs at his singing gigs that summer. And I had to get snippy with Alex and Lexi to return the CD to me before they left for the Czech Republic.

I did get it back, though I haven't listened to it in a long time. I should go dig out my CD collection and put it on, though it'll probably depress me.

Here she is at The Loft last April with another local singer, Patrick Watson.

What a shitty start to 2010.