2009 awesomeness

In the words of the dearly departed Bob Hope, thanks for the memories. Here is a smattering of fave reflections from this year:

Taking the plunge into new technology. Last winter I purchased a compact point & shoot digital camera and love it. My little Samsung performs like a champ and has reacquainted me with my secret passion for captured images. Plus, it has inspired me to move onto greater challenges in 2010.

Easter Sunday. It was sunny, warm, beautiful weather. We were chillin’ poolside with our respective Easter baskets full of chocolate. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Shocking silliness. Sometimes the most shocking thing reconstructs itself into the funniest memory ever. That’s sort of what happened one seemingly innocent August morning as we were drinking coffee on the balcony. An unexpected, singular event has now become a source of endless amusement.

Caffeine fix. Cristy took the enlightened initiative to get separate coffee makers and glory hallelujah, this tiny bit of individualism expressed through separate coffee makers has made morning life unbelievably spectacular for us both. Two auto-program brew times + two coffee preferences = two extremely happy coffee drinkers.

Mailbox key. Having access to a mailbox is the crowning glory of moving to a new address. As much as the U. S. Postal Service would like for us to believe their slogan we deliver for you, it’s more like, we deliver when it’s convenient for us. Took 2 months to get a mailbox key, but oh joy, it feels so good having one now!

Sprinklers. Our little ten-pound alpha dog has a fascination with the garden hose. She loves the sprayer attachment and her antics with the water are hysterically funny. All summer long it sent us into fits of laughter every time we watered the plants.

Craigslist. My foray into the fabulous world of Craigslist started with disposing of a few bulky, unneeded items via “free stuff.” That went smoothly, so I purchased a couple of second-hand side tables for $20 (only one of which has been refinished, but it is so cute!). Then Cristy located the ultimate prize: a ginormous dining table from someone who acquired it from JP Morgan Chase where it was once-upon-a-time a workaday conference table. Suits us perfectly.

These things, my good friends, are 2009 awesomeness.

2010 omen

I read that the lunar calendar calls for a full moon, a blue moon, on New Year’s Eve. A rare convergence. An omen, perhaps? I do love omens presented in the shape of gifts from nature itself.

This blue moon shall be a good omen. May it bring the blessing of humility, faith and gratitude to all who observe its beauty. May it afford us a more profound glimpse into the inner courage, compassion and diligence we have stored within the depths of our being. May it open our minds, hearts and eyes to the realities of our life, that we may live in the present tense, making appropriate choices and telling the truth, with love, to ourselves and to others. May it allow us a balanced view of ourselves, our family, community and world so that we may choose words and deeds for good.

May this blue moon give us resilience in the face of adversity and a stronger sense of connection to the God of our understanding and the fabric of humanity.

As we leave our fingerprints on the lives of others, and on the world in general in 2010, let them be thoughtful, intentional and gentle. May this moon give us the soft light we need to illuminate our path in the coming year.

RTT

I’ve been wearing gloves in the office for two days now. It’s freaking cold. Brrrr. And I’m sitting on a heating pad too. But that’s normal for this time of year. Gives me mild burns on my skin, but that is a lot more comfortable than freezing my tushie off every single day.

Back to the gloves.

They’re knitted woolen gloves and don’t really do a great job of keeping my fingers toasty warm. I have to sit on my hands every once in a while, place them next to the heating pad to transfer some quick warmth.

Sometimes I wish I could bring a dog to work to keep me warm. Seems to work when I sleep. They’re like little heaters. There I am huddled up all cold and then a teensy 10-pound dog snuggles in nearby. Before I know it, hot flash city. But we have this policy, a new policy apparently, that prohibits employees from bringing animals to work. Dogs, cats, mice, goldfish. Has something to do with laboratory animals. I’m teetering on a very slippery slope here: this is a place where science is conducted. I just accept it the way it is and go on about my own vegetarian business in the meantime.

So, you may be thinking, what is the point here? Well, nothing really. To borrow from other, far more brilliant bloggers, I’ll just chalk this up to Random Tuesday Thoughts.

Borrowing

I just had an interesting conversation with a casual friend about borrowing. It seems that someone he knew only incidentally borrowed an item from him. This was an item whose use is inconsequential to his daily existence, but nonetheless, it is an item of no small value. That was two weeks ago and the borrower has not yet returned the item or contacted the borrowee in any way, even to say thanks.

Borrowing is a funny business. It can lead to suspicions and resentments. I'm certain in my life I have been guilty of discourteous borrowing practices. And I have been on the other side too — generously extending myself and my belongings only to find that the borrowers did not care for my belongings in the way that I would have.

Books are a particularly sticky subject. I love my books, but in all honesty, books are hardly the same thing as a crown jewel. They can be replaced easily. But it bothers me when others ask to borrow my books and then do not return them. Or do return them, but in shabby condition. Doesn’t bother me all that much, but it’s a slight irritation. The converse is also true. It bothers me when other people lend (or give, I’m not sure which) their books to me, without a stated or implied interest on my part to actually read the book. They are books that someone else just thought I should read.

Some I have tried to read and others I have not. My admission here is that I have not returned these books to their owners, partly because the manner in which I received them was not clearly defined, in my mind at least, as a borrow. I may be very guilty of the same types of offenses that offend me. Sticky subject indeed. Perhaps in 2010 I should resolve to steer clear of all manner of borrowing activity, since it appears that I am unable to manage it well.

Fun with potted meat

I arrived with Cristy in Oklahoma to visit my mom and stepdad three days before Christmas. It was going to be the first time in many, many years that we were together for Christmas eve and part of Christmas day. Our return reservations were set for the 25th due to scheduling constraints with our pet sitter’s personal travel plans.

The visit was wonderful and the weather was wonderful. Until Christmas eve. It started raining that morning and the forecast called for a steep decline in temperature. This of course, would mean that the composition of that precipitation would change to something else, something frozen. And it did. We went to the movies and when we emerged from the theater, rain was falling in frozen droplets of icy sleet. In another hour, the sleet changed to pretty, fluffy flurries of snow. Exciting for a couple of girls from Texas. Not so exciting for the two that lived in Oklahoma and had experienced the aggravation associated with snow and ice on more than one occasion.

We headed for the casino – no trip to my mom’s is complete without at least one visit to the casino. This casino visit was somewhat justified with a dinner reservation in the restaurant. But unfortunately, inclement weather conditions interfered with our dining plans: the restaurant was closed. So off we went in search of a suitable Christmas eve dinner. Driving through the city, we were startled by the sharp increase in the wind and rate of snowfall. It was indeed beautiful, but made driving a little slower than usual. Visibility was reduced and everyone on the road was proceeding with extra caution.

Within a mile, the welcome sight of Outback Steakhouse greeted us. Perfect. We immediately went indoors for a warm, delicious dinner. Outside the snow was accumulating rapidly. We emerged to a world heavily cloaked in wintry white. It was like being inside a snow globe with the dense snowfall whirling all around. There were still shoppers out and about town, but traffic was waning.

We assumed that the snow would stop falling at some point during the night and the world would resume to normal operations by early to mid-morning. We had a plane to catch at 12:12pm, but in my mind, it would be understandable if the flight was delayed by an hour or two.

Upon awaking at 5am, I decided to check the airline website for flight status. The two earlier flights on Christmas day were cancelled, but my flight indicated a mild delay to the scheduled departure time. No problem.

By 8am, things had changed. My flight was now cancelled. News reports indicated that hundreds of vehicles were stranded along the roads and highway conditions were not safe enough for traveling. I called the airline to reschedule my flight and learned that they had taken the initiative to do this on my behalf. My new return flight was now 4 days away. This news was not registering in my consciousness very well. I could not comprehend the enormous gravity of the weather situation. I inquired about moving my departure to later that evening.

Um, no. Not available.
OK, how about tomorrow?
Well, no. We could get you a flight on Sunday from Dallas to Houston.
Oh, so I just have to get myself from Tulsa to Dallas on my own? No problem.

So that was the plan. But that was not a really good plan. I was depressed. As much as I love visiting my mom, I really wanted to get home. Our visit was cramping their style, just a little bit, and we just wanted a tiny bit of Christmas togetherness at home. Three more days just wouldn’t work.

Cristy called Southwest Airlines after finding what appeared to be availability on their Tulsa departures that same day. They did have seats available. We took 2. Even though the airline was flying to an airport that was not the same as the one from which we originated. We paid out the a*s for those tickets. But we got home with very little trouble. And we got to see my brother, sister-in-law and Cristy’s family that same night.

And we got to witness some family fun with vienna sausages and spam. Nothing like potted meat products to bring out the love.

Twilight 2009

Looking forward to the opening of another year seems to encourage a look back, a reflection on the moments of struggle, growth, accomplishment, sorrow and happiness. Annually charting the milestones, a mental scrapbook of sorts.

In the past year, there were some goodbyes. A colleague died. An animal companion died. I sold a house. I let go of some expectations I had associated with a friendship whose complexion was changing.

I persevered through fear and uncertainty. I faced a few personal conflicts through which I attempted to navigate with honesty and intention. This is not so easy for me because I prefer to hide from conflict. There is still plenty of room for improvement, but I acknowledge my attempts at moving in the right direction.

I explored a new creative outlet this year with this blog and its companion photo blog. And it has enriched my life in ways that I would not have imagined before. In the beginning, I only focused on writing my own thoughts, musings. But soon I began reading others’ blogs and found a world of inspiration. I am ever so thankful for the clever, insightful reflections I now read on a daily basis.

As we approach the final hours in the twilight of this year, it will be satisfying to softly close the back cover. And it will be invigorating to open the new book, full of brightly shining empty pages. Filling the pages with love, with intention, with compassion, with fun, with courage, with inspiration, is the work of my life.

Cat fancy IV

On the night after Christmas I took the opportunity to dip my toe back into the pool of insanity: applying plastic nail tips to my cat. It was a two-step process. Giving him a sedative was the first step of the process. Started with a half pill in a little ball of cheese on top of his catfood. I tried not to hover so as not to alarm him. But I did glance over toward his food bowl now and then. I noticed the cheese was partially eaten but a portion of that pink pill still remained.

I waited for the drug to begin taking effect. Then I scooped him up and tried to feed him the rest of the pill. Took three attempts; I do not have much practice giving a pill to a cat. He became much more drowsy.

I set the stage for step two. Nail clippers. Adhesive. 2 towels. Heating pad beneath one of the towels to soothe him. Nail tips. And finally, my reluctant assistant, Cristy.
I gave the kitty to Cristy; she placed him on the towel, covered him with the other towel and I began clipping the nails on his right paw. He objected loudly. Cristy held him and talked to him sweetly but he didn’t care much about sweet talk.

I applied the nail tips to the right paw. Phew. Half finished.

Kitty stepped up the protests. Oh, it sounded like he was pleading for his dignity. I felt terrible, Cristy felt terrible. I thought we might be killing him. His strength was fading and he lay panting on the towel. Work quickly.

I clipped the left paw and applied the nail tips. We finished and Cristy carried him over to his favorite chair to sleep it off.

Good kitty. Hope you can easily adjust to these nail tips because I sure don’t want to reapply these, at least for a little while.