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Thursday, October 15th, 2009
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6:27 pm - Ahhh Updates....
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I will be taking a week in Hawaii to celebrate 25 years of marriage with my husband David. We sometimes converse, he and I, about how we would probably have never found each other, had we made use of those "meet your mate" organizations. You know the ones, that talk about "compatibility" and all that.
See, we probably don't meet those requirements. I love history and I read voraciously, and I really am not into math and I only like computers as a tool, I don't care how they work and I can never remember where the USB port is from one use to the next. He however really loves math and probabilities and statistics, really digs science, thinks history is a complete waste of time and while he reads the NY Times and his Chess magazine daily, he is otherwise a spotty reader. I have always been religious, he has been agnostic or atheist since he got out of college. He adores movies that make one think, I adore adventure and maybe somewhat silly movies. He has little patience for bad customer service from anyone, I have the patience of a thousand. He thinks I am too often way too "nice", I think sometimes he takes the wrong people to task for things. He is often way too completely logical, about everything, I can be quite emotional, or at the very least, I go by sheer instinct. Yet, for all that, we have been absolutely happily married for 25 years, and together for a total of 28 or so.
One of the first things we have always been able to do is to talk. He tells me what he thinks, I tell him what I think, and if we cannot come to a mutual appreciation of opinions, we agree to disagree.
I don't disparage those "meet your mate" things--just that they would probably not work for us. But anyway, this was really not meant to analyze those things particularly. We are taking our first real vacation without our boys (last month's trip to London did not really count, it was mostly a business trip for him, not a vacation. I just got to go as a bonus). We have always travelled with our sons. Exploring the world or parts of it are always fun in a group, and our boys are always fun to have around. But they are both in school--the younger is doing well in his first months of freshman year, the older is in his first months of grad school. So David and I get a "romantic getaway", probably appropriate for a 25th anniversary.
I hope to get some writing done--at least, I have my Reader and my laptop. I don't really sleep on planes, so the materials will be nice to have. And I really need to make some outlines on my various projects. Of course, I have said that before, before a trip, and ended up doing nothing. So---if you want to keep thoughts for my productivity, I woudln't say no :) And when I return and you ask me if I was so productive, if I say sheepishly, not really---well, you have my permission to sigh and shake your head at me :)
Anyway--I will be gone for a week, so be good, have some fun, be kind to yourselves and those around you.
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| Monday, July 27th, 2009
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7:14 am - Defining....
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I love being a parent...and a parent of sons. I had most definitely wanted sons, or at least one son (I would have been content with boy and girl but older son had very much wanted a little brother, so he got his wish over mine--but that's another story). Why did I want sons? Because being the mother of men in the 21st century just somehow impassioned me--having had males in my circle of acquaintances and buddies and occasionally even friends made me realize that men desperately need to have women as friends, and vice versa. We learn best from each other.
Anyway--I also thought that as a mother of boys I would have the chance to be open and honest about all sorts of subjects, unlike the way both my husband and I were with our own parents of the previous one or two generations back. So I have been prepared for years for those sorts of confidential buddy conversations. But those never happened.
Instead--I get to talk with my younger son about "friends." He came to realize toward the end of his senior year in high school that he did not have as many "friends" as he could have done, and now he is trying to amend that fact. But that led us into a conversation about what is a friend at all.
My son is a very caring person. He wants peopel to enjoy themselves and he considers himself an integral part of their enjoyment process. He thought about asking out a young lady in his school more because he thought he would be good for her socializing. So I think he has *his* side of the friendship equation down pretty well. I on the other hand, after years of participation and observation in the area of what really makes one be a friend and what makes others friends to one, have a somewhat different view. I lost a high school friend just before graduation because she was convinced I took her guy from her. Nobody else in our circle thought so but she ended our friendship on a dime. Were we then ever really friends? I dunno. Another girl I knew in college, I cannot say we were both friends together in the sense of hanging out constantly, yet I ended up giving her some of the wisest advice my young years knew at that time. I consider that I was friend to her, but I woudl not say we were friends.
My husband is my best friend in the world. By that I mean not only do we go to movies and on vacations, but I can tell him things and know he will be honest, and he can tell me things and know I will be honest. We do not always agree (in fact we probably see most things differently and often disagree). But I know he is always there for me and vice versa.
So what did I tell my son when he was pondering where his friends are and who they are? I said when one first meets someone, in person or via the web, one is an acquaintance. He games a lot online so "knows" a lot of peopel he may call friends. Over the past two decades I have met a lot of peopel online via games and web communities. Most of them I would not say are friends--instead, they are people I know. If any of them asked for my advice on something, I would give it, honestly and compassionately as much as I could. If I liked them well enough and learned they lived nearby I would probably go meet them in person (my husband and I dd that at least three times when we did the original MUD gaming back in the day). But even after spending a fun evening or weekend with people I don't know that we would necessarily be friends.
I told my son, friendship takes time and attention. There are buddies and there are acquaintances and there are friends. A real friend is someone that one can depend on as much as one being dependable. If I am always doing the giving, that's a pretty one-sided acquaintance. And I am less likely to confide in someone I don't know. Sometimes I don't even confide things in those I have known for years--husband is still choice number one because I don't have to explain a lot to him. He knows me.
And maybe at its heart, that is what governs and defines friendship--when we get to a point of comfortable knowledge with someone. Seeing someone over and over and over for constant days on end and saying hello how are you hows things going does not make us friends. I actually knew my husband that well for maybe two years just like that before either of us ever even considered we might start hanging out together. But we were not friends, just friendly.
Being friendly does not a friend make. I am one of the most friendly people on the face of the planet, I think. I find it easy to smile and greet someone and engage them in conversation. I am genuinely interested in how people are doing, what makes them happy, I care if one of my neighbors seems stressed or ill. I even stop to help strangers. But none of these are my friends, nor do I feel I am friends with them.
Friendship takes years of weaning, years of going through hard times, arguments, sometimes maybe even passionate fights. Some people I have met online I have gone through just such things. THose moments always make me worry and fret, have I lost the person forever. But that is part of what makes a friend. I will not say I never fight with my husband--well, *I* fight. He just listens and talks calmly, bless his heart. But, I know that if we were other people at least one or two of those kinds of fights would lead to ending something. Because some people don't expect the "fighting". But friends disagree, argue, and go through rough patches. Because we are each unique individuals. What starts to define the friendship, over much time, is whether or not the people bounce back and come back together.
I know a lot of people in person and via the internet. Some people I have known for decades, other people I have just met. Some people I have had rough patches with but stayed "buddies'...other people have traveled with me into actual friendships. SOme people I just continue knowing a bit about them, never friends, just friendly.
Being friendly is a first step, I tell my son. If we never talk to people we will never know if we could be friends with them. But talking with people never guarantees a friendship will grow. That doesn't mean we don't talk. He can certainly talk with people. Whether or not he expects an instant friendship right then and there I cannot say. I hope not. That's not necessary. The friendships will come. Over time.
THis mother stuff is tough!
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| Sunday, July 26th, 2009
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10:29 am - BUSY BUSY final week
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Every year I am so sure that the last week before I head off to New Year's retreat at my main temple is going to be a slow and relaxing one for me, so that I can concentrate.
But au contraire, mes amis. This year, this past two weeks, has been filled with precollege events, shopping and errands for me and my younger son (OMG yes I have a second one heading off to university, my baby. And he would SHOOT me for writing that). Plus, events with my side of the family, which is unusual (we always seem to do stuff with my husband's family--all of whom I love dearly).
So I just take this all as a challenge. A challenge for me to STICK to my "OMG I HAVE TO STAY FOCUSSED" resolve. Which means keep to my lists of "this i must do today!" and then actually DO that which I must do. Before the end of the day at least!
I thought about asking a Netjeri to help keep me on track---but I think that's more risky than asking one of my closest gods to do so. So I will merely pay a lot of attention.
Of course---then I end up adding to that list of THINGS I MUST DO TODAY.
I must be crazy!
How much is on YOUR daily list!
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| Sunday, July 19th, 2009
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2:06 pm - Just thoughts
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I learn things from my children. That is not an epiphany--at least, not always. Parents should learn things from their kids--through fresh perspectives, through daily give-and-take--if nothing else we should learn about ourselves as we spend time and energy caring for those wom life has given to us. None of this is an epiphany.
What is sometimes the epiphany is when I realize that I see myself reflect through my sons-either in a personality trait, or an observation they offered. Sometimes that epiphany is exciting. Sometimes it is humbling. Sometimes honestly it is exasperating (I don't really like to see the more foolish side of me, that's for certain!)
But it is all good.
No, I am not spending time in contemplation so much. In fact, I re-read the last two books of Harry Potter (having just seen Half-Blood Prince, I felt obligated to refresh my memory.) And I spent some time reviewing some precollege arrangements with my younger son.
Mostly I am making notes on a writing project. ANd listening to the gaming woes of my three men. And mulling over what flavor of ice cream I need for dessert.
Such is a lazy Sunday afternoon.
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| Thursday, May 7th, 2009
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3:17 pm - Mom is such a noob
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Have you heard anything like that, Moms and Dads, from your darling children? I sometimes do from my sons, usually about something close to amusing with regard to computers or Internet culture.
Recently, I was told this with regard to the Internet phenomenon called "Rickrolling." If you know what this is, I admire you. I had to learn the hard way. My son sent me a youtube link via IMs, and, well, since many of our cousins and other relatives do this sort of thing, I thought nothing about it. I clicked on the link, saw the start of video, and thought it must be intended for both me and my other son. So I hit Pause on the youtube page and ran to the other room to call Other son. I told him his brother had sent us a youtube video entitled "Rickrollin." He said "ummm mom, you know what that is?"
Now, I am a fairly "modern" mom--I know there are some strange things on youtube and the 'web..."strange" as in I am sure that decades ago if someone had told me I would some day be viewing some of the things I have seen, I would have said "are you kidding?" So I thought my son's question was merely intended to "protect" gentle sensitive mom from some odd videos. Hence, my reply "why, yes dear, it looks like it is probably a music video. He probably wants us both to see it." My son replied back, "Mom....do you KNOW what it is?" Now, by this time I am becoming bewildered. My son and I go back and forth a few more times as I grow more befuddled by his asking me, until finally he sys "Mom---its a prank."
So I returned to my computer and ran the video, expecting to see something truly bizarre. But, no, its just a young man singing to a soundtrack of a song that I am sure I have heard many times on the radio. Nothing weird, just...boring really. So I tell my son, and he says "yes mom that's the point, YOu have been rickrolled." Then I message my other son on IMs and tell him that entire conversation. He was amazed that i had NO idea what rickrolling was all this time. Then came the ultimate---that I had MISSED the rickrolling of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as well. Not my fault, I had not even WATCHd the parade this year!
My sons were laughing for a while that particular afternoon. Mom is such a noobish dweeb, really.
I do try, Really I do. I watch them play computer and video games, and try to make what I think are intelligent commentaries on the skill involved and the teamwork required. I try to be a pal in that regard. I can;'t help it that even while I am enamored of my computer, and while I rather enjoy using the Internet, that I really don't know as much about what goes on around it as I hope I could.
But---there is hope! Just this morning I read an article in the NYT times, where the reporter wrote about how HE did not know what Rickrolling is.
I feel better now. My intellectual ego has been salved and bandaged.
At least, until the next time my kids manage to discover a chink in my intelligence armor!
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| Sunday, June 29th, 2008
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9:02 am - Vacation in the Mountains
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My family of four (two sons, hubby, and I) just returned home from a week of vacation in the mountains of Colorado with extended family (21 people in total).
It was wonderful. The air smelled of aspen and spruce and mountain heights. The food was fresh. The hiking was contemplative and meditative (Cacti and flowers, some mullein, columbines and bluebells, buttercups). We saw two melodramas, played games, hiked some more, saw waterfalls and running creeks, many deer and bison, a few hawks.
We even threw together a talent show (instigated by the family matriarch so her grandchildren could have some fun).
But it is very very good to be home now. I missed everyone.
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| Tuesday, August 21st, 2007
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4:14 pm
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My older son Chris is back up at college. He will be a junior this year, beginning to ponder where he will be after graduation. He might decide to go to graduate school for computer science. But he still has no idea what career choices are available. Guess he will have a busy year.
My younger son Horemheb, aka Jon the man, is still on vacation yet. He will be a junior in high school, and is starting to think about college. But this fall he faces the PSAT exam. Blech. So he is determined to do some practice and review on vocabulary and reading comprehension, his two weaknesses on these kinds of tests.
We had a great summer, as long as it lasted, which seems too short. We had gone to Hawaii in late June, along with 21 relatives and friends. The island of Maui was wonderful, the resort lovely. We had an ample combination of relaxation and activity. I think my favorite event was the breakfast luau at Old Lahaina. It was more like a buffet, which then became an interactive cultural experience. The attendees (about 100 or so) were split up into groups of 15, and rotated around specific "stations" to learn about drumming and dancing, netfishing, warfare/spear-throwing, venerating the ancestors, and other things. But before all that occurred, a man explained to us that since we were about to learn about ancestral matters, that we would have to ask permission OF the ancestors. And he proceeded to do a chant, asking permission of the ancestors for the teaching. I got goosebumpy, this was soo cool and familiar.
My second-most favorite thing there was getting a "press-on"tattoo. I had mine put on my upper left arm near the shoulder. It remained there even after we got home and looked really great. While I still do NOT want a real tattoo, I think I might look into either a henna design there, or maybe if I am lucky, get an armband cuff that might work there.
I hope to make Eye of Ra weekend in October. I missed Aset Luminous to my utter regret but I woudl like to make one Tawy event before Egypt in early December. This may be a crazy school year so I want as much for myself as I can get.
In other news I have returned to doing some creative writing. I got bitten by a bug a few weeks back and found some good outlets for doing so. So in between setting up some new aromatherapy projects and some history reading, I will do some writing in <lj user="seiantishardana">. It is also sort of an offering to my collective Akhu, the Sardinian and Italian ones, anyway.
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| Monday, December 19th, 2005
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7:54 am
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| Wednesday, October 19th, 2005
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5:07 pm - But we don't watch them....
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So I am reading on yahoo and come across this:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051019/ap_on_en_tv/tv_family_viewing
It seems that some self-proclaimed watchdog group has made a list of the "worst tv shows" for family viewing. Their list includes Family Guy, American Dad, and Arrested Development among others. This strikes me as very funny, them rating these things for family viewing. My family has never watched these shows. *I* don't care for them.
Don't these people know that the average human being has the option to choose what is on the tv? Sure, maybe families should be more aware of what gets watched at home, but honestly--the past forty years, what is that, one or two generations, survived jitterbugging, Elvis, the Beatles, Beach Blanket bingo-style movies, among other so-called "horrors of tv viewing." We could probably survive this too.
It's just so funny. Really.
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| Thursday, August 11th, 2005
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3:27 pm - Post-Retreat
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Retreat is over. Wait, Retreat is over? Retreat is in the past? But but but I been thinking and anticipating about Retreat for months and weeks and days and....Retreat is over? Can I start anticipating next Retreat?
Yes, girls and boys and brothers and sisters, Wep Ronpet 2005 is over. The New year has begun. Nekhtet and give me a rousing Cheer!!
The week was absolutely incredible. Gemyt, Embai, Nehwuen, Qait, Sekemi, Semareti, Pegai, Udenet, Habi, Djebati, Shetawy, and more and more and more of you---you are all the most bestest sisters and brothers. Thank you for giving me hugs, for letting me hug you, laugh with you, talk with you, answer your questions and have my questions to you answered. Thank you for sharing food, conversation, quiet times, rituals, workshops, the Presence of Netjer and the aftermath of Netjer's Presence. Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you.
I love you all tremendously.
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| Thursday, June 9th, 2005
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10:09 am - Meanderings
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Today my younger son Horemheb/Jonathan, aged 14 of all things, is officially taller than am I. Which does not take too much of course, me being only 5'2". And I told him, weeks ago, that once he graduated 8th grade he would find he was no longer shorter than his mother. But to have it confirmed--makes me rather sentimental. And I don't wax sentimental really much.
But my second baby is now "grown-up" as far as height goes. But he is still my baby--just as my older son Chris, who has turned 18 today, is still my baby. A mother cannot say such things to her sons (probably not even to daughters after a certain age) but I don't care. My two precious jewels will always somehow be my babies.
Chris is the son of my heart, my first little man, the boy I wanted beyond all things when I first became pregnant years ago. Jonathan is his brother's brother, the child of my soul as it turned out. I had wanted a daughter on the second-child run, but Chris wanted a little brother so much that when it turned out I was again having a son, I told him he had wished too mightily. He even named his brother. Jonathan has doted on his older brother since he could tell he had one, and he has always been my best buddy. He and I talk about all sorts of odd things, and I often find he is my sounding-board. He has some marvelous insights and instincts--hence I say he is the child of my soul. So while I cannot imagine him growing up more and more, I am extremely proud of him.
He tells me he saw hawks close by, during his class trip to Cape Cod earlier this week. No surprise to us, since he is rootnamed in Kemetic Orthodoxy as a Heru child. Interestingly enough, he also saw ravens. Ravens have been quite a subject this week around our boards, so I was intrigued to hear him say he loves ravens right up there with the hawks. Netjer is moving profoundly in this elfin-child's life.
In just a little more than about 6 weeks it will be our Kemetic New Year. So much will be happening before then, both within my family at home and my Temple family, however, starting with two graduations here, welcoming new Remetj, new round of Parent Divinations, going to Boston to see a friend in a musical, an out-of-country business trip, celebrating Aset Luminous at home, celebrating my King's birthday, taking my older son shopping for new college wardrobe, finishing my Ayurvedic and Aromatherapy certifications, studying languages--and not necessarily all those things will be in that order.
But I like it--lots to do, lots to look forward to. Lots to share with family, which really makes it all extra-special.
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| Sunday, February 20th, 2005
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1:58 pm - Movies for a mood
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We have Movies on Demand. Some people I know (and you know who you are) insist I have the thing called Tivo.
Television for me is actually more of a quiet subtle undercurrent of sound and goings-on. My day generally consists of anywhere from 4-5 hours of complete privacy and quiet, depending on number of errands and unexpected calls out-of-the-house that come up. So I can get in a lot of reading, researching, homework and writing, along with cleaning, washing, laundry, and other domestic chores. I like the quiet. I like the time I have all to myself, to work or play in complete and utter ME time.
So why have the TV on at all to interrupt this ME time? I dunno. Sometimes I don't. I have a ton of music CDs. Sometimes the TV is just plain easy. But if I have it on just for the white noise, I don't need to have on a specific program. Hence, TIVO is a waste.
When I do have on a specific program, it is often one of the big movie channels. HBO, Movies on Demand, Showtime. Its great to finally see movies that I never got to see in the theater (RAY is one good example, coming next month to MoD.)
Now about this Movies for a Mood header. Sometimes I am in a mood for action. Die Hard, Beverly Hills Cop, Predator, etc. Sometimes I am in the mood for drama, like Runaway Jury. Sometimes I am thirsting for the Lord of the Rings type stuff. Sometimes I want history, like The Alamo or Elizabeth the Queen. Sometimes I even want romance. Sometimes I want several of those all in one day.
Yesterday was such a day. We saw an Australian movie called Danny Deckchair which happened to include Miranda Otto in the cast . If you know who else she played, give yourself a cookie. I had had little desire to see this movie, but hubby put it on and what else could I do but watch. It was actually a very nice movie after all. So that was for the romantic side.
Then the Scifi channel had on the Indiana Jones trilogy followed by THe Scorpion King. You all know that Indiana Jones also features John Rhys-Davies. If you know who else HE played, get a bigger cookie. And The Scorpion King also starred Bernard Hill. You have enough cookies for a third guess?
Now, you may think I am trying to say that my movie-watching yesterday was Romance and Adventure. Well it was in one sense. But as I realize that all my movie choices in one day contained a common thread (get a cake if you know what that thread is) it turns out that in reality, what I end up with is Fantasy.
Something to ponder.
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| Friday, February 18th, 2005
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4:52 pm - High school high school high school
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Not for me, you sillies. I am young, but not THAT young ;)
My younger son, who will be graduating from elementary school this June, has been accepted into all his high school choices for the class of 2009. He has been fretting for weeks (he frets like his mother does, you know).
I pulled a "sad-face" on him trying to make him nuts, but I was so excited after I got the mail and opened the letters I coudln't last with it, I burst out yelling "YOU GOT ACCEPTED."
He is so happy. Now he can enjoy the four day weekend we have.
Now I just wish the colleges would send out THEIR letters, so our older son could sift through his choices.
Good grief, I just realized how long it has been since I posted here. It's mid-February! Here we are having early spring, then mid-winter, then late balmy spring, then winter again. Ugh!
Anyone have any trip plans or exciting things to share?
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| Monday, November 1st, 2004
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8:17 pm
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The past few days, with the thinning of the line between the living and the passed-on, with Dia de los Muertos, All Souls and All Saints, Samhain, etc etc, have sent me thinking about all my unknown blood kin, particularly any I might have in Sardinia, Italy.
I know the town where I was born, the day, month and year, I even know the name and birthdates of my biological mother and three other siblings. But I don't know if any of these are still alive, if any of them had their own children, and if so, do I have cousins, nephews, nieces, etc. I don't know what my blood grandparents or ancestors further back might have been called, or what they were like.
But I did the next best thing (after I honored all my Akhu of my adopted family.) I did some reading on the history of Sardinia, looked up some of the flora and fauna of the island, and eventually found out that Sardinia has a national heroine from the medieval period. An island eagle has even been named for her.
She is Eleonora d'Arborea. Oddly enough, my biological mother lived on Via Eleonora in the town where I was born, and my adopted mother is named Eleanor. So I take this all to be rather symbolic.
Eleonora d'Arborea was a local ruler who wrote a set of laws, and it at least in part is for this that she is held in deep regard today. I have pledged to find out all I can about her (it seems our public library has a book about her, albeit in Italian) and Signora d'Arborea is going to have a place in my Akhu shrine.
Benvenuti, Donna Eleanora.
It is sometimes incredible what a little meditation on a powerful day where seen and unseen tend to meet might bring to one.
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| Thursday, September 23rd, 2004
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6:11 pm
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snagged from niankhsekhmet who snagged it from who snagged it from :)
Your Hippie Chick Name is: Sunny
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Does it always have to be bright and cheery....yeah I guess so.
Deal with it!
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| Wednesday, September 22nd, 2004
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8:45 pm
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I have a new sister!!
Yay! Nekhtet and YAY! :-D
Life is just so good :) This is what it is all about, celebrating the good stuff and pitching in on stuff that isn't so good. Taking care of one's own field with one's family. Not all the other stuff about "what others are or are not doing over there in their own field." That's no fun at all. Just makes for more misery.
But -- I have a new sister!!! Life rocks!
And it's Autumn. And almost the end of September. Leaves are falling. My dear hawthorn tree, the one nearest my building is minus an awful lot of its leaves now, unlike its apparently younger siblings I have noticed around. I think I will bring him (something about that particular tree is "masculine") some organic raisins. Of course, watch the squirrels try getting the raisins! Hmmm a tree vs. squirrel war. Interesting.
I have to find out why that tree has no berries---at least none I have ever noticed. Which may mean I have not been terribly observant as yet. I have to start making notes on these growth cycles.
New tv coming soon, so to celebrate, I better get the Star Wars Trilogy on DVD. Yes yes I know all about it. But thing is, I can still remember standing in line to see the first and second one, so well, it is just kinda nostalgic in a way (even though they be expanded now) And besides, my sons requested them, and well, I often humor them (riiiiiiiiiiiiight). We can watch them together on our new telly!
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| Saturday, September 18th, 2004
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7:56 pm - School Applications and other busy stuff
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Half the high school applications are done so far WHEEEEEEEEE. The New York City public school system, in my very only personal opinion, is not great. Mostly it cannot help it, it does try very hard. And I am sure lots of kids do very well within it. But it is just not for my children. I had decided that ages ago. So independent schools (and the one good Magnet public high school attended by my older son) do have their own selection process, which means entrance exams and applications.
Colleges of course have applications, always. My son is being flooded with letters from colleges all over the place, some we never heard of, inviting him to a special VIP admission process. It is rather flattering I suppose, although he wishes he would get that from colleges in which he is really interested. But then he did get an invitation to take a special Scholarship exam to a university that while he was not initially interested, it is not a bad school, in an area we visited. So he will sign up for this examination. This is more flattering, and who knows. If he was accepted and got a scholarship that would be pretty nice. So stuff is happening.
It will still be tough to get through the next two or three months until acceptances roll in. I guess as long as the boys get past their entrance exams it will be ok. Then all we have to do is wait.
We can think about the family Cruise at Christmas time. With all the cousins and aunts and uncles around, it will be a nice distraction.
I have other stuff doing too, besides the school search. My courses start again in October, I have some projects for aromatherapy, and an upcoming House class about which I am extremely excited for several reasons. I think that class will be the best one amongst my bunch.
Gee, I am way busy but I love it. I thrive on being busy!
And autumn is approaching. I have been making discoveries about the local trees. The landscapers in our complex have labelled some of the trees, and I have been recognizing the unlabelled ones accordingly. We seem to have a lot of hawthorns around, as it turns out. I have pledged myself to watch these trees closely through the spring, and learn their blooming cycle. Someone seems fascinated by them, so it will be a nice study. I also want to watch the Honey locust and the Linden trees around us as well.
I need to get a pot of rosemary in here. Time to go find a good nursery on Sixth Avenue.
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| Tuesday, September 14th, 2004
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6:26 am - One of my Sporadic posts :)
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Every few weeks or so I realize how little I post here. So since I am sure everyone is dying to know what I am up to, this is for all you curious souls :D
Big news is that I am signing up my older son, the 17 year old, for Driver training. Not Driver Ed, mind you--his particular school doesn't off it. So off we go to apply for a Learner's Permit. Only to find that before we can do that, he needs a Social Security card. The physical little card, itself--he has had a number since he was a baby. But the number isn't good enough, they want to see the CARD.
So off we go to Social Security to apply for a CARD. Now we wait. Once it comes we can apply for the Permit (he claims, after looking through the manual, that he already knows all that stuff, because "it's common sense." Yeah that's what his mother thought uh huh. But they give a good margin for error--only 14 out of the 20 multiple choice need to be correct. Sheesh if only school was so easy.
And I decided after all this, that I would go back for driver refreshment and get my license back. Oh didnt you know? I had one, eons ago in another state. But foolishly my brain went on hiatus and I didn't realize it would be easier to just renew that state license and THEN switch to my current state license--noooooooo I let that license expire, and then took so long to do anything aobut a license here, that, well suffice to say that I have had no license for more than a decade.
Enough of that! SO now older son is fretting about mom being in his same driver class *chuckle*.
The other big news is that I have to fill out many college applications for him (he graduates HS in June) and I have to fill out many high school applications for younger son (he graduates 8th grade in June). THe applications are not too bad, it's those essay questions they ask for. "What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are your interests and hobbies? If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be and why?"
My sons hate writing and hate such questions. Oh what fun, they get to stress out about these things for a couple of months. Which means mom stresses out too :D
So now you know the big things in my life. There are lots more but these will do for now.
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| Wednesday, August 11th, 2004
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7:37 pm - Meandering Thoughts on Wep Ronpet, Year 12, Gregorian year 2004
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* Landing later on Sunday than I planned but still getting to Tawy in time to help with some early chores.
* Going to get the Throne on Monday with Resut.
* Set's thunderstorm knocking out the power on Tuesday night through Wednesday evening.
* Welcoming in new W'abu.
* Making new New Year Amulets.
* The Rituals on Wep Ronpet. Being visited by Amun-Ra.
* Going out for Mexican food, and going out for Mexican food, and....drinking Horchatas, and going out for....Steak....
* Meeting Weshebut and Beckie and Nehuen!
* Seeing Kheteni and Saheb and Seteb again!
* Seeing Neb again, and learning how to make a world map with half-and-half tubs ;)
* Seeing my Aset siblings and all my other siblings! And acquiring a charming adorable new Aset sibling straight from my Mother's mouth!! ;)
* Seeing Aset and Serqet again!! Seeing Sekhmet again!!
* Seeing Hemet AUS again!
And there will be more to come!
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7:35 pm - Ahhhh I dare ya to ask which really apply to me ;)
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You Know You're From New York City When... |
You say "the city" and expect everyone to know that this means Manhattan.
You have never been to the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building.
You can get into a four-hour argument about how to get from Columbus Circle
to Battery Park at 3:30 on the Friday before a long weekend, but can’t find
Wisconsin on a map.
Hookers and the homeless are invisible.
The subway makes sense.
You believe that being able to swear at people in their own
language makes you multi-lingual.
You've considered stabbing someone just for saying "The Big Apple".
The most frequently used part of your car is the horn.
You call an 8' x 10' plot of patchy grass a yard.
You consider Westchester "upstate".
You think Central Park is "nature."
You see nothing odd about the speed of an auctioneer's speaking.
You're paying $1,200 for a studio the size of a walk-in closet
and you think it’s a "steal."
You've been to New Jersey twice and got hopelessly lost both times.
You pay more each month to park your car than most people in
the U.S. pay in rent.
You haven't seen more than twelve stars in the night sky since
you went away to camp as a kid.
You go to dinner at 9 and head out to the clubs when most Americans
are heading to bed.
Your closet is filled with black clothes.
You haven't heard the sound of true absolute silence since the 80s,
and when you did, it terrified you.
You pay $5 without blinking for a beer that cost the bar 28 cents.
You take fashion seriously.
Being truly alone makes you nervous.
You have 27 different menus next to your telephone.
Going to Brooklyn is considered a "road trip."
America west of the Hudson is still theoretical to you.
You've gotten jaywalking down to an art form.
You take a taxi to get to your health club to exercise.
Your idea of personal space is no one actually standing
on your toes.
$50 worth of groceries fit in one paper bag.
You have a minimum of five "worst cab ride ever" stories.
You don't notice sirens anymore.
You live in a building with a larger population than most
American towns.
Your doorman is Russian, your grocer is Korean your deli man is Israeli,
your building super is Italian, your laundry guy is Chinese, your favorite
bartender is Irish, your favorite diner owner is Greek, the watchseller on your
corner is Senegalese, your last cabbie was Pakistani, your newsstand guy
is Indian and your favorite falafel guy is Egyptian.
You're suspicious of strangers who are actually nice to you.
You secretly envy cabbies for their driving skills.
You think $7.00 to cross a bridge is a fair price.
Your door has more than three locks.
Your favorite movie has DeNiro in it.
You consider eye contact an act of overt aggression.
You run when you see a flashing "Do Not Walk" sign at the intersection.
You're 35 years old and don't have a driver's license.
You ride in a subway car with no air conditioning just because there are seats available.
You're willing to take in strange people as roommates simply to help pay the rent.
There is no North and South. It's uptown or downtown.
When you're away from home, you miss "real" pizza and "real" bagels.
You know the differences between all the different Ray's Pizzas.
You're not in the least bit interested in going to Times Square on New Year's Eve.
Your internal clock is permanently set to know when Alternate Side of the Street parking
regulations are in effect.
You know what a bodega is.
You know how to fold the New York Times in half, vertically, so that you can read
it on the subway or bus without knocking off other passenger's hats.
Someone bumps into you, and you check for your wallet.....
You cringe at hearing people pronounce Houston St. like the city in Texas
Film crews on your block annoy you, not excite you.
You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from NYC.
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