Clouds and Chipotle

When did "The Cloud" become a regular part of our vernacular?  It just appeared all of the sudden and everyone uses it ubiquitously, as if they know what they are talking about. What the hell is "the cloud"?  I ask this because of the screen shot I am including here as Exhibit A:

I understand that "the cloud" has something to do with storage and the internet, I just don't understand it and why we need it. I think it is weird how everyone just starts using terms when they don't really know what they are talking about.

The first time this happened that I really noticed was when "chipotle" came on the scene. One day, suddenly, there was a restaurant called "chipotle" and there was "chipotle sauce" and chipotle chicken and chipotle chipotle.  It made me crazy. I asked people what it was and no one knew.  Was it a sauce? Was it a spice? If it was a spice, where did it come from? Why were we just hearing about it for the first time?  Was it something that used to be called something else before like Myanmar used to be Burma?  When they started talking about the coupe in Myanmar, I was like..."Um...why have I never heard of this country before?" After a little research, I figured it out.

I feel like I am experiencing some kind of accelerated aging process or something - I feel all crotchety when this stuff happens.  I guess when you roll with the punches, sometimes you get hit. No one likes to get hit. Even a little bit.  Maybe that's it.

So, just to show that I adapt eventually, I thought I would put in a plug for chipotle. I'm sure that in a year or so, I will be ranting about this again and I will be perfectly comfortable with "the cloud" at that point and will point to this post as an example of terms that came before the next one. So, my favorite food with chipotle is Alexia's spicy sweet potato fries seasoned with chipotle.

These are great broiled (they get crispier that way). I have only found them at Fred Meyer's.  Trader Joe's has the regular sweet potato fries, but not these spicy ones. Yummy!

Happy Homecoming!

I went to work today - I was feeling trepidation because I wasn't quite sure how I was going to feel all day, but I decided to go try it out and if I got sick again, I would just leave. I think one of the down sides to working more than 15 or 20 minutes from home is that I get kind of paranoid about being sick at work and trying to get home. One of my worst fears has always been getting a migraine in some faraway place and not being able to get home. It sort of happened to me once, so I know what I'm talking about. A one hour drive turned into about 4 hours of hell.

Anyway, when I got home at 7:00 pm, I found an amazon.com box and inside was a copy of Patti Digh's new book, "What I Wish for You: Simple Wisdom for a Happy Life"!!  For information about her Simple Wisdom book tour, you should check out her blog.  I'm so excited to start reading her book! It was the perfect gift to greet me after a long "I was sick yesterday but I'm going to work anyway" kind of day. (I'm feeling much better, by the way. Glad I went to work.)

Once I have been able to dig into the book, I will do a little review here for you. Also, she will be up in Seattle in May, so I am trying to plan a trip up to the reading/tour stop.  More on that as I know more.

Sick Day

I have some kind of virus. I feel yukky. Stayed home and did some work on computer, called in for meetings. That's all.

And naps are good. I hope I feel better tomorrow.

"The Color Purple" 25 Years Later

I was reading the newspaper today and when I came to the TV Listings, I read them (which I don't usually do...).  Oprah had a 25th Anniversary Reunion of  the cast of "The Color Purple" today.  I was so disappointed that I didn't know that until well after it was over - then I remembered that they have a "new" channel (since the change to digital television - meh) that shows the Oprah from that day at 10pm! Yay!

I loved seeing Oprah reunited with Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover. You could see in all the actors this sense of relationship and the memories of doing the movie together. I can only imagine the sense of pride they must have about making one of the most splendid, brilliant movies ever.

I'm pretty sure I've written about "The Color Purple" here before, but I was so moved watching the show, I just had to gush about it again.

I'm pretty sure that Steven Spielberg made this movie as the preliminary movie leading him to "Schindler's List". What I KNOW is that he is responsible for at least two of the most incredible and heart-filled movie movies ever made.  "The Color Purple" is so amazing in terms of visuals, emotional depth, honesty, great acting...I love everything about this film and I always have.  I'm still blown away by the fact that it was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and it didn't win ANY!  I'm sorry, but if that wasn't political, I don't know what is.  I remember watching the Academy Awards for 1993 and thinking, "If Steven Spielberg doesn't win ANYTHING, I'm never watching this show again."  Luckily, the Academy was fair and gave him and "Schindler's List" its due.  "The Color Purple" will just live on in infamy as one of the worst Oscar denials ever.

Anyway, Oprah asked everyone their favorite lines from the film and they were fun to listen to and I remembered one line from a young kid. Mister is in the old, run-down house and the kids are running wild through the house and one of the kids comes in and says, "It's gon' rain on your head!" - my favorite line.  But there are so many favorite moments in the film - I love the end, I love ANY scene with Nettie in it - she was really an amazing actress. When Celie gets her letters.  Shug Avery going back to the church.  Ahh.  I will have to watch the movie this weekend.  I wish they would have this on the big screen again for the 25th Anniversary. I know they won't, but it would be good to see that way again.

Anyway, I'm floating on a little purple cloud right now. :)

Off-line Time

I enjoyed a mostly off-line day today.  I haven't been feeling great this weekend, so after a bit of sick this morning and going back to bed, I took it easy. Played some solitaire, did some art journaling (photos tomorrow), did some pen and ink puzzles, watched a movie, and all the normal at-home stuff.

I'm considering a theme for April, but I haven't come up with any ideas. I'm sure I will find something. I have been a little aimless lately and a theme will put me back on track a bit.

Here's to a good week. Monday is right around the corner, so I better get off to bed.

I Know I'm Sick When...

I had to cancel my plans for today because I am not feeling well. Once I gave into the fact that I wasn't feeling well, I put a movie on, "Jumpin' Jack Flash" - one of my ALL-TIME favorites. And I slept through all but about the first 2 minutes. I thought about just putting it on again when I finally woke up, but I didn't.

I hate being sick.

Solitaire Phase

Sometimes there is nothing like a good game of solitaire after a long week. I don't need a 3G computer to do that. There is just something very zen about playing solitaire on a Friday night after a very long week.

Looking at a pretty busy weekend, so I'm taking the rest now before I have to jump into the other stuff.

"Secret Millionaire" and Techology Rant

Topic 1: "Secret Millionaire" is my new favorite television program. I love seeing the good work that people are doing in the world despite sometimes overwhelming obstacles. It makes me appreciate what I have a lot more and think about what I can do to help make the world a better place. And it makes me cry every time I watch it.

Topic 2: I'm so tired of hearing about the Android iPad Super-3G 4G extra-fast smart coverage super-duper phones and computers and the cloud and how we can manipulate photos and everything should be faster and we can now watch television and walk the dog and talk on the phone and email and text and listen to music all a the same time. I'm tired of having to dodge people as I am walking because they are looking down at their phones and not paying attention to where they are walking. Or having to listen to people's phone conversations because I am in proximity to the conversation. Please use your ear piece and not speaker phone. It makes no sense that our television screens and computer monitors are getting bigger but we are being encouraged to utilize smaller and smaller screens to access the same information/entertainment. I barely use my smart phone for anything, I don't watch television on a tiny screen and my eyes can definitely feel when I have been on the computer for too long.

I'm not against technology or even against technological improvements. I just wonder how fast is fast enough. I just prefer humans. I like all my gadgets and I use them, but they don't control my life. The more crazy it seems, the more I want to back away.

I think I have just felt barraged this week by commercials and speaker phone calls and lots of technology "stuff". It will all work itself out. I just needed to rant.

Ahh - I Have Been Waiting

I LOVED this performance back in 1985. Sheila E. on the American Music Awards. Ahhh. Nice.  A little blast from the past.



I know that I am old now because I know for certain that 1985 was one of the best musical years EVER and it was the year I graduated from high school. That is the beginning of the end, isn't it? When you know your music is the BEST music? I think I'm willing to say that music was great from the mid-60s through the mid-90s and then I had a rapid drop-off from popular music.

But 1985. Yum. Great year. Prince's "Purple Rain", Madonna, Wham, Culture Club, Duran Duran and yes, my secret (or not-so-secret back then) crush on Rick Springfield. I'm sure there are more to be listed, but I can't reel them off from memory anymore. Hee hee.

See - here are some #1 songs from 1985. Who knew I would find this?

Burned Out

The change of Daylight Savings Time (I don't know if we turned it on or off and frankly, I don't care) throws me off every year.  It starts this 3-4 week cycle where I am tired and feeling all out of sorts and annoyed about it.  It is frustrating to me. We don't live in an agrarian society any longer, so let's just leave the freaking time alone.

Anyway, that's the skinny for today. I hope I can get over it QUICKLY.

Art Journaling Update from the Weekend

I was having some problems with my photo editor yesterday, so I was delayed in posting some of my new pages from last week. Mostly I did them over the weekend, but I did a lot of cutting and sorting last week.  Also, I have a new glue that I am using. I can't decide if I like it or not - it gets really heated up and mushy which can be positive and negative, but it smells good and so far, it is a good adhesive. It is Coccoina (no idea how to say it).  It is solvent free and smells a little like almonds. :)

Here are some new pages:

This one is my favorite of the bunch. I like the legs and the skirt. It felt like I was breaking out of a rut or something.  I am looking for more images that will help me stretch and do different things.

I couldn't resist using the colored windows background on several pages. I thought it tied them together nicely, even though they are all really different pages.  Obviously, I love the multicolored nature of them and they are just so vibrant. It helped some of the more muted colors show up better.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Rogers

I have to admit to you all that I was not a fan of Mr. Rogers as a child. He had a number of strikes against him out of the gate: 1. My sister loved him 2. He spoke in a quiet voice 3. I had seen Sesame Street and The Electric Company first

Now that I'm an adult, I respect and admire Fred Rogers for his love of children and his ability to be a stable and consistent presence in a world that can be so chaotic for kids (and adults, for that matter).

I was reminded today that it is Mr. Rogers' birthday and my friend added a lovely quote that I thought was worth sharing: "Why in the world couldn't we use this thing called television for the broadcasting of grace through the land"~Fred Rogers (March 20, 1928 - February 27, 2003)

Below is a video of the Daytime Emmy Awards 1997 Presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to Fred Rogers and his acceptance speech. Lovely.

"Over the Rainbow" and other songs

The makers of "GLEE" did something BRILLIANT on their second DVD set for the first year (they should add it for the first part of the season, too). In the extras, they added a "Glee Music Jukebox" so that if you want to just listen to all the music without watching each episode, you can do that. It is such a great idea.  Sometimes, I want something in the background, but I don't always want to watch something.

Today, I was in need of some tune out time, so I put on the Glee Jukebox and had a field day.  There are some spectacular songs on the set. The ones that really got me tonight (and usually do) were "One Less Bell to Answer/A House is Not a Home", "To Sir With Love" and the ukulele version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".  The last two always get me teared up. Tonight, I remembered that the first time I heard that version was on an episode of "ER" when Mark Greene died. I went on YouTube and found that version (although it is a montage and not the original scene it was from).

"Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole with scenes from "ER"


There is just something so soothing about an afternoon with music. It was very, very nice.

Clock Watching Doesn't Work

Today, I was ready to go home by 3:30pm...not that I didn't have anything to do - I just was sort of done.   I always feel guilty when I start feeling like that. I was discombobulated all week and everyone could tell - a couple of people said, "What's wrong with you?" in a laughing way because I didn't know what day it was or I looked confused when they asked me questions. Then, today, while I was on a conference call, my eyes decided they were tired and I got all squinty for the rest of the day, so it made me look tired. When people tell you, "Wow, you look tired", you start to feel tired. Hence my tiny stint of clock-watching.

What is funny about clock-watching for me is that I feel guilty about it so I start looking for projects and usually, those clock-watching days end up being days that I stay even later than normal. This was no exception.  I finally landed on writing a weekly update (which I have been remiss in doing for a month or more) and ended up not leaving work about an hour after I had planned.  I don't mind, though, because it does mean that I wasn't slacking off and I don't feel as bad for wanting to leave at 3:30pm when I stayed until 6:30pm.

Horoscope for this week

I read my TV Guide Horoscope this week and it was exactly...no, I mean EXACTLY what happened. I have to go dig it out and then I will post it here. It freaked me out a little. *sigh*.

I feel a little guilty that I didn't plan something at work for St. Patrick's Day. I have some folks who don't celebrate holidays and now I'm just a bit stumped about what to do. When I'm stumped, I tend to...forget things. I almost didn't even wear green - nothing was clean. I finally settled on a green scrunchie for my pony tail.

**Correction:  The horoscope is for March 21 - April 3 (TV Guide comes out ahead of time. I still think this is prophetic:  " Radical changes, most likely involving your career, will occur over the next few weeks.  Be mentally and physically prepared to move in a new direction at a moment's notice. If you truly want to thrive, rather than simply survive, you've got to be flexible."

Like a Hole in My Head

So, after an emotionally eventful day, I went to the Aaron Brothers Art store (I don't think I got the name right) where I was looking for frames for some work stuff.  I didn't find the frames I needed, but I DID stumble into the aisle where they had Jim Holtz Idea-ology items for sale. Um. Hello!  I LOVE his stuff but thus far, I have avoided being in a store with said items. Not true today. I had to buy some stuff. I bought a little more than I should have, but it was less money than I rounded when I was calculating, so that's good.  I need more stuff for my art journal like I need a hole in my head. I mean, really. BUT I'm so excited and this little bit of retail therapy made me feel a little better.

On the health front, I feel like I'm coming down with something. :( Hopefully, it is brief and almost over. It isn't bad - just not feeling quite right.

I was going to do some art stuff today but I got caught up doing some stuff on Facebook and then I watched American Idol.  Set up for art takes too long to start it at 10:00pm, so I just decided to wait until tomorrow. I'm excited to use some of the new stuff.

Strange Morning Dream

I slept like a log last night and woke up at 6:00am to my alarm clock, but I didn't hear the alarm because I was still hearing a dream I was having.  In my dream, the alarm didn't ring - it was the soft, sweet voice of a Japanese girl reciting haiku to me. When I woke up, I heard her voice say, "Write this down", but I didn't remember the haiku.  I think I must have hit snooze or something and went back to sleep to see if she would tell me the haiku again.  This happened 3 times, I woke again at 6:12am, 6:18am and 6:40am. Finally, the last time, when I woke, I didn't hear the alarm going off again, I just heard her voice saying, "Do everything you need to do, every day." 

The content of the dream is vague - I can see images but I don't really know what was happening. There was definitely a Roby sensibility to it - there was a portion where I was trying on clothes and he was urging me to try something new.

When I was finally able to really detatch from the dream and see the time, I was running about 10 minutes later than I usually would on Tuesdays.  I hurried to get ready, but everything seemed very slow and quiet - almost like I was in a bubble or something. When I finally left my house (on time, might I add), traffic was quieter than normal, it was a little darker (DST), and I was able to make good time and get to my job with plenty of time.

So, all in all, I have had a strange sense following me all day. "Do everything you need to do, every day."  Something I need to think about, obviously.

Evaluating Daily Blogging

I have to stop waiting until right before bed to blog. I think that is part of my unrest - by this time of night, I don't have a lot to say - my brain is tired.  I blog late because it really is the only time that I can count on regularly.  When I have tried writing when I get home from work, the time varies too much, I get busy, or I'm tired or it makes me want to write about work. I don't want to write about work. It isn't that interesting. That's why I keep the blog - to find other parts of my life and keep that interesting.

Anyway, that's what I've been thinking about recently.

I guess it is back to the same old complaint I have had - I'm better with a theme! :)

On My Mind Lately

I went out briefly today to get gas and run to the store and I heard a clip on the radio from a young woman who was inspired to become a teacher because her mother had been a teacher for 30 years.  She talked about the hours (7am-6pm and work at home, on the weekends), money of her pocket, lesson plans, grading, commitment, passion and none of it was a complaint. She was proud of her work and the only thing she said was that she hoped the work teachers did wasn't undervalued.  A husband was talking to the radio show host and could barely hold back tears as he talked about the commitment his wife had to her special education students.  When we stop caring about the education and care of our children, we are definitely in trouble as a culture.

My heart goes out to those in New Zealand and in Japan and all the places impacted by the earthquakes and tsunamis and by the potential issues with the nuclear power plants.

Sometimes, I get overwhelmed by all the problems and tragedies in our world. I didn't feel overwhelmed today - just thoughtful. Just wondering how to participate without politicizing, how to help without growing fatigued. There is so much need and so much to do. I know we can pull through and help others. That's the good part. People step up when there is the most need. Sometimes it takes something tragic to step outside of ourselves, but if it works, then that is the lesson we have to take from it all.

Art Journal Pages Part II this week

For some reason, I had some problems posting pictures this week. I'm hoping I will be able to get the last couple of art journal pages up here for today.  I don't know why the Blogger in Draft sometimes gives me fits with photos. :(

Anyway, here are the photos of the last couple of pages I did. Not done, I think, but they are a start.

Yes, the photo is Anne Hathaway. It was in an Elle or Vogue magazine, but I thought it was a lovely photo of her, so I decided to use it.

Catching Up!!

Hey all you loyal friends out there - I have been doing stuff for the blog, just not getting to it this week to get everything typed in.  I will get caught up over the weekend and will be back in the regular, daily saddle online again.  Sometimes, it is just easier to do the handwritten thing for a few days.

Thanks for your support and for your visits!  More soon!

Photo Finish!

I was finally able to catch up my photos a little tonight, but it took me a little while to get them onto the blog...

First, I have the photos of the hysterical kitchen brush and gloves I received as a gift from some friends at a dinner party back in February. Good clean fun!

I can't stand the smell of the gloves, though. I left them in my car for a day after I got them and the odor was NOXIOUS.  I have to get them all soaped up and use them a few times and that weird plastic smell will go away. :)

Here are some photos of the pages I did over the weekend:

Wednesday is Hump Day

I woke up today and I wasn't even sure what day it was. I have a phone meeting scheduled on Wednesday mornings and it is the most likely day for me to be discombobulated and I'm NEVER where I need to be for the call. Today, I was driving, made the call and had to pull over when I realized I couldn't talk and drive at the same time. I'm glad that I'm smart enough to realize that I couldn't make both happen today. Sometimes you can have the "how are you? I'm on my way conversations" or the listening to the other person talk conversations in the car, but not the important, "what's going on at work? Where do you need help? What are your goals?" kind of talk.  At least I can't.

It is funny how things have evolved over time - we went from not talking on phones in the car because we didn't have them, then when I got a cell phone, I talked on the phone all the way down to Monmouth 3 times a week (it was a bad time in my life).  Then the shine wore off of cell phones, so less talking while driving. Then there was the whole smart phone creation and the period of time where I worked at night and I was expected to keep up on the daytime stuff even though I didn't start officially until 3:30pm.  I texted in the car, did conference calls in the car, etc.  In 2008, a law in Washington changed that you couldn't text in the car or have the cell phone in your hand while driving. Can I say that I was never so happy?  In preparation for the inplementation of the law, I just put my cell phone in my purse and stopped answering anything while in the car.  I was HYPER vigilante about it for a long time. Now, I will listen to a conference call or talk on the phone with my earpiece if I HAVE TO, but with the understanding that at the first sign of trouble, I throw it down and call back when I'm not mobile.

Anyway, this is what was on my mind today...

Tuesday Tidbit

Well, it is kind of amazing how easily you can change your habits in a short amount of time...not in a good way though.  Why is it that within the space of a week (less than a week), I can get out of the habit of blogging here each day but can't break other habits that quickly?  It is kind of irritating.  I'm glad I have started carrying around a little notebook though, so that I can jot down my thoughts as needed.  It is important to me to write something every day as a commitment to myself.  It is the only one I have been able to keep steadily for a long time, so I am determined not to break that one.

Back to Real Life, I guess

Trips and the like always unsettle me even when they are good. It just takes me some time to settle back into my life and my schedule.

The weekend was good - did some art but I had left my camera at work, so I will post some pics in the next couple of days or so.  I'm still trying to find a groove for daily art, but I'm just not there yet.

Started reading "Tiger's Curse" by Colleen Houck when I was in the airport for my trip - I have it on my Kindle, although I want to purchase hard cover copies since I know the author.  It is fun to read something written by someone I know - it is so amazing what she has accomplished in a short time. I haven't done too much reading since the trip, but I will get back to it.

Getting ready to interpret "Billy Elliott" in April.  For some reason, I'm dragging my feet on this one but I really liked the movie. I know it will be fine - I just have to find a hook into the music. Tomorrow night, OPB is showing "Finding Billy Elliott" about the search for the boys who took the roles on. I think that will be one fun way to get attached to the show.

Anyway, that's all for now. I have staff meetings tomorrow, so I have to be ready for them. They aren't hard to do - just takes a little extra energy and "on" time. Off to bed!

Sundays are good days

I love Sundays. It is the designated day that I get to kind of do what I want. I have rehearsal today (really, splitting the script), but other than that, I can do what I'd like and I don't have to feel guilty.

Going to do a little art, watch some "24" and maybe watch my "Les Miserables" concert since it is on PBS tonight.

Ah. Time off is good.

Connections

I'm not sure I have mentioned this project here, but here is a lovely video giving you a taste of www.3X3X365.blogspot.com.

Please watch the video. It is beautiful.

When I watched the video, it just made me think of all the connections we have and that we don't think about. All the ways that we touch each other's lives when we aren't even thinking that we do. Some small thing we say, some small gesture, small help, small kindness and we make a giant ripple that we never even know occurred. This is so important - not only to help me be more conscious of myself, but to remember that when I operate from a place of goodness, even if I don't see it, it might make a difference somewhere - even where I least expect it.

Week End

This week has really been good but also squeezed the life out of me. I'm tired and my brain is a little sore from cramming so much into it.

I have been away from the computer for much of the week and I have to say that I didn't miss it all that much with the exception of a few minor moments. It may take me a little time to get myself back on track and to find a new balance.

I'm behind on a class I'm taking, on my art journal, on a couple of other items. It will be fine - just have to get in rhythm again.

Rant about Embedded Video Sizes

I don't know when YouTube changed the format of their videos so that when you embed them, they are huge. I can't figure out how to get them to be smaller. That is one reason I often post videos on the "Video Inspiration" page just so that they are in one place and they don't look so weird when they are bumped up against other posts.

That's all. That's my rant.

Beautiful

Several of my Facebook friends posted this today, so I thought I would bring it over here:



I love Poetry Slams. I love that I am getting back into some of my old passions. It feels good to feel that excitement again.

Back to Reality

I'm back.  I'm extraordinarily tired - long weekend, lots of traveling.  I had a good weekend and a good work summit.  I have some posts that I wrote while I was away and I will be posting them in the next couple of days. For now, I'm going to post this excellent video that I saw today and then I'm going to bed.

"You Are Spectacular" from Kind Over Matter:

Last Day, Home, More Airports

Wow! I'm toast. I stayed up WAY TOO LATE last night. A bunch of folks were in the lounge and we sat around telling "One thing You don't know about me" stories and "My worst interpreting moment" stories. It was good, clean fun. It is so nice to get to know people a little more personally. Nothing like some good story-telling to get things off to a good start.

Didn't really have a good night sleeping, so I'm really tired today. Luckily, my box arrived and I was able to hand out my little gifties. Just some stuff from www.tut.com that I thought might make people feel good. Kind of goofy, but that's me.

I wish I had stayed one more night and then had flown out tomorrow, but I didn't do it that way. My friend was there right as I stepped outside to call her and we were on our way back to Sacramento - about 2 hours and 45 minutes in traffic. I was hoping for time to have dinner with she and her partner, but it was not to be. I can't get to the airport late - it freaks me out. The last few times I've flown, I've miscalculated the time and I just don't want to do that again. One time I was the LAST person on the plane. Ick.

So I got here and the plane is delayed by about 15 minutes. Not bad. I was trying to do some work on my sidekick but I kept falling asleep. I'm writing this now because it is a little more active than typing on a tiny keyboard. I can't wait to get home and get some sleep.