SpaceKitty Wanderings

• extreme exhaustion
• nausea
• muscle pain, usually in upper body, but in his case it was in his legs.

8:36:17 AM  comment []    

• gift from the sea, anne morrow lindberg.  written the 50s, a white middle-class housewife who takes a two week break for herself to write and reflect. surprisingly insightful and relevant.  beautifully-crafted writing.   "...woman must come of age by herself--she must find her true center alone."
• omnivore's delight, michael pollin.  a follow up to the barbara kingsolver book.
• golden gate gardening.  a classic.  i went to go pick the squash flowers from the garden, inspired by a recipe to fry them, but they were covered in black bugs :(. 
  
• writing down the bones, natalie goldberg.  a classic how-to writing book.
• the prophet--kahlil gibran.  i tried reading this while in high school.  perhaps i will get more out of it now that i've lived longer.
• playful perception, herbert leff.  a book i picked up in college, but never read.  has really neat exercises for changing your perception of the world.  i just "discovered" 10 new details in my bathroom. spend a couple minutes...  amazing how much you don't see what's in plain sight!

11:53:19 PM  comment []    

Scorcher is the turn of the century term for those who rode their bikes too fast. Women, in particular, were not to exceed 7 miles per hour and ride upright to prevent "stimulation" (heh heh).

At first bicycles were impractical for women, given their confining clothes, but as the bicycling caught on and the machinery was refined, more women began riding. This gave women more freedom to roam than ever before, and paved the way for more practical clothes like bloomers. While pants on women are commonplace today, it was shocking at the time.

Bicycles have done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world, said Susan B. Anthony in 1896. "I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance."

10:25:53 AM  comment []    

• A woman is like a tea bag--you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.
• Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.
• Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.
• Friendship with oneself is all-important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.
• Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.
• I could not at any age be content to take my place in a corner by the fireside and simply look on.
• I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision.
• If someone betrays you once, it[base ']s their fault; if they betray you twice, it[base ']s your fault.
• It is not fair to ask of others what you are unwilling to do yourself.
• Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both.
• Learn from the mistakes of others. You can[base ']t live long enough to make them all yourself.
• You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
• No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
• People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.

8:29:30 PM  comment []    

• ****2 gallons/day per person of water, changed every 6 mo.*****
• non-perishable food
• first aid kit, flashlight, am radio (kcbs 740 am), fire extinguisher, and small bill cash stash
• tool to turn off gas (**only turn off if you smell gas**)
• car always with at least 1/2 tank
• other useful items: camping stove, tent supplies, matches, garbage bag (can use these in toilet bowl to collect waste).
  

3:14:25 PM  comment []    

What I dislike the most about this "philosophy" is that it depoliticizes discussions by negating how class, gender, race, etc. impact our lives. No, I do not limit myself because of these categories, but I do face different challenges or privileges because of them. And depending on if something good or bad happened it's self-righteous or blaming. So in this line of thinking: if you are hit by a car or are raped, didn't get the job you wanted, you must have manifested it. If you get the house you dreamed of, you manifested it. It's so appealing to believe in because it gives the illusion of CONTROL.

Here's what I believe: You can create a lot of your reality, both in your brain and external world. And the power of positive thinking can go a long ways. If you sound confident (whether you are or not) people are more likely to put their trust in you, thereby building your own confidence. And once you start setting your intentions in a certain direction, that can open the door to possibilities.

There are also forces/energy outside your control in the outside world (ahhh, chaos, in turn brilliant or terrifying). For example, what if I was born in a part of the world with no access to drinking water? born with no legs? or born a woman in a fundamentalist islamic country? Despite my best manifesting, my reality would be *very* different than it is now.

Ultimately, this whole "manifest"-o is limiting and superficial: the world has so much more to offer than what any of us could ever imagine!
1:31:06 PM  comment []    

thanks, marta!
2:34:49 PM  comment []    

anatomy of restlessness--my friend nick says that this book will make me want to travel. bring it on!

the experience of insight--a book on buddisht meditation. i've been chewing away at this one for a few months. very good primer on the subject. thanks vadan!
4:25:35 PM  comment []    

he was a graduate of the kpfa's affirmative action radio training program , which is the same place that i originally trained in radio years before. as one of his mentors, he gave me a piece to critique. it was about a little boy in a wwII japanese internment camp who snuck out on a garbage truck in order to get ice cream in town. i love stories like that, pulling you into the personal (a little boy's desire), revealing the political (lack of freedom and racism).

we went on group trips together, one to the hopi reservation in arizona, another to a conference in chicago. i wish i had pictures of him on these trips, but the computer they were stored on was stolen. such is life.

one of the most memorable moments we had together was when i commissioned (for the radio program i worked for at the time) his first piece for national radio, which went onto win an award. it was about carlos mauricio, a survivor of torture in el salvador. again the personal is political kind of story.

goodbye jon. i'll miss you.
3:55:28 PM  comment []    

the one i watched last night was called "off the grid," where they took annoying city folks and stuck them in this eco-community in minnesota called "dancing rabbit." i've heard about "dancing rabbit" for years, so it was neat to see how they run their land: solar power, hu-manure composting toilet, veggie fuel for the car, fire stove for hot shower, grow all their food.

they said if everyone in the u.s. changed one of their lightbulbs to incandescent that's enough to get rid of one nuclear plant. so today i replace the burnt out kitchen bulb with an eco bulb, how exciting! every little bit...

another episode worth watching is the one where they put a devout christian in a muslim community.
9:14:00 AM  comment []    

Pie assembly experience, good manual dexterity and math skills.

Now there's a job description for which I wish I had the skills! This is a position listed at my favorite bakery, crixa. mmmm. tiramisu....

seems odd writing about sweets when the world is such a mess.
10:56:39 AM  comment []    

*When making a big decision or going through transition, slow down so that you can be in harmony with that decision. When you make a decision with the mind you become unbalanced and that' where the fear is. Wait until it's ripe, like a fruit being picked from a tree. Enjoy the process, the getting there should be as fun as the end product.

*yogic love takes a lot of time and commitment to truth-telling.

*expand to include within self the outside world. A boundaryless way of being in the universe is masked by the mind which is connected to our separateness.

*an empty place in the head is the best place for listening.

*stay with truth, not consistency, even if others do not understand.
9:54:09 AM  comment []    

right now i am listening to my new station based on plaid. garooovey!
9:15:35 AM  comment []    

*ushering to see plays or dance for free

*work exchange at yoga studio

*making food at home, only allowing for fresh vegetables, otherwise i must use up what i already have in the house. this has spawned some creative and tasty meals.

*biking everywhere (next step is to sell car, still chewing on that one)

any more ideas?
9:04:47 PM  comment []    

also great for making silly art projects! big letter stickers, piles of mah-jong sets, and photos of people you'll never know. dirt cheap.
2:07:43 PM  comment []    

i have too much stuff. well, probably not compared to most, but as i get ready for move #4 in the past year and a half, i am trying to purge things that are literally weighing me down. oh the mind demons i am fighting. i am definitely the 'what if' kind of gal, but that's a burden. hence the finger tatoos.

how far will i go? we shall see. i've got some help (from my local library) clear your clutter with feng shui by Karen Kingston. Yes, it has some silly stories about people who've cleared their stuff and then won the lottery. but it also has very practical advice for those like me who put way too much energy and fear onto every item. letting go of the old invites in new.
2:02:30 PM  comment []    

get and give away stuff for free
12:46:58 AM  comment []    

*save lots of money by not buying bottled water (how did we get snookered into buying water?!)

*supports water as a public right--not a commodity for private companies.

*completely re-usable. even if you recycle the plastic, it's toxic to recycle, and is only re-used once (i.e. sent to china and turned into a jacket) landing right back into the landfill.

*no standards on the bottled water, so not necessarily without chemicals.

*plastic bottles, even the nalgene, leaches into the water. it's an estrogen mimicker. ickk.

*people ask about my jar (with cute turtle sticker on it), so it's a good moment to connect and share another way of being on the planet.

*it's nice to drink outta glass, tastes better.

i've been giving friends the jars with an 'om' sticker on it. so if Masuro Emoto is correct, then they are drinking peace. in any case, i like the symbolism.
10:47:06 AM  comment []