Mixed field greens

9:54:52 PM      trackback [] 

Astro Zen

For my Buddhist friends, from StarIQ:

The astrology chart is a mandala that can be used as both an object of meditation and a way to discover the cause of our problems. The planets, signs and houses indicate clearly the mental conditioning that has distorted our way of perceiving life and is causing difficulty... The energy of the signs, as we know, can be expressed both positively and negatively. Negative expression occurs when we are acting or reacting in a conditioned state. Astrology and Zen together can help us decondition ourselves and express the positive energy of the signs... [more]

9:53:19 PM      trackback [] 

9/11 birthdays

Last night, my former housemate C came over after work for dinner and we had a nice chat after not being able to get together for months. I may drive down to Providence and have lunch with her tomorrow, my birthday. Because of the turn of events in my love life, my plans for my birthday, the actual day anyway, are up in the air. I have tentative plans to see another friend in the evening. My current housemate will also be around. I’m not worried. I’ve had much worse things happen to my birthday.

Three years ago, I was getting ready to go shopping on that beautiful, clear fall day. I’d celebrated my birthday with my parents on Sunday and returned home Monday. Work hadn’t picked up yet from the slow summer, so Tuesday I was going to take the spending money my parents gave me and go buy myself something. Overhearing on the radio about a fire at one of the WTC towers in New York, I turned on the TV just to see what was going on. And I never stopped watching.

That afternoon, my friend T dropped by with my present and some flowers. In the evening, Carol met me at a Chili’s and we sat rather dumbfounded drinking our beers. I suppose we ate something. In the following days, my friends were all with their families and loved ones. I could have gone up to stay with my folks, but they’re not easy for me to be with when I’m unhappy. I was also still pining for someone who’d broken up with me. I didn’t have any work to keep me occupied, so I spent a lot of time pacing the floors and watching TV. Wednesday night, my yoga class lit candles and we had a very quiet, meditative session that felt good. Friday night I invited a few local friends over for dinner; one friend couldn't make it because she had to sing at a memorial service, another was working overtime because his company had business in one of the towers, but T made it. I baked a cake. It was the night we all put candles in our windows.

The following year, people were still keeping the 9/11 date pretty sacred. A guy I’d been seeing off and on drove out from Boston to take me out to dinner, which was sweet. The restaurant was practically empty. The Onion ran a humorous piece that year called “Second Birthday in a Row Ruined by Terrorism.”

Today I’m having lunch with a couple of friends, tonight K and I will watch the grand finale of our telenovela (whoops, turns out it's got another week - it's just feeling interminable!), tomorrow I will see other friends, and Sunday I will drive up to NH to see my folks. And… on Tuesday I will celebrate my blogiversary! I’m still deciding what to do to mark that occasion.

Have a nice weekend, everyone.

10:12:56 AM      trackback []