Rah-rah 2008!

Have fun & be safe! See ya next year...

----------------
Now playing: rufus wainwright - what are you doing new year's eve?

Last weekend of '07

All of the Christmas decorations are once again packed away. I've stopped listening exclusively to my Holiday-themed playlists. All the due laundry is done, the casa has been tidied up, and all of my household affairs are confidently in good order following a thorough post-Holiday scrub. All in all, a pretty productive weekend. Not too productive, of course. Next, I just need to decide what (if anything) to do on NYE. I'll sleep on it; that sounds like a good enough plan for now ;)
----------------
Now playing: iron & wine - faded from the winter

Art time perk III

Frida Kahlo at the Walker. Excellent exhibit! Our visit today had an interesting beginning...

We enter the Walker to get our passes, and there are three ticket people all sitting at the same desk ready to take our money. My sister goes to the first one who looked up at us, and I stood behind her expecting one of the two others to soon help me. I look at each of them in turn, and they both smile brightly back at me; they were clearly not busy. After several of these back-and-forth glances with them both, the man--as if some hidden timer had suddenly gone off--chirpily announces & motions that he can "now" help me "right over here", which is less than a half-sidestep to my right...

So, I hand over my money, and then turn to watch my sister get her aluminum ticket tab -- just when you'd expect the ticket-chick to say something like "Thanks, enjoy the show" or "Please remember there's no flash photography", she instead flatly states:
"Solar panels blinding canyon boulder."
Pause. "Errr... I'm sorry, what was that again?"
"Solar panels blinding canyon boulder."
Another pause. "OK... Thanks", said my sister as she stepped off to the side, and fiddled with putting her ticket tab on. The ticket-chick turned slightly, and contentedly grinned at a blank wall. I exchanged a quick "WTFO?" glance with my sister. Out of the corner of my eye, I see ticket-dude reaching across with my ticket tab, and when I turn to accept it, he says:
"Duck hat fetching pencil car."
"Yes, of course. Thank you", I quickly responded, not in the mood to hear him repeat it, or give him the pleasure of asking him to repeat it. However, I must admit I did have a strong urge to punch him in the face. Odd.

So, do any of you cultured peeps out there in Bloggersphere know what this was all about?!? Were we simply the unwitting prank victims of three bored, grinning-idiot ticket minions? Or was this some sort of new David Lynch -inspired coded greeting? I've never before had an employee there speak unintelligible drivel to me, and purposefully instigated discombobulation doesn't seem like a practice the Walker would advocate. Meh, I don't get it - but we pressed on...

The exhibit itself was fantastic; I didn't realize how much of a messed-up life Frida had, and some of her art very clearly reflects that. I myself found her self-portraits with various monkeys particularly disquieting for whatever reason, as if The Two Fridas and The Dream (to name just a couple!) weren't perplexing enough. Her perceptions on many things, including America's "obsession with plumbing and sports", in My Dress Hangs There are quite thought-provoking. All are very interesting pieces, to say the least. I'm never not surprised at the depth & breadth of any given artist's work when I go to an exhibit. I'd like to know more about some of her specific pieces I saw today; I'll have to see what I can find on the 'net. One of my good friends from work was going to see family in Mexico City over the Holidays, and she mentioned that she would try to see Frida's house - I'll be curious to find out if she did. I highly recommend checking this exhibit out before it ends on 20 Jan - well worth it!
----------------
Now playing: fiona apple - sullen girl

Thank you, family!

What a wonderful Christmas it has been. It was good to see most of the family unit over the last two days. Shaun, Katie & The Boys are safely off on their annual winter-break adventure, and despite a minor auto accident (no details yet), Karin, Chris & their gang have checked in after safely arriving down south to see his father. For the rest of us, it's been some great quality time together. As usual, there was far too much food, and we all ate far too much as a result. And we laughed - a few of us narrowly cheated a premature death from choking fits, we laughed so hard. Ah yes, good times, good times...

We roll'd dem bones whilst playing two rounds of The Wonderful Christmas Spirit Sharing & Giving Game a.k.a. The Evil Thievin' Game this year, and that is always good humor. Memorable paraphrased quotes from the various gift exchanges:

"Oh wait... Stop, stop unwrapping! That's so-and-so's gift... Here, you just take this over here instead."
"How much time is left? ... 10 minutes ... But there was 10 minutes left 5 minutes ago..."
"I can see the latino influence... It's there... Look closer."
"No, really, you can have the bowls. No, you ... No, you ..."
"OK, so who's gonna take the coffeemaker? Seriously."
"Is that black toilet paper? Nice!"
"You just took them?!?" (re: the infamous booty of Target gift cards)
"Yes, of course you can use them for that. See, they're 'multi-purpose' wipes..."
"Your salt-&-pepper shakers are molting."
... I know I'm forgetting some other winners, but that's a taste.

A big thanks to my awesome family for yet another great Christmas!
----------------
Now playing: ella fitzgerald - have yourself a merry little christmas

Wrapping-challenged

Ugh. I am the worst gift-wrapper in the world. No skills. Yeah, mine look nothing like that picture. And I'm just using newspaper, so that isn't helping my case here at all. My family is going to get a good laugh out of this buffoonery...
----------------
Now playing: elvis - santa claus is back in town

Happy Holidays!

I wish everyone out there a very Merry Christmas!

Godspeed if you are traveling - be safe!
----------------
Now playing: leonard cohen - hallelujah

Pay it forward

One night this week, I volunteered to assist at a Holiday celebration hosted by a local organization that helped me get back on my feet with finding a job. I have done some volunteer work for them in the past (but it's been a while), so when I saw the invitation to help, I said "yes", although I didn't know any details. As it turns out, this was a Holiday party for primarily single-parent families who are in transitional sober housing, or are getting program support for domestic abuse, dual-diagnosis, etc. Despite not having any experience with these recovery-specific services offered by this organization, I was grateful for the chance to give back for the invaluable job-placement assistance they provided me.

I came over straight from work, and the shindig was in full swing - Santa was there for the kids, there was a cookie 'decorating' area, a crafts area, karaoke available for Holiday songs, bingo, and other activities. Since I wasn't a regular face in these other programs, I had several people approach me and ask who I was, why I was there, etc. I enjoyed talking with everyone I had the opportunity to. Most were surprised to learn that I was in recovery myself: "But you don't look like it!" was something I heard more than once - haha! if only they'd seen me 1.5 years ago! It ended up being a wonderful 12th Step opportunity - I shared pertinent parts of my recovery journey with people, and I hope it benefited them as much as it did me.

One adolescent boy timidly approached me as I was watching a group play bingo (as sugared-up tots excitedly darted to-and-fro with their decorative craft-project paper reindeer antlers swinging wildly), looked me over, and said "You must think we're all crazy." I laughed and said, "Oh, not at all... In fact, if anyone here is crazy, it's me -- heck, I even still have my locked-up-in-the-psych-ward paperwork to prove it!". We ended up having a great talk about where he was at, what options were available to him, etc. When he had to leave, he said "Thank you", and the sincerity of it made my day.

I left that night very grateful - grateful for the miracle that is the 12-Step program of AA, grateful to all of the amazing people who have supported me in my recovery journey, and grateful for the gift of unexpected opportunities to pay it forward.

A work in progress...
----------------
Now playing: social distortion - story of my life

:)

"OK, I'll talk! Just NO more 'elf yourself' emails!!!"

----------------
Now playing: helmet & house of pain - just another victim

Art time perk II

On Saturday, I got to spend some quality time with various family members, all with the added bonus of gettin' my arts & culture on. In the morning, I went with Margo and Katie to see the Georgia O'Keefe exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Details on the exhibit here. Fantastic show! My favorite painting there was a small still life of a fig, titled appropriately "fig". Isn't it interesting what different people find appealing & attractive? All of her work was beautiful, of course. I enjoyed our discussions of what she was trying to convey in her various abstract paintings - good fun!

That evening, most of the family unit went to see one of my Mom's concerts. She is in the Twin Cities Community Gospel Choir, and her love for music & singing is beautifully apparent when she is on stage. The Good Lord knows I don't have much of an ear for music (yeah, that gene definitely skipped over me!), but you couldn't help but be caught up in the genuine enthusiasm generated by the choir & their clear passion for the music. A most joyous and energetic Holiday celebration! Good times, good times...

I still have yet to go see the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Walker before that show ends in January. I'm looking forward to that!
----------------
Now playing: alison krauss - down to the river to pray

The road to hell...

Some say the road to hell is paved with good intentions (or unbought stuffed dogs, if you are a Hemingway fan), and I see plenty of truth in that. Whether it's those little white lies given under the guise of 'protecting' someone from a perceived-to-be inconsequential or unnecessarily painful truth, or it's simply not taking the right & proper action. I'm indisputably capable of being smugly satisfied with knowing the 'right' answer or having a 'good plan', but do I take timely action? As the 12x12 reminds me (p 67), "Consider, too, our [as alcoholics] talents for procrastination, which is really sloth in five syllables." Indeed!

Anyway, what's gotten me thinking about this recently is the fact that I've heard from some old friends recently - and what a true blessing & wonderful Holiday gift that is! Although I have had intentions of contacting them eventually, I hadn't taken action. I could list off any number of excuses for not doing so, but as one of my friends pointed out at a recent AA meeting, "a road 1000 miles long also has 2000 miles of ditch", and I certainly fell in the ditch somewhere with my grand plan of contacting old buds.

So, my friends, thanks for pulling me out of the ditch - it's nice to be back! Your support and goodwill are greatly appreciated! ;)

A work in progress...
----------------
Now playing: the decemberists - sons & daughters

Mr. Yuk & Letting Go

Resentment is a poison we take hoping the other person will suffer

AA's Big Book (p 64) reminds me that when it comes to the defeat of self, "Resentment is the 'number one' offender. It destroys more alcoholics than anything else. From it stems all forms of spiritual disease, for we have been not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick. When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically."

When I am mad or resentful with something, I am in denial of the fact that I am practicing self defeat. The true victory in these discontented circumstances is not the fulfillment of some form of karmic 'justice', rather it's when I take back complete control of my thoughts & emotions and decide that I am going to move on as a wiser, healthier, & stronger person. Really, what other choice do I have??? To continue to let this person or situation take up space rent-free in my head and thus consume my valuable time & energy? Or do I remove that intrusion to my serenity by letting it go? I cannot control God's will for the situation, so why (at such a great cost to myself) do I commonly fantasize about doing so?  Crazy, ain't it?

A work in progress...
----------------
Now playing: iron & wine - upward over the mountain

The office Holiday party

Yep, we had that shindig tonight. Very impressive setup; it was quite the nice time. But I'm very glad I left as early as I did - I saw enough developments underway that'll keep the rumor mill gleefully buzzing for the foreseeable future. Haha, have I mentioned recently that I'm soooo happy that I don't drink anymore? Could be pretty interesting tomorrow morning... Who needs TV when you have quality drama like this? ;)
----------------
Now playing: run dmc - christmas in hollis

You would think...

...that a set of keys would make some noise if they were to be gobbled up & spit out by a small snowblower.

Not so much.

I was just finishing the big pile left by the plows at the front of the driveway when I look over at the snowbank and notice two broken parts of (what appear to be) my thin foldable earmuffs sticking out. "Ugh", I thought, "I guess they fell out of my pocket, and I must've run over them. How did I not notice that?!?", I chastised myself. As I begin to pat my jacket pocket to confirm they were indeed mine, I simultaneously notice both a lack of my familiar key jingle-jangle, and see part of a 'whoop-whoop' car key fob laying in the snow not far from my earmuff.

"Oh boy." That mild realization was followed by a hissed string of expletives that would make any Herk crewdawg proud as I dived into the snowbank furiously sifting for my keys... any keys... a key... anything! I did find the broken key ring itself, which confirmed my worst fears - all of the keys were separated and scattered. Ugh.

Fortunately, all of the keys could be replaced, so nothing was lost forever. Who knows, I may even find a couple of them when the snow melts (St. Anthony? Are you taking notes up there? Pencil me in for next spring please...) Frustrating? Yes. End of the world? Hecks no. Today's lesson?  Zip up yer pockets! ;)  Life goes on!

----------------
Now playing: green day - basketcase

'Tis the season

Time to get out & shred the gnar! Or whatever the kids are calling it these days...
----------------
Now playing: jojo effect - the beat goes on

Let it snow!

----------------
Now playing: cocteau twins - winter wonderland