Tuesday, December 30, 2003
kmc posted this at: 01:06 p.m.Secret Santa results for 2003 . . .
Every year I participate in the Secret Santa program... and so this year I was eagerly awaiting the annoucement of who my receiver would be... on December 10th I got my recipient's information... his site, www. o y l a n d e r .com is very creative and colorful. Amuzing too. I've rather enjoyed reading his site! I am still awaiting news as to whether or not he received his gift... mail systems and all!! You never know!
And then conversely, I was the recipient for someone.... I was sent an email that revealed my Secret Santa for 2003.... her name is Becca Friedman and her site is My Site All About Me. So far all I know about her is that she's 34, she's a writer and a Mom who has her own business, loves to travel and camp. Her "blog" is fairly new... started on December 9th. I haven't received anything in the mail as of yet. And it doesn't appear as if anything has been purchased on my Amazon Wish List. I am wondering if maybe this was her first year participating in this event. Some people may not understand the whole concept of what they do on this Secret Santa thing. Ah well.... I had a blast on the giving side of it!!!
I think I am going to start a wild search thing... just start browsing blogs and do a certain number of ring links and then when I reach that specific number... that will be my own personal secret pal... and I will try to get to know the person and set up for a xmas fun thing! We shall see how that idea goes...
Well, I need to figure out something for lunch... not really hungry, but I know I should eat... hmmm, what to do... what to do.....
be well!
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Monday, December 29, 2003
kmc posted this at: 12:39 p.m.The Holiday Wrap-Up . . .
Wow, almost a week without posting anything... I've been busying myself with the holiday.... here's a quick day-by-day:
Dec 24th: Headed out of the house around 1pm... delivered Zoe's gift to her home. Then off to Heidi-N-Jeff's house. It was great... I got there while no one was home so I was able to unload the gifts and situate them around the tree! Then sat down for a nice relaxing book reading.
Dec 25th: Woke up by a nice 4.7 earthquake at 3:50 AM... stayed awake for a little while.... then back to sleep.... 2 hours later, children are up and ready to start hitting the gifts!! :) It's cute! So, by 6:30 AM everyone was up and ready to go. Thank goodness for coffee!! :) It helped get me going too. So, as it usually occurs... the gift opening frenzy seemed over in a flash and the kids were beaming! Unfortunately, Heidi was catching the flu that Jeff and Madison just got over, so she was tired. I occupied the children with games and such when I could to help out. Let Heidi rest for a bit. Dinner was wonderful, Sydney and Dennis arrived later to attend that. Dennis, too, had caught the same dreaded flu... ACK! That evening, we went to Heidi's parents' house to have the children open their gifts there. And then it was off to home for me.... realized that I had left my cell phone at Heidi's house as I was heading out.... AAAAHHH!!! I survived Friday and Saturday without it. When I got home, I did call Zoe from the house phone and let her know I was home... she wanted to drop off my gift to me since I had left hers at her home on Christmas Eve... she is soooo sweet! I received some very beautiful incense, a candle and a holder on which to place it! :) A wonderful ending to a really nice day. Great friends!!
Dec 26th: Another casual morning waking... then around 1:00 PM headed out to Simone-N-James's home. They had a few things they had to take care of so I decided to pick up a couple of last minute gift cards (NOTE: Best Buy is not a good place to go the very DAY after Christmas!! Un-be-lievable!!!) Also, I had noticed on the 23rd that my car was acting funny and then while driving on the 24th, sure enough, the check engine light came on... so I was kinda forced to deal with it Christmas day and then also on Friday. Ordered my part from the Volkwagen dealer in town... part SHOULD arrive Monday - they will call me when it gets in... RRRGGGHHH!! The parts counter guy tells me, "oh yeah, you can drive it around, that's okay.... you could just wrap duct tape around the broken tube".... ah the miracle of DUCT TAPE.... need to buy some duct tape though.... Sooooo, after dealing with that, I spent the rest of the day with Simone and James; they took me out to The Jewel of India. One of my favorite restaurants in San Luis Obispo! We had a great time... this was Simone's first time eating India cuisine. Everything was fabulous!
Dec 27th: While waiting for Simone to contact me about going to Santa Barbara, I decided to move my desk area around in my room... change of direction was good. Then, off to Santa Barbara to help Simone look for a dress. We stopped first in Arroyo Grande to look in a shop there, The Wardrobe. We saw many pretty ideas of things she wanted, but did not find a dress there for her. We went to lunch at a cafe up the street from there; bistro-deli type sandwiches. AND THEN, off to Ventura... the plan had changed... we were going to try to hit a couple shops in the Ventura and Camarillo areas. We met up with a friend of Simone's who was in town visiting her family. She went along on the dress-finding-mission since she knew the area fairly well. She also took us all out to dinner at the Woodhouse (I think that was the name of the restaurant)... great steakhouse! Everyone enjoyed their food! A lot of catching-up-conversatoins. And then by 10:30 PM (ish) we were on the road back towards home. It was 12:30 AM by the time we arrived at my home... what a long and fun-filled day! I have pictures that I will download!
Dec 28th: Rest, relaxation, and then off to work at the vet clinic... yes, at around 1:30 PM (see a theme?) Meandered home around 6:30 PM and then did more rest-n-relax stuff. Really need to look into a dresser for my room.... still dealing with clothing piles and stacks.... and then the mess from xmas wrappings! Getting organized STILL with the move in... it would REALLY help to get a dresser to help organize... soon.
All in all, I had a great time over the holiday. Lookng forward to the New Year celebrations! What a crazy fun time of year!
Well, today is back up in the rollie-tumblers... small aftershocks this morning kinda made the stomachs a little tense in the office again! I feel a little dizzy all day today; like my equilibrium is a bit off. It is amazing the number of aftershocks that we have had occur too... didn't really think it would be THIS MANY! But on a sad note there: Iran (at 179 degrees around the world from us, and about 6 degrees north), their 6.6 earthquake DEVASTATED an ancient city that obviously was still completely functioning as a full-on city. It was very sad to see the number of people who were injured or killed. Puts this into a different perspective. I am very happy that I am alive and well!
be joyous!
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Wednesday, December 24, 2003
kmc posted this at: 08:33 a.m.Aftershocks / / / / / / . . . .
So, I have become a little obsessed with the activity of the earth now.... something about feeling dizzy a lot lately can make one do that! So I've made a BOOKMARK to watch the activity since the earthquake. So far we have had (As of 8:31 am PST 12/24/03) 116 aftershocks of large magnitude (ranging from 3.0 to 4.9) and we have had 542 smaller aftershocks (ranging from 1.6 to 2.9 magnitude). Most of the smaller ones are barely felt at all. But the others feel like someone is rocking your waterbed... even if you don't own or happen to be sleeping on one at the time.
Yesterday while at work, it was much more difficult to stay focused on WORK when some of the larger aftershocks came rumbling through. At one point, my office mate even started to head for the doorway again... just incase it didn't stop! It was definitely a heart pounding moment. We finished our workday very well though. Things did stay pretty quite for the afternoon.
Today should keep me pretty well distracted... I will be dropping off gifts to one friend and then going to Nipomo to spend Eve and Xmas Day with her and her family. They are such a blessing to me. Truly happy to be friends with her!
The day after Xmas will be spent with yet another friend... a nice relaxing day to breathe, take in life, and just be!! I really enjoy time spent with her as well! I would say I have a great network (albeit small) of friends. There are those who come into your life and it's great to have made an acquaintence of them.... and then there are those who have come into your life and you are humbled that they have taken you in as well! I have all those kinds of friends. Ones that I don't get to speak with too often, but I know they care... and then the ones who insist on holidays, special occassions, and any fun, spur of the moment events.
So that is the thing that is on my mind this holiday season.... the blessings in friendships that are in my life (yes, the earthquake is still on my mind too).... :) But the important thing is that none of my friends were hurt or suffered severe injuries. I am glad they were safe!!!
And so as I head out for my holiday with friends.... I say thank you to all of you who have "checked in" on me.... and may each of you (and all my long-distance readers too) have a great and joyous holiday!!!
Much love be with all of you!!!!
be merry!
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Monday, December 22, 2003
kmc posted this at: 10:03 p.m.12-22-2003 Central Coast Earthquake. . .
First, I would like to thank everyone who called, emailed or tried to contact me today; I am well.... obviously frightened, but no harm came to me. Yes, it was a very powerful earthquake for the area. The Central Coast of California is not used to feeling such violent shaking... rolling or jitters, yeah, that has come through a couple times.... but today was different.
11:15 am: While at work, we noticed a slight gentle rolling motion.... something similar to the earthquake that had hit an inland city about a year before... but the rolling did not stop; it got stronger and after 15 seconds it changed from a dizzying rolling to an abrupt violent shaking. This continued for 30 seconds.... the longest 30 seconds of my life. After it subsided, we tried to make our way to make sure everyone in the office was okay.... there were tears amongst the ones frightened...I admit I was one of them.... the shock of what I had just gone through set in along with the collective conscious of the area and I was just overwhelmed with this fear of "oh, my god, is it really over?" We lost complete power in the office and there were numerous pictures and vases that had fallen and broken... no one was injured. Then the information and phone calls started pouring into the office. We found out that it was a 6.5 on the richter scale and the epicenter was located about 10 miles north of Cambria just outside of San Simeon (Hearst Castle).... We cleaned up the office a bit, rushing to the doors as soon as any aftershocks started rumbling.... I have heard as of this evening that we have experienced over 30 aftershock tremors already... and more are expected over the next week or so. After cleaning up the larger items, we were given permission to head home for the day... the power did not appear to be as though they could bring it back up at any time in the near business hours. Come to find out the power was slowly getting turned on in the Templeton and Paso Robles areas (the two areas hardest hit) between 5 pm and 7pm.
So, on my ride home I listened to the AM stations to get an idea of what areas of California felt that quake. We had a client call our office from Los Angeles that said they felt the buildings sway there. An acquaintence from the San Francisco Bay area had also felt gentle rolling motions that far north. I am curious about the event, so I will get more information as it comes to me and post it here. At this point this evening, I am aware of only 3 deaths that occured from the damages in Paso Robles. The clock tower above the Pan Jewelers fell into a rubble of a brick pile... as did the building a block or so up the same street.... a french bistro restaurant had also been reduced to rubble.
Well, I am extremely tired and very blessed as my home environment was merely shaken just a tad bit.... some pictures out of balance and desk items moved a bit.... but nothing broken or damaged that would require repairs of any substantial size. I consider myself to be very blessed for the fact that I am safe and alive at this very moment. I feel very deeply for the co-workers who actually live closer to the epicenter whose homes were devistated... please keep them in your prayers and meditations.
That is all for this evening.... remember, regardless of what you think you are going through ... life can be shaken up when you least expect it.... breathe.... exhale.... and ..... just be.....
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Monday, December 22, 2003
kmc posted this at: 06:44 a.m.I Only Speak for Myself . . .
Sometimes it is the most simple messages that really have a great impact. This email had been sitting in my inbox for a while... just read it today:
There is no evil like hatred.
And no fortitude like patience.
-Santideva, "Bodhicaryavatara"
From "365 Buddha: Daily Meditations," edited by Jeff Schmidt. Reprinted by arrangement with Tarcher/Putnam, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.
I've had dealings recently with people projecting their own inner hatred out and accusing other people of being the ones who are hateful. Aside from that issue, the person also seems to think he speaks FOR God. I've actually read about this... people who've become soooooo engrossed with religion and their own perceptions. So much so that they believe themselves to be messengers for this anthropomorphized duality that the human mind has created. They "forgive" themselves of any indiscressions they may do or say based solely on the fact that they "were speaking for God".... I believe that there are messengers that come to us to make us aware of what is within ourselves. I do believe that Jesus was a very enlightened human... but I doubt very much that he wanted to become an object of worship... I just feel that his message was overlooked and people felt it easier to be told what to do rather than seek for the self and learn and make decisions for the self. And so they still use the very same book to read that is full of metaphors that made sense for the time-frame in which they had lived. I mean, look at how easily we misunderstand some of the phrases from the 50's, 60's, 70's and even the 80's. Each individual person can get different perceptions from words out of the bible. As does anyone who reads any book.... each person is going to read something different into it.... but the message is not within the book... that is merely stories and conversations that occured thousands of years ago in contexts that we have to assume... anyway.... that was a tangent.... my whole point is; HUGE misunderstandings and people thinking they are "above" acknowledging the feelings of others because THEY think they "speak for God".... come on! It's all about control... that is my true belief now of religion... controlling the masses. I mean, what would happen if ALL of these people had to think for themselves.... and take responsibility for themselves? We might reach enlightenment sooner???
be well.
be merry!
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Friday, December 19, 2003
kmc posted this at: 01:37 p.m.The Schizniz'll on Her Phatself. . .
Emdot had a great link to for me! That's right... I am now going to start dj-ing... gettn' all phat wid da trax! Oh, yeah, I could do it!! lol Here my official dj name...
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Friday, December 19, 2003
kmc posted this at: 07:01 a.m.Hellooooooo Friday! ! !
I completely agreed with Zoe's LoTR:RoTK review. I have to say that my favorite part (and narrowing that down is no easy task!) - had to be Legolas's performance in the huge battle scene at Minas Tirith. I really liked the entire movie! So well put together and the performance of the actors was phenomenal!!! And for those of you who know me, you have to know that I was seeing a lot of the "deeper meanings" in scenes and such. I understand this is completely personal-perceptual because most would watch JUST for the entertainment values. For me, I see deeper things like spiritual messages in it. Wow, that was hard... I wanted to soooooo reference a specific scene... but I realize some people have not gone to see it yet so I had to refrain and just use the word "it" to describe something beyond "it" to me!!! Ah well... later I will do a full review of the whole trilogy. Yes, at some point I am going to own the ULTIMATE collection set... saving my purchase power for later!
Well, the thing too.... being the geek that I am.... the trailers that they showed prior to the movie got me all happy and excited about seeing movies in 2004. Spiderman 2... YAY! There is nothing like comic book super heros being brought into the realm of reality... well, computerized reality! I mean, isn't The Punisher also about a Marvel comic book hero?
And then another Harry Potter movie coming out... the trailer appeared to be just as outstanding and with a bit more effects; I am looking forward to that one as well!! Vin Diesel is appearing in another movie too... The Chronicles of someone... obviously the movie didn't catch my attention that well... just that Vin was in it! (Oh, come on...) :P
Alrighty, then..... that is it for now.... I've been a bit sluggish about posting things.... need to get caught up on my reading of books (you know, those things with lots of paper glued together with ink on the pages?!?!) I have some really good books that I would like to read for a bit of inspiration on my writings. I am still reading a variety of small books by Stuart Wilde (recently purchased The Winds of Change). I get more energized to write after reading books that assist with "awakening" me. So, there will be more from me later!
Ta for now...
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Tuesday, December 16, 2003
kmc posted this at: 10:39 a.m.Or Worse? ? ?
BEWARE ! WARNING ! CAUTION !
ALL DIVE EQUIPMENT MUST BE TESTED
BY A PROFESSIONAL & CERTIFIED.
IF NOT WILL RESULT IN DEATH !
OR WORSE !
I was looking up the pricing on scuba tanks for a friend who is looking to purchase... decided to give ebay a shot... this part of one ad just cracked me up.... Uhm, excuse me, but WHAT could be worse than...DEATH? I think I am going to do a ebay ad browse one of these days; just start clicking and read the ads for things like that.... humor! Ah, okay, that was it... just a short 'funny' for the day!
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Monday, December 15, 2003
kmc posted this at: 11:11 p.m.Just Another Manic.....
MONDAY!!! Okay, maybe not really "manic"..... but it was definitely a different kind of monday.... it did border towards the end of the work day on being a MUNDANE... but, the day ended well and I got to go out with Kinsley to see Stuck On You at the theater. It was funny, cute, very Farley... I enjoyed it a lot!! Was a bit of a bummer though for the evening... tonight was a "goodbye" night for Kinsley and me... he is going to be in Puerto Rico for three weeks.... :( I know he is going to be having a blast there.... and enjoying the warm sunshine and beaches.... gonna miss him! But! - he will be returning just in time for my birthday!!! That will be a wonderful "gift" !!!
Gonna call it an early night tonight....(anything before midnight is early for me).... nighty-night!
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Sunday, December 14, 2003
kmc posted this at: 10:53 p.m.Sunday . . .
it stared off rather bizarre... power outage of course at the hour that I experienced it, I thought it may have been just our home or just our block... little did I know it was a greater 5 cities area block of outage... parts of Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Pismo Beach, Shell Beach and Oceano..... all had power issues Sunday morning... it wasn't until 9:50 am that the power returned. But, in the interim, I had decided to light a few candles in the bathroom and shower..... very cool experience.... of course the power came on minutes after I stepped out of the shower... (I had actually waited a bit after I woke up thinking the power would come back on.... no such luck.) At any rate, I had a lovely candle-lit shower... beautiful ambiance! And continued my day, made a couple of phone calls, uploaded some pictures from the party the night before.... then headed off to the vet clinic to work. Normal work day there.
That evening was Zoe's company christmas party to which she had invited me to attend as her guest. It was a lovely party! Very nice people! The food was great and the conversations were just constant! I had a wonderful time and was happy that Zoe thought of asking me to attend. :)
I called it an early night... was going to jump onto the internet and play Diablo II, but it wouldn't stay connected to Battlenet... so I went to bed. Great weekend all around, so I was pleased with going to bed early. I was/am happy!!!
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Sunday, December 14, 2003
kmc posted this at: 12:22 p.m.Eberle Winery Party . . .
Last night was Mesa Vineyard Managment's company christmas party at the caves at Eberle Winery. The evening started in the wine tasting room and was served appetizers as we tasted their wines. Also, the entertainment for the night just happened to be Chris O'Connell... a long time acquaintence and a great musician!!! When everyone had arrived, we all joined in the festive spirit and sang a few carols... very fun crowd of people, it was easy for Chris to lead us into more songs! Then dinner was announced and we made our way down into the cave area where tables were set up for our dining. At this point Chris had changed from the guitar music upstairs into a very beautifully elegant arrangement of harp music, even accompanied by a cedar flute during certain songs (yes, he played both at the same time!!!). The table group that Kinsely and I sat with were very fun! There was much to talk about! The dinner was started with a tarte of artichoke and local goat cheese served on a bed of lettuce. The main course was seared beef in a redwine reduction sauce with green beans and mashed potatoes. Very beautifully presented and tasted incredible! The desert was a christmas log.... cake swirled with raspberries and cream(cream cheese?) covered in a chocolate shell and served on a raspberry/white chocolate sause, with a red and green M&M on the side for a festive garnishment. :) The meal was spectacular... everything tasted wonderful! The ambiance was perfectly matched with the music that resonated so well in the caves! It was so much fun that I did not realize that it was 10pm by the time Kinsley and I had left ... (the rest of the group had started meandering out as well). So all in all, yesterday was absolutely perfect!! The day started very well and ended equally as well!
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Friday, December 12, 2003
kmc posted this at: 07:02 a.m.Chilly Farmer's Market Night . . .
Ah! Thursday night out on the SLO-town... first was Firestone Grill for a bit to eat. Then we headed out into the Farmer's Market. People must have been thinking it was going to rain still, because it was very empty compared to what is "normal" for a Farmer's Market night.... that and something about 'cramming for finals'... I had a great time though; met two new people from San Francisco... wonderful people! We meandered among the merchants at the market and ventured into a couple of the regular stores. We had to make a contribution to Bubble Gum Alley.... always a must for people who have not visited San Luis Obispo! EW! Then we stopped in for a warm drink from Linnea's (Chai Nog is spectacularly delicious!!). Listened to a bit of music from a young group of singers from Mercy church... we were greeted by someone passing out papers (ARGH!) letting us know that this group plays every sunday at their church.... okay, it was nice listening to the group; the main girl singing had a nice voice... but to be approached about "come visit our church, we accept anyone into the church".... mildly annoyed by that. I guess, if that is what they feel is "proper" for them to do in order to be happy in their lives then so be it. We continued walking around the market a bit more.... curious, but not much in the mood for shopping. Again, with as quiet as it was, there wasn't much entertainment in the streets as there normally was, so they opted to head back to the house. I headed back to my own home and worked a bit on organizing my room some more.... oy! the boxes still! I know I have an issue about "abandonment" ..... so, getting myself totally moved into a new place takes a while... the funny thing is, I am aware that it is a fear-based reaction. So, I was thinking I would "conquer" the fear this weekend.... I am going to get my stuff all into my room and then get my car cleaned up! It was too stuffed for me to offer a ride at the end of our evening in SLO. New motivations! I will end up having a yard sale the next warm weekend we have too!! I have too many unnecessary items now. :) Looking forward to Spring cleaning!
Funny things heard while in town last night:
"Are you guys leaving FOR REALS?!" (young college girl surprised that she might very well be able to take our booth that we were leaving at Firestone Grill)... do people really use the phrase "for reals" these days? god I feel old now!
"Hi, Are you registered republican voters?" (Street vendor/merchant/political solicitor)
"Hurry go, can we make it, go quickly we can make the light, ... OH... we just cut those people off" (group of people rushing to make it to the crosswalk - to answer your question.... no, they did not make it to the light, but yes, they did rush right in front of us..... it was amusing.... people watching!!!)
"girl2girl, is that one of 'those kind of shops'.... I swear I saw something on the wall" - "No, they wouldn't be in business right in downtown SLO... remember 'are you republican voters'?" (one of the many fun conversations amoungst the group I was with)
I am thoroughly enjoying my life!! And it's moments like yesterday evening that is the icing on the cake!
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Wednesday, December 10, 2003
kmc posted this at: 01:02 p.m.Movies and SantaCaprikell...
Watched a great movie last night! A Sundance Film Festival on DVD; Mondays in the Sun... (or in it's foreign title "los lunes al sol" That's right... EspaÑa spanish.... a very deep movie about the lives of shipyard workers who were laid off. It's like hearing the dilemas of different cultures working economics. A bit of a unifying glue to which every culture can relate! Anywho, the movie was wonderful, a little slow, dark humor, but very good nonetheless. The actor who played "Santa" (Javier Bardem) was brilliant! Actually all of the characters blended so very well together even with their diversity of perspectives and individual lives. Deeper story there? This is why I find it hard to say "I didn't care for 'such&such' movie." It's like viewing art... it's a matter of perspective and what YOU take from the movie. I am very happy that I was invited over to watch the movie!! Curious about a few other suggestions that people have made about other Sundance Films... (*note to self: squeeze movies into schedule*)
Well, it is that time of year again! Secret Santa! I have my person for whom I am to purchase a gift! I don't really do much for the holidays, so this is something I can be a part of without having to travel or buy something for everyone... light, easy... and you get to make new acquaintances.
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Monday, December 8, 2003
kmc posted this at: 7:17 a.m.What A Weekend! ! !
WOW-WEE-WOW! I could not pack any more fun into one Saturday! I had a spectacular weekend. Primary objective for the morning was to get to the property management company to sign lease - check done! Then it was off to the fun stuff! I ran errands with Simone to pick up supplies for the wedding invitations and various other fun things. Picked up some art supplies for a new venture... oil pastels.... gonna give it a shot! We then did a "girl-foo-foo" moment at the salon; we both got pedicures... so my toenails look all preeetty now!! We also headed out to Los Osos for a little venture into Volumes of Pleasure; a bookstore and metaphysical/spiritual store. Talk about a neverending story! That store always has something new to catch my eye! I brought home a new sphere, Ocean Jasper. When we arrived back at her place, we went online to purchase a domain name for her site that will announce her wedding and give directions and information. I am looking forward to seeing the first draft of the site. (A picture of a flower that I took is being used for the backdrop!)
While on my outting, I received a phone call invitation to a dinner party at Kinsley's... so that set up the evening of fun-filled activity! Dinner was fabulous! Great cook! Great presentation as well! We had pressure-cooked clams (wonderful seasonings!), pasta with pesto sauce, oh and a salad that was TO DIE FOR! The dinner party then ventured into a night out.... we all went to Mother's in San Luis; a band called Jooce was playing... they were pretty good... fun music for dancing! Needless to say I was dead tired when my head hit my pillow! And that is what I love about my "sacred saturdays"... filling the time with friends and activities that opens the energy of life! Life at it's fullest! I can honestly say that my cup is running over! Thank you to all of my friends for sharing such a fun weekend with me!
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Friday, December 5, 2003
kmc posted this at: 12:22 p.m.Looking Into Eyes. . .
I went out last night with friends, Zoe and a new friend, Kinsley. Great time, and great conversation! One of the conversations that really stood out, (maybe because Kinsley made a very strong point in introducing the subject)... was the issue of Americans RARELY look people in the eyes when making a toast. And in analyzing my own actions, I realize that I, too, rarely look people in the eyes when a toast has been made and glasses are raised. Partly to my defense I thought it was a bit to do with the "clicking" of glass objects... I notice that I pay attention, look at, the glass when "cheering" the toast. He brought this up due to travels to various places in the world and how certain cultures find that to be offensive... Germans for instance consider it rude if you do not look everyone in the eyes when "cheering" to a toast... each person you "click" your beverage with, each person is to be addressed directly with a look to the eyes to confirm that you mean what you say when you say "cheers" or "here's to you"... So, from this point forward, I will be very aware of my eye contact with people. When I am speaking with someone, I will make certain that when addressing them, that eye contact is steady (okay not to the point that I freak them out or anything) ... I mean, when does it change from being "shy" to being "inconsiderate" of the person you are with?
So many things were discussed last night... hard to believe we squeezed it all into a couple hours! Everything from Kinsley's sports injuries to the various travels that each person has done to favorite foods and even a splash on spiritual beliefs. All that over a meal of (me:) spicy shrimp prawns, (Zoe:) Tomatoe Bisque soup & salad, and (Kinsley:) Baby back ribs and battered shrimp.... YUM! The food at Tahoe Joe's is fantastic and they don't skimp on anything!! Same with the drinks! My cosmopolitan lasted me the entire meal!
Last night was basically a busy evening filled with a lot of activity with friends, after the dinner I also headed over to Simone's to see how things were going with the wedding plans; especially the invitations. Unfortunately they were unable to get the supplies for running the invitations today because the movers for her fiance's things had called to let them know they were going to deliver his items last night.... WHICH, did not occur after all! I feel badly for them and dealing with this moving company... he has received the run around from the first contact of scheduling the pick up! Anyway, I am sending positive energy to them in hopes that things get settled for them today.
It has been an incredibly busy week at work... both the full-time job and the part-time job as well.... something about end of month, end of crop year and then also end of fiscal year.... wha? why are they so busy? hmmm.... ;)
AH! Saturday... my sacred day!
be well!
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Tuesday, December 2, 2003
kmc posted this at: 09:03 p.m.Familiar Lightworkers Are Reaching Me...
in the comments section of my previous post, Simone had pasted a link that she thought I would enjoy. Enjoy is such a mild word. Light-i is beyond words. It is so incredible to find that others have what I would feel to be the EXACT same outlook on this existence. He spoke of higher vibrations, energy, ONE source, the NOW moment, all the things that others have read in my posts of my own self journey... it was so amazing to meet another "me" who is discovering how to get back to the most natural state of existence there is..... "I AM" .... The term that I found earlier in my search was, "Emerge from the coccoon; transcend the obvious - just be. I am you are me." To me it *IS* my answer. But when I have mentioned this to others it was greeted with a smile and comment of "wow, what a great outlook on life" or "what a cool concept".... to me it was the answer. I found my key to unlocking the "box" of illusions that I choose to stay inside. There is no separation, THAT is the illusion... we have created so many facades and illusions that we ARE a matrix of illusive dreams... when in reality, (and I know the True Self is giggling right now)... the matrix is the illusion and it is just a matter of closing our eyes and looking in... remembering.... RE- member - ... get it.... RE- member; get it all put back together again! Like Humpty Dumpty... talk about taking a "great fall"... but unlike the fairy tale... we can come back together again... we just have to RE-member! I feel like I could fly right now! I am happy to a point of ecstacy... and I don't mean the physical realm of ecstacy... I am absolutely glowing inside ... I wish for all to feel what I feel at this very precise moment. Wow, what an incredible .... beyond any words.... this IS a wonderful moment! I choose to carry this new energy with me in every Here & Now moment.... discovery is fantastic!!
be well, or .... just .... BE.
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Tuesday, December 2, 2003
kmc posted this at: 7:00 a.m.EMAIL Issue Has Been Discovered and Fixed...
Wow, issues with the email system... okay, so for those of you who've thought that I am blocking you by getting "returned/rejected" emails... NOT ME... I seriously have the biggest issue with Mail.com right now. I would not even suggest them to the government to use. (Tried thinking of something I would love to receive tons of junk mail but none of their real correspondence). Well, that is the issue; I signed up for Premium services... NO ADS (damn pop-under stuff!!), more space and the ability to POP it into my own email program at home. Well, I am getting hoards of junk mail (but technically it isn't "ads"... Rrrgh!) and I have been getting IM's from friends and family that their mail has been returned and "recipient not allowed" or something like that. So, Mail.com has filters and automatically rejects people who are already in my Address book.... now I can POSSIBLY understand new email contacts ... but to reject mail that I have been receiving in the past... WTF??? SO, I have kind of "fixed" the problem for the interim... so if you email me at my address here for the site, I will now receive it. NO, I do not use rejecting filters... if I don't like an email then I delete it. I mean... I, myself, would not like to receive a message saying I was "rejected" ... how negative is that?... nah, just block the advertising and send it straight to the trash... that gets emptied... presto... no one gets hurt.
Having said all that... I am letting everyone know.... you can email me again!!!! I am set to receive! Open arms again! ;)
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Monday, December 1, 2003
kmc posted this at: 010:10 p.m.Religion Used as a Tool...???
I've been thinking about this post for a while. I had a friend tell me about her situation, she is catholic and is getting married to a man who is converted to catholicism. Okay, sounds great so far. Well, she had her parents meet the man and the day of the meeting was great. Everyone got along and they gladly welcomed him into the family and even asked for blessings during the meal prayer on him joining the family. Okay so he is not originally catholic, but he did convert, so that is a great sign... and he is working on getting his previous marriage annulled in the catholic church as well... very honorable of him to do so. So one would think that everything would be okay.... well, it isn't. The parents (and I think the father was the primary driving force behind this latest occurence)... they call up almost a week later insisting that she not get married in a NON-catholic church. (She and her fiance are wanting a ceremony before the annullment through the church). Her father just as much instilled that "god" would be angry at her if she did not get married according to the catholic church ways.... AND, that god would be very angry at her if she did not wait until the man's previous marriage was annulled according to the catholic church. (Granted the divorce IS final, so.... it is a "rules" thing according to the catholic church that the church does not consider it over until they say it is annulled ... which is a ritual in itself!) Anyway, she now has her father practically spewing anger, hellfire and brimstone at her from a pulpit if she goes through with this marriage outside of the catholic church...... AND.... here is the kicker..... they are threatening to NOT let her niece and nephew attend the wedding if it is not in a catholic church and performed appropriately (priest, whole nine-yards of up and down ceremony).... doesn't really matter much that they themselves threatened to not show up at her wedding (wow, talk about unconditional love..... ???? .... hmm.) But to hold the children over her head and to use them.... who on earth does he think he is ??? And speaking for god too... "God is going to be very angry with you and will not accept this marriage if it is not done according to the catholic church"...... PAH-lease!!! The energy that I know to be "god" has absolutely NO negative energy.... it is pure love. It is UNCONDITIONAL love... it is the RELIGION that has created these "ordained rules", these set restrictions, by which EVERYONE must adhere. And if you don't? Well, then god is angry and you get the world of guilt and torment laid on you!!! This is perposterous..... there is no reason in the world why she shouldn't be able to marry the this man when she wants to marry him, how and where she wants to marry him, and in whatever setting she wants to marry him. This is HER wedding. If her parents want to not attend because it offends them, then fine.... take that perspective.... but those who are supportive of love will attend her wedding and be there for her. Her true family of friends will give her away to this man. I just don't understand the need for judgement about this.... And for a father to use religion as a tool.... how lame is that..... how absolutely powerless to have to use something like religion and speak FOR an energy that he obviously does not know.... because god does not get angry.... HUMANS get angry. Man, all this because the her fiance hasn't had his previous marriage annulled by the catholic church. Can you say EXTREMISM???
Oy, I feel like I am just rambling, but this really is another situation where I feel that religion is not needed... do away with the religion and people are left to be who they are... not BE TOLD exactly how they need to be to be accepted into heaven and get to live happily ever after.....(*insert picture of the ascended master rolling his eyes here*) because EVER AFTER is HERE AND NOW.... not at some point in the future...... "Non-judgement day is coming".... and won't they be surprised!
Well, I encouraged her to do what she feels is right in her heart.... when you know your own truth and it feels good to be you.... then you know you are on the right path. I don't think she needs to change her entire plans to make OTHER people happy and "do what's right by god"..... because "right by god" is quite objective these days! It depends on what your perspective of god is.... and what I feel "god" is NOT... it is not angry, it is love. That's way over simplifying and not saying enough about the universal energy that humans have anthropomorphized into something they can touch, feel, see, taste, hear.... it is beyond senses....
Anyway.... this post was a huge vent ... I feel for her, very deeply because I know what it is like to be estranged from family.... it is very difficult to build a skin of "oh, I don't care what they think" around a soft and emotional heart. My only advice is.... be true to yourself.... know thy self and all is well. The decisions that you make when you make them in the purest intent will always turn out for the best. Not everyone will see it the way you see it... but what is important is how YOU see what you choose. You live your life, others merely affect it... choose wisely.
and yes I am very open to hearing any opinions from catholics (or any other religious or non-religious peoople) as well about this. I am not closed minded, I understan the need for "fitting into a society of 'safeness' that will help you grow" .... but growth does include beyond religion... only fear will keep you tethered to it......
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