Follow the Sun

Last week Monday, while waiting for my son's soccer practice, my daughter and I walked towards the sunset at Ambleside beach. The colours were amazing. Only a single kayak far out and a few sea gulls moved the flawless ocean. Psychedelic closeness.

That, or my fever was getting the better of me :-)

Gryphon Flight

The rollercoaster movement of the gryphon as the fields change from Elwynn Forest green to Burning Steppes Red to arrive the snow-white slopes of Dun Morogh. I remember when I first saw the snow outside IronForge and marvelled at the footsteps. How would it be to ski those hills?

The road from level 38 to 39 seems very long, the bar creeps forward by invisible inches. If only I had more Steelbloom, I could make some more Elixer of Greater Defense potions. Maybe then I'd live long enough to switch to Bear.
My variation on Slocan's ultimate fighting strategy when attacked: return fire (Moonfire and Insect Swarm, maybe Faerie Fire), Heal, Bear until health goes down, Heal and Regrowth, Bear again. And live to tell.

Mozart-Mousse

We sang the Mozart Requiem again on Saturday. Even though I was light-headed with fever and hoarse from coughing, once the violins started the melancholic tones of the Kyrie there was nothing but the music.

The Austrian embassy had created a posthumous Mozart Pastry display for us, which it turned out was for eyes only... now, what use is a chocolate horse if you can't eat it? Unconsumed sweetness.
The cookies and apple-strudel were good though :-)

The not-to-be-eaten chocolate started me thinking about other show items. Like the book-covers for display only to fill your bookcases which you don't need if you don't read. Like Glade-Airfreshener to disguise the smell of cat pee (in our old house when we bought it). Keeping up appearances. We are so big at that, aren't we.

Cubs weekend at Hollyburn Cabin

All that you can't leave behind - some people got way too much luggage :-) Of course, my backpack of 30+ lbs is entirely due to the mass density of glass bottles.

Events

Busy week, as usual. Friday is a good day for making lists.

Monday

• Over lunch, Ryan tells me a story from the Landmark forum.

"When a tired child sees a chair at the other side of the room, s/he will go over to sit down. When a tired adult sees a chair at the other side of the room, s/he will find a million reasons why s/he can't/shouldn't really go to the chair.... and will stay in the same spot."

• Cub car races!
  
• Went for a run during Cubs, and ran into Andy at the Starbucks... talked about Laura

Tuesday

• Dim Sum lunch with the eLearning team


• Skiing on Cypress with Julie. Julie tells me about an executive she's coaching who is stuck - keeps presenting obstacles as to why he cannot go for his goal. She's able to make him see what he's doing. Julie's face shines as she tells me what a pleasure and honour it is to be able to help someone. I think of the Alchemist, Personal Myths
  

  "My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy confides to the alchemist one night as they look up at a moonless night. "Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself," the alchemist replies. "And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."

Wednesday

• Choir rehearsal! (and the odd beer afterwards :-) ) Here's a picture from the concert on Jan 28th.
  
  
  

Thursday

• Brought several cars to screeching halt while walking over to SUB to get my sandwich, completely immersed in my book. Try balancing a Reuben sandwich, a coffee, and an open book!
  
• my brothers have set up a website for the family. Most of the initial discussion is on what to talk about :-)
  
• Haircut: finally. Trying out the all-over-red.
  
  
• Music: listening to Coldplay (still), Tea Party (got it from the library, not my favourite), Gwen Stefani (for Jeanne), Beautiful South, McGarrigle sisters, Moby, Metric -- Anyone with suggestions? I need some new music
  

The moon looks so small on a picture like this.

The light we see from distant galaxies left millenia ago.

Cypress Evening

Absolutely amazing views over the city. Even though we're out there for only a few hours, feels as if we've travelled to the other side of the world. My friend Julie came with me this time, which made me feel much better, as I had sold her on the evening skiing pass and she hadn't used it a single time yet! I mean, I regularly do this to myself, where I buy something because it is such a great deal.... but I feel responsible if I lead someone else into my follies :-)

Self

For me, each person leaves a flavour, a texture, in my mind; a texture that is utterly unique. I can crave for that texture they way you can crave for a certain type of food you haven't had in a while. I can crave for the presence of my kids...

I can see their hills and valleys, their blue skies and dark forests. With some, in whose land I've had the privilege to travel, it feels like coming home. Wit some it feels like a foreign land, and I do not recognize the shapes or shadows. As I travel, the texture gets richer. I am honoured to learn about the ghosts that hide among the roots in the dark forest. I am honoured to learn about the eagles that soar in the sky. I hold the dew drops in my hand and see the sun rise and the moon glow.

Memory

On Sunday we learned that Laura had passed away. She and her husband Neil were members of the choir. They came for drinks with us. The choir sang at their wedding. They disappeared from my view, as so many friends or acquaintances disappear from view. As we let them drift away. Thinking that maybe we'll give them a call sometime. Or ask about them. Maybe we should get to know them better. And then our busy lives get a hold of us... and now the bulbs are out and what happened to winter?

And we'll never get to know them as well as they deserve. I never knew she blogged.
I remember her, sweet and smart and unique. How do we let people slip away?

Such sadness. My thoughts are with you, Neil.

Phone Pictures

After being the proud owner of a phone, (a very battered Motorola V220 that takes pictures) for about a year and a half now, and having taken several pictures... and being the uber-geek I am... I have finally figured out how to get the pictures out of the phone and into the computer.
The immense sense of accomplishment! :-)

I think this is the Joe Satriani concert in the Commodore of April 2005, which was an amazing concert. What a guitar player.


Oh and a word of advice... eating one Tim Horton's cookie is nice. Eating two cookies is still nice. But the "buy six cookies for $2" deal is meant for sharing :-) Especially when they are as doughy as these ones were. Excuse me while I deal with the unruly feeling in my stomach :-)

Lunar

We're singing "Sing me to Heaven" on Sunday. Here's the text:

In my heart's sequestered chambers
lie truths stripped of poet's gloss
Words alone are vain and vacant
and my heart is mute
In response to aching silence, memory summons half-heard voices
and my soul finds primal eloquence, and wraps me in song, wraps me in song
If you would comfort me, sing me a lullaby
If you would win my heart, sing me a love song
If you would mourn me and bring me to God, sing me a requiem

Touch in me
all love and passion, pain and pleasure
Touch in me
grief and comfort; love and passion, pain and pleasure
Sing me a lullaby, a love song, a requiem
Love me, comfort me, bring me to God:
Sing me a love song
Sing me to heaven

Colours

Our virtual characters become an extension of ourselves. They take on our own qualities. I can't bear to throw things out in RL - and I don't know how many times I've heard the "inventory full" message in VL.
Every item has a history. I still have my novice robes in the bank - and God knows they're neither beautiful nor armourful.

I string the stories of my items together, picking them up and remembering. Items I received from friends. Items I received for quests. I carry two sets of weapons (2-hand mace and a dagger) and several choices of off-hand items. I am herbalized to the hilt, harvesting any I see. Several VL friends like my potions, so I keep making them :-)

When I was maybe 11 years old, my parents had finally decided to part with a very old comfy but threadbare chair. I cried for days for the fate of this poor chair, that had supported us and held us and was now to be relegated to the junkyard. I thought it poorly treated for its years of faithful service.

We weave the threads of our story. My pattern is not pretty. There are gaps where I dropped the thread... and stinging nettle woven in with bleeding fingers and black hole sun sections where no colour reflects at all....
Sandra, my friend, like we said, honesty isn't always pretty. But what an honour among friends to share the cloth. Truth be told... we all weave for warmth. As Kev said - we all deserve our soft landings.

The article in the book I'm reading right now, "Understanding the Lord of the Rings, the best of Tolkien Criticism" , talks about the emphasis on free will in LOTR. Combined with the notion of responsiblity. Prince Brian in my daughter's "Irish legends" rolls out the spool of thread - and follows it to find his destiny. Would that it were so simple.

Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

The CBC's program "the Current" this morning focussed on responsibility, gullibility and accountability. In the interview, Kurt Vonnegut said this morning: "The sad thing about democracy is that only a nutcase would want to be president".

I am the kind of person who falls for the joke "I heard they've taken the word 'gullible' out of the dictionary". I am the kind of person who cries to part with an old chair. I am the kind of person who does not give up hope. Who believes that the impossible should be possible.

I think I should run for president.

Currently ... let me get this straight. The party that stands for LESS government is promising MORE government because it might STOP government from doing anything.

Nice trick.

This is The Current.

is there anybody out there who
is lost and hurt and lonely too
they're bleeding all your colours into one
and a few come undone
as if you've been run through
some catapult who fired you
you wonder if your chance will ever come
or if you're stuck in square one
-- ColdPlay, Square One