the most beautiful spot on earth

Today was my first Friday off in my new four day work week. I love my new work schedule! Going in two hours early really isn't that big a deal. But getting one extra day a week for ME is a HUGE deal.

Its amazing how productive you can be when you have nothing you need to do and nowhere you need to go. I got all my laundry done, cleaned the bathroom, cleaned out the fridge, studied a couple hours for my exam next Saturday, paid my bills, sent a couple emails that I hadn't gotten around to, returned the bottles, bought a couple Christmas presents, swept out the garage, went to the gym, and made dinner for J and K. I feel great.

The best part of the day, though, wasn't the extra rest. It wasn't the crazy productivity. It was how beautiful the day was. I came out of the store at one point and literally caught my breath. The leaves were brilliant, the air was warm. It was slightly foggy and there was a mist hanging over the trees, muting the outline of the distant trees, changing the colors to a more muted hue. The air smelled like fallen leaves, rain, and woodfires.

Several years ago, a friend of a friend took us up a hill in Texas to show us what he described as "the most beautiful spot on earth". At the top of the hill, we were treated to a view of a landfill on one side and military housing on the other. At the time, I figured he had just flipped his lid. He usually lived just outside Nashville, Tennesee; where I would have whole heartedly agreed with his opinion of "the most beautiful spot one earth." But the hill by the landfill? Not so much.

I have driven through places where I had to pull the car over and just stare or else I would have driven off the road, I was so distracted by the beauty (Boone, NC). I have hiked through places that I knew deep down were created to be sacred places (Olympic National Park, WA). I have stood in spots where I was so overcome that tears streamed down my face (Sequoia National Park, CA). Yet I could never wrap my mind around the idea that a landfill could be somebody's favorite spot on earth.

Today, I finally understood. Because for one brief moment, looking across the mall parking lot at the autumn leaves and the mist, I found myself in the most beautiful spot on earth.

Just kidding. Wedding Crashers is still on top of my list.

Dirty Funny Movies

Tonite, after work, I finally went out to see that movie I wanted to see last night. The movie is advertised as Zack and Miri. When I got there, I saw the title in its entirety: Zack and Miri Make a Porno. What the heck is that? Bait me into the movie theater and then switch it with a different movie altogether?

I remember a time when there were movies that were just funny. Now it seems that every movie that is funny is also raunchy. Remember movies like Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Grumpy Old Men, Parenthood, and Uncle Buck? Straightforward, clean, and really, really FUNNY. I can't even remember the last non-dirty funny movie I've seen. School of Rock, maybe?

Don't get me wrong. Zack and Miri was hilarious! It was a Kevin Smith film, which I also didn't know going into the movies. So it had all those overly-wordy conversations with bizarre observations and appearances by all the usuals from the Kevin Smith films. (except for Kevin Smith himself. I kept waiting for him to come strolling in, make a profound statement, and then promptly disappear. No go.) The high school reunion bit was pure genius. I was just a little taken aback from the full frontal nudity (both male and female) and all the --um--thrusting.

I think what disturbs me the most is that while driving home, I was mentally rearranging the top ten list of funniest movies that resides in my head. Zack and Miri can't topple Wedding Crashers, can it? It wasn't that long ago when I was having an inner struggle because THAT movie was edging out There's Something About Mary and I was apalled at how crass they both were. After tonight, they seem positively tame.

And maybe not quite as deserving as that top spot.

Election Nite

So here we are on Election day. I thought I would be really smart and vote before work. Then I would go out after work and see a movie simply so I would not drive myself crazy watching election results. Unfortunately, there were about 200 people in line at 7:10 this morning. SO I returned after work to cast my vote in a nearly empty elementary school.

But that meant that I was home during the election results, trying to keep the TV turned on a movie, but flipping back every so often in my anxiety.

I can remember four years ago, going to bed. Getting up and turning the TV on. Getting even more anxious. Going back to bed. Getting back up. Turning on the TV. Getting even more anxious. And on and on and on.

At least it looks like it won't be so close this time. Turning down the anxiety factor a little bit.

I never used to get so anxious about presidential elections. I still don't consider myself particularly political. It just seems like we, as a nation, have become so polarized. The ridiculous talk radio boneheads hatemongering. The "true American" and "false American" arguments. The all-or-nothing thinking we all seem to have fallen prey to.

I think we all have alot more in common than we give ourselves credit for.

I only hope that whoever wins tonite, whether it was the candidate you wanted or not, (the candidate I wanted or not) is able to steer this country in a better direction than it has been going in. I hope we can find our similarities and start to downplay our differences. I hope that starting in January 2009, we as a nation, and we as people, can finally start to live up to our great potential.

Wishing you all sweet, anxiety-free dreams.

Halloween is fun

SWINGING WITH THE DEVIL!

This year, I was able to hit two Halloween parties. One I hosted with J and K. Since the three of us are always together, we decided to take that joke and run with it: we dressed up as Jack, Chrissie, and Janet from Three's Company. (There I am as Janet, with my boots and flowered 70's shirt) A couple other friends came as the Ropers. And we had a whole assortment of other characters roaming around the house: a boxer, a sheik, a biker, a chick-magnet, and Satan, among others.

Disappointing was the fact that so many people who had RSVP's "yes" didn't show. We had more leftover food than we could possibly eat and a lot of it went to waste. I feel like I should have given it to a food shelter or something.

Among the no shows was Nerd. WTF? Seriously, man! He called at the last minute saying he wasn't feeling well and wanted to just "stay horizontal" on his sofa all night. Of course we called and texted him all night, bugging the crap out of him. I thought it was funny as hell. Nerd, not so much. He ended up shutting the phone off.

My other party was at a bar on Halloween night. J and K did not accompany me. Since Janet is not a stand alone kind of costume, I had to dig into the big costume box of Halloweens past. I came up with Princess Leah.

I can confidently say this: every guy in America has a Princess Leah crush. (ok, I'm not sure of all of America. Every guy on Cape Cod has a Princess Leah crush) This came as a surprise to me. I thought just dorky guys like Ross from Friends or Kevin Smith had a thing for Princess Leah. Nope. Turns out non-dorks got 'em, too.

Let's just gloss over the obvious (Princess Lay-ya jokes, light saber jokes, "feel the power of the force" jokes). The BAND were all dressed as Star Wars characters. (how anyone can play the guitar dressed in a Chewbacca costume is beyond me) So that somehow put me in a whole different realm. Suffice it to say: I got way more attention than I wanted.

All the attention was kind of strange, I thought. I was dressed in a beach cover up and bathrobe. Covered from head to toe. Some of the other costumes there were--- a BIT less modest! The girl who won the "costume contest" was wearing a bra and G-string with an apron over them. She was carrying a feather duster. Her costume was "the world's greatest housewife". Out in a bar in her underwear! On Cape Cod in October! It's a bit chilly this time of year. And getting beer spilled all over your bare ass is never a good thing, no matter how warm out it is. You'd think that with "costumes" like that crawling all over the bar, I with my two buns, would be safely annonymous.

The other shock I got that night was the realization that I may not be as funny as I think I am. I get a kick out me. I have several close friends who totally get me. We can sit and laugh for hours over goofy little statements. But put me in a bar full of strangers (in various stages of dress) and I can't buy a laugh.

I thought it would be really funny to go up to people who did not have costumes and say things like "Oh my God! I totally get it! You're dressed up like (a) my ex-boyfriend, (b)my next door neighbor, (c) the Verizon Wireless guy, (d)my cousin Ben, (e) Cameron from Ferris Bueller". Not once did I get so much as a smile. I was thinking that nobody in there had a sense of humor. But now I'm thinking maybe it's me. Maybe I should just tell my lame jokes to J and K, Isabelle, and Nerd.

One closing thought from Halloween night: what is funnier than the guy from Scream dancing next to Jimi Hendrix? Answer: Dracula and Yoda coming to blows on the sidewalk after last call. (relax-- the bouncers broke it up before it got too out of hand)

Don't forget to vote tomorrow!

writing goals and NaBloPoMo

Not an official goal for the month, but I joined NaBloPoMo after reading it about it on TutuGirl's blog. Nice idea, and really fun to say. (In a related note, do you think anyone is basing their vote Tuesday on how fun it is to say the candidate's name? Say it: Obama. Obama. Obama. Regardless of how you lean politically, it's a fun name to say.)



ANYWAY: I'm not sure if I just don't have a lot of self motivation, but I have noticed that I tend to follow through more on goals when I either sign up for something, share my intentions publically, or pay some kind of entry fee. Even just the action of writing the goals down somehow makes me more accountable to them.



There are some who say that any of the above actions work because it's like putting your intentions into the universe so that serendipidous forces can sent their energies back your way to help you achieve your goals. Honestly, I'm not sure if I believe that. I mean, who am I to say that it DOESN'T happen; it could very well happen that way, regardless of whether I believe it or not.



(And yes, I AM the person who through somebody's copy of The Secret out the door into the parking lot. But that was just for dramatic effect. I haven't actually read it.)



However, I am more prone to say that these things work because they force you to call your attention to those things you wish to achieve. You have to think about it to write the goals, return to the list periodically to document your progress, and reassess at regular intervals.



The other day, I had a conversation with some friends about goal setting and life lists and bucket lists or whatever you want to call them. Funny how folks have such strong feelings about this concept in such polar opposite directions. I am very much a goal setting kind of gal. There are so many things I want to accomplish, so many things I want to experience, so many places I want to see. Some others in the conversation were of the mind that all the compulsive goal setting is a sign of not being happy with yourself and you should just strive to be more content with what you have. "You should just be happy with a simplier life" I was told.

Well, that certainly is one way of looking at it. But I guess everyone's idea of the simple life is different. And everyone's ides of a life worth living is different.

What do you all think?

Sweet November

"November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring."

- Clyde Watson

November. The first of the month rolls around and I do all my manditory first of the month chores: pay the rent, check the battery in the smoke detector, switch the page on the calender, change my contacts, and review my goals for the month. It just comes as a shock to look at that calender and see the number 11 on the top! The year is almost over.

Soooo....October goals:

1) Decluttering the place, one item at a time. Big success! Though I now see that de-cluttering is a goal that will never be completely REACHED, more like a continuous process, there is significantly less stuff in the place to declutter. I can see what I have better, I can think more clearly, and I feel like I can more easily make decisions about the stuff I have left.

2) Go through the box of inspirational CD's and actually listen to them. Ok. I didn't actually do that. At all. I think I'm gonna give myself one more month to attack this goal. And thanks to my work on goal 1, I can feel good about saying that if I DON'T listen to the CD's by the end of November, I can give them away to somebody who will. (that's how I got them in the first place)

3) Read "Three Cups of Tea". I got the book. I read the introduction. I have it sitting on my nightstand. I haven't exactly finished it. I have seen that there is a book club for the AMC featuring the same book. So I really do have to read it this month so I don't miss out on all the fun.

4) Went on a girl's weeked to Montreal. Great weekend. Done!

5) Bought some new sunglasses. Three, actually. One pair for my car, one pair for home, and one pair left in my work locker.

6) Had the Halloween party. And then went to another. More on those later.

7) Went on two organized rides this month. Fun to be had at every turn!

8) I DID lose the 3 pounds. Strangely, I don't really consider that a victory of any sort. Cause even though I lost three pounds, my waist is bigger, my pants are tighter, and I'm is worse shape than at the beginning of the month. So my focus next month is more on fitness and training than weight.

I love October. Sorry to see it go.

But November beckons:

1) The decluttering was so successful last month that I decided to take the next logical step. After paring down, I could see my unfinished projects more clearly. In November, every day, I will spend 15 minutes on an unfinished project of some sort. And I'll see how many of those project can become finished. And how many of them are worth finishing.

2) One more shot at the CD's.

3) Reading...in addition to the Three Cups of Tea (which really isn't all that long, and looks very good. I'm not sure why I didn't read it) I am going to read three books from my bookshelf that have been sitting there unread for who-knows-how-long.

4) Going to start marathon training. Planning on doing Myrtle Beach again next year with my buddy, Gene.

5) Going to do a race with my Dad.

6) Going to go out to the movies once this month. I LOVE the movies. And I never go.

7) I'm going to buy new towels. My towels are old and ratty and they don't match. So I'm gonna get some new ones and give the old ones to the Goodwill.

8)I'm going to get a new certification for work. The test is in 2 weeks. (that may have to count as an unfinished project until its over)

9) Get used to my new work schedule that starts on Monday. (four ten hour days! Yee Haw!)

Time to jump headfirst into November.