Stepping Out

Have you ever noticed that once you finally bite the bullet and make a decision, it seems like the universe tries to give you instant feedback on that decision? I did that rather recently (made a decision); and today found out that I'm not the only one who has made it. And when I went to go find positions to apply to, it was ridiculously fruitful (in terms of positions to apply to); which makes no sense in the fourth quarter. This is the quarter where traditionally there are few job postings; and everyone is just trying to hold on until the new year (and Q1) when they can open up and start hiring. Apparently not this year. So, while I'm scared to be in this exposed position; nervous about moving on, and trying to avoid falling out of balance with the here and now, I have that thrill of anticipation to find where I will be when the fog burns off.


Some more quotes for thought
The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg; and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities." - James Allen


"Then the time came when the risk it took to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin


"Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have." - Zig Ziglar


"Any man's life will be filled with constant and unexpected encouragement if he makes up his mind to do his level best each day." - Booker T. Washington

10 Things I loved to do before the age of 10.

This list just appeals to me as something to put a smile on my face. May you find some of my kidlike behaviour just as amusing.


1. Make "milkshakes" where I'd fill up an old 4 oz shrimp cocktail glass with 2 oz of Nestle Quick powder; and add 2 oz milk and stir to a paste.


2. Draw anything and everything. I would use any material that would leave a mark; on any substance that would take one. I was often a very "colourful" child. :-)


3. Watch Transformers, Voltron, Thundercats and GI Joe. I STILL love transformers; but generally won't admit it in public! (I'm thrilled that they're suddenly back in vogue!)


4. Play at Thundercats. I didn't care which role my friends picked; I REALLY wanted to be Cheetarah; and had a big staff that I would run around trying desperately hard to twirl. I was convinced I would be able to run as fast as she could, if I just practiced a lot. I got places really quickly for a few years.


5. Read just about anything. I LOVED books; they were an avenue of escape where my vivid imagination could run rampant; and I could take ideas from my stories and try and convince my friends to play them out with me.


6. ReName people and things. A lot of the things I read had smatterings of other languages in them; and I was fascinated by how names were so close, but so different in other languages (even if the relationship was only in my head!) In turn, that meant if I'd seen a 'variation' of your name in a book; you got renamed by me, and it apparently was permanent. To this day, I can't remember the "real" names of some of my playmates; but I remember what I RENAMED them. *blush*


7. Make up plays about my secret life as a wild thing. I didn't do the princess route so much; but I spent years vividly defining how my life as a... mustang, cougar, mermaid, air sprite, fairy, wolf, etc would be.


8. Climb trees. Scare people; and try to only fall out into HUGE piles of leaves. I was a great tree climber; and often ended up at the top of the tree; usually around the 3rd floor of buildings; which is apparently disconcerting to the neighbours. :-) And in autumn, I'd dragoon all my friends into dragging ALL the leaves we could find in the ENTIRE neighbourhood into one GINORMOUS pile; and then we'd climb into the bottom branches of the tree we had placed the pile next to, and try and fall into the leaves. :-) Sometimes we missed a bit, and that might explain a few things about me!


9. Try and make the swing flip over the bar. I seem to remember seeing some poor small child get too much of a push from their parents; and the swing literally went all the way around (360 degrees) and got hung up that little bit higher. I was OBSESSED with trying to pump so hard that I'd get to fly around the bar. When I couldn't make that happen for years, I decided the next best thing was to learn how to fly up as far as I could go, and at the height I got, flip out of the swing backwards, and try and land on my feet.


10. Sledding. We had winter where I grew up; and winter in my mind means snow. Lots of glorious snow. And the best was when school was closed; we'd go down to the big hill by the house, and I had a thin red plastic rectangle sled; and MAN was it fast. Once I actually got it going so fast down the hill; and I hit the snow bank we'd made, shot over it; and flew across the creek. I actually embedded the sled into the bank on the far side of the creek; and was so worried I was going to fall into the creek and get all wet and get in trouble. Instead I climbed out, up the bank; and had to get some adults to come down and help me pull the sled out of the creek bank. But I still got hot cocoa when I got home, even after all that adventure. :-)

Stories, Seattle, and Silliness


Back from Seattle; had a wonderful time. Managed 5 nights in a row where I actually got more than 10 hours of sleep per night. Heavenly. It's the funny thing about vacations in my world; I like to go out of town so I can catch up on sleep. If I stay home, somehow I always end up doing chores. I somehow convince myself that it's more important to be doing than to be resting / recovering.


So, after 5 nights of sleep, one Halloween party, and lots of household chores, it's Monday, and it's hard to take anything seriously. (Thank heavens, because it appears that the universe it taking itself seriously enough for BOTH of us today!). So, in the nature of providing levity; I include the attached picture.


Now, of course, I have to explain the attached picture. :-) The previous owners of the house I bought hadn't been up to full on maintenance for the last year or so they were there. We've been slowly trying to bring everything back in line. One of the projects we completed was to pressure wash the decks and then re-seal them with water repellent. (Oregon seems to think that 9 months of rain is a great way to keep out strangers.) So, after we'd gotten two coats of water repellent on over a weekend, we thought the entertainment was done. No such chance. :-)


Monday morning, we discovered something odd. Apparently the water repellent we used is tasty. We had squirrels LICKING their way across the deck. The whole deck, and nothing but the window and deck. The picture you see is indeed showing a squirrell tongue slurping the sliding glass door in pursuit of a snackeral of water repellent for wood.

Random Quote Drop


I'd like to pretend that I have something interesting to talk about, but somehow, today, I come up with nothing. So, since i can't pour you a companionable cup of coffee / tea and just while away the hours about the weather, I give you quotes. The ones in the last few days that make me think, ponder and sip that nice warm beverage that so suits the weather. Enjoy.


"All personal breakthroughs being with a change in beliefs. So how do we change? The most effective way is to get your brain to associate massive pain to the old belief. You must feel deep in your gut that not only has this belief cost you pain in the past, but it's costing you in the present and, ultimately, can only bring you pain in the future. Then you must associate tremendous pleasure to the idea of adopting a new, empowering belief." - Tony Robbins


"I am responsible for my own well-being, my own happiness. The choices and decisions I make regarding my life directly influence the quality of my days." - Kathleen Andrus


"The possibility of stepping into a higher plane is quite real for everyone. It requires no force or effort or sacrifice. It involves little more than changing our ideas about what is normal." - Deepak Chopra


"In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It's not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently." - Tony Robbins


does it seem to you
that when you watch others painting apples
that are apples so precisely,
and yours are apples in thought and deed,
that you are pulling more from the apple than they?
art..is expression.
dialogue, monologue,
diatribe, hymn.


please remember.


mouse

Home Again


Last week included a random trip to Vancouver Canada. Which, while I love the city, can be remarkably like Portland when it's raining - Cold and WET! Silly me, I'd forgotten to bring anything seriously waterproof with me, so that 8-9 block walk to the office from the hotel? Left me a total drowned rat.


However, I'm safely home again, and the city is bringing out her beautiful autumn colours. The rain gives the air a clarity that enhances the reminders that the year is coming to a close. It makes you want all the comforts of fall - hot soups and cocoa; fires sparking in the fireplace, thick blankets to cuddle up with. On top of all those wonderful things, it's encouraged me to start moving again. I picked up my sketchbook this weekend and did two quick sketches; and started updating my resume. To quote Nickelback "It's hard to say it, don't want to say it, 'Good-bye'..."