We're going through a cold snap right now, or at least as much of a cold snap as this part of California ever gets. This morning, the pool at work was covered in a centimeter thick layer of ice, inspiring me to spend a small bit of time bouncing small objects off its surface. My fingers were so cold afterward that they hurt, but it was so worth it.
I'm going through another phase of re-listening to old cds in preparation for selling them, and even (finally) put one of them up on eBay to sell. It's sort of an experiment, really, just to see how well it does there. This was more or less motivated by the fact that having to start paying off my student loans has fired upon my budget and caused it to sink before the lifeboats could be deployed. Ha. Of course, I'm loading choice songs onto the computer, so all is not lost. Besides, somebody somewhere will see these cds on a shelf or on eBay and get happy. Sure, it's a consumer sort of happiness, but I support that when it's based on a love of music.
I've been getting a bit more creative in the kitchen lately too, making soup and hummus, and trying my hand at making Tibetan Bod-jha (or Poecha), a tea with butter, milk, and salt added. So far, I've failed at this last task, mainly due to buying the wrong kind of tea. Fortunately, Jeanine and I found a tea place in our wanderings this weekend, so I have a place to go to find the right kind. That said, this particular store is where I bought the wrong kind, but now I have a better idea of what the right kind is. There are all sorts of other interesting teas there too. I had no idea people had made the drinking of tea into a sort of wine-like snobbery. I saw tea in there that was older than I am. Who knew?
3 comments:
'eating people is wrong' ...That's super! Despite (or perhaps due to) your dark and heightened sense of your own mortality (and of ALL that is living beyond your life, really)I expect that you will sweetly pass on in a warm bed...in the midst of a really good dream!
Speaking of eating (Ha!) if you enjoy the butter tea, do you enjoy Tibetan food, as well? Interesting!
(no transition here....) You would love my neighborhood. All types of items travel as needed by way of "FREE" signs. It gets karmic sometimes. Case in point, we gave away a tricycle only to find it on another curb 3 years later...just when we needed it for the next child. Bliss!
You sound great! May your holiday season be one of meaningful gestures, rather than...well, you know the horrible alternatives.
Be well,
Lorelei
You know, of course I was poking fun, but maybe that was presumptuous of me....or I'm projecting. Oops. It isn't really your mortality I see you contemplating, so much as mortality in fiction and the mortality of humankind as a larger character. As I said, always something to ponder.
Carry on!
~Lorelei
When my time comes, I do hope I pass on in the middle of a good dream. You're right though - I'm more likely to spend time contemplating the mortality of humankind than I am my own personal mortality. I've often wondered why, of course, because I like to get over-analytical. I think it is because the big picture has always been intriguing to me (not to mention that fact that contemplating my own mortality isn't a lot of fun). We're just droplets in the stream of time, and we never get to see where the stream begins or where it eventually ends, except in fiction. Early storytellers explained the great number of things that science couldn't, and to a certain extent, I see that still happening. These days though, the best storytellers (in my opinion) give us a feel for where we've been and where we're going as a species (for better or worse). The Road paints a really grim picture of one possible outcome, and for some reason that appeals to me in a cautionary tale kind of way. I've also always been interested in fictional depictions of how people act in extreme situations. I find them inspiring. I like to think that disaster brings out the best in us, but suspect that in many cases it doesn't. On the contrary, disaster seems to bring out the opportunist in a lot of people. Instead of fighting for what is right and what is necessary, many people are too busy taking advantage of the situation. I'm reminded of a true story I read awhile back in which a woman got in a car accident, and while she was stuck in her upside-down car, somebody reached in and stole her purse. It's hard to reconcile our more noble moments with such craven, cowardly acts. We're a mystery to ourselves sometimes. That's what makes us interesting, I guess. I sense a certain societal malaise, which I could go on about for pages, but won't. Let it suffice to say that our gadgets are changing us, and not for the better. It's like a more subtle version of the done-to-death robots vs. humans science fiction theme.
Oh, and I do like Tibetan food! There's a nice little Tibetan cafe in Berkeley that I haven't been to in ages. That's the place that got me hooked on the tea.
I love your tricycle story too. Let's hear it for karma and meaningful gestures.
I'll stop here, because this comment is already longer than most of my posts.
all the best,
John
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