wow

...one month straight and then one month of nothing. I'll be posting more soon, I promise.

Just as soon as I tear myself away from a couple blogs I've gotten hooked on.

And get the equipment to work from home (finally!).

And finish the books I need to return to the library.

And the thank you cards I've been meaning to send.

...but the thought has to count for SOMETHING, right?

Summer Reads

Summer is upon us. Walked out the door yesterday and was embraced by a strong warm wind whirling by. I LOVE wind. Feels like a caress and a big breath of fresh air in one.

Need to stock up on some books to take with me on trips and to read out in the sunshine on some soft green grass.

Here are a couple I put on hold at the library.



Seems like a good assortment. I also tossed in some David Sedaris, Robert Fulghum, and the odd memoir of first-year residency in med school. Not as odd as some of the books I was reading a year ago (you'll never look at rice crispies the same way again after reading Stiff):



Or as long as others:



East of Eden was great. I was not a fan of some of the "classics" foisted upon us in english classes (Invisible Man? what was the point? really?). But this is good stuff. Wally Lamb's book was rather dark, but I was determined to finish all 901 pages. It definitely wasn't as enjoyable as the 759 pages of book 7 in the Harry Potter series!

In general, the human body fascinates me. One of my very favorite books is Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Paul Brand and Philip Yancey.

I started The Gift of Pain, and set it aside only because of the more pressing need to finish library books reaching their due date. I look forward to getting back to it.

Any others I should add to my holds list at the library?

Hedonists take heed!

This is the true joy of life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clot of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.
- George Bernard Shaw

Happiness depends upon ourselves.
-Aristotle

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
- Abraham Lincoln

FEEDBACK!

Okay, yes, this blog is for me - for me to blather on about whatever my heart desires. But it's also for those of you out there reading it! Let me know what you think of the various random things I write about. You don't even have to go through the hassle of leaving an official comment! Just check one of the boxes at the bottom of the post:

Yesterday marked the one month anniversary of the creation of this site. I would love to get your feedback from here on out, but don't forget there are also 30-odd posts back in the archives for you to critique as well.

As they say on customer satisfaction surveys - Your feedback is important! :)

TGIF

Wow, it's been a long week. I feel a bit like the tattered flower above.

As a 9-5 working adult, I may not have the luxury of winter break, spring break, and summer break, but Friday's are still a joy. I'd even go so far as to say they're more of a joy now that they're free from the entanglements of homework and papers and projects and studying.

Got any plans for this mid-summer weekend?

And you are...?

In keeping with the "What is this?" theme, here are a couple things I've come across I haven't really been able to understand.


This is a strange plant that's growing under an Aurora overpass. It looks like a skeleton plant. It's black and wirey, but still seems to be alive and happy. It makes me think of The Nightmare Before Christmas - how it's all dark and scary-looking, but tenderhearted.

Hey look - a large lego! Okay, not really. But that's what I think of every time I see these around the city. They're replacing the ramps on the corners of sidewalks and I'm sure there's something to do with traction/non-slip something or other, but I think it just makes it look like Legoland.

Did they bolt the cement to the ground or something? The ironic thing is the cement is cracked wherever these are.

This is just above the bolted cement wall. Behind the fence is a paved playground, so I'm not really sure what this is meant to drain.

Does the fact that I notice these things mean I haven't lost my child-like curiousity? Or that I'm hopelessly naive and out of touch? Hmmm...

What is this?

Anybody recognize this common sight?

By the way, did you see the faces in the fire in my last post? If you click on a picture it opens up a larger version. The last two pictures in the post are a little eerie when you look closely. And don't leave me hanging on which one is your favorite!

Fire

Friday night my roommate got some friends together for a BBQ at Golden Gardens. The sun was out, the sand was warm, and the beach was buzzing. I noticed a slackline set up in the woods and had a chance to practice a bit. Enjoyed a fabulous hotdog with ketchup reluctantly provided by the group next to us (so we forgot the condiments, it still seemed a bit stingey for them to begrudge us a dollop of ketchup).

As the sun set, we moved on to dessert. My multi-talented roommate had made homemade marshmallows and brought high end chocolate from her part-time job at Chocolopolis. I've never tasted such decadent s'mores!

We noticed a crowd gathering just down the beach. It turns out Friday nights are the time to gather to watch fire poi. It was amazing to see how the pictures turned out on my camera.

They use flaming swords, and balls of fire on chains.

There is a steady drum beat going in the background, to provide a constant rhythm.

The chains can be either long or short (or you can wrap them around your hands to shorten them temporarily).

A few guys were even juggling flaming batons.

The girl in the middle is using metal fans here, kind of like candellabra.

This looked like a firebird to me.

Which of these is your favorite?

Yep, I'm going to make you pick just one.

Which one is it going to be?

You can choose from all of the pictures, or just one of the last three, but I'm interested to know which one you like best.

To learn more about poi, visit this site: http://www.homeofpoi.com/.