Swirly Girl

100 Books Project: We're in Uppercase!

I'm so thrilled to have the 100 Books Project featured in the current issue of Uppercase magazine.  In case you haven't heard, I'm a huge fan.

 

Thank you Uppercase!

100 Books Project: Chapel Hill, North Carolina

[Book #44:  Left by Book Fairy Jamie Herndon in Chapel Hill, North Carolina February 16, 2010]

Here's the scoop on Book #44 from Book Fairy Jamie Herndon:
I just dropped my book - being that I am taking classes for for nursing school, I've become re-immersed in the school culture.  Needless to say, medicine/nursing/science is quite intense, and I figured someone here might need a little extra something.  I put my book on a chair in the nursing school where students often sit and study. I'm hoping someone in need of a pick-me-up finds it! 

Thank you Jamie!!

Sparklette #25

When I was in the fifth grade, every Sunday - without fail - you could find me at Skate World, cruising around the rink to Donna Summer, Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees.  I can still envision the pale blue color of the rink floor filled with a swirl of colorful disco lights when the overhead lights were dimmed, and I can hear the smooth, vibrating din of the skate wheels on the rubbery floor.

The guy whose job it was to collect our rental skates and return our shoes would give our shoes back to us by putting one shoe on the far left end of the counter and one on the far right end of the counter, and my friends and I thought this was hilarious.  It also made us feel totally cool, because that meant he knew us, and he knew us because we were regulars.

Countdown

[Photo taken on a flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles after my first trip to Japan in 2005.]

Whenever I travel, I go through the same before and after timeline as the time leading up to my trip grows shorter.  I not only think about where I will be in one week, one day, etc. but also how quickly it will all be over.  For example, at this exact moment one week from now, I will have just landed in Amman, Jordan, to begin a week of travel that includes a visit to a place I have longed to see for years - Petra.  And two weeks from now?  I'll be on my way home.  Two weeks and one day?  Back home, journey over, bag still unpacked, memories still fresh in my mind like a perfect blanket of snow, not yet trampled on and churned up by errands, laundry and getting back to work.

I envision this before and after countdown in my mind to remind myself that while it might be a very big deal for me to be fulfilling an extraordinary dream, there is plenty more beyond this experience, and much to look forward to in terms of how my experiences on this journey will affect everything I do when I get back home.  My first trip to Japan taught me the art of standing still and observing to figure out what I needed to know (in that case, how to find the train I needed to go to another part of the city).  After I visited Cuba, I experienced an entirely new level of awe at the availability of something as mundane as Band-Aids in the United States (as Cubans have access to free health care, but there are no neighborhood drug stores where things like Band-Aids are available for sale.)  During my trip to New Zealand last year, I returned with greater clarity on a number of personal issues, the result of having a good chunk of quiet solitude in my friend's lovely beach house.  While I love the feeling of anticipation before a new excursion, I also look forward to what is in store for me after I get back home.

It is tempting to look at these out of the ordinary experiences as spaces of time when I'm really living my life - when I am pushing my limits, stepping out of my comfort zones and making dreams come true.  And while these experiences certainly shape who I am and have an impact on my life, they are but one layer.  If I use a house as a metaphor, weeks like the one I'll begin seven days from now are more like the ivory vintage lamps in our bedroom or the artwork on our walls.  They are accents to a larger piece, and certainly not as vital as a strong foundation or a well-built roof.  If I've done my work, their main purpose is to add beauty and flair to an already unique, fulfilling, marvelously imperfect structure - the story of my life.

Sparklette #24

I went to a party last night.  There were about twenty people there and I only knew two of them - the hostess and one of our mutual friends.  While I have no doubt all of the guests were lovely, extraordinary human beings (because they knew the hostess, after all, and she is one of the most phenomenal women I know), I spent most of the evening cozied up with my other friend on the front porch away from the main group, feeling a wee bit guilty that I wasn't in the mood for the kind of small talk necessary in groups where I don't know anyone.

I realize I have become quite bad at small talk.  Or maybe I've just become socially awkward from spending too much time alone.  Or maybe I'm just weird.

But sit down on a couch with me and tell me your stories - your wildest dreams, your deepest longings, tell me what is in your heart in that exact moment - and I'll be right there with you, even if we've just met.

That I can do.  No problem.

Five Things

1.  Di Mackey is having a great giveaway over at her blog - you can enter through this Monday the 22nd!

2.  Craftzine:  Dedicated to the renaissance in the world of crafts.

3.  Kerouac.com:  For all your Beat Generation needs

4.  We Talk Dirty:  This is not what you think it will be.

5.  Get a cup of coffee, turn off your phone, and read this commencement address by the late David Foster Wallace.

Sparklette #23

When I was in college I went to the career center and took one of those tests that is supposed to tell me what careers would suit me best, and Bus Driver came in at the top of my list. 

I swear I'm not making this up.

Although cruising around in a bus like the Partridge Family - I can totally see that.

The Fire

 

Sparklette #22

Sometimes you have to blow off work and head to breakfast with someone you love, especially when you know they're hurting inside, and maybe they just need some really good scrambled eggs.

Sparklette #21

Around here, this word is thrown around on a fairly regular basis, as in, I walk downstairs and see my husband entranced by something on the laptop then the following conversation ensues:

Me:  "What are you looking at?"

Him:  "Porn."

Me:  "What kind today?"

Him:  "Motorcycle."

On another day it might be Bicycle Porn, Airplane Porn or - his favorite as of late - Stereo Equipment Porn.  Now, you might think these websites have galleries of scantily clad women with things like motorcycles and airplanes and stereo equipment (!) in the background, but you'd be wrong.

They're websites that show exactly what he says they show - pictures of motorcycles, bicycles, airplanes and stereo equipment.

That's my man - business executive, violinist, cyclist, porn addict.  And 14-year old boy deep in his heart.