*Chirp*

Is anybody there?  What is it about little things like moving and changing jobs that leave one feeling disconnected?  Unless my hit counter lies, you’re out there :).  It’d be nice to know you, faceless audience.  With that, I throw words into the void; I wonder what I’ll catch ;). 

I agree with Ms. O’Hara of Gone With the Wind fame-  “Tomorrow is another day.”  Or, to quote Macbeth, “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in its petty pace from day to day.”  Perhaps I should stop reading Prufrock :D.

Unfortunate Greetings from the Frozen North

What first appeared impossible is now Mission:Accomplished.  My amazing, wonderful husband and I have, for all intents and purposes, completed moving.  I actually trudged through *snow* yesterday on my way to work.  The adage states that April showers bring May flowers, but what about April snowfall?  I am gainfully employed at Barnes and Noble (30% off of books guarantees that I’ll at least bring home part of my paycheck 🙂 ). 

Besides fighting the battle of the boxes (so far the boxes are winning) as part of setting up our new nest, how has this English major filled the leisure hours allocated to her?  By meeting famous authors, of course!

 for all the news that’s fit to print, check out the ironically named Arizona Daily Sun:

http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2007/04/22/news/20070422_front%20page_15.txt

A Moving Experience…

I told her we weren’t moving for another two weeks, but guess who wanted to make sure she wasn’t left behind :D. 

Say It With Petunias: or, Too Early for April Showers

Mood:  rosy

Song: “Everything’s Coming Up Roses”

*Warning: This Post is Slightly Belated*

Since my darling husband and I both worked on Valentine’s Day (a.k.a. “Singles Awareness Day”), we made the prudent decision to celebrate the day beforehand.  I had no idea what he intended, but I was quite content to go along for the ride.  We ended up at the Boyce-Thompson Arboretum for a romantic morning spent tiptoeing through the tulips and rambling among the roses.  I was also treated to a history lesson thanks to a display covering the long-forgotten language of the flowers.

That’s right; even this English major acknowledges that there are ways of speaking without words.  Some sources believe that the practice of assigning meaning to particular flowers originated in Persia and the near east.  Perhaps King Charles of Sweden, who visited Turkey in the 1700’s, brought the tradition back with him; possibly Crusaders carried the secret significance of flowers back with them to the courts of Europe.  

The language of flowers spanned many cultures, each contributing meanings to local blooms; in fact, though modern minds may think it strange, great expense was poured out to obtain just the right flower to signify a desired meaning.  In certain instances the order of flowers was set by a long ribbon so that the message would be read properly and in order.  During Victorian times the Medieval tradition was revived, allowing young lovers to communicate despite strict cultural mores.  While sceptics (both Victorian and contemporary) will scoff at the idea that flowers can bear meanings, be assured that the language is still alive today; what clearer token of romantic love can sweethearts exchange than a deep red rose?

Ashes to Ashes: A Musing on Lent

 

Hashata hakha, l’shana haba b’ar’a d’yisrael;
Hashata avdei, l’shana haba bnei chorin.

 “This year here, next year in Israel!! This year slaves, next year free men!” (Jewish saying at Passover)

Human beings are amphibious creatures, created for eternity yet existing in linear time.  Thanks in no small part to the Industrial Revolution, it is easy to confirm that, at least in the West,  we are chained to the hands of a watch moving inexorably onward.  Even a century ago this was not so; planting would begin when leaves reached an approximate size and the workday would end around dusk.  Modern man, on the other hand, has life scheduled to the second (and wonders why he is under nearly constant pressure!).  We were not intended to live that way, faced with instantaneous change conflicting with an ingrained desire for stability. 

Think about why one of the most effective methods of torturers throughout history has been to deny their victims any sense of the true passage of time.  Separate man from knowledge of the season, day, or hour and he is lost and easily broken.   Call it circadian rhythms if you will, but we long for both transition and constancy.  Thanks be to our God, who has perfectly balanced the two.  It will be spring again, but always a *new* spring.  Feast and famine are balanced too, an apt reminder as we move towards the Great Fast of Lent.  If it was always winter but never Christmas, there would be no expectation or pleasure and life would be constant drudgery.  On the other hand, one cannot appreciate feasting without a sense of what it means to be deprived.  Judaism and liturgical Christianity allow for both, just as it should be.  When Jews celebrate the Passover, their joy in the Lord’s mighty deliverance is tempered by reminders (such as the maror, or bitter herbs) of the misery of slavery.  It is significant to remember that Christ’s last meal was a Passover seder as he both fulfilled all of the Passover customs and made them new by instituting the Lord’s Supper on that night. 

Lent must give way to Easter, sorrow to joy, but our joy is not yet complete.  Next year we may be free, but for now we are slaves, slaves to sin, slaves to this physical world.  Come quickly, Lord Jesus; because of your resurrection we hope to celebrate the Passover meal together with you once more in the New Jerusalem, ha aretz Yisrael

From the Random Files…

Question of the day:

 If the moon is made of green cheese, what color are the mice on the moon?

Please post your answer in the form of a question for all those Jeopardy fans among my readers…

Tempus Fugit, Or Make Haste Slowly

Reader beware; I am no prophet.  From me you shall hear no clarion call to action.  My  aspirations are far more humble in origin.  Resoultions can be found elsewhere (see myspace); allow me, however, to present my wishlist for the next 360 days. 

1.  I’d love to see Charles established in the career he’s been called to.  He will finish his Paramedic program and possibly even immerse himself in opportunities as a volunteer firefighter.  For myself, I stand poised at a crossroads; I know the type of career I’m suited for but the specifics still elude me.  By the end of 2007, I intend to be much more prepared to balance work and family. 

2. We will straigten out our finances and finally implement some of the strategies we’ve discussed (i.e. saving at least 3-6 months worth of essential expenses).  A more proactive and cautiously risky management of our portfolio will put us in a position to possibly purchase our first house by the end of the year.  In addition, we will significantly reduce the amount still outstanding on the Green Lantern (Charles’s truck). 

3. Getting myself into the best possible shape mentally and physically will start us down the path to beginning our family.  Essentially, I need less stress and more productive outlets for the stress I carry.  I’m concerned about my tendency to “sweat the small stuff”, as my mother would say. Charles and I will make a conscious effort to incorporate more quality time with each other every week; after all, proximity  is no replacement for honest conversation.        

4. I will progress towards maintaining (and strengthening) healthy relationships.  I complain often enough about feeling isolated, and if we end up moving I truly will be set adrift.  This introvert has every intention of reaching out before I stagnate.  

The Truth and Nothing But the Truth…

Mood: Renewed
Song: “Sound of Silence” 

Breaking the silence, I present my autobiograpy in verse form.  Those of you who are my fellow English geeks will recognize the medium as an English (Shakespearean) sonnet. 

I wrote this as an example for my students, but the content comes directly from the recesses of my own psyche.  Please feel free to offer *constructive* feedback; I am no Philip Sidney, nor would I choose to be.  I know it’s a work in progress.

 Better yet, try your own version of the autobiopoem and either post the link or include it in the comments.  The gauntlet, my friends, has been officially thrown down.

White Rose Sonnet   

Oh what is in a name like Juliet?                                                                    

Does it foreshadow what I am to be?                                                             

From books I’ve learned what I cannot forget:                                               

That goodness, truth and beauty must guide me.                                                                                                                               

 With solemn thoughts I gaze upon the stars                                                   

And often sense my own transparency.                                                                      

Inspired by them, I long to have no scars,                                                      

But I must find a deeper way to see.                                                                        

I fear to fail but dread uncertainty                                                                                         

And could not bear to cause another pain.                                                                            

An ancient motto, “loyalty binds me”,                                                                                               

Is in my life both credo and refrain.                              

I am no piercing prophet with bold voice,

But, under mercy, in my call rejoice.     

In Other News…

On this day in history…

1868 14th Amendment adopted
1932 Bonus Marchers evicted by U.S. Army

AMER. REVOLUTION
1776 Sargent and Hutchinson arrive at Horn’s Hook, New York

AUTOMOTIVE
1973 Bonnie & Clyde’s Ford V-8 sold at auction

CIVIL WAR
1864 Battle of Ezra Church begins

COLD WAR
1945 U.S. Senate approves United Nations charter

CRIME
1990 A soft drink containing liquid cocaine kills an unsuspecting drinker

DISASTER
1945 Plane crashes into Empire State Building

ENTERTAINMENT
1948 Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein opens

LEAD STORY
1976 WORST MODERN EARTHQUAKE:

LITERARY
1814 Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin elope to France

OLD WEST
1923 Indian agent James McLaughlin dies

PRESIDENTIAL
1929 Future first lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy is born

VIETNAM WAR
1965 Johnson announces more troops to Vietnam

WALL STREET
1841 Senate passes Fiscal Bank Bill

WORLD WAR I
1914 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia

WORLD WAR II
1943 Hamburg suffers a firestorm

1980:  I was born in Las Vegas, NV

365

Oh, and by the way…

Happy Anniversary, my darling husband. I am blessed to be your wife. We can truly say that we are more in love today, in a fuller sense of the word, than we were exactly a year ago when we wed. Thank you for choosing me and loving me.

One year past, Lord willing, many more to come :).