Swine Flu Precautions

During the last week of every month - I'm in charge of stapling all of the statements that leave our office. That's a lot of stapling.

For the last two years, I do the thumb-lick to sort through the stacks. My co-worker - I shall call her the Italian Stallion...stopped me mid-thumb lick and said, "Woa. We have rubber fingers." She then launched into the "with everything that's going around..." speech (she was totally right) and she stretched the tiny rubber finger on my thumb.

The president of our firm (I'll call him Mr. President) walked in just as I was documenting my new hygenic modification. He smiled and said, "You don't need to explain. You're you and that's enough." Word gets around I guess. One time, the secretary walked in on me singing James Blunt to my desk plant.

Anyway.

Please consider this my friendly reminder to take all the precautions you can this flu season.

Rockstar Babysitter

Last Friday, I hung out with a couple of my favorite kids. They're pretty hilarious. I was mostly excited because I knew they would be down for building a fort - I haven't built a fort in a while. Anyway - the second I told them what we were going to do, their eyes glazed over with excitement.

We constructed our little masterpiece with chairs, blankets, sheets and propped up the middle with a Swiffer sweeper. Fort + pizza + Chicken Little = rockstar babysitter.

The Sweet Spot.

Saturday was littered with goodness. Grey's Anatomy, conversation and a Jason Mraz concert. See:

At any rate, Saturday's conversation with the Producer has been on my mind a lot. One of the things that we touched on was the type of legacy your life and your life's work will leave. She basically asked me what I want my life to say.

I know - pretty deep for a Saturday.

Generally those types of questions shut me down -they are so important but so broad. This time, though, I was able to answer in the same round-about fashion that I am known for but with a point at the end that I feel pretty comfortable with repeating.

I told her that I'm still developing my message. I'm learning how to connect what I'm experiencing to words so I can share.

I think a part of having a message to share with your community comes from fulfilling the role you were designed for. I believe that you'll recognize your role when you begin to do the things that make you feel the most alive. If you are functioning in that position - the message you were meant to carry with your life should already be present. Developing the discernment to see it and the character to say it with confidence and clarity is all apart of the process.

And that, my friends (hi mom!) is all I've got. Happy Monday.

Ouch!

WARNING: My inability to verbalize anything confrontational has just manifested itself in the following argument with a day of the week. Proceed.

I went overkill on the "it's Friday morning - woo hoo" cheer this morning and it came back around and punched me right in the face.

Friday was like..."Yes! I am here, but I'm going to make you work through me. That's right, you're going to be busier today than all your other working days combined. Muwa haha ha ha."

Well, Friday - kiss it. My new favorite day of the week is Saturday. You just TRY and catch me there.

Coolest Thing I've Ever Seen #1: Lego House

Some guy in England is building my dream house. Well - was building my dream house until the deal with LegoLand fell through. It has since been demolished. I bet they had to use a REALLY big lego-unsticker:

Look at this!

The idealist inside me is totally disappointed by the wooden studs underneath. If this guy really knew what he was doing he would have known that the interlocking feature paired with overlapping the lego bricks would have been support enough.

So cool. Just last night while strolling through Target, I walked down the Lego aisle and wished I had a reason to buy a big bucket of them - or even pick up one of those little project boxes.

I love...loved Legos.

Happy Hump Day, Sugar!

Rock out with me, if you will. It's Wednesday (I think...it's Wednesday right?) and I'm all by myself in this office and could use a little entertainment. I heard this song on my walk this morning and anyone walking behind me would have caught a show because it definitely put a little bounce in my step and some sway in my hips. Inappropriate, I know.

But. Good love is on the way. Enjoy!

Auf Weidersehen, Adieu.

Ja, ich spreche the deutsche.

The departure curb at the airport makes me want to cry. I dropped Curly off this morning and while I was driving away, I passed by everyone's goodbye hugs and was instantly sad. Everyone's circumstances are different, most all goodbyes are temporary. Unfortunately, some are less temporary - those were the ones I thought of this morning.

The circumstances surrounding the last time I chauffeured someone to the airport were sweet and wonderful on one hand and anxious and sort of painful on the other. It marked a season in my life where I had to learn that some intersections are just that - a place where paths cross. Brevity still contains value - there is a reason for everything!




Blah blah blah.

I'd much rather be waiting in the "arrivals" lane.

Danger!

My neck of the woods is teeming with wildlife these days. Just two days ago, this little buddy appeared on my back steps.

It's ok. I wasn't scared.

In fact, my first reaction wasn't to jump back inside my door and watch from a safe distance - I ran and got my phone to snap the pictures. While taking pictures, I was patting my leg and making alluring kissy noises to entice the little "foxy foxy" to come closer.

Foxy trotted off, but I'm sure I'll see her again. When I got back up to my apartment, I googled "are foxes dangerous?" Turns out they are just rabid. Some people hand feed them. Of course I'm going to try.

Unfortunately my fearlessness caught up with me later in the day. I was ferociously mauled by a six month old domestic short-hair.

Could you just...

...make me laugh? Would the masses not agree that heart strings are more easily attached if they are buzzing with laughter?

"5....6....7....8...."

"NO, YOU WON'T BE SLEEPING LATE!"

Woke to the sound of union picketers this morning. My thoughts were as follows:

1. Would it be counter-productive to picket the picketers?

2. If they brought their own porta-potties, does this mean they will be here for a while?

3. If you are going to make the effort to yell, you should make the effort to enunciate.

Might be a LONG week.

Not a Toy.

Says who?

Nanny kid had a pretty good time, bag maker. For you to suggest that these bags are not toys is to totally ignore the above-illustrated evidence.

He was under close adult supervision.

Also.

I'm a twenty-four year old piano protege'.

Ha.

Ha. Ha.

Dear Jay Leno,

Thank you for pressing Kanye to task - for rattling his cage a little. I don't feel bad for Kanye for having to deal with the fallout of his actions. Hopefully he remembers this moment and these feelings for the rest of his life - I hope they shape the way he treats people, speaks and directs his career.

Thanks,



P.S. Jay - this doesn't look like retirement...

Dear Kanye,

Your appetite for controversy is getting old. Grow up. Stop and ask yourself WWBD (what would Beyonce do). Jerk.

Sincerely,

Bouquets of Sharpened Pencils

I feel as though I can rush fall's arrival by watching You've Got Mail. It's been so nice here lately that I watched it two nights ago just to encourage the weather to stay. I busted out the milk and cookies and pressed play.

I realized while I was watching that this movie has become a big part of the way I conduct myself. A big part of the reason why I love the things I love. I think one of the reasons why I love the simpler things in life is because Meg Ryan constantly points them out in this movie.

She says something in the movie when she was talking about her mother running the Shop Around the Corner - something like "No other reading shapes your life like when you read a book as a child. She wasn't just selling books, she was helping them become the people they were supposed to be." Massive paraphrase - but I love the sentiment. Ironically - I feel the same about the movie.

It's silly. And a little strange. But what if we say, "In with the good, out with the bad," and choose to be influenced by even the little things like movies, books (fiction and non), television, conversation, daisies (the friendlist flower) and bouquets of sharpened pencils!

Wa HOO!

Last week certainly was one for the books. I stopped at one point during last week and thought...I am so happy. I didn't play much this summer but last week made up for all that.

First - my friend the Wu and I played in front of our very first audience. We played four of the songs that we have written and it was one of the biggest highs I have ever experienced. We sang and performed our little hearts out (as best we could...I was out of breath after the first song...). Our friends packed out a little bar here in the city and it was a night I'll never, ever forget.

To top off the euphoria of playing our first gig - I got to escape to the mountains this last weekend. I haven't escaped all summer and it was heaven to sleep on the hard ground and roast marshmallows. I needed a shower something fierce by that last day...but it was absolutely worth it.

Dear Life,

You are amazing.

Love,

So Much To Say

I have so much to say about the last couple days of my life. I can't say them right now...for I do not have the time.

Dear Santa,

I would like wireless internet for Labor Day.

Love,
LayneStreet