Chancedance Chronicles

'Perhaps the poet whose verses gladden us was sad and solitary, and the musician a melancholic dreamer...What they give us is no longer their darkness, their suffering or fears, but a drop of pure light, eternal cheerfulness...'

--Herman Hesse, Magister Ludi

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11-15-08 "There are two things a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what they cannot." So said Plato in all his wisdom. I bring it up here because lately I've had a person in my life who is constantly full of anger and frustration at unfortunate circumstances that have befallen him. Does his anger change these things? No. Does he use his anger to fuel any positive action? No. Therefore, his anger is not only wasted energy, but an insidious form of laziness, a pit of self-pity which he chooses to remain in, hiding behind this anger and sense of injustice. The world is not fair. Deal with it. Have the courage and sense to change the things you can. I'm finding myself with an uncertain future that could lead to a shortage of money. Instead of being angry, scared or frustrated, I'm making plans to use that time to build up my Snakebite Graphics work, do a bunch of home and art projects and enjoy some favorite hobbies and volunteer work. I leave you with another quote that is good advice also:
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it!" ~ Johann Goethe

11-7-08 Halloween is over, the election is over and the year-end holidays are just around the corner. We transitioned from a rare brightly colorful fall to the heavy rains of a Puget Sound November. It feels peaceful to me, as if all is as it should be. I'm hopeful about the future with the new President coming and at the moment am enjoying a calm before a storm of upcoming transitions, stresses and changes. My kidney transplant donor paperwork has been approved and I go Monday for a blood test to determine if there are any antibodies in my blood that could crash my friend's system if she gets my kidney. I have mixed feelings about that. If all is well, she and I will be having a very serious surgery soon. If we turn out to be incompatible, she will have to search for another donor and I will have to stand by and watch her get sicker and sicker, praying that another donor can be found but also living with the all-too-human emotion, unwelcome and selfish as it is, that at least I don't have to go thru a very scary operation. Meanwhile we start preparations for the holidays and all their joys and stresses. We don't know where we'll put a Christmas tree in our new house. Our furniture barely fits here. Money is good, but we have to be cautious with it in preparation of my being off work for 2 weeks to heal from the kidney donation. My son is all stressed out from not having a job and we have to hold it all together for him. One little thing I'm doing to plan for stress-relief is finishing up my master bath into a spa retreat to have ready for relaxing bubble baths and aroma therapy sessions. I've got primer on the walls now and just have to paint, then it is done. I'm stocking up on cold-weather comfort drinks like cocoa and hot apple cider. Sometimes it really is the little things that help. What little favors can you do for yourself to provide a bit of stress relief during the often stressful winter holidays? Go ahead, give yourself a little gift of love so you will have more to share with others.

10-26-08 Halloween is almost here and I welcomed it eagerly last night by attending a Halloween party. I was really impressed with the creativity that went into it--the invitations were tucked into Tarot card holders and the party featured someone dressed as a gypsy to read the cards. Another fun item was the caricature artist who was drawing people in their costumes. I went as a pimp wearing a red leather trench coat, big 'fro and purple fur hat with leopard skin trim. I tried to get my friend ot dress up as my bitch but he wouldn't do it and went as a pirate instead, LOL.  My favorite costumes of the evening were Bert and Ernie, a hippy couple, a gladiator and a big black lady dressed up as Dog the Bounty Hunter with his terrible blond mullet. The party hosts opted for funny and cute over scary stuff, but it was ok. We like the scary stuff and will finish setting up our personal creepshow in the yard in the next couple of days. It's pretty much done except for carving our pumpkins and putting the expensive items out, like our brand new animated creepy lady who will crawl out from under our porch, screaming and moaning. Remember the fun you had as a kid during this most imaginative and creative of holidays? Keep the tradition of Halloween alive by participating!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

10-13-08 The logo design I mentioned in my last post as well as the children's art I finished about a month ago are up for viewing on my portfolio site. My son's birthday was yesterday so while his dad was hunting, we went to Seattle and hung out for the day. We visited Pike Street and then went to the Seattle Aquarium, which we hadn't gone to since he was a small child. I remember that aquarium being sort of small and dated, but it has been completely remodeled and expanded into 2 buildings. The first, new building is all interactive, full of tidepools where touching is allowed and encouraged. It also houses a Pacific Giant Octopus. The second building is the old, original one and is still dated but has some remodeled features. Was it worth the $15 per person? My son thought so, and for little kids to be able to touch sea cucumbers, urchins, anemones...yeah, I agree. Then we went to the Seattle Center for an overpriced dinner at the Seattle Bistro which used to be a cool restaurant called Michelengelo's which featured murals from the Sistine Chapel. I was sad to see all the beautiful paintings had been covered over. The food was overpriced, overcooked and undersized. We won't be going there again. At least they gave my son a free dessert for his birthday. After that, we went to the Boeing IMAX to see Dark Knight on the really big screen. That was awesome! It felt like being in the movie, flying over buildings yourself. What a great way to see such a good movie.

10-4-08 I'm watching the rain fall outside my window, washing away the last of summer from the cedars. Soon we'll be building fires for heat and whiling away the cold days between now and spring. It feels good and right. The seasons are changing just as my life has changed from what it was in the summer to a whole new palette of colorful experiences. We picked up a new seat for the Harley yesterday, but it may be a while before we can test it out. I made it through the 2nd week at the new job and it is clear that the owners are happy with me as they have begun making arrangements for a long vacation this winter and have expanded my training. I'm really anxious about trying to do it all while they are away, but their trip is still several months away and maybe I'll know all I need to by then. Today I'm going to start setting up my Halloween cemetery and I'm curious to see how it will turn out in the new yard. I also completed a logo design for my friend's new baking company and will be working it into business cards and product labels this weekend.

Elections are less than 1 month away now and I urge all of you to consider your personal rights and freedoms as you go to the polls. Cherish them. Hold them dear as you make your choices. Research how each candidate's view will impact them and consider how their choice of running mate may impact you as well. If an old man is voted in as president and he dies in office, would you really want Ms Palin making choices about your freedom and rights, or those of your wives and daughters? Would she represent our nation well to the rest of the world? If America votes in its first black president, how will you feel about his running mate taking over in the event of his assassination? These are grim considerations, but in the current atmosphere of hate, fear and anxiety, they must be considered. I have researched them and am voting for Obama and Biden. Please do your homework, research your options, and take care with your vote, because it does matter, and will impact this nation and your rights and freedoms for years, maybe generations.

Updated 11-15-08

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