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A Prayer To Share
Dec. 25th, 2011 05:28 pmYess'm, Jesus, life, cosmic intelligence, Milky Way Magi, take the wheel.
I know you've got my back. I know that you know how intensely my heart burns, how sweet is the honey at the center of my center, how much I am capable of. And God knows (that'd be you) how game I am to collaborate with you to make good stuff happen.
I accept my calling: to show up and shine. Unfurled and honest. Determined to be only that which I am.
I'm here to give...my all.
I trust that pure intention counts for plentiful support.
I trust we'll get where I'm going, together -- once I learn to be where I am.
I'll go make my art now.
I have faith that you've got the rest covered.
Amen. Om shanti. Shalom.
-By Danielle LaPorte
Winter Solstice
Dec. 21st, 2011 09:46 amThe significance of it has grown and changed as I have. With my mother gone, one stepfather lost to the dreams he's chasing, and one 1400 miles away, I'll never have the winter oasis of a few gifts and a lot of Scrabble again. But I still celebrate it.
Yule, or the Winter Solstice, is a celebration of the return of the light after a long, cold passing. The dark side of the year begins to brighten. The time of hanging around indoors getting to know myself has been...interesting, but I can and will emerge. The darkness and the cold are not evil or bad, but the light is much warmer, and with everything is change.
It is the longest night. The darkest, before the dawn. The nameless night, between the time of being and the time of doing. The Holly King of introspection, patience, and lessons learned (And...presents...for some reason, thanks Santa!) gives way to the steadfast and bright Oak at dawn. I am looking forward to it.
The times of Yule are also marked to be the birth of the one who will be known as the Light of the World. :) It is the 2nd night of the festival of Lights. There are few who are not waiting for the Sun, or at least the Son.
Amber
PS: Yule was traditionally celebrated over three nights in the 800s in Norway. It turns out I have Solstice tonight, tomorrow night, and a little something for myself on Friday. :)
PPS:
Care and Feeding Revisited-Revisited
Dec. 8th, 2011 05:02 pmI wrote this 5 years ago. I still like it. :)
1]Be honest, with me, yourself, and other people.I have virtually no tolerance for liars and manipulators. I will usually inquire about things I see as dishonest, to find out if there was something I missed, but if explanations fall short with any frequency, we won't be around each other for long. Not only is it insulting to me to be lied to in the first place, but is further insulting that you won’t believe I’ll figure it out. Trust me to be able to handle what you throw, as long as it’s the truth. I will return the favor.
2] It takes two to tango. Or four to..uh, dance that starts with an F. By which I mean, relationships require attention and energy from all parties in order to thrive. There needs to be a balance. I enjoy doing things for people I care about, but it hurts to feel taken for granted.
3] Treat me with respect. Respect is vital in any healthy relationship (even an adversarial one). Don't dismiss my opinions and conclusions, because I don't arrive at them randomly, and if you give me a chance I'll do my best to explain how I arrived at them. And don't ever "shhhhh" me. I'm not a pet, no matter how much I enjoy being petted.
4] If I am acting unusual, feel free to ask about it. If I want to talk about it, I will. If it has to do with you, with very few exceptions, you should know about it already. Sometimes I don’t realize what I’m doing though, and would thank you for the note.
5] I am affectionate...to a point. I love the little touches and body language that people can share. However, just because I’m willing to hug/kiss/whatever a person over here, does not mean I’m going to do the same for you. Do not make assumptions. If I am willing to be affectionate towards you in a more than hugs manner, you’ll know (by the way, if you don't smoke, the snuggle factor tends to increase). Also, if you’re not comfortable with affection from me, than by all means say so. Communication = good.
6]Be prepared to forgive me, as I will you. Surprise, surprise, I will make mistakes. Some of them will be quite creative and unique. I try very hard to learn from them, and have a decent learning curve, but forgiveness--as with any relationship of any length--will at times be needed. While I do have some trust issues (don't we all?) I'm pretty decent at forgiving people, so you can at least expect it in return.
7] You don’t have to like all my friends, but please respect them. I care about my friends, but I know that they tend to be a variety of personality types. Most of the time, you can avoid those people you don’t like -– if you can’t all I ask is for you to treat them as you’d like to be treated. It’s an awkward position to have to police between you. Don’t make me do it.
8]Sometimes my schedule gets crazy.Between work, random flights of geekery, and a number of friends, sometimes people fall through the cracks. This is a failing of mine. If I seem to have fallen off the face of the planet, a good bonk on the nose should do the trick. I wish there were more hours in the day sometimes. I guarantee that if you've been in my heart, you're still there, or you'd know. And if I've ever told you I love you, be it platonic or whatever...I still do. Even if it's not reciprocal anymore.
9] I am mine. This doesn't mean that I can't choose to be part of your life, but if you start thinking of me as a possession, you are making a mistake.
10] Relax. I am pretty easy going. I would like to think the things I mentioned are pretty common sense. I don't sweat the little stuff, and I'm pretty uncritical. If we are communicating honestly, then things will work out in the best way for us.
Just Glue Some Gears on It!!!
Nov. 30th, 2011 06:28 pmAs I am prepping for my Post-Apocalyptic Lovecraftian Steampunk tabletop tomorrow, this tickled me.
Amber
Notes to a character
Nov. 16th, 2011 02:22 pmThe Laws of Power
Power without purpose is failure.
Never outshine the master.
Learn how to use enemies.
Conceal your intentions.
Always say less than necessary.
So much depends on reputation. Guard it with your life.
Court attention at all costs. ( Read more... )
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Changes, they are a coming...
Oct. 23rd, 2011 12:24 pm![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
aurora77 :)BECU (a local credit union) is seeing record numbers of new accounts this month (which isn't over yet!) which has been attributed to the Wall Street backlash.
"The credit union will soon exceed $10 billion in assets, subjecting it to the "Durbin Amendment", which slashes the debit card transaction fee cap roughly in half, to about 24¢. This will cost BECU, but they will not increase fees or add new ones as they expect to make up for the loss with growth in deposits."
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/10/21/anti-wall-street-backlash-pushes-new-accounts-up-280-percent-at-becu
If you're still with a big bank and haven't opened your new CU account yet, don't wait until November 5th. Open your new account now to make your switch easier. Change your direct deposit over to the new account. Make sure you keep enough in the old account to cover outstanding transactions/checks/auto-pay bills. Keep in mind a bank can deny your request to close out your account and sometimes will if there was activity within the past 48 hours. They can also temporarily suspend withdrawals if they suspect there's a run on the bank, so you might want to try your account closure a different day.
Amber
PS: Mason....watching...Mystic Power Rangers...can't...leave...can't.....stupid couch....
The Internet Still Loves Me
Oct. 20th, 2011 08:07 pmThat's right. Captain Kirk versus Christopher Columbus in an epic rap battle!
I'm still in Painland, Land of Pain. Any more surgically savvy people know how long this lasts?
Amber
Stab and stab!
Oct. 19th, 2011 11:52 amIt's surgery day!
I'm heading to Overlake in about 10 minutes. With paperwork etc etc the surgery is scheduled at 2:30 and in recovery around 4.
They asked if I wanted to be awake but numb from the waist down to watch... pass.
I'll report in later but I told Chuck to comment with an update.
Amber
... and stab and stab and stab...
Posted via LiveJournal.app.
Idle Hands: Sonnet-Licious
Oct. 13th, 2011 05:48 pmI believe in a true love, forever love, like William Shakespeare. The difference between us is that I don't have the silly philosophy of one true love, that one Disney perfect fit for a person. I'm glad for that as well, since with my luck my perfect soul mate with be a Bulgarian dirt-farmer and part time inventor moonlighting as an underwear model and we'd have zero chance of meeting.
That's what's cool about Shakespeare's sonnet 116, since it is about true love AND the nature of not needing or wanting to change your beloved. Faults and imperfections make Chuck beautiful. I am practically perfect of course.
People change. This journal is proof of that. I have grown very well, and I thank the eternal constancy of love I have given and received for that.
Some changes, like annoying knee injuries, diminish me, but I try to remember that I don't stop being loved when I have to hold still for a while. Love is a constant, even when people change.
1000 letters.
Idle Hands and Empty Pockets
Oct. 9th, 2011 05:27 pmI wanted to do a few fundraisers as I saved up anyway, and now suddenly seems like a great time. :)
So this is where I write for money!!! Here is what I propose:
1: Donate a dollar amount to my PayPal account. $5, $10, $15, whatever.
2: In your donation, give me a topic to write on.
3: I will write a blog post about whatever topic you choose. I will state your name as the donator person in the post unless you tell me not to.
4: Whatever I earn will either pay the deductible on my busted knee or go into savings for the wedding, depending on what my resources are at the time.
I will write on anything and everything, but I get to choose the filters... in some cases, it might be a filter of just you (we call that email).
You will then assist me in maintaining my sanity while stuck on this couch and/or bed for the next week or so, and you're also a patron of the arts or something. :)
<3
Amber
Steve Jobs takes position in IHeaven
Oct. 5th, 2011 06:01 pmAn awesome legacy, that.
Amber
MUSHROOMS + Whatever.
Cheese is also nice.
I am not going out of my way to eat vegetarian, but just by default of choosing what I want to eat, it happens pretty regularly. Cheese, mushrooms and my new friend roasted peppers have a lot to do with that.
Amber
I've had several best friends over the course of 28.745 years of my life.
My first was named Heather E. I remember her name, and that she lived in a pink apartment building. We were in Kindergarten together in Van Nuys, CA until she moved away to Newhall. The pink apartment building was empty, and I never knew how to find her since I was like, 5. I think on her now and then, and hope that she grew into an amazing life.
I met Melinda in the 4th grade. We were strange and unpopular together. We lived in stories and generally avoided people. I learned about nerdy things from my family and shared it with her. She moved to Boulder City for a while as I went to Jr. High.
After the 94 quake knocked down my house, we moved to a new trailer park. I met the posse of friends I'd have through the rest of my childhood-- Jaimi, Eron, Karla, others. Eron became my best friend. We went to Church together and shared secrets and the bunch of us grew strange and wonderful under the influence of X-Men, Theater and Jesus Christ.
There was that point when things fell apart, and then apart, and then apart. Perhaps my strange but predictable life spun out when Karla became my "best friend" and then more. Then forward in a rush, an avalanche of events. One fateful day, I arrived in Seattle and my whole sense of "best friend" had changed quite a bit. The last almost decade has been aching and wonderful. I wandered from the ideal of "best friend", preferring social circles and community over that one person who could simply be too close to be safe. In a lot of ways, I conducted my romances in a similar but differently-expressed principal.
Then, there was Chuck.( Read more... )
This morning, he asked me again. Just for symmetry sake. I still said yes.
Amber
PS: If this seems a bit disjointed, I blame the occasional cat on my face, the sun, the autumn wind, and the overwhelming joy I feel that defies words.
