the big and the little
I know I’ve been quiet here lately. Frankly, I’m overwhelmed. First off, the financial crisis and the proposed bail out staggers my mind. Literally. Thank you Amos for doing such a nice job of commenting on it. And second, I can’t believe the election is right around the corner. Tanque has been has been keeping the blog flame lit the last couple weeks with lots of election related posts, which has rocked. Including his endorsement of the Obama/Biden ticket. I think there was mention of my name in some comment about being inspired or hopeful about Obama. And I wanna clear things up and say I don’t feel either of those. The fact is I don’t look to a presidential candidate for hope or inspiration. But I am inspired by the those folks who feel inspired by Obama. I think it’s a good ticket. They’ve got my vote. I think there’s a chance with Obama/Biden we can get things done that need doing. I want the conversation to change on a national level and Dems can do that. But c’mon these are politicians, man. And you don’t stay clean in such a fucking dirty business. Saints don’t run for president.
I feel like lots is going on in my life, but when you look at the shape of my days, you wouldn’t know it. I still find great joy in a sharp chef’s nice and fully inflated bike tires, the company of friends and the long stretches of quiet and time alone in between. I’m still purging and spent last weekend helping RU clean out our old basement. Whew! I did like that it was all very butch in a very classical butch kinda way, like driving a big pick up truck full of crap, most of which I’d hauled and lifted into the bed myself. RU has a fucked up back. The purge was a not the first choice for how I wanted to spend my weekend, but it bubbled up to the top after a failed attempt at camping in Indian Heaven on Mt Adams. It was just too dang foggy up there. And out here fog will kill your ass. I’m serious.
Mostly I’ve been trying to pay attention to the everyday details in my life and how I spend my time. The intention is to better align the external with the internal. It’s tricky, cause it doesn’t always add up. But it’s a good practice and hopefully it will become habit. To that end I’ve been having some kind of intense exchanges with my girl in western Mass and there are no conclusions to draw there except abstract ones, like a deeper understanding of the equation of capacity. If that sounds poetic, well it kinda is. Not that it doesn’t have very real implications. These things aren’t mutually exclusive.
I wanna a put plug in here to try and get as many of you all as I can to try green cleaning. Better for you, the environment and if you make your own solutions better for your wallet.
hi liz. yes, i’ve been missing your posts. i keep checking. 🙂
i have had it on my list to make my own cleaners. i just bought the borax. pep linked to this site some time ago which is also good. http://www.ecocycle.org/hazwaste/recipes.cfm
i’m in the camp of inspired re: obama. i feel you though. i canvassed tonight for the first time. it was good to do. now that i know what to expect i will do it again. or perhaps make calls. one woman my age was about in tears over her financial situation, single mom, etc. i wanted to do something.
i’ve been busy in all sorts of things. my chimney was hit by lightening and was lobbed off my house. i’ve had so many contractors at my house, roof, mason, AC, insurance people. it is getting fixed…slowly. the noise was like a bomb landed over my head. neko was on a detective mission as was i because it sounded like a tree was in the living room. it took me 20 minutes to figure it out (at 2am in the storm).
for me time is hard to navigate in terms of aligning the internal and external. i’m finding a bit of a flow with it. i had a work/life balance for the last 2 mo and it rocks! it has been so long.
i’m nervous too about the elections. but am hopeful. i moved my yard sign from near the house to the front by the road. as if to say…i’m really serious now. 🙂
you r0ck silvia! that’s the bottom line.
like, i said to amos, i’m inspired by you and him and everyone else out there that’s inspired and working for change. if no one’s said thank you yet, let me be the first to say that you for doing the work.
and yeah, people are suffering and it is hard to witness and i’m hoping that we can address some of this suffering with a change in administration.
good lord, your chimney getting lobbed off the house at 2am. i’m gald you’re ok. that’s insane, man. did you take any photos.
wow, silvia – glad you’re okay. that sounds like a crazy scene. like liz, i’d be interested in images if you’ve got any.
i’m inspired one minute, full of qualms the next. i don’t expect saints for leaders, but something about the incompetent sleaze bag model just for the relative goodness will cause me a period of elation. and the most inspiring thing is just what you’re keyed in on: the effect on regular citizens – i think that’s a big part of obama’s appeal, as many of us have experienced him as this cultural phenomenon – i’ve never seen so many toddlers to teenagers wearing a politician’s logo. it might be more a sign of new models of marketing, but i think there’s a huge public will to improve things that he’s tapping into.
man, pep, that would be soo great. a public will to improve things. a public will to engage. i hope we all remember what a messy and imperfect process it is. and i hope we look at the civil right era and remember we can accomplish so much.
It is obama’s invitation to us that most moves me as well. at the beginning and how.
you guys are caring. i felt a bit vulnerable in that moment and for a day or two after. i have this sort of put on your game face ability in a crisis but it jarred me inside. will put up a before and after on my page. roof and chimney are finally fixed. just the AC left.