The Other Lyrics

I know there is at least one book dedicated to frequent misinterpretations of lyrics (He’s Got the Whole World In His Pants). Some of them are so funny you wonder how anyone every thought that could be what a singer was saying, others though, are better than the original lyrics.

Tonight while steaming in the shower to try to open up some sinus congestion, I was doing what I so often do in the shower - sing. Everything in the relationship with R has been so good lately, I was singing, “Love is Many Splendored Thing” (from the 1955 film by the same name) when I was interrupted by a coughing fit as some of the lovely mucus broke loose. It sounded more like, “love is a many splintered thing.”

Between fits of laughter and fits of coughing, I tried singing it that way, and it really works.

In some ways, it’s just as true as the original lyrics, but I’m much happier to keep love splendored than splintered.

Excuse Me

Since I have fully determined to lose the 20 pounds I added last year (and the ten I started the year wanting to lose), I have been packing my lunch daily. My lunches have all been a very healthy chopped vegetable salad with a nice garlic and onion vinaigrette dressing. The salad fills and satisfies.

It also causes gas.

Shortly after lunch, I resumed work. At one point I turned from my computer screen to look at a paper on my desk. Midway through the turn, a burp erupted that echoed across my office and out into the greater room outside.

Four people share the space outside my office. The way it is organized, I cannot see if anyone is present at any given time or not. I waited a moment to see if any shocked response emanated from the outer area. No response came, but I felt obliged to offer up an apology, so matching the volume of the burp, I shouted, “Excuse me.” out to any unfortunate person who may have heard the offense.

My embarrassed cry was met my the motion sensor turning off the lights in the outer area.

Life on the Beach III

The lifeguard stands along Miami Beach mostly looked like the square stands on poles, but this one stood out among them for it's aerodynamic shape and bright colors.

Of course, it was along the border area to the gay section of the beach according to R. If he had not told me this, I never would have noticed based on any observation of people along the beach, as it was a mix of men, women, families. Maybe in the summer it is much more segregated than on a windy winter day.

The Creative Nuisance

I do now know why creativity works for me in quite the way it does, but the writing notion most frequently strikes me while I am in the middle of some essential task from which I cannot break away. While I did have a significant amount of deep thinking and creativity over my recent break, the fun creativity struck about the time the first annoying email crossed my screen at work. People with whom I work are generally fine, it is the people in affiliated organizations who expect their whims and wishes to take precedence who grate on my last nerve. With the first annoying email, I began to think of names I could call the person and what fun it would be to recreate her parents’ thought process in generating her name.f

But no!

I had important work to consider. Tasks to get done. Meetings to schedule. I did not have time to whip out pen and paper and start writing jokes.

So I pulled out a post-it pad and scribbled down the most memorable puns and posits regarding her parental moniker manipulation.

Soon work engulfed me and I began to make real progress for the day until my phone started chiming with emails and texts - mostly work related, but some socially connected ones immediately distracted me with thoughts about how to respond.

Some days I think I need Ritalin - and I should have not Googled the correct spelling of Ritalin as it took me to new and wondrous topics I never expected from a drug designed to help one concentrate - but then again, Google knows someone looking up Ritalin probably is having trouble concentrating.

The truth behind it, I think, is that when I am not working, my mind really can go wherever it wants and take as many tangents as it wishes. When working, though, my mind gets trapped in a little box called “work,” and seeks any window for an escape.

One reason I keep finding post-it notes with various phrases or sentence outlines originates from the creative interruption in my work cycle. Sometime it originates in taking bad notes and forgetting what they all mean.

Whatever it is, the creativity does often for me becomes a nuisance. I appreciate the creative juices when they are directed at fulfilling the demands of the job, but dread the interruptions that take me far from the workplace in my mind. Until I have a job that fully integrates my creative and productive desires, I am stuck with battling the wills of each value and occasionally catching myself boundlessly bantering with silly sentences of alliteration.

Life on the Beach II

The day we were walking along Miami Beach, Portuguese Man 'o War had washed up all over the place. R. constantly warned me about the tentacles spreading across the sand as I was only wearing flip-flops (of course).

Despite the danger of the tentacles, I was fascinated by the beauty of the doomed creatures up on the beach and walked along photographing almost all of them a we made our way down the beach.

My photography was so much better than the woman walking along with a board sealing the doom of each Man o' War she encountered by popping them.

Life on the Beach

On Christmas Eve, R. took me for a walk along Miami Beach. It was really nice to be able to go down on the beach in late December and enjoy it. Although the temperatures were nice, it was a very windy day and the shore had seaweed and Portuguese Man o' War all along the water line and higher. Amid all this, there were sponges and other kinds of debris washed in with the wind and waves.

At one location amid the seaweed, I noticed the bottle cap and a seed of some kind. I could not tell exactly what kind of seed it was and it seemed to be growing, so I pulled it out for a closer look and found two signs of life. One end of the seed had well developed barnacles from its time in the water, but at the other end, a green sprout was just beginning to come out of the brown shell.

Nature can be quite amazing with the resilience of her many life forms. I enjoyed seeing all the different things along the beach and look forward to more trips back to the beach with R.

Resolution 2010

Last year I only made one resolution: take better care of myself. For the most part that resolution was successful. I have taken significantly better care of myself in emotional and spiritual ways; however, I have failed dramatically when it comes to physical care of my body. I began the year with that the primary focus of the three and ended the year realizing just how important it is.

Emotionally, I have realized that for many of the things that used to bug me to no end, I really do not care. Saying I simply do not care carries a harshness that is really most accurate. I do not care about pleasing all people all the time. I do not care if my every action does not fully ingratiate itself to others. I do not care if my time frame is different than yours. I do not care if your feelings were hurt by my honesty. Emotionally, I am going to take care of myself.

Spiritually, I began the year thinking I was most healthy in this area, but through the continued study of the Minor Prophets and then into the Apocrypha, I learned so much more about my own foundations in social justice and its roots in Biblical teaching. That combined with my selection for the AWAB council forced me to continue to grow in my thoughts about justice and the role of religion and my personal faith in those endeavors. The activities of the future continue to influence my thinking in this area as I read and study further what it is the Bible tells us about right treatment of all people.

Physically, though, I completely failed in any attempts to care for myself. I gained 20 pounds in the year. I have not exercised. I have not been careful with my eating. So for 2010, I have to be much more focused on my physical health. I have joined a gym, but I actually have to go. I have to spend the time preparing fully healthy meals all the time and not letting myself slip into settling for fast food because I don’t already have something prepared. Where I have given time to study, I now have to dedicate additional time to my physical health by exercising, eating well, and resting.

My resolution for 2010 continues my resolution from last year, but with the full focus of care for myself, and by caring for myself, I can do more to care for others.

Some Everglades Sights

The Everglades adventure the day after Christmas proved to be one of the most exciting times I had on the trip to Florida. As a person who has always enjoyed the outdoors, getting to see this unique area was a highlight of the trip. There were the places and scenes I expected to see, like the vast expanses of grassy wetland.
Other than travel along the road and look out across these areas, there was little to do to see it. But some areas quite surprised me. Some of my very favorite sights were found in the Mahogany Hammock. I was taken by what appeared to be rain forest-like growths and while the canopy was significantly lower than one finds in the rain forest, the shadows and thickness, replicated what I would expect to see there.

The growths on the ground and around the upturned stumps of large trees overturned by hurricanes across the years. Lush growth all along the ground with various mosses and fungi also reminded me of documentaries from rain forests.

There are so many different spots and ecosystems to see in the Everglades, I could spend an entire vacation with my camera taking pictures and exploring the area.

Four Christmases?

The movie “Four Christmases” seemed like the most absurd of titles. Who in their right mind would have four Christmases.

I cannot say for certain that I am in my right mind, but this year, four Christmases is exactly what I am having.

Christmas # 1 took place two weekends before Christmas with my parents, and my brothers and their families. It began the festive season with a fun day seeing my parents and nephews.

Christmas # 2 took place a week later in Kansas with my uncle, aunt, cousins and their families. R. and I drove all the way to Wichita for that event, which was as usual, side-splittingly fun. The entire event is so unpredictable, that we can do little else but laugh and have fun.

Christmas # 3 took place with R.’s family in Florida. For the first time in my life, I traveled to spend the holiday with the family of someone I love. It was also the first time I met his family in person. Through the wonders of Facebook, I had been in some conversation with one of his brothers and his sister, but the holiday was actually the first time I met them in person, so that stress coupled with the holiday, but it did not diminish the good time of the holiday. I am looking forward to another fun weekend vacation with his family in a few weeks at Disney World.

Christmas # 4 will take place on New Year’s Eve, as R. and I have our time to exchange gifts. I am looking forward to this intimate time together as we exchange those things we purchased for each other. I have never given so much thought or had so much fun buying for someone else, but most of all, I look forward to that time together with him, starting our own traditions.

If the first three Christmases are any indication, this is exactly the way the holidays are meant to be. Nothing has been extraordinary by way of expense, but every gift has been thoughtful and the focus has been on relationships. With my cousins and our $1 gifts, with R.’s family and some “getting to know you” gifts, and with R. and I, the first meaningful exchange of gifts together and the time to share with one another.

I have never been a fan of the holidays, but if this year is is any indication of want can be, I may grow to enjoy them more and more.

Garden Scape

My aunt describes her decoration theme as "rust." Rust's natural appearance definitely help those rusted items fit into the landscape around them especially in the winter scape.

The old milk can and wheelbarrow, I found interesting. Again I was hoping for snow to have them really pop out of the surrounding landscape; however, with all the dead grass and leaves, they way the merge into obscurity also fit.

I particularly like the way the leaves have gathered around the wheelbarrow and milk-can, much like snow in a drift. I can imagine the snow falling there gathering around in a similar pattern.