02.Mar.2010 pinatas and feet
Here is a picture of me as a wee one at a cousins birthday party in Mexico. Notice in the first one my giant feet; something I never grew out of or into depending on how you look at it (I’m a ladies size US11 btw). In the second one is perhaps the first glimpse of the cynical little cupcake I am today. Its not my fault I’m not amused and excited by what seems to work for everyone else. Sigh. Its so isolating, my elitism.
How do you feel about pinatas?
03.Jan.2010 So it begins
Well, its come to that time where we gather around and shoot the shit about changes we would like to make in ourselves. Not officially committing them as like, resolutions. Just SAYIN, it would be nice…
Ahoy! Another list:
- Improve cooking skills
- Walk and cycle more
- Write more
- Side projects: always have one
- Cleanliness is next to godliness
- Master the art of Minimal Living
- Find new music
- Visit at least 2 new cities
- Become naturalized
- More analog and tactile creation
Make your own luck.
31.Dec.2009 two thousand and nine
Oh dear. 2009 was a remarkable year from me. Here’s some things I learned this year:
- Don’t serve whiskey to people that usually drink beer.
- Don’t expect people to interpret the meaning in the mix cd you made them.
- Pet insurance is a good idea.
- The government does not have your best interest in mind.
- Home ownership is not for me.
- Pedestrians don’t rush to cross the street in the Northwest.
- You can get a good wine for $10 or less.
- My favorite cheeses: cambozola and humboldt fog.
- Don’t ignore the red flags.
- Don’t expect anyone to understand you.
- Vegetarianism via sustainability relieves some of the guilt of consumption.
- Cycling alone at night is even better than driving at night with the windows down.
- Give more than you get.
- See the potential in everyone and everything.
- Its the hugs you don’t give that you regret.
- Take care of yourself. Don’t extend the burden to your friends and loved ones.
- Both hands on the wheel.
- Bring your own lunch.
- Bring your own social lubricants.
- One song can save the day.
“Its never to late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot
Onward,
- Claudia, Dearest
24.Oct.2008 Luckily the universe can accommodate our mistakes.
Strip away everything of yourself that is conditional — your name, your relationships, your language, your acquired knowledge, your body parts — and what is left? Nothing is left except a point of awareness. Since it is independent of all that is conditionally you, your awareness is identical to my awareness and to everyone else’s. I don’t mean identical as in “separate but the same.” I mean identical as in “one and the same.” I am you and you are I. We are the same being taking different points of view.
- reality sandwich
16.Oct.2008 NPR, my love
This first NPR clip relates to my previous post about personality tests, but I found both interesting, although they don’t discuss the Enneagram. P.S. http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/ is better site to look at than the one I linked to previously.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3919421&sc=emaf
More and more hiring decisions are made with the help of personality tests. Employers, and even courts, increasingly use them. But critics say they don’t work. We discuss whether personality tests pass the test. Guest Annie Murphy Paul, author of The Cult of Personality: How Personality Tests are Leading Us to Miseducate our Children, Mismanage our Companies, and Misunderstand Ourselves.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6368484&sc=emaf
Daniel Goleman, author of the book Social Intelligence, explains why human beings are hard-wired to connect, and how those connections can actually change our biology.
13.Oct.2008 There is nothing exceptional about me.
The most accurate personality assessment I’ve ever taken is the Enneagram. I remember the first time I half heartedly took “another personality test” and read the description of my type, #4. I felt embarrassed. I have never found something that so closely describes my personality. Thwarted! Doh! My innermost fears and tactics exposed!
Ahh, the illusion of self: the personality. A collection of conditioned reactions and thoughts. Its liberating to know its just another pattern. To recognize. To break. To survive.
Really I could go on and on about how my interpersonal skills have improved and the many revelations I’ve had about my life thanks to the insight the enneagram has provided. But I’d rather just do a bit of peacocking and paste the following snippet:
You want to be gifted, intuitive, original and unique. More importantly, you want to be passionate, true to your feelings and uniquely authentic. You see yourself as sensitive, expressive and spiritual. You would like others to see you as idealistic, emotionally deep and compassionate. Your idealized image is that you are accomplished and special.
12.Aug.2008 It’s an odd dance of self-identity
so i was like inthemiddle of writing this lengthy blog post about nonduality and selfawareness, a tome that had been the culmination of weeks of experimental this-that and i was thisclose to breaking through with an “aha!” when i get an email from Michelle. she fwd’d me the cover story of the latest adbusters, aptly titled: Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization. i thumb through and read the article on my blackberry and realize that quite a bit of mixed strong reactions are emerging.
14.Jul.2008 life supports that which supports life
how much is too much when Nothing was enough in the first place?
this weekend i came to a crossroads where i’m guessing all fledgling young adults eventually land. i found myself in a sort of iconoclastic apocalypse (credits to mia for phrase) where everything i’ve thought was “cool”… everything that i’ve passively worshiped and poured my time and energy into, was not only total crap, but aggressively contributing to my demise. dramatic i know, but hey, i’m a dramatic kind of girl woman.
