Beware - Long post full of self important ramblings

As of late, my life has been... hmm... pleasantly plump, maybe?

So much going on, so little free time, and though some of that free time found me a bit stressed out and cranky, this fall is quickly becoming a new spring for me personally and for Emily and I. A friend told me of a dream he had about Emily being pregnant and now that I think about it, I will take it, not literally, but as a metaphor of our ability to create a new life for ourselves as things wrap up and begin anew.


The landscaping project has the qualities of all good things — frightening and exciting — exhilerating and debilitating. The rate at which I am learning the things that I need to know is growing exponentially, just as I felt it would and it reinforces my thoughts on the poor state of education...
but, once again, I will save that discussion for later.
I found a couple of local companies that seem really good. The people with whom I have worked have seemed genuinely genuine and I owe them a great boon for the knowledge and resources they have supplied. If everything goes well with the delivery of goods and such, I will be sure to tell them of my affections.

Other projects are in the works as well.
I guess I have been a bit quiet about it for fear of jinxing the whole project, but I am going to work with someone on creating some music again. The guy with whom I am collaborating has a very similar sense of artistic style and intent, so I had thought we could do some good work together. He has held up his end — recording music for two guitars, but up until the last few days I have had trouble writing lyrics that I am happy with. Now, however, after getting over the initial forced attempt, I am finally ready to heed the muse.

I am also getting ready for NaNoWriMo.
I was going to participate a few years ago, but had few ideas worth writing 50,000 words about. This year, though, I think I will be able to develop an outline, archetypical character sketches, and, by way of the process, at least something I can give Emily to edit into a story I might like to share. We shall just have to see. The overriding plot is essentially going to be the influences on someone as they get older and develop a sense of self: the living and the dead; those respected and those despised; friends and strangers; and the mythology of mystery and the comfort in things unknown. You know... that stuff.

And I have to credit deLint for the inspiration.
His vision and desire to create metaphor that fits into modern sensibilities and experience is a huge task and his characters are invaluable guides. *Note that one of the links is an interview with he and other authors trying to bridge the gap between folk tale and urban life.

Ray Lamontage has also been a great source of inspiration.
His new album is amazing (to me, at least) and what he says about his life and experiences in the interview I posted a link to before is right on to me. But here is one of his songs, "Be Here Now:"

Don't let your mind get weary and confused
Your will be still, don't try
Don't let your heart get heavy child
Inside you there's a strength that lies

Don't let your soul get lonely child
It's only time, it will go by
Don't look for love in faces, places
It's in you, that's where you'll find kindness

Be here now, here now
Be here now, here now

Don't lose your faith in me
And I will try not to lose faith in you
Don't put your trust in walls
'Cause walls will only crush you when they fall

Be here now, here now
Be here now, here now

Like so many important messages, for me, its power is in its simplicity.
Speaking of Ray Lamontagne and his interview, he spoke of his disappointment in meeting his biggest influence for getting into music in the first place, Stephen Stills. In the end, he decided that it's probably best to let your heroes remain unmet to preserve what they represent to you.

That idea should have kept me from reading "Self-Reliance" by one of my own heroes, Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Ray Lamontagne is right and this lesson I thought that I had already learned by this point, but there are some really shitty things that Emerson has to say about charity and giving and the validity of his opinions have plummeted in my eyes. But once again, the lesson is that no one has all of the answers — that things progress for the attempt to build on what has come before, whether that be in technology, evolution, religion, or philosophy. Furthermore, I fully accept that even though I feel some of the things that I say still fit within "my worldview" (as Ignatius J. Reilly would call it), I have talked some seriously underthought BS over the years that not even I would agree with nowadays. Who is to say that R-dub wouldn't say the same about himself? Even if not, he has expressed some beautiful and profound perspectives and I will not discount his shimmer to spite his rust. The random quotes stay!

And let me speak on worldviews... Emily and I went to church on Sunday!
I can't rightly say, "It's not what you think," because you may have thought it right. Down the street from where we live is the Unity Church for Unitarian Universal(ism?). We have passed it numberous times on walks with the dog or down to the Ice Cream shop and I have appreciated the architecture and landscaping (they have a rain garden!). Once I walked past when they held an open house and noticed a cloister garden within and thought that maybe someday I will sneak out of bed one Sunday morning and dip down to see what they are talking about. After all, I scored a 100% in common on my beliefnet.com survey (as well as the liberal Quakers if you are keeping track) when I took it four years ago and again last week before we decided to go. Well, let me tell the story in a blog entry of its own.

Until then, enjoy the new links:

Gomez and Matt Pond PA are coming to town, so enjoy a new release of Gomez' old release via NPR.

This week I found time to visit my old Highland hood, spending time at Half-Price Books and TeaSource. TeaSource is great if you had ever had an inkling of thought given to liking tea. They have a sickly huge selection and the place smells wonderful as you walk in the door. And like they advertise, it really is one of "Life's Affordable Luxuries." A woman in line behind me recommended a tisane called "Evening in Missoula" and said that she had driven all the way across town after being served that particular blend the night previous in some fancy restaurant. I took her advice and tried it, which reaffirmed my love for "tea" and the depth of sensory fulfillment one can get from a cup...
OK, so I may be a touch overdramatic, but it really is damn good.

Just prior to Sept 11th this year, I somehow found myself at the Wikipedia entry linked above. Look at it, look at the songs, and realize how strangely we react to a situation on a cultural level. I remember working at the futon store around the corner from a comic shop when it happened and shortly after, I bought a compilation that a bunch of comic book artists made depicting superheroes reactions to the events. Though the idea may sound cheesy to some, it is pretty powerful, really. When I flip through it, I remember the feelings which we should have held on to after it happened. So strange that we have ended up where we are, lessons still unlearned.

Well, take care of yourself and each other until next we meet.