NaPoWriMo - #1 Cattitude

Cattitude - NaPoWriMo 1_30

today,
broke out of basement penitentiary
to laze in the sun, perhaps
waiting for some
revelation.


Mafdet
a huge alley cat
made of smoke
tabbed my way
from the area of the garage
dusted my toes with charcoal dust
blinked honey almond eyes
the orb of her iris grew into a sun
grass danced a shimmy
birds sang, gnats danced,
giant amber ants
escorted me to a wating barque
sailed into the eye of Ra

Bastet
majestic at the helm
of an I-Phone
arms open
rubbed liquid gold into
winter-stiff back
spoke in voices of forgotten worlds
copied Coptic prayers
onto my palms
we swam in the red sea
behind our eyelids
washed locs in
frankincense and myrrh

Delivered to
Sekhmet on shore
boarded peoplemover to Punt
with Hatchepsut
drank honey wine
ate olives
stretched out
hugging the earth's curves
silvery CD's spin and sparkle in the sky
swinging from jetstreams bound
to make Paris by night
crawled inside my ear to take a nap


feral spirit trapped
in canopic jar
we cracked open alley cat dreams
on the first warm day of spring
in Detroit


Writing prompt - shuffle (I pod, cd case, etc. pick 5 albums, use the name.)
5 Albums:
E.badu - penitentiary
Carly Simon - revelation
Paris Lounge - Paris By Night
Compilation - Voices of Forgotten Worlds
Black Bottom Collective - Peoplemover

Time flies when you don't tell lies!

OK, so I dropped off the face of the earth for a minute there. That is what self-checks are about! I have a lot to update here and will do the best I can. I am also wondering if to re-do my list would be cheating? Some of that stuff I don't think I WANT to do anymore...hmmm. oh well, We'll see.

#42 Burgers N' Fries

Thanks to the blog Cupcake Takes the Cake, we decided to try a little Saturday Sweets!!





Brownies take a lot of work!





A LOT of work!






Fill 1/4 full for the "burger"







Yellow cupcake "buns"!!







Assembly line ready! Order in!!







A wee burger is born!







"Lettuce"





"Ketchup and Mustard"





Slim sugar cookies making like fries!






Order out!!





Dessert is served!!

Radical Notion

Hmmmmmm.

All you have to do is remove things from "the list" in order to experience being exactly who you ARE. You can just redo the list. Maybe you've done all that you need to, learned all that you're going to, gone all the places you should have. Imagine, rewrite the list with all the boxes checked! You are THERE, you are DONE.

How does it feel?
What would that list look like?

Could you then relax and just BE? Take each day as it comes? Move as you are so moved? Moment by moment, confident you are exactly who you are intended to be?

Satisfied.

#43 - Blanks Out Again

It's just not going to happen. And its all good.

#37 - Made good on that scrabble date with Lillian

And we had a wonderful time! I admire this 89 year old woman so much. A thrice married fellow Gemini, she is as energetic and lively as anybody half her age. I had some trepidation about the meeting spot (the coffee house in Ferndale) because I did not realize it was opening day of Rosie O'Grady's and the street scene was on bump! I thought she may have had trouble finding the place (it is a bit obscure) or that parking wouild be a challenge. But no, she beat me there, with her smart white suit and crisp summer straw hat, Scrabble board in tow (she always has it in the trunk, you never know when a Scrabble opportunity might present itself!!) A. met us there and we had a delightful time over soup, sandwiches, and coffee. Oddly, a woman who was there kept looking at us and looking at us. She finally came on over and said she admired our relationship and how good we looked, and she was moved to come over because her 100 year old mom was sick and she was very worried abotu her. She thought Lillian and I were mother and daughter. Lillian expalined that no, we are friends! and I added that we used to work together and were also both Geminis. Well, this woman was a Gemini too!! We had a good laugh and shared some philosophical insights on everything from men to politics. I will be sending her some Social Fourum information, she was/is an activist as well...

Anyway, we played until 10:30 pm!! It was a great, high scoring game, the likes of which I have not been able to repeat with M. (But he cheats...) We walked Lillian to her car and bid farewell. I hope to do it again soon, but feel really good that I made good on that promise finally!!

Update of Sorts

Have been out of the loop for quite some time now...my computer crashed and burned, don't know if I'll be able to retrieve the stuff off of my hard drive or that "favorites" list I had so painstakingly compiled. Oh well, I'll try making the most of a fresh start. Fresh starts and reboots, all the way around. I have fallen by the wayside, backslidden, relapsed, got off of the wagon...anyway you want to slice it, I have moved away from the Who I Was in April. Allowed myself to get distracted in an unhealthy way. So, I am starting over with the vices, disentangling endless mind loops that are stuck on stupid. Thankful for another chance, that there was one more wish stuck in the bottom of the genie lamp. I'm experiencing one of those painful growth spurts but know that it is necessary and that I will come out on the other side as a better person. Reevaluting myself and the people I allow into my circle, acknowleding the need to move inward, revisit boundaries and the spiritual goals I am wanting to set. Taking the word "friendship" and holding it up to the actual thing and seeing if they even remotely resemble each other, does one fit the other? And does that definition work for me:? Too many times, friendship has been closely linked to dissappointment. And I know those that you care about will manage to dissappoint you and hurt you, some of that pain is self inflicted because you bypassed or ignored your screening process, boundaries, experience, and intuition in the formation of that relationship. Sometimes going backwards is progress.

#67 Pay Off Car - Goes to Black!!

Yep, the cute-a-bug is mine! I jsut have to get the title from the Secretary of State and take it for them to release themeselves as the lienholder! yAY! Frees up some cash too although I have already spent this month's "free up" at The Little Black Dress...gotta stay up outta that store! :)

#34 Reading my own books

This won't count toward the overall 20 because it is a re-read. Still...

Seraph on the Suwanee by Zora Neale Hurston

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a re-read for me, I wanted to find the present day slang that is used in this 1940's book about the early 1900's. Its interesting to me the way sayings such as "fly" and "hitting a lick" have survived. The book itself is enjoyable, but I found Arvay to be SO frustrating in her insecurities, but, I could understand where she was coming from and how, a lot of times our ignorance will cause us to cut off our noses to spite our faces. I appreciated this exploration of communication, and how it can go awry. I wonder what it takes to effectively communicate? One of THE hardest tasks!!! Although it's a love story with deep roots, there is a thread of violence interwoven with religion, power, and poverty. An enjoyably complex book that I will re-read again.


View all my reviews.

#70 - Graduate!!!

Holla if you hear me!!! I did it, I did it, I did it! I can hardly believe it! To be able to check getting my BFA off of "The List" is tremendous and it really has me thinking about this list and my bucket list and how all of these things are possible and doable and it doesn't matter how much time it takes, slow and steady wins the race! I can accomplish all that I set my mind to! This has been soooooooo long in coming, a lot had to do with allowing myself to be distracted, other things life just had in the cards and had to be dealt with. This feels like a new 21, a new grown and sexy. Time to marinate on this accomplishment a bit, but, more importantly, what is the next step? I feel like a samuri warrior with a sword that can cut through the fog and the bullshit in order to step into my greatness. This is not about overconfidence, this is manifesting destiny! Stepping forward in a calm and collected version.

#69 - SENIOR SEMINAR IS GOING TO BLACK!!!

Yes!!!!! Today I handed in "The Package" of all of my work. Unfortunately, since I had the hospital thing going on, I now have to get a note from the doctor verfying that I was not able to attend the faculty review and he will waive that. Its sort of a letdown, because I did want some faculty input...not enought to do the other option (which I will have to if I cannot for some reason get this note, but we are not even claiming that!!!) of taking an incomplete to finish the class in the fall!!! No! Like I said, we are not claiming THAT!! I'm marking this baby to the black! Tomorrow I need to make a rash of graduation related phone calls about diplomas and cap and gown pictures (for mom, she has to have that picture!) I am just going to proceed with optimism and all will go well. I am so happy!!!

Days Without Smoking - 11! And Acupuncture :)

So, of course getting sick was the impetus, but still...11 days is 11 days! And, I went to acupuncture for the first time yesterday and I feel GREAT!! It was nothing like I imagined it to be, sort of a forced "Time Out". Let back the recliner, smell the aromatherapy, take in the soothing sages and warm oranges of the walls, (Listen to the others who are in the midst of their treatment snore!, take a nap, wake up REFRESHED and refitalized. Your Qi runneth over! I highly recommend this to everyone, no matter the malady. A balanced Qi is a step in the right direction.

#34 Read 20 of my OWN books!

The Shack by William P. Young

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Interesting setting to ponder some of the paradoxes of life and living in Spirit. I found a lot of good points to revisit. May read again.


View all my reviews.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
The mystery itself was "OK" but, as an artist, and one who is intrigued by conspiracy, symbology, history, and the divine goddess/sacred feminine, those elements really appealed to me and got me interested in further research around those topics.


View all my reviews.

Pay Attention to the Purple!

It's easy to mark something "in progress" and mosey on down to road to "in progress" something else. Its something else to FINISH or ACCOMPLISH the "in progress"! For example, I have not been doing ANY situps! Just because I did for a few nights straight, is that still "in progress"? I think that I will do an "In Progress" report later and may have to change some of them back to black. Sorry, but if you can't be honest with yourself, then you're lying to everybody!! (I made that up!)

Peace!!

Reel Me In!

OK, I am laid up for this week because I had an odd (and very scary) episode last week where my blood pressure shot up sky high and I began experiencing vertigo. Now, you want to talk about scared? I thought I was having a stroke! I ended up in the hospital for a couple of days and am basically tied to the house now because the mere thought of driving in a car makes me want to throw up! (The 10 minute ride I took yesterday, did.) I feel basically OK when I'm laying down, but, as I tool around here wandering from the bathroom, to the kitchen, to the computer, to the bed, the dizziness revs its engines. I'm thankful for this laptop that I'm sharing the sheets with! We have been getting along great! I have been working on my job's website and blog a little, have been doing some media related research, and getting excited overall about getting better and getting back to the trenches!!

The header for this post, however, reminds me of my "Mile Wide Inch Deep" syndrome. Like I said, I absolutely love mining the internet for jewels and gems and am never dissappointed. Its what to DO with all that information that stymies me. My "favorites" list is bulging at the pixels, threatening to spillout all over the top of my desk, and I sure as hell don't remember what all those "favorites" are! (Hence #13 on my 101 list!) Part of it is learning to relax and trust that the information will be there (somewhere on the world wide web) when i am in need of it. I need to give the smackdown to my inner packrat!

Then I get all overwhelmed to the point of inertia. Too much input. After I have skipped around admiring websites that I thought would be good design examples for our work site, finding a ridiculously cool website about eco-urban planning (Center for Urban Pedagogy), downloading a gold mine of Second Life Curriculum from the blessed and generous rezed.org,I began to research how to do a Podcast! Needless to say, I need to reel it in! After flirting with mashups and twibes in the virtual pick up joint, and deciding to learn how to make blog templates (cuz I am just not feeling this one anymore, no offense to anyone...), I fell back among the pillows exhausted, head pounding, palms sweaty!

Whew! That called for a cup of Sleepytime and a few whiffs of eucalyptus oil!

But you know what? I feel good. I feel excited again about this project called Me. And as I step back and give the Universe room to do its thing, I am basking in the glow of anticipation. When I am back on my feet, I WILL hit the ground running! (ok, ok, at a steady marathon type pace, not a sprint!)

NaPoWriMo#12 - Itinerary

Itinerary


Let’s welcome the morning into our bones,
breathe Detroit into our entwined limbs,
wash our laundry in rice milk and Vernors.
Pack a lunch of your south wind lilt
and dusky sweet Arkansas jam from
plums full of stolen summertime,
drive east down Woodward
with apple blossoms in my hair
and a honey bee halo,
trainspot on the perfect rooftop,
guess where the graffiti is going.
Take the MacArthur Bridge to Hog Island,
throw genie lamps in to Scott Fountain,
worship painted turtles.
Throw flower bombs into the leftover shell of Tiger Stadium
so our story can bloom as wild flowers
and bring pleasure to a stranger’s day.
Dip our toes in Grand River flowing west,
I’ll tell you about ‘67
and the difference between riot and rebellion.
Drive in Venn Diagrams
and stake our claim on the commons.
Let’s hole up in Baker’s and
watch Jabari play the drums.
Eat chicken wings and wish on green stars,
skip Petosky stones across the skies.
Unfold a crisp new map
slide our palms across the cool miles
and enjoy getting lost in
legend waiting to be written.

_________________________________________________________________________________
Notes: The prompt

napowrimo #12: where do you come from?
Another Sunday, another day of (poetic) introspection … .

So, where do you come from? The mountains? The plains? The city? Do you come from spaghetti on Sundays? Brown bag lunches? Do you come from shag carpeting and plastic slip covers on the sofa? Cows out the kitchen window? Do you hail from noise and congestion or stars and silence?

Today, think about where you grew up. The country, the state, the town, the street, the house, the bedroom, the bed. Be specific. Be sensual (as in capture the smells, the sounds, the taste, the scratch of your towels without fabric softener). Write a poem that shows where you come from in all its unique glory.

NaPoWriMo #11.5 Just Your Average Saturday at the Coffee House

The stranger in front of me invites intimacy.
His crotch is at eye level and I shamelessly

admire the shadowy dust that lines his belly
with a delicate circular dent. Would he

welcome my thumbs pressed upon his skin,
tracing creation to where his jeans begin?

His arms reach up to receive “Heaven’s Call”
he removes the miniature landscape from the wall,

piling the picture with the rest that lean softly.
He moves on down the row, I go back to sipping coffee.

______________________________________________________________________
Notes: So, I'm minding my own biz at a tiny table in the Java Hut and this dude decides its a good idea to reach over my table to get his artwork off of the wall. I look up from beneath my hat brim and come face to face with the anonymous manhood...no "excuse me" or anything. Trips! LOL!!

NaPoWriMo #11 Pot of Gold Haiku

Make rainbows of true
colors, not pigments of the
imagination.

NaPoWriMo #10 - We Who Are Not Afraid

We who are not afraid
drape gauze about our heads
and meld into a room full of strangers.

Kissing each other through our masks,
anonymity suspends judgement.
The better of us, gotten by curiousity.

The soft scrape of an ace
on a black jack table,
this time it might be exactly what we need.

Possibilities, endless like fingerless
gloves, groping in the dark
trying to make out the shape of feelings

with frostbitten fingertips,
still sore from touching toward love.
As the seamstress, missing her thimble,

sips crimson consequence
released by a careless steel point
plunged into the soft pad of her thumb,

or the patch of burn left on tongue,
from scalding hot Godiva lurking
beneath a cool froth of cream,

we who are not afraid
stitch on,
sip on,

carry on.
Striking the flint repeatedly,
inviting the nimble spark

to pass through cold corridors,
into the corners, beyond the quicksand,
through the backs of wardrobes,

We tuck the looking forward to
into the cracks, inflating the sails for yet another
maiden voyage.

Notes: really don't dig the title...need help.

inspired by the read write prompt "Thrift Store" where we were to take something from another source as inspiration (supposed to be the actual text, repurposed but exercising my poetic license, I used a photo from the book "I Seem To Be A Verb" for this...)

NaPrWriMo #9 -Paradise

I’m thinking of ambrosia
and all things golden
like sun soaking into my locs,
and the cool whipped yellow
of raw honey drizzled
on hot biscuts,
kissing through crumbs,
sticky pineapple juice,
delicious apples, and the tart
swirls at the end
of a good chardonnay,
bubbles in champagne,
the afterglow on our skin,
when we make love for
breakfast.

_________________________________________________________________________

Notes: This is just the beginning, i want to turn this more into an ode.