C. S. Lewis

(about Aslan, the Lion)

"Safe? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good."

-- C. S. Lewis (from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe)

Google Has Some Work To Do

So I've become a pretty big fan of Gmail -- but when an email composition is saved and then accessed again, little ads come up on the right-hand side. Ostensibly, Google has scanned your draft message and posted ads that apply or are related in some way.

However, for your laughing pleasure, here are the ads that popped up as I was composing a morning email to The Philosophress. Anyone want to take a stab at what I was writing about? (Hint: it has *nothing* to do with any of the ads listed below)

Sponsored Links (feedback)

Fear No Karate Man
Easily Rip Apart Any Black Belt Secrets They Don't Want You To Know
www.CloseCombatTraining.com

Point of Sale Displays
Lightweight and Innovative - Unique and Cost Effective
www.mytradeshowdisplay.com

Rio de Janeiro Apartments
Magical Views and Internet Service 2, 3, 4 Bedrooms - Many Penthouses
www.rentinrio.com

House of Design
exclusive furniture designers looking for something extraordinary
www.house-of-design.nl

Monalisa Apart
Find Deals, Read Reviews from Real People. Get the Truth. Then Go.
www.TripAdvisor.com

Tiger Woods

"The greatest thing about tomorrow is, I will be better than I am today. And that's how I look at my life. I will be better as a golfer, I will be better as a person, I will be better as a father, I will be a better husband, I will be better as a friend. That's the beauty of tomorrow. There is no such thing as a setback. The lessons I learn today I will apply tomorrow, and I will be better."

-- Tiger Woods

Blaise Pascal

“Clarity of mind means clarity of passion, too; this is why a great and clear mind loves ardently and sees distinctly what he loves.”

-- Blaise Pascal

Dancing with the Funk

For whatever reason, everyone in my office watches "Dancing with the Stars." I've poked enough fun at those folks around the water cooler, not to mention the fact that I actually used to do that sort of thing with some regularity. So I decided that I'd start watching once the new season began a couple weeks ago.

I'm hooked.

Of course, there's lots of filler, unnecessary tension and buildup -- but the dancing...ah, the dancing! When I think back to catalysts that bring about passion and enjoyment inside me, dancing is one of those. In my search for authenticity, dancing in high school was probably the first time I stepped out of my "comfort zone" and found something that I could call my own. There's so much to love about dancing: performance, music, rhythm, athleticism, and who can argue with the 3-to-1 girl/guy ratio? Naturally, I have to be more sensible about these things these days (I spent too much of my wedding reception dancing with other women to the exclusion of The Philosophress!), but I've learned that it's not always best to throw out the baby with the bathwater.

We don't stop being ourselves once we decide to marry, and I'm learning some of the things I released in the name of "responsibility" I must take up again in the name of "passionate spontaneity." Status quo is for old people (or maybe for people who live in the same city as their spouse...)

Howard Thurman

"Don’t worry about what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and do that. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive."

-- Howard Thurman

NY Times caricature artists sketch the Presidential candidates

Combining wit, satire, exaggeration -- how to tell a story with pictures.


(HT: Signal vs. Noise)

Good Friday

Great post today on Anywired, one of the blogs I read with regularity:

What would you do if there were ten of you? (Putting aside the social and existential awkwardness that might cause, of course.)

Once you’ve answered that question, something to think about:

What will you do because there is only one of you?

Wow. Where do I begin? For whatever reason, putting things in that light makes a tremendous difference -- filtering out the stuff of life and getting down the meat. There would be a bunch of guitar playing, fantastic late-night conversations (leaping wildly from groan-inducing puns to topics filled with gravitas), and a thirst for adventure. I (We?) would constantly seek out well-thought perspectives to bump against, seeing what makes sense with life. *Lots* of writing -- that would be the industry of choice.

I keep looking for a roadmap, someone who's been this way before to show me the ropes. But because there is only one of me, I have to reference others' decisions rather than plagiarizing their circumstances, experiences, and relationships in hopes of passing them off as my own.

~~~

In light of Good Friday, it's easy to see why Christ did what He did -- because there *was* only one of Him, and His purpose was unique. I feel like such a goof -- I've always heard references to Passion Week and the movie The Passion of the Christ, without realizing the tremendous zeal behind Christ's actions. He didn't walk into the Temple unprepared to throw out the money-changers -- He knew the actions, intentions, and processes of all the transactions occurring. In short, He had done His homework. At the Last Supper, He had already laid out the foreshadowed examples -- going way back to Egypt and Passover. He was the expert in His field, in charge of orchestrating the entire operation. He was undeterred by others who claimed expertise in religion, politics, or pushing for social revolution.

He gave us life, but He also exemplified the passion required to really live.

Ye Shall Know Emotion, and Emotion Shall Set You Free

Ok, so I'm turning the Apostle's words on their head, but here's one of my more recent Life Lessons:

Instead of trying to stay "even-keeled" throughout all days and all circumstances -- which requires a *ton* of energy to pull everything towards the center -- I'm learning to embrace each day for what it is and roll with it.

Why so difficult, you may ask? In the midst of painful circumstances, sorrow and confusion still make their way into my heart at times. Those much smarter than I acknowledge sadness on those days, but are also free to revel in life's joys.

So I've decided I'm going to Get Smart. Instead of wading through days when I'd rather collapse in bed at 8p from emotional exhaustion, I find myself doing so (when it's required). By extension, that leaves me free to ride on the crest of joyful emotions -- late into the night or for days on end -- when such excitement is present.

In all my searching for authenticity, this seems to be the next logical step. Acknowledging "Yes, today stinks" when Life feels too burdensome and acting accordingly; exalting when life is full of excitement and living in that moment just as passionately.

Tonight, I will be wearing a green shirt with sunglasses, heckling the television -- it's already a good day.

(thus concludes my use of nautical allusions -- I count no less than 4 in the preceding post)

Owning one's emotions, both good and bad? Definitely smart.
Owning a cell phone that doesn't display one's stockinged feet? Even smarter.

Masochistic Madlibs

http://marthabeck.typepad.com/martha_beck/2008/03/was-nancy-reaga.html

Whoo! the above link basically requests that you recall the triggers for negative stressful experiences in life (people, places, events) and then combines them into one fictional scenario at the end.


I've had the unfortunate privilege of listening to others tell me what's best for them and then persuading myself that their opinions are what's best for me -- on multiple occasions. Thus, the fictional scenario at the end had some fairly strong physical reactions (fear, chest tightening, shortness of breath, etc).

The point, of course, is that such a worst-case scenario should be a reminder that no individual should voluntarily cede control to harmful people or situations that make your essential self (see her definition) scream "NO." One should examine relationships and opportunities and avoid those that elicit these negative reactions.

I also enjoy the reminder that "stress" is not in and of itself a negative, because positive growth and change is stressful, but in a positive way. One of the biggest "good stress" decisions I've made is partnering with The Philosophress to make this long-distance thing work. Not easy, to be sure, but it certainly feels right. My next big opportunity to make a "good stress" decision is in planning for the long-awaited career change to Atlanta.

Thankfully, there's a part two to this exercise in a couple weeks, where the "YES" is quantified. I'll be looking forward to that with much more expectation...

Henry Ford

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”

-- Henry Ford

A Match Made With Trouble

What happens when I connect two Domers from different parts of the country who both have experience in hotel management?

Hilarity.

In a few short hours, we had:

- gotten myself invited to an afterparty this week -- free refreshments (I'll provide the high fashion and good looks)

- found our way into the end of a Lifehouse concert at the House of Blues (complete with the come-in-through-the-kitchen back entrance)

- shared incredible customer relations disaster stories (I did more "listening" than "sharing"). My favorite: a stalker being hauled off to jail (repeatedly violating the restraining order held by an employee), only to use their *one phone call* to telephone the victim...despite cautioning the police "don't let this guy contact the victim." You can't make this stuff up.

Medical Benefits

Early morning conversations are always interesting these days. To wit:


The Philosophress: So apparently BCG pays for all fertility treatments.

Irish Elvis: What does that mean? Like in vitro fertilization and whatnot?

The Philosophress: Yeah, all that stuff. $5 co-pay. Pretty nice.

Irish Elvis: It's like they're admitting, "You'll be traveling too much to have sex with your spouse. Give us a couple of your eggs and we'll take care of the rest."


It's not like I try to be hilarious -- this stuff just comes instinctively.

Converse

I would be remiss if I didn't post this century retrospective on the ol' Chuck Taylors

http://www.boston.com/business/gallery/converse100/

Hooray for NC

So after returning to California and battling a weeklong case of Timidity, I've had a string of welcome blessings: I've rediscovered an old (but still relevant) book. I had a surprise phone conversation with the Sabellian. And I'm getting a surprise visit this week from someone who's like a brother...and I don't mean like an actual brother, I mean it in the way that black people use it. Which is more meaningful, I think.

Anyway, I began reading the book Wild at Heart for the third time this afternoon (first time was in college, second time was after the ice-cream debacle), and was astounded that it continues to have increasing relevancy. Since the last time I picked it up, The Philosophress and I went hiking in the North Carolina mountains, and the exploration/wilderness metaphors resonate with me so much more now that I have actual life experience to draw upon.

I wrote the following last October after returning from hiking, but never felt it was "complete" or thorough enough to post. However, reading this book again I think will help me to color in some of the spots I've missed. I still can't do the weekend justice, as I think that I'll have to more Adventurous Living in order to do a better job of describing, but at my core I really felt that weekend and experiences were a momentous turning point in my self-discovery.


~~~



What a money weekend. Good times with The Philosophress, and a fantastic time hiking. Gorgeous fall weather too. It's a pretty crazy reminder of just how I need to keep searching and pursuing new things and being in a good place mentally and emotionally, because I'm finding new things to be pretty incredible.

For starters, it was great to be able to travel in comfortable clothes and guitar in hand, rather than an interview suit and the responsibilities of acting professional and put-together. I'm still new at this whole "adventurous" thing, so the great outdoors is still a bit of a pleasant surprise to me. Growing up, it was all about comfort and convenience, so my first true outdoor experience was the Breckenridge ski trip (astute readers will recall that I pretty much sat that one out, as I really had no idea what I was doing). I made a second attempt during Cheap Smokes, and was a bit more engaged, but still wasn't feeling like a "trail veteran" but I think this weekend solidified my view of cabin life and hiking in general -- now that I've become comfortable and accustomed to this outdoor stuff, I think I like it!

Reentry back into the SoCal lifestyle was difficult, as I realize that my adventurous, freewheeling, and creative self that I cultivated in college really doesn't have a place in the hard-driving, nouveau riche, surface atmosphere out here. Folks out here just don't want to hear about how great it is to climb boulders and take pictures of trees (no matter how stunning) because they might scratch their freshly-manicured nails (this goes for both males and females...kidding, sort of).

Theodore Roosevelt

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly ... who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory nor defeat.

-- Theodore Roosevelt