Blog 2005 Return to current blog page
12/19/05
Out with the old and in with the new
Well here I go again, off into the wild blue yonder... that is off to Hawaii ... to be at my other home for the holidays. How hectic it has been trying to finish my proposals, prepare for the holidays here and there as well as accomplishing the dreaded packing and planning for a two month stay. Still, I am so happy and thankful for the wonderful opportunities this year has presented. I look forward to the New Year with a smile on my face and with great hope for the future. I wish you an awesome 2006 as well!
12/8/05
My Enneagram Test Results
The Enneagram is a personality system which divides the entire human personality into nine behavioral tendencies
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Main Type | Overall Self |
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I don't know if I agree with the assessment of assertive traits. I have to think that maybe my brand of assertiveness just isn't the normal variety. And, it sure seems like it takes a lot to make me happy when in reality I am extremely happy just to have health, a loving family and a decent life. Otherwise, this was an interesting quick way to take a break when I am supposed to be wrapping presents, packing for two months back in Hawaii, finishing my proposals, or any one of about a million other things. Still, it reminds me to relax, I am who I am and that's OK. Over this past year, there has always been something going on that makes me wonder how I'm going to get it all done in time. This too shall pass and the challenge is to remember my ABCS, especially : "Enjoy life today, yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come." I want to look back on this time and smile after all. Plus, considering this is the first year in several that my health has allowed me to resume my life and the pursuit of my dreams, I can not stress or complain one bit. I am excited and happy that I am able to be overloaded with things to do and most of all that my body will let me do them! So, I'm off to hum some more carols while I power through my list but come to think of it - I need to go hug somebody first. :-) I hope that you are having Happy Holidays - "God Bless Us Every One!"
11/30/05
A thought for the day from a poem out of the past
Maybe God gives some of the most imperfect people the some of most perfect talents to make up for it.
11/04/05See what happens when I procrastinate?
Wow, I could hardly believe it when I opened this page to do an update and found the last one was in August! So now I've gone and done it - to bring you up to speed on what's been going on since then will be quite a feat! But here goes.
I finally managed to get most of my computer hook ups and file transfers done after the last update. Wow, what a learning experience that was. Who says you can't teach old dogs new tricks? This kept me plenty busy until September, a whirlwind of a month! I had another birthday on September 8th. Which one you ask? Oh, well, I am not telling!!!! But it was a nice mellow day and I was quite thankful that I was not dodging a tragic hurricane during it even though we were getting some serious storms from the side effects of Katrina. For all of my thankfulness to have made it through another year, this storm was quite sobering and made me aware of how much I truly have to be grateful for. In the middle of my somber mood while watching the drama of the storm unfold, I had the sincere desire to do something, like I am sure most people did. I pledged 10% of sales from this Web Site made from the Shopping Mall and through the sale of my personal items through January 1st to the Red Cross for starters but I wondered about the needs that money can't solve. I prayed for God to show me how I might be of some help to these and all people in need of hope for their future.
In the middle of my somber consideration of the situation, on September 14th, I received an e-mail from a young man named Cedrick Harris. Cedrick is a hop-hop artist and spokesman for Wizegui, who told me a wonderful story of how he had bought my ABC poster at Christmas with his last $5.00 and read it every morning. He also inquired if he and his partner Loel, who record under the name of Wizegui could produce a song based on its words. His story touched me and more than that, it reminded me that a few years ago I had a literal dream where I saw and heard the ABCs being sung on a stage as a rap song. In the dream, people were smiling and singing along. I woke up thinking how unusual that dream was because outside of a few songs and specific artists, I am not especially a huge rap fan. ( But I am starting to be! ) Upon receiving Cedrick's letter, I had the feeling that a dream was about to come true. To make a very long story short - I checked out a song at Wizegui's Web Site to discover they were indeed talented. Hip hop isn' t really the exact right word to describe Wizegui's music. Cedrick describes it as "real" music that includes rap, hip hop, gospel and soul with a positive vibe. We discussed ideas along the way and it turned out that I was to be the one to write the words but with allowing Wizegui the freedom to edit for the sake of the song. Oddly, another little bit of Everyday Magic happened just prior to this letter that gave us a near impossible dead line to meet. Out of the blue, I had received a notice about the International Song Writers contest that had a deadline in the middle of October. I had saved it to pass along to my son who is an awesome singer and songwriter in the event he might want to submit some of his works. We decided to accomplish what we could and send it in regardless. If nothing else, it gave us something to shoot for.
About this time I also learned that I was unexpectedly to go on a free cruise in the Mediterranean for ten days from October 7th - 17th. Hooray! But also - Oh My! As a semi anti cruiser, I found this to be a quite interesting proposal. My anti cruising opinion comes from serious environmental concerns regarding cruise ships. Still, a chance to visit coastal Spain, France, and Italy was too much to turn down. I barely remember many of the days that preceded the trip due to working on the song and trying to prepare for the voyage. Somehow I got it all together in time to get on the plane and head to Europe. Cedrick was going to produce the song while I was away but I left the original words and the words to another song We've Got the Power, to be entered into the contest as words only, in the event something happened with that plan. I left it all in God's hands.
On the cruise, I had a great time except for the extremely poor planning of the travel agency that resulted in our and 22 other people loosing luggage and not to see it again until the next to the last day of the cruise! All the planning of what to wear for myself and my husband and packing time that went to waist, as well as all of the uncomfortable ness of the situation and the functions we could not attend due to not having appropriate wardrobe made for a future article I am working on about how to choose a quality travel agency and how to check the validity and do ability of their plans before you travel. Being that I am usually the travel planner for most trips that I make or a part of a group that is under the wing of top of the line agencies, this was quite an eye opening experience and the list of things that this agency did wrong was more than inspiring for quite an article. It could even be a book in the making!
The good things about the trip were a visit to Ese - a medieval village in France that we found our way to via train and bus. We hired a private car and driver in Livourno to be able to climb the Tower of Pisa and go shopping in the Florence street market. That was fun but the real highlight of Florence was seeing the statue of David. In Rome, where I have visited before, I had the absolute best experience of the trip and that was visiting the Vatican museum including the Sistine Chapel! WOW! I was overwhelmed with the realness of the figures that no book or photo could ever portray. I felt as if the people in the painting were about to drop from the ceiling as the depth and perspective was so amazingly real. Considering the works or Michelangelo was inspiring. To think one man could accomplish so much in a life time made all of my efforts seem so small. We also visited the Coliseum - that had been changed since I was there a few years ago and the inside of the Vatican Basilica church where more of Michelangelo's works including the Mother and Son statue were displayed. I was pumped from the art exposure and the inspiration lingers.
From Naples, we also hired a private car and driver to take us past Mount Vesuvius to Pompeii. It was so eerie and interesting to wander through. At one point, while making our way down a narrow street, I looked up and imagined what it must to have been like to see the cloud of dust and debris that was a few hundred feet high about to land on my head. Although the citizens of Pompeii were a depraved society, this was still a horrid ending but some in the area felt it was the hand of God shutting down a wicked culture. Beyond Pompeii we traveled towards Sorrento and then beyond it along the Amalfi Coast taking in the most wonderful and breathtaking views along the way. Having driven around all of the Hawaiian islands including the famous Hanna coast on Maui and also having driven the Pacific Coast Highway, I must say that this road takes it place along side of those for views and winding roads. At the end of the journey we stopped in Positanno an extremely quaint village where we ate at a beach side restaurant and did some shopping in some of the many quaint stores there. That was the end of the cruise except for the night at sea back to Barcelona. I did enjoy two spa treatments onboard and managed not to eat too much food or gain weight. Barcelona was a fabulous town that I wish I had more time to explore. More travel agency bad planning interfered with the stop but beyond that we had a tour of the town, saw the Gaudy buildings and the Famillia Church - quite an amazing structure - and later enjoyed waking through the Ramblas District into the Medieval section, shopping along the way and eating tapas. We also met a lot of nice people who were more than tested for patience with this trip.
Glad to be home again, I discovered that Wizegui had not completed the ABC song project because Cedrick had come down with the flu and his mother had medical problems during the week. I was glad that I had arranged for the words only to be sent in to the contest anyway. However, the very next day, I received a notice that the contest had been extended for another two weeks with the deadline being October 31st. Happily, Cedrick thought it could be recorded in time to meet the date. It took me a week to unpack all of the things I never used and catch up with important business. My daughter's birthday also came around on the 19th and I was so glad to be able to spend it with her. I missed my mom's on the 12th being out of the country - but promise to make up for it this weekend! Another week of catch up and that brought me to the weekend before Halloween. Having not heard from Wizegui, I assumed something else had gone wrong. Having been involved with many recording sessions, I know the potentials for delays are endless. I prepared my house for the trick or treaters and a small party. Then came Halloween itself, one of my favorite holidays for the fun it offers and the chance to meet my neighbors and dress up my dog Tara in her little devil outfit.
Tara Antipathese Jagrat, my precious Schipperkee, was 17 this November.
With many plans for the day in place, including preparing for the evening, when I finally checked my mail at around 1:00PM, Cedrick had sent the music file to the ABCs. ACK! I mean YAY! It was awesome. I was elated with the fact that he got it done and it was far more than I expected in terms of quality and production even though it was not to be the final "perfected version". But to get it in the contest I had to cancel most of my day, learn the new CD burning software I had not used yet - which was not user friendly to say the least, fill out forms and make it to the post office by 5:00PM. Practicing - DON'T GIVE UP AND DON'T GIVE IN, I finally made it there with five minutes to spare. HAPPY HALLOWEEN! The rest of the night went great. The animated ghosts on the side of the house, fog machine, sound effects, spider webbed entrance to the house and my spider woman costume was a hit with the kids and the party was great fun. Tara loves Halloween too! She thinks it is the night all of the neighbor kids come to the door just to pet her. I played the new ABCs song and everyone was quite shocked at how good it was! Is this song the answer to my prayer for God to show me how to bring hope to those affected by Katrina and others in need? Only time will tell.
That brings me up to now: I am working on some word edits and ideas for the next and possibly final production of the ABCs song and planning a trip to Hawaii where I hope to be for around two months. I am also working on completing the ABCs books, cards and other inspirational items I have been designing and writing all year. Other than that, what have I been doing since last I wrote here in August? Oh, not much! Just procrastinating about writing this update I guess.
8/11/05
Traveling and new computer set ups are not excuses for falling behind in achieving one's dreams, they are reasons. (And I'm sticking to that!)
I will be writing more about the travels in the Eco-tourism area soon. This entry is just to provide you with updates of recent activities. A boating trip up the Tennessee river from Chattanooga to Watts Barr Lake could have gone on forever as far as I'm concerned. Unfortunately it came to an end leaving me almost two weeks behind on my projects. On top of that I arrived to find 14 boxes of new computer equipment just waiting for me to put it all together and get it going. Yes ME! I considered myself pretty handy at that, but soon found just how much I didn't know about all of the new technology that I had purchased. What probably would have taken a technician a day or less has now taken me over two weeks in total to accomplish. Oh, but I can' t fret over the time too much as the information I learned while struggling through it is considerable. I have learned how to do all sorts of new things from transferring files from one system to the other ( even when one system isn't working properly and most normal avenues aren't available) to setting up remote networking programs. I also had to learn a half a dozen new software programs to boot.
In the midst of this, the next travel that came was a flight to San Diego followed by a road trip to Mexico and back to California followed by a flight to Florida. From this came at least one especially interesting story that I can't hardly wait to share with you. However, I returned even more behind than when I left and the last two weeks since my return have been a struggle to keep up and catch up with the "Everyday Magic" that it takes to get to the prize of achieving my dreams.
Today, I finally accomplished one of the three remaining critical computer transfer problems I have been working on of not being able to access my web site nor transfer the software to do so to the new hard drive. Research finally turned up the fact that the old software company had been bought out and that a new company made a product that would open my files. I bought that software today and I am happy to finally be typing at you again. There are so many web updates, changes and improvements that are in the immediate future. It's great to know that I will be able to implement them soon.
This is a short update because, as you have probably already guessed, I am still far behind in catching up to where I should be on my regular projects. One point on my plus side is that I have managed to almost finish creating a new line of greeting cards that I will soon be sharing here at InspirationMotivation.com for the first time anywhere. Until next time, I invite you to join me in the continual challenge to "Hang On To Your Dreams" no matter what life may hand you. Believe me, I understand how hard it can be!
6/12/05Computer Tech Tips: Never, never, never allow a service tech to sit behind your computer alone and without your watching their every move and other helpful suggestions.
This would be a very long story if I were to go into the details of my recent computer woes and needless to say, I knew better! If you must have the services of an onsite computer technician, sit next to them and watch every thing they do. Don't worry if they seem irritated by this, in fact be suspicious if they are. They may be trying to intimidate you to leave them alone with your computer, a potentially dangerous thing to do. If you do not know what it is they are doing, ask. The more experienced computer user you are, the more you will understand what is going on. You might even learn something that will prevent you from making another call the next time that you have a problem. For example, most of the programs that technicians use to diagnose problems are already available to you in software packages.
Also, do not simply take a technicians opinion to heart that it is the ultimate or correct answer. No matter how intimidated you are by the workings of computers, remember that technicians aren't gods, they are just people too. The technician that recently checked my system for the bugs it was having, reported that I should just get another computer. I later ran a spy ware software on my computer (Something that I had requested and was told was done) and found 148 spy ware files. Removing them solved almost all of my problems.
If you do need to buy a computer, be sure that you understand what it is that you will likely need in the next two to four years depending on your budget. Don't be afraid to think ahead. Although I have resolved many of my computer woes, I needed a new computer anyway to do more intensive film editing and graphic work. Even though I explained in detail to computer sales people what I would be doing on the computer, the first quotes that I received were for computers that were severely underpowered and without some of the basic required system components. No wonder the prices sounded so great compared to what I was finding online. I would have soon been adding those components with the help of the onsite technicians at $60.00 an hour to be able to have the system that I really needed. I can only wonder whether there would have been conflicts or how much adding hardware piecemeal would have cost. I was only able to determine what I would need by first going on line to software sites and forums about using the potential software. There I found how many gigabytes, what types of processors, graphic cards and sound cards etc. would work the best. Because I often have many multiple programs open, these were important details that the sales people nearly refused to comprehend. Most all of them told me I didn't need that much power or storage when in fact the software I planned to buy specified it.
You will do well to think of your computer as a "Mini Me" with a brain and a body, and treat it as such. After all you would not take only one doctors advice if he told you that you needed a new leg or to remove your ears. You also wouldn't let just any old brain surgeon open your head and look around in it by himself. As far as your software, think of it as what school your brain will be exposed to before you buy or install it. For example would you prefer to expose your real brain to the teachings of Harvard or your local city college? If you would prefer to go through life with the teachings of Harvard, then you must ask if you are qualified. If your computer does not have the capacity to handle the software installed on it then it is not qualified either. Another comparison question is, could you afford to go to Harvard, even if you are qualified? When buying software, for many of us price is a factor. Spend the time researching which software will accomplish most of the job that you need to do. For example, I might be qualified and can afford to go to Harvard, but I might not need to because what I want to do does not require that level of knowledge. Lastly on software, just like education, what you learn that you can do opens up the possibilities that you will think and grow in that direction. I never knew how to build animated gifs nor gave much thought to what types I would build until I had the software to do it.
Whether you are a personal computer user or have a business full of them, you need to be as aware and informed as possible about what your needs are. Otherwise, you are completely at the mercy of the technicians and the sales people who may or may not know what it is that you need either. Of course there are some great technicians and sales people out there, but you won't know when you have found one if you don't already have a pretty good idea about what causes computer problems and what your current and future needs may be. Ah, say la vie, live and learn!
All of my computers are Dells! The tech support is great, the sales people are knowledgeable and the reasonably priced systems are awesome! It is easy to build the computer of your dreams and purchase it right from their web site. The problems I described above are in no ways a bad reflection on Dell. The 5 year old problematic computer had survived two direct lightening hits that took out many peripherals and the software was plagued by spy ware. The technician that I mentioned was not a Dell technician. I would highly recommend a Dell system to everyone. This site is built on a Dell.
4/22/05Staying Motivated:
When I unpacked my two bags and one box of "stuff" a few days after arriving in Hawaii a couple of months ago, it took me all of about five hours to figure it out and put it all away. I returned to Florida last week where my office and primary residence is located. Not counting the fact that I gave myself a weekend off for dealing with jet lag, It was obvious that I have been dragging my feet on the unpacking and reorganizing when I found myself still reluctant to finish the job today, one week later. Yes, there is a little more to it as I am back to my regular office work, so to speak and have more distractions. And yes, there is more filing involved than when I arrived in Hawaii, but mainly, I have been guilty of procrastinating because, I absolutely dread unpacking here where it signals back to the grind before my next excursion. OK, I know, my "S" in the ABCs stands for Stop Procrastinating, but figuring out how to stop is the key to applying it to any given situation. Because the only thing that I dislike more than the unpacking is knowing that it is still pending, I made this my day to finish the chore regardless of my feelings about it.
Once the decision had been made, finding ways to "M" Make it happen, became the challenge. Of course I had saved the most tedious tasks of dealing with electronics, paperwork and all the little odd and end things that have previously been organized to go in seemingly every nook and cranny of my house and office. Where to start and how to stay at it was not going to be an easy task. Remembering my "J" Just do it, got me pulling things out of a box but not even an hour had gone by before I was ready to quit.
I am happy to announce that at the writing of this I am done with the job. ( Well, except for that one shoe box full of things that still goes upstairs). And I decided to share with you some of my "wacky ways" of getting to this point. Whether or not you might ever want to use these tactics, you might see through them to get an idea of how you can bring some fun and interest into your own most dreaded chores. Following are a few things that got me through the day:
Whistle while you work! Yes, it drove my daughter and my dog nutty, but it kept my creative juices going to continually whistle through the filing part of the job. After the first ten minutes of just whistling what ever came to mind, I started challenging myself to whistle various genres of songs: Old rock and roll songs, TV theme songs, Classical, Jazz ( fairly hard to do), Reggae, Top Forty, Hymns and Christmas songs. (These were especially annoying to my daughter now that it is almost May by the way) "Mom, what are you doing?" she yelled at me from another room "Oh just filing." I smiled to myself. The dog was walking around the office looking at me with a quizzical expression and "rrrrrrrrrrrrring" at me regularly but I didn't care one bit, I just kept whistling until before I knew it, I was done.
Stand on Your Head! I have a long time joke about my beloved little Schipperkee after I discovered that whenever we are playing and I turn her upside down and then put her on the floor, she immediately either goes and fetches a toy, rolls around, sneezes, begs for a biscuit or SOMETHING without fail. I tell people that when she is upside down, the blood rushes to her tiny brain and she gets an "idea!" This is probably not really that far from the truth since having your head down does fill up all those capillaries that sometimes don't get as much blood flow as the rest of your body and being they are in the brain, surely that must be good for something, yeah?
When ever I found myself not sure of what to do next or where to put something, I duplicated the little joke that I play with my dog. Now, I have to admit, I didn't exactly "stand" on my head, since I was on an incline table, but the results were the same. And although I might have even been playing a little joke on myself in this case, after each round of it, I really did get an "idea" about where I was going with the project. So if you can't stand on your head or don't have an incline table, just otherwise incline yourself or your head. At home, you might lay on your back on a bed and hang your head off, in the office, you could just sit down and bend over until your head is lower than your heart. What ever you do, you will get some much needed blood flow up there where the ideas come from, so it probably will be good for you even if you don't get the light bulb blinking over your head when you are done.
Play a game! "But isn't that procrastinating?" you ask. NO, not when it is a reward for accomplishing some portion of a task. We humans need our carrot on the stick sometimes to get around the track as much as the racing rabbits do. I like to play quick computer games sometimes when I am trying to relax or if I need to take a break from tedious computer work but don't want to distract myself too much from what I am working on. One phase of today's job was to make many otherwise boring and mechanical type of entries on my PC as I dealt with paperwork in various folders. Because this is especially not the kind of work I like to do, I decided that after I processed each folder I would play a round of an online game that took about three minutes. After the first few rounds, I became quite anxious to get through the next folder to see if I could continue through the increasingly difficult levels of the game. Needless to say, I was working faster than I would have been if I had kept my nose strictly to the grindstone and even with the break time, I estimate that I finished the job a lot sooner than if I had not included this activity.
If you don't like computer games, try card games, "office sports" or TV games. If you are a TV game fan, simply tape some of your favorite games and play along with a round during your catching the carrot part of the project. If none of these sound interesting, then make up your own game. (You can always stand on your head to get a good idea for one you know!?) Memory challenges - like "How many names of the students in your graduating class can you remember?" or guessing challenges - like "How many books are on that shelf?" might be just the break you need.
Do something rather time consuming that you didn't plan to! I know this really sounds off the wall when you are trying to get something done in a time frame, but consider how quickly you will later work to catch up by your deadline if you have less time than you expected when you set your goal. The quicker you can get through things you don't like, the less time you have to think about how much you don't like them after all.
Today, I went on an unexpected but needed shopping excursion with my daughter where we both had some laughs and fun along the way. When I got back 2 1/2 hours later, I was really booking it through the end of the project to get done by bedtime. At that point, I didn't have much time to get bored or be irritable for having to do something I really don't like to do. Although I finished an hour behind what I had originally hoped for, I didn't mind because I had also had the outing experience that not only accomplished other tasks that needed to be done but also gave me a big break in the unpacking challenge.
Quick, Read Something! Whenever the boredom or tediousness gets to be too much you can always just open up your favorite newspaper, catalog, magazine, book of poetry or any other publication that has extremely short articles of text and read for two or three minutes - well OK, maybe even five minutes. It is amazing how reading can take your mind completely away from what you are doing and if the article is short enough, you can have closure to the idea it presents and you do not carry it with you into a mental project. If the project isn't mental but rather physical, you can choose to consider what you have just read and entertain that idea rather than dwell on the fact that you do not enjoy what you are actually doing. l looked through mail order catalogs quickly while taking my mental breaks today and actually found something I have been needing in one of them.
Finally: Call somebody you love! Sure you are busy, sure you don't really have the time, but if you call someone you love at set intervals and only talk for five to ten minutes each time, you will be much motivated and uplifted to continue through any dreaded chore. "Are you kidding, a quick phone call to my mother or best friend is impossible!" you say. "NOT!" I say, if when your loved one answers you say right away, "I'm working on something and need a break, I've only got five minutes and just wanted to hear your voice." You most likely will find a surprised and happy person on the other end who will be glad to know you were thinking of them. When the five (or ten) minutes are up, let them know you have to go finish your goals. This was a very positive part of my day and even though I only rewarded myself this way twice at intervals of three or four hours, I hung up each time with a big smile on my face. Love after all is the greatest motivation to get through anything!
So, there you have it, how I got through the day that I have dreaded for a week. Whether or not you think these ideas are "wacky" or not the point is, life is short, and even though everything we do can't always be fun, that doesn't mean that we can't find interesting ways to get through them and possibly even enjoyable ways. Some might say that I was procrastinating at every step but I would disagree. I finished my job, had a little fun, took small diverse breaks and didn't feel stressed out all through it or at the end of the day. Procrastination is putting something off, these activities facilitated my ability to tackle the problem. I found motivation where there was little and even inspiration to write about it. Actually, I just recalled something else I that wrote in Secrets Of Success; "Success is a way of life found moment by moment." Based on that, I can be a lot happier as I head off to bed now because rather than going there feeling like I wasted a precious day doing something I disliked I am going there feeling like a success after all.
How about you? Do you have any "wacky" ways to stay motivated through your least favorite jobs? If so, please let me know!
4/21/05
Who keeps littering my world?:
My daughter and I took the afternoon off to go to the beach today and we were soon thoroughly disgusted at the amount of litter lying nearly everywhere we looked. I watched with pride as my daughter took the bags she brought in anticipation of just such conditions and walked down the beach filling them with things someone thought would be okay to just toss on the ground (or in the water). I remembered with great clarity how some thirty years ago, at crowded south Florida beaches I began this practice of cleaning up the beach around wherever we set up. People used to stare at me like I was a freak back then, maybe because I was the only person who seemed to care that they were lying in an otherwise magnificently beautiful place only to be surrounded by trash. I could tell many of them thought they were far too good to be parading around with a giant plastic bag touching frequently nasty trash such as soiled baby diapers and food wrappers. It amused me though because these same people were not too good to lie there next to it all and look at it.
Today it made me sad to think that some people are still so clueless and thoughtless (stupid?) to just casually leave behind the waste of their consumption like it is okay. Do they like the way it looks? Do they think it will just go away on its own? Do they think other people like looking at or picking up their trash? I don't think I will ever know because I really can't figure out the mind set of such people no matter how hard I try.
Once it was cleaned up, I wondered how many of the few souls that walked by the particular secluded area we had found, even noticed that suddenly there was a whole stretch of beach that looked just the way God intended for it to. Did their spirits feel just a little more lifted to see only the sand and shells rather than plastic bottles and wrappers? Did their eyes delight in stretches of dunes not speckled with bright orange, red and blue things that didn't belong there? Did their minds relax just a bit to feel at one with nature rather than at one with trash? I know we certainly enjoyed the rest of our stay at the beach and the view of our surroundings a lot more as a result of her actions for the remainder of the afternoon.
As the sun gave us the signal it was about to set we decided to take a drive around the point of the island to get a better view of it going down. Along the ocean we found ourselves nearly alone with few fellow beach goers braving out the cold gusty winds under the shadows cast by the high dunes. The sea was that beautiful blue/green color it gets when the sun is no longer sparkling directly on it and there were hundreds of sea gulls of various species taking their sunset stroll ahead of us. The sky was a hazy blue and the world seemed at peace until we saw it. Bags of litter sitting everywhere just about a foot above the previous high tide line made me think of those who had left it as something akin to environmental terrorists. II became angry to think that just a few hundred yards from rows of trash bins provided by the park these bags had been left behind for the next tide to take them out to sea. Oh how nice, I thought, at least they put most of it in bags, (GEE WHIZ YEAH?) however some of it was still scattered about over a fairly large area. Of course, we stopped and threw it in the back of the truck and dropped it off at one of the bins later, but it ruined an otherwise spiritual sunset communion with God through beach, sky and water. It was not the perfect end to the perfect day to say the least.
So, I don't know who keeps littering my world, but if I ever catch them, they will definitely hear from me up close, personal and in their face. To these trashy people I say here, I've had it with you whoever you are and your mindless inconsideration for others much less your blatant lack of respect for nature and the blessings it contains. The fact that you can love what it gives you and the fun you have while visiting it and yet not only do you not see the benefits of protecting it, you give it nothing back but trash and that makes you less wise than all other creatures that share the space with you. Even the sand fleas are smarter!
And so this is how it goes, a beautiful, spiritual, relaxing day nearly ruined by trash, but thankfully - not completely. I also realized today that as long as I, my family and others like us care enough about nature and our environment, there is hope. Today I prayed at sunset that soon humanity would evolve just a hair higher than it is, just high enough to see beyond the scattered plastic, paper and cigarette butts into the horizon of the future of this planet. I prayed that in that future would come a time when every beach, trail, roadside and waterway would be respected, revered and cherished and that no one would ever have to pick up the trash of another ever again.
4/20/05
Missing Person Information Request:
Well, since I am starting this personal page, I might as well get real personal in a way that might help my children. We are trying to locate Charles Bruce Perry, aka "Tex" who is the father of my children last seen in 1971. (or 72) Because of the circumstances at that time, we were glad that he disappeared, but now my grown children are curious as to what happened to him. At this time in their lives, it might help them to establish some closure if they could hear any news.
Further information that might be helpful in determining if you might know of this person:
Last seen in: Murfreesboro, Tennessee and St. Petersburg, Florida
His family members: Sister Jeanie Perry - had a daughter DiDi and a son with Jimmy, his brother Earl Perry - was imprisoned in Raiford Penitentiary for Auto Theft, his brother Pete Perry - lived in Dayton Kentucky with his wife Mabel Perry, his brother Mickey Perry - was deceased. His mother's first name was Mary and was remarried to a man who's first name was Roland. His father's name was Hermit Perry, deceased.
It is believed that he was born in Maryland in 1948.
If he is still alive, he may be dangerous to myself and my children and possibly to others and should not be approached by a stranger to me or him in this matter. Although it is a bit tricky announcing this on line, I would prefer it if he were not notified of my seeking him until I could determine whether or not danger was likely.
What we would like to know: Whether he is alive or dead, If alive, his whereabouts and situation, If dead, the circumstances of his death. Obviously if there is still a chance for personal danger involved with finding him alive, we might not want to reconnect with any of his existing family but in the event that he is deceased or has become a non threatening person, we would like to also know there are family members who are decent people and who are interested in connecting with his children.
If anybody out there has a clue, I would appreciate hearing from you via e-mail. I will ask some specific questions to verify whether or not any information you might provide is legitimately about this person.
4/19/05
An open letter to friends regarding my recent two month trip home to Oahu, Hawaii and returning to Florida:
My Spring Semester at NSU (North Shore University)
Well!!! - I am home.......
If home is where the heart is, then (sigh...) yes - parts of my heart are here in Florida too - even though I am also already very, VERY homesick for the place where the other parts of my heart still reside along with much of my spirit.... my beloved Oahu.
"Where did the time go?" you ask. ..... Oh shoots!!! The time went to lots of things - in some ways it seems like I was there for ages - in others it seems like I barely just arrived when it was time to leave. Actually I am happy to report that I accomplished several really important things with an A++ score. I also made a couple of Cs, which is still really good for being in Hawaii, with grade points based on a sliding scale that is. Unfortunately, I also got a D and an F-. However, the bad grades were mainly due to extremely bad weather for four weeks and being sick for over three weeks, ( not always concurrently either) and part of the F- was because right at the end when I might have had a chance to bring up my average, I stepped on a piece of glass (that is still deeply embedded in my foot) and that set me back three out of the last 5 days I was there.
Still, all in all it was an awesome great productive spring semester and recess wasn't bad either - between thinking pink during punk rock Thursdays at my favorite local sports bar (especially while listening to "Filthy Degenerates" and "The Enhancements" ) and the beach activities, I found the outlets I needed for all of my pent up energy accumulated during the many hours spent behind my desk. The food was mainly good and occasionally great and most of the time I didn't have to stand in line for long to get it. But mainly I studied hard and made it to most of my classes and somehow almost completely made up for 16 months of missed lessons in hugs, kisses and smiles.
In my very limited free time I also: Found $45.01 underwater while snorkeling right out back behind the beach front condo I stayed at, Stood next to a volcano, Hopefully inspired and facilitated a few positive changes for some select VIPs in my life, and Healed up some years of punk rock momania with my son in part through an awesome fun trip to The Big Island, by helping him build and plant a garden area in his back yard and while assisting in moving around and rearranging two unassembled cars' parts.
Graduation was also memorable featuring an all day into the night party with multiple musicians jamming all the way through with too much food and drinks and lots of the right friends and favorite son in attendance. Amazingly, when I arrived in Florida I still had a couple of hundred dollars in the bank and a couple of hundred in my pocket, so I am stoked!!!!!!!!!!! .......... and now after much hard work, intensive labor and mental strain I am FINALLY ready for a Spring Break!!!! ( Better late than never, yeah?)
...................And btw yes, - how did you ever guess???? I also had a great time!!!
This goes out with special thanks to everyone who made it so special to be in Hawaii and also to those who made it so special to come back to Florida - ( and even thanks in advance to those whom I haven't seen back here yet but am counting on to do a little special spring breaking with me) I so appreciate YOU and will never forget .... (well, hopefully will mostly remember) - every precious moment of the coming and going. I think I am greatly inspired and well enough to write now.... and that after all was where I was really trying to get to regardless of which actual geographic location it was to be arrived at.
Now, I remain hopeful that my upcoming summer job will bring in enough to cover my NSU fall tuition as I anxiously look forward to reuniting with my fellow students and favorite teachers at that time.
With Much Aloha,
(YAY!)
Sincerely,
Your Friend Always,
~Wanda Hope :-)
PS
OH, in case you are wondering, my immediate future is primarily centered around doing laundry since all of my gym shorts were at least three weeks dirty already when I left ...... and those sweat socks!!!!!!!!!!!! ........... ( Whew!)
.................................................Maybe I should just throw those out?!
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