oprah's talking about being 30-something

i'm half-watching Oprah talk to 30-something women in the US and feeling glad that she's talking to us, and kind-of annoyed by her interaction with the muslim woman she just spoke with. in any case, being in the 30-something age group is really interesting because women are at such different places in our careers, lives, families and strauggling with the same, but also really different issues. It is a puzzile

poetry is good for the soul

and my friend Maya's is indescribably lovely. See, for example: one paragraph at a time: report card

on adventure (11)

"We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand - and melting like a snowflake."
--Marie B. Ray

shhh....

Secrets,
originally uploaded by RoBeRtO!!!.

Is something a secret if both people know what the secret is, but just never mention it?

being sick is a bummer

I've been sick with that sore throat, headache, too dang tired to do anything sickness. I hate it because I feel so unproductive. I'm home - I could be painting and cleaning my house and doing all sorts of delightful things. Instead, I have as much energy as wilted lettuce. All I want to do is sleep. Except I've already done that all day.

Maybe I'll start a the next book on my reading list...

on adventure (10)

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
-- Anaïs Nin

convergence

I was talking to a friend last night - a conversation all about convergence or mutuality or reaching for each other. It made me wonder if the idea, this feeling I have, that someday I will find a person who I want as much as they want me. Who wants me as much as I want them.

"Love is a friendship set to music." ~ E. Joseph Cossman

on adventure (9)

"Fortune and love befriend the bold."
--Ovid

Traveling

This month seems like it is going to be the month of travel. My ex wants me to visit her, my grandfather is having his 75th birthday, and I just got home after an extended trip to see my family.

I want to really go on vacation, and none of these trips will be relaxing. They have the potental to be fun (or stressful), though.

argh.

Technorati Profile

on adventure (8)

"And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure."
--Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Beginning of the Month

• tattoo - DONE! - firelotus
  
• 24 dates - 2
  
• cook excellent food (made jambalaya and gumbo this month)

2007 Horoscopes....

from the...

December 31, 2006 Datebook
SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 20): It's difficult for you to hang on to resolves right now -- much less make them. The ho! ho! ho! thing is in your blood, Santa being a Saj and all. But now, with Jupiter, Pluto and Mars doing a war dance in your sign, the time has come for serious progress. Expect the New Year to take off from the get-go -- 2007 promises to be the greatest ever.

January 1, 2007 SF Chron
SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 20) It's one breakthrough after another in April, August, and December. Schedule time away from the grindstone to recharge psychic batteries.

December 31, 2006 Observer
Sagittarius (22 Nov-21 Dec) An idealistic and philosophical human yet also a restless half-horse, the astrological Centaur is a complex creature, typically represented as a freewheeling gipsy (Keith Richards, say), high-minded artist (Milton and Blake) or inspirational good sport (take a bow, John Terry and Andrew Flintoff).

Whatever your breed, 2007 is a year for optimism, great works and high fives as Sagittarius's defining planet, Jupiter, crosses your skies for the first time in a dozen years. Although Jupiter is considered 'lucky', its transit is no reason for passivity (you have to enter the race to win it). Under these stars, you write your own life script. The more promptly you take action, the better - the first three months of the year are especially auspicious for settling professional and property issues left over from 2006 and for initiating new projects.

Escaping confining circumstances, whether at home or at a job that's too mundane for an elevated soul like yours, is a major theme of springtime. With eclipses flashing across the achievement axis of your horoscope, whatever happens in late March carries resonance for the remainder of the year - if you're looking to bust loose, here's your moment.

Although Jupiter is with you until your birthday, the first eight months of the year look the least obstructed. As this is the travel planet, keep your passport up to date. In early September, Saturn reaches the peak of your horoscope, opening a two-year phase when professional issues press and the dirty business of politics - in whatever guise - becomes inescapable. Archers born in November are those most under the hammer in 2007.

Another planet that looms this year is Pluto. Small and distant it may be, but Pluto is a potent signifier of change and transformation. As it completes its decade-long crawl through your sign this year, birthdays between 17 and 21 December are those most likely to face Plutonic issues. Though these can be dark - the recollection of unhappy childhood memories, for example - money and power also come under the distant planet's remit. The key theme is always transmutation.

For Sagittarian romantics, it's a promising year, with the two relationship planets, Venus and Mars, in almost continual play. Late February and March bring charmers into your circle, while Venus's four-month stay in Leo, a sign as fiery as your own, lends the summer a torrid touch, especially if you're in the uncertain territory of long-distance love.

iVillage
OVERVIEW: Your strong sense of self will get you through almost anything this year, and your confidence will enable you to take on any new opportunities that come your way. You're focused on communicating more, and may find that writing becomes more predominant in your career. You really enjoy working and being gainfully employed. Your energetic and happy nature gives a lot to others in ways that make them feel very comfortable. People know that you're sincerely interested in what they have to say because you're such a good listener.

You may want to take some long journeys this year to give yourself spiritual stimulation and to help you feel more connected to the deeper philosophical side of your being. During the summer, you may find that you're actually making plans to go to some distant retreat center or vacation spot. You will feel as if you are going through a tremendous transformation in how you feel about life and your own attitudes. Maybe it's time to reevaluate who you are and where you are going by regrouping and spending more time interacting with the deeper aspects of yourself.

You will feel good about all the blessings in your life, and are full of gratitude for your family. You are developing new ways of communicating, which draw upon your uniqueness. Communication becomes easy this year. You will learn to trust that you are cared for by a universal support system, and develop tremendous faith in knowing that your needs are being met in life.

happy new year

i was at a soirée tonight where the idea of new year's resolutions was being contemplated. Are they a good idea?, asked one person. Another responded that she thought they were idiotic because no one ever keeps their resolutions and that in fact, the whole idea of setting them in relation to a calendar year is silly. Someone else said that he didn't make resolutions but identified a few goals for the year or intentions.

I too have stopped making resolutions. That doesn't mean I lack goals. My to-do list is captured in the sidebar on the right side of this page. It just means, behavior change without a goal is hard, and making resolutions to start every morning with 100 sit ups is bound to lead to failure and disappointment.

Happy New Year! Did you make resolutions, set goals, or intentions for the year?

Some New Year's things:

• Non-Resolutions
  
• New Year's Reading