Sometimes there seem to be strange forces at work around us. First it was a mysterious bit of prose on a neighbouring website going into detail on the outcome of the said website’s owner having a birthday on Sept 30. Then I receive a surprise reminder in my email inbox from a social networking website to say the birthday of my “friend” is coming up. Then this morning, I load my blog and to my surprise it seems my random photo generator, which randomly displays pictures from my online photo gallery has selected the said birthday girl as its highlight for the day - her birthday. Amazing!! Happy Birthday Sheeda!!

(Ok, ok, I will admit the first two were not so mysterious.)

Some of the broad categories of books I have found on my bookshelf:

• Art
• Beauty
• Cultural Studies
• Financial Management
• Health/Fitness
• Humour
• Languages (French, Spanish, Italian, Sign Language
• Music (Theory, Ear Training, Music Appreciation, Composition)
• Philiosophy
• Photography
• Psychology
• Relationships
• Self-Improvement (Career, Time Management)
• Management (Strategic Planning, Marketing)
• Technology
• Writing/Literature

How am I supposed to choose?? In going through my books in the effort to catalogue them (see Treasure-Trove), I have reminded myself of my procastinatory side. I have catalogued, up to this time, 244 books (mostly non-fiction). I still have one more bookcase to tackle, which has primarily fictional titles.

Of those 244, I have identified a “short-list” of perhaps 12 - 15 titles I would like to read (in some cases re-read) in the near-term. I am yet to pick up even one them because I can’t decide which one to start with. Add to that, the fact that I have multiple side projects going on, it almost seems as if I don’t have enough time. But in fact, I think I have hit upon the procrastinator’s paradise of too much time.

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven’t played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don’t have e-mail addresses. (more…)

I have embarked on a mini-project at home (I have to keep busy somehow, no?) to catalogue all the books in my room. I know, I know, idleness, but it has served some other purpose. In going through my books I have started to find books I forgot I had, some of which I never finished reading, a few which I hadn’t started, and of course, some I want to re-read.

So far, I have done the 2 bookshelves behind my door. Current tally: 142 (more…)

I was at Lime Cay yesterday and saw this guy, a white guy with some nasty-looking (i.e. thick and clumpy) short locks demonstrating some very acrobatic moves, flips and somersaults. He was demonstrating these for some small kids. My curiosity was piqued when I saw him with a long thin bag, about 5 feet long. He removed some items and proceeded to assemble what appeared to be a bow. My companions and I were a bit confused about the use of such a bow at the beach. On further observation, it turned out to be a musical instrument of some sort. :-S Later, the use of the instrument was put together with the athletic acrobatics, and we surmised that he was in fact doing Capoeira (a Brazilian martial arts style). Of course, you know I had to go research the instrument, so here goes: (more…)

After the years of silence,
A whisper begins.
Strains of the past tease my mind.
A face long lost to the dark
Reappears in a flash.
A hopeful wish, a question,
A sudden reply.
The voice of time sings out
As the memories flow.
Seems like yesterday
We stood at this door.
The warm embrace of words
Surrounds us in the night,
Bringing us home.

A cloudy haze in my mind,
Memories seem out of reach.
Days gone too quick to grasp,
Is it already the end of the week?

I struggle to access the past.
How could it be Friday so soon?
As I plan for the weekend to come,
My head starts to spin to a swoon

It seems as though something is wrong.
As I open today’s paper I see,
Suddenly the week starts to look long
It’s Wednesday! How could that be?!

• Making new friends
• A glimmer of hope
• A night sky packed with stars
• Brownie batter
• A time to reflect
• Clean, powdered babies
• Finding a long-lost something
• Flaky croissants
• Updating your wish list
• A wagging tail
• No line at the store
• A hot shower after a workout
• An extra hour of sleep

I had a conversation last night (well, technically this morning) with an old friend that I rediscovered. One of his observations was that I seemed more in tune. He was pleasantly surprised because he felt that most people don’t reach that point because they are too scared of the possibility of change… scared of really living, scared of dying and everything in between.

I realized that I need to be happy and to do that I had to start understanding myself and what makes me happy. I can’t say that I am happy yet but I am actively working on it. (more…)