Gchat

Alex: so panic will be on my list today, might throw in a dash of incessant worry

me: you're describing my twenties

Alex: this dialog sounds like a xkcd cartoon

me: really? well, we are students

Alex: true

and elitists

me: shhh

Oh, you know what it's like

I just received an email announcement for a "Friends of Bill Wilson" meeting on some upcoming Tuesday night.

I once read a story online about a flight attendant who was barely in her recovery facing a strong temptation, almost willingness to drink. She was passing by a page phone and asked to have the "Friends of Bill Wilson come to gate 12" (or something like that). Within some small amount of time, she was met by fifteen-or-so recovering alcoholics who came and helped her in this moment of crisis. The gift of this story and I think of this group is that at any moment she could have called a sponsor or another recovering alcoholic or someone who knew what it was like.

It brought tears to my eyes, not because of any connection with substance addiction, but because of the characters' willingness to be with that person in her crisis and the understanding and compassion they brought. They understood and acknowledged that there was some common ground between and among them.

It brought tears to my eyes because I believe this is one of the most important things ("Most Important Things") to all people's existence. We all share joys and pains but we are only sometimes willing to acknowledge these together. Even with those whom we detest we have commonalities (sometimes that's what makes us dislike them so much). It has changed my life to have people who were willing to share space with me, acknowledge commonalities, and, perhaps even share in the feelings tied there. We all know what something is like.

It's fine if this story is an urban legend or some email forward. The details are not really the point. I'm sure you can find different versions online.

Gotta run.

Google it

Calendar girls

I'm a tease

Coming soon: The Ladies of Team Pegasus (and Friends) 2009 Calendar
50% of the proceeds go to an honorable charity, World Bicycle Relief. The other half goes to Team Pegasus, a Midwest bike racing team.

There's a safe-for-work version and a not-so-safe-for-work version available. More info available here. Go order one!

MY time

Sometimes we don't play the way that others want us to play. Sometimes others don't play the way that we would want them to play.

I recently have come to believe that there is a lot of pleasure in life when we are more flexible with how we respond to people, their desires, issues, and priorities. It may have something to do with the pressure that control puts on a situation and the likely disappointment we have when our expectations or internal demands are not met.

I was talking to a good friend who is in a new relationship, and she told me how awesome it was that this guy was flexible with how he spent his time. Not in a pushover-kind-of-way, but in a free-to-enjoy whatever is around kind of way. Her previous boyfriend was really inflexible and rigid in how he would spend his time, the kinds of food he would eat and the places that he liked to go. The new fella takes pleasure in going with her to the farmer's market on Saturday mornings or just being. And I think she is trying to do the same.

A few years ago, I was a lot more uptight about how I spent my time. I think that I have grown away from that some. I often look to the examples of Jessica and Jake*, who could find themselves enjoying many situations in which I found them. When I was writing my applications to div school, they would sometimes just come over to hang out. Jake would read his homework, Jess would hang or cook or eat or watch Gilmore Girls. No agenda or outcome necessary. It meant a lot to have these people who were willing just to be ... and were willing to be there with me as I was in a stressful phase.

There is something to be learned in most situations and there might be pleasure in each of them, too. My goal is to be open to the pleasure or lessons in each experience and to worry less about controlling my time. I'm practicing it with socializing. I wonder where else it needs exercise.

You never know how things will turn out.

*I was remiss to omit Cory from this group! I only wish I saw him more often to experience his awesome-itude

Projector

This is Karen. She's the Director of Education at the Adler Planetarium, that infamous planetarium in Chicago that was supposed to receive that $3 million "projector" that McCain keeps mentioning. If Obama loses, let's blame her.

By the way, it's not one of these:

It's one of these:

"Besides, as space politics blogger Jeff Foust points out, the point is moot as far as the planetarium is concerned because the spending wasn't passed."

come to me:

Welcome to October

Computer died
midterm this week, essays and travel next week
need sleep

plan your AAR schedule
talk amongst yourselves

Eyes that light up, eyes look through you

I'm trying to think of a reason to post so I can remind you of how great this song is, but I can't because my attention should be or is on Exodus. Here:

This is one of my favorite songs.

Joe Visconti, candidate for the U.S. House for Connecticut says that one of the ways that we should handle the undocumented immigrant issue is by "cutting off their food supply".

The program will be updated later today.

Never forget that we are humans first and it is absolutely our responsibility to act with compassion, even if we feel we have been wronged by humans (separating it from the immigrants here).

I emailed Pat, my local political gal (so far), to get her read on Visconti. Her response:

I'm drunk so don't recall this one. Shoudl I know him. Expalinng the "drunk" just completed the gardener gardener test.

Congratulations to Pat on her Master Gardener test. Boo to Visconti for being in politics.