Bird is the word

I find it incredibly necessary for everyone to have a favorite word or phrase. I lean towards "goober" quite a bit or "jerkface." In the past I went on frenzies for "ubiquitous" and "maverick." For 2009 I will begin experimenting with words a tad more...shall we say...interesting. At the ashram my friend Arjun used the word "auspicious" almost seventeen times daily. Each time it made me giggle. It's a fantastic word and here's the definition according to dictionary.com:

Adjective
1. promising success; propitious; opportune; favorable: an auspicious occasion.
2. favored by fortune; prosperous; fortunate.

It's origin is Latin from "auspicium" meaning "divination by observing the flight of birds." In Greek history birds represent a connection to an omen. Eastern religions use the word frequently as in the eight auspicious symbols in Buddhism, the Chinese have auspicious numbers, and the Hindu God Shiva is considered the "Auspicious One."

May you and yours enjoy an auspicious 2009! And may I bring "auspicious" into style!

Today I'm grateful for waffles, being caught up, and getting over my flu.

"The City," not "Sex and the City."

I have a rant, which is also a confession at the same time...I avoid rants except when ultimately necessary. This has become one of those necessary moments. A few weeks ago on "The Hills Aftershow," (the confession begins here with the fact that I watch "The Hills") the host showed a magazine cover saying Whitney Port could be the next Carrie Bradshaw. Whitney seems nice and all, but she's no Carrie. For starters...an obvious difference, Carrie is fiction and Whitney is non-fiction or at least her show is somewhat reality-based. Yes, same city. Yes, both blond. Yes, both into fashion. I certainly see correlations; however, those few aspects don't make Carrie, Carrie. I don't hear the one-liners that make me love Carrie come from Whitney's mouth, or the clothes that are so incredible my mouth gaps open.

I'm somewhat offended (and yes a tad jealous) by this comparison as someone who continuously takes the "Which Sex and the City character are you?" tests online. Ninety-five percent of the time I take them my result is that I'm Carrie. (The other five I'm Miranda, but the kicker is always that I like gay men and enjoy writing.)

Here's how the silly (I mean seriously accurate) quizzes describe C.B., "You are Carrie. Cute, quirky and intelligent, men find it so easy to fall in love with you but things always seem to end in tears. you're a commitment-phobe and you find it really hard to get over your exes. Your dress sense is to die for and you blow most of your money on clothes, shoes and cocktails. Gay men love you."

There will never be another Carrie Bradshaw, that's why we love the character so much. Then again, I suppose there will never be another Whitney Port either...or at least let's hope not.

Today I'm grateful for MTV, Sex and the City, and The City.

Reflections for a new year

Helen Keller said, "Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all." I'm certainly with Helen on this one. 2008 brought plenty of adventure...and a lot of surprises, some I enjoyed more than others. This post serves as an acknowledgement to the things that happened, and those that didn't (such as still not living in Denver). Below are several highlights, and lowlights, I felt inclined to share...

*Moved in with my parents, learned basement dwelling isn't as bad as previously thought.

*Took trip back to town where I grew up - some things never change, such as small towns in the middle of nowhere in Germany.

*Lost my best friend and found out the guy I was seeing was married within one week - heart still aches on this one.

*Visited ashram and learned what skill it takes to do less and live more.

*Fell in love, and then returned to reality.

*Quit my job to pursue something more meaningful and have found just being alive gives me enough.

*How easy it is to be single and how full my life is already.

My top lessons from 2008 include:

*Learning to love the unknown

*Key to living is to be more of a human being, than human doing

*When you follow your dreams the universe/God/the Source takes care of the rest

*Everything is exactly as it should be - pure perfection.

2008 was the year I embraced the unknown and not knowing. Scary stuff, but also incredibly rewarding. It got me the opportunity to meet Rider Strong, didn't it? Hope your 2009 is full of much love, light...and adventure!

Today I'm grateful for concerts, staying up until 3 a.m., and optimism for the New Year.

Initial thoughts on...initials

Is it just me or are people increasingly using initials to sign emails, Facebook messages, etc? I only call one person by her initials on occasion only because it's LBC otherwise known as Long Beach California. Only feels natural to call her by her first name. When did initials become cool? Sure, appropriate to use for official documents, but not sure how I feel about it otherwise. When I use my initials to sign things it makes me nervous. I usually use "BF," which can mean many things to many people.

Here are options I tend to think of upon seeing those letters together:
-best friend (of course)
-boyfriend
-blood flow
-breastfeeding (ew, it still seems unnatural)
-Benjamin Franklin (my other BF as in best friend, not boyfriend)
-bodily function
-brace face (aka what I was for 10 years with dental parents)
-baby's father
-and of course, butt f*&%$er (don't yell at me, it really can stand for that)

Many more of course, you get the idea. Given those choices, who in heavens name would use initials? Only thing I can come up with is if your name is worse than the things above...although I doubt anyone can beat "butt-f*&^er." Although I accept a challenge!

Then there's the question of whether or not to us "." between letters. It would be appropriate since it's technically an abbreviation, but certainly detracts from the coolness.

xoxo, (this is gaining popularity as well, but that's for another post)

BF

Today I'm grateful for enzyme treatments...my aestitian rocks, gifts, and New Year's Eve parties.

Santa Paws!

Merry Christmas from Santa Paws! Isn't my dog the cutest, EVER?

Scroogie

Every year I struggle with the same social battles around the holidays - Merry Christmas v. Happy Holidays. I am soooo that grumpy woman who says, "Happy holidays" back to the lighthearted elderly man ringing the Salvation Army bell who kindly says, "Merry Christmas." For years I've reacted the same way and to this day I'm unsure what exactly makes me feel so defensive about it.

For some reason when I hear someone say, "Merry Christmas," instead I hear, "You are Christian and you just don't know it." There are theories that Christmas was actually scheduled around a Pagan holiday (solstice), to help Pagans adapt after changing religions. (Holiday origination fascinates me.) I completely acknowledge majority of Americans celebrate Christmas; however, I don't like assuming everyone does. Some people call it PC, I prefer wanting to just be inclusive and not have anyone feel left out, which I assume they already do if they get told Merry Christmas all the time.

What's funny to me is that the actually root words of Christianity I believe in and love, for some reason what it has stood for in the past hundred years is what pushes me away. I believe Jesus lived and was an extraordinary human being, like the Buddha or Mohammed. Christ comes from the Greek word, christos (sp?) meaning light and lord comes from Armanian (sp?) word meaning life. I can't think of more beautiful words to represent this season - light and life.

Okay, really this post serves no other purpose than to apologize for being a Scrooge, and second to wish you a Happy Holidays, or Merry Christmas...whichever you prefer. =)

Today I'm grateful for holiday cards, fireplaces, and cookie tea.

Life in the fast lane

Yes I would say I live life in the fast lane...I go to express checkout lanes at the grocery store, I go 5 mph over the posted speed limit, and yes, sometimes speak so quickly I hardly understand myself. Finally this wild and crazy lifestyle of mine (please note sarcasm) has finally paid off as I have been offered a job as a speed dating hostess.

Oddly enough I went to one of this particular company's events almost exactly two years ago. After I was left at a restaurant in Los Angeles by my somewhat boyfriend I came back home after the crushing dumping procedure (note to men - Post-It notes are far better than this method) and went to an event with a group of girls. The evening was lovely, including the man who asked for my hand in marriage and told me about his pet python (still don't know if this is a sexual innuendo I missed at the time, I was younger and far more naive).

Anyhow (please for God's sake don't say "anyhoo," I don't care who you are), I'm still uncertain as to whether or not in my role the emphasis will be on "speed" or "dating." (Sorry, sounds funnier in my head.) Hope to see you at the events, in the meantime...please call me "Speed Match," as in Speedy Matchmaker. ;)

Today I'm grateful for holiday lights, knowing my worth, and becoming a matchmaker. ;)