if man is 5, then the devil is 6, and God is 7!

Does anyone else stay up later than you want to just because you're watching back to back videos of The Pixies? Come on.

Tonight was my last DJ night @ Bug Jar. I think my favorite times in this city are the times where a handful of people you know and love are dancing together, and singing out loud to everything from "oh, yoko" to "oh, you're so silent, Jens". It's a beautiful and big feeling, and we feel so young and invincible and meaningful... if only one song at a time. John and I have been playing songs for our friends e-v-e-r-y Wednesday since last summer. I played that Greenday song tonight like I promised (myself) and Annie said she hated it. But thats OK, cause I played Bruce and she loved that.

SKIFFLE

there is so much to learn. there is so much music that i don't even know about. for example, skiffle: a type of folk music with jass, blues, and country influences.  Lonnie Donegon known as the King of Skiffle:

And some more unknown-to-me-until-right-now: check out the "Vernon Girls" on the show "Oh Boy!". i like the one with the eye patch!

Portland Pilgrimage less than a week away, I leave Saturday! And can I just say I'm pretty disappointed that Slumdog Millionaire won best picture... thats right, I didn't love it, in fact, I hardly liked it!

blessings are coming

do you ever have moments in life that are so intensely wonderful and joyous and hopeful that you just say to yourself "is this my real life?!"

one week from today i'll be in Portland, Oregon. living a new life. new joys, new sorrows (hopefully limited to one a month), new blessings, new knowledge, new NEWNESS, things i can't even imagine. so much freaking delicious goodness is on its way that i can't even know what it is right now... i just know it's on its way into my life.

and i need my heart to stretch in preparation. because it's hard to accept good things... it's easier to accept the bad. and that sucks, thats terrible that we humans do that. so i'm going to get some buffet pants for my heart and with every beat that says "i am I AM I AM... ALIVE ALIVE ALIVe.. I LIVE I LIVE I LIVE I LOVE I LOVE I LOVE" i'll stretch my heart and make room for more and more goodness.

welcome to the world, on this day Baby Jack Saffer. Born to my dearest Mellissa and Ben.

the moments of "is this my amazing life?" are bountiful, welcome to the world baby Jack, welcome!

3 conditions

How I spent Valentines day, after 12 hours of work:

Put on my new silk dress. it's freezing out, but i wanted to look nice.

We drank some drinks that looked the color of purple pop-ice and tasted like vodka, and we all  danced a little in the living room. I played piano alone in the side room (tried to play neutral milk hotel, and bruce, and the andrews sisters, and a little ditty i wrote). I want to get a piano wherever I live next. 

Then when I felt brave, I played a game.. but he didn't play along. There were conditions, and he didnt follow... as a result he walked home without his coat, his shoes, or his hat.

I can be stubborn, too,  y' know.

...After all, I put on a nice dress and perfume...  and I sang every Elvis song on the record player tonight. 

Still...I think some things are worth waiting for. And I'm glad I don't get what I want most of the time. 

Because for every morsel I give up and sacrifice and suffer and feel disappointed, in the end I'll  get what I've waited for and I'll be wiser. I'll enjoy it more and say "I deserve this". I believe in the virtue of a pure heart. I believe disappointment has to happen before satisfaction. 

I am both frustrated and simply delighted right now.

Hope everyone had a lovely, or at least ridiculous Valentines Day!

well i feel just like a child

I'm not so sure i want to be a normal functioning member of society.

...not too sure what that means, but i've been thinking about that for a long time. Can you help me understand these feelings and ideas?

i know i want to do things like "reduce my carbon footprint" and "buy local"... but i feel like there are more things I can be strict about, maybe strict is the wrong word-- more things I can be intentional about.

As far as work is concerned, I don't really want to do anything that I don't see/experience the fruits of.  Maybe thats where hand-made or general labor can come in to play... paperwork and retail are so dead to me. dead end. 

I want my work to be a part of how I survive... like in the old days, people gardened for their own food, people painted the fences of their own houses. I want the labor I put in to have a purpose beyond a paycheck.

I hope to find more language for this idea and feeling in me. 

Of course I'm not so dogheaded (pun from last post!) that I will resist a job if I really need to earn a living... but I want to marry knowledge/purpose with a modern job. 

Modern jobs kill morale and numb the human spirit... few people are aware that there are better opportunities where your mind, your opinion, your skills DO matter!

Or simply, something you can find pleasure in. And for me, pleasure/satisfaction comes from seeing the outcome and purpose. Mushroom Hunting won't give me money or even much of a meal, but I'd like to do that... and touring this year with Gramophone Family I really want to do that more than anything... I need to accept that family and society are going to label me as "lazy" because I treat a job as a way to make money/pay for basic survival, and that I prefer to work for someone else as little as possible. But hey, if you give me a purpose I believe in, I will be devoted and as strong as a work horse.

It just doesn't make sense to me, that a boss can earn triple of the benefits of my own labor. I want to reap what I sow... not reap 5% of what I sow, or even 70%. Is this the proletariat coming out in me? 

I've been watching a documentary about the Carthusian Monks and listening to Devendra Banhart... so I think the general atmosphere in Apartment 3 has a strong bias on this topic.

Purpose and Passion. Thats what I want. And I don't see how that happens in society, in "careerism" in a genuine way. I just don't see it. 

Some ones Dad in some movie said "find a job where you can get paid for being you"... 

The only boss I work for is Springsteen. And does this sort of attitude affect how often I do my laundry, it most certainly does.

Dog-Headed Cannibal

Someone dropped a St. Christopher medallion in the tip jar today. 

St. Christopher is the patron saint of travelers... the back has an inscription saying "Then go your way in safety".

It's a lovely little medallion from France, and I took it to mean great big things as I prepare for my next big journey out West.

Legend has it that St. Christopher helped carry people across a river, because of his great big size (12 foot tall Cannanite). One day he was carrying a little child, and the child all of a sudden became so heavy that both almost drowned. When St. Chris says, "Ok, woa, you were totally heavy back there. Whats up?" The child says, "You not only carried me, but you carried the weight of the world...I'm the creator of it!" and the baby disappeared. Neat story.

I'm wearing it now, on my precious heart and key necklace (which also has mystical beauty meaning to me)... 

I mean, can you believe it? What timing..! Definitely worth more to me than the tips I earned today.

(PUN VERY MUCH INTENDED. AND I'M NOT SORRY FOR IT)

You know what? I'm not going to apologize for puns anymore.
Why do people apologize for them anyway?

Michael said, "because it's considered low brow humor"... so puns are un-smart? On the contrary! I think you have to be pretty clever to use a pun, and you have to be pretty quick to pick up on a pun. I think you're un-smart if you MISS a pun., and I'll go so far as to say you're foolish if you miss a pun opportunity.

This all came about at the museum shop tonight. I was talking to one of the museum members about the new David Yurman eye wear collection (she had some nice specks on, and she liked the ones I wear). At the end of the chat she says, "his new eyeglasses are coming out this month...let's hope they're good... I guess we'll have to SEE...I apologize for the pun!"

I could've said, " I forgive you, because that's an accidental pun"... no work involved in that one. But I smiled and waved instead... and got to thinking.

I realize I always apologize for puns, or point them out in an apologetic way... usually involving parenthesis and some kind of explanation. ie (no pun intended), (pun intended).

I can't even come up with a pun to put in this post-- that's how UN-un-smart puns are!

On another note, working at a museum during a gallery opening is great. Tonight is First Friday in lovely Rochester... which means champagne (not while I work. bummer) and baklava and cubed cheese... And after my shift is done here, I'll get to hop around a few local galleries and maybe I'll use some puns. And I won't be sorry for it.

snip snip

the pets are both at the animal hospital today, getting fixed... i'm trying not to be a nervous nancy, so i'm watching funny kid/animal videos. some of the faves i've happened upon this morning:

"kick his ask"

"evil look"

"WAFFLES!!" what a great puppy name, "wuh-fulls"

Oh man, I seriously love my pets.

Freddy Mercury (aka Frederico) sitting on some records

and Pushkin staying warm at Knitting Brigade the other night... I made that neck cozy  for me, but it keeps him cozy, too :)