The quickie

The most efficient professionals are the ones who can have a quickie anytime. Yes, you heard it right! A quickie on the job is the most important skill one can master. Before you have a stroke, or you think I’ve gone berserk – although you wouldn’t be too far from the truth on that – here’s my thinking…based on the facts.

I’ve said it countless times, I like simple things. Because they make sense, save time, help others, happen fast, are perpetuated, and they really simplify one’s life, on the job or private life. I move at fast speeds. Mostly because that’s how my brain works. I’ve solved the riddle way before you were half way through explaining it…and I project it on other stuff that could benefit from the conclusions…see, I’m already drawing conclusions and you are not even finished telling the thing…

I like a challenge. As long as it doesn’t get shoved down my throat. Then, it is not a challenge anymore, but it revolts me. Did I mention I am fast? Well, I am fast at revolting, too! So when I get the “WE will have a presentation and WE have to put it together..oh, before the day is done…oh, but make sure it’s the best thing ever…oh, and let ME know when you’re done”…the answer might be…”you’re the boss”. But it may also be “can you get me a raise?” Well, the answer to that was “no”. I guess there’s no I in TEAm but there must be plenty of MEs I haven’t counted on…my bad!… Never assume…but that’s a whole different lesson!

I’m still the fastest thing on the block, and I still like simple things. And, most of all, I take pride in ALL that I do. But a quickie like that could sink one’s boat really, really fast! I tried my “best thing ever”… I’ll let you know if they thought it was the best thing they’ve ever seen…

chocolate #6 – plain and simple

One day away from finishing the chocolate challenge. It’s been interesting. For the non-chocolatier…It got me thinking about all the things I take for granted…all the things that get taken for granted in general. Like youth, health, love, life, a sunny day, the possibility to run a flight of stairs, memory, toes, back muscles, strength, and most of all, choice…

Choice seems to be all acclaimed as a right that we all have. But do we? How many can truly say they understand what it comes with? How many assume the responsibility to choose? How many of us really want to choose? We are creatures of habit. We sprout, and in the process we struggle with all the new, try to learn without making too many mistakes, try to live the dream, whatever it may be for each of us, and think we make good choices…or, at least we try to…ok, maybe I try to, so I’ll just speak for myself.

The world got really small yesterday. I got to look through the peephole for a fraction of a second. It was not scary, like I expected. It was not astounding, like I had hoped. It was not quiet, like I imagined. It was intense, bright, loud, and heavy. It moved the earth, and broke my reason. And all my reasons.

I always imagined things to look like a deck of cards, in slow motion, with a sound more like angry waves hitting the jetty, with fear wrapping my whole being, my hands cold, and my breath shallow…like a little nightmare…or like fainting…Totally wrong! Things fell in place with an amazing speed, building walls, showing me glimpses of reality, my reality, and facets of other truths. My pulse racing, my brain’s gears screeching and fuming, burnt in the process, almost jumping out of their place…hot springs bursting out of the clear skies…and found myself in the main stream, carried down like a buoy that lost its anchor, still ringing my bell, still visible, but so astray…

It took a while to restore to factory default. Now it’s all back where it was. But the experience of it all made me think about taking it all in, like it belonged to me, like I deserved it, like I owned it. The thought of being robbed of a commodity, a natural occurrence, a really simple thing, because of something I could not even foresee, let alone control…now, that, was scary…

chocolate # 3, 4 and 5…priceless

My chocolates # 3, 4 and 5 have been so rich… I barely  had time to wash the taste off of one, and another would inundate my over-saturated  senses…Lots of contradictions, much ado about nothing, and some weird chocolates, too!..

Believe it or not, some people actually “like” this monstrosity… Now, I am not a chocolate fan, but bacon does occasionally find its way on my appreciation list…now it’s doomed forever…I will always have this image in my mind…

Chocolate #3 was smooth, intensely flavored, a real treat. It left my imagination wide open. Oh, the things I could try!…and the tastes I could sample…can’t say creativity is not a strong suit for me…

Chocolate #4 was spicy, unexpected, full of this greasy, cold bacon…What’s up with that? How can one even begin to consider if it’s an acceptable flavor, when it’s…well…just wrong!

Chocolate #5 brought tears to my eyes. A sweet and spicy combination. Sprinkled with oddity…at least it wasn’t salt…

Tomorrow I’ll enjoy some quiet. And hope my chocolates are “just plain”

chocolate #2…sweet and salty!

Moving through a new experience, one often encounters a surprise that is not bad, not good, it’s…just surprising…it’s, shall we say for my lack of creativity today, random… Like a shoe in the middle of the road, or a two spoons of coffee left in your coffee jar – not enough for a great cup, but plenty to kill the caffeine addiction… or salt on your chocolate.

Not being a chocolate connoisseur, I am easily amused by tiny transpositions of the stuff in odd places…or vice-versa. I had another chocolaty day, with some grains of salt. Sea salt that is…what other kind? Or should I say, ocean salt. Enough to salt my heart, but not enough to appease the sweet tooth… I guess that dentist appointment comes in handy…they’ll talk me out of having chocolate ever again…’till then, here: walk in my shoes! They’re always unexpected, fashionable, and different…a real delicacy!

Chocolate # one…sweet!

Chocolate is for the sweet tooth, the broken heart, the headache, the lonely, the sad, the merry, the family, the camping grounds, the gourmand, the chocolate lover, the lover, the child, the day when you really, really need it…. or so they tell me… I have yet to develop an addiction to the thing, but sweet is how I like my days. So if a little chocolate helps… well, so be it!

Mondays are tough because kids are rested and teachers are tired…and naturally, everyone is jumpy. Testing times make the worst Mondays. Grumpiness makes bitter chocolate, right? Well, some days we find that one who hasn’t been afflicted by whatever the events pour on the others, and  that is such a sweet day. Like today. One single smile. From the heart. And a look. That’s all it took.

Today was the first in my box….chocolate #1…sweet, plain, uneventful… a real truffle…priceless.

So simple

Life is like a box of chocolates… surely you know who said it…if not, you should at least google it…

Is it true? Mostly. I was recently told that it “wouldn’t be fair” not knowing an answer to a special question because the “jury’s still out there on this one!”. Who said life is fair? Who could say it with conviction?

Looking at life from an angle that nobody else has is no easy task. It’s what makes communication so darn tough! How do you put something in words that express exactly what you mean, without leaving room for doubt, misunderstandings or grief? Explaining oneself is probably easier done if taking the thoughts apart and sifting through them until the most prominent remain. Then looking at them with someone else’s eyes so that the best conclusion can be drawn… from the outside. Or, if this is too much work, just disregard the whole processing part and turn your back on those who require translations for your actions, thoughts and personality…they are not worth the effort anyway…will they “get it”? Probably not… so, why bother in the first place…

A wise man once said that each road ends. You may have others that intersect it at some point, it may lead into a larger path, it can be a dead end. But all roads we walk throughout our life stop somewhere. Now that’s an unsettling thought…and that’s where life is not fair, but what can ya’ do about it?…

It’s a perfect Spring day in my corner. Cloudy and with a chance of rain. I can hear the wind and the seagulls playing a canzonetta. Ah, life! But, in a different corner of the world, the snow has yet to melt, and the freeze is still there… People are still going about their life, no stopping them… Different points of view, my January, your January…Which one to choose as the right one?

In reality, it’s oh, so simple…Life is personal, and so should be our take on it…too bad there are those that poke through our bubble, having no clue what’s in there, but thinking they have done nothing wrong… and yet, changing our universe.

This week I’ll keep it simple. And enjoy each chocolate as it comes… Hope your week is straightforward. And true.

no title

I said it many times, this color is going to be the death of me! When I moved here I didn’t expect to be slapped with such colors every day. Most places have an amazing sunset, or a great rainy day, or an enchanting little corner. But not this one.

Take morning commute. How many of you are falling asleep right now, just thinking about it? Not here! If it’s still dark when I leave, the sky is not dark. It’s a blurry shade of dark pink, like one of those sfumatos…with a pink twist. If the day has set in, the sky is so tall and freshly painted in blue, and the sweet tint of a pastel Easter egg.

As I get out of my driveway, the marsh throws its own stuff into the mix…now, really, what chance do I have to get to work in one piece? It’s like a freak show of colors… one more extroverted than the other. You cross the causeway – and for those of you who don’t know the term, it’s the only link to civilization that the island has, a bridge, pompously named by some illuminated mind – and the ocean kicks it up a notch…there’s steam, or clouds, or a sunrise splash, or some unthinkable bunch of rays casting their light on a spot in the middle of the ocean, in an effort to show you some undiscovered treasure…or maybe just to put on a little spectacle…I keep imagining someone up there playing with these like a child, with the same infatuation…trying to bedazzle everyone with  his spontaneity…

But today was the straw that broke the camel’s back! I usually have a good peripheral vision, and as distracted and euphoric as these explosions of earthly greatness make me feel, I still manage to keep my steering wheel straight, stay in line and not bump into anyone. But today was not the case…Today, a perfect circle of fire stood right above the water, invading the ocean with its hot, melted lava. My hands looked fervently for the first thing that could take a picture… and the first thing I could grasp was the phone…so this is somewhat the picture I could catch…while still at speed limit…

peaceful

There are so many takes to this picture… Today’s symbolism, artistic critique, positive messages, unsaid thoughts, existential questioning, pure nature beauty, silence out and in, and ultimate peace.

Just to mention a few…Your take will be different than mine. This will bring a far different song in your mind than in mine, spur soft or sharp feelings, caress or thrust your heart with its colors.

This is my gift to you…for you only. I have been blessed to see these things every day. To recognize them and bask in their glory always. This makes me special… not “special” like the “out of the ordinary, unlike normal people” special, but given so many things others have not been given special.

This is what the world looks like through my shades. This is my version of truth. This sky might look different through your eyes, but today, just for today, if pink is not what you see, take my shades for a change. You’ll feel breathless, powerful, humble, and fulfilled. It’s a great start for the week!

feelings in pictures

Today the ocean was calm. So was I. All was in its place, every grain of sand. The sky fell so close, you could touch the clouds.

A world all to myself. No noises, just the hum of the waves, the cry of the seagulls, and the sound of occasional footsteps.

A glimpse at heaven. A hope renewed. More burned skin, though, so maybe tomorrow I’ll have to relax less and think more.

Have a great week!

 

it’s just semantics…

This one will be short and sweet. It’s a quick note about language acquisition and dissemination of talents. I know we usually talk about sharing and spreading thoughts and knowledge, but this time, it’s talents that were imprinted, or so it seemed apparent, on others. A person who shares a gift is richer than one who keeps to oneself, only because the first gets to enjoy the gift more and more, with every time someone they shared with brings it back or shares it with others.

A year ago yesterday I became “the new kid” and I was entrusted to be the brightest star that was to light the way. I am quite effervescent, and when added to plain water, I fizz and sparkle and spread joy. That’s my job. To spread joy while fixing the problem. I guess I should be called Alka seltzer cold and flu…

I love to know, and everything new is just another door to more fun and enjoyment. I grow with others and through others, except, as a rule, I run three steps faster when others just set their foot on the stairs. I was born this way. To compensate, I never say “I did this” but “we did this”. I think others are more successful if they believe they can do the job, and they are always happy when their “team” shines. And that is important for me…That’s me, the team player…

But I also like to know what I am up against. A little heads-up… Planning is another thing that I do well. And when the hurricane comes, I want to know a few days in advance, you know, just to pack a few things before I have to flee. It helps to have all the parameters to you build a strong house.

Intuition and experience helped me a lot this past year. I guess life builds us with all that we need in order to survive, it’s just a matter of reaching in that bag of tricks and pulling out the one you need at the time. It also helps to be able to go past your own need to be in the spot light, or even being recognized for what you do… Who really cares? Except for you, of course…and your resume, that might just need updating soon…What matters is that “WE” did it! It’s just semantics, I know…and there’s no I in TEAM… but there is an M and an E… Oh, well…live, learn, and keep going!