Beltane is almost upon us again! An excuse for us neglectful bloggers to start fresh. It's actually starting to feel moderately springy here in the Midwest, and if you can ignore fuel prices, long commutes, the crash of the housing market, and the tenuous grip on solvency that the Airline has got, it's a pretty good day!
I'm setting up a new Wicca 101 class with my friend E. We're the public faces of our respective covens, and we've been inundated with requests from seekers who find our listing on The Witches' Voice. Since there's really nothing in this area for newbies, we decided to put our witchy heads together and create a class. E. knows the owner of a local New Age/Metaphysical shop, and they've very generously offered to let us use their classroom space.
We're tremendously excited and also quite nervous, since this is the first real classes we'll have taught. We've got an absolute metric ton of information we want to cover but we don't want to overwhelm the students.
My personal view of Wicca is a little more traditional than E's (who is much, much more eclectic than I). He's also tremendously crafty and has mad skills when it comes to blending oils, incenses, sewing, weaving, and creating ritual robes from twigs and bits of fluff. I will depend on him to keep everyone's attention while I am droning on about Proto-Indo-European religion and Gerald Gardner.
I met a lovely Alexandrian High Priestess after we posted the class announcement, and she has graciously agreed to take a look at the class outlines and offer feedback. I met with her once for coffee and spent three hours discussing teaching approaches, British Traditional Wicca, the Chicago pagan community, and people we (mutually) knew. When I was living in CO, I hooked up with an Alexandrian HPs but had to drop out of the (fairly intense) training due to my work schedule. I've not lost interest in that particular path, so it was fun to meet another Alexandrian, especially since the BTW community here is so underground as to be practically invisible (yes, unless you know where to look, I can hear my former HP saying).
Anyway, I tried not to flatter her too much and bug her to take me as a student. Well, I did, a little. I couldn't help it. This is a path that I've always wanted to get back onto, and I promised myself that if I got another opportunity, I would not pass it up. I hope it works out.
Now go light a candle and get all Barry White on someone. It's mandatory for Beltane.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Friday, June 15, 2007
Showing My Age/Watching Too Much "Noggin"
Okay, I totally just googled the cast of "Oswald" and found out that the voice of the penguin, Henry, is Squiggy from "Laverne and Shirley". I knew it.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Hello, Patient People.
It's been a long, long time, hasn't it? Although much has been happening (or maybe because much has been happening), I haven't had too much time to put pen to paper lately.
My husband's father passed away at the end of May.
He had been struggling with ALS (that's Lou Gehrig's Disease) for a little over a year. Before he died, he was unable to speak and was communicating via a little yellow notepad upon which he would write things like, "Is the hospice person coming today?" and "Wine" (yes, wine. That's a whole other story). He couldn't go anywhere without the assistance of a walker, and during the last weeks, he couldn't even manage that. The first day that his wife, my mother-in-law, could convince him to use the wheelchair was the day that he died in it. At the end, he could only eat a few things. His throat muscles stopped working, so he would suddenly start violently choking and gasping for breath even when he wasn't eating. He was a man who had survived prostate cancer. He had been a long-distance runner and a biker. He was a fisherman. He owned his own business that he'd bought from his father in the late 60s. And he loved a party.
Back before he was diagnosed, we all noticed some small things, like his slurred speech and his occasionally falling down for no apparent reason. Since he had been known to enjoy a drink or two on a regular basis, we kind of chalked it up to an increased alcohol intake. Concerning, but not immediately dangerous. So everyone was kind of annoyed with him and worried that he seemed to be getting so drunk so often. Over time, though, as we paid closer attention, we realized that the slurred speech was there even when he hadn't had anything to drink; and that he was falling down in the middle of the day at work. His fingers started to feel tingly, and he was short of breath. He and my mother-in-law went to several doctors and finally drove up to the Mayo Clinic and parked there until they could see a specialist. They diagnosed him with ALS, which is a degenerative neural disease with no cure.
That was more than a year ago; and up until the day he passed, he was going to work for at least a few hours a day (he was a local business owner). He came home, sat down in the wheelchair so they could move him into the den/bedroom, and died before he could get to his brown leather easy chair.
I have mixed feelings. I'm struggling with some guilt, because I'm still angry with him over a broken promise that he made to me about 2 1/2 years ago. But, he also once called my husband's ex-wife a shithead, so that was pretty okay in my book.
We're all trying to get back to normal. Maybe this transition is easier for us because for a long time, he was kind of there-but-not-there. He couldn't really participate in any of the family stuff going on around him. "You treat me like I'm already dead!" he once wrote to my mother-in-law.
The wake was attended by a few hundred people, and it was exhausting for everyone - my mother-in-law, my husband, and his brother and sister. But it was kind of cool to see how many people came out to say goodbye.
My husband's father passed away at the end of May.
He had been struggling with ALS (that's Lou Gehrig's Disease) for a little over a year. Before he died, he was unable to speak and was communicating via a little yellow notepad upon which he would write things like, "Is the hospice person coming today?" and "Wine" (yes, wine. That's a whole other story). He couldn't go anywhere without the assistance of a walker, and during the last weeks, he couldn't even manage that. The first day that his wife, my mother-in-law, could convince him to use the wheelchair was the day that he died in it. At the end, he could only eat a few things. His throat muscles stopped working, so he would suddenly start violently choking and gasping for breath even when he wasn't eating. He was a man who had survived prostate cancer. He had been a long-distance runner and a biker. He was a fisherman. He owned his own business that he'd bought from his father in the late 60s. And he loved a party.
Back before he was diagnosed, we all noticed some small things, like his slurred speech and his occasionally falling down for no apparent reason. Since he had been known to enjoy a drink or two on a regular basis, we kind of chalked it up to an increased alcohol intake. Concerning, but not immediately dangerous. So everyone was kind of annoyed with him and worried that he seemed to be getting so drunk so often. Over time, though, as we paid closer attention, we realized that the slurred speech was there even when he hadn't had anything to drink; and that he was falling down in the middle of the day at work. His fingers started to feel tingly, and he was short of breath. He and my mother-in-law went to several doctors and finally drove up to the Mayo Clinic and parked there until they could see a specialist. They diagnosed him with ALS, which is a degenerative neural disease with no cure.
That was more than a year ago; and up until the day he passed, he was going to work for at least a few hours a day (he was a local business owner). He came home, sat down in the wheelchair so they could move him into the den/bedroom, and died before he could get to his brown leather easy chair.
I have mixed feelings. I'm struggling with some guilt, because I'm still angry with him over a broken promise that he made to me about 2 1/2 years ago. But, he also once called my husband's ex-wife a shithead, so that was pretty okay in my book.
We're all trying to get back to normal. Maybe this transition is easier for us because for a long time, he was kind of there-but-not-there. He couldn't really participate in any of the family stuff going on around him. "You treat me like I'm already dead!" he once wrote to my mother-in-law.
The wake was attended by a few hundred people, and it was exhausting for everyone - my mother-in-law, my husband, and his brother and sister. But it was kind of cool to see how many people came out to say goodbye.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
The Grind
Been studying for weeks for a two-hour Finance exam I've got on Saturday. It's my last class, and it's still up in the air whether or not I'll pass it. I've struggled with the homework assignments, and so I have to do well this week. I'm getting most of it, but I worry about my ability to pull it all together in order to answer the questions intelligently.
Too...stressed...out.
If I never calculate another Eurodollar swap in my lifetime, it will be too soon.
Too...stressed...out.
If I never calculate another Eurodollar swap in my lifetime, it will be too soon.
Monday, May 7, 2007
They Shouldn't Let Us Sit Together.
From: Don
Sent: May 07, 2007 10:34 AM
To: GRP-ALL
Subject: RE: ******Practical Problem Solving Training******
All,
Pending further details the below outlined classes are canceled. Apologize for any inconvenience this exercise may have caused.
There will be a class that is scheduled for next week, more to come.
Thanks,
Don
-------------------------------------
From: M.
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 10:38 AM
To: Don
Subject: RE: ******Practical Problem Solving Training******
HAHAHA…what happened???
M
-------------------------------------
From: Don
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 10:47 AM
To: M.
Subject: RE: ******Practical Problem Solving Training******
For whatever reason, they are not having 4 classes. Just one on Monday the 14th, and they are only having 5 people from [our department] attend.
Who knows!!!!!
Don
-------------------------------------------------
From: M.
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 10:49 AM
To: Don
Subject: RE: ******Practical Problem Solving Training******
Who are the five people? I want to get their names, in case I ever have a problem that needs solving.
M.
-----------------------------------------------
From: Mike
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 10:50 AM
To: Don
Cc: M.
Subject: RE: ******Practical Problem Solving Training******
Don –
While we wait for these classes to be rescheduled, should we:
1) ignore all our problems, or
2) continue to attempt to solve them in the old untrained, impractical manner?
Please advise.
– Mike
Sent: May 07, 2007 10:34 AM
To: GRP-ALL
Subject: RE: ******Practical Problem Solving Training******
All,
Pending further details the below outlined classes are canceled. Apologize for any inconvenience this exercise may have caused.
There will be a class that is scheduled for next week, more to come.
Thanks,
Don
-------------------------------------
From: M.
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 10:38 AM
To: Don
Subject: RE: ******Practical Problem Solving Training******
HAHAHA…what happened???
M
-------------------------------------
From: Don
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 10:47 AM
To: M.
Subject: RE: ******Practical Problem Solving Training******
For whatever reason, they are not having 4 classes. Just one on Monday the 14th, and they are only having 5 people from [our department] attend.
Who knows!!!!!
Don
-------------------------------------------------
From: M.
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 10:49 AM
To: Don
Subject: RE: ******Practical Problem Solving Training******
Who are the five people? I want to get their names, in case I ever have a problem that needs solving.
M.
-----------------------------------------------
From: Mike
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 10:50 AM
To: Don
Cc: M.
Subject: RE: ******Practical Problem Solving Training******
Don –
While we wait for these classes to be rescheduled, should we:
1) ignore all our problems, or
2) continue to attempt to solve them in the old untrained, impractical manner?
Please advise.
– Mike
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Beltane!
Today is Beltane, the traditional mid-point of Spring. It's sunny and 80 here! Just a perfect day.
The Pagan year is divided into 8 sections: the quarters and the cross-quarters. The quarters represent the equinoxes and solstices and the cross-quarters designate roughly the mid-point between them. Generally, the cross-quarters are considered to be the "high" holidays, as they're meant to represent the fullest part of the season - Beltane for spring, Lughnassadh for the summer, Samhain for the fall, and Imbolc for the winter.
Beltane is also arguably the, ah, friskiest of the Pagan holidays. It's finally warm enough to peel off those coats and sweaters, and come outside squinting into the sunlight after a long winter. It's the first time in a while that we can go running around without worrying about frostbite on our more delicate areas. Things are becoming alive. You can't help but feel joyful at the sight of the sun beaming through all the tiny leaves that decorate the maple tree like a pale, bright green halo. Beltane is a celebration of the simple act of creating life. Of fire and warmth. Of survival and procreation. Of life-affirming and (oh, I'll just say it) very raunchy sex.
The Pre-Christian Celts knew this about the liveliness that Spring begets; one of the vestiges of Pagan faith that survives today is the Maypole. A tall pole is erected (!!) in the middle of the town, with ribbons attached at the top. Each dancer holds the loose end of one of the ribbons, and a large wreath is set over the top of the pole. As the dancers weave in and out and plait the ribbons down the pole, the wreath moves slowly down upon it until it rests on the ground. To wit:
The Pagan year is divided into 8 sections: the quarters and the cross-quarters. The quarters represent the equinoxes and solstices and the cross-quarters designate roughly the mid-point between them. Generally, the cross-quarters are considered to be the "high" holidays, as they're meant to represent the fullest part of the season - Beltane for spring, Lughnassadh for the summer, Samhain for the fall, and Imbolc for the winter.
Beltane is also arguably the, ah, friskiest of the Pagan holidays. It's finally warm enough to peel off those coats and sweaters, and come outside squinting into the sunlight after a long winter. It's the first time in a while that we can go running around without worrying about frostbite on our more delicate areas. Things are becoming alive. You can't help but feel joyful at the sight of the sun beaming through all the tiny leaves that decorate the maple tree like a pale, bright green halo. Beltane is a celebration of the simple act of creating life. Of fire and warmth. Of survival and procreation. Of life-affirming and (oh, I'll just say it) very raunchy sex.
The Pre-Christian Celts knew this about the liveliness that Spring begets; one of the vestiges of Pagan faith that survives today is the Maypole. A tall pole is erected (!!) in the middle of the town, with ribbons attached at the top. Each dancer holds the loose end of one of the ribbons, and a large wreath is set over the top of the pole. As the dancers weave in and out and plait the ribbons down the pole, the wreath moves slowly down upon it until it rests on the ground. To wit:
(I'm sure I don't need to spell out the imagery for you, do I?)
Now go find someone to love. Happy Beltane!
Monday, April 30, 2007
Actual Words I've Actually Heard at Work
What with all the corporate-speak and the buzzwords and the general business blather I'm forced to listen to every day here in the cubicle farm, it's both scary and a little refreshing to be able to present to you the List of Corporate Non-Words that Sound Really Good. This is a list that hangs in my cubicle, and I add to it every time I hear someone utter a word that isn't really a word (or, might possibly be a word but could easily be replaced with a simpler one).
I started out by only including words that I received in written correspondence, but I recently changed my rules to include spoken conversations. I subtract a point if I only overhear it, but I give bonus points if I hear a word being used by a VP or above.
Customizable
Operationalize
Incent
Symbologies
Plateaud
Impactful
Irregardless
Messenging
Dimensionalization
Furtherment
Verted
Solutionize
My cubicle-mate/coworker thinks I should include "sortation", but I haven't yet. ("What is that? Is it a system you use to sortate things??")
I started out by only including words that I received in written correspondence, but I recently changed my rules to include spoken conversations. I subtract a point if I only overhear it, but I give bonus points if I hear a word being used by a VP or above.
Customizable
Operationalize
Incent
Symbologies
Plateaud
Impactful
Irregardless
Messenging
Dimensionalization
Furtherment
Verted
Solutionize
My cubicle-mate/coworker thinks I should include "sortation", but I haven't yet. ("What is that? Is it a system you use to sortate things??")
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