Unemployment and Monkeys on Capitol Hill

After recovering from the shock of the news of the NDAA amendment, I have found the silver lining:  We The People can look at this as 93 future job openings, with decent pay and excellent benefits.  If you have and can use common sense (to hell with your morals, it’s clear those are not a requirement for the job), I will vote for you, so long as you are against making it legal for our military to arrest, indefinitely detain without trial, or assassinate our citizens.  Congress’s approval ratings are at an all-time low, so why not go for their jobs?  I don’t care if you want the office of the Crack Monkey General or the Madam of the House of Political Whores, or just to be a junior Senator from Wherever, just go take the seat from its current occupant.  

I just want real people, real Americans to run our government again.  Those occupying Capitol Hill right now give no evidence of being in touch with reality.  It’s as though all that “getting into bed” with special interests has exposed the majority of them to something akin to political syphilis, which has subsequently affected their brains.  They’ve forgotten for whom they work, whom they represent, and why their offices exist in the first place.  They seem only interested in their own needs, wants and benefits.  This vast bubble Congress exists in does not translate into the real world anymore.  They need a reality check, one in which they can lose their jobs and their benefits like the rest of us.  I’d like it if all of those who voted for this Act’s amendment were voted out of office and replaced by people who have lost their jobs, or who can let their existing jobs be filled by someone else who needs one while they go on to Capitol Hill.  We’d solve two problems at once:  Unemployment and a Congress no one can stand, or understand.  

There are even more jobs if we recall and replace everyone in the House of Representatives that votes for SOPA, to be voted on  this Monday.  The ancient denizens of Capitol Hill are not familiar enough with how the internet works to be in charge of making sweeping changes or decisions regarding its operation, but that is what SOPA will do.  The Stop Online Piracy Act sounds good in theory, but in practice it gives the power to a corporation to shut down any website it views as infringing on its copyrights without proper compensation or explicit permission.  Think about a world in which a record company can shut down Facebook at will, or a movie studio can shut down Twitter because someone shares a link to a boot leg copy of one of their blockbuster movies.  That’s it, that is all it would take. 

When internet experts went to Capitol Hill to try to explain how it all works and what the effect would be if they passed this asinine Act and what the COST would be (internet commerce is responsible for 2 trillion dollars per year of our national economy...think we can afford to lose that right now, along with all the jobs that go with those dollars?  I don’t!), should these social media websites begin to be arbitrarily shut down, but those politicians that were raised “in the days of dinosaurs and black and white t.v.” as my son would say, they didn’t want to hear it.  They tuned out, said it was boring, asked, “Can’t we skip this part?”  Yeah, of course, why would we want you overpaid village idiots to understand what it is you are voting on?  What difference does it make if you cast a well-informed vote for what best serves America, as long as you get to lunch on time, and no one messes with your benefits package?  

Maybe that’s why they keep trying to cut unemployment benefits:  They don’t want the funds to run out for their own health insurance and their retirement packages, let alone their salaries. 

With all the cuts in funding to academic research, I bet we could get really good deals on lab monkeys or chimps.  We could save ourselves millions each year by having the majority of seats in both Houses filled with research animals once we’ve trained them in both sign language and Robert’s Rules of Order.  All it would take is a banana and an inner tube and probably a week’s worth of training per chimp.  We could fix the deficit problem in a short amount of time and at a very reasonable cost while also solving a practical problem that presents a great threat to our country:  Congress.  Plus, chimps are much smarter than your average politician and a lot harder to buy, once you have their loyalty.  

I’m game.  Bring on the monkeys, or let’s all run for office.  Either way, we’d come out ahead.  Statistically speaking, we just can’t do worse than we have now.  The average chimp has to be smarter than the average Senator of late.  Satan would be more morally consistent than what we’re currently dealing with, and we wouldn’t feel disappointed and betrayed every time he did something self-serving because at least we would have expected it from him when he took office.  Unfortunately, he’s too busy (and getting too rich) running all of the lobbyists and taking his cut.

Seriously, update your voter registration card, and call your Senator and your Congressman or woman.  Let them know you are going to vote for someone else if t   hey vote “Yes” on this SOPA act.  The NDAA which allows our government to send American citizens to Gitmo without trial or due process is bad enough.  We don’t need our ability to perform commercial transactions over the internet compromised because some weenie at a recording studio got his panties in a wad over $300 in royalties he thinks he should have collected from Facebook.  Give it a rest already.

Surviving This Modern Greek Tragedy And Grandma's Advice

Today’s socio-economic situation and political climate is the modern equivalent of a Greek tragedy where a mischievous god that doesn’t like humans has taken hold of our world and is shaking it to see who falls out and who hangs on.  The longer this drags on the more people I fear will fall out.  The suicide rate is already higher than normal, but there is room for it to get worse.  If we don’t reach out to each other, if we don’t care about and for each other, than I am afraid that the suicide rate will go up even further and we will lose even more to this Greek tragedy before our Hero, in whatever form it comes, arises.  Maybe We The People, the 99%, are the Heroes, and simply by being our brother's keepers, perhaps enough of us will hang on until this shake-down is over.

My grandmother’s advice is what I hang onto today, and pass onto my friends and others who seem like they are hanging on by their fingernails.  She was widowed suddenly with nine children under the age of 18, back in the day when assistance was limited if it existed at all.  When asked how she came through it with her sanity intact, with nine children who became upstanding citizens all clearly bright and hard-working, she used to say, “I took one day at a time.  If I thought any farther down the road than that, I’d have sat down and given up.  It was too much to think about the whole thing all at once.”  

During a really tough time in my own life, she told me, “Sometimes, when it was really bad, I would tell myself to just get through the next 5 minutes.  If that’s all I thought about, the next 5 minutes and what needed doing during that time, and not the whole day or the rest of my life, I could manage that.  I could get through.”  For an Irish Catholic, my grandmother was very Zen in her thinking.  And she was right.  That process is how winners and warriors all over the world and throughout history have done it.  No matter how big their vision or plan to take over the world, they had to do whatever was right in front of them in order to get it done.  

What I see when I look at the landscape of our society today is that we who were once “One Nation, Under God”, albeit with a few people who were further removed from our daily lives than others, we have now become Two, distinctly separate entities.  It’s as though the organism that was American society has now split into two separate living things, living completely apart from each other, with a wide divide between them so that they do not even come close to touching each other.  When we still had a middle class, that was the bridging piece, the class of society where money, goods, education, services and ideas flowed through from the top and became disseminated throughout the rest of our microcosm.  It is now however gone, that middle class buffer, and so is that bridge that connected us and kept us from drifting apart.  I don't know about you, but I don't miss them.

The 1% circulate money but it is traded solely with each other in those higher echelon circles.  The trickle down theory has never worked, not once since its inception.  For instance, the Russian billionaire heiress who bought a NYC condo or penthouse for $88 million last month.  That is money that will not trickle down to the rest of the economy, I’m sorry.  It’s staying up there with the other super wealthy.  It’s the same with luxury cars, other real estate investments (which are setting records, by the way, especially in NYC), yachts, etc.  All of these assets are traded within their very insular world.  

The 99%, the obvious majority of us, are starting to mirror the behavior and spending patterns of the 1%.  I don’t know how many of us realize that yet, but I see it unfolding and I believe it’s impact will be felt this year.  Look for news reports to start commenting on it in a few months.  The story will be some version of what I described above, except with Everyman’s level of spending rather than King Midas’s.  At this level, the money that we used to spend on products and services provided to us by corporations will start to be directed to a more home grown source, someone small, someone local.  In other words, we will stop buying from the 1% and start buying from each other.  The longer this economic madness goes on, the more insular I predict we will become as a group, just as the 1% have.  The 1% can’t actually continue to thrive without our economic participation, and by cutting us out of the loop (outsourcing jobs, layoffs in the thousands that leave more money for the handful of corporate executives who run the company into the ground and then leave with huge bonuses and payouts), they leave themselves with fewer and fewer people who are both willing AND able to participate in their gluttony.

And isn’t that how we see it?  Corporate greed, gluttony, the raping and pillaging of our middle class economy?  Even if we hold a milder view of what is going on, the flavor of the month is going to be “local” and “small business” or “personal” for more of this coming year than I think they oblivious 1% can anticipate.  I am more than happy to start buying the majority of whatever I need to live as close to home as possible.  Maybe you can try it, too?  

I don’t know how to fix the economy.  I suspect that no one person does.  However, I do know that those in charge love their money so much that if they start getting less of it, they may be more motivated to equalize things again, to stimulate the economy and to create jobs somehow.  I don’t need an $88 million apartment.  I just need to get through the next 5 minutes. 

The Golden Parachute Vs. The 72 Hour Emergency Kit

The very rich in our society have gone and shot themselves in the foot, but do they know it yet?  Have we, the 99%, realized it yet?  By keeping all of the money circulating only at the very top, they have eliminated the very reason their assets hold any value.  As We The People, or the 99%, continue to be shut out of economic circulation due to outsourcing of jobs, downsizing, layoffs and pay cuts so that the one guy in charge can have an obscenely large bonus or golden parachute even after he runs the company into the ground, our ability to participate in the economy is further narrowed.  

This economic stranglehold is the very reason the 1% will lose their shirts.  The 1% as we know them have eliminated too much of the market share in too many sectors by causing money to no longer flow throughout the lower strata of society.  With no middle class, there is no buyer.  No buyer, no value.  Things (assets, products, etc.) are only worth what someone is willing to pay, and money itself will lose value if we all start looking to other means of exchange outside of the dollars that are being controlled by, well, not us.   

By holding onto the majority of the money in our economy, those with the most are going to make assets and currency worth less and less as We The People look within ourselves and to each other to ask the relevant questions of our time:

“How much do I really need to live?” The answer is, “A lot less than the market is trying to sell me.”

“How can I get what I need without having to deal with people whom I have never met and who don’t give a damn about my quality of life, about whether I live or die?”  That answer could be, “I can make, grow and re-use what I can, and buy the rest from someone I can meet in person, exchange names and shake hands with, someone I can trust and with whom I can build a personal relationship.”  

We buy less and less as the Great Recession wears on.  Maybe there are spikes in spending here and there, but the long-term picture looks like frugality is here to stay.  We trust less often anyone we don’t know personally with our money, or whatever else it is that we need to keep us alive.  The fact that I am not the only person I know looking to grow more of their own food is telling.  Food is so basic, if we are concerned about that, then we are not likely to go stimulate the economy with our old spending habits.  That behavioral change is the lever that will stop the economic wheel from turning as it once did, hence the devaluing of assets.

My main concern in this is that we are one disaster away from civil unrest, be it another economic downturn or a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, or a combination of two or more of these events occurring closely together.  If you look around you now, there is no supporting evidence that you should leave the assurance of your survival or that of your loved ones in the hands of someone else.  It just takes too long for rescuers to respond, and depending on the magnitude of the event, resources could take even longer than the usual 72 hours to get to you and bring you relief.  

I implore you to take responsibility for yourselves and start to stock at least 72-hours worth of food, water, medicine, fuel and batteries, flashlights, and the like.  The more of us that do this, the less likely there will be violence or civil unrest in the even of a disaster.  People will take to the streets if they think their survival is at stake.  The lower the number of the affected is, the better off we will all be.  

No, I do not believe the world is going to end sometime this year.  I do believe that the likelihood of a natural disaster happening wherever you may reside is high enough to warrant a 72-hour emergency supply since that is about how long it usually takes for help to arrive.  Remember how many died after Hurricane Katrina because they had inadequate food, water, or medicine?  It’s not hard, it isn’t expensive, and it doesn’t take long to put the supplies in a backpack, a duffel bag or small suitcase with wheels.  Pack 3 days worth of clothes, non-perishable food, water, a flashlight with fresh batteries, and a first aid kit.  A sleeping bag and a tent are smart things to add in case you have to evacuate and there is not adequate shelter available.  You would not be dependent on anyone else for shelter from the elements if your home is uninhabitable.  Make up a bag for each person in your household, and then keep the packed bags by the door you most likely would escape through in an emergency.  

This is not a hysterical move.  This is what you do in order to prevent hysteria in the event of a disaster.  Help will likely not come in time to make you dinner the first day, or even breakfast the next, or to bring you pain relievers and flashlights, etc.  What medicines do you take regularly?  See if you can keep 3 days worth in your boogie bag by the door, in its original container.  You are more likely to make a mistake under duress and take the wrong kind or amount of medicine than under normal circumstances. I pack ibuprofen for pain relief, for example.  The more people are prepared to take care of themselves during a disaster, the less stress and strain we put on available resources when help does come, and the more we in turn can help others in need.

2-liter bottles are an inexpensive way to store water for the house.  Once they are emptied of soda, I wash them out with soap and water, rinse them well, fill them with tap water and keep them in the basement.  In my area disaster would most likely be a tornado, though a major earthquake on the New Madrid Fault is possible, and the water and power will likely be disrupted.  We won’t last long without water.  Staying hydrated and staying clean are even more important to prevent illness and the spread of disease following a disaster than under normal circumstances.

I follow Peggy Layton’s advice in her book “Emergency Food Storage and Survival Handbook:  Everything You Need to Know to Keep Your Family Safe in a Crisis” and put one 2-liter bottle of water in each bathroom and by the kitchen sink for brushing teeth and washing hands if disaster cuts off the water supply.  It is smart to start with a 72-hour supply and then work your way up to a one-month’s supply, then three-months worth, and so on.  This is the method described in Layton’s book, start small and work your way up to a year’s worth.  Her approach is very sensible.  She’s not a fringe-type who suggests you fill your garage with ammo or anything crazy.  She is level-headed and realistic and tells you why she recommends what she does.  The idea behind her philosophy is to be prepared for the unexpected, to be able to help yourself as well as others during hard times.  We’ve become so accustomed to everything being instant and automatic that we’ve forgotten how to fend for ourselves.

A Perfect Storm would be the near-simultaneous occurrence of an economic collapse or at least another downturn from where we already are, a natural disaster or a terrorist attack, both of which would have devastating consequences on our economy.  It’s foolishness to rely on anyone else for something that is so necessary to life.  What if they screw up the emergency response the way the Bush administration did after Katrina?  If everyone has enough to get them through a month or even six months, then the likelihood of civil unrest following a disaster goes way down.  

The 1% have traded in the opportunity for the majority to live decent quality lives for multi-million dollar golden parachutes, vacation homes and condos, yachts, etc., and left the majority of the rest of us scrambling for survival.  This leaves our country in a precarious position. The lesson King Midas has already taught us is that you can’t eat your gold and it doesn’t love you back.  We can illustrate this lesson to the 1% by opting out when and where we can, buy local, shop small businesses, buy Made In The USA, or don’t buy at all.  Vote with your dollars, folks.

Opting Out of the Corporate Food System With My Own Garden

2011 wasn’t as bad as it was because PC’s everywhere, especially mine, were crashing.  It was bad because of the way people came to disregard others, evidenced most obviously by the growing rift between the rich and the poor, by outsourcing and the record number of foreclosures.  Fifty percent of American households live in poverty now.  I find that statistic alarming, to say the least.  In addition, food prices are going up across the board, though retailers are passing along those increases very slowly so as not to shock consumers.  In response to those factors, as well as the general distrust of the “Have’s” that has arisen on the part of the “Have Not’s”, people like me are looking for alternatives to buying their food from big corporations.

The last few weeks of 2011 found me pouring over garden books and seed catalogs.  I am determined to become more self-sufficient rather than continue to rely on those who have proven themselves only reliable in serving their own self-interests (corporations).  On the first day of 2012 I took the plunge and ordered my first round of seeds from Seed Savers Exchange, the largest non-government seed preservation organization in the United States (http://www.seedsavers.org).  In all things I do, I use a strategic approach, even in what appear to be my more impulsive moves.  The strategy behind my garden choices is multi-faceted: 

1. I chose foods that I love to eat but are heavily sprayed with pesticides when commercially grown, so that I can have the organic version at home without paying exorbitant prices at Whole Foods (it’s like food extortion, that place, I refuse to pay $4 for a pear, unless I am directly related to it and it's being held hostage).
2. I ordered the bulk of my seeds from The Seed Savers Exchange, which offers only seeds that are heirloom or open-pollinated.  This means that the plants grown from these seeds will have the same characteristics as the parent plants.  I only have to buy these seeds once.  After my first growing season I can save the seeds from the fruits and vegetables I’ve grown, and use them to grow the following year’s crops, as well as share with others who wish to grow their own, so that after my initial investment, I will save money on my grocery bills every year for as long as I continue to garden.
3. This year’s seed choices are also based on foods that I like to eat fresh in abundant quantities or that I can preserve for use throughout the winter:  beans that are dried on the vine; tomatoes and other fruits for canning; root vegetables that will keep well for a long while; melons that my kids love but I can’t afford to buy in the store anymore, and other produce that freezes well.
4. Several of the crops I chose can be grown in containers, some can be grown vertically (climbing vines and the like), and others in raised beds, preventing me from having to double dig the hard, heavy, clay soil in my backyard.  Last year, we broke the shaft of a spade because the soil was harder than the wood.  Call me lazy, but I’m not crazy.  I still need time to write every day!  And I don’t want to buy new tools every week.
5. Planting by the moon.  It sounds like woo-woo to some, but it’s an ancient practice used by native cultures the world over.  I’ve heard from many different people that their grandmothers swore by it and that their crops always did well while others’ failed.  I’m using a calendar and information I found at Gardening By The Moon (http://www.gardeningbythemoon.com/index.html) to learn the system.  The idea behind it is that the moon’s gravitational pull affects not only the oceans’ tides but more subtle bodies of water as well, including the water in the soil, and that this dictates the optimal time to put a seed in the ground or when to harvest crops or cut plants back.  As a newbie to gardening, I'll take every advantage I can get.

Here is a rundown of what I am growing this year, including seeds that have made their way to this country from other parts of the world, maybe even from your country, dear Reader:

Beans:

Black Valentine--an excellent source of Vitamin B12, which prevents the graying of hair, something we all need in this wildly changing world!  This is why Latin Americans keep their dark hair color so much longer than the rest of us, black beans are a dietary staple in that part of the world.  (fresh or dry; bush habit)  

Bumble Bee--high in vitamin and mineral content (dry; bush habit)

Calypso--originally from the Caribbean; great for baking and soups (dry; bush habit) 

Ireland Creek Annie--an English heirloom, named after Ireland Creek Farm in British Colombia where it was grown before it was brought to the U.S.  (bush habit; dry)

Kentucky Wonder Pole--American heirloom originally from Texas; prolific; wonderful fresh eating. (fresh, vine habit)

Carrots:

Paris Market (you guessed it, originally from France) they are small and round, about one to two inches in diameter, and can be grown in containers rather than in a garden bed.  Handy in case I decide to move before the season is over!

Ground Cherries:

Before I saw these in the Seed Savers catalog, I never knew such a thing existed!  Supposedly they are very sweet and make wonderful preserves as well as fresh eating.  They do in fact grow on the ground, which will be interesting.  I may not get any if the local wildlife has anything to say about it.  The fruits are yellow, the plant is sprawling.  

Corn:

Blue Jade--kind of a dwarf corn that can be grown in containers, it’s sweet and has steel blue kernels until boiled and then the color turns to a “blue jade”.  

Cucumbers:

Early Fortune--a slicing cucumber to be eaten fresh

Russian Pickling--Originally from Perm, Russia, they are sweet and have good crunch, meant to be pickled.

Eggplant:

Listada de Gandia--From Southern France (1850), lovely white oval fruits with purple stripes, they are heat tolerant, an important quality here for Missouri summers.

Lettuce:

Forellenschluss--Austrian heirloom Romaine, great flavor, heat tolerant

Winter Density--Bred in England, both cold-tolerant and slow to bolt in hot weather.  A sweet, crisp Bibb-Romaine.

Melon:

Charentais--French, from the Poitou-Charentes region, renowned as the most flavorful melon in the world.  I hope that is still true when they are grown outside of France.

Petit Gris de Rennes--Another French heirloom, this one documented almost 400 years ago in the garden of the Bishop of Rennes, probably lasted this long because it’s orange flesh is rumored to taste much like brown sugar.  I can’t wait to find out if that’s true!

Pepper:

Bull-Nose Bell--Grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello.  If it was good enough for Jefferson at Monticello, it’s good enough for my Dad’s garden, too!  Goes from green to red, can be eaten at either stage.

Golden Treasure--Italian heirloom variety (finally!  I’m representing) Sweet, can be fried, roasted, or eaten fresh.  I bet I try all three.

Tomatoes:

I am American of Irish and Sicilian Italian descent, so my tomato list may look overwhelming to a non-Italian.  It’s a genetic as well as a social/cultural need, tomatoes.  I will grow two kinds for my father, and three more for myself.  It’s a bit much, but I’ll list them here in case you’re interested.  Feel free to skip to the end if you get bored.

Italian Heirloom--the fruits weigh over a pound and are great for slicing or canning, excellent flavor.

Large Red Cherry--fruits are almost two inches in diameter.  I chose these for myself, but how much do you want to bet my father will stand there and eat them off the vine when he visits?  

Martino’s Roma--Italian heirloom for Dad to make his slow-cook sauce.  For that, I will grow tomatoes all summer!

Riesentraube--from Germany, the name translates into English as “little bunches of grapes” which is what they look like, except tomato red.  A yummy snack, I hope they grow well in hanging baskets.

Rosso Sicilian--A Sicilian brought these seeds to the U.S. in the late 80’s, according to the story, and I can’t resist the name or the fact that they are Italian heirlooms.  They have an unusual shape, more wide and flat with multiple lobes.  Another tomato for making sauce.

The End

  

I’ll keep you posted on how my personal version of the “opting out revolution” goes.  Meanwhile, I’d like to hear from you if you are doing anything to opt out yourself.  There are readers of this blog from all over the world, some of whom are curious about what day to day life looks like from inside the United States.  We are equally curious about what goes on in your neck of the woods!   Does anyone else feel like it’s in their best interest to grow some of your own food or take up hunting and fishing as as supplement like my friends and family?  

Yearly Goals for 2012

2011 is over, and I for one, am relieved.  2012 may be the end of the world according to the Mayan Calendar, or it may not, but if it is, it will still be an improvement over 2011.  

Normally I would post a new blog entry every day, but in the last few months of 2011, my PC had increasing numbers of fits and viruses, crashing, running slow, even with 3 separate anti-virus, anti-malware programs on my machine.  In one of the most generous gestures I have ever seen, a friend of mine surprised me, and I mean really surprised me, with a brand new MacBookPro.  In all honesty, it doesn’t feel yet like it is truly mine, as though he will either change his mind (he won’t) or I will wake up and find I dreamt it all, or something to that effect.  It’s just surreal.  The best thing about Mac is that they are far less prone to viruses.  The other best thing (I can’t bring myself to say “the second best” thing because I love everything about this computer equally) is that the keyboard is so easy to type with.  No more missed keys, I backspace almost never.  It’s lightning fast on the internet, and has tons of storage left over even after transferring my massive iTunes library.  I’m glad to be back, having been without either notebook computer for a few days while date was being transferred and then needing a few more days to get used to the new Mac.  I am at least confident enough now that I can get back into the business of writing, just in time to kick off the New Year.  

For 2012, I made a list of general goals, professional, personal, spiritual, mental, and physical.  If you care to share yours here as well, please feel free to post them in the comments space after this posting.  I’m curious to know what my readers feel inspired to do this year.  Mine are as follows:

Professional goals:

Write 6000 words per day Monday through Friday

Write 3000 words per day Saturday and Sunday

Finish WIP’s:  

A guide for loved ones of Rape Trauma Syndrome sufferers, publish as an e-book and make available as a downloadable PDF. 

A series of short guides dealing with persons with certain psychological disorders, non-pharmaceutical coping strategies proven to improve quality of life, and coping strategies that might make life better for the caregiver or person living with the afflicted.  Publish as e-books and as downloadable PDF’s. 

A locked room mystery; then publish as an e-book.

Write the thriller based on two ideas that collided with a third while I was driving the other day.  Publish as an e-book.  (This one may take longer than a year.  It is the largest undertaking, with the most characters, plot twists and subplots, but it is also the one I may enjoy most!)

Write the humorous romance novel that’s been in my head and in my notes for the last 3 months.  Publish as an e-book.

10,000 followers on Twitter

Build and launch my author website

Mental Goals:

Increase my Spanish vocabulary

Read one classic book each month.  My list includes:

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Lady Chatterly’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Paradise Lost by Milton

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The Sound and The Fury by William Faulkner

The French Revolution by Alexis De Tocqueville

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

The Prophet by Khalil Gibran

I also have a Chaucer book that tempts me, but I would like to get some of the above titles off of my “to read” shelf.  I have an actual bookshelf, four shelves high and five feet wide, filled mostly with books I have not yet read, though some favorites I can’t bear to part with, and some reference books.  

The rest of my reading in 2012 will consist of works by my friends as well as my favorite authors, including what I call “brain candy books”.  You can only be serious so much of the time before your head threatens to explode.  Sometimes a good cozy mystery or paperback romance, anything that doesn’t require me to have a dictionary at hand (that rules out P.D. James) and can be read in an afternoon qualifies.  

To not lose my mind while writing this year.  Or if I do, to at least lose it in some way that makes me sound like a genius on paper.

Be more Zen, and just focus on the task in front of me, to do the thing that most needs doing in this moment, and not let my ADD mind bounce around like a kernel of corn in an air popper; to be less of a butterfly chaser and further develop my ability to focus and finish what I start.

Personal goals:

Prepare my household for a natural disaster, starting with a 72-hour emergency supply of food, water and fuel (I live in tornado country and live near the New Madrid fault line, where an earthquake would be devastating, though rare).

Plant a vegetable and flower garden.

Share the extra vegetables with my elderly family members on a fixed income, as well as with my relatives with small children.  Anything leftover beyond that I will share with my local food bank.

Cooking: I want to try a new recipe every week, and cook more from scratch in general.

De-clutter my house.

Organize the garage and basement.

Botanical Illustration classes at the local community college 

Visit a family member each week that I haven’t seen in a while

A road trip to visit my cousins whom are scattered across the U.S.

Take up nature and travel photography as a hobby

Travel as often as possible, and make it possible more often.

Spiritual Goals:

Meditate a little every day

Spend time with the teachers I find soothing, like Thich Naht Hanh, via books and podcasts

To live heartfully and practice awareness in every moment of each day

To let go of the past, those that hurt me and forgive those upon whom I would visit vengeance upon.  Except on the page.  It’s all fair game in my writing.

Physical goals:

Get outside more.  It’s a hazard of my profession, but I sit too much these days.  

Walk to the store when I only need a few things.

Ride my bike.

Hike a few miles of the Pacific Coast Trail (in San Diego)

Kayak or canoe during the summer

Be strong enough to garden (that will be my biggest physical challenge of 2012, to consistently garden).

That’s it for now.  I have other small things here and there but you have the gist of it here, and it’s got to be boring to read someone else’s goals for the year, so I’ll stop now.

This week I’ll share with you the method behind my madness.