Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Daily 5 - Day 154

Today's Daily 5:
  1. Enjoying dinner with friends and laughing at their daughter's antics
  2. a full, but again, quite calm day at work
  3. the moments of perspective I blogged about earlier - I am often grateful for those God given moments of clarity
  4. a little bit of time to just quietly read before sleeping (I'll remember to take my meds tonight!)
  5. a heart at prayer
  6. staring at a budget sheet and knowing that if I pinch a little, I can afford to give money to meet a few needs that have come to my attention this week
  7. staring at a budget sheet and not feeling terrified.  For me, money can be terrifying.  It's oddly comforting to update a budget and realize that a habit of spending simply because I could, or because I felt emotionally exhausted is one that is now somewhat under control, and, that, as the debt I accrued becomes more under control, I will be able to not only make more discretionary purchases, but I will have more to give - and that pleases me deeply.
  8. thankful tonight for a house over my head, and safety, and praying for those in Haiti who have neither
  9. thankful too for the availability of medical care, and the medications and supplements I need
  10. Chocolate sea shells - because they're one of my favorites, and a great way to end an evening and a list like this for the day.

Perspective

I spent a great evening with friends, was in a good mood, and returned home to discover my roommate staring blankly at our kitchen sink, filled with some of the most disgusting water I've ever seen, and informing that me it seemed to have backed up.

Perfect.

Exit warm, happy, I just cuddled a baby for the second straight evening feelings.

I told her we needed to scoop the water out of the sink and dump it down the toilet, so that we could put draino down the drain.  She wandered off, and left me to clean up the mess she made (I guess I blame her a little.  For months I've been warning her that she needed to not let all that food go down the drain, and it seemed somehow fitting that on a day when I'd done no cooking or dishes, the final clogging came.)  I emptied two and a half dish basins of filthy out of the sink and down the toilet, poured draino in, and waited.  Nothing.  I've put more in, but I'm not hopeful.  I've told my roommate that she needs to phone or email our landlord and let him know (and also tell him that the bit of water remaining in the sink has corrosive draino in it!)

Let me be clear that while outwardly I handled the situation well, inwardly I was pretty ticked off.  I wonder sometimes if it's a New Zealander thing, because both of my roommates have been from New Zealand, and they seem to just put everything down the drain (leading to my current skills in unblocking tub and sink drains!)  I don't ever remember having a blocked drain in 24 years of living with my parents, but I've had at least 3 while living with the Kiwis.  And, I've warned them repeatedly, speaking with my current roommate even just this week about not letting crap collect in the sink and go down the drain.  I was fuming as I cleaned.  I'm still a little mad now.

And then, I sat down at my computer.  Seems some of the Canadians killed in Haiti are connected to me via their connections with a very dear friend of mine.

Perspective.

Maybe a blocked kitchen drain, even one that was much warned about, isn't worth quite so much anger and energy and effort given the devestation in Haiti, given the hundreds of thousands who are grieving that those they love have had their lives cut short, given so much other destruction.

I read this blog post that Anne Jackson wrote, and related a little.  Getting starbucks anyway.  Feeling numb.  Speaking passionately about anti-poverty issues, and then not quite knowing what to do.

I added a Red Cross button to my sidebar.  An easy way to give.  As soon as I'm paid on Friday, I'm going to give as well.

In the meantime, I'm thinking about perspective, about a blocked kitchen drain being a pretty minor thing in light of collapsed buildings, and dead loved ones.

And I'm praying.  With words, and with the cries of my heart that I trust the Spirit to know and hear and carry to the Father on my behalf.

Heading Out

I'm getting my fill of hanging with friends and their new little ones this week.

Just by fluke of scheduling, it seems like I'm seeing all of the babies I know within a couple of days.  Which is totally okay with me - love those baby girls and their parents too!

So, I'm off to have dinner with some friends, hold and play with their little girl, and just generally enjoy catching up.

See you later tonight with the daily 5!

More Audrey than Marilyn

In news that will come as a surprise to almost no one, my results on the "Are you more like Audrey Hepburn or Marilyn Monroe?" quiz were leaning towards Audrey.  However, this made me smile, because there was a funny God moment that I can't give all the details of in my life a couple of years ago where the name Audrey Hepburn popped up in the funniest way to encourage me.



You Are More Like Audrey Hepburn





You are classy, stylish, and charming. You are the true definition of grace.

Some people may think you're a pushover, but they have no idea how tough you can be.

You tend to draw people in with your mind. You are an intelligent and witty flirt.

You are effortlessly gorgeous and naturally appealing. No one would accuse you of trying too hard.

Whoops

Last night, for the first time in nine months, I forgot to take a couple of medications/supplements before I went to bed.

Which isn't a huge nasty problem, until you consider that one of those was the one that lets me sleep.

Which again, wouldn't have been a problem if I'd realized that this was the trouble with sleep that I was having at any one of the several times I woke through the night.

Do you know when I realized it?  6 am.  As in half an hour before I needed to roll out of bed and start my day.  Whoops!

Last night was also a night of crazy intense dreams.  Lots of recurrent themes and processing going on while I was alseep.  Just not much rest.

What does that boil down to?  Well, it boils down to a day spent praying (all those dreams, you know) and a day that is probably going to be a bit groggy.

Ah, well.  I've got my cup of passion tea, and some organic dried mango slices, and with that, I'm off to face the day!