Monday, Monday

Y'all, it's the weekend, and I fell asleep last night before I could write a post for today.

And then, this morning, I headed to the zoo quite early with a good friend and her son, and spent several hours walking around, taking pictures.

So, no big post today, and back to the regular schedule tomorrow.

Hopefully I can show you some photos from the zoo later this week!

(Have I mentioned lately how thankful I am for Monday's off this semester?)

Dancing King?

I couldn't not share this footage of one of the gorillas that I visit at the zoo doing a little bit of break dancing!

Zoo

I'm heading out to the zoo in a few minutes.  It's been months since I spent time at my favorite place, and I need it today.

I've had a headache, with intensity varying from disabling, to nipping at the edges of my consciousness, for 8 straight days.

I have some big decisions to make, and some big prayer for myself and others needs on my heart.

So I'm going to the zoo.

To visit my gorillas, and some palm trees.

To walk and think and pray.

To hopefully hear from Jesus, and find rest and peace.

To consider trust, and healing.

Later today I'm having dinner with a long time friend, and then I have a natural health treatment that I'm hoping against hope will alleviate the headache.

But for now, I'm off to spend some time in a place that has always been peaceful for me.  To take back some of that space in my heart and head that other voices and things had occupied.  To take back a physical space that I haven't been able to occupy in a while.  To just be for a bit.

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 121

Today's Daily 5:

1. Watching the season finale of The Amazing Race (and having my favorite team win!)
2. That the word of God truly is living and active
3. the security and rhythm of catching the bus at the same time each day
4. anticipation of coming days and forthcoming plans
5. learning how to make pretty snowflakes for the first time ever
6. being ready to go for tomorrow's shop opening at work
7. the Christmas lights on Stephen Avenue
8. Subway for supper
9. Zoolights with a friend
10. Caramel apple spice from starbucks
11. crawling into my pajamas early

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 21

Today's Daily 5:

1. "Holding" the door for a pair of peacocks at the zoo this morning - they wander the grounds freely, and wanted to leave the building to join two others just outside, but weren't large enough to trip the sensors for the sliding doors, so I "held" the doors open for them as they slowly ambled through.
2. Watching the hippos eat breakfast - they're kind of like vacuum cleaners, but big, chubby, enormous, scary, and very funny vacuum cleaners that heave themselves into a bath once they're done cleaning.
3. sitting down on a bench to eat my own breakfast and having the zebras walk over to check me out
4. the laughter of small children
5. colobus monkeys and cotton top tamarins, with their tiny serious faces
6. the majesty of the butterfly garden, and it's warm, damp, sweet smelling air
7. the face of a little girl, hand over her mouth in delight when she spotted the gelato stall at the farmer's market
8. spinach and goat feta hummus
9. the smell of the rain
10. eating supper with relatives at my favorite Mexican restaurant

Daily 5 - Day 323

Last night was pretty rough.  Some odd dream/vision things that meant that sleep was fleeting.  Various things heavy on my heart through the night mean I did a lot of praying and pushing through some stuff, and not a lot of sleeping.  Around 4:30 this morning I took an extra dose of the supplement I take to aid with sleep, and somehow managed to mostly sleep for about the next 4 hours or so.

I wrote to a dear friend, describing the night I'd had, and commenting that I was having a pretty slow morning because of it, and she wrote back, saying among other things that she hoped I'd find some interesting reasons to smile today.  When I finally managed to propel myself out of bed (which I think was sometime around noon - I did a lot of email/blog/internet stuff from a horizontal pose this morning!), I set out to do just that - find some interesting (to me at least!) reasons to smile.

And thus, here's today's daily 5:

1. not having major plans, thus allowing for a very much needed slow morning in bed after a rough night
2. compensating for my cold bedroom this evening by lighting tons of candles all around the room and enjoying their glow, and the warmth they're adding to the chilly air
3. solo zoo trip
4. the baby gorilla - and, I learned a new fact: gorillas nurse their babies for 3-5 years.
5. the colobus monkeys were really funny to watch today
6. It takes me between 27 and 35 steps to walk the length of a blue whale.
7. finished some reading for a Christian leadership course I'm taking (besides the school stuff) while I was on the bus.  it was nice to get this out of the way a day or two before it actually has to be done.
8. I revisited one of my favorite quotes, painted on the wall as you exit the rainforest exhibit where the gorillas are.  "Like water, be gentle and strong.  Be gentle enough to follow the natural paths of the earth, and strong enough to rise up and reshape the world." (Brenda Peterson)  It always reminds me of Jesus being called living water, and expresses rather nicely how I'd like to live - gentle and strong.
9. I made a rare visit to the downtown, central library branch, and spent a bit of time hunting for some books I had in mind.  It's more fun, somehow, when the books take up several floors.
10. The library had the entire series of three novels that I was looking to read soon in stock today.
11. I picked up a few books with various walking tours around the city.
12. I made it to the mall, and managed to get a whole list of errands out of the way.
13. I spent some very enjoyable time plotting the junk food supper I was going to treat myself to.
14. I walked, a lot, today.
15. knowing that my schedule was totally flexible, and it didn't matter in the grand scheme of things if the bus was 10 minutes or more late (which at least one was)
16. having junk food for supper (more on that tomorrow!)
17. thinking about all of the things I was doing as I did them, and keeping a mental running list of "interesting reasons to smile"
18. clean drinking water - there's something about this that just never gets old for me, especially since water is my beverage of choice.  I suppose I think too, about the many, many people who can't have it, and that makes it even more amazing to me.
19. the male peacocks at the zoo were displaying their feathers in full force today.  Since I usually go in winter, I don't see that often, and it really is a beautiful sight.
20. giggling just thinking about the giant anteater (one of my favorites, after the gorilla).  I didn't see it today, but just stopping to think about it really did make me smile outwardly and giggle inwardly.
21. a ten minute yoga video this morning (in retrospect, with all the walking I did today, the exercise was totally unnecessary, but it was a nice way to wake up when I did finally crawl out of bed)

Daily 5 - Day 306

(I just finished another post, so if you haven't seen that one, scroll down when you're finished with this one...)

Today's Daily 5:

1. Hanging out at the zoo with F. and baby A.
2. A peacock with it's tail feathers up - don't see that very often
3. laughing at a lion with F.
4. really diving into studying, starting to feel that "learning groove" that I love come back to me
5. knowing that I have a "secret stash" of mini almond joy bars from my recent trip through the states tucked away where I can find them when I really need a study boost
6. a ride home from mom and dad's tonight, instead of the bus or walking through the rain
7. still loving my iphone
8. got some great photos today, using dad's very nice digital SLR
9. learning the clear difference in definitions between anatomy and physiology (never really thought about the difference before today, but anatomy refers to structure, and physiology to function.)
10. loving having a schedule right now that fits my sleep schedule better.  can stay up a bit later at night and sleep a bit later in the mornings
11. fun emails from a few different friends today (and if you're one of them, the responses are coming tomorrow!)

Full Day

It was a full sort of day, and I'm just stopping in to tell you that.  Tomorrow, I have plans to write at least one longer post.  With pictures.  I haven't had pictures in a while.

Today was full of a visit to the zoo with a friend and her daughter.  Baby smiles, and mutually enjoyed sarcasm.  Lunch, avoiding the rain, lots of animals, and a lion who was a little bit excited (leading to more mutually enjoyed sarcasm.)

Then back to my established study corner in mom and dad's basement, and a reality check.  Studying.  Lots of it.  That really needs to be my life this summer.  And I think really seriously opening the book for the first time brought home just how much time it's going to eat up.  Which, I'm totally okay with.  And, seeing the time some things took today, means I'm motivated to put in fairly full days with the textbooks for the next two or three days at least.

Dinner, a bit more studying, and then I attended the first session of a 7 week course in Christian Leadership principles that my dad is teaching.  I was debating adding that to my life at the moment, but I think I'll stick it out.  I'm pretty sure the material will be very good and useful in the long run of life.

So, with that, I'm going to write a daily 5, conveniently ignore some emails that I really should respond to tonight, but just don't have the brain cells for, and head for sleep.  Tomorrow needs to start early, and be a full day of a different sort.

Daily 5 - Day 228

Today's Daily 5:

1. Zoo Trip.
2. Thankful for praying friends and encouragement from them.
3. Thankful for a dear friend who instinctively knew, upon reading an email, what most would not, just how very hard it was to open that part of my life to a number of people.  Her knowing that meant so much more than just hearing that she was praying for the situation the email discussed (though that is a very special thing to hear as well.)
4. A hamburger from one of my favorite fast food places for lunch
5. Picked up a new audio book at the library - excited about this one
6. Did a bit of walking in the (rather windy) spring day of Palm Sunday
7. Actually slept a bit last night, without nightmares
8. Within striking distance of actually finishing the book I've been sort of slogging through reading
9. Got some photos printed - a deal on 5x7 prints.  They turned out beautifully.
10. Doing some little, self-care things, like painting my toenails and using a facial masque for my skin.

Palm Sunday Zoo Trip

Because yesterday I managed to accomplish many of the things that have become my Sunday morning norms, I was able to sleep late today, and then head out for the zoo.  I hadn't been in a couple of months, and I'd been missing it.  It was great to spend some time just watching creation again.  Per usual, I spent most of my time in the African exhibits, finally getting to see the baby giraffe (it's hard to refer to something as a baby when it is taller than you are at birth), and visiting "my" gorillas.  I made a quick stop in South America as well, to get a giggle over the Giant Anteater too.  The full album is on facebook, here.  But these were a few of my favorites from the day.

Hippo

Bet you thought this was going to be another post about one of my multiple visits to the zoo, huh?  Nope it's the latest quiz result.  Apparently the African animal that I am most like is the hippo!  And, while no woman likes to be told she's a hippo, the description really did make me chuckle.  Because quite a lot of it is uncannily accurate!

You Are a Hippo

You are sensitive and deep. You have a spiritual side to you that's hard to deny. You naturally bring out the best in people. You are a true healer. You have a strong power over others. You've learned to harness this power to make their lives better. You tend to have intense dreams where important things are revealed to you.

What African Animal Are You?

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

Daily 5 - Day 142

Welcome to 2010.  Or at least the technical first daily 5 list of 2010.  (Technical since I'm pretty sure I wrote the daily 5 for December 31, 2009 at like 1:30 this morning.)

Today's Daily 5:

1. Zoo trip
2. Giggling at the anteaters - I really can't quite explain just what kind of a moment that was.  It was beautiful to just feel those giggles kind of well up inside me and escape.  For me, after such a hard year, and so much sadness, and having to so deliberately choose joy and thankfulness at every turn, it was a special gift from a loving Abba to stand there, watching that crazy part of creation, and feel the joy simply well up within me and burst forth.  It was a really wonderful way to begin the year.
3. Watching a movie with mom and dad, T. & L.
4. The annual Chinese food New Year's day dinner with both of my parents, both brothers, and L.
5. The ironic moment of being goaded into opening a fortune cookie I wasn't particularly wanting to eat, "just for the fortune" and cracking mine open to discover it didn't have a fortune!  Not sure what that says about my year to come!  But it was a pretty funny moment.
6. Playing crokinole and Dutch Blitz with mom and dad and J.
7. time this afternoon to do a bit of cleaning in my bedroom
8. making a list of goals, hopes, dreams, self-reminders etc. for the coming year
9. taking photos at the zoo this morning with Dad's camera
10. Clean laundry - yep, I kicked off the new year with washing my sheets and towels, and other laundry.  Because there's something about celebrating newness with such fresh smelling sheets, towels and pajamas to crawl into at the end of the jay.  I know, it's weird, but it really is a joyful thing for me.
    

Zoo Year's Day :)

I started the new decade and new year off with a trip to the zoo.  I love heading there on days when I know it won't be busy, because it's so much easier to just sit or stand and appreciate the animals, without other people pushing to catch a glimpse.

I had several objectives this morning - visit "my" gorillas, see if the new baby giraffe was on display yet (nope), check out the newly redesigned and re-opened conservatory, and see the giant anteaters.

Here are some photos, and a couple of videos from the morning.  The rest of the photos can be found in a facebook album here.

The videos are of the giant anteater, which is currently one of my favorite creatures.  Mostly because it's so entirely bizarre with that long nose, skinny body, and feather duster tail.  I stood and watched him for probably 10 minutes this morning, giggling out loud at how funny he looked!

Hanging out at the zoo is a great way to start the year.  The incredible creativity of God is so on display, and it's a place I find so incredibly peaceful and full of the certainty that God is a God of hope and creativity and laughter and beauty and new things - all reminders I've needed regularly through the difficult last few years.

Daily 5 - Day 130

Today's Daily "5"

1. Visiting the gorillas early this morning, and watching as they ate and played
2. watching the hippos eat breakfast and then sort of waddle and ease themselves back into their pool. So funny.
3. Enjoying T's girlfriend leading worship at church this morning.
4. Enjoying the choir from the church, with T conducting, both at church and at a nursing home this afternoon
5. One more baking job finished. Only two or three to go, and then packaging all the goodies up.
6. time with family today
7. finding time to journal and somewhat release the dream that I woke from this morning
8. lighting the 4th advent candle, and pondering love and friendships all day.
9. an encouraging note about my weekly photos on facebook of my advent wreath from someone I've known most of my life
10. being genuinely greeted by a number of people at church this morning. it's not always the case at that church - that I am able to relax and and not feel pressure to perform, but today it was nice to be welcomed by a few people.
    

Later Sunday

I woke this morning, as I mentioned from a dream. The dream was shaking and painful, so I did the only thing I could, rose and began the day.

Hours later, I'm glad that that is the approach I took.

I sorted vitamins for the coming week (a regular Sunday morning task).

And then I headed out.

First stop was the zoo. I arrived earlier than I usually do, and the animals were quite active, some still being fed. I watched the gorillas eat and play, and stopped in fascination as the hippos ate breakfast (kind of like watching an enormous chomping vacuum cleaner) and then eased themselves back into the water.

Then I went to church. I've been trying to hear my brother sing Christmas music for several weeks, and weather has always gotten in the way. (One evening we spent three hours trying to make our way across the city to hear them sing and just never made it. Another event was cancelled because it was to be held outdoors and the temperatures were frigid that day.) This morning he was conducting the church choir he's formed, and I decided to go hear them sing. I used the sermon time to journal just a little (as I listened) about the dream I'd had.

In the afternoon, the church choir was singing at a nearby nursing home, and my mom and I went to hear this longer performance.

I then borrowed mom's much more spacious kitchen to roll out some cookie dough I'd pre-made and brought with me, and to bake the cookies.

And now I'm home, having just finished a comfort food dinner (tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich) and I'm planning to assemble sandwich cookies for a while, and then simply rest.

The animals at the zoo soothed my jangled spirits. The worship at church spoke a bit of peace to my hurting soul. The joy in the elderly people's faces as they enjoyed the choir renewed just a little bit of hope.

The losses have been great, but there have been gains as well.

And for that, I'm grateful.

Daily 5 - Day 91

Image via Wikipedia

Today's Daily 5 (or so):

1. Zoo visit with T. & L.
2. Seeing my first ever anteater. Man that is one weird looking creature. You've really got to picture God laughing when he created that... I mean the thing has the longest nose, well ever, and this thing that looks like a feather duster for a tail. (just check out the picture I've added to the right.)
   
3. Visiting the gorillas again after a few months absence
4. A treatment today that went well
5. laughing with my family as we celebrated my brother J's birthday tonight (two months after the actual date - it's getting a little harder to coordinate schedules now that we're all working and/or in school and both boys also have girlfriends schedules that also need to be coordinated.)
6. a day off work
7. a slow lazy morning... laying in bed, reading, watching a dvd, and just generally resting
8. getting to borrow dad's camera and take pictures at the zoo today
9. family stories - all the funny ones. (and I appreciated not being the butt of nearly as many jokes as I often am)
10. memories that I'd forgotten resurfacing, and mixing with other memories, re-arranging themselves in my heart, and settling out into new shapes and forms within me.
    

Daily 5 - Day 54

Today's Daily 5:

1. Being really grateful that my parents live near enough that when the mechanic I've visited because my regular mechanic is closed, and says they're busy, and it will be two-three hours of waiting to get a couple of signal light bulbs changed, I can just get him to sell me the bulbs and call dad and invite myself over and let him do the quick fix on my car.
2. Finally getting one of the remaining two bookings we needed to take care of for our trip done, and having firm plans to finish the last bit of planning on Tuesday evening.
3. Shopping for a gift for a friend, and finding something that I think will work well
4. a hug from my mom
5. Visiting the gorillas this morning
   

Catching Up on the News

I read quite a few news stories this morning, and the following ones caught my attention for a variety of reasons, funny or more serious.

Canadian Young Adults Greener, Better Traveled, and More Free-Spirited Than American Counterparts - this one just made me smile, since I hold dual Canadian/American citizenship, and I'm not totally sure which category I'd fall into!

Wall of Smoke Leaves Calgary Area in a Haze - I've definitely noticed the smoke, particularly on Wednesday, and the smell that came with it. I'm not complaining too much, though, since it's brought beautiful sunrises and sunsets as well.

Christian Group Condemns Zoo's Elephant Sculpture - I didn't know quite how to respond to this one. I do visit the zoo often, and to be honest, anyone who knows anything about world religions would be able to recognize that this statue is modeled after Ganesh, even if the zoo claims that they had all the religious symbolism removed. I knew immediately the first time I saw it that I was looking at an image of a Hindu deity, and I'm not even all that familiar with Eastern religions. I mostly think the statue is kind of ugly, and I certainly won't be posing with it anytime soon for a picture. However, I would object to the suggestion that the grounds of the zoo become a place for educating the public on world religions, and I cannot imagine a cross and all the other things that the article suggests erecting on the zoo grounds as well. I have to wonder why we as Christians can't be content with the fact that the very scriptures we seek to proclaim talk about all creation crying out and speaking of it's creator. Seems to me that hundreds of animals, beautiful gardens, and park-like grounds that are all constantly "speaking" of their creator means that we've got one slightly ugly sculpture outnumbered anyway. The whole thing makes me think of that famous quote from St. Francis of Assisi "Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary use words." I just kind of wish Christian groups would stop making a fuss about things like this, and do things like getting involved somewhere. If you're concerned about the zoo, become a volunteer. They have tons of volunteers. Get involved and teach kids about the beauty of the animal world that cries out about it's creator.

Indonesian Baby Weighs in at 19.2 Pounds - Mostly, this one caught my attention because of the picture of the "little" guy between two other babies in the nursery. He's so large that the picture was, to me anyway, truly comical!

New Jersey Woman Celebrates 100th Birthday by Showing up for Work As Usual - How inspiring! This lovely old lady is still going strong. And imagine all the changes she's weathered since her life began in 1909! Even the very fact that she survived the 1918 flu epidemic is fascinating to me (being the history geek that I am!). Think young!

To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate - Because Joel Stein almost always has a line or two that makes me laugh. My favorite line this time? "Feder really sees the good side of life-threatening disesases."

A TIME magazine interview with Chuck Colson - Colson is definitely not my favorite voice, but he has demonstrated a consistent integrity, and a commitment to social justice issues through his prison ministry. Would I likely go about things the same way? No. Do I agree with a lot of what he says? No. But do I respect his integrity and believe that if more of the "Christian Right" in North America lived in this way, they'd have a better reputation? Yes. As such, I found it interesting to read his responses to the interviewer.

The Starting Plan

It's my birthday, and I have a thing about being another year older. It always seems like some kind of victory to me. (Maybe it helps that since I was about 7 I've been accused of being a bit old for my age, so every year older I turn, I feel like I'm slipping more easily into the person I've been for a lot of years already, and that as I get older it's easier for others to accept that person since she increasingly fits the age and body that she exists within.)

Anyway, here's the starting plan for the day.

I'm actually planning to spend the vast majority of the day doing errands and various things that I love. I'm headed out at the moment for the farmer's market to find some breakfast and soak up some color. I'll be stopping at the bank before I do that. I'm following that plan up with a trip to a local store to hunt for a belt (I badly need one), and a trip to the AMA to renew George's insurance for another year. Sometime today I'm hoping to go to the Catholic bookstore. I need to buy a birthday card for a friend who's celebrating tomorrow. I might go to the zoo, or to a cemetery that I love to walk in. I borrowed a great camera from my dad, so I'll be taking pictures at various spots along the way as well. And then, tonight, I'm having dinner with my family and roommate. Followed by a trip out somewhere with my brother and his girlfriend.

It has the makings for a great day - lots of little errands and things to be accomplished. Some favorite people and places. And lots of flexibility.

And by the way, it's Friday, and I'm not at work! And, I'm not missing casual Friday even a tiny little bit! Because jeans at home and out and about in the city always trumps jeans at work!

The sword of truth...

I read the following line in Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird" the other night, and was deeply struck by it, both as a form of self-examination, and as a bit of a prayer for some I know and care about.

"You don't always have to chop with the sword of truth. You can point with it, too." (Bird by Bird, pg. 156)

More thoughts coming later. I'm off to the zoo with a friend shortly.