Novel Eye

Your past life diagnosis: I don't know how you feel about it, but you were female in your last earthly incarnation.You were born somewhere in the territory of modern Portugal around the year 1325. Your profession was that of a jeweler or watch-maker. Your brief psychological profile in your past life:Inquisitive, inventive, you liked to get to the very bottom of things and to rummage in books. Talent for drama, natural born actor. The lesson that your last past life brought to your present incarnation:The world is full of ill and lonely people. You should help those, who are less fortunate than you are. Do you remember now? Amusing. Though I am wondering how a female could have become a jeweler or watch-maker in 1325. Thanks to Musing for this .

So, speaking of Japan... I read the very short novel "In the Miso Soup" or イン ザ・ミソスープIn za Misosūpu (ha ha!) by Japanese novelist Ryu Murakami , not to be confused with Haruki Murakami (who writes equally strange but generally much longer novels). Murakami R has always focussed on the seedier side of Japan, one which the Japanese do not speak of and try not to acknowledge. This one was about a young guide who makes a living guiding gaijin through Tokyo's sex clubs--until he meets an American who may or may not be a serial killer. The Japan painted here is unrelentingly shallow, full of desperately lonely people who cannot make any kind of connection. Le plus c'est différent , le plus c'est la meme choses . ADDITION: Per below--at one point konbon wa was written kombon wa . I don't know whether this was an attempt to capture the nasal hum that is the Japanese final n, or merely a typo, but it seems to show that translating sound from one langua...

A week ago, last Saturday, after that long, strange week and a pleasant day of shopping with my husband, I came home and slipped down my stairs. I don't know if it was because my hands were full, or because I hadn't pulled my slippers over my heels, or because the stairs are very narrow and steep and slightly crooked, but for whatever reason, my foot slid over the lip of the top stair and down. I jettisoned everything I was carrying and grabbed for purchase, stopping about mid-way down. Too stunned to speak I turned and crawled back up my stairs, walked into my bedroom and lay face-down on the bed. My husband, who had come running at the clatter brought me an ice pack wrapped in a towel. Among the things I had thrown into space were my camera (fortunately in its case) and a small box of earring barbells which had scattered like confetti on the way down. While I lay there he went an picked up. After the whimpering stopped I was able to gauge that nothing was broken. Somehow I h...

I know I said I wasn't going to write about work--but this is an accomplishment of sorts, and more working things out. The week of the 7 th -9 th was the bi-annual Summit, here in Boston this time. It went well and I received some praise. I met some very nice affiliates and sponsors and speakers, and some really, really strange ones. Like the one who wanted to be The Chairman of the Board. In fact, on the little humorous questionnaire we passed out he admitted that he worshiped ol ' Blue Eyes. He's 35... Then the one who found Atlas Shrugged a seminal novel--which I guess it is, it just depends on how you take it. I'll pass over those who listed Da Vinci Code as one of their favorite books, or "anything by John Grissom ." And move on to the two older male affiliates --one who's favorite movie is "The Neverending Story" and the other who's favorite is " Ladyhawke ." His favorite book is "The Princess Bride." A ...

Matt and Bethany both wrote to tell me that their understanding--that I was trying to say WTF in Japanese--was not being fulfilled on my CafePress shirt. SOOOO --I have decided I will offer both. I think I will add the romanji for people who have only heard it--say in anime rather than read it in manga (or from the lips of their favorite J-Rock stars). Yup, I'll rush right over and do that... at some point.

Bonjour Vietnam Raconte moi ce nom étrange et difficile à prononcer Que je porte depuis que je suis née. Raconte moi le vieil empire et le trait de mes yeux bridés, Qui disent mieux que moi ce que tu n’oses dire. Je ne sais de toi que des images de la guerre, Un film de Coppola, [et] des hélicoptères en colère ... Un jour, j’irai là bas, un jour dire bonjour à ton âme. Un jour, j’irai là bas [pour] te dire bonjour, Vietnam. Raconte moi ma couleur, mes cheveux et mes petits pieds, Qui me portent depuis que je suis née. Raconte moi ta maison, ta rue, raconte moi cet inconnu, Les marchés flottants et les sampans de bois. Je ne connais de mon pays que des photos de la guerre, Un film de Coppola, [et] des hélicoptères en colère ... Un jour, j’irai là bas, un jour dire bonjour à mon âme. Un jour, j’firai là bas [pour] te dire bonjour, Vietnam. Les temples et les Boudhas de pierre pour mes pères, Les femmes courbées dans les rizières pour mes mères, Dans la prière, dans la lumière, revoir mes...

Got a bottle cap quote by Anonymous (he gets around): "The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now." I waste so much time and energy regretting and even imagining those unplanted trees that I have too little left to simply pick up the shovel now. Why do we do this to ourselves?

...except that I finally confirmed that I had the correct spelling and usage from a Japanese friend, I opened a CafePress shop . I have done absolutely nothing to promote it yet. My husband hopes to add some Dr. Whovian related items and I have a few more ideas. Two thoughts on that--one, should I report the people who are blatantly stealing copyrighted work and passing it off as their own, or leave it alone? And two, and this will only be funny to half of my tiny readership. There's a shirt that I covet there that says, "I wanted to learn Alchemy, but it costs and arm and a leg." Bwa -ha-ha, ROFL, snort. Oh, and even more one more thing--should I add "Nan dai yo, ne ?" to the back, just to be more clear?

I have decided that it might be better if I don't rehash work problems here and get back to some basic reviewing. The BIG summit is May 6-9, so I might not really be back to it until after, but before I finish with work, I do want to show one thing I am proud of: The Paragon Advisor Created entirely and edited by yours truly. It's a newsletter for aspiring financial planners, so not so exciting, but hey, I made it. There are also blogs being launched at http://www.makingcentsblog.com/ and http://www.theparagonadvisorblog.com/ . I actually didn't set these up, but have tweaked them some. I am editing most of the pieces at Making Cents, which IS for the general consumer, so feel free to comment and make my boss happy and keep me in a job. Edit: Annoyingly Making Cents is not showing the way that it should. Will have to do some checking on that on Monday. Have had some weird bugs in TypePad. Like I said, I didn't set them up.

Watched most of this this afternoon. Have to say I really enjoyed it, and Will Farrell, and you have to know that I HATE all Will Farrell movies. Like discovering that Jim Carrey can act, it was pleasant to find that Farrell could as well. While Carrey always had a commitment to a variety of characters, I always felt that Farrell was just playing the same shtick over and over (well, except for The Oblongs--the weirdest of all my favorite weird cartoons--I love, love, loved him in The Oblongs ). Always delightful to see Emma Thompson playing neurotic. It is also a very clever film about fiction and life. I would have to say it will probably be enjoyed more by people who read the kind of novels that Thompson's character writes--tragedies, not comedies.

I'm only happy when it rains I'm only happy when it's complicated And though I know you can't appreciate it I'm only happy when it rains You know I love it when the news is bad Why it feels so good to feel so sad I'm only happy when it rains Pour your misery down Pour your misery down on me Pour your misery down Pour your misery down on me I'm only happy when it rains I feel good when things are going wrong I only listen to the sad, sad songs I'm only happy when it rains I only smile in the dark My only comfort is the night gone black I didn't accidentally tell you that I'm only happy when it rains You'll get the message by the time I'm through When I complain about me and you I'm only happy when it rains Pour your misery down (Pour your misery down) Pour your misery down on me (Pour your misery down) You can keep it over me As long as you don't care I'm only happy when it rains You wanna hear about my new obsession? I'm r...

My hormones totally pwn me.

The reunion was for a scholarship group of which I was a part at college. We spoke at the luncheon and have been asked to write down what we said. This is mine below. I feel inadequate in this group. Many were Vietnamese "Boat People," refugees who fled after the war in unspeakable conditions. Others grew up in Harlem, NY or Compton in Los Angeles. They went to schools you hear about on shows like NYPD Blue, Law and Order or Boomtown and think, "Thank God, I didn't have to live through that." Guns, shootings, worse. And yet through determination and some intervention by people who recognized their innate talent they attended Amherst and thrived. I chose Amherst for some very good reasons, and one rather silly one. My high school didn’t promote better schools or encourage application, despite the fact that many students did test well and could have attended their choice of schools. In fact, when I told my counselor that I wanted to attend Amherst, he tol...

You get bawled out and you can't cry (or kick them in the shins). Well, I stood my own at least. And I'm more angry/annoyed than sad. I have three major projects going on at work: Planning the conference for May 6-9 Overseeing the development of the two new websites which are supposed to go live on May 1 Building myself a Practice Development Newsletter that will go out monthly and collects articles from several sources Then I have several small projects: The general weekly Newsletter which takes most of Wednesday Transition work for JT Other updates and projects etc. The first three depend on my boss. Today he informed me in no certain terms that he wasn't happy with the second project--the websites. He already had major "corrections" to item 3 that took most of yesterday, last night and this morning. Now, the stupid thing is that he's had a chance to offer input on all of these things at several points along the way, but through his own stupidity didn't ...

Actually the first part of this came to me--in that it actually happened--and I was trying to get it into a poem form for a few weeks. I'm not sure it works--like I'm trying too hard. I saw a crow motionless atop a pole So black and still he seemed a paper silhouette , the outline of a crow And seeing him, my focus dwindled, rendering the world flat as a photograph as when a flock of birds will look no more than charcoal marks across the sky.

No reason in particular--always timely. President Gas The Psychedelic Furs you have to have a party when you're in a state like this you can really move it all you have to vote and change you have to get right out of it like out of all this mess you'll say yeah to anything if you believe all this but don't cry, don't do anything no lies, back in the government no tears, party time is here again president gas is up for president line up, put your kisses down say yeah, say yes again stand up, there's a head count president gas on everything but roller skates it's sick the price of medicine stand up, we'll put you on your feet again open up your eyes just to check that your asleep again president gas is president gas again he comes in from the left sometimes he comes in from the right it's so heavily advertised that he wants you and i it's a real cowboy set, electric company every day is happy days it's hell without the sin, but don't cry, don...

Turns out much of my tension and foul mood of the past week was hormonal in nature. Some of it was because we have reached again, April 1st . WE INTERRUPT THIS POST TO BRING YOU THIS SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT Thank you, God. I went back to find that post from last year to link and thought I will take a stab at that again. And suddenly it seemed so obvious! It needs some fine tuning--word choice, etc. but I like this, and I feel this: If I should lose the little finger, say Of my left hand, I could learn to type around. And all the instruments I do not play Would prove no sadder loss than now. Other things I do requiring dexterous skill Could be--as good or almost--learned again. Most days I should not feel its loss at all Until it was as if it had never been. Yet, there would come a moment when Performing some small but delicate task I should find myself at a loss, as when I find there is no one else I can ask Questions I never thought to bring to you, And I cry to feel your death anew.

Reunion I have been invited Like the courtier in the powdered wig, Like a dignitary, profile of a mountain. I fear to write the word Like a chicken Laying her last egg Before laying out her neck. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I saw this poem in a dream--nearly as I can remember as it is now. The dream itself is strange. I had to go somewhere about two hours away on Saturday--leaving at about 9:30. In my dream of Saturday morning my mother was here and going with me and she had to go to Lexington on Saturday morning BEFORE we left. So she and I and a friend of my husband's (on my mind because he hadn't returned a phone call--common with him--and my husband and I had been discussing it the night before) went to Lexington at 8:30. Lexington is about 30 minutes away from me because there is no direct way to get there--even though the distance is not that great. We go to this house and family business and no one is there. Me: Didn't you tell them you were comin...

One of those days when I think how nice it would be to be the guy who screws toothpaste caps on in some factory. Meh. Come to think of it--it's sort of been several days like that in a row. Sorry.

http://noveleye.blogspot.com/2007/06/and-now-for-something-completely.html