Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Shelf Life

My mind and the way I run my life, I'm finding, is like a shelf with limited space, and if I get excited about something new, something else falls off the shelf. It's easily forgotten as I clap my hands and squeal over the New Thing. I feel very simple lately and I catch myself only thinking about a few things; shiny, glittery things. I'm oblivious to what was on the shelf just a week ago.

Oooo, bicycles . . .they're so pretty and fun = Core/strength classes fall off the shelf (To be fair, I've always loved bikes ever since I first got on a Big Wheel at age 4, but lately I'm so blinded by them, like they slipped me a mickey. Like, my love for them was not expressed enough before and I must now pay a penance for not waving the banner high enough and I'm required to shout this from the roof tops. "You know I love you, Bikes, I'll love you forever. No, really baby, I will. Your place on the shelf is permanent.")

Writing Workshop . .. wweeeeeee! So sparkly = All forms of cooking/baking/raw food prep have fallen off the shelf. (Ok, to be fair again, writing has been on and off and in the shadows of the shelf since I was 10, but I've been so mean to it. Writing has just been waiting, tapping its foot wondering when I'd get over that cooking tramp. Or that time I was off with the jewelry making floozy. Or whatever other secondary creative whores I've dabbled in. "Oh Writing, I've been no-good. I'll love you forever. You gotta believe me this time, honey.")

My kitty, TeaCake . . . he's so soft and handsome and lovey. Ride or die, TeaCake! Please note nothing has fallen off the shelf here. I still love my pugs and my children. I just love this cat so much!

Obama must win . . .I'm fired up to tell the news about the impending doom if he doesn't = Where'd the Prop 2 noise go? Goddamn me. Prop 2 is hanging by a string off the shelf and I'm trying to juggle the monumental importance of this presidential election and the importance of this proposition getting passed because 20 million animals will get a little bit of a break when it does. You know the story. But I've told the family that if McCain & Whatshername get voted in, our bags are packed for Spain. Or maybe we'll join Zoey & Keith's commune in Iceland; they're mapping one out in case of emergency. Husband's up for Vancouver too. At first Maya was like, "Woohoo! Spain!" But after a while -- after the notion fell off her shelf -- she said, "I want to stay here." I said, "Me too."

That's about it. That's all I have room for because there are the mandatory fixtures of the shelf too, of course: workingcleaningpreparingmealsmanagingthehouse, and my fav fixture Being Mami.

Oh man, Dia de los Muertos is coming up. You know how I feel about that. I robotically clear everything off the shelf for a solid two weeks for that brilliant bit of distraction.

I asked Betsy last week if she'd be up for touring the California Coast on bicycles next year. I don't know anyone more up for such an adventure. I thought it was a lock until she said, Hell No. She said I'd have to be nutz to ride Highway 1 on a bike, which really is a precarious, windy and often foggy death-trap of a road. Every time she drives by cyclists on the 1 she says, "INSANE!" She just shouts it out in her car. Damit, Betsy. What about a ride to the Grand Canyon? Would you be up for that? Through the Mohave Desert and over the Dead Mountains? Because touring and bicycles are so cool and fun and glittery, don't you know?

5 comments:

kristen said...

dude, i miss you.

i'm with you that obama must win. but i'm scared.

xo

Maven said...

Well, I joke about going to Norway. It's expensive and cold, but it's beautiful, there's a high standard of living, massive support for education and the arts, and I'm pretty sure I could pick up the language really quickly (even though everyone speaks English). But the truth is that if the unspeakable happens, we have to stay here and fight for our rights.

Now regarding what you are calling "easily distracted by shiny new things": I would call that the searchlight of your intellect illuminating various parts of the landscape at different times. Even if your light isn't trained on a particular thing, that thing is still out there. I get this. Call it curiosity instead of distractability. My brain works the same way.

Rennmaus said...

Oh cool: cycling Highway # 1 is surely a supergreat adventure.... I love the sights and landscapes on this highway...

Oh yes, please America vote for OBAMA.... we Europeans were shocked to get to know this Sarah Palin.... I never would have thought that there could be a worsening after Bush, but I am afraid that this woman is more scary than all the Republicans before.... wow she is so dangerous to the world....

the kitschen table said...

OBAMA! This is the first time in my life that I am voting for instead of against someone. I believe in him and what he can do for our country. I won't even go into what I think about the Republican ticket, except to say that they are dangerous.Especially to women. If the unspeakable happens, I am breaking up with politics for good. I can only take just so much abuse.

andrea said...

oh I hear you. that shelf thing, that's me. problem is, I keep trying to cram everything up on that shelf and I'm spending all my time cramming and organizing, wanting everything to stay up there on that damn shelf, trying to prove to myself that the shelves can hold everything and then it all comes crashing down and then I get it, I see the light. sort of.

so, you know. I feel you.

xo