Anchiornis huxleyi

Anchiornis huxleyi, a four-winged troodontid dinosaur that lived during the late Jurassic period in China.

I love the feathers on the legs. There is generally something rather appealing about this drawing of this creature.

http://opa.yale.edu/news/article.aspx?id=7249

Yes, I said this blog was finito, but I haven't started up another yet, so this is the place I'm throwing things into for now. Surely, there are other ways to do this on the web. I'm checking out using Google Reader right now, and I'm not sure it's very good. It's just what is available, and it might be the best of several, but it's still not very good.

Day 35 - progress

Saturdays are turning into marathons. Somehow, between teaching violin in the morning to getting everything else done, Saturdays end up being the busiest day of my week. Interesting.

Well, so since I've reached the 30+ day mark with exercising, being grateful and blogging, I think I'm ready to move on to a different blog. There are interesting things to talk about, but they don't exactly mix and match with what's going on here...

So, au revoir, moving on!

Day 33 - Love

I am grateful for a heart of love, the emotions that I have that allow me to feel and understand the world the way I do. I'm grateful to have been touched by love in many ways, from parents, to sisters, to friends, to people I barely know who have reached out with natural warmth and a smile that lets you in.

And, yes, I exercised.

Day 32 - Making stuff

Exercised. I definitely noticed that having exercised only minimally the past day, I wasn't feeling as good. So, did a good bit today.

Spent some time making V-day cards: (Click on them for more detail)





So grateful for the stuff to make them with and the imagination!

Day 31- minimalism

It was a snowy, lazy day. Five minutes of exercise was more than enough.

Have a raft of topics in my head, but busy making stuff at the moment, so no serious documentation effort shall be made at this time...

Day 30 - cauliflower

Had some cauliflower (pictures below before its demise) for dinner tonight - boiled in vegetable broth, with ginger, garlic, and soy sauce. It's beautiful, and tasty!!! Each photo is different, but I photoshopped the bottom three a bit. Just love the star pattern of this plant.

As far as exercising goes, I was very active today, so whilst I did not actually do the prescribed exercise regimen, I think I burned some calories...Was a good day!

Day 29 - chickens

Did about 30 minutes of calisthenics, stretching, jogging/walking around the house. Check!!

It's really nice to feel grateful for a lot of things. Everyday things like weather reports on the internet, being able to look up things on the internet, calling people to find information, and chickens. One can never be too grateful for chickens. They eat ticks. They're funny, and they're simple.

I actually wanted to get some this past summer, but the local ordinances say I can't. I am sore tempted to say screw the ordinances. A neighbor has chickens, and there is something in the ordinances that say if you live on what used to be farm land, you can have chickens, even if you are in an area currently zoned as a denser suburb. This is slightly maddening. By most stretches, this is a rural suburb, lots of deer, wildlife, and space, so why not chickens? These ordinances were written in the seventies, and I wonder if there was something about the 70s that made people do and think dumb things...Or if I were being charitable, perhaps it's just a matter of which side the pendulum is swinging.

Anyway, chickens.

They rock.

Day 28 - Casey Driessen

Exercised requisite 5 minutes. Was feeling rather creaky, so didn't over do it. Something about the sauna - I think I require a lot more lubrication before and after the sauna...

I started researching some stuff for violin students, and checked out information Casey Driessen who is probably the coolest violinist ever. I think it boils down to his muscular percussive technique (*chop*) and a close second is his inventive rock sensibility coming through on his five string violin. I want one. Suffice to say, the world is a better place because of Casey and those like him. Mostly Casey.

Another violinist that apparently comes from a family of violinist and is now rocking out is Alex Depue. Wow.

Day 27 - organic food, organization, and orange

Exercised, taught violin, did some architectural consulting with structural engineer and owner, went grocery shopping, went swimming, came home, cooked, read, googled why I shouldn't get on Facebook. oy.

Recently, was eating standing up at the kitchen counter and noticed my food and cup colors:


This was completely random, but ever so striking. That's some exotic type of sweet potato or yam on the plate. Very tasty.

Day 26 - Go towards the light!

Haven't exercised yet, but will get to it, don't worry. (Yes, all you faithful readers....hello? Hello???)

Anyway, was feeling extremely disgruntled this morning, I believe as a direct result of the anxiety provoked by the VP of Autodesk, and needed to stop thinking about jobs in architecture and move onto much more pleasant things to think about. Like colorful sculptures. A google image search turned up this image:

Color, cool aggregate textures. This makes me happy. Such a simple thing, and something I can do without worrying about the world going to hell in a handbasket.

So I've proven to myself yet again, that when anxious and unhappy, one needs to do a complete turn and focus on things that evoke a visceral sense of pleasure and hopefully also a creative response. Go towards the light, go towards the light!

And check, exercise.

Day 25 - Brilliant people

Exercised before going to my interview. Yay, me!

Went to interview, had a good time, went home, didn't get job. Oh well. Not too disappointed, but the interview was good experience. Need to work on my presentation.

Went to hear the VP of Autodesk talk about Integrated Project Delivery and Revit. Very interesting. Very smart guy, got me feeling really anxious...blah! But I'm glad for the boost of brain juice and motivation it gave me. That's what I'm grateful for today. Yeah, lame lame post today...

yawn.

Day 24 - networking

Exercised roughly five minutes, maybe a hair more - walking around the house and up and down the stairs. Check!

So I got a call for a job interview. It's a contract position, but logistically, it works out much better than a few other offers, so it's fine with me. The call came through from a bit of networking I did back when I was first laid off, several months ago. So, it shows that networking pays off, whether in the near term or long, it's good to reach out and be in touch with people. Probably best to be in touch with people who have things you may want or need, but the whole point is, you never know who that's going to be, so everyone is a good contact.

Best of all, the call came at a time when I feel ready to go back to work. Hah!

Day 23 - Work

Calisthenics and stretching/warm-up for 20 min. 10 minutes of jogging around. Good and warm.

I'm thankful for work - I've got this freelance project that I wasn't taking super seriously until just recently. As I've been making drawings for the building, I'm pleased with the product I've produced, and thereby, am fulfilling the promise work. I forget who said it, perhaps Steve Jobs, but work has the potential to be a transformative experience, truly fulfilling in that it isn't just about making a living, but creating value and interest in the world. A creative life.

So. Now I've got to go finish up those drawings!!!

Day 22 - Serenity Prayer

Excellent. Day 22 of exercising, gratefulness, and blogging.
I have to say, once you start with one habit, it's easy to pin other simple habits to it, a natural part of our inherent habit-forming mechanism. This is a really cool thing. The critical element to hold yourself to is not all the other little habits you pin on, but that you're dedicated to one or two simple habits, leaving the rest to add on as they will. But just by invoking the first good habit, you pave the way for the other good habits to come. It's that first step, man! Always, the first step needs to be taken, then the rest will follow.

So many darn first steps.

Anyway, I'm grateful for whoever came up with the Serenity Prayer.


God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

Apparently, this is attributed to Reinhold Neibuhr, whom I need to study up on. He apparently influenced a lot of major leaders. I would edit out the Christian references as I am not Christian, and I would just think of the Universe, Universal power, Nature, God as a non-anthropomorphic entity.

It's about trusting that things will turn out all right, no matter what. I was thinking about how I have many (universe willing) decades ahead of me, no matter what the state of my joints, and I can live each day with great joy, as much as I can muster, for all those decades, or resign myself to always being dissatisfied and unhappy. It's such an interesting thing to balance acceptance and willfully doing things. I've always liked the phrase "God helps those who help themselves." Perhaps this means to face your problems and do what you can to solve them. Whatever you can't control directly - like what other people think and do, what nature does - you accept, and still live with peace, happiness, and gratitude.

Hmm, how's that for a habit to tack on?