Our theme song...

As an inspiration for the new year, I am posting a poem written by a friend of a friend (who I also consider a friend, of course). Actually, it's a song... a theme song, so to speak, for our mutual friends, Tim & Dallas. 

PEACE AND FREEDOM

By Jane Guarnera

Dec. 2008

Dedicated to Dallas & Tim Forever

It's been said the world is a dark dangerous place

Well I gotta say that is not my space

I stand always with the sun on my face

By accentuating there's no disgrace

The qualities found in the human race

The negative vanishes without a trace

We are each of us born a radiant star

Melding destinies with those that we know

Spreading our glories incredibly far

Always love to inspire and bestow

It's been said what goes around comes around

Well I gotta say that's what I've found

A philosophy with a joyful sound

You just cannot imagine how profound

As individuals we could resound

Our desires are the infinite bound

[chorus]

A mantle of peace and freedom I wear

Being myself I ultimately share

Who I am utterly because I dare

Honoring my shine with intimate care

To present my being with dash and flare

A woman a queen I loudly declare

[chorus]

We each of us have the ability

For ourselves the responsibility

To share and spread our own tranquility

Which offers all amiability

We manifest our sensibilities

Each living their own capabilities

[chorus]

Many have had difficult beginnings

All of which is worthy of forgiving

It's a waste of precious time reliving

A wretched past and all its misgivings

It is always worth the considering

Our present in offering thanksgiving

[chorus]

If each of strive for internal peace

Our personal turmoil we can release

Offering other this freedom of ease

Much of the world's conflict would simply cease

Love and harmony would amply increase

So peace and freedom are profound beliefs

[chorus]

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

DISCLAIMER: Posted with permission.

Peace and Freedom by Jane Guarnera is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Chronosynclastic Infundibulum

Having returned from the Bay Area, I had to make time today to go over to my friends Tim & Dallas' house. We sat around and I relayed to them my adventures in San Francisco. Explaining the idea that my friend wanted to experience the acceptance of alternative lifestyles found in the Castro District, the conversation brought forth one of Tim's favorite words:

chronosynclasticinfunvibulum

Fun one, yes? Tim said it was from some book, but he couldn't remember the title or author. He thought it broke-down to basically mean things happening at the same time, and Latin for funnel shape (infunvibulum). Well, I had to google this, not only for the fun of it, but to find out from what book it was.

So, he gave me the above spelling of it and I took it back to my trusty computer. Google first corrected me with a no-results page:

Okay... actually a two word phrase, but trusty Google still provides:

The first result was where I usually get my first source of information, Wikipedia, which provides an entry for Infundibulum. It is defined as Tim said: Latin for a funnel-shape cavity or organ. The seventh item listed provided pay dirt:

From the science fiction novel The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut the phenomenon chronosynclastic infundibulum is defined as "those places ... where all the different kinds of truths fit together".

So Tim's memory is still good. Thank you, Mr. Vonnegut, for such a wonderful concept! Obviously a different way to express acceptance of various perspectives, I can see where this concept is manifesting itself in today's world... President-Elect Barack Obama being the most obvious example.

This was your thing to learn today.

"Tim-isms"

I want to introduce one of my drumming buddies: Tim Vance. I am quite proud to say Tim and his wife, Dallas, are dear friends of mine. Beyond and beyond being just plain fun, they are the quintisential "good people" you always hear about. They don't have a lot, but they share what they do have, opening their home to all ("Check your attitude at the door!"), and offering "peace & freedom" to anyone in need.

Thus the tag line for this blog. Throughout the rough times I've been going through lately, Tim has provided me with insights he has collected over the years. I've come to refer to these as "Tim-isms". While most are recounted from various sources (self-help books, etc.), some are unique to Tim. Sometimes, it's just the fact that it came from Tim, or when/where he interjects the statement, that makes it special.

Many of these phrases reside on their refrigerator. Covered in mutil-colored Post-It® Notes, one can find insights and mantras for any occasion or situation. Some examples:

• You don't become anything, you already are everything.
• Accept miracles (expect them daily!)
• Everything is perfect (you just don't know it yet).
• It will resolve itself.
• Get over it!

Some I personally try to keep with me at every moment:

• [Be] Flexible to the point of liquidity.
• [I am] Ecstatic passionate exuberance personified!

Included in conversation as well-rounded advice, or simply exclaimed for reinforcement sake, these statements lend support and encouragement to anyone willing to listen.

So I offer them now to you, and I will continue to do so as they pop-up; and they will, because I always try to expect miracles daily.

Drum Dragon

When I brought Dallas home after dinner the other night, we found Tim waiting on the porch, unexpectedly home again (he'd been away working for a couple weeks). He was locked out, not knowing that I had kidnapped his wife for the evening. The good thing was that we was going to be home for a couple days before returning to his job, so he could join us for drum circle last night.

It was a really good evening, with lots of people and quite a few drums. The best thing was an impromtu visit from a mythical beast. One of the knarled trees that we had near the fire got saved from the fire. We tried to flip it over into the fire, but when we got it vertical, someone yelled, "Stop! Look at the dragon!"

So we propped it up against the other logs and had ourselves a pet dragon for the evening.

Photo credit: Kipper Matthews

A Fortune Buffet Strikes Again!

My friend Tim is away at a job, so I took his wife Dallas, and her friend Jane, to New Best Buffet tonight, which I've mentioned before. Dinner was good, but the fortune cookies make me feel complelled to share again.

Mine was nice, and I (yet again) hope it's a harbinger of things to come:

Love is being offered to you, be affectionate in return!

...although, it may be telling me I'm missing something. ("Yo! Heads-up, dude!")  I think this is going to keep me up tonight trying to think of who's trying to give me love and why don't I see it?

Anyway, I don't remember Jane's fortune, but Dallas' was insightful:

We are taught by every person we meet.

In a phrase: That's deep...  Oh! I can't forget the back side(s), either. Here's mine:

Very comfortable - hun xue fu

14, 16, 25, 31, 36, 46

...maybe whomever is trying to give me love is Chinese... and Dallas':

Long time - hun jil

40, 25, 39, 24, 9, 13

I thought 13 was unlucky, but maybe that's just for us westerners. Oh well... until next time.

A Fortune Buffet

My good friends, Tim and Dallas, invited me to dinner tonight. We went to New Best Buffet, which lives in an converted Burger King. The food was tasty, with a wide variety to choose from. I had five plates worth (but they were only 8" plates), but I did skip lunch too. My brother-in-law panned the food, but it's not a "meat & potatoes" kind of place so I can understand why. My official review is here.

Anyway, the point of all this was actually the fortune cookies we were given at the end of the meal. Just your standard, vacuum-packed, commercial senbei, but the fortunes left us...well, befuddled.

Tim's was first:

A smile is a curve that can get a lot of things straight.

Now, it sounds like there might be a "lost in translation" kind of thing happening here, but the more you ponder, it almost makes sense. Then again...maybe not.

Dallas' wasn't much clearer:

A mile walked with a friend contains only a hundred steps.

If you've ever been through a 12-step program, that probably sounds fairly daunting, but she felt it meant a trip taken with a friend goes faster.

And then there's mine, which made me smile:

If you want to get a sure crop with a big yield, sow wild oats.

I could go pragmatic here and conclude some clever insights concerning investments in time and energy, but personally, I'm hoping this is a harbinger of some improvements to a certain portion of my life...

...we'll see.

---

P.S.  These are the deluxe fortunes, by the way, with lucky numbers and "Learn Chinese" phrases on the back! Respectively:

Still single (not married) - mae yao jeh huan
19, 10, 33, 22, 45, 17

What time is it now? - Xian jai ge dan
50, 4, 37, 33, 11, 22

...and finally, mine reads:

Don't matter (not related) - mae yao guan xi
12, 23, 4, 25, 26, 16

No, I don't know why the numbers aren't ascending, but I think I'll get a lotto ticket...

S'more Life Experience

I attend a drum circle every Friday night (or so), and I usually have snacks with me, so I can keep up my stength. A friend asked if I take s'mores, specially since there is a bonfire on the beach. Appearantly, a campfire is a prerequisit for s'mores, and being on the beach is a bonus for the whole experience.

I wasn't aware of these things since I had never had s'mores in my life. Yes, I did just say that. Never. After all, I was never a Girl Scout. So, when I went shopping, I grabbed the ingredients: marshmellows, chocolate, and graham crackers.

Graham crackers bring back memeories of a babysitter I had in kindergarten. She always gave us them as snacks, so I got pretty sick of them. That and vanilla wafers. Since then I've always avoided them; but now, I'm on a mission, and if chocolate is involved, I'm sure I can move past this.

[available on a t-shirt at threadless.com]

Anyway, on a break from noise-making, I found a long stick, suitable for roasting the marshmellows. While I tried not to char my marshmellow, my friend pre-assembled the crackers & chocolate. We added my marshmellow and I took my first bite...

"Okay," I thought, "I can like this... even with the graham crackers!" I ended up having two, but with a drum session in between; boy those things are rich!

So, I've now joined the ranks of Americana and had s'mores. Yet one more life experience to check off my list (even though it wasn't on my list). I'm not sure I was really missing anything, but I won't tell my friend that. ;-)

If you're a s'more freak (and they are out there), checkout the history page some scout leader put together.