Do You Use the First Person When You Talk to Yourself?

Tags

first person, first person pronoun, grammar, personal pronouns

Here’s something I bet no one’s ever asked you: What personal pronoun do you use when you talk to yourself? First person? Second person? Third person?

Or are you thinking “What a stupid question. I never talk to myself.” Uh…if so, maybe take a moment to check that thought!

Ok. Maybe I’m putting myself out on a limb since I’m not even sure that you do talk to yourself, but I right now flat out admit that I do. Not out loud too much (luckily I have a cat so when I do, it can simply look like I’m talking to her), but I most definitely catch myself talking to me in my head.

Like this morning, I caught myself thinking “I will get up in just a few more minutes.” Not person-less forms like “time to get up” or “get up soon” or “Ugh. Coffee.”

How Do You Make Peace with a Life You Didn’t Expect?

Tags

life in New York, unexpected life

An unexpected life. Is there any other kind, when you really think about it?

I’ve been thinking a lot about those parts of life that just seem to sneak up on us – and at other times land smack dab in front of us, as if carried to mission success by an eagle-eyed paratrooper.

Sometimes it’s something wonderful, a gift from the heavens perhaps. Like meeting your beloved life partner while waiting for a slow elevator.

But sometimes not-so-great things come to us – things that are not at all what we expected, and most definitely not in our control. Things we would never choose in an idealized life. Things we wish would just go away, so we won’t have to deal with them. And yet there they are, staring us in the face, daring us to act…or not.

A woman I know came to me for advice today. Some new neighbors moved in, people who seem very nice, but whose dog goes into 10-minute barking jags in the afternoon when he’s alone in the apartment

Help Me Create Something Wonderful Lord!

(An imagined conversation with nO religious intent.)

——

Help me create something wonderful, Lord!

Are you afraid?

Yes. I am very afraid.

Help me create something wonderful, Lord!

Will you resist?

Oh yes. I will resist. I’ll resist a lot – especially when I get scared.

Still…help me create something wonderful, Lord!

Will you find excuses?

Excuses? Of course!  I will find lots and lots of excuses.

Please help me create something wonderful, Lord!

Will you look for things to divert you from your dreams?

Sure. I always have. I’ll look everywhere.

But still…help me create something wonderful, Lord!

Will you minimize who you are and how much you can achieve?

Oh yes! I will doubt myself all over the place.

Oh PLEASE help me create something wonderful, Lord!

These things only have power as long as you let them stop you.

But by seeking help

And by daring to move forward anyway

Step by tentative step

As long as it takes

As daunting as it may at times seem

Despite doubts and fears and countless diversions

Learning and growing as you go along…

Well then my dear tortured human being

The magical creation process has already begun.

And even if you can’t see it yet…I can! 

With love,

The Lord

—–

(Please note: This imagined conversation was conceived and intended in a totally secular way. I have yet to knowingly receive any direct messages from a greater power.  But if they do come, I will let you know for sure!)

Another Blog Bites the Dust!

Well…I think it’s time for me to let Out of My Head take a nice long rest on it’s blogging pillow. I’ve been on a break for a while to test the waters, and I just don’t feel tugged back here other than to say hello to old friends.

This has been a fun ride, but I have another blog called Work Coach to take care of (as I mentioned before it may be going commercial) as well as a new baby blog I’m trying on for size. Still, other than Work Coach, I really do think I’m pretty much blogged out for a while. We shall see.

Thanks for all your support and for helping make Out of My Head something I’ve really enjoyed. I hope you did too. I’ll keep it open just in case I ever need to pop back for whatever reason, but as of now, it’s gone fission!

Change is good. The river flows. New adventures await.

Namaste y’all!

Ronnie Ann

If You Live in New York City (or anywhere else) PLEASE Join Me March 29 for Earth Hour 2008!

Tags

"Earth Hour 2008"

RubySchooZ, on her new blog A Thyme of Peas, just posted about a worldwide energy-saving event taking place on March 29, 2008. Borrowing from her words:

You can make a difference in helping to get others to take notice of the importance of saving energy by joining us in the “Earth Hour 2008″ campaign. The central goals for Earth Hour 2008 campaign are to help get as many people, houses, communities and businesses to turn off their lights on March 29th, 2008 from 8pm–9pm (local time).

The main goal of this campaign is to help make a bold statement that the climate changes we are facing are very real and that something as simple as turning out our lights is an important thing that is easily enough done and can truly make a difference.

I’m joining you, Ruby. Thanks for letting us know and thanks for your great new blog. I can’t say it any better.

How about you my fellow New Yorkers? (And anyone else of course.) Want to join us from 8-9 pm? It’s an easy way to make a statement and see what else life has to offer when the lights are off.

The event was created by the World Wildlife Fund chapter in Sydney Australia in 2007 and, according to the event website:

More than 100 cities across North America will participate, including the US flagships Atlanta, Chicago (your city rocks Terry B.), Phoenix and San Francisco – as well as Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

Even though my own fabulous home town New York City is NOT yet an official participant, I would love to see all of us join in big time! Mayor Bloomberg talks about conservation and congestion pricing, but where will he be when the lights go off? And why aren’t we one of those cities?

Hey…let’s show the world we do care, ok? My lights will be off. Please join me.

Thanks again, Ruby. You lead the way, grrrl!

——

For more information about the event and its origins:

Earth Hour 2008

Joy and Peace Come from Within

One more random thought that came to me the other day. I will let it stand on its own:

Joy and peace come from within. We don’t need to wait for others to create it for us. We don’t need to blame others when we don’t have it.

Namaste.

The Edge of the Wall

Icy gnarled fingers

Troll the edge of the wall

A slow macabre dance

Creeping ever so tentatively

Around that corner

Poised at times like question marks

Then releasing with a great sigh…

To embrace the vast emptiness?

(Or maybe at long last to grasp truth.)

——

Yes…I know this isn’t my usual type of post. But as my header warns: “Thoughts. Spinning. Lots of ‘em.”

These were brought on by a recent conversation I had with a woman friend who is 97 years old and still lives on her own!

We should all be so lucky. Not that she always feels lucky since everyone she ever loved is now gone and she is alone. As another friend often says “These are our choices?”

And so, thinking about all this I was moved to write this poem. In the end, no matter what else happens we have ourselves for as long as we live. And it is with ourself, I think, we must make peace. And it is also within ourself we must ultimately find the joy.

My Pal the Semicolon is Famous at Last!

Tags

grammar, subways

I’m a huge fan of the semicolon; I love it and use it whenever I can. But even I was amazed to see that today’s most popular e-mailed article from the New York Times is Celebrating the Semicolon in a Most Unlikely Location.

The story is about a transit employee who dared to insert a semicolon in a subway advisory placard: “Please put it in a trash can; that’s good news for everyone.”

Hah! I had to laugh. With all we have going on in the world – the economy, the U.S. presidential race, and even a new American Idol on the air – this humble punctuation mark is the real star, making it’s way from inbox to inbox all over the world on this very day.

Well, why not? It is a noble little fellow, able to double as a punctuation mark and a wink. How many of us can do that?

I used to work for a woman who was terrified by semicolons. Hated whenever I used one, and only relaxed after I edited them out. One day, a fellow employee who loves the art of language as much as I do, saw that I had managed to get some semicolons past our obsessively watchful boss.

“Did she see them?” he asked me in absolute amazement.

“Yup,” I smiled back, quite proud of myself. I had decided to dig in and play the grammatical guru card just for fun. And she finally went along with me. (Actually I’m not all that great at grammar; but she didn’t know that. And I do love a good challenge.)

I was worshiped for a while by co-workers who had tried the same and failed. But, as time went on, our boss loosened up and allowed others to follow suit and use the semicolon too – even in external e-mails! I’d like to tell you this experience also freed her up to accept occasional typos in those e-mails; but alas that is not the case.

Kudos to the New York City Transit writer who dared to go where no transit worker had gone before and breathe new life into my beloved semicolon; that IS good news for everyone!

OK. At least it’s good news for me. (-;

What If I CAN Be Happy???!!

Tags

happiness, how can I be happy

 

 

How can I be happy? It’s a question almost everyone asks at one time or another. Some daily. But so many of us hear a voice inside saying “I can’t” as soon as we even dare to think about happiness, and living life in a way that might truly lead us to being happy. I don’t have the talent. I don’t have the money. I could never make THAT happen for me!

Basically, we are saying “I don’t deserve happiness. I don’t deserve to dream so big.” And yet others dare all the time – and many many people get to do what some of us only dream about. Even if it turns out somewhat differently from their initial image of what happiness might mean.

Yesterday a friend asked me “What would you do if there was nothing stopping you?” Immediately I ran my list in my head. I have physical conditions that would get in the way. I don’t have enough talent. How would I earn a living? I’m too old. What if I got there and didn’t want it after all? Blah. Blah. Blah.

Do We Stop Ourselves from Dreaming of Happiness?

I couldn’t even let myself say the words of what would make me happy out loud to my friend! Good lord…is just dreaming so scary??

It struck me that I had nothing to lose by saying what I wanted. First thing out of my mouth was “If there was absolutely nothing to stop me (including myself) I’d be a character actress.” Hah. I said it. Why was it so hard? I majored in acting in college and dabbled with it at various points of my life. It’s something I LOVE to do. And yet I stopped. Because it felt silly. Because I wasn’t good enough. (As if I ever let myself go all the way with it.) And it wasn’t important enough. (On whose scale of importance?)

But wait. It didn’t stop there. After my friend left, I really let myself fly free.

A Hair Test to Detect Breast Cancer???

Tags

"breast cancer", Australia, Cancer

Just saw something about a potentially groundbreaking new test for breast cancer being tested in clinical trials by the Australian company Femiscan. Here’s a link to the article at HeraldSun.com.au:

Cancer test in a hair

Basically, Femiscan tests your hair using a synchrotron particle accelerator (they use one located in Chicago at the moment) and then they interpret the results. So far, according to Femiscan, test results look very promising.

One caveat: As of now, the test gives some false positives and some false negatives. But if it really has the potential to detect breast cancer at its earliest stages and at least alert women to get further testing, well…this could be a huge step in the battle against cancer!

I like to think of it as hair today, here tomorrow! (-;

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: I was only able to find this update on hair testing for cancer, and I haven’t found any updates on Femiscan’s role in this.

If you are here because you are interested in a different Femiscan product related to urinary incontinence, you may want to go to the Femiscan dot com website. I know nothing about this other than what I read on their site, but if it helps, great. Good luck!

Food, Fun and Fotos! Blue Kitchen Turns 100 (K)

Tags

cooking, Photography, recipes

My good pal Terry B. just hit 100,000 page views. Wuhooo! If you love good food – or simply know people who like to eat – please visit Blue Kitchen and help me celebrate. You’ll also find great photos of food and other stuff there. And, if you’re hungry for more than food, he always has something cool cooking on his mini-blogs which you can access by clicking on WTF? Random food for thought and What’s on the kitchen boombox?.

Why am I so excited? He’s the one who got me into blogging in the first place, and I’ve had the pleasure of watching what was just his passing vision turn into a full-tilt boogie blog with all the trimmings. I’m not even a good cook, but I sure love drooling over his gorgeous pics and random thoughts.

I’m so proud of you my dear Terry! Here’s to the next 100K!

Oh…and here’s a taste of one of his yummy photos:

Mascarpone: Italian for easy, elegant desserts

Photo by Terry B. All rights reserved.

Would You Pull the Plug?

Tags

"Days of Our Lives", soap operas, Soaps, television shows

Stefano DiMera is a truly evil man who has hurt many many people, including his own children, one of whom he imprisoned on an island for years. He’s in a deep coma now and his children suspect it may have been induced unnaturally, maybe for revenge for all his dark deeds. (Their suspicions are correct.)

They can choose to let their papa stay that way (probably forever) or maybe even pull the plug. They can also dig deeper, find the source of the problem, and see if they can save him. But they worry that a revived Stefano would only unleash more evil on the world – and on them. And yet, he is their father.

What would you do?

OK. This is just the current plot on Days of Our Lives, a daytime soap opera on NBC. But it makes me wonder what I would do. On one hand, he is now incapable of ever hurting anyone again. But if I could help him and I didn’t, wouldn’t I be guilty of evil too?

What if this were your father? If you knew you might be able to save him after all he had done, even knowing all he might do again, would you?

——

My own guilt about watching Days: First, I started watching Days of Our Lives with my mother when I was a little girl. As horribly unbelievable as the plots are and as much as I know I could be doing more important things, when I get a chance to watch, it still feels like home.

Second, I know there’s a writers strike and I support them in their fight. I also know soaps, including Days, are now being written by writers and probably some non-writers who are crossing the picket line, although some are taking advantage of a rule that lets them write if they forgo certain union benefits and become pariahs of sorts. When you have rent to pay, you do what you have to. But still, I accept that I am a scab of sorts too because I watch. Sorry guys! Mea culpa. Hope you get a really good contract soon.

Fatima the Spinner: Today Is Just a Thread in Our Tapestry

Tags

work

 

Fatima the Spinner is an inspiring tale of a girl whose life is filled with misfortune, and yet…with the help of fate and her own skills, she finds happiness. It’s one of my all-time favorite stories.

I love discovering new books by just letting my eyes wander through bookshelves and see what calls to me. That’s how, many years ago, I found a book called Tales of the Dervishes by Idries Shah. It was in that book I found the marvelous story of Fatima.

My life has been like Fatima’s in many ways. She goes from land to land and job to job (in essence) always wondering why she must move on, why she hasn’t found the one place she truly belongs yet. Each time she learns a new skill, but always something happens that causes her to move on. And then one day, after surviving yet another disaster, she lands in China, where they desperately need someone with ALL the skills she’s acquired. And it is here, finally, she finds love and happiness.

I just love this story.

Politics is Like a Giant Rorschach Test

A friend and I were watching the South Carolina Democratic primary results tonight and, although we were viewing the same person speaking, we often saw two very different things. And later, when the talking heads came on CNN, they saw something even different than either of us saw. Or more accurately, we focused on different aspects and came to very different conclusions. Like a giant Rorschach test.

I have another friend who can’t stand the candidates I like most, and she gets really pissed off at things they do and say. She can even see things to hate in what to me seems like a good speech. Whereas I may look at the very same words and actions and, even if I don’t agree with everything, I still see a whole person I can feel good about. But to her, they seem so obviously bad she gets frustrated that I can’t see it as clearly as she does. As for my friend’s preferred candidate, who seems so unpresidential to me, to her he is a knight in shining armor.

Yet we’re watching the very same debates and interviews, and both have a basic a understanding of history and politics.

And so far I’m just talking about one party, with candidates with pretty much the same basic beliefs. Now switch to people in another party and multiply the Rorschach effects tenfold. I see strength. They see power-hungry. I see compassion. They see spendthrift. I see courage. They see naiveté. I see blowhard. They see leader. I see scary. They see hope.

How can we ever come together when we aren’t even seeing the same things?

Got any ideas? I have some thoughts, of course, but would very much like to hear and understand your thoughts on this. To me, that’s the first step toward any real change.

01-20-09!!!

I’m adding my voice to the many counting down the days until we have a new president. Since images have powers that even transcend the awesome power of words, put this date in your head:

01-20-09

This is the first day without George W. Bush as our president. Pass it around. Draw it in the sand. See it as the day our country begins to regain its sanity and its respect among the rest of the world. See it as a vision of peace and not war. Of concern for those who are hurting and not just for those who have and want more. A time to rethink how we spend our precious dollars and resources. And respect for more than the need to mark our territory and “win”, whatever that means in Bizarro speak.

In case you haven’t seen the site that’s made the date 01-20-09 into a passionate campaign (and, more power to them, successful business):

http://www.bushslastday.com

Amen to that.