I was awoken this morning by a call on my cell phone. I had hoped it might be someone calling to set up a phone interview for a potential job, but it turned out to be a phishing attempt.

I live three blocks from my gym. I'm now driving the three blocks back and forth every morning.

[in my defense, it's because walking aggravates my ankle, but stuff like the bike and the elliptical don't]

So Sony is going to replace my ereader for $100 (significantly less than buying even a refurbished one would be) but they only have the silver one available. I'm so going to miss my pretty red reader. :( Of course, it will also be a lot less likely to get lost when I put it down on any of the wood tables - the cover was a red-brown that under low light would blend in with the woods we have in the house. Perhaps I'll now invest in a fancy skin for it. I get it back in a week. So overall, \o/ with a bit of :(.

ETA: Apparently I posted too soon. I just got an email from Jason about a message on my home number (I HATE when people call my home number instead of my daytime number when I fill out a form that says daytime number.) that says that they do not have my model in silver either it turns out. They are able to offer me another model that comes in red, black or silver. Awesome. That's the 600, the touch screen model. Not crazy about it, but it's better than the 300. So I just called them up to say "Send me the red one!" and the very obviously lying about his name guy from overseas says that they'll send me the 300. Uh, no you won't. A) Someone already said they'd send the other model and B) the 300 is not comparable. It's smaller, does not have memory card slots and it's $100 less than what I paid for the reader original. If I'm going to take that hit, I'll buy a refurbished 505. That way I get what I want, especially since they're just going to slap a new screen in the one I sent in and resell it.

• 18:30 Being unemployed in Seattle in January is kind of a gauntlet for depression. If I can make it through this, I can make it through anything! #

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Start time: 1/5/10, 7:00am
Location: Thomas Jefferson Community Center
Distance: 3 miles
Average pace: 8:43min/mile
Total Miles For January: 11 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 11 miles

What's that about best laid plans and all that? I was supposed to run on Saturday with my group, but a towed car put an end to that. And while I should have run afterwards, it derailed me enough that it just didn't happen. Monday likewise ended up being a no-go. With the race this weekend, though, I needed to do something. Finally, I picked up a 3-miler at the gym this morning. It's just wretchedly cold out still, and I am supremely unmotivated right now. I just need a break. Except, of course, I also picked up some heavy duty holiday poundage that needs to go away. Argh. I've definitely been feeling it on these last few runs. Time to eat a little more frugally post-Disney.

Hopefully I'll get a swim in tomorrow; it's now been a month since I've made it over there. Yeesh!

(8:52, 8:34, 8:44)

Got a Today's Best Award for this stationary I noodled together yesterday!

Good morning, internets! How are you on this fucking freezing fine winter's day?

I don't think his approval ratings will improve until the unemployment rate starts dropping steadily. And even that might not be enough, the American people are tough to please right now, and the federal government is gonna hafta start cutting back on the deficit as soon as the economy improves (if not sooner).

Start time: 1/1/10, 4:30pm
Location: Wilson Boulevard, Bluemont Junction Trail, W&OD Trail, Washington Boulevard
Distance: 8 miles
Average pace: 9:34min/mile
Total Miles For January: 8 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 8 miles

Went out for an 8-miler with Charlie today, but we were both dragging—and that's despite not partying it up or drinking on New Year's Eve. Apparently we have both transformed into sloths. But we dragged ourselves through the course as best we could, and while it was a little bit slower than how I normally run it, I did it and I'm considering that a victory of sorts.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3370757

Can you believe it? I'm 39 today! Pretty nifty.

This has been a very busy holiday. Been having a great time with my family and with elsaf and judiang.

Have seen Avatar and it was pretty amazing. I was a little nauseous afterward, but not enough to prevent my enjoyment. (I'll probably not watch it in 3D again.)

We had a party last night at mom & dad's clubhouse. Mucho fun and Judi was quite impressed. Declared it superior to the one in her apartment complex.

Currently watching the Rose Parade (nice of those folks in Pasadena to put on a parade for my birthday every year!) while cooking dinner. Pork and kraut are cooking in the oven, taters are boiling on the stove (to be mashed later), beer bread warming on the stove top. The folks, Amy, and Rachel will be coming around 1pm. Judi's snoozing while I exclaim about neat floats. Elsa, alas, is driving home. She has to work later tonight.

After lunch, we'll play with the Wii. Should be fun. (Beatles Rock Band is mucho fun!)

Oooooh! Bootiful float going by. Dragon! Got the International award.

Should get back to paying attention to the parade.

BTW, question for any Rock Band fans out there: Is there any way to get multiple nicknames in the game? Right now, when we pick instruments, they all say "trinalin1," "trinalin2," etc.

For the past few years, I tracked which movies that I saw in the theatre. It was fun to look back and see how many (and what) I’d seen, and this year I decided to take it a step further and add books and graphic novels into the mix, with the help of Goodreads. (I also decided to allow movies I saw on DVD, even though that tally turned out to be just one.)

I ended up tying 2007’s movie tally with 20 films, and amusingly enough that was also the number of novels I read. As for graphic novels… well, let’s just say the final tally was a wee bit higher.

Movies:

1. The Women (the 1939 version)
2. Frost/Nixon
3. Watchmen
4. Every Little Step
5. Star Trek
6. Little Ashes
7. Away We Go
8. Up
9. Public Enemies
10. The Hurt Locker
11. (500) Days of Summer
12. Paris
13. Inglorious Basterds
14. An Education
15. Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ By Sapphire
16. A Room With a View
17. A Serious Man
18. Fantastic Mr. Fox
19. Up in the Air
20. A Single Man

Books:

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
2. Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
3. Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale
4. All Seated On The Ground by Connie Willis
5. Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
6. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
7. Sea, Swallow Me and Other Stories by Craig Laurance Gidney
8. The Cabinet of Light by Daniel O’Mahony
9. The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
10. Shell Shock by Simon A. Forward
11. Farthing by Jo Walton
12. The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories by John Kessel
13. Listening Is an Act of Love edited by Dave Isay
14. A Companion to Wolves by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear
15. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane Austen
16. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
17. Psycho by Robert Bloch
18. After the Quake by Haruki Murakami
19. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
20. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

( Read the rest of this entry » )

[Originally published at gregmce.com. You can comment here or there.]

Another list for another year.

Car & Travel Tasks
1. TRAVEL somewhere warm for Reading Week - i've booked it off!
2. Visit Maple Syrup festival in February(?).
3. TRAVEL to Ottawa for the Tulip Festival, May 7-4 2010 (also, Ottawa museums).
4. Visit a winery again.
5. Boys' weekend? Ha ha.
6. Plan what to do in an ACCIDENT.
7. Learn how to use a CARWASH, so i'm not stuck doing it at home. Ideally some automatic thing.
8. Get car DETAILED.
9. TRAVEL somewhere during the summer (realistically): Montreal, Vancouver, and/or New York, (unrealistically): British Isles, France, Japan or Australia, San Diego SDCC? (I doubt there are any tickets left...).
10. Book travel for San Diego SDCC 2011?
11. TRAVEL somewhere (NY or Vegas?) for Christmas.
12-17. Eat at these RESTAURANTS: Frank (AGO), Loire, Tati (Harbord), Melanie’s Bistro (1870 Danforth), Tandoori Culture (940 Brock Rd South), George Brown Chefs' House (215 King Street East, Mon to Fri, lunch and dinner)

Arts &c Tasks
18. NEW Halloween costume, well in advance of October.
19. NEW Digital SLR camera (interchangeable lenses, you can focus properly).
20. FRAME picture for M&J.
21. PHOTO picture for M&J before i give it to them (ha ha).

Digital Tasks
22. Get stuff off those VHS tapes and into digital format.
23. Try to get data off the old PERCEPTION system.
24. Create a digital version of my COMICS CATALOG.
25. Finish scanning all the photos I have, turn them into a DIGITAL ALBUM (replacing the old physical ones), with captions - an enormous job (one day....).
26. Change PASSWORDS for various email addresses and eBay, again. Should do it every year.
27. Update VIN page, again.
28. Keep fixing BLOG issues.
29. Update ONLINE PORTFOLIO.

Health Tasks
30. Get EYES checked.

Learning Tasks
31. Learn ILLUSTRATOR (not a priority).

Junk &c Tasks
32. Get rid of old VINYL albums.
33. Clean out shelves/closets/dressers of unwanted JUNK.
34. I'd like to find a place to RECYCLE worn clothing, stuff that's not useable, like old socks and such.
35. I think i need to do a major cull, of what COMICS i have, and what i'm buying.
36. Take COMICS downstairs.
37. New BOOKCASE.
38. L&R have some of my negatives - one day i'd like to get them back.
39. I think Matt has some of my letters from him - they're missing anyway.

Home & Financial Tasks
40. FIND A PLACE OF MY OWN.
41. Will have to think MORTGAGE.
42. Do a proper BUDGET - I used to have one when I made much less money.
43. Do something with my PC Points. Annoyingly, now you can use them only for in-store stuff (i used to trade them for Chapters cards or movie cards).
44. Do something with my AIRMILES Points. Well, i barely have enough form a single movie card, ha ha.

Fashion &c Tasks
45. Need new CLOTHES for exercising.
46. Get some new DRESS CLOTHES.
47. Need dressier SHOES.
48. New black GLOVES and BOOTS (next winter).
49. New SUNGLASSES (last pair broke, other pair missing).

Reading Tasks
50. Read the book on BRITISH LEGENDS i bought but let sit.
51. Read HITCHERHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY.
52. Read final HARRY POTTER book.
53. Read the COMICS I've let sit (Batman from the late 90s).
54. Read the COMICS I've let sit (Hellblazer from the late 90s).
55. Read the other crap on my dresser.

Music Tasks
56. Get soundtrack of ON VA S'AIMER 2006.
57. Get soundtrack of J'AURAIS VOULU ETRE UN DANSEUR.

Movie Tasks (this is 18 movies)
58. Rent or see this Tomu Uchida THE MAD FOX 1962
59. Rent or see this Godard film: 1964 UNE FEMME MARIÉE, FRAGMENTS D'UN FILM TOURNÉ EN 1964 EN NOIR ET BLANC (A MARRIED WOMAN: FRAGMENTS OF A FILM SHOT IN 1964 IN BLACK AND WHITE)
60. Rent or see this anime: WONDERFUL DAYS (SKY BLUE) (Korean)
61. Rent or see this anime: THE PLACE PROMISED IN OUR EARLY DAYS
62. Rent or see this anime: THE BOOK OF THE DEAD
63. Rent or see this Peter Chan (Hong Kong) PERHAPS LOVE 2005 (Oscar nominee)
64. Rent or see this Demy film: 1979 LADY OSCAR
65. Rent or see this John Hughes film: 1984 SIXTEEN CANDLES
66. Rent or see this John Hughes film: 1985 BREAKFAST CLUB
67. Rent or see this John Hughes film: 1985 WEIRD SCIENCE
68. Rent or see this Serge Boson LA FRANCE 2007
69. Rent or see this Eddie Izzard dvd: SEXIE
70. Rent or see this Eddie Izzard dvd: LIVE AT THE AMBASSADOR
    Rent or see (at least) 5 of these Kurosawa films:
71-75. 1943 SANSHIRO SUGATA (JUDO SAGA), 1944 THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, 1945 SANSHIRO SUGATA PART II (JUDO SAGA 2),1946 ONE WONDERFUL SUNDAY, 1948 DRUNKEN ANGEL, 1949 THE QUIET DUEL, 1955 RECORD OF A LIVING BEING (I LIVE IN FEAR), 1970 DODESUKADEN, 1975 DERSU UZALA, 1990 DREAMS, 1991 RHAPSODY IN AUGUST, 1993 MADADAYO (NOT YET), 1945 THE MEN WHO TREAD ON THE TIGER'S TAIL (tried to rent, but it was damaged)
[seen: STRAY DOG, SCANDAL, RASHOMON, IKIRU (TO LIVE), THE IDIOT, SEVEN SAMURAI, NO REGRETS FOR OUR YOUTH, THRONE OF BLOOD (SPIDER WEB CASTLE), THE LOWER DEPTHS, THE HIDDEN FORTRESS, RED BEARD, HIGH AND LOW (HEAVEN AND HELL), THE BAD SLEEP WELL, KAGEMUSHA, YOJIMBO, SANJURO, RAN].
76. Go to TIFF again.

Shows
77. FRIENDS' CORPS NIGHT (tour): Thursday, May 6, 2010.
78. BALLET working rehearsal: Feb 11 or May 18, 2009.
79. BALLET Swan Lake rehearsal: March 10, 2010.
80-85. See Bands in a Club at least 6 times.

Health Ongoing
86. EAT BETTER. I need to eat more fruit and vegetables.
87. FLOSS and use that weird little rubber thing every day.
88. Daily VITAMINS.
89. SLEEP!
90. SWIM at least once a week during the summer.
91. I'd love for my Massage Therapy to be done.
92. LOSE WEIGHT - very unhealthy.
93. EXERCISE - more yoga/pilates, more weight-based.

Arts Ongoing
94. DRAWING - fill a sketchbook. (TRY AGAIN!)
95. PAINTING.
96. PRINT-MAKING.
97. More PHOTOGRAPHY.
98. LIFE DRAWING - hopefully there’ll be classes going on this term.
99. DRAWING - cartoony.
100. DRAWING - 100 people (that's at least 8 a month).

Digital Ongoing
101. Organize my data BACK UP system.

Home & Financial Ongoing
102. Stop WASTING my time online.
103. Regular SAVINGS (downpayment).
104. Regular SAVINGS (RSP).
105. CLEAN, dust and vacuum more regularly.
106. Take the new comics DOWNSTAIRS regularly.

Another list for another year. I had some serious successes (vacations in Cuba and New York), and some not-so-successes (art, place to live).

Car & Travel Tasks
1. Arrange a vacation for Reading Week - i've booked it off! (DONE! I went to Cuba!)
2. Visit a winery in the winter. (DONE! First weekend of January, lol.)
3. Plan what to do in an ACCIDENT. (FAIL!)
4. Learn how to use a CARWASH, so i'm not stuck doing it at home. Ideally some automatic thing. (FAIL!)
5. TRAVEL somewhere during the summer (realistically): Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver, and/or New York. (New York in the summer AND Ottawa in October - DONE!)
6. TRAVEL to San Diego SDCC? (FAIL!)
7. TRAVEL somewhere (unrealistically): British Isles, France, Japan or Australia. (FAIL!)
8. Try to be better organized before Christmas, arrange a trip to NY or Vegas. (FAIL - except i did visit New York AND Ottawa!)

Arts &c Tasks
9. Finish Halloween costume ASAP, well in advance of October - at least finish last one, proper hat, suspenders. (DONE!)
10-11. Possibly new cameras - (a) high-end one with interchangeable lenses, you can focus properly, (FAIL!)
(b) small one you can use in places like a club - i like my current one, which is good 90% of the time, but that 10% is frustrating. (DONE!)
12. Buy an ukiyo-e print. (DONE!)

Digital Tasks
13. Get stuff off those VHS tapes and into digital format. (FAIL!)
14. Try to get data off the old PERCEPTION system.(Mostly FAIL, but some of it i got in digital format from Dar.)
15. Organize my data BACK UP system. (Done, but need to back up more reguarly.)
16. Do something with my personal LJ (not the madlycool one). (FAIL!)
17. Create a digital version of my COMICS CATALOG. (FAIL!)
18. Finish scanning all the photos I have, turn them into a DIGITAL ALBUM (replacing the old physical ones), with captions - an enormous job (one day....). (FAIL!)
19. Change PASSWORDS for various email addresses and eBay, again. Should do it every year. (FAIL!)
20. Will have to update VIN page, again. (DONE!)
21. Convert the name of any .JPG files to .jpg, standardize on my website and blog (annoyingly sometimes they're seen as identical, sometimes not). (DONE!)

Learning Tasks
22. Learn ILLUSTRATOR (not a priority). (FAIL!)

Junk &c Tasks
23. Get rid of old VINYL albums. (FAIL!)
24. Clean out shelves/closets/dressers of my stuff. (DONE!)
25. I'd like to find a place to RECYCLE worn clothing, stuff that's not useable, like old socks and such. (FAIL!)
26. I think i need to do a major cull, of what COMICS i have, and what i'm buying. (FAIL!)
27. Take COMICS downstairs. (FAIL!)
28. L&R have some of my negatives - one day i'd like to get them back. (FAIL!)
29. I think Matt has some of my letters from him - they're missing anyway. (FAIL!)
30. Toss out old electronics. (FAIL!)

Home & Financial Tasks
31. FIND A PLACE OF MY OWN. (FAIL!)
32. Will have to think MORTGAGE. (FAIL!)
33. Do a proper BUDGET - I used to have one when I made much less money. (FAIL!)
34. Get a rice cooker (wait for when i move...). (FAIL!)
35. Do something with my PC Points. (DONE!)
36. Do something with my Airmiles Points. (DONE!)

Fashion &c Tasks
37. Need SHOES and CLOTHES for exercising. (DONE!)
38. Get some new DRESS CLOTHES. (FAIL!)
39. Need dressier SHOES. (FAIL!)

Reading Tasks
40. Read the book on BRITISH LEGENDS i bought but let sit. (FAIL!)
41. Read HITCHERHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. (FAIL!)
42. Read final HARRY POTTER book. (FAIL!)
43. Read the TARTAN book I bought and is just sitting. (DONE!)
44. Read the COMICS I've let sit (Batman from the late 90s). (FAIL!)
45. Read the COMICS I've let sit (Hellblazer from the late 90s). (FAIL!)

Music Tasks
46. Get soundtrack of ON VA S'AIMER 2006. (FAIL!)
47. Get soundtrack of J'AURAIS VOULU ETRE UN DANSEUR. (FAIL!)

Movie Tasks (ha, this is 24 movies)
48. Rent or see THE MAD FOX 1962 by Tomu Uchida (FAIL!)
49. Rent or see this Godard film: 1962 VIVRE SA VIE (TO LIVE ONE'S LIFE, MY LIFE TO LIVE) (DONE!)
50. Rent or see this Godard film: 1964 UNE FEMME MARIÉE, FRAGMENTS D'UN FILM TOURNÉ EN 1964 EN NOIR ET BLANC (A MARRIED WOMAN: FRAGMENTS OF A FILM SHOT IN 1964 IN BLACK AND WHITE) (FAIL!)
51. Rent or see this Godard film: 1966 MADE IN U.S.A. (DONE!)
52. Rent or see this anime: WONDERFUL DAYS (SKY BLUE) (Korean)(FAIL!)
53. Rent or see this anime: THE PLACE PROMISED IN OUR EARLY DAYS (FAIL!)
54. Rent or see this anime: THE BOOK OF THE DEAD (FAIL!)
55. Rent or see PERHAPS LOVE 2005 (Oscar nominee) by Peter Chan (Hong Kong). (FAIL!)
56. Rent or see this Demy film: 1962 LA BAIE DES ANGES (DONE!)
57. Rent or see this Demy film: 1970 PEAU D'ÂNE (THE DONKEY SKIN OR THE MAGIC DONKEY) (DONE!)
58. Rent or see this Demy film: 1979 LADY OSCAR (FAIL!)
59. Rent or see this John Hughes film: 1984 SIXTEEN CANDLES (FAIL!)
60. Rent or see this John Hughes film: 1985 BREAKFAST CLUB (FAIL!)
61. Rent or see this John Hughes film: 1985 WEIRD SCIENCE (FAIL!)
62. Rent or see this John Hughes film: 1986 PRETTY IN PINK (DONE!)
    Rent or see (at least) 5 of these Kurosawa films: (Only 2 - i have some sitting on my desktop, but need to figure out hhooking up laptop to mesozoic TV.)
63-67. 1943 SANSHIRO SUGATA (JUDO SAGA), 1944 THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, 1945 SANSHIRO SUGATA PART II (JUDO SAGA 2), 1946 NO REGRETS FOR OUR YOUTH (DONE!), 1946 ONE WONDERFUL SUNDAY, 1948 DRUNKEN ANGEL, 1949 THE QUIET DUEL, 1955 RECORD OF A LIVING BEING (I LIVE IN FEAR), 1970 DODESUKADEN, 1975 DERSU UZALA, 1980 KAGEMUSHA (DONE!), 1990 DREAMS, 1991 RHAPSODY IN AUGUST, 1993 MADADAYO (NOT YET), 1945 THE MEN WHO TREAD ON THE TIGER'S TAIL (tried to rent, but it was damaged)
[seen: STRAY DOG, SCANDAL, RASHOMON, IKIRU (TO LIVE), THE IDIOT, SEVEN SAMURAI, THRONE OF BLOOD (SPIDER WEB CASTLE), THE LOWER DEPTHS, THE HIDDEN FORTRESS, RED BEARD, HIGH AND LOW (HEAVEN AND HELL), THE BAD SLEEP WELL, YOJIMBO, SANJURO, RAN].
68. Rent or see Serge Boson's LA FRANCE 2007. (FAIL!)
69. Rent or see this Eddie Izzard dvd: CIRCLE. (DONE!)
70. Rent or see this Eddie Izzard dvd: SEXIE (FAIL!)
71. Rent or see this Eddie Izzard dvd: LIVE AT THE AMBASSADOR (FAIL!)

Shows
72. FRIENDS' CORPS NIGHT (tour): Wednesday, April 8, 2009. (DONE!)
73. BALLET working rehearsal: Feb 11, 2009. (FAIL - missed it!)
74. BALLET Romeo & Juliet rehearsal: March 10, 2009. (DONE!)
75. BALLET working rehearsal: May 6, 2009. (DONE!)
76-81. See Bands in a Club at least 6 times. (DONE!)
82: CIRQUE DE SOLEIL NEW SHOW: Sep 5, 2009. (DONE! twice!)

Health Ongoing
83. EAT BETTER - this would definitely be easier if I were on my own. Why don't i crave fruit? I need to eat more fruit and vegetables. (FAIL!)
84. I still ought to FLOSS and use that weird little rubber thing every day. (Mostly FAIL! Although i floss semi-regularly)
85. Take my daily VITAMINS. (DONE!)
86. SLEEP! - seriously, i think it got to the point where i was so sleep deprived it was hurting my health. (FAIL!)
87. Go swimming at least once a week during the summer. (UTTER FAIL!)
88. Get a massage (having discovered how to do the physio, i think i'd like to get an occasional massage paid for through school). (DONE!)
89. LOSE WEIGHT - i've still got at least 50 lbs of unwanted fat. It looks awful, and is very unhealthy. (FAIL!)
90. EXERCISE - it needs to be aerobic, and i still like the idea of yoga, tai chi and swimming. I just wish i had someone to do it with (at least three times each week). (Started - taking yoga classes.)

Arts Ongoing
91. DRAWING - fill a sketchbook. (TRY AGAIN!) (SUPER-FAIL! i did a very tiny bit)
92. PAINTING. (FAIL!)
93. PRINT-MAKING. (FAIL!)
94. More PHOTOGRAPHY. (DONE!)
95. LIFE DRAWING - hopefully there’ll be classes going on this term. (DONE!)
96. DRAWING - cartoony. (FAIL!)
97. DRAWING - 100 people (that's at last 8 a month). (FAIL!)

Home & Financial Ongoing
98. Stop WASTING my time online. (FAIL!)
99. Regular SAVINGS (downpayment). (DOING!)
100. Regular SAVINGS (RSP). (DOING!)
101. CLEAN, dust and vacuum more regularly. I guess that means launder sheets more too. (FAIL!)
102. Take the new comics DOWNSTAIRS regularly. (FAIL!)

Originally published at Elizabeth Genco. You can comment here or there.

There’s a little-known yet widely-practiced Universal Law called The Law Of Sacrifice.

“Sacrifice” is a scary word - often a trigger word for people, in fact. (As in, it triggers fear, doubt, wigging out and other non-resourceful states.) But the truth is, you practice the Law Of Sacrifice all the time.

When you give the cashier at Starbucks your $4 for your triple-shot-foam-half-caf-mocha-latte-whateverthehellit’scalled, you are participating in the Law Of Sacrifice. (You can tell that I’m not one for coffee culture.)

When I go to Xena’s and sit down in Jenna’s chair for my regular cut n’ color, or open up one of Joanna’s newsletters and see one of her beautiful amulets and scoot on over to Paypal so I can call dibs on it before it’s gone (!) - again, that’s the Law Of Sacrifice in action.

Quite simply, the Law Of Sacrifice states that you have to give up something to get something. Money - i.e., paying for something you really want - is one such sacrifice. But it’s only one. (And it’s not even the most powerful, really.)

It’s New Year’s Eve, and if you’re like most creative people I know, you’ve probably thought at least a little about what you want to manifest in the coming year. (Me too.) And if you’re like most creative people I know, your list is loooong. (Me too! ) In order to bring those yummy, delicious things into your life, you’ll need to create some space for them.

Creating space - that is, letting things go - is the second half of stating a bold intention. After all, it’s hard for the Divine to bring you what you want if there’s no space for Her to put it!

Of course, She could make space for you - but that’s usually pretty uncomfortable. It’s better to be pro-active about this. So here’s a quick ritual to help you do just that.

All you’ll need for this ritual is a quiet space, clarity of mind, an open heart, a journal, and a pen. (You might want to dim the lights and light a candle or something. Whatever allows you to relax, turn down the chattering brain and get in touch with your true self.) And…

You’ll also need a clear, focused intention. Here’s what I mean…

Before you start this ritual, take a look at whatever visioning and planning notes you’ve made so far - i.e., that long list of things you’d like to manifest in the coming year. Select the number ONE thing. (Yes, the tippy-top priority. The answer to the question, “What ONE thing would I be wildly happy and grateful for creating in 2010?”) Bring that clear, focused intention to your sacred space.

In your space, take a moment or two to relax and create the clarity of mind that I mentioned earlier. Let all doubts, fears, and niggling thoughts just fall away. Bring your attention to your focused intention for 2010.

Imagine that it’s December 31, 2010 - one year from now. And that you have created exactly what you set out to create. Imagine yourself experiencing it, in the here and now.

Create the picture as vividly as you can. Once you have that picture firmly in your mind, and you are experiencing it in the here-and-now… ask yourself one question:

“What have I let go of in order to be here?”

Listen carefully for the message from your inner self and write down whatever comes to you. Resist the urge to judge your answer. Simply receive the message. After you have your answer, bid your future self adieu and return to the present.

Take a look at the answer you received. What do you need to let go of? Is it an object, such as clutter, “stuff” you bought for a past dream or intention, or leftovers from an “old” version of you? Is it a habit, or a manner of thinking about the world or yourself? If it’s the latter, I guarantee that you’re living with a manifestation of whatever it is here on the physical plane, too - some object in your physical space.

No matter what, it’s time to release it. Gather up whatever it is and make a date to get RID of it. (I highly recommend Freecycle, by the by.)

Heads up: completing this ritual may bring on the strong urge to clear out your space. This is great! Remember, you don’t have to do it all at once, so don’t get frustrated or in a snit about it. Just get started.

Here’s to manifesting everything you want in 2010!

Wednesday was sushi lunch with Chris, Matt, Torrie & Felicia. After, i was able to get a hold of Russ, who was out photographing, and meet him on Lakeshore Road between Port Hope and Newcastle, closer to Port Hope. Lakeshore Road is pretty desolate (and good thing i didn't need my phone - most of the time i had very little signal.

( Lakeshore Road between Newcastle and Port Hope pics )

As i was taking shots of the ice, a stronger wave came in and got my foot and leg wet. I stepped back and paused to take a photo, my feet slipped forward and i landed with a thud. I hit my arse, back, left hand and right forearm. I hit so hard, wind knocked out of me, that i couldn't speak - took a few minutes before i could recover enough to actually speak. The only visible injuries are a bruise/swollen blood vessel on my left thumb, and red streak on my upper left back. I'm feeling kind of beat up today (day after).

( Lakeshore Road between Newcastle and Port Hope pics )

After, Russ and i went back to their place. Lisa and the girls returned home from a birthday party, and i had dinner there, and played a bit of their new Wii (Mario Kart).

On the way home last, i saw some roadkill on the 401. Then, a lot of blood. A LOT. More chunks of roadkill, wtf. Holy crap! Avoid hitting the arse end of what i assume had been a deer!

I had an odd bit of dream last night. I was lying in what i assume was my bed, but propped up a bit on pillows, and saw these lines coming from my ribs, going down my torso, kind of like tendons or veins (like, i only saw them because of the way i was positioned). I asked Lisa about them - was i in her living room? - and she she said they were called strawberry frenetti. WTF. Ha ha ha...

I just dropped my ereader and I think I fucked it up completely.

Shit.

This morning, I did my first cycling workout, in lieu of my normal running workout.

[the spinning class I was going to hit was canceled,so I did two sets of 30 minutes each -- first was 5 minutes easy, 20 minutes of 30 seconds very hard/30 seconds recovery, 5 minutes easy. Second was 30 minutes at medium hard intensity]

Resolved: I need a pair of padded shorts if I'm going to be doing this for any extended amount of time. OUCH

Another worthwhile manga is the series Mushishi. A Mushi-shi is essentially a kind of exorcist, who removes or contains hostile supernatural spirits (known as 'mushi'). The book follows one such person, named Ginko.

Ginko spends his life wandering from place to place, dealing with the mushi that are causing problems, though he can't stay in anyone place too long, or he begins to attract the mushi.

It's set in Japan's past, mostly in small villages and the countryside, rather than among samurai or nobles, and with the daily struggle to survive than wars or politics. Thus it has a timeless quality - except for Ginko, who wears rather modern looking clothes (a leftover from an earlier version where it was set in modern times).

It's an episodic series - there's no overall story arc (although we do occasionally jump to scenes of Ginko's youth). There's no extreme violence, or screwball comedy, or histrionic drama - it's more atmospheric and moody, and beautifully drawn. It really grows on you (but watch out, that may be a mushi).

A manga series i cannot recommend highly enough is Naoki Urasawa's Pluto (more officially, Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka).

It's a remake, essentially of Osamu Tezuka's AstroBoy (in Japanese, "Mighty Atom"), more specifically, the story arc known as 'The Greatest Robot on Earth'. Instead of AstroBoy being the star of some light-hearted adventure, it is a murder mystery thriller, but starring a robotic detective named Gesicht (whose counterpart in the original was a secondary character).

It's set in the future, where robots are commonplace. Many look like robot toys, others look human, none are supposed to feel real emotions. They are all supposed to be bound by Asimov's Laws of Robotics (1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.).

It is some years after a brutal war, in which some of the most powerful robots practically destroyed a country. Someone or something is now destroying those robots (and others, such as Atom). Gesicht is assigned the case.