Scribble Pad

Romanian Food Festival

2009-11-07T23:08:00.005-06:00

I love sarmale. That's right, food talk first. The Romanian Food Festival held in Colleyville at St. Mary's Romanian Orthodox Church is small, but well organized with plenty of food. It reminds me in a way of a tiny ren festival without the bad English accents. You park in the grass, there's a row of food vendors, constant live music, pick nick tables, and people in costume walking about--but instead of pirates and women in bodices you have dancers in traditional Romanian outfits and little girls in their gymnastics cloths.

Today was the perfect day to play outside. It was almost 80 degrees, sunny, and breezy. That's the weather, now back to the food.

Sarmale are cooked sour cabbage rolls stuffed with finely ground pork and rice, covered with tomato sauce. Good stuff. We passed on the corn, beans, and cabbage salad. Today was definitely a naughty day. We continued on the carnivorous track we had set out on today and had the mititei, a grilled a skinless sausage (probably pork as well) served with mustard. That's all I could handle. Hubby had a bit of grilled lamb as well.

The only non-meat dish we had was an enormous chunk of bread and a pastry that I thought was an enormous goldfish, but was a actually supposed to be shaped like Romania. It tasted sort of like a semisweet glazed donut with lemon zest. Yum.

You'd think that would be enough, but no. About four hours after we left the festival we ended up eating tacos. Unless the salsa and the onion and cilantro toppings count as salad, it was a meat and tortillas feast. I enjoyed every minute. I feel incredible heavy and sleepy (shocker), but I don't care. It was good!

Tomorrow we have a couple of festive and naughty things to attend as well, so I suspect this coming week I'll be living on juice and attempting to digest the weekend.

Japanese Pop is Just Cool

2009-10-26T13:34:00.000-05:00

Laughter and Whispers

2009-10-26T13:11:00.005-05:00

Guest post by Adolfo Nicolai

I dreamed of a beautiful house
Nestled in a draw, gently framed by whispering pines.
In it lived a family, my family.

And the laughter joined the whispers
Every morning.

Comments fixed

2009-10-15T09:24:00.000-05:00

Apparently, the comments on Scribble Pad were messed up and people couldn't leave their comment. Sorry about that! It should be fixed now. Thanks for letting me know!

Chronous' Wheel

2009-10-14T14:08:00.005-05:00

Guest post by Adolfo Nicolai

There is a silent destination
In the order that is life,
Where all of your frustrations
Flow from all too human strife.
Where plans last till the ink dries,
Yet always end the same.
Where years on years of hard work
Become the never ending game.
And so I have to ask,
How is one to win?
When men and mice on wheels aboard
On good 'ol Chronous' wheel?

Constant Sparks in a Relationship

2009-10-04T15:05:00.008-05:00

This morning we were doing the modern digital equivalent of reading the Sunday paper together: two laptops on the dining room table with a cup of Tulsi on the side. Hubby started reading off a link he ran into while I tweeted with writing buddies and translators round the world.

I guess it's because we saw He's Just Not That Into You at a friend's house last night, but he got to reading an article called 11 Reasons He Dumped You. One phrase jumped out at me.

"I know a relationship is not supposed to be exciting all the time, so getting through those flatline moments between the sparks is critical."

While I understand the importance of this for adrenaline junkies, the desire for constant sparks is not something I've ever directly understood. It's too exhausting. Frankly, I don't need to "get through" those supposedly flatline moments. I love the easy comfort of familiarity.

Why must sparks fly all the time? I mean, the reason sparklers are so cool to stare at is because they stand out. If we stared at a sparkler non-stop, every waking hour of every day, we would first get sick of it... or possible trigger photosensitive epilepsy. That would suck. And then, post convulsions, we'd eventually become so used to the sparkler, we wouldn't even notice it anymore.

No, no constant sparks for me, thank you. I prefer the exhilaration of real intimacy that includes sparks, but also offers ever so much more.

Morpheus: captain of the Nebuchadnezzar and life coach

2009-09-28T10:55:00.013-05:00

Let me start by clarifying how much I love my life. I very much do. The big three are covered: family, friends, professional fulfillment. No problem.

There are, however, days that getting up and duking it out in the world is exhausting to even think about.

Today was one of those mornings. I woke up with an odd combination of happy and frightened. Not quite paralyzed, just periodically having that sinking sensation that reminds me of big drops on a roller coaster. (I hate roller coasters, by the way. Excitement is great. Fear of plummeting to my death is not.)

Anyone with variable income surely knows what I'm talking about. It's a blast to do what you love, but going it alone means taking care of all of it alone. It's all so overwhelming sometimes. Even with a business partner (mine is incredible), the freelance life can challenge my sanity at times.

So after dealing with a couple of figurative fires this morning, I decided I needed a laugh. Off I go to my Google Reader to see if the blogs I read have anything to offer. And there it was. The title read "I'm exactly like Morpheus (How to turn your life totally backward in six months)."

I didn't care so much about the part in parentheses (not today, anyway), but the Morpheus comment got me reading. Keep in mind I was looking for a laugh. This blogger is nuts, and that's why I like him.

"I’m totally like Morpheus. Planet overrun by sentient machines, two hundred years of underground oppression, shirtless and covered with data ports. But after two hundred tenants who won’t pay their rent and two hundred late client payments and two hundred bogus $400 citations from the city for not mowing grass that was actually mowed, I AM STILL HERE!"

I'm still a bit freaked out, but now I have a mental image of standing on that rock platform in an underground cave, a sea of freelancers and small business owners before me, and all of us shaking our fists intensely at the powers that be!

With several sentient creatures complicating my life, deals put on hold, projects suddenly dropped, and clients that are months late on their payments, I AM STILL HERE!

So you know what? Bring it on!

Blogs I Read

2009-09-21T18:22:00.009-05:00

Back in January I posted three of the blogs I read. I can't believe it's already September. Time to share.

I've since weeded through my blog list--it got way too long. At one point I had something on the order of 200 unread posts. Clearly, I wasn't going to go back and read all of that. So I axed the stuff I seemed to skip a lot.

There are still too many blogs on my list. For now, here are three more.

mnmlist.com

This is a blog by Leo Babauta. I've been a Zen Habits reader for I good while now. I guess two years or so. Anyway, mnmlist is a useful blog.

Yoga for Cynics

The title alone is worth a visit! This guy is fun. He's my kind of Yogi. While not aggressive toward others, his vocab is not always rated G, so if that offends you... I can't bring myself to warn you against him. Visit anyway, just ignore the wirty dords.

Conversational Tangents

This blog is brand new. What's the attraction? It's written by someone called Eloquent Mime.

Bright Star

2009-09-18T15:51:00.007-05:00

Almost forgot to mention! We saw a screening of Bright Star on Wednesday. It's the story of 19th century poet John Keats, played by Ben Wishaw, and his love affair with Fanny Brawne, played by Abbie Cornish. It's a visually beautiful and very moving film.

Here's a review from the NY Times by A. O. Scott that I agree with. The projects on my desk demand my attention, so I have to pass on writing my own review. That said, it's definitely worth seeing.

My favorite quote by Scott in the review:

"Ms. Campion, with her restless camera movements and off-center close-ups, films history in the present tense..."

A Good Writing Week!

2009-09-18T13:43:00.006-05:00

The last couple of weeks have been big time writing weeks for me. I started out typing a little report of sorts on business networking. The idea was to market it at Las Colinas Online, one of the sites I write for. Of course, in an effort to save time, I went ahead and outlined it keeping in mind that I might be using it for a short presentation I'm giving in the next few months.

Well, that little report that was planned at about 10 pages has turned into a (so far) 30-page ebook. Two readers and one editor later, I'm still tweaking. Happy days!

More on this at my translation blog, Mark it Right.

Revisiting Adolescence

2009-09-08T05:05:00.002-05:00

So it's year three of regression day! To recap: every year, my long time friend ET and I play hookie. We run away from our lives for an entire day.

The first year, we hit the water park. After running around soaking wet, screaming our heads of on the Texas Tornado, picnicking under a tree (eating nothing but junk), we decided it felt so much like being teenagers again that it deserved to be a new tradition.

So year two came along. We almost had a teen-like fit when we drove the half hour to the water park only to find that our favorite ride was closed for repairs. But tradition is tradition... even if it's brand new. We did exactly as we would have done had we actually been sixteen: we hunted down another pool play area.

This year fate tried to mess with us again. After carefully planning around our complicated lives, we had identified the perfect day. That morning we were awakened by the sounds of thunder--sounds the whether forecasters had promised would be no more. But regression can't and mustn't be neglected!

Instead we treated ourselves to an indoor day of putt-putt golf, mall loitering, bowling (regular and our new speed version), salty pretzels, and other such roaming. Though it was an excellent day of uselessness, we were left with sad longing for the water park. There's something about the sweet smell of tropical sun block that just takes us back, you know?

Well, I guess the universe sensed the teenage angst we had managed to muster because ET won Hurricane Harbor tickets at work.

And this year the Texas Tornado was open! We even made friends with two girls in line who shared the second ride down the Tornado with us. I say "second" because the Tornado demands at least three turns. It's a 7.5-story drop into an enormous 60-foot diameter funnel--possible the only scenario in which we can still laugh and screech maniacally in public without alarming others or being shipped to the funny farm.

The day ended with Chinese take-out in front of the TV and hours of talking and drinking way too much soda.

Regression is so satisfying! I highly recommend it.

pic by Valerie Everett

Schwartzenegger in Japanese Commercials

2009-09-05T14:23:00.004-05:00

Jill at Musings of an Overworked Translator posted this hysterical video. I'm so disturbed! LOL.

Social Media Song

2009-08-21T11:23:00.003-05:00

The social media chain: I found this YouTube video embedded on a blog I got off a tweet. Watch it. It's funny.... and so true!

A Green Reference Guide

2009-08-14T10:18:00.023-05:00

Inspired by Eco Yogini's post on bamboo products and environmental ratings, I went on a hunt for information on eco-certifications and the like.

In my search for green standards, I ran into an article that mentioned GoodGuide. The site is still in its beta phase, but it's already a handy link. Definitely worth sharing. There are lists of products without HFCS (I swear, that stuff is impossible to avoid), feature articles, and rated products.

The rating system is nice. Everything is rated on three criteria:

Health Performance
Environmental Performance
Social Performance

And then there's an explanation for the why the product got the rating that it got. I like the transparency of the system.

If you know of other similar green rating systems, I'd be interested to check them out.

What's your favorite poem?

2009-08-07T15:40:00.004-05:00

When I started my twitter account I had the very cool experience of getting followed by a famous author I actually read: Paulo Coelho. Of course, I followed back--though I don't think he's following me anymore. Not shocking considering the thousands of people he tweets with. That or I bored him. LOL!

Anyway, he tweets all sorts of interesting little bits that are a nice pick-me-up during the day. And he tweets when he posts to his blog.

I'm a bit behind on my social media fun, but about 5 days go he published a post inviting people to share their favorite poem. I'm just now going to sit amongst my beloved books and browse my poetry collection. In the mean time, I'll share with you guys a poem I very much enjoyed that was posted on Paulo Coelho's blog by another reader. Hopefully you'll get inspired and share your favorite poem, too.

The Invitation
by Oriah

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon…
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

The Great Raid

2009-08-04T13:33:00.016-05:00

Do you have friends that are so consistent they practically plan spontaneity? So, my über predictable friend in a rare moment of out-of-the-box behavior wasn't answering her phone some nights ago. No big deal, right?

Well, I was nearby and she's a night owl, so I drove by. Her car was in front of the house, and all lights were on. Naturally, I walked up and rang the doorbell. Nothing. I walked around the back of the house and called out to her, considering she might be in the back yard. Nothing.

So--to keep the retelling shorter than the 1 hour raid--I called for backup. I rang she-with-the-back-up key. As I waited for her, I continued the calling, knocking, and doorbell ringing. Nothing. My partner in crime showed up. We broke in. My partner headed for the kitchen. I ran to the bedroom. My sleeping friend jumped out of her skin.

Oops. Yeah, I inadvertently scared the absolute hell out of my sleeping friend.

Far from being angry, she was completely amused at our mission. We apologized profusely--especially me, since I was the mastermind behind the charade. I'm just glad she has a good sense of humor.

And we've decided we're not subtle and she's the heaviest sleeper we know.

pic by Veeyawn

Protests Against Universal Health Care

2009-07-24T09:45:00.010-05:00

There are protesters in my neighborhood that show up with signs to stand outside the senator's office and loudly demand the government stay out of personal health care. They want their individual right to choose who, how, when how much... I get it.

What I find frustrating isn't their objection to universal health care. To be honest, their plea resonates with me in many ways. I too prefer less government involvement in general. The protesters, though, don't seem to have reasonable alternatives.

I hear things like "when people lose their insurance, they should just buy individual insurance". But most people losing their insurance are losing it because they lost their job. They are either unemployed or have had to accept a lower paying job while they find a better solution. Who chooses to pay hundreds of dollars to a policy when they have basic needs to tend to--like a roof, food, and a car in a city with horrendous public transportation.

As I see it, we already have a sort of universal health care. A person loses their job, gets sick... and shows up in the E.R. to tend to the common cold. Why? The E.R. can't turn them away. They get medical attention whether they pay or not, or we end up with epidemics. And that bill? Doctors, nurses, property owners and the like still have to get paid. So we pay them... with public money.

It makes sense to me to streamline the process, give everyone the basics so a $600 dollar visit to the E.R. shrinks to $100 or even $50. As far as I know, no one is talking about taking away private insurance. There will still be plans out there that will cover extra nights at the hospital, laughing gas at the dentist, and chiropractic adjustments.

We can save money, get the basics covered, and still have private options.
So what's the fuss about?

Share the Love!

2009-06-30T17:49:00.003-05:00

My husband sent this to me, and I love it! It's beautiful. It's about an Indian holy woman.

Wellness Do-Over

2009-06-23T16:53:00.005-05:00

After falling off the Ayurvedic wagon (for a couple of few years actually) and dropping yoga frequency down to about once a week, I've decided it's time to reset.

So far, yesterday was my second Ayurvedic grocery run. I'm glad I started up again in hot whether. I really like the the summer selection: Fruits, vegetables, and shrimp...Woo-hoo!

Admittedly, the lack of hot sauce and limes is not my favorite part, but having ice cream for desert totally makes up for it.

As for yoga, my back went out of whack last week, so it's been a slow return. So far the sun only gets 4 salutations before my back just starts to complain and beg for floor work. But surely by the end of the week I'll be back to 12.

Thats the news. Now the weather: Hot. Damn hot.

Being Last Can Be Better

2009-06-13T15:12:00.004-05:00

My mind is floating to the skies as I plot and plan to get away in the coming months. Listening to the radio I heard part of a show kicking around different travel strategies to reduce common annoyances. I was happy to hear several comments in favor of last... When it comes to flying, I love last.

Baggage Last - If you check your bag at the gate there's no charge, and of course, at the other end your checked bags come out first.

Boarding Last- Waiting while reading comfortably and sipping on coffee is far better than dodging people's bags as they work them under seats or swing them over head. And on half empty flights (like red-eyes) you can just sit in the most appealing available space--whether it's yours or not. I like to hunt for the empty aisles in the back so I can nap.

Bathroom Last- Make it your last stop before boarding. According to the flight attendant Rick Steves interviewed on NPR today, a lot of people head for the bathroom as soon as they get on board, giving you another line to wait in, all so you can go in a tiny closet.

Ok, your turn. What little things do you do to make flying more comfortable?

June is National Everything Month

2009-06-12T19:41:00.007-05:00

Hey, guess what I discovered. Apparently, June is National Audiobook Month. There's a month for everything isn't there? There's more. June is also:

Adopt A Shelter Cat Month -- Except for my Friend ET... No more. Stop yourself!
Cancer From The Sun Month
Celibacy Awareness Month
Child Vision Awareness Month
Children’s Awareness Month -- Wait, whose aware, us or the kids?
Dairy Alternative Month
Dairy Month
Effective Communications Month
Entrepreneurs Do It Yourself Marketing Month
Fireworks Safety Month -- I would feel so much better if we focused on this in July.
Gay and Lesbian Pride Month
Great Outdoors Month
International Childhood Cancer Campaign Month
International Men's Month
Lane Courtesy Month -- Oh! I see. It's just in June! That explains so much.
National Accordion Awareness Month
National Aphasia Awareness Month
National Bathroom Reading Month
National Candy Month
National Dairy Month
National Flag Month
National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month
National GLBT (Gay,Lesbian,Bisexual and Transgender Month
National Hunger Awareness Month
National Iced Tea Month
National Papaya Month (also, again in September)
National Rivers Month
National Rose Month
National Safety Month
National Seafood Month
National Smile Month (From May 18 to June 17) -- :-)
National Soul Food Month
National Steakhouse Month
Perennial Gardening Month
Pharmacists Declare War on Alcoholism Month
Potty Training Awareness Month -- LOL Is it me or is it just funny that this follows the alcoholism one?
Professional Wellness Month
Rebuild Your Life Month
Sports America Kids Month
Student Safety Month
Turkey Lover's Month -- What the?
Vision Research Month
World Infertility Month

Thank you, About.com. Geeze a Lou! What a list... You know, I really wanted to use that expression. I think I'll do it again: Geeze a Lou! Does anyone know who the heck Lou is?

Anyway, with all the stuff for June alone, I had to run a spot check, just to see how ridiculous this could get. Ladies and gentlemen, Washington has limits. There is no National Underwater Basket Weaving Month.

:-P

My Brain is Hungry

2009-06-09T11:55:00.016-05:00

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go. -- Dr. Seuss

Currently, I'm in China, Medieval Spain, and the US in the late nineties. Specifically, my nightstand has:

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
La catedral del mar by Idelfonso Falcones
Thinking in Pictures by Temple Grandin
Language in Thought and Action by S.I. Hayakawa and Alan R. Hayakawa.

How is it possible that with all the reading I do in addition to my actual work, I still feel like it's not enough? Odd, but I do. My brain has the munchies, so I'm going to add a class of some kind to my schedule.

While hubby man and I have settled into a nice rhythm sharing one car, adding a class that requires my physical presence might disturb that careful balance, so I'm thinking online course... something fun in the Adobe family, like InDesign or Dreamweaver.

Schools out, but I want back in!

Walking in Dallas

2009-05-26T18:57:00.006-05:00

So I'm looking at the pictures from our company launch (btw, a friend and I started a new company called Tanit). There I am flipping or rather clicking through pictures thinking "the food was so good," "everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves," "oh look, speeches," "I wonder who the chubby chick is next to my partner--wait."

That's right, I was madame tubby!

You know, I must have excellent self esteem or a trick mirror at home, because the woman in the mirror at home never looks so... well frankly, so wide. Fortunately, the one on the other side of the mirror can do something about this.

Today after my last meeting, I decided to walk. Hubby man and I are sharing a car (his died), and rather than wait for him at the interpretation assignment site, I decided to see how far I could get before he exited the highway.

One known car stopped to offer me a ride, three unknown cars signaled to see if I was ok, and several smiled at me compassionately. Walking in Dallas is freakish... and this ladies and gentlemen is why we're one of the fattest cities in the country.

Well, my butt is no longer contributing to this statistic!

Pic by colorblindPICASO

Sudden Burst of Activity

2009-05-11T14:25:00.005-05:00

I'm having one of those Dear-God-what-have-I-gotten-myself-into moments. This coming Saturday, May 16, I'm walking 10 K (6.2 miles) to combat Cystic Fibrosis at 8:30 ... a.m.... in the morning.

I was very excited when I committed to do this, envisioning the enormous satisfaction the day CF researchers announced a cure, knowing all the while that played a tiny role in supporting them. I didn't think about the A.M. part of this plan.

I'm not exactly a morning person.

The walk is for charity -- see happy widget below waiting for donations big and small -- so I'm all in 100%, but somehow I think my strides will be floppy, draggy, and slow. And I don't think I can walk and sip coffee without needing major bathroom breaks every other mile!

So, I'm trying to get to bed earlier this week and take tips from my marathon man. And while I don't promise stylistic marvels, amazing record time, or even full consciousness, if you guys support me, I will finish. (No, I don't know how yet.)

And, if I don't keel over, I'll be dragon boat racing on Sunday. That one's not for charity. It's the result of a combination of insanity and poor planning.

Seal

2009-05-02T13:06:00.006-05:00

Wednesday hubby and I got invited by friend see Seal in concert. It was amazing!

I'll admit, it didn't start out exactly amazing. The first song sounded... well, frankly, off. I thought "oh no, his recorded voice is doctored and tweaked!" But fortunately that wasn't the case at all. By the third song his voice was perfect.

The music was amazing. He sang new songs, old songs, and a few by other artists--like "Change is Gonna Come."

What I like the most, though, is the atmosphere he creates. It was fun, exciting, and moving.

Here's the review from the Dallas Morning News.