The Wizard of Blah

My friends Amy (who I'm staying with in Atlanta) and Greg went to see the Wiz in Peidomont Park tonight. The hill there in the park was draped with folks. It was fun. We had some awesome chicken salad (mayo, chicken, grapes, walnuts, apple and vidalia onion--would have been better with some cilantro or basil thrown in but hey...) some chocolate cake, a pineapple mooncake that I bought from a chinese grocery on Buford Highway, and some pineapple. The food was much better than the movie.

Ok, let me preface: Amy has called me the "movie bitch" for years. She says I don't really like movies, that I just like to bitch about them. I don't think that's true. I just have high standards (or weird standards). But that said, the Wiz is truely a bad movie everyone can agree on.

First of all, if he weren't wearing a scarecrow outfit that featured his original nose Michael Jackson would be indistinguishable from Diana Ross. They speak the same, move the same, look the same. I think she had herself cloned.

Next, how many times can they ease on down the road. Sure it's a great song, but variety is the spice of life.

And then there's the long dance numbers with flashy sets and costumes. They do nothing to further the plot and serve the same purpose the fashion shows did in the old 1940's Hollywood movies--fluff and filler to show off capes lined in monkey fur. Unfortunatley Busby Burkely (sp) was dead at that point so the numbers are what they should be. (the last 20 minutes of the movie is dancing and Diana crying)

And finally (I could actually go on for hours) what's up with the Wiz curse? Richard Prior (the wiz) and Michael Jackson (the scarecrow) both caught on fire later in their careers. Is there some connection their? Did Nipsy, Diana, or Leana ever catch on fire? Enquiring minds want to know.

I saw the stage play and remember it being about the African American experience. The movie is Diana centric with no meaning what-s0-ever. If only she would catch on fire.

Next week is Ferris Bueler's Day Off. That sounds more like it.

Slippery Fish Mind

The second day of massage classes started with Ethics and since ethics is my middle name (in Chinese--seriously--it is my middle name) I was ready to go.

"Don't have sex on your massage table and don't have sex with your clients." Those were the absolutes taught today. Everything else falls into a grey area. I guess there goes my social life. (bu-dum-dum--ching) And that of course is just a joke.

Today went very well. From ethics we moved to body mechanics. We did some yoga, some grounding with your center of gravity. We practiced walking around massage tables with our knees bent. It was a very good day. Why? Well, I found it very meditative. I come to calmness of mind through the body. My awareness is very rooted in my sense of touch and movement. That's come out of meditation: Breath awareness, walking meditation, etc. I really came out of class with a charged energy level and a very positive feeling. And so we come to the fish.

After class I went to buy a printer at Best Buy, just one exit down from my school on I-285 in Atl. I thought it would be a quick jump but boy was I wrong. I was stuck in traffic and I litterally watched my mind go from calm serenity to tense frustration. It flopped like a fish from one side to the other in just a matter of half an hour and I feel so lucky to have been aware enough of what was going on to, well, know what was going on.

I believe deeply in karma--meaning cause and effect (not some cosmic next life generator). What goes on now conditions what follows. Emotions, thoughts are the result of what we are in contact with. Pleasure brings comfort and bliss and irritation brings the opposite. BUT...hmm. there's a but in here somewhere...

But, knowing is half the battle. Knowing that certain causes lead to certain effects allows you to sever the chain. When something happens the effects follow. Those effects then cause more effects and this repeats and repeats. Breaking the cycle is knowing when to insert causes that can bring you back to center. Adding deep breathing to frustration. Throwing some relaxation ontop of Tension. Theres a lot that can't be controlled but there's a lot that can.

Ok. That was a rambly one. Anyway, It's hard to hold onto a flopping fish. But isn't that what meditation is all about?

Reset Button

Today I went back to school. Well, actually, today I went to a different school. On Friday, I finished work at Savannah College of Art and Design. When I say finished I mean finished; I turned in my grades, my ID, my parking sticker and my keys. Goodbye ESL, hello...

Today (monday) I started school at the Atlanta School of Massage. Zip, Zap, Zam. It was a quick vacation. This has actually been in the plans for quite sometime. (Yes, for those of you who know me, MY plans; I do occasionally think things through, mull over them, delay them and finally execute, as opposed to the usual "Hey, It's Friday! Maybe I'll move to Asia tomorrow" type of plans that I'm noted for.)

Long story short: Left Taipei, moved home to Georgia, USA. Decided "Hmmm, I became an English teacher so I could travel. Now, I'm back. I'm not traveling so why the hell am I still teaching?" So, next came "What do I really want to do?" Followed by "I want to eat these donuts." Followed by "No, really." Followed by "Hey I want to travel." Ok, Ok, I know it's a circle and the logic (like the donuts) is full of holes but it happened (no donuts in Taiwan--at least not REAL donuts). So I decided to look into travel industry jobs. What could be better. After all, its a great industry to work for. (That's pre 9-11 thinking for you)

I researched, did everything right for once: pondered, weighed, calculated, looked at salary, evaluated and decided that being a flight attendant in Asia would be ideal. After all, I speak Chinese. I applied, tested, interviewed and was top of my interview group (actually second from the top). Yipee! My future was bright: one or two trips to Hong Kong or Beijing per month, per diem while on the ground for a few days, travel, excitement, Wow! All I had to do was get through training.

Turned out all I had to do was get TO training. Seems that something happened around 2000 where some planes hit a building or something. Remember that? My job went down in flames with them. (Of course, since that's all I lost I had a great day, unlike some...)

Well, as usual my backup plan was not so simple. Here's an example of "I'm moving to Asia in a week." Seriously. I did--back to Taiwan where I had lived and taught for five and a half years.

I was there for about a year and a half and then back to the states, to Savannah (to be with my patient partner), and to a job at Savannah College of Art and Design. All this time pondering what to do next to take me forward in my little life journey.

It was hard to really go there. After all, the one serious well-planned decision went from great to grisley in a matter of hours. Anyway, I did and massage school was it.

Then came the planning and saving and today it all came together. It's interesting: the first step on a journey that I've been walking for quite some time.

Actually, one of my classmates said something applicable today. (and I do her a disservice by chopping it up, throwing in some of my own nonsense and sewing it back together Frankenstein-like.) Life isn't making a scarf where each knit has it's pearl (that's my part), it's making a quilt (that's hers). We have all these scraps of material, all of these rags, these things we do and have done that don't seem to fit; but somehow they all come together as a whole.

Believe it or not, my quilt is finally comeing together. And I'm having a hell of a time sewing...