Data Dump
October 26, 2009
good lord, a lot has gone on! It’s weird how life accelerates, and slows down, according to the activities swirling around, and your perspective.For instance, I’ve become much looser lately about the way things are going. This loose-ness was tested in several arenas lately, such as job, dating, and side work. Let’s tackle these by subject.
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I’d decided to stop worrying about my job situation-I was either going to find the dream job, be unemployed and desperate again, or I was going to find some kind of filler to maintain my financial flow.As it turns out, I got a call from another department within my company, went in for one of the shortest interviews of my life (only 20 minutes! they loved me) took a Microsoft proficiency test and typing test (I type 63 wpm-snap!) and wham bam before I could say thank you ma’am, I had the job.
(in the midst of all that, I had applied for lost hours at EDD, and as it turns out, I earned no retroactive money for late Aug or all of September, because of $40 a week–*sigh*)
I am taking a pay decrease, and depending on how you look at it, a demotion, but I can’t stay where I am ANY longer.Really, things were bad a year ago. Good lord! A YEAR! Normally when something is not working in my life, it only takes a brief time before I get aligned with Spirit, and try and flush out the lesson, so I can work within it, get to a place of harmony and release, and then boom, what do you know, the things/person/place/event has worked its’ way off the main road of my life, and is now doing its’ own thing.
The new job is not so much a dream job as it is a filler one, but it’s with people who I can genuinely work WITH, I can keep my seniority and benefits, and more importantly, I will be back to full time. It is close to home (currently riding a mile and a half on the bike, now will be riding 2 1/2 miles), and I’m guaranteed to be able to stay for 2-3 years, certainly longer if I want to.So all in all, a major accomplishment!!
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I also have been feeling sort of tired from dating. I knew earlier this summer that I had entered an arena of quantity-versus-quality, and even my closest friends expressed reservations about this method, but it was working for me, at the time. Now, I’m sort of emotionally fatigued. Though oddly, it’s opened up the opportunity to spend time with more quality men. I’m still sort of tired, but am withdrawing a bit. Instead of “Let’s party-it’s summer-date-til-you-drop!”, now I’m more in a “Want to make dinner, share a walk at night, and talk?” sort of head space. Yes, I know I am having a seasonal response. I trust I am going the right way, for me.
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The adoption interviews have largely halted while I addressed the job/dating/opera/wedding craziness but I hope to start them up again in early November. Learning about what other adoptive parents are going through to bring a child into their home is intensely exciting for me.
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“What’s this about an opera?”, you ask. “What wedding!?”, you exclaim, astonished.
Well, for my 35th birthday a month ago, my friend LongJohns took me to my first opera as a gift. It was an afternoon matinee, but I dressed to the nines, because, well, you know. I’m Me.
We saw The Abduction from the Seraglio, by Mozart.
http://sfopera.com/o/286.asp
It was a truly amazing experience. I always secretly yearned to go to the opera, but thought I would end up hating it for being boring, stuffy, or too difficult to understand. I thought I might resent the people, or the opulence. But really, like so many other things in life, it was nothing like I thought it would be. Of course, I saw it through my own filter, but that’s ok! The music was wonderful, the costumes were clever, dimensional, and very suited to each character, and the singing was top notch. They repeated lines, which lost my interest about halfway through, but the translator screen was discreet, and easy to follow. We were seated high, so binoculars were essential. 
A very elegant and expensive dinner followed. LongJohns and I have been friends for many years, with a few threads unwoven in our tapestry. We discussed these threads over dinner, and had a illuminating conversation, laughingly covering old ground, and marveling at the road our friendship has traveled. I’m going back with him to the opera on Tuesday night to see Salome. It’s illegedly psychotic and sexy. Enough said. 
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Now, the wedding.
So a few weeks ago, a friend of mine who I have lunch with every few months contacted me out of the blue by text, and wanted to have lunch. Since I’d just gotten her wedding invitation in the mail, I had a feeling it was wedding-freakout-lunch. I was right. But, there was more to it than that.
She asked me to lead the ceremony at the wedding. I said, Wow, I’m honored, and of course.
She also asked me if I would weigh in with my opinion on things like hair, nails, jewelry, and shoes.I said, Wow, of course.
Then she asked me if she and Groom could hire me to be their wedding planner. I said, Wow, I’m honored, and I need to think about it.
We worked out the financial details, the deadline, and the general overview of what needed to be done. And the next day, I said Yes. What followed were 2 1/2 weeks of the most challenging,thrilling and intense planning I’ve ever done. Ever since my hours were reduced at work in late August, I’ve been taking part time side-job work to help with the money sitch. Most of it has been personal home reorganization, but this was ambitious. Certainly the kind of project to test even an organizer like me.
There were a few bumps in the process of getting everything together, but really, The Day Of was incredibly smooth. I’m not sure if that’s due to the organizing, the easy-going flow of the couple and their friends/family, or the essence of the day itself, but overall, they were married at a gorgeous, open, natural site,
we had a pleasant afternoon with coffee and cake post-ceremony, and then later in the evening, a bright starry night pre-ceeded the reception.It was a warm and vivacious affair. The autumn theme, the cake, the meal, the dress, the way these two affectionately love each other, and how they love each other, left the room warm with praise and satisfaction.
I don’t know that wedding planning is for me. I definitely experienced post-event blues, which I was surprised about until I talked with my event planner friend, who clued me into the emotions I was going through. I had been feeling pretty baffled by it all.
Leading the ceremony was one of the thrills of my life. Since I introduced these two, it was especially an honor. Speaking words of reverence and prayer, singing a love song with the group from the community to them, moved me very deeply. I love ceremony, and being part of this one was in many ways, perfection.
In past years, when this much activity is going on, sometimes I meditate on the cocoon. I draw strands of energy and strength around me. Lately, I’ve been meditating with a metaphysical surf board. I wonder what that means. 
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