I decided to buy some tealight candles and a tealight candle holder, with the idea that this would help create a sacred space for prayer.
the good life in little Madison
I guess I'm enjoying Madison with a vengeance.
more impressions of albuquerque and madison
I've been in Albuquerque during the last week to visit my father, my aunts and a friend. Albuquerque has always been a second home to me, not only because my father has lived here for three years, but also because I've had relatives here my entire life. Lately when I've been coming here, I find myself comparing Albuquerque with Madison.
listen, the snow is falling, part 2
After two weeks of enjoying weather in the 50's and 60's, a winter storm blew through and dumped a few inches of snow on south central Wisconsin.
a micro-sabattical, attempted
Yesterday, I used the car to go out to Spring Green, WI to write and reflect. At least that was my intention. I read an article in Madison Magazine about the idea of taking a “micro-sabbatical.” Such a “sabbatical,” the article suggested, could involve a day trip someplace to take oneself out of one's normal routine and enable creative thinking about one's work and life purpose. I thought that would be a good idea.
observations during the tail end of cold season
As a general rule, I haven't thought about or worried much about colds or getting sick. I have a pretty strong immune system, and tend not to get many colds. But it's been interesting to observe other people dealing with colds or the possibility of colds
spring rains
Today it rained most of the day in Madison. It was one of those steady, ever-present rains. It kind of reminded me of the rainy day that forms the backdrop of the scene described in the Suzanne Vega song "Tom's Diner." Given that we are in the last days of winter, it was a welcome sight. I'll take rainy-day drabness over winter bleakness, and in early March, it is especially welcome.
unexpected jam session
I have sort of a funny relationship with music.
peace, Linux and happiness?
The Ubuntu logo stood there innocently over an orange bar that indicated the completion rate of the project. Meanwhile, inside my desktop computer, files and programs vaporized into thin air. Nothing was left in its wake except empty storage spaces on my hard drive. Then slowly, the Ubuntu Linux operating system began to establish itself in the barren wasteland that had once been a Windows environment. Step by step, a new operating system and new programs made their home on my computer.
eve of something, hopefully good
I have always found New Year's Eve to be a slightly surreal experience. Not necessarily in a bad way. Time sort of stands still and goes through a transition and at the same time it doesn't. The divide that establishes the new year, established in the Gregorian calendar (that's the one we all use, in case you didn't know) is, after all, an artificial marker. The year is very real--it's the time that it takes to go around the sun, but deciding where to mark a complete year is a human decision. So, in essence, we draw a line, we cross it, and then we celebrate crossing it.