Amy is letting me do something. [She had pointed it out in a newsletter I get. I argued for more than a month that we can't afford it. She all but demanded we find a way to pay for it. She's just about making me go...] Combining Father's Day and my coming (in a bit yet...) birthday, she's sending me go to the Foundation for Shamanic Study's Core Shamanism Basic Principles Workshop.
It's a weekend-long workshop on the basic concepts of Shamanism that aren't rooted in any specific culture. There are several aspects (drumming or rattling to induce altered states of consciousness, the Shamanic journey as a sort of vision quest, etc.) that are common to all indigenous forms of shamanism.
I think it's one of a couple of things I've been waiting for for a long time now. The other won't happen until fall at the soonest. There's probably other things I'm waiting for, but some of them I haven't figured out yet...
Dear Kim - High school was a complicated time, wasn't it? Thanks for putting up with a guy with so much to learn. If you ever noticed me upset when leaving, I hope you know it was never your fault. I hope you've come to realize how amazing you can be, and are really living your own life.
Dear Robin - I guess our timing was just off. I still have the tape you made me. I hear a couple of the songs on the radio and remember how I probably heard it first. Thank you for needing someone to help you relax and unwind.
Dear Jessica - I'm glad we were albe to be friends for each other--I think we both needed just that at the time. I can't hear Billy Joel's Scenes From an Italian Restaurant without remember an evening by the piano at that...was it a pizza place? It's long gone now. I'm sorry we grew apart, but I did that to a lot of friends. Please don't let yourself think it was just you.
Dear Ann - I hope you're well. We were together while we were both at low points. I'm sorry we weren't looking for the same things at the same time. I'm sorry the last time I saw you ended up as it did.
Dear Michelle - Why did we lose touch so abruptly? I'm sorry if I drove you away. I was at a vulnerable point and probably not at my best. Thank you for showing me what passion could look like. I never forget one amazing night when our clothes stayed on. I hope passion like that is still a part of your life.
Dear Sheila - I don't think I ever said goodbye. I should have, I owed you that. I was afraid to admit that I needed something different. I hope you find what you're looking for. Maybe you've already found it. I hope you don't look back with hard feelings. You've got a great heart--please don't ever let it get bitter.
Dear Leah - I hope you've found a true home. It sounded last time we talked like maybe you had. I'm sorry things were complicated. I'll always welcome you if you look me up. I'll respect the distance you've put behind you until then.
Dear Liz - Thank you for offering to cook me breakfast. I needed that at the time. It was a fun night that I haven't forgotten. I'm sorry if things got complicated for you with the others. Any unflattering things they may have said after I left...were probably true.
Dear Amy - For a wannabe writer I'm not very good at expressing myself. It's the stuff we write together...over a lot of coffee, perhaps...that's always the best. We put down words then that have never stopped being dear and true to me. No matter what life brings... I love you. You really are my soulmate.
- Brian.
We're getting ready to go see Pixar's Ratatouille. For free.
Work rented out a theater for it. It's a foodservice company. They have executive chefs and a "culinary innovation center" in the building. And it's a movie about a rat that wants to be a great chef. Hey, it works.
I'm expecting Jareth to have a great time. We get a free drink. We get popcorn. There's goodie bags and everything. They were talking about getting little chef's hats and aprons for all the kids. There's going to be something like 175 or so of us there, including spouses and kids.
Then we get the kids to take as much nap as possible after lunch. For tonight we drum!