I’m working on getting all my ducks in a row, now… before December 31st. I’ve taken the opportunity to do so while I’m feeling all “under the weather” lately. I had to do something to help me feel better (and when I’m sick, even taxes don’t really make me feel any worse!)

I’m making sure I have copies of all my receipts and am organizing all my invoices and proofs of payment. I’m getting all those notes with mileage pulled together in one place (yeah, I know I should have KEPT them more organized, but I didn’t). Oh well.

It is my hope, that on January 2nd, I’ll be able to stick my taxes in the mail. Yeah, I really know how to party! I really know how to ring in the New Year. Whoo-Hooo!

But, by starting now, I’ve got a goal that will actually reduce my stress at the beginning of the year instead of postponing it. I despise the paperwork and the hassle… but I’m really excited about making it end early this year… err… next year.

I took my daughter and our friend, Brittney to see Twilight last night, to a sellout crowd in Russell Springs, Kentucky. Sellout. That’s really saying something around here. It almost never happens. The 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. showings were overrun with enthusiastic crowds.

And, just in case no one believes a sell-out crowd around here, I have photos!

Great movie… the book, of course, was still better. ;O)

Last night, while at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Lexington, Kentucky I bought a book and a magazine. While waiting my turn to check out, I noticed that the three displays closest to the main checkout were quite an odd collection of topics… and then I thought about it and decided that the person responsible for the setup of these displays may be making their own statement.

I’ll let you be the judge (I got photos of each of the three for your review):

First there was this one…

then this one followed…

and the third (and last one) before the checkout…

Accident, irony or overt political statement? You be the judge.

I’ve always adored Halloween. That and St. Patrick’s Day have always been my favorite holidays. I know, I’m weird. I’m accustomed to getting that response.

My “wicked” business theme was launched back on October 31st, 2002. And, even though I have changed the business name, I managed to retain the “wicked.” I like it.  I like the double entendre of bad and good. I like that it was “born” in October. Despite the warnings I received on selecting that theme, it has served me well and continues to do so. So, even with my business I celebrate the Halloween holiday.

I’ve never really been into jack-o-lanterns or ghosts or most of the more traditional Halloween imagery… except for witches and bats. I think the witchy imagery is fun and bats… well, I find them to be intriguing animals.

This year, for Halloween, my son gave me a sterling silver bat charm. I collect sterling silver charms. (He knows I love them.) This one is amazing. It’s not a tiny little thing — it’s a full two inches long! It feels like it weighs a pound! It’s solid and three dimensional. (I’ve never liked those one-sided flat charms, I like cool ones — and this one is awesome.)

It’s in the sleeping position, all snugly wrapped up in wings and hanging upside down, shaped like a bullet. He picked it up at a Renaissance festival this summer. I’m currently wearing it on a long chain and I’m enjoying it more with each passing day.

Today, I starting wondering what attracted me to bats and decided to do a little research on symbolism. I thought I’d share my findings with you (just in case anyone else out there likes bats and isn’t sure why).

Holiday Symbolism

Bats are a common image because when this season’s bonfires are lit, it attracts the insects that, in turn, attract the bats for a feeding frenzy. Since this happens in the fall, bats are seen as a symbol of transition and change — in the season and in the human experience.

Bats represent: Social relationships, communication, motherhood

It is a symbol of communication. Native Americans observed bats to be highly social creatures with strong family ties. They are nurturing, exhibiting verbal communication, touching, and sensitivity to members of their group. Bats are sensitive to their surroundings and are seen as intuitive, with the ability to see through illusion and discern truth. Devotion of the Bat totem will never fade, encouraging the journey to achieve the highest possible potential from an individual. (Information paraphrased from this page on Animal Totems)

Since bats are the only winged creatures to suckle their young, they are also a symbol of motherhood (and by association… fertility and sexuality… which is also supported by the dwelling in caverns in the “womb” of mother earth.)

East vs. West: Symbolism of the Bat

Westerners hold a more negative view of this creature, possibly because of the dual nature of winged and mammal, or because it’s nocturnal.

Eastern cultures view the bat as a symbol of wealth, longevity, peace, good health and a good death. In China, the symbol for bat is “fu” — which is also the symbol for “good luck.”

“Sometimes four bats are shown surrounding a fifth bat or five bats circulate around a stylized symbol for longevity.  In both cases, the five bats stand for the Five Happinesses:  wealth, long life, peace, cultivation of virtue (or sometimes good health), and a good death… a Chinese bat (or simply the character for fu) will sometimes be placed upside down.  That orientation derives from the fact that the words for “upside down” and “to arrive” also sound the same in Chinese (dao), such that the upside down bat means that good luck has arrived.” (taken from this page on tattoo symbolism)

The Maya culture of Central America considers the bat a type of guardian god — a god of fire. Images of bats were used to decorate pottery and funerary urns.

A Mis-match of other interpretations of bats:

Bats are symbolic of rebirth and can mean (in dreams) that you need to release the outmoded ways of doing things to permit a new, better way to enter your life because your old habits no longer suit your new opportunities. They also demonstrate that sight with eyes is only one way to know the world.

Personally, I relate to the fact that it is naturally nocturnal and is adept at finding its way — even when things seem completely dark (and foreboding). So after a little research, the idea of rebirth, changing outmoded views, being intuitive and maternal, focusing on communication and the five happinesses — it all makes me much more happy with my fascination with these little creatures.

Other interpretations may be more “dark” and negative - but these fit my world view and the classic, traditional interpretation of bats and bat symbols make me happy. And I love my charm (thanks, sweetie!)

Since last Tuesday, I’ve had no voice. Literally. I was in the middle of a meeting (by phone) with a client at 8 a.m. Tuesday morning when my voice started getting softer and higher pitched until it was completely gone.

It was like a frog jumped in my throat and squatted there, quite comfortable in the new digs, and refused to budge. (more…)

Best of Craigslist - amusing, but seldom rated “G” — it’s a wonderful place to waste some of your life and get a few chuckles (or nod in silent knowing — depending on your own life experiences.)

Ironically, after contemplating the cost of my decisions up to this point in my life today… I saw this video of a little guy willing to give anything for his dream.

(Today, my baby turned 10 years old, so I am a bit melancholy and feeling a bit older than usual. It’s one of those “I’m-old-and-I’ve-not-accomplished-enough” days.)

The video was too cute not to watch, and so sad it brought tears to my eyes. (Sometimes I think we pay too dearly for our dreams.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0G9vDKcdLg&feature=related

Nobel or stupid? Hard to say, isn’t it? Check it out for yourself.

*sniff*

I started watching the TV series October Road today. One of my favorite quotes from the pilot (loosely translated) is: Only a fool will fail to return to the place of his last happiness. I agree. (more…)

This morning, I woke to a blaring alarm clock. It doesn’t matter that I went to bed uber early last night to try to recover from the cold I caught from the kids (my best friend is calling me “squeaky” this week).

I didn’t wake up on my own.

When I killed the blaring of my iPhone alarm, I heard a siren, overlapped by a car horn, the whirring of traffic and domestic unrest next door. I hate living in a townhouse. I also hate living in the city. (more…)

At this point, I’m actually looking forward to renting an office and NOT having the Internet at home for a few months. I want to know how it feels to NOT be able to run and look up whatever flits across my mind at any time of the day or night. I have no self-control when it comes to learning. I will get up out of a dead slumber to run downstairs and look up something if it occurs to me in the middle of the night.

I’m spoiled.

I want to know the answer NOW to any question I have. I’m a ‘net baby. I need to break the habit. It needs to be more purposeful and less automatic. I need to read more and search online less — at least while I’m at home. (more…)

I’m not sure what I need to do to prepare. I have the clothes. I have a suitcase. That’s not the problem. I don’t seem to be able to determine what I’ll do with my time while I’m away. Will I read? Will I sleep to an exceedingly late hour? Will I get seasick and wish I’d stayed at home? Will I get up early, run around all day, participate in events and excursions and fall into bed exhausted late in the evening and get up the next day to do it all over again? (more…)

I’ve had some pretty unproductive days in recent weeks. It seems that I spend much of my time chasing my proverbial tail. I start to work on a project and find that I have to go do a couple other things to finish that project, and then one or two more things for each of those things — and so it goes. (more…)

This is the year from hell. In the future, 2007 will be known as such in my memoirs. It is the year in which family members accrued enormous health bills to go with their individual trials and tribulations. It is the year in which I have had to move twice already, and will endure another one before year-end. Life churns on.

2007 is the year that everything I touched… broke. My mother told me this weekend (as I held my daughter’s head while she vomited again) that my life seemed to be an embodiment of Murphy’s Law.

I would find that statement offensive… if it weren’t so true. (more…)

Ok, it’s official. I’d gotten OLD and had forgotten how badly it sucked to rent property. It really does. We have had possession of the house since the 9th and the air conditioner (that I was assured worked) didn’t work and still hasn’t been fixed. Now, in May that shouldn’t be a big deal, but it’s hot as blazes in here (especially upstairs) and I’ve been cleaning and working and painting and sweating for days.

The list of things that were to be completed before we moved in still aren’t done.

And the real kicker? We smelled a serious gas odor and when I called last Monday to have it checked out… we have a leak in the house. Over 50% of the pressure that enters the house is escaping through a leak and the gas line itself is going THROUGH a heating duct. Nice, eh? The gas company immediately shut off the gas. So this week, we have been without hot water and without a way to cook. (more…)

I lost a bet. I almost NEVER lose bets. Main reason? I don’t bet unless it’s a “sure thing” or something really close to a sure thing. I’m not much of a gambler. (more…)

This is, hands down, my favorite holiday. Has been for years. But today, being away from home and having this HUGE conversion project underway for my blog has dampened my usual high St. Patrick’s Day spirit.

It’s going to take ages to get my new WordPress blog here on WickedBlog working exactly the way I need it to work. I’m verbose. I write alot. Usually, that doesn’t bother me. But, usually, I’m not in a position of checking over 500 posts for errors, for weirdnesses in funny characters that happen when you convert databases (like question marks inside black diamonds — what’s up with that!?!?)

I know this is going to be great when it’s complete — I already see indications of greatness around the edges — but for now I’m frustrated. It will pass, but for today… I’m just frustrated.

Today’s “word of the day” on my Google page is “Galumph.”

What a fabulous word! And how timely! It describes my mood, my ability to make progress and my general sluggishness in all arenas. It’s one of those lovely little onomatopoeia words…

(more…)

This week was a particularly long one. It was full of stuff that I ALMOST finished, but nothing that actually got completed. These stretches make me a bit crazy. It’s a time when, no matter which direction I turn… there’s more I should be doing and seemingly less that I’m getting done.

At times like these, I’ve noticed I start immersing myself in the minutia of my life…

(more…)

As I prepare to become truly mobile (something I’m seeking as I look for ways to save bucks), I’ve decided that I’ll keep my client records archived back on the farm, with a digital copy on my computer for reference. I’ll be using a minimum amount of paper. First because piles of paper are unseemly and they take up valuable space and second because I want to be digitally organized.

In this quest, I found a pretty interesting little piece of equipment for organizing myself.For just over $7 (after tax was added), I purchased a Pembrook Superfile. I got mine at a local discount grocery chain, Aldi Foods. (You can visit them on the web at www.Aldi.com - but you can’t purchase on the web, unfortunately.

(more…)

I just found an amazingly sweet little suite of programs to make my iPod a backup “server” to take my own programs on the road. This customizable bundle will let me take my browser (FireFox) and a portable version of an AV program, a basic MS compatible office suite, a calendar program, an email program (ThunderBird in portable format), a image editor, a media player, a Suduku game and a host of other options with me.

And the most interesting part? It’s free! You also get a webpage editor, an audio editor and recorder, FileZilla (my favorite FTP program) in a portable version, a file zipper, a systray launcher, a backup program and even a couple IM clients that are cross-IM compatible!

Personally, this looks like a great way to carry my “PC tune-up and repair kit” along with me in a folder tucked away on my 60 gig iPod — not to mention a way to invisibly use a public computer, or someone else’s machine without the need to install anything on the host computer and to do my work without leaving my data or any footprint behind. Sweet… very sweet!

(more…)