Sunday, November 16, 2008

"May you always walk in sunshine..."

One of the best things about my job is that I get to work with the other literary nerds. I use the term nerds with complete, loving affection. Just the other day we were discussing our favorite Yeats poems. They slowed down my day in a happy way.

He Wishes for the Clothes of Heaven

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

- W.B. Yeats


And now for the one that I love. It is courtesy of that "commie beatnik Michael Fitzsimmons."

When You Are Old

When you are old and gray and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face among a crowd of stars.

- W.B. Yeats

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Sometimes I get nervous when I see an open door...

As if you needed another reason to love The Killers (ahem, especially Brandon Flowers), I thought I would just randomly post these lyrics in hopes that I can finally get them out of my head.
pay my respects to grace and virtue
send my condolences to good
give my regards to soul and romance
they always did the best they could
and so long to devotion,
you taught me everything I know
wave good bye, wish me well

It's not going to work. Those lyrics are never going to leave my brain until I go back and listen to Don't Dance Rattlesnake by the Films. Sadly all that will do will make me sing Beltloops ("She's like a devil in a dark shade of lipstick, an unassuming sort of x-rated misfit..."). Aie. I blame the Killers for writing beautiful lyrics and great music that feels like home in my brain.

And you're very welcome for the weirdo post on this fine Wednesday evening. And in case anyone was wondering, I was just watching Bones and there's no way that guy from Roswell would ever pass as any sort of genetic equivalent to David Boreanaz. Just saying.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Life, Writing, HS Flashbacks, Vampy Fun, and more Writing

It's been awhile since I've written. I get that, but such is life.

The Artist' Way has really changed me. I didn't believe it could make a different, but it is true. It's ironic that the way for me to find some peace was to just listen to myself and write. Morning journaling, morning pages in the book, are the best way to start the day. It's a healthy dose of honesty. It grounds me and allows me to get all of my gripes with the world out before I ever lay eyes on anyone else.

When I need to gripe publicly, I turn to Twitter. I am such a Twitteraholic these days. It's like things don't happen until I make a statement about it to my followers. I love getting glimpses into people's lives. Limiting to 120 characters seems to drop inhibitions and allow people to really put themselves out there.

I’ve been stuck in a flashback to my high school days. It could be the just passed high school reunion, the fact that we dressed as high school stereotypes for Halloween at work (goth for me), or the rumination of this quarter life existential crisis that I've been going through for the past few years. I've gotten back in touch with some friends and reminded myself that I know and have known some pretty awesome people in my days. It's also kicked up a lot of memories of good books, movies, and music. I've picked my top 3 movies from my high school years: Dazed and Confused (Slaterson!), Empire Records (always such a Corey and not in the drugged out, reality show on A&E way), and Mallrats (Jason Lee, hot as ever).

I've been working on a new story. It's the first one that I've been this dedicated to in quite some time. Writing makes me feel powerful and happy. I'm not sure how I forgot that, but it's really nice to have it back.