Sunday, December 27, 2009

Words to live by from Miss Marilyn.

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Blessed be.

And so this is (after) Christmas.
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I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!
I feel so blessed for having such wonderful people in my life who love me as much as they do.
They are there when the going gets tough and when the going is smooth sailing ... usually with with a well-made Manhattan at the ready!

Can't believe it's almost 2010 - time to start thinking about my resolutions (gulp).
I have a few different ones this year and I'm really looking forward to getting started on them toute de suite!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

My Brittany Murphy memory.

Today, at age 32 - the same age as I am (gulp) - actress Brittany Murphy died of cardiac arrest.
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My first and second thoughts were 1. That's terrible (as it always is when someone dies young), and 2. I totally had forgotten about her.

I'd seen her in a few films - "Clueless" being the big one.
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My favorite part had always been the big "Rolling With My Homies" scene, especially when Brittany's character Tai did it when she was crushing on Elton played by Jeremy Sisco.

Fin.

On NEPA traffic lights

I am so thankful I don't live in a place where traffic is really, really bad.
When my brother lived in SoCal, it used to take him two hours to drive a distance that equaled the mileage between Scranton to Wilkes-Barre - every day.

And we all know about my beloved city of New York, where, oddly, I'm a really, really good driver.

So we have it pretty lucky here in NEPA - but that doesn't mean I am still not reeling over the fact it took me 20 minutes to get out of the Wyoming Valley Mall parking lot this afternoon thanks to the lack of turning arrows and the ability for more than three cars to make it through the lights.

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As I sat there and seethed, I cursed PennDOT for being so dumb.

... and then I cursed myself for being even more dumb for 1. not finishing my shopping earlier and 2. putting myself at the mall on the Sunday afternoon before Christmas in the first place.
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Friday, December 18, 2009

Wilkes-Barre state of mind.

A week from now, the presents will be open and Christmas Day will soon change into The Day After Christmas.

I am not done shopping and dread going to finish.

Things have been so hectic and busy that I've not had the time to buy the rest of my gifts, and when I have had time, I chose to spend it having fun, like the great party I attended last night at Revere Pictures in downtown Wilkes-Barre, for example.

Is that so wrong?
Will Santa leave me off the good list for taking care of my needing of a fabulous party? I hope not because the party was good for me. I got to hone my rusty mingling skills and, from the seventh floor of a downtown building I'd never been in before, I got to see a Wilkes-Barre I'd never seen before.

I'd driven and walked around Public Square a million times in my lifetime and never did I have such an appreciation for it as I do now after seeing it from seven, and later in the night, 11 stories up.

The way the cars snaked around the Square, white headlights and red taillights offset by its white-lit trees was poetic. I stood in front of a wall of windows and saw the city seemingly for the first time.

It was so moving. So almost metropolitan. So calming. So unlike the things I see when I walk the streets during the day in search of lunch.

And on the other side of the floor, seeing the eagles of the Market Street Bridge, was equally inspiring. Seeing them from such a height highlighted how regal and strong they are.

It was a great evening on so many levels, and the free booze wasn't even at the forefront. It was the conversations, the companionship, the schmoozing, the meeting new people. It was seeing a city I'm often quick to dump on - a lot of times rightly so, mind you (you do read the paper, right?) - in a whole new light: the light of the night.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

My mind needs an "Off" button.

While I've been caught up in the Christmas spirit, I've not been feeling very inspired, hence the lack of Ramblings Ons.

I've made nary a journal entry either, choosing to think instead of write or tap the keyboard.

Or choosing to not think at all, and just revel in those rare thoughtless moments, where I envision my mind to be nothing but a snowy TV screen.

Sometimes I live for those moments.
I find it so hard to shut my mind off - to not only relax sometimes, but just go with the flow, to bob with the ocean's waves.

What do you do to shut your mind off for a night, an hour or even 10 minutes?
Tell me your secret, so I can have more thoughtless moments!