Once again I have successfully completed “Buy Nothing Day”. Instead of fighting the crowds and scavenging for deals we sat around and chatted and ate and helped each other with a few small favors. I think that is the best preparation for “Christmas”.

Heading to Houston for a few days to spend Thankgiving with Butterfly’s family. Not sure if I will have any computer access.

So happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Now 60 years old and with a new album, Hurricane, the inimitable Grace Jones offers a few beauty tips:

Visit Jamaica - the climate and relaxed environment will take years off you
Go swimming - preferably in the sea
See sunrises and sunsets
Enjoy the odd glass of red wine
Maintain your appearance but don’t be obsessive
Swap gender roles occasionally

The American Civil Literacy Web site has an interesting test on American History and Economics along with some abyssmal findings.

More than 2,500 randomly selected Americans took ISI’s basic 33 question test on civic literacy and more than 1,700 people failed, with the average score 49 percent, or an “F.” Elected officials scored even lower than the general public with an average score of 44 percent and only 0.8 percent (or 21) of all surveyed earned an “A.”

I found the questions to be direct and pertinent to the challenging time and serious issues we face and fight about as Americans. It seems all too easy for people to battle from the extreme of ideology without even knowing the basic foundations from which those ideas were derived.

Both the test and the findings are worth the time.
Full disclosure, here is my score:

Butterfly and I just got our eagerly anticipated copy of “Deep River” by Shusako Endo. We bought it because a dear friend from many years ago mentioned it in a comment on this blog.

I feel like I have many friends, but there are a select few whose book recommendation I highly value. Friendship doesn’t mean similar taste. So I am pleased to have people whose “outlook” or “inlook” calls to me in a familiar voice.

I admit to not reading many books these days. My reading time is filled more with periodicals and Web content. I enjoy the occasional non-fiction work but rare are the fiction entries. Nonetheless, there are some books that call to me through the great force of synchronicity and I am pleased to encounter them.

ps. Mgmyway. Thanks for the book suggestion. Namaste.

Since the weather has taken a turn for the chilly (and a bit rainy today) and I have already sort of chisled out some Sunday morning activity time, my cycling buddy and I decided to forgo the wheels and take advantage of our own private yoga instructor. Instead of grappling with the elements and equiping ourselves with elaborate contraptions, vestiments and vehicles, we opted for the dry quiet warmth of a low fire, a clean hardwood floor and some simple organic breathable fabric.

This was the entertainment for the evening. Actually most of them are better than a lot of t.v.

What letter is filled with water?
C (But T and P are also acceptable answers)

Why did the mouse stay in it’s house while it rained?
He heard it was raining cats and dogs

What did the mouse say about her friend?
Cheese my friend.

Why did the turkey cross the road?
It was the chicken’s day off.

What is a three letter word for mouse trap?
cat

And my personal favorite,
What did the fish say when he swam into a wall?
Dam

Some of my coworkers and I have been having a bit of a prank skirmish. Honestly I can’t remember how it started, but needless to say it is ongoing and escalating a bit. Recently RB and I traded out every picture in OR’s desk with pictures of us. The coup de grace was he and I standing in exactly the same pose as her wedding picture and putting us in it’s place. Another episode had RB and KK moving every item of my stuff, pictures, mouse, notecards, etc. and exchanging it with every item of OR’s so that when we came to work our offices were almost completely swapped.

Well, RB and I were in Chicago for most of the week and when I got here this morning RB’s office looked like this:

Apparently they used 380 feet of foil and only ran out of time or else I may have suffered the same fate. (There are a couple more detail pictures on flickr–via the sidebar on the right of this page. They wrapped almost everything including staplers, pens, mouse…)

Definitely better him than me….but WOW…it is awesomeness!

This past week at work has been full of great new information and the prospect for some major changes/disruptions in my office environment over the next 3 months, due to internal forces and next 3 years or so, due to external forces. I have to say I’m pretty optimistic about all of it. Actually, it just may be the change I’ve been working for/hoping for.

Viva la difference