00:56 - 29.09.06
play time
Today was interesting, dear diary. Number one son is still leaving the house around seven in the am, but my youngest's work schedule has changed now that he has finished training. There is a gap of a couple of hours between the two young men. I'm trying to decide how best to manage my work and sleep schedule in the most efficient way around that. Problem with my schedule is that it is driven by everyone else, from service providers and staff in this city, as well as by remote colleagues in different time zones. It isn't the staying awake that is at issue. It is finding enough time in dedicated chunks, so I can get enough good rem sleep. You know dreamtime and theta sleep. Need at least 90 minutes at a go for a complete sleep cycle and two cycles together is more refreshing and healing than one.
An interview with JK Rowling that I listened to today revealed a little more about how book seven might unfold. The interview was with her and Robbie Coltrane, who plays the part of Hagrid. Rowling looks quite tired and a bit stressed during portions of the interview, but then again she has three children - one adolescent and two toddlers. That could make anyone crazy some days. Anyway she stated that the role of Hagrid has its foundation in the mythical Green Man - the fool in a pack of Tarot Cards. What is interesting in the links is the reference again to Osiris in Egypt and the Knights Templar, among others. The Eye of Horus - powerful protection. Is Hagrid's personal story of the Green Fool's journey to the Fisher King about to be revealed with Harry as the catalyst to Hagrid, as much as Hagrid is catalyst to Harry's journey from innocence to wisdom. Do either of them choose to remain in physical form or do they both sail off to Avalon. Hmmm. I know I shouldn't make light of it, but the suspense is making me crazy. There are so many delicious byways and hidden paths that could be explored in the evolution of the last book. The search for the Holy Grail - the Cup of Christ. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight maybe. Remember too, that it is Mordred who is the betrayer of Arthur through his manipulation of Guinevere. In Sir Thomas Malory's "Morte D'Arthur", Mordred and Arthur slay each other, with the bond of kinship being the bane and downfall of both. Uh huh. And so the prophecy. No wonder the series holds such global appeal. It is a myth that has roots and a place in mythologies all over the globe. One comment I found really interesting on one of the fan sites was that the reader found it eerie that JK Rowling's stories seemed to be unfolding in reality in the current events on the world stage, book by book almost, in step with each other. "Mars is Bright tonight" say the Centaurs.
After I got my young men off to work, I went off to shop with my sister's sister-in-law. Nothing fancy really. I had to pick up a package from Elections Canada at the post office. Then we swung over to one mall where I picked up some herbs for me, while she shopped for a pair of driving sunglasses. The light is different here you see. I looked at the display of silver jewelry hoping to find cuff-links for my youngest. He loves wearing dress shirts for his newest girlfriend, you see. Next up I wandered off into the dollar store, while she tried on more glasses for fit and effectiveness. Found plugs for the kitchen sink, some hangable storage bags and a hot water bottle for winter chills - each a dollar. Rounded it off with a baseball cap with "Canada" blazoned on it for my newest grandson, who was due to be born today. No word yet, so I guess I wait another day - or more - to cast his astrology chart. We popped into a purse store next, because we both have too many other people's business cards, plus our own bits of plastic, floating around in our purses. Really inexpensive. That rounded out our foray into that mall. Next up was the Chinese herbalist two malls down. My sister's sister-in-law is struggling with tendonitis. The couple she works to care for have joint pain and inflammation to deal with as well. Stocked up for her needs with the assistance of one of the herbalists on site. I am familiar with their skill and I trust their recommendations within their healing system. There is a hardware store, right next to the herbalist's, that was having a sale on wood burning stoves. It is one of the alternatives that I had been contemplating to replace my dead furnace, but I have absolutely no expertise in their use. I have read extensively about them, but that is like reading about child rearing instead of actually having to deal with a rebellious two year old - or eight year old - or fourteen year old. Fire scares me because I have worked with burn patients. Some things just can't be undone. Serious burns fall in that category. She lives on an island where every household has to have a wood burning stove, because of the instability of electrical supply and their isolation from timely help. We took a look at what was offered and she declared that they weren't worth the sale price. She also reminded me that I would have to factor in the costs of a cord of firewood and the time needed to chop it. Umm yes, Enlightenment = chop wood, carry water. Zen koan. The exercise would definitely do me good, if I don't manage to chop off an extremity or two that is. She showed me what kind of maul I would have to have for that task. I'm not certain how long it would take me - if I could swing it round - but I suspect the sweating I would do would reduce the need for actual firewood. I caught sight of the chain saws sitting over one aisle and joked that those would be good for self defence should I ever find out who is entering my home when I step out on errands. We were laughing somewhat maniacally at that point. The other shoppers were eyeing us with a certain amount of caution as we tried to find our way out of the store. It is one of those that is set up so that one enters through one door and exits through another - well hidden - door. Hmm.
Lastly was lunch at a Japanese Sushi restaurant. I don't eat anything raw and especially not bait. I had a stir fry, while she loaded her raw fish up with as much wasabi as each piece would hold. I had hot sake, while she drank Japanese beer. It was all delicious. This was the same restaurant my Dad took the family to visit about a year ago. Remember, dear diary. We talked about her learning needs to use her new laptop in order to service her astrology clients. They have all been telling her that they want her to be available to them on-line - voip and all. She can just manage to open her email at this point. However, she is really brainy so it won't take her long to figure out what she needs to know, with a little support from me and her family. I suggested that the first thing she do was get the right security features in place to protect her investment and her business. Then we talked about what she felt she needed first in order to feel she had met her initial goals. Surprisingly, her first order of business was to be able to access her favorite radio programs on-line. She also has a library of tapes she has created over the years that she wanted to convert to digital. She does want a webpage, but more to be available to her existing clients for now. She sends them a monthly newsletter that tends to focus on the principles of Jungian therapy as it relates to aspects in their astrology charts. The Great Myths play a large part in Jungian therapy as the morals and truisms of the archetypal tales play out in a person's life and across their natal astrological chart. She also is profoundly interested in social justice issues, hence the interest in the radio presentations - so the other part of the newsletter tends to be based on horary astrology for world events and political leaders. When I got home, I emailed about 20 links to different astrology sites that I think are the most creative, available from around the world, for her to analyze to see what she feels is necessary for her own webpage. I promised her another 20 links when she's done looking at those. I told her that I would help her get started, but that she needed to learn how to maintain it herself so she controls her creative and editorial content. I also suggested she familiarize herself with the copyright challenges now, so she is in compliance and also can try to protect her own work. She was very concerned that she not find the Mounties (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) at her doorstep for messing around with those laws. I told her I had links to the Riaa stories, so she could see what the issues were and how the discussion around finding a balance for all stakeholders was playing out.
She dropped me off at home around 3 in the pm. I had several emails from family and friends to respond to. My grand-daughter is now rolling over on her own and stuffing everything within reach in her mouth. Teething most likely. That's about right. My friend from the Middle East gave a progress report on her packing to move and added in jokes as well. My friend who worked in the Gaza elections wanted to set a time to get together for coffee. That sort of thing. The cats, on the other hand, were pointing out that their regular sleep cycle had been badly disrupted by my thoughtless day out of the house. Reparations were expected in the way of an immediate nap. Don't argue with felines. Now it's time to get a bit more sleep I think. Good night dear diary.
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