Tedious Novels I Can't Wait to Read [or reread]

Gravity's Rainbow

Ulysses
Finnegan's Wake
At Swim, Two Birds
Remembrance of Things Past
Shogun
Infinite Jest
Atlas Shrugged
The Lord of the Rings
Kristin Lavransdatter
Against the Day
The Tale of Genji
War and Peace
Fountainhead
The Pillars of the Earth
A Dance to the Music of Time
Anna Karenina
Moby Dick
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Stand
Gospel
The Far Pavilions
Maia
Crime and Punishment
A Suitable Boy
Dead Souls
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

This list was inspired by suggestions I found on a Burning Man listserv.

Please comment and/or add to this list, dear readers!

(Photo: Hotel Room; Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas)

Sadness on Sunny Sunday Afternoon

All is well. Rose to the sun shining and made it to a meditation meeting. Rode my bike home and then started doing some cleaning: windowsills, dishes, mirrors, watering plants. Sang along to Sirius First Wave and laughed a lot to Howard Stern. Prepared a delicious lunch and watched an episode of 30 Rock.

So then I came to the city and stopped in a bookstore to look for a book I want to read, come to find they are out of stock. Also come to find it's only in hardcover and I don't like reading hardcover books.

After that I started walking to a great cafe. As I was walking I just started feeling sad. Like I was about to cry. And I couldn't think of anything that it could be about. I mean, OK, so the book was out of stock and in hardcover still - but that didn't really set me off or anything.

I arrived at the cafe and I met a cute guy in line to order coffee and he complimented me on my shirt and my style and asked me if I was an artist. When I said yes he said he wasn't surprised, in a good way. Did I mention he was very attractive?

Then I ran into a friend at the cafe who is very sweet and he gave me a warm hug and I chatted with him a while.

All is well, yet I still feel like I could cry.

Has that ever happened to any of you before?

Bringing Burning Man here

I went to an opening tonight for a friend's lovely yoga studio and I first of all had delicious food which seemed homemade and then talked a lot about Burning Man. Someone asked if it's hard to come back and then have to wait another whole year before it comes around again. I found myself saying that it's getting easier and easier...

It seems like everything I'm doing in my life is guided towards carrying the spirit into everything I do...

What is this spirit which I bring into everything I do?

It's difficult to explain or quantify the spirit of Burning Man, but I think it largely has to do with the gift economy that exists at Burning Man.

What is a gift economy?

Well, it's a collective understanding that everyone brings something to the table to offer and then one and all offer their gifts freely, primarily for the joy of offering and not for what might be received in return. Now what happens is everyone DOES wind up receiving A LOT, sometimes more than is comfortable or customary. Because everyone is focused on giving, naturally many are the recipients of these gifts!

WOW! It's a wonderful feeling that I wish for everyone that desires it!!!

So ultimately tonight I had the privilege of offering this explanation and in turn I received one more day being energized by this way of life that is developing not just at Burning Man, but in our lives through our imaginings of what we can offer and what we might create...

Tonight we created two camping trips (one to a harvest festival in New England and one to go do some painting en plein air upstate), at least one or two new [Facebook] friendships, a recipe exchange, and customers for the new yoga studio.

Burning Man 2009: Favorite Frames, Part 2

having the thought that it would be nice to paint my nails and then having a woman pull out a ziploc baggie filled with nail color choices moments later
riding all the way out to 10 o'clock, braving the rave clubs, finding a funky outdoor dance spot, being spotted on the dance floor by a guy in a big hat and a goofy smile, having him approach me and hit on me, then to discover that it is actually my friend D from NYC whom I didn't even know was out there
experiencing actual humidity in the evenings at Steambath in Nectar Village and not having to wait in line
crying with G
crying with K
crying in Any A
crying just because it was beautiful
sweeping up glass on the side of the road with B and having him say "you're a damned good looking woman"
being called Jennifer three times
sleeping on my own in the small dome most nights
waking up each morning to yoga teacher calling out poses within earshot
being offered a grilled cheese by a traveling grilled cheese man
seeing one of the Tuna Guys at Shamandome, having him tell me where they are located this year after having searched for nine years, and then promptly forgetting what he told me and then still not actually finding them
weinie roast one day for lunch
being served authentic Vietnamese Iced Coffee and enjoying it with the most fabulous company from all over the world
meeting G2 from France while waiting for grilled cheeses
hearing repeatedly about how amazing it was at Opulent Temple and then having to savor the legend as I never actually made it there in person
writing my desire on the Temple
the camouflaged bike which belonged to J and was with us literally until the last hours when it then mysteriously disappeared before being packed into the truck
receiving impromptu neck and back massages after only having the thought that I wanted them
having my back scrubbed and being sprayed with cool water
going to a bar and being offered a choice of cucumber juice or coconut juice on ice
Ashram Galactica
midnight meeting
photo shoots with C
surprise visit from CJ
J from Montreal whose email I promptly forgot to jot down
the porta-potty that played the tune of "Happy Birthday"
R playing at the Jazz Cafe
loving how getting dressed and made up in the evening was sometimes even more fun than being out
joyfully chopping fruits for dinner for three hours with K and F
mango lassis by K
beautiful altar and dome keeping by L
monkey chanting next door
impromptu David Deida meetup discussion at Contact Camp
tireless healing by R, B and D among others
the unexpected joy of cleaning and organizing supplies at storage unit for next year's Burn

Burning Man 2009: Favorite Frames, Part 1

braving a dust storm with large foot in tow

being called "The Goddess Azulita" continuously
K1's amazing Indian dinners
coming home to a foursome in my dome
G1's impromptu kitchen healing
learning about the Santa Fe crone and seeing the spell she made for G2
G2 = Boy George doppelganger
stepping on a burning ember when leaving the healing dome
healing reiki session with crystals for K2
thai massage with K3
sunrise NA meeting led by K4 at the Temple
freeing the Goddess within with "Magic Hands"
crystal exchange with D, K2 & B
sleeping on the beach with four friends at sacred healing lake
finding that my work has to do with spirals
swimming with my friends in sacred lake and exfoliating with healing sand
ceremony by sacred lake
incident with park ranger
the clogs B found for me at sacred lake
meeting High Priestess and learning that if i don't know that I'm on the right track
amazing details of a pagan wedding
heart alignment journey with E
the three injured left feet
the ring around the moon and coming to find it was created by a sacred Peruvian shamanic ceremony moments before
temple burn with K1, R and B:
- Amazing Grace while circling the fire
- embracing my three friends by the fire
- offering our prayers to the fire
- doing "the wave" with our voices with 1000s around the fire
- the silence of the burning with 1000s around the fire

If you'd like to hear about any of the above in greater detail, drop me a line!

COMING SOON:

More Favorite Frames
Gratitudes
Lessons Learned
Synchronicities