Big Stinky Flower
Otherwise, or more technically known as Titan Arum. This flower, though I feel like I am seriously undermining its existence by calling it a flower, is the largest in the world. I recently had the pleasure of seeing it right when it closed (unfortunately) and it stood nearly 6 feet tall. Yes, seriously, a 6 foot tall flower. It was amazing, even when closed. This flower blooms once every 3-5 years and only stays open for about 2 days. I was there on day 3. When it is open it smells like rotting raw chicken…not the essence of perfume you were picturing? Well you would expect a flower that big to knock you over with it’s smell, you probably just didn’t think you would be gagging on the way down. This is where I lucked out by being late, I was not subjected to the horrid smell.
The reason the flower smells this way is because it is trying to attract Carrion beetles to help pollinate it. I guess our big bloom did not have and beetle callers, better luck next time.
The one that I saw was at the Smith College Botanic Garden. Here are my amazing pictures….well at least the flower is amazing, if not the pictures. I took a couple with me in them, mainly for size perspective. Enjoy.
Techno Relationship
Sitting in a sun light room. Sitting in a moon dark room. A dim light casts shadows on the desk and the ambiance is cast by the light of a computer monitor. Wow. I am in another room, separated, disconnected, isolated. What is so compelling? What is the attraction? Wow. Small fights, battles over allocation of time, miscommunication and a lack of understanding. What are you doing? Wow.
He comes forward. Leaves the cast of the blue tinted light. Disconnects from the techno world of inclusion and objectives. We snuggle on the couch. We hold hands as we walk to the movies. Wow. my turn.
I set up on the bed. I put on my glasses. I change into something more comfortable. I have my glass of water for hydration and a little snack for energy. Once I am settled in and ready, I download the program. Wow. A few minutes later I have a character and I am playing.
He is staring at me in shock and excitement. Rushing over he shows me this world he has been living in. He joins me in the game. He joins me in life. I am giving World of Warcraft a chance.
He stepped away from World of Warcraft (WoW) to give me the time I asked for, so now it is my turn to reach out and step into WoW to understand what he is doing. He gives, I give.
…and now I am a night elf named Aelfgifu (of course) on WoW. …..Wow!
I broke my toe
I totally broke my pinky toe this morning.
Starting like every other morning, the alarm went off and I got out of bed to hit snooze. As I was passing the bed, I hit my toe on the corner of my bed frame. I hit right between my 4th and 5th toe. I jumped and internally swore and hopped around. Then the annoyance of the buzzing overrode any pain, and I turned off the alarm and curled back into bed.
I noticed later on that my toe was still sore. Upon closer inspection, I saw a small dark bruise. I mentioned this to a friend. She immediately told me to call the doctor. I poo-poo’d this thinking it was just a bad stub.
Later I noticed that the bruise was getting blacker and blacker and starting to wrap around my toe. This raised a flag or two. But when I curled my toes and was wrenched in pain, I though, damn it’s broken.
I have spoken the the doctor and another friend with a history of broken toes, and they both said to buddy tape it and if it gets worse, get x-rays.
So my black and blue pinky toe is taped to its buddy the 4th toe, and I officially have my first broken toe.
Just Living | Comment (0)Change is in the air freshener
Every tarot read, every feeling, every fortuitous moment seems to confirm that big changes are coming. They are still a ways off, but they are there. I am not surprised by this. I have known for a while. But I was not expecting the change to be quite as soon as it seems like it will be. There are forces that are pushing me out of my current situations. Otherwise, I would still be leaving, just on a longer time line.
Right now, I don’t know what change I am working towards. Ok, that is not true. I don’t know the specifics of that change. The specifics being insignificant details like where will I be living, what will I be doing, what country will we be in? Nothing big.
All I know is that right now I am laying the brick work to a path whose end is obscured by a big bush. What tarot…and life…seems to be telling me is that I should not underestimate my own ability to not be a door mat, to determine my own way in this world, and to not underestimate my own resolve. Also that I should not underestimate even the smallest connection. People and events are going to be relevant to me in ways that I cannot yet see. I need to be open to everything…and continue to be proactive.
I can smell the change, but I am still looking for what is causing the stink.
Just Living | Comment (0)Cabin Trip
Though these are not all the photos, these are my photos. The cabin trip was awesome. All we did was lay around eat, chat, drink beer, sit by a fire, eat some more, go shooting, eat and sleep in the sun. No to mention it was beautiful. The weather was good. It was sunny and nice. A couple of nights it was a little chilly, but nothing that a fire wouldnt cure.
Yeah, I didn’t want to leave. A bunch of friends were there. A few of us traveled from the east coast and I even had a hitchhiker from Mass. A friend of mine from work bought a ticket last minute and joined us. People always talk about doing that but no one ever actually does. I LOVE that she actually did it! Awesome! So here are the pics:
Hauler Ride:
Fun at the Cabin:
