Terrapin Station

Never Again! Friday Five

Deb says at RevGals:

"It seemed like a good idea at the time..."

It was supposed to be a "staff bonding" moment for us... The church staff team and some of our spouses got all decked out in a harness and helmets and went on a high wire "confidence" course. It was supposed to be liberating and fun and build a spirit of camaraderie.

Yours Truly. Terrified.

I was talked into doing it. Sounded simple. You put on a butt-hugging harness and clip yourself to a verrry thin wire. You go way high in the air and climb around trees with the squirrels. It ended with a zip wire. To this day, the memory of it sends chills down my spine.

NEVER AGAIN!!!

You may have read David Foster Wallace's essay "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" where he notes his lack of enthusiasm for going on a cruise. (That's putting it in a nutshell. It's hilarious. Do read it!) However, I think it (perhaps) is just a wee bit of a hyperbole. ;) Some of our awesome RevGals are heading out on the next BE 6.0 (Big Event) for a cruise. They absolutely will have an amazing time. A very non-DFW cruise. And even the cruise-phobic among us would wish that! 

All this is the inspiration for this week's Friday Five! 

Perhaps you have tried something that everyone assured you was SO MUCH FUN!!! and you swore on a stack of Bibles that you would never ever be dragged to said activity ever again. Was it horseback riding? Rappelling? Ballet class when you were 7?

So share with us 5 Supposedly Fun Things You'll Never EVER Do Again. You may find some commiserating souls among us. A bonus if you share pictures.

**

Well. 

1) Roller Coasters. I do not like them, Sam I am. Not with anyone for any reason, no way no how. I've been on several...young and stupid...old and stupid...but I do not ever have to do that again. 

2) Standing up for Aggie Football games. This is traditional; the students do it in the spirit of the Texas A&M 12th Man.  When I was an undergrad at A&M, the team was winning and we went to the Cotton Bowl three of the four years.  Woo hoo! Except, when the team is winning, the game is on TV, and so it takes much, much longer - like 4 hours or more.  Football is played in the fall, which in central Texas makes Kyle Field an enormous oven. One day in my junior year I looked around and thought, "Hey...I don't like football, I don't like crowds, I don't like standing up for 4 hours, and I'm not doing this any more." And I put on my roller skates and went home. (Photo: TAMU Marketing & Communications News Archive)

3) Ziplining through the Costa Rican rain forest. Ken and I did this on a Thanksgiving trip to Costa Rica about five years ago.  We signed up and it sounded great...bus and then boat ride to the site, butterfly sanctuary, horseback ride to the ziplining place, ziplining. 

Uh oh, ziplining. I'm not sure what we thought would happen, but you have to CLIMB up to the platform. Like 100 feet.  It's very, very high up. One of us has a slight fear of heights (not me) and the other (me) has less upper body strength than would be ideal for ziplining. So, yeah. We made it, we got through it, we were proud we didn't die or cry for our moms, and we won't try that again. 

3a) A really fun thing that I WILL do again is go to the Arenal Hot Springs in Costa Rica...heated by the volcano! The Tabacon Grand Spa is AMAZING, the top of the line. Check it out. We loved it so much we went there twice on that trip!

4) Horror Movies. Some people apparently really like them. Not me. I always say, I've got enough bad stuff in my head without putting more in there. And I shut my eyes during most of the movie previews.

5) Amusement Parks. Again with the crowds, the standing up, the HEAT, the roller coasters. Amusement parks bring together so many things I really don't like...they are probably my best example of going to hell! The last time I went to Six Flags over Texas was when Brandon was in Jr. High and Ken and I chaperoned the trip. Ken talked me into going on the Batman roller coaster, which turns you entirely upside down, among other lovely things.  UGH.

This makes me sound pretty negative. Let me assure you that there are many things I DO like to do. Hanging out with Revgals. Jazzercise. Playing with dogs. Reading. Hiking. Riding bikes with my hubby. Even occasionally riding the motorcycle with him, which would once have been on the list above.  See, I can change!

This IS the big show.

I'm listening to Brené Brown's TED talks. Who knew there was more than one? Duh. Go to YouTube and search, there are scads. In the one right now: The Price of Invulnerability, she notes that we need to be grateful for the every day things in order to avoid jadedness, detachedness, misery.

Listening to multiple talks led me to an interview with her by the GoodLife Project. Here's their creed:

Like this? Learn to build a better life at Good Life Project.

Friday Five: What Makes You Smile?

For this Friday Five, what makes you smile? Remembering that Meister Eckhart said that if you pray "thank you" that that is enough of a prayer, share with us five things, memories, or activities that bring you smiles and gratitude.

1) Walking across this university campus, which went "smoke-free" on January 1.  It is a pure dee joy to know that I will not have to hold my breath at a random time, especially 25 feet from a building door where smokers used to congregate.  Or get smoke-bombed unexpectedly. I feel like I can breathe better already.

2) My silly funny dogs, and the squirrels who come to my office windows for sunflower seeds each day. And animals in general.

3) The new radio in my car, and the new antenna too, which is apparently made of platinum (based on what it cost). Christmas gifts from my sweet spouse.

4) New chiropractor today - I am VERY impressed with her and think she is really going to be able to help me. 

5) I cruise in 11 days! 

Friday Five: Where is its HOME?

Today I am giving the RevGals Friday Five. It's a little weird...I'm not sure how folks will take it.  Here's my 2 cents.

As noted at my own blog, my word for the year is "clear."

One of the things to which this refers is clearing away clutter.

One of the best ways I have found to do this is to give everything that comes into my house a HOME. And I can easily tell that I have too many things when there are not enough homes for them all!

 I gleaned the idea of items having homes  from my younger sister who used to say to her toddlers, "See that book on the floor there? Is that its home? No? Please put the book into its home." Often, I am saying the same words to myself that she said to her little ones.

 

Photo from Discountofficeitems.com

In my mother's house, the Marks-A-Lot marker always went in the cupboard next to the sink. I don't know why, I just know that's where the Marks-A-Lot goes, still and forever, in my house many miles away.  

So:  Tell us your favorite homes for five things, the places that you can always and reliably find them. 

1. Well, I already told you about the Marks-a-Lot. You have to stand it up on the end inside the cupboard. You should have seen me trying to teach Brandon that when I met him...when he was 9. 

2. At work, my office is in a former dorm room, and I still have 2 built-in closets and a built-in sink.  My lint roller is ALWAYS in this closet, on the left hand side.  Remember that I have two very long-haired dogs...I keep the lint roller people in business. (see it?)

3. The measuring spoons have to go in the front of the drawer to the left of the dishwasher. Put them anywhere else, and I get ruffled.

4. I've had a bad habit of dropping my purse, keys, etc. on the washer as I come in the door (one of my "hot spots" or clutter areas is the washer/dryer!) So I've put a small end table behind the door in that room to act as receptacle for the things I bring in when I first come home, and also as my "launch pad" for things I need to have or take with me when I next leave: errand items, gym bag, etc.  It works fairly well. 

5. I have a hidden stash of emery boards, nail clippers, and tweezers in a secret place, because they run off otherwise.  I'm not going to tell where that is...then everyone would know!

Clear

For the past few years I've engaged in the New Year's practice of choosing a word for the year.  Last year my word was window.

I've been thinking about this year's word for several days now. I worked hard to make my word be "joy," because I've recently returned from an out of town wedding and I wanted to retain the pure and utter delight I felt at that event. My face kept hurting from smiling so much.

But then I came home. 

Don't get me wrong, there's not a problem, and I'm glad to be here. It's just that you can't live in a liminal space forever, and that's where I'd been. Joy is fleeting, and can't be forced. 

One of my regular challenges is my response to Ken's ongoing difficulties with eating and with feeling bad. As hard as I try, I regularly find myself either wanting to believe that I should be able to "fix" the situation or just that it's my fault somehow. 

Right. Because I'm that powerful.

Anyway, I was awake much of last night, and as I pondered words (one of which was ponder) I felt as though I was in a boat, with words bumping gently up against my bow and presenting themselves for my consideration.

Ponder

    Listen

        Joy

            Speak

                Clear

                    Smile

Clear was the word that stuck, that I fished out of the water and set beside me to keep.  It applies in all the parts of speech - noun, verb, adjective and adverb.  I want to clear the stuck ideas from my consciousness; clear the cluttered surfaces of my home; I want to be clear in what I ask and in what I state.

 

Happy New Year from Terrapin Station!

This blog is named for a Grateful Dead album: Terrapin Station. The terrapins and I wish you all the best for the new year!