Ramblings of This and That and Well, Nothing, Really.

My body and mind seem to have done a sudden screeeeeech sloooooooooow dowwwwwwwwwn since our weather seems to have done the same thing. This sudden switch to needing the a/c to needing the heat is telling us Fall is here, a time to slow down, bundle up, look inward, reflect, prepare for winter's hibernation (I would have made an excellent bear). Time to make stews and soups and homemade breads.

While nature seems to be adjusting just fine, my mind and body seem to be a bit out of sorts. Maybe it's just my body doing it's normal monthly cycle. All I know is that in the last 36 hours, my physical self has said STOP SLOW DOWN REST ME. I thought exercise may do the trick. I was wrong. Not quite fifteen minutes into it, my body simply had had enough.

Perhaps it's also partly due to the barrage of depressing news (as if there's anything different) about the economy that's being slammed down our throats everytime you turn on any news channel or open up any paper. Maybe it's also due to the picking up of other people's mental states, which, unless you're one of the very few who are financially secure or living in a cabin in a remote area, is likely to be chaotic, unsure and frightened. The past couple of days I've been so overwhelmingly tired, I haven't really given much of a shit about the markets. Whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen. I'm content to curl up with my blankie and my free-trade dark chocolate for now.

On a lighter note, I'm getting new glasses. Soon I'll return to contacts. But for now, I'll finally be able to wear glasses that don't feel like a brick on my face. They're lightweight and stylish. Cool. Funky. I had quite the time trying on frames. I tried some of those styles that are all the rage now--the black/dark rimmed rectangular types. I laughed at myself upon seeing them sitting on my face. I looked like a stern school teacher about ready to launch into a lecture on abstinence only. Either that or I looked like I had wings and was ready to fly away. I tried on some round spectacles. I always thought John Lennon looked so cool in that style. But alas, they looked too small on my face. I tried on a variety of other frames, and either laughed or let loose an expletive. Frustration set in after about 20 minutes of this. I had done my research. I had learned what shape my face is: oval. I did this by measuring my face, putting little pencil dots at select points then measuring the distance. Those dots and my measuring tape said I was an oval, which according to all the sites, this is the ideal shape because I can wear most any shape. So then why was I having such a difficult time selecting a frame?

Oh well, I finally found a pair, a wider more squarish frame of the popular rectangular style. If that makes sense. I glanced at the price tag. Yikes. I had selected one of the most expensive frames. And the price didn't include the lenses OR the Transition coating I was adding. Oh well. I've often said I am a poor girl with rich girl tastes.

A girlfriend of mine, who used to blog, never shared much about her personal life in her entries, which was too bad. She's had a fascinating life. She kept her blog focused on social issues and the like. When I asked her why she never ventured more into the personal side, she said she wasn't that ego-centric. Hearing that had me question my own desire to share the occasional personal story. Was I some insecure, approval seeking loon? Maybe in a way, yes. But then I remembered something out of a line from one of my songs I wrote, about the stories we all have, the stories that somewhere within we all desire to share, but we don't out of fear. Instead, just as we do in person, we tend to talk about the weather, politics, religion, cars or about others. But our personal stories? Forget it. And that's sad, for it is our personal stories that really make us who we are. It's those things big and small that help paint the landscape of who we are.

Given fall is here and winter's headed our direction, and given the condition of our economy and the brewing storm, maybe it's time to start sharing those stories. It's time to really bond with one another. Instead of focusing on all that's crazy about the world, maybe it's time to talk about what's crazy and wonderful about ourselves.

Speaking for myself, I'm much more interested in such things than I am on what Oboo-boo/McPain/Shit/Murky said/did. Frankly my dear, I just no longer give a damn.