First Meditation on SIMPLE

1. Having or composed of only one thing, element, or part. See synonyms at pure

I'm finally back in the swing of things after my first flight this past weekend. I took one and a half benedryl plus a beer, 3 vodka shots, and two vodka sodas (only 70calories makes this my cocktail of choice), so by the time I got on the plane I was kinda in the zone. Lol. It was much better than I thought, you kinda just sit in there...no fuss no muss. The trip was party party, so this Monday when I set me feet on the floor at 7:20 (I know that's late, but that's why I live so close to work!), my knees almost buckled. SO TIRED. So, to keep me going I decided it's time to mull over my first definition of Simple.

Out of all of them, I think this is probably my favorite. "Being composed of only one thing"...sounds good to me. People like to do surveys where they say "Use one word to say what you think about me"; I think we all like the idea of being boiled down to this one word that encircles an entire facet of our lives as seen through the eyes of our friends. Most people get a list of words (if they have more than one friend..), and I think that it would be really interesting if the next step was to take a poll and narrow that list down to one word. One word to describe your entire representment to the world around you. I quickly have decided that I would want that word to be "kind" for me, but I imagine that it would be a little tougher for most people to whittle themselves down to one adjetive.
We love to be so much more complicated, to have so many facets, but I personally think the old adage holds water for people who spread themselves too thin: "it can do a lot of things, but not a lot of things well". Since we're people, not mulitfunctional tools, we have the ability to have the midas touch, but I think that when an attempt at too much occurs, too little gets done, and even less done properly...
All of this was to say, what do I want to do? How do I want to focus my energy so that what I do, I do well? What one element do I want to be made out of?
Simplicity of personality is for most a put down. "Hey what do you think of me?", "Oh, I think you're simple....". That doesn't sound too hot. Simple people are retarded, or plain (which means ugly), or poor. I don't think people want to be considered any of those. Complexity of personality or character is something that is prided. It's synomous with flexible, knowledgable, worldly. But why does that matter? Why not have a focus thats narrower?
I don't know, it's a constant battle in my opinion between head and heart. Head matters are complex, heart matters are not. When I get hurt (heart), I have to rationalize (head) that I am being hypersensitive and get over it. It took two seconds to hurt my heart, but it would probably take days for my head to fight it back down. It's that way with all matters in my opinion, with the heart being the fastest lithmus test to a situation, and the head showing up late and still being rude enough to jocky for top position.
Being composed of one thing . It's an interesting concept, the idea that I can boil myself down to one thing. I like "kind", it's a heart thing, a simple thing, an adjetive that is so plain that it doesn't even seem to elicit strong emotions when used. It's sort of like being just good enough, "I wouldn't call her altruistic or beneficent, just kind." lol. Sounds simple to me!

Word of the Year

I just stumbled across this 3 seconds ago. Here's a brief discription from Ali Edward's website

one little word

A single word can be a powerful thing. It can be the ripple in the pond that changes everything. It can be sharp and biting or rich and soft and slow.
Last year I began a tradition of chosing one word for myself each January - a word that I can focus on, mediate on, and reflect upon as I go about my daily life. Last year my word was something I wanted to bring into my life in a more tangible way. My word was play.
I thought a lot about play and what it means to me. I tried to incorporate it more into my everyday and on my adventures out in the crazy world. For me, it was a lot about living without fear - about being more open to experiences with an attitude of playfulness.

This concept was originaly for scrapbooking, but seems like something revelant to try to do in all aspects of your life. So I thought, WHY NOT?! I prayed over it for like 5 seconds, and discoverd what I plan on spending a lot of brain cells on in 2010 *drum roll please*:

simple

I thought about simplicity, simplify, or simplness, but not one of those was simple enough. I want to get down to the root, underneath all of the flourishing language, and have the word in it's most pungent of forms, S I M P L E. I looked for a definition and got this list:

Definitions of 'simple'
The American Heritage® Dictionary - (17 definitions)
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin simplus, and from simplex; see simplex.]
(adjective: -pler, -plest.)

1. Having or composed of only one thing, element, or part. See synonyms at pure
2. Not involved or complicated; easy: a simple task. See synonyms at easy
3. Being without additions or modifications; mere: a simple “yes” or “no.”4. Having little or no ornamentation; not embellished or adorned: a simple dress.
5. Not elaborate, elegant, or luxurious. See synonyms at plain
6. Unassuming or unpretentious; not affected.
7. a.Having or manifesting little sense or intelligence.
b.Uneducated; ignorant.
c.Unworldly or unsophisticated. See synonyms at naive
8. Not guileful or deceitful; sincere.
9. Humble or lowly in condition or rank: a simple woodcutter.
10.Ordinary or common: a simple head cold.
11. a.Being a fundamental or rudimentary element; basic.
b.Not important or significant; trivial.
12. Biology Having no divisions or branches; not compound: a simple leaf;
a simple eye or lens.
13. Music Being without figuration or elaboration: a simple tone.

(noun)
1.A single component of a complex, especially one that is unanalyzable.
2.A fool; a simpleton.
3.A person of humble birth or condition.
4.A medicinal plant or the medicine obtained from it.

I'm not so sure about that medicinal plant definition, but all of the rest of them REALLY speak to me. I think over the next year I will really dig in and explore each one of these definitions and what they mean for me. I have had this hole in me for so very long. It's been a constant battle to discover who exactly I am. I am 26 years old and have not a clue what I mean to myself. I am always on this journey of augmentation, and trying to be like others leaves this Leo feeling empty and ordinary. I see things that others do, attempt to emulate, FAIL miseraable, and I am left feeling even worse.
Well, I am so over it! I am finally starting to see the light, and I'm going towards it full speed. Simple to me, on the 7th of January, means that I will strip away all the excess, all the periphery, and get down to the flesh and bones that are Jonet.

3 Kings Day!

Well folks, it's Epiphany. I feel the urge to learn/do/create something new today in honor of it! I also feel the urge to have a cocktail or six...I mean it is the countdown to Lent, and a girl can only expect so much fun from a 40 day party soo it kinda sounds like I should get started now huh?
I think i should spend the next 40 days REALLY thinking about what I should give up for lent. My heart (where Jesus lives) keeps screaming alcohol, but my brain is fighting really hard to tell it to shut up. Why on Earth did I decide that I needed to celebrate Lent anyway? Sheesh. Maybe in 40 days time I will find something else that would cause me suffering to give up. Maybe I should take up gambling or crack...surely that would be something any good Christian would be hard pressed to continue doing while abstaining from something as trivial as alcohol? Right?
Well, while I fight my wicked soul for domination, I will also be going to get a 3 kings cake for dinner tonight (I'm a great mulitasker, I know). I was going to make spaghetti and meatballs, but in honor of Epiphany, I think a jambalaya would make more sence.
I wonder what it was like to walk in to that barn and see the most important person ever born into the world laying there helpless, and to then be the first people on Earth to bow down and worship Him. Seems incredible.

End of the world

Everyone asked me what I was doing for New Years. My response was a Y2K celebration. I planned on stocking up on crackers, tuna, tp, ect, and waiting in my house with my shotgun. Actually, I went over a friends house and had a quiet, small celebration, like we do every year.
Its funny how quickly people forget, and how quickly people are swayed. Total death and destruction will rear it's ugly head again in 2012, not nearly as bad as Y2K in my opinion, but it still will. I wonder what alot of people will be doing then?

At any rate, now is the time to decide to be a better person by changing some things about myself. The problem is I struggle with this all year long, leaving me exasperated and jaded about resolutions. I make plans over and over again, just to fail over and over again, so resolution making seems like an old worn down notion that I can't seem to grasp.
Maybe it's time I resolved to resolve nothing. I will try to take what I have, no matter how much I want to "improve" it, and make it what I love. Maybe my resolution should be to enjoy enjoy enjoy each day. I want to focus on God's grace and beauty, and know that no matter how much I may toil to an end, God's work in me is infinatly better, and my work will never compare.
OUCH! That is so much easier to say than it is to do, it hurts sooooo bad, mentally and physically. It pains me to try to be still for once, but labor pain brings new birth, and that's what I am desperatly seeking more than anything else.

Y2K isn't such a bad concept. I need to end the world as I know it, let that old world fall away, and be born into a New World Order where God's hands guide and lead me instead of my own.

Downtown at Christmas!

I took myself (and therefore you all) on a photo tour of the tunnel and a few of the buildings downtown lit up for the most wonderful time of the year!

This is the Houston Center 5, you know, the one that hates the rest of the Houston Center.

Their tree.

And table decorations.

And this is Houston 2. They have the best decorated trees of all the centers.

See!


Told Ya!




And this is Reliant's massive tree in the tunnel. I was in love the first time I saw this one!



This is at the juncture between JP Chase bank and Chase Tower. Not the fanciest, but I got be feeling Christmasy.



Here's the tree in the tunnel at Chase Tower. Looks like they were having somekind of toy drive?










This is the juncture of Penzoil and Bank of America. Very Nice!


The tree in Bank of America's lobby.

Close up of BOA and Penzoil juncture tree.







MY FOVORITE colors of any decorations downtown! This is in the tunnel of the Shell Building.

Here is what the pathway between Shell and Wells Fargo looks like. Very pretty!















Now this is hilarious, do you see how Wells Fargo treats it's poor Nutcrackers? Poor little guys.





Well, I guess the ones inside have it a little better. Must be considered less of a flight risk...


This is the skywalk in between Center Point and the Hyatt.


And here is the lobby at the Hyatt.


The poor people at Allen Center may have misjudged how much space this tree needed.

David the knome kickin it Christmas style.




This is the tree at some bank, I don't remember it's name, but I really enjoyed it's tree!


At the Embassy hotel.

This beautiful display is at Total Plaza. I'd never been in this building before, but thought I'd check it out for this project.







And here is Houston 4. I really like their decorations as well.






Phew, and that's the lot!

What I got goin on

We went to a lovely dinner party last night with Jonathan and Tara at Nathan and Jen's house. I feel like an old married woman...
I had a few cocktails and as usual felt slightly awkward and that I may have said too much.
Woke up HANGOVER FREE! Which is a Christmas miracle. Made it to work on time despite moving slow as molassas on a sub zero day.
I am currently in a biddng war for the last of Damon's presents on overstock. I've got 30 min left, but if this guy outbids me again he can have it.
I need to go to Forever 21 and get niece #1 some headbands. She saw the ones I had and asked to borrow them, I figure I'll give her a set.
I'm going to take a ton of pictures today that I will post to show the beauty that is downtown at Christmas. It's truely inspiring how all the buildings really get in the spirit!
Need to make a grocery list for tomorrow, but I think I'll wait until then..no rush.
And that's pretty much it. I was reading on Liz Jordan's blog that she got engaged. I love married people, it's so nice to know that there is so much love out there, and when another couple takes the plunge, it's kind of like a new life being born.
Oh, and one last thing. I've got 6 water bottles and 3 cans at my desk I need to go drop 3 ft away in the recycling bins. I'll do that when the mood strikes me.

Epiphany

God's been all up in my face lately...and I LOVE it! He spoke to me yesterday and told me something that knocked my socks off. Now before I get into it, remember, revelations are different for each person, just like there are some people that can sit down and understand trig at first glance, there are people whom God can get through to quite easily. Then there are people like me who don't understand what tangent has to do with anything, and who have thick almost cement-like skulls that God has to crack through to get his message in.

My epiphany was about work. I was walking on my lunch break, like I do everyday, and speaking with God. Really it was all about how nice the trees looked, how beautiful the weather was, you know, heavy spritual stuff. Then my mind roamed to the thought of work, and pride in work. While it's perfectly suitable to take pride in you work, in fact everyone should, it's not okay to be prideful about it. On my "Operational Definitions of Character Qualities" sheet, it has the following traits:
HUMILIY vs. Pride
Recognizing that God and others are actually responsible for the achievements in my life.
DILIGENCE vs. Slothfulness
Visualizing each task as a special assignment from the Lord and using all my energies to accomplish it.

Here was the conclusion I reached, if I am to give all glory to God for my achievements, than my work is a reflection of Him, which means I should do my best at it, becuase if we share in triumph, we share in tragedy.
WHOA
So what You're saying is (me talking to God), if I represent You in the good things I do, I also represent You in the bad things I do, which means I should always try take each task I get and fulfill it in a way that would give You glory. And not only that, but because You give me each task that is set before me, I should be eager and willing to work my hardest at it beacuse it's for You.

All I can say is YIKES. He is so good!