“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” -- Fred Rogers
Phix's Curiosity: what sparks my interest
Watch this space to see what's sparked my interest this week. A random grab bag of delights!
Over the course of the last week, what's caught my attention has been the smell of smoke in the air. Not attention in a benign curiosity way, but that dread of knowing that I'm smelling forest fires from both California and Washington. It's that tinder smell, the haze, and the red red sunsets.
It reminds me of being in college and having a roommate who was in the environmental sciences. She came home from class one day incredibly upset. The professor had said that basically it was too late. The damage had reached the tipping point already back then and every now and again I remember that conversation and wonder...
Medusa's Garden
When you need every one and everything around you to just stop.
This week... Sometimes you just gotta figure it out and push through and hope for the best. This week my focus has been on taking the next small step. There are so many things up in the air and outside of my control that the next small steps are about all that I can do.
I hate not knowing the future. Or rather, I hate knowing that the presumed future is not stable. Nothing ever is for certain, *really*, but there is the illusion, temporary though it may be, that things are just rolling along like they should be.
Things are rolling along, probably even just as they should be, and I just don't know it yet.
Job interviews, my friends. Nothing like job interviews to trigger existential questioning of one's entire life. But being able to pay the mortgage, etc is good and so onward!
Ariadne's Yarn: playing with threads
What I'm up to with fiber and possibly how mythology and stories all tie together.
Always helpful - spinning. I've finished up the first skein from the five pounds of wool. It's very soothing to come to my wheel and my bag of wool at the end of each day & comb through the washed locks, then run the combed wool through the drum carder. I usually do enough to create a nice amount to spin or the evening. I have a few batts that are ready to spin, but mostly I spin up what I card each night. Very satisfying and soothing.
Mythic Librarian: the art of arranging a life
Thoughts on ontology and ways to organize a life.
In the midst of all this, there are people who have my back who I am tremendously grateful for. Part of my interview prep was to talk about how I develop my skills. The primary way I do this is to identify people in my life who have skills that I want to develop and watch them, ask them questions... whether they are in an official mentoring capacity or not. I'm really lucky right now to be surrounded by wonderful people. I think that's a significant part of arranging a life - surround yourself by people who inspire you. Inspire you to try new things, to do the things you already do better, and generally who want the best for you.
I hope you are all surrounded by amazing people who have your backs too. <3