Oct 2006

Hi all and welcome back to another edition of Insomniac Musical Theater. Tonight we'll be performing a selection of whale song set to the sly and sultry rythm of the washing machine. That's right folks, it's officially too late for me. This weekend in the mountains was damn near too much to think about. I'll unpack it a bit as I pack up my car and head... to Utah? Yeah, y'all read that right, ol' Kimmy's headed to Mormon country. Hey, who knows, maybe I'll find myself a nice couple and settle down for a spell. I'll keep you posted. G'night!

Forgot my white vegetable peeler. Forgot to pack this shirt I wanted to return. Neglected to grab these cds I got before I left and, damn it to hell, left my heart. Looked all over for the damn thing and, wouldn't you know it, it's not here. Think I left it back in New York.

Hope you're happy now.

Hope it's chewin all your furniture.

Take good care of it, I'll be back for it someday...

HEY! Y'all, wanna see some of what I've been talking about? Okay then, go to Flickr.com. I've got an account there, it's under Padma_Sri_00. Wow, that really sounds like some generic scam letter, huh? Maybe I should write copy for Flickr. It's really my pictures though. See the first and last of Wayne (rest in peace, little plant). See mountains and valleys, lakes and wild life, see me, sleeping in my car. Good stuff. Go there.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/74245328@N00/

So, the last time there was a Friday the 13th in October (and I remember this distinctly) was in 2000. There was a full moon too. I remember this information because it was auspicious. Sri. Loosely (very loosely) translated, that's what it means. The reason I remember this particularly auspicious occasion is because on Friday, the 13th of October, 2000, beneath a full moon and under the Bodi tree (a direct descendent of the tree under which the Buddha is believed to have finally achieved enlightenment) I was ordained as a Buddhist nun. My head was shaved, I was given my orange robes and the name Padma Sri. Essentially that means auspicious lotus, give or take, the deeper symbolism of the name is just a little more personal than I think I'll go into here.

Tomorrow I'm heading up into the mountains with the people who first taught me compassion and the art of being gentle within the world. Somehow I have the feeling this weekend may well be terribly auspicious as well. And y'all thought Friday the 13th was just for horror movies.

Post Script: I would just like to point out that I was ordained in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. Not ZEN!

Ladies and gentlemen, let me be the first to tell you this whole mile-high thing does some funky stuff to you're head and your body. I got winded biking up an incline. I'd barely call it a hill. It was such a slight change in elevation, as a matter of fact, that it might have been a hole. I don't know. The point was I had to get off my bike and actually work at catching my breath. As a former pack-a-day smoker, I can tell you, it takes a lot to feel that emphysematous and, you know what folks? Boulder's got it. Yeah, yeah, it's got a great view and lots of cute little shops and scenic bike paths and stuff, too. What good is it though if you suffer from bouts of spontanous apoplexy? None. There you have it. I fought the altitude and... well, I just feel kinda sick now.