It's Wednesday and I've Some Things To Say

It's Wednesday. In a week and a day it will be Christmas. Isn't that insane? Like, where did the year go? I'm sitting at a table in the corner of a cafe, sipping on a hot cocoa that is getting cold. It's in a ridiculously large green mug. I'm waiting for my fellow editor to get here, and he's taking his sweet time. He also might be my boyfriend. I say might because we're feeling out this next level thing, seeing where it goes. But since I have started this new amazing job I've decided that I may be staying here for a while and I figured that having a boyfriend wouldn't be too terrible. Also, did I mention that the job is amazing? I just answered the phone for the first time today, and I really didn't know what I was doing, but it was cool. The people are all very welcoming, and patient, and funny. I think this is going to be very good fit. I'm also looking forward to finding a new place to live in March, and March is also when I'm planning on coming home to visit again. Right around my birthday for about a week. Mark it on your calendars people!

Life seems to be going in an upward spiral and this is good. So good. I have been in not so great a place for a time, what with my money problems and my relationship problems and my missing people I love. The missing is still there, and it's very hard to believe that I will not be home for Christmas this year with my darling family, but I have been adopted by Kate's family for the holiday so that will be a good substitute. 

****pause to talk with my best friend love Jenn****

That was a good talk. I really love that girl. I have finally heard from the editing partner and I'm to meet him at a different location for a little bit of work before I have to head to bed.

XOXOXOXXO

Shanti Elena

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It's interesting that Southerners pronounce it differently than the folks from where I'm from. They say Thanksgiving while I'm used to Thanksgiving. It's the little things, I tell ya.

I have been working on my book a little. I also had a job interview today that I'm excited about. But I'm not going to jinx it so we'll leave it at that. Also, a special shout out to my family on this holiday, I sure miss you folks!

A quick list of what I'm thankful for:

Snuggling
Warmth
Kitties
Pandora radio
My imagination
Good food
Coffee
Friends
Laughter
Dachshunds

And most especially my loved ones. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Weekends with Good People

Hello my friends! I wanted to give all a quick update on what's been happening with me. This past weekend I took a couple days off of work and headed east with Kate and Dali to her parent's house and then on to the Atlantic coast and her godparent's house at Clubfoot Creek. It was glorious, so wonderful to get away from it all for a couple of days! Here are some pictures for you!

 The beginning of our road trip!

 My bed in Greenville, being very tall

 Clubfoot Creek

 Purty Marshes

 More purty marshes

 Sunset

 Turkeys with hats at sunset. Kate thought this was a real turkey from far away

 Cool Ol' Tree

 The moon over Clubfoot Creek

 There was a three month old baby girl there. We were friends :)

 Pretty contrast pictures. Dali and I were on a walk when I snapped this one.

The Temple Home Place. Been in the same family since 1890.

 Oyster Fest at the Beast Feast that we attended.

And last but not least, horizontal streetlights which are just confusing as all get out.

It was a great weekend, and today I went back to work. Speaking of work, I'm still searching for something that will get me a savings again. And I'm still blogging my edited book, if you haven't checked that out I hope you will.  And I hope all are well and happy.

Shanti Elena

Animals in the Summertime

Hello and happy almost end of summer! It's been a fun one, though full of deli working and sleepiness. They've had me working mornings at the deli and it's so hard to wake that early! I have a feeling I'm going to be a swinger for life. Swing shift, I mean. They call it second shift here. 

Here is pretty good. I've met some fun people at Ingles deli and I hope to maintain relationships with some of them beyond me working there. I am an expert meat slicer and suggestive seller of cheeses. I can make sub sandwiches like a pro. And I've never been better at pulling chickens apart. I don't believe that this is my new life's work, but it's pretty fun anyway. It's currently 8:20pm on a Thursday, and it's so warm and sticky it's almost unbearable. I'm thinking a shower is in order. I also fly away in two days to visit my lovely hometown and see the wee nieces and sister and brother and sis in law and mother and father and all my friends that I miss so much. Thank you so much for the assistance in this, Little Smell!  

Speaking of assistance, I don't think I've ever been this broke.  And it's a very interesting place to be.  Living below the poverty line is something that I've never done, and it's uncomfortable and fascinating. I wouldn't recommend it, but there are amazing ways to save money. Like don't spend it. I've been going on hikes and watching movies and cooking chickens at home and not buying anything new. When I have money again I desperately need to clothes shop! All part of the adventure, the learning curves of life. I start a new job when I get back from visiting home, at the Asheville Airport.  Hopefully this will help yank me out of this hole I've dug for myself. No worries folks, I'm really doing fine. I can still afford wine every once in awhile, so life is good!

Another thing I've been doing is spending lots and lots of time with friends' animals.  Arnie, Dali, Emmy Lou, Gram, and Mack the kitty. Friends like me to watch their critters, and I have to say it's something I'm awesome at.  Here they are, in a summer picture show for your enjoyment!

Arnie and Dali and their Auntie Shanti on the couch

Not an animal, but a summer moon 

My Turkish the bad kitty. I love her even though she can't stop peeing on things

Dali and a cool bendy tree on a hike to Skinny Dip Falls off of the Blue Ridge Parkway

Me! At Skinny Dip Falls

Bathing beauty Kate and Dali in her pink life vest.  Awesomeness. And speaking of Kate, she's gone for two months gallivanting on the other side of the world. Lucky girl!

My garden!  Peppers! Basil! Oh my!

Pic of the field by our house at dusk. Camera is pointed at our house, waaay on the other side. There are many many tomatoes in this field.

Arnie and Dali cuddle, while Emmy Lou looks on

Handsomest Arnie on a hike with me to Bradley Falls

Couch of babes

Kate played a show, and opened for this guy's band. This guy also plays the chicken cage. He was a hoot!

Hades is black and therefore hard to see while we snuggle

A NC stream on the way to Bradley Falls take 2

I'm watching my friend Jaci's kitties, and this is Mack.  He has lots of toes.  Like, 7 per paw

Black and white spots spotted on the front porch table! Taken this evening.

So that's been my summer in a nutshell.  Working and playing as often as possible, dealing with grouchy kitties and multiple doggies and loving all the furry ones.  It still rains a lot here, though not as much as last year.  It's still mega humid, but it's kinda normalizing for me now.  Sort of.  And I'm sort of dating a dude now, which is nice. No future plans there, very very day to day. But though men are confusing and ridiculous at times, I do so enjoy them.

Gosh, I'm just stoked to visit home. And start a new job. And figure out life some more. Thanks for sticking with me through all the changes, trials, tribulations, and stuff.  Love you all.

XOXO

Shanti Elena

Un-becoming

I shared this quote on Facebook the other day...

Maybe the journey isn't so much about becoming anything.

Maybe it's about un-becoming everything that isn't really you so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.

This struck quite a cord with me, as this journey of self discovery has taught me so much and left me with so many more questions.

What have I unbecome in the last year and a half?  

I've unbecome a doormat.

I've unbecome someone who is scared of hiking and exercise.

I've unbecome someone who eats unhealthy food all the time.

I've unbecome someone who isn't willing to ask for what she wants.

There are more, but these are a few that I've come to realize.  Right now we're in the middle of a thunderstorm, and it is hard to go swimming when that is happening.  I'm getting my hair cut later, much overdue.  I'm going on a tentative walk to "Skinny Dip Falls" off of the Parkway after the hair cut.  I'm cooking breakfast for dinner and fixing my washing machine with a part I bought earlier this week.  I'm keeping my options open for work.  I'm not writing.  But I did meet another writer the other night at Hot Springs who is in a women's writing group.  This could be a very good thing.  I've also joined a book club.  AND I'm visiting home in a few weeks, which I'm totally stoked about.

Journeys are interesting things.  I've come to this place where I think it's almost time for my next big one.  The only question is, what will it be?  So many options:  Moving, book publishing, going home, getting a new job, going back to school, having children...Ha, maybe not the last quite yet but soon!

Peace, love, thunder, indecisions, and unbecoming

Shanti Elena

My Mother and My Contemplations

My mother came to see me a few days ago.  We had such adventures together, and I was so sad to bid her farewell.  But I did take some pictures of us!

This was in an art gallery downtown during an art walk on Friday night.  Andrew is in the background blowing glass, mom is wearing wicked cool purple tinted glasses.  

Dali, mom and I took to the parkway on Saturday to see the rhododendrons.  We were a little early, but there were some out!

Craggy Gardens is just lovely!

Mom wanted me to take a picture with the tunnel behind me.  This is what she got. :)

Sunday we went to Biltmore House and gardens.  It was warm and beautiful and we had so much fun!  Plenty to see and do here!

These beans caught my eye, not sure what they are but they're cool!

Teeny mom next to mega house!

Love

Check it out, it's a castle!

This turtle has a drooling problem

As you can see, we had lots of fun.  I got three days off of work so I was able to spend quality time with her.  And we got a new bed for me which is just wonderful as my old bed was bad for my back and stuff.  She got to meet some of my friends and I got to hug her and talk about life with her.  All good things.

Life talks are good but open up the door of what to do next.  I've been thinking about that, about options and choices and romance and things along those lines.  Future and past and why we feel the way we feel about certain things.  I've also been trying to have a wider world view, a way of looking at things from all angles.  So often I get caught up in the negative in a certain situation, when there is always another, positive way to see it.  I need to remember this as it's a path to happiness.

I had some car trouble taking mom to the airport on Tuesday, and I called this lady and she dropped everything to save us:

This is what Kate McNally looks like when exhaustion hits her...

And so we got mom to the airport, got my car home, and decided that after all that mess we had to do this:

And it was good.  It ended up being a pretty good day all in all. 

Today is the full moon and Friday the 13th and I'm sitting at home writing and wishing the sky would clear so I could take advantage of this cool phenomenon.  Instead it's rainy and thunderstormy.  Very Ashevillian.  

Hope all are doing well and are happy!

XOXOXO

Shanti Elena

Hikes!!!

I can smell the honeysuckle through my open window this evening.  The air is cool but a little thick, making for summer clothes.  The breeze of my ceiling fan is mingling with that of outside, making tiny eddies of cold spots as I move about my room.  The music is on and the mood is...changeable. 

I can literally go from feeling low to feeling alright within the space of a shower, the space of a conversation, the space of a deep breath.  Irritability can change into acceptance in a minute or five or ten.  And this is what has been sustaining me through this transition period that I've been going through for the last few months.  A friend of mine pointed out the other day that I was like a tornado, constantly changing my mind day to day, week to week.  What do I want to do?  Do I want to join the Peace Corps or do I want to get a dog?  Do I want to move home next spring or move somewhere else?  Do I want to get a relatively high paying job for 40 hours a week or go back to school?  Or both?  

What I do know is this.  I need money to get my writing out into the world, or at least to help pave the way.  I need to begin making plans for my future.  I need to get a dog, because I've always wanted one.  

Another thing that I've realized is that working in a grocery store deli is a practice in patience and tolerance.  Some days I'm not sure I'm actually in the real world when I'm there, as the characters are often as colorful as a comic book or a sitcom.  It is a good practice for me, tolerance and acceptance.  Often times I catch myself being too judgmental of my fellow homo-sapiens, and I don't like that.  

When I'm not at the grocery store or resting my tired feet at home, I've been enjoying North Carolina lots.  Springtime here is amazing, and I've been soaking it up.  With some company, of course.  Mostly involving dachshunds.

This is a view of the Parkway.  And a dog on a trash bin.  

Notice all the pretty little white flowers on this stream?  Also, this is exactly what Scotland looks like.  It's no wonder that so many Scots settled in this area.

Thomas and Dali and I climbed a mountain, and this was a view from the top

She was quite the explorer

Just like her Auntie Shanti

Cool rocks no?

North Carolina magnificence

My friend Joel and I investigated some incredible caverns...

They were very wet and cooly lit

And this looked just like something innately feminine, and I thought it was very cool

This was the latest hike that Thomas and Dali and I went on, and there were lots of waterfalls to see.  We stopped to have a snack at this one.

And when I saw the covered bridge, we had to find it.  So we did.

Peekaboo

Pretty sky in this water

So you see, while at times I feel lost and confused and afraid, there is always the balance to look forward to.  Sunshine and greenery and exercise and caverns and views and dachshunds and friends.

Shanti Elena