Thursday, October 21, 2010

Got Your Number


Her face could be used in a Fibonacci diagram. You know, the ratio of phi, the golden number which indicates divine proportion. Sally Blenky-Tchassov has divine proportion and she's coming to DC soon, hailing from her competitive dancing tour and her husband Alex's teaching studio in NYC. Sally and her hubby are our guests of honor at the gala for the Noyes Children's Library on Friday, November 5th. Wanna get dressed up, hear the RKO Orchestra, and dance with Alex and Sally Blenkey-Tchassov? Go to http://www.noyeslibraryfoundation.org/ because even though the fundraiser last weekend raised 50% more than our goal, we still need $70K this year and $70K next year and I can't even begin to do the percentages for how much more we need to raise.

I'm baffled by numbers, being a creative-type. However, there's an Einstein quote that makes me laugh - "Do not be troubled by your difficulties with Mathematics, I can assure you mine are much greater." The Fibonacci material is fascinating - Mr. Fib is best known to the modern world for spreading the Hindu-Arabic numeral system in Europe. Fibonacci sequences appear in biological settings, such as branching in trees, arrangement of leaves on a stem, the floral spirals of a sunflower, the flowering of artichoke, the arrangement of a pine cone, and even the ratio of our bones. Some say it indicates beauty.

On a not so scientific note, Glynis McCants uses numbers to deal with connections we have with people. She says that everything in the universe has vibrations and when you talk with someone, you are left feeling with "that person lifted me or that person drained me." The book, Love by the Numbers: How to Find Great Love or Reignite the Love You Have Through the Power of Numerology, has exercises to calculate your life path number and then use that number to determine the type of people to work with, love with, and avoid. My life path number is 8 which she says is all about making money. Hooray!

“If you really want something in this life you have to work for it. Now quiet, they're about to announce the lottery numbers” Dan Castellaneta quotes (American Actor and Writer, b.1958)

* Love by the Numbers http://www.amazon.com/Love-Numbers-Reignite-Through-Numerology/dp/1402224494

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Tin Roof, Rusty


“What a way to go, in a bubble bath with candles and a caved-in ceiling,” I thought while I enjoyed my moment. It had been one of those days with the kids fighting over everything from “her donut is bigger than mine” to “I want to carry the flashlight.” After getting those little people who call me mom, mommy, mamo, or mama down to sleep, I just wanted to settle into a nice, warm bubble bath.

But things didn’t go quite as planned. I had the water running and needed a candle to go along with the solace. Off I scurried down the stairs to our kitchen to get a match. Back upstairs in my goddess oasis (the bathroom), my feet were met with slush slush slush. The faucet had somehow wiggled around to face out of the back of our claw foot tub. It was running full force all over the floor.

Into action I went with phase I: Towels on floor to soak up the mess and down to the laundry room to wash it all away. However, on the way to the washing machine, there was water dripping out of the kitchen ceiling. Uh oh.

Phase two: Gather basin to collect drips, put out pots, pans and measuring cups. Notice that the water is rusty brown and inching closer to the light.

Phase three: Get in bath, enjoy the moment and know that if I crashed through the floor, what a way to go.

Drip, thump thump, ding, ding. It is quite musical hearing the remnants of my luxury. The ceiling of our kitchen is the original tin, 125 years old. "The insurance will cover the damages," I tell myself. Dan is about to come home from a boys weekend trip in Oregon and he's been traveling for 12 hours. What a wonderful reception for him. I wait up in my new silky gown and matching robe. Might as well look like a goddess, whether I have to run out of the house for help or into a Dan hug upon his return to our -- love shack, baby love shack. Tin roof, rusty! (How cool that I get to use that line from the B52's, in context?!)

What a way to go.
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You've probably heard me chat about my NY city weekends to attend my friend Mama Gena's School of Womanly Arts. Now, I'm posting a blog entry about working the tools. For more "goddess" stories, go to http://www.sistergoddess.com/ There is a monthly membership fee but well worth it! Mwah!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

What's In A Name?


While watching the news last night, I was tickled by name of the Chief of Defense for England - Sir Jock Stirrup. Really, his parents named him that?! With our last name, even though we love the name Will, we couldn't go there - Will Bragg! Dan knew a guy in high school named Mike Hunt. Imagine that announced at the restaurant, "Mike Hunt, your table is ready." Tee hee. He also knew a girl named Fern Forest who had a brother named Lief. You know the line from Shakespeare,
"What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

Some people have names that fit their profession. The urologist who did our son's circumcision is named Dr. Dix Poppas. Then there's Harry the Hairstylist to the stars (Gisele Bundchen to Al Pacino). In my digging around, I ran across veterinarians Dr. Jeffrey Fisch (Clinton Veterinary Center) and Dr. Russell Katz (Pelham Animal Hospital); lawyer Sue Yoo (Sullivan & Cromwell LLP); food blogger Shernell Cooke (Rawexperiences.typepad.com); psychiatrist Dr. Edith McNutt. !!!!

Going a step futher, take people's professions and apply them to what car they would drive. Keanu Reeves in a Matrix. The Greek epic poet Homer would have a Honda Odyssey, and a firefighter a Chevy Blazer. An entomologist would crawl through traffic in his Mitsubishi Spyder. A meteorologist would drive a Honda Element, an astronomer would have a Mitsubishi Eclipse and an optician a Ford Focus. Picasso would paint the town in his Nissan Cube, an ornithologist would use a Ford Falcon and his lawyer would drive a Honda Civic. A warden at a correctional facility would drive up in his Ford Escape. In honor of Columbus day, Christopher Columbus might drive a Ford Explorer.

I drive a Quest minivan and since I'm on the reinvention tour, it has served me well over the last few years. However, we are going to get a new car and I want something with a little more sport and sass. I'm looking around and took a Road and Driver car quiz to find out what would work best for our needs. It said a minivan. Ughhh! But the sports car quiz based on how I feel says that I should be driving a Lamborghini. That's the name that would make me proud, but I'm not sure it will work with carseats.

quiz at - http://www.tomorrowland.us/sportscar/