absolutwillie

Author: absolutwillie

  • list: time auditing

    after reading the post on time auditing for motivation over at the art of living life, i decided to make a list of the transient tasks that sometimes get left behind when i’m in one of my “i don’t wanna”-funks. it’s shocking to see how easy these tasks really are!

    in theory, posting this list should help me remember how do-able they are – and hopefully help me get out of a slow funk more easily:

    • making our bed: 3mins
    • washing the dishes: 3mins (all our food comes in disposable containers)
    • loading the washing machine (sorting the laundry): 5mins
    • hanging up the laundry to dry: 10mins
    • putting away the clean laundry: 15mins
    • walk around the museum-park (exercise): 25mins
    • lesson planning (curriculum provided): 30mins per class
    • driving to my favorite convenience store: 2mins
    • taking out the trash: 4mins (not counting the variable waiting period for the garbage truck)
    • paying the rent (ATM banking): less than 2mins (@ the ATM)
    • walking to the ATM: less than 5 mins
    *lol* and for anyone who’s ever doubted wondered – this is the song i associate with this exercise:
    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1Ds7s5xqWY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&w=320&h=265]
    give me ABBA, give me Madge… it is utterly fagtastic!

  • following role models: interesting snap by Paulo Coelho

    i digg this snap of a statuette he found on one of his walks. can anybody identify it?

    THIS is what I saw in my walk 2day! ISSO eu vi hoje qdo camin... on Twitpic

  • list: top 10 anime movies


    Ben mentioned, not too long ago, that he still wanted to ask me for some recommendations when it came to anime movies. i was flattered, seeing as how Ben is THE movie buff in my books. i was also a little nervous. true, i love anime – but i’m no buff by any stretch of the imagination.

    anyway, he got me thinking about it and,after a little research, i can finally present what i believe to be the Top 10 Anime Movies:

    10:     5CM Per Second     (2007)

    the movie is really three stories that deal with love between people separated by distance. kids might not get the subject matter – but Makoto Shinkai’s amazing artistry (best.scenes.ever.) makes this one of the best anime films out there.

    9:     Cowboy Bebop     (2001)

    based on the hit tv-series Cowboy Bebop (which has had a cult following since the invention of the term),the movie lives up to all expectations and is a great introduction to newbies.

    8:     Tokyo GodFathers     (2003)

    Satoshi Kon’s masterpiece is really a social comment on Tokyo’s urban minorities. the story follows three homeless friends, who find a baby in a dumpster and try to return it to its parents. did I mention that one of the friends is pre-op M2F?

    7:     Princess Mononoke     (1997)

     Princess Mononoke was Hayao Miyazaki’s breakthrough movie in the Western world. take whatever you know about the genre, go to your warm and fuzzy place and prepare to be enchanted.

    6:     Paprika     (2006)

    you’ve heard of vivid imaginations, right? prepare to experience a visual orgasm. the plot is centered around a “dream machine” — which allows doctors to see a patient’s dreams — that is stolen by a thief who uses it to enter people’s dreams. Paprika and her team set out to recapture the device. shifting between reality and dreamworld continuously, you’ll definitely want to watch it again to get all the details.

    5:     Howl’s Moving Castle     (2004)

    Miyazaki’s second film on the list was developed from the book by Diana Wynne Jones. a girl is cursed with a spell that makes her look old. her only hope of becoming young again lies with a wizard and his giant, walking castle.

    4:     Ghost in The Shell     (1995)

     the Watchowski brothers reportedly showed Ghost in The Shell to producer Joel Silver and told him, “We wanna do that live action”. then they made the Matrix. enough said.

    3:     Grave of The Fireflies     (1988)

    the film that made everyone realize that anime can be used to tell serious, heart felt stories. It centers on a boy and his young sister who struggle to survive in WW2 Japan after their mother dies during a US bombing. Roger Ebert called it “the most powerful anti-war movie of all time”. newly remade as a live feature film, it’s a gift that keeps on giving.

    2:     Akira     (1988)

    the movie that pretty much defined the whole genre: from its art style, to its realistic portrayal of violence, to its ability to tell several stories at once. Akira is the hallmark of anime for the past 20 years.

    1.     Spirited Away     (2001)

    in all probability Miyazaki’s masterpiece. this is the story of a girl who stumbles into a land where witches, gods and spirits rule. she struggles to keep her own spirit, while fighting to release the spirits of her parents. the film won dozens of awards, including an Oscar for best animated feature. it even surpassed Titanic to become the highest grossing move of all time in Japan. that in itself is enough to make me grin like an idiot ;0)

    so… the next time     movie night comes around, why not grab a few of these? it’s guaranteed to delight, inspire and educate.

  • Meme: It’s not really fall until…

    here’s a meme i got over at Sunday Stealing – just to get me back in the swing of blogging.enjoy ;0)
    ———————————————-
    1) What did you need to do in the waning days of summer for it to feel complete?
    swim in the ocean – which I haven’t done yet.

    2)A person I know was wrong for me but about whom I frequently thought after a break-up was…
    *lol* the person who kinda fits the criteria never dated me, so there was no real break-up… let’s just leave it at that, shall we?

    3) If you could only attend one major sporting event what would it be?
    the gay games – for the fun of it!

    4) Assuming that you write an anonymous or partially anonymous blog, by what non-physically identifying characteristics might you be identified in a bar?
    uhm… probably won’t be in a bar (walking in dry places)… what would work here? i’ll take a cue from Geoff and say “my voice” (and to make it “non-physical” let’s contextualize this as my “flavor”).

    5) Most blogs cover some sort of niche – personal, political, dating, culinary, etc. What topic, if any, would you like to address on your blog but doesn’t fit into your niche?
    olfactory overload (sure like the sound of that)

    6) If you could manipulate the time space continuum and give as many as three pieces of advice to a younger version of yourself, what advice would you give and to what age of you?
    @ around 5 years of age: believe in the life you prayed for – it is coming!
    @ around 12 years of age: you are perfect exactly as you are. live your truth!
    @ around 19 years of age: forget about making anybody else happy – study the arts (design & education).

    7) Who among your friends do you really wish had a blog because their stories, or perspective on something ought to be shared?
    A) Luzanne – her perspective truly ought to be shared.
    B) Karl – his exploits would make great reading!
    C) my Dad – because he rocks on so many levels.

    8) If you were to take an e-cation (vacation from the trappings of our electronic world,) and assuming that employment obligations would allow it, how long of a break could you take? What would you miss the most, the least?
    with Peter by my side, i’m pretty confident i could last a couple of months (unfortunately though, he would barely last a weekend).
    miss the most: music
    miss the least: work e-mail.

    9) On September 11th of this year, I attended a couple of parties and was somewhat conflicted by the fact that this ignoble anniversary shall pass with it being just another day in the eyes of many (and in some ways my own eyes as well.) Thoughts?
    live in the light – and in the present. anniversaries are for lovers ;0)

    10) How high are your walls? Who was the last person to scale them? What tools should would-be climbers have on their belt?
    walls? i broke those down after Peter leaped them in a single bound!
    would-be climbers would need a different target (awww schweet)

    11) The sexiest thing a man or a woman can say to you (or has said to you) is:
    “Dance with me.”

  • Diane Birch- What Is Love?

    it’s one of those days.

    Oh, I don’t know why you’re not there
    I give you my love, but you don’t care
    So what is right and what is wrong
    Gimme a sign

    What is love
    Oh baby, don’t hurt me
    Don’t hurt me no more
    What is love
    Oh baby, don’t hurt me
    Don’t hurt me no more

    Oh, I don’t know, what can I do
    What else can I say, it’s up to you
    I know we’re one, just me and you
    I can’t go on

    I want no other, no other lover
    This is your life, our time
    When we are together, I need you forever
    Is it love

    What is love
    Oh baby, don’t hurt me
    Don’t hurt me no more

    What is love?

  • Simply-Mel: Simple Truths

    Simply-Mel: Simple Truths

    read it. love it. live it.

  • truth or lies – all stories should be told

    true – if china didn’t force this movie out of Taiwan by increasing the numbers of missiles pointed at us, i would probably have missed it.
    Synopsis:

    THE 10 CONDITIONS OF LOVE is a love story – of a woman, a man, a family, a people and a homeland. It is the story of Rebiya Kadeer, China’s nightmare – the woman it accuses of inciting terrorism.


    It is also the story of the other Tibet, the Muslim Tibet – the country its people call East Turkestan, but which the Chinese call Xinjiang Province – the other stain on China’s moral character.


    It is a big story: a story of the ruthless oppression of 20-million people; of the global politics of energy; of Super Power politicking over the War on Terror; and of the pain of a deeply loving family torn violently apart.


    Exiled in the US, Rebiya Kadeer is fighting for the human rights of her people, the Uyghur (pron. wee-ger), China’s oppressed Muslim minority. But Rebiya Kadeer’s campaign condemns her sons to on-going solitary confinement in a Chinese prison. Having done six years solitary herself, she understands the appalling consequences for them of her actions – but she will not relent.


    Twice nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, once the richest businessperson in China, Rebiya Kadeer is a remarkable woman who pays daily a terrible price for patriotism.


    And it will never be over.

  • sharing is caring

    The Warrior hears someone say: “I need to understand everything before I can make a decision. I want to have the freedom to change my mind.”

    The Warrior regards these words suspiciously. he too enjoys that freedom, but this does not prevent him from taking on a commitment, even if he does not know quite why he does so.
    A Warrior of the Light makes decisions. His soul is as free as the clouds in the sky, but he is committed to his dream. On his freely chosen path, he often has to get up earlier than he would like, speak to people from whom he learns nothing, make certain sacrifices.
    His friends say: “You’re not free.”
    The Warrior is free. But he knows that an open oven bakes no bread.
    Warrior of the Light, p. 47 – Paulo Coelho

  • stasis hiatus

    all

    m
    o
    s
    t
    hint
    ___e
    ____d
    still no
    _____t
    ______hi
    _______n
    ________g
    .soon.

  • spring at the start of fall


    it is september now and back home people are celebrating the return of spring. days are getting longer, nights are getting warmer and all around nature is getting ready to burst with joy. it is a time of renewal, hope and celebration. it is a time to celebrate life – and to fall in love.

    i am lucky. for although i’m oceans away from home – i am with the one i love.
    in Taiwan it is ghost month: a time when the gates of the underworld are believed to open and the dead are allowed to roam the land of the living. spirits without descendants to care for them are prayed to during this time, so that they may also enjoy the warmth of life among the living. those lucky enough to have descendants get to feast on tables laden with food and drink that are offered to them. for others, this is a month of remembering the departed and cherishing those who are still around.

    again, i am lucky. for in remembering my departed friends and family – i am reminded to love fully without restraint. i am reminded that life is unpredictable and short – and that love should be cherished and enjoyed openly and fearlessly.

    fearlessly… that is my achilles’ heel. my terrible burden. for you see – i am still plagued by fear… the fear of my inadequacy.

    this might be a revelation to some, for many believe me to be fearless. in fact, i often make a point of facing my fears head on, to overcome them and to help others do the same. i have often said that this does not make me immune to fear – but that i’m fighting a winning battle. and for the most of it – i am.

    for the most of part.

    tonight, while standing in the rain waiting for the garbage truck, i felt very much like a spirit with no descendants. the switch from the fullness of SA life (with my friends and family) to the total isolation of city life in Taiwan (Peter works – i’m still looking for a job), was suddenly too much for me.

    i’m not going to go into the negative flip-flops my mind was doing – suffice to say i was feeling pretty forlorn…

    then the garbage truck arrived – and a complete stranger huddled me under his umbrella. he walked with me from the garbage truck to the recycling truck and back to our building – even though he only had a small bag to deposit at the first truck. i thanked him profusely as he smiled and disappeared into the crowd.

    the rain eased up and i decided to go for my walk around the museum’s park again. a cool breeze was blowing and i was beginning to feel a lot better. before long, i realized that i was praying as i walked – and for about half in hour i had an intimate discussion with my Lord, who was walking right next to me! i was in Jesus’s company and it felt completely natural, safe and friendly. it was a miracle, just like the stranger with his umbrella. i’ve often felt close to Christ – but tonight was the first time i literally felt him walking right next to me! walking next to me, telling me not to be afraid. telling me that, even though i might not believe it, i truly am a perfect creation and more than adequate for the journey i’m taking. telling me to believe in Love and reminding me that i am never alone.

    none of us are ever alone.

    what started as a dark night of the soul – turned into the promise of a new dawn.
    spring is coming – even here, on the brink of fall.

    wherever you are tonight, and whatever you are going through – may you also experience the promise of a new dawn.
    wether you believe as i do or not – this spring is eternal (and Love believes in you).

    now go hug someone.