To Sleep

This is my bedroom in the apartment with my Charlotte, Guy-Claude, Andre & Leigh - just on the other side of that beautiful curtain set-up just for me!!!


My desk, laptop, window and door onto mini-balcony, and bedroom entrance around the corner

My bed!!! and the rest


I love my sheets! - reminds me of Alaska...


My prayer station - books, prayer beads, dream egg, little buddha, scented candle.


The Greatest Name in Arabic - meaning (about) all glory to the All-Glorious, and a picture of 'Abdu'l-Bah�, the Mystery of God.


A little prayer rug for my knees


The praying danio in action!


new angle


The effects of a delightful room


Welcome to my room!


Observe the danio in its natural environment...

Pitfalls --- Last week was difficult. Leigh cried half the day on all three days I was watching her. And so did I. The worst is that on Friday, I behave poorly (in my opinion). I will not dwell on details, but let us just say that I fell beneath my personally accepted standard of response.

Tonight, with the prospect of watching her again (plus I was inside all day), I got really worried, and somewhat negative. I've been rather worried that I'll fail myself (and possibly Leigh) again. I now feel much better, though. The negative is almost all gone. I had immediately realized that the difficulty was a response from God to my prayers for more tests. Tonight I came to better grips with this, praised and thanked God sincerely for the difficulty, and decided to say the Long Healing Prayer (revealed by Baha'u'llah). It's been an emotional journey, for sure, and spiritual as well, of course.

My God is truly a Merciful God, the All-Wise, the Compassionate.

Settled-in --- I know the fact that I left my "home" country (US) when I was three and then moved from my (then) home country (Martinique) at 17, and then lived in different states gives me a different perspective on the meaning of a "home". Nonetheless, I remain puzzled at people's general inclination to dwell in the same place they have been used to. Granted, the prospect of moving somewhere new, especially a different country, is daunting, to say the least, especially when one has a family.

Yet we live in a time when exchanges between cultures and tradition are extremely exciting and inviting - and vastly more important than most things we spend our time on. As Baha'u'llah has so clearly pronounced, this is the age for the unity of all of humanity, with potentials for the advancement of civilization and global happiness that should rejoyce every discerning heart. How can, then, so many people be distracted by concepts of a fulfilling life that omits the general growth of the human family?

Still more surprising to me is the number of Baha'is, who are so much more keenly aware of the spiritual needs of our time than many, who have not yet left their country, especially since it is an obligation prescribed by the Prophet-Founder Himself, Baha'u'llah. Even in the rare cases where one cannot travel abroad as a pioneer for the Baha'i Faith, one is supposed to send someone else is her stead... The good news is, there are nonetheless vast numbers of people who are contributing to the rich exchanges worldwide - so much so that this global exchange is a defining characteristic of our time - despite the fact that numbers are still lacking...

Weeping & Wailing --- On Thursday, Leigh and I had our hardest day yet - by far.

How, one might ask, can anyone have a bad day with such an angel!


 

First, Leigh was kind of sick; second, it was raining outside, so Charlotte and I decided I could stay in with Leigh before meeting her (the three of us meet up for lunch everyday - so Leigh gets a good dosage of mommy between grueling danio-times). I think it's almost always better to go out, at least for a few minutes, if possible.
Leigh and I did alright for a while, but she was getting harder to please. In general, she's having a good time, and every once in a while, she can't reach something, or she's not getting enough attention, or she's hungry, or she's looking for a change of pace or a different activity. When this happens, it takes minimal to concerted effort on my part to attend to her needs, and then she's good to go. But today (Thursday), it was a lot harder. The problem was, I don't think there was really much that great to do in the apartment, and she's rather use to getting out during the day - or at least having mommy, in which case getting out is secondary. So all of my efforts worked at best for a few moments.
This situation persisted, even escalated. I tried to go out with her with the stroller and an umbrella, but I didn't realize the second (smaller) stroller was just cloth-covered, and would just get soaked. So we went back in. I also made some lunch, and tried other activities, during the course of which I noticed and appearance and increase of irritation on my part. I caught myself immediately, and took note to not act on it at all with Leigh (to not be short with her, curse, or kick stuff too violently). In part, the irritation was directed towards her, since she was the one who couldn't be satisfied. Reason became my anchor, as I remembered that she really only asks when she needs, and there is no malice in her complaining.
Nonetheless, the emotional strain (combined with the partial recognition that I would never please her as much as her mother could) eventually led to an overload, and there I found myself, crying hysterically, sobbing loudly, even shaking during the last 10 minutes as I tried to get us out of the house to go to lunch. For brief moments she gave me a puzzled look, soon again to rejoin me in our cacophonic wailing.
Throughout this near-fiasco, I maintained a rather clear consciousness of the situation, recognizing my emotional state, and accepting my reaction to Leigh. I actually apologized to her for those moments during which I offered no distraction and made little effort to cheer her up (a task always at least partially accomplished via songs or clowning). But I also congratulated myself for focusing my thoughts on service and love, and only allowing my emotions to play their minimal normal course.
In the end, I felt good about the fact that I tried my best, I used reason and welcomed the situation and praised God for presenting it, she will not be traumatized by the experience (I don't think), and I learned lots about myself, Leigh, and relationships with infants. Plus Charlotte said I did extremely well.
I am grateful for the experience, and I know I have grown from it, and will most likely do better in the future.

Kisses --- Here are some pictures from my new role-playing group, which I join on Friday evenings. For the record, I've spent the last 10+ years role-playing with a few friends here and there, but always struggling to get together, playing a few times per month at best, hardly finding interested parties, only knowing a few role-players, etc. Here in Quebec, I've found a couple of role-playing clubs, and the one I just joined has at least one or two games going on every single night, along with a three-cabinet-large on-location library of books and board games...


This looked like a Dungeons & Dragons table - I backed off as soon as I suspected it


A game of Ars Magica in the world of Conan the Barbian - sounds like a blast!


A much needed lounge for heavy-duty role-players (who have to sit on chairs for hours at a time)


This be my table, in full action!


This is a wargame/strategy game (not sure which one)


My new friends (we're playing a game of "Werewolf: the Forsaken"): Gilles (the Storyteller), Steve, Clarice, Benoit, Stephane, and Julien (I'm not %100 sure on the names, but these will do for now...)

This is my desktop with a bunch of my widgets open - each can open individually for me to check news, the weather, phase of the moon, etc. In the middle is Lysithea - that's the name of my computer. Those media player buttons are fully functional through WinAmp. That kitten always follows my cursor at a distance - when I click, it minimizes all windows to show my desktop. The buttons in the circles and the chinese characters allow access to further menus, folders, shortcuts (like screen saver or programs) 

This is my current beautiful desktop, set up with "DesktopX", with no start menu, no regular icons - only danio's highly personalized universe of laptop possibilities!

Pics of the Quebec Baha'i community:


Baha'i community in Quebec - there was a cluster reflection gathering on Saturday, for the whole area, as well as a Nineteen-day Feast, at which I had the joy of meeting a whole bunch of cool people 


Guy-Claude and his beautiful daughter, Leigh - Charlotte and Andre are in the background - the whole family! 


A happy Leigh, floating around from one person to another - such a charmer! 


Children in action! (making "mandalas", actually) 

Walk on --- Today I had the wonderful delight of going on a walk with a few English-speaking moms and their respective babies. It was really a lot of fun, and provided a great support - very promising for my interaction with the "world of caring for Leigh". I can't wait until next Thursday, and every other Thursday, for the next walk with all of these cool mothers and their babies!

Everything --- I'm so very happy!!

I just got back from my first capoeira class in almost two-and-a-half years!!! I've been waiting for this night for so long!

While we're at it, let me just mention here all the things I've been hoping to do and more:

Family:
I've moved in with my sister's family, been here two weeks, and I'm at home already. It's a wonderful family, and I've made myself very helpful.

Leigh:
I've officially started watching Leigh (my niece) four days per week (missed a day last week, as I spreained my neck - quite painful and debilitating, a neck sprain is!), and it seems that she is dealing rather well, and putting up with crazy ol' Uncle Fishbird's crazyties.

Performance Studies:
My second goal for my stay here is to get published in at least one journal relating to Performance Studies - and therefore write a worthwhile article. I've been researching, picking up where I had left off some six months ago, and I should be conducting more research at Universite Laval (the one big university in Quebec city, where Charlotte is working on her PhD).

Capoeira:
As I mentioned, I just started, and I'm comblé (delighted, so to speak). Did I mention it's a short 15-minute WALK from my new appartment? so I can even JOG to my capoeira class! - oh wait, I did!!

Role-playing:
There are two roleplaying game clubs that I've found so far. I'll be joining the one at the university, starting a Werewolf game on Friday!

Go:
There are THREE go clubs in Quebec, and I'm waiting to hear back from the one at Universite Laval - catching a theme yet?

Children's Workshop:
Charlotte leads a "values workshop" for parents and their children under 5 every other week, which I will be helping with

Diet & Health:
While she's not a vegetarian, Charlotte has all the same interests and diets as I do, and since we've made good headway individually, we're benefitting from each others research and practice (including face and hair care for the danio!)

Study Circles:
There's a good chance I'll be able to tutor ("animer" in French - cool term!) a Ruhi Book study circle during my stay

Mandarin:
I've scheduled a couple of days per week to work on my Mandarin language skills

Baha'i Association:
There's a Baha'i Association on Laval campus, in which I will be taking part.

Google:
I'm in love with everything Google, and I want everybody to know about it! Gmail is the best e-mail service on the internet (I've tried 40-50 services of the last 7 years), plus they have weblogs (what you're reading), free image software (Picasa, a fancy software that's both full of options and user-friendly), picture sharing (Hello), Groups, instant messaging ("Google Talk" - user name rcdanio), and a community of friends to which I can't belong yet (if you, dear reader, are a member of orkut, I would very much like an invite!). Of course most of these beautiful thingies interact seemlessly with one another.

Bonus (as if any were needed):
Charlotte makes coffee every morning, and at many other times too; I have my own "room", marked off by a makeshift curtain of beautiful forest green fabric; Charlotte's family and I will be visiting Richmond, Virginia in just three weeks; I'll be attending two conferences (hotel room and all) with my sister, for her lab research (I'll actually be babysitting!); Charlotte and Guy-Claude (husband) had been watching my favorite series until two years ago, and I happen to have all of the episodes from the place they left off, and we're watching them a few nights each week; I having amazing, fascinating dreams; I'm listening to Evanescence!; I have a new desktop which looks totally sweet and doesn't even use a task bar or a Start menu!

Everybody! --- I had a most wonderful dream, friends! It was several nights ago, and already distant in my memory.


I got a job working for the National Baha'i Center! There were some large dormatories besides the building, where dozens (hundreds?) of people resided. In fact, there was some kind of large gathering or conference. Attending this event, were almost ALL OF MY FRIENDS!! I can barely begin a list of everyone who was there! some I've recently seen, some I haven't seen in years. There was such joy all around, so much love!


I had received a letter from the National Spiritual Assembly thanking me for my services, saying they are grateful for what I will have done by the time I die in three months. (Incidentally, the NSA would never actually write such a letter in waking life.) I couldn't quite figure out the expected date


I reacted to my inpending death as I think I would in real life: (1) I was really excited! I anticipated a positive transition into the next world, (2) I worried a bit about how to do my very best with my life in the time I had left.


I tried to explain to my friends that I was going to die, but it didn't seem to register with anyone... like, although it mattered, it wasn't worthy of notice.


Lots more happened, a couple of days went by, happy death was approaching.


I had gotten off from working, I was taking a break, and then I found myself analysing a large image with Charlotte, where the tiny details were the most interesting part - we had some high-precision zooming device. We were scrolling up this series of figures and faces, racognizing significant spiritual figures, and when we got to the top, we saw the devil: a black (midnight black) female face, mouth wide-open, staring at us. Kind of creepy, but mostly fascinating.



I actually had a sequel to this dream later in the day when I took a nap, where I was meeting with some people outside of said dorms, playing basketball among other things. There was also an old lady I know who was trying to teach me something by doing a series of acrobatic maneuvers, including crawling up the wall, to change a lightbulb... (how many Baha'is does it take to change a lightbulb? a determined old lady with too much zeal!)



One interesting aspect of the dream is that most of the people I was interacting with were Baha'is. I think there's a special dimension to my friendship with Baha'is which is often absent elsewhere: Baha'is have a common understanding of the forces at work in our time. We understand a certain destined reality surrounding us, with a growing darkness which can only be remedied by unity - unity which can only be accomplished through a common understanding of human nature and the human spirit - a spirit which longs for communion with the Great Spirit - a common vision of humanity's future potential beyond the present muck we're stuck in - one common Faith established and prescribed by Baha'u'llah, as promised by the religions of the past...


With this similar understanding, my relationship with Baha'i friends includes mutual motivation in a common effort to assist the whole of humanity in advancing to the next stage of human evolution - a spiritual evolution more staggering than the material (technological) evolution we have witnessed in the last year-and-a-half.

This is my new desktop pic, to think about my friends Mishkin, Christian and Robbie, whom I miss dearly... 

Exclusive pic from the second floor of the Baha'i House of Worship! 

Amia the curious charmer, to whom I owe my new name, Fishbird 

The Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette (right outside Chicago) 

Tree right outside the Baha'i House of Worship 

Jessica, the singer superstar-in-the-making 

Be strong - like Brent, Robbie and Fishbird (me) 

Read my lips! 

Gentlemen... true gentlemen 

Picture this --- hey! I'm just trying out this new picture software so my blog will have pictures too!!


What better picture than my friend Niki and her beautiful child Zack?!


I miss her so... She and I were co-workers for the last three years, and I left her behind in Richmond... Her virtues-of-a-mother will continue to inspire me while I'm caring for my niece and nephew, and later on when I have my own child(ren).

Fish-Bird --- So I stayed about 3 days in Evanston: I did some driving with Midge and Robbie to help move the latter in with Brent and Liza on the occasion of his beginning his internship with the Youth Desk at the National Baha'i offices there.



The drive was fun! Lots of conversation between Midge and me, we saw the gorgeous view all the way, including rain (we took the "long way" through the mountains), I watched a couple more episodes of Farscape, etc.



The stay in Evanston was as fabulous as it could be!


***Pause for name introductions***


Falconers:


Robbie - my closest companion these last couple of years in Richmond, VA, moving in with Brent


Midge - Robbie and Brent's mother


Brent - one of my two or three first friends when I moved to the US


Liza - Brent's wife, who moved into Evanston with him for further practice/education in speech/hearing therapy (just got her masters)



Allmarts:


Suzanne - Liza's sister who lives with her family in an appartment right across the street from Brent/Liza


Husayn - Suzanne's husband


Amia - their daughter


Annya - Liza and Suzanne's sister, living with the latter (family name, Mitchell)



Liz and Nate Davis, friends that live nearby



All of the above (except first two) were in Champaign-Urbana while I lived there a couple of years ago!


******



The first morning we went out for breakfast with Brent, Liza, Midge and Robbie. Brent's and my favorite breakfast place in the world, Le Peep!


We visited the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, or House of Worship ("Dawning Place") in Wilmette - also the "Mother Temple of the West", one of the six continental such-termed temples. We visited it each day, actually, and on one day, we even went up to the second and third levels - which I had never seen in my previous visits.


Along with Robbie and Briana, the two interns for the Youth Desk this year, we got a full tour of the National Baha'i Center, learning about the various offices, meeting all kinds of amazing, nice people, and even running into two of the members of the National Spiritual Assembly!


Brent, Robbie and I played plenty of video games (mostly Capcom vs. SNK 2), some Warlord (collectable card game),


We had a couple of dinners & lunches with various people from the list above,


Nate, Suzanne and I met to discuss the possibility of holding a regular meeting focusing on spiritual parenting, where participants could discuss the matter, along with specific issues they might have, and where they might learn more about Baha'u'llah, the Baha'i Faith, and some of its principles.


Amia continued to be her usual adorable and sociable self.


I was happy.


Very happy.

Saul Williams --- I met Saul Williams at the immigration office in Ottawa! It was just him, his travel manager and myself behind the counter. I actually didn't recognize him, but after several minutes going through interrogation and hearing the guys next to me talking to their assigned immigration officer about a show they were giving in town, I did finally hear the manager speak his name.



Not quite lamely, I turned and said, "Did I hear Saul Williams?", he nodded peacefully, "THE Saul Williams?!?" - to which he leaned forward, asking "What's your name" while extending his hand. I shook it and said "danio".


I went on to say something like, "I really love and appreciate your work. I often say of my favorite artists that they are doing the work that _needs_ to be done - a lot of people aren't." He said thank you.



It's worthy of noting that I had already noticed the travel manager in the O'Hare airport, who was talking on the phone in a very meaningful language - hard to say it otherwise. From what I caught, he was talking to someone about life, value, growth, art, effort, and all kinds of inspiring-sounding things - especially to my danio-ears...


As for Saul Williams, he exhuded the most amazingly serene aura, peering into my eyes and searching for purpose and intention (maybe). He asked me where I was from and mentioned he had seen plenty of lovely pictures of Martinique.


I did introduce myself to his companion as well, but I unfortunately forgot his name. As Saul left and said goodbye, I said, "I will sincerely pray for your continued success. God bless you."



My Chicago-Ottawa boarding pass is signed by him: "Many blessings on your journey."

Ora --- Cluster Reflection Gathering today was amazing! We had the Local Baha'i Spiritual Assemblies celebrating grassroots initiatives, a beautiful devotional program, guest speakers from Baltimore, from the Baha'i World Center in Haifa, and from the Regional Council for the Southern States!



I leave Richmond in one week. I'll be driving with Robbie to his new home in Evanstan (right outside Chicago), where a number of my friends reside. After visiting with them, I'll be flying to Quebec, where I'll stay for 3-4 months before moving onto China. Charlotte (my sis) and I are already planning a trip with her family to Richmond beginning October. Should be oh-so-nice! We'll probably rent a car for a phew days and drive to and from.



This last week I'll be wrapping stuff up to be done with Richmond for at least the next year and a half, if not the rest of my life (except for occasional visits - my parents still live here, after all!)



I'm learning Mandarin!! or at least trying to... the audio lessons can only go so far in teaching all the tones...



Time to get my hands messy with this bread bowl full of black bean soup!

Lost & Found --- Have you ever felt like you suddenly appeared, and hadn't realized you were gone?


About a week ago, I went to through whole day in a state of great bliss. Now, danio is a happy guy on average, taking things throughout the day as source of joy. However, on this day, danio distinctly felt a presence and magic, which he immediately recognized. This went on for days.


What I recognized was myself, like I had been gone for a couple of weeks, not really myself in the meanwhile. It's a great feeling (still have it), but two questions immediately arose:


1. Where did danio go during those few weeks, and who was here on Earth?


2. How did danio manage to return.



The second question is especially important, because I want danio to be here to stay, to be here long time.


I remember two months ago I was explaining to a couple of friends that I've developed this ability to reorient my vision at any given, and absorb the beauty in my surroundings, thereby creating a state of joy and gratitude. I added that the only problem remained the lack of instances when it occurred to me to practice this. I believe my absence equated to a discontinuation of such moments.


Here are some of the elements I associate with my return: spending time with a couple of very close, uplifting and inspiring friends; picking up meditation once again; working out more. Something else must have done it though, with these signs following.



For now, though, as these questions are mulling in my head, I will focus on maintaining this state of joy that I have regained.



It's good to be back!

Derilict --- I have been absurdly derilict in my duties! it has been weeks since my last post, and for this I apologize.



There is much beauty in my life currently, and much need for adjustment. I left my job with LandAmerica on July 15 to work more full-time on _The Rose Knight_, thinking I might have more time to catch with other things, like this weblo... oh danio...



I'm currently tutoring two Baha'i study circles (books 2 ad 6), which is fun. There are wonderful and inspiring participants.



It's so difficult to keep writing even in this weblo, since I feel the pull of all my other tasks...


The play is going through some serious challenges, and I'm having trouble seeing how to best address them, and then follow through. Phew!


At least Robbie's back, both Christian and Mishkin are in town, Mark is always cracking me up, I'm exploring the infinite world of love, the people currently involved in the play are inspiring, I'm getting to watch Farscape and to work out more frequently (last three days in a row!)

Time --- I contemplate and contemplate that I contemplate.


My mom had an operation for bunion and hammer-toe this week, so I've been trying to spend more time at home. Who know it would be so much pain, all the time?!? My dad and I are just trying to be around... the good part is that we've spent a lot more time together than we normally do. They usually never see me, since I don't often make it home before 10 or 11 at night...


Robbie's gone for one month, so I lost my work-out partner. I don't really see myself going to work-out on my own, so I'll just have to lose some strength in his absence. I really look forward to getting back into Capoeira in the Fall, especially that my increased strength will allow me to do much more than last time I was practicing!


Right now, though, I'm still spending the bulk of my effort on "The Rose Knight". Last week I managed to cast the whole play except for one character: Doom. It's really crazy how all of the characters have come together. The play has such a life of its own, it's incredible. I knew this would happen, since that was the case when I was producing/directing "The Peach" - but I didn't think it would reach this degree!! How fun!!!

Recent --- Aaaaaah! we did see Cirque du Soleil, and it was most excellent



I have a bit of a problem: I'm attending to most of my duties, but I must recognize that I have more on my plate than I can quite handle.


On the one hand, all is going very very well, especially because there is so much majesty and success in so all of the things I'm involved with. For instance, in the last day or so, we took a trip to Baltimore to see Cirque du Soleil: Varekai, with five people from Richmond; stopped at a cafe to eat and have a discussion of the experience, particularly with regards to "The Rose Knight" (which I am producing); we stopped in Cockeysville to visit with some friends at the "Youth Night" they were holding; had a reading of the first act of "The Rose Knight" with the passengers on the van ride back; I tutored a Ruhi Book 6 at 9AM (first one in the Richmond Cluster) through noon; attended a workshop preparing the performers in "The Rose Knight"; made a ton of phone calls all over the place to prepare these events; attended a dinner for Farther's Day, a graduation, a couple of birthdays, etc.; participated in our HUMMUS meeting (a monthly gathering of artists inspired by Baha'i and other texts and sources).


Because of such a schedule, however, I am two days late in posting on this weblo (I kind have a promise that I'll post at least once per week), and I am a couple of weeks behind in my personal e-mail (I kind have a promise that I'll respond to personal e-mails within one month). There's not much else I'm falling behind on, but I feel my commitments are a little compromised. But hey! this very compromise is serving to fulfill one of my duties right now! Funny how I don't really like talking about this concern, but I don't mind posting it to the public eye, isn't it?


And while I'm on things I don't like to talk about - I'm not sleeping enough. At all. I'm trying, but there's just so much I want to do all the time. I know that I don't really _have_ to do any of it. The world will be fine if I drop out here and there - or even everywhere. I definitely do get fully engaged in these endeavors, though, and it's nearly impossible for me to conceive of dropping something... Because of this, I'm very much looking forward to life in the Far East as an English teacher. I plan to make a specific point of living a slower-paced life for a year or so. It may be difficult at first, but I know I can be a very happy non-super-active man.



That said, I'm going to bed.

Complete --- I have a



I am currently laying in my bed, my Lysithea (my new laptop) infront of me, and I am totally connected to the internet via my new wireless router! Is this joy or happiness?!?


I'm taking the evening to catch up with a whole plethora of wonderful weblos out there on the net!



I was just feeling how I am somehow not validating my future enough... hard to explain... it's something that's really come to my attention recently about a lot of things. There are all sort of longings I seem to have in my heart, but I keep failing to validate them!


I wrote a poem several months ago called "Everything is Everything". I thought it would be the ultimate vindication of this wisdom I had acquired... now it appears it was rather a consolidated beginning for a quest to express this truth. I seem to have integrated this truth sufficiently into my life that the longing is satiated, or rather satisfactorily nourished.


So this type of longing has hit me in various forms of late, and I feel like I have a dam building up inside of me, and I'm not letting enough through. The strongest example was when I recently kind of fell in love (and those who know me know I never really fall out). I was overwhelmed, trying to figure things out, doing this and that, here and there, between talking to friends, writing poetry, planning ways to express this love, etc. It caught up to me out of nowhere, though, until I almost bursted into terrible flames! I ended up having to do something! I did. And then I was okay. In retrospect, I might have been able to recognize the signs leading up to my near insanity.


So here I am with all these new longings! Tonight I'm back on my longing for the next three major steps in my life: I can't _wait_ to really start working on the play that I'm directing; I can't _wait_ to move in with my sister to strengthen the family, reconnect, care for my niece and nephew, continue my Performance Studies research, etc.; I can't _wait_ to be in the Far East teaching English, learning how strange my whole life has really been, slowing down, etc. I need to figure out how to validate this impatience - just like I need to validate my love for certain people, my passion for performance, and others. The latter is definitely an issue - I'm desperately pining for a means/venue to express my soul through performance...


I heard two really great things on this recently, actually. A fellow Baha'i artist confirmed that the dam-building process inevitably leads to a creative outburst that I can actually look forward to - and I do! Also, a woman who pioneered for the Baha'i Faith in China said that any Baha'i (anyone?) who goes pioneering _will_ have opportunities to use their talents. Both of these statements reassured me, but I still need to figure out some more, especially if one of my outlets is shaking and dancing and singing and screaming and tensing in my car... whoa danio!



I am so very very in love with Cirque du Soleil. I just can't stop listening to their soundtracks over the last several days! I can't _wait_ to go see Cirque du Soleil: Varekai next week with my friends!



We have our first workshop for the play tomorrow. two more this month, and then rehearsals start July 1.

Close --- I've actually been doing a reasonable job making notes of my adventures, especially journaling my travels through New York, Ohio and Illinois, but I have been sorely remiss in my duty to this weblo... alas!


I will soon post these adventures up.



Right now, though, spotlight on "The Rose Knight"! It's going rather well, with a few theatre workshops coming up this month to ease the performers into their roles. On another note, I've been communicating with several artists, like fire-ball wielders, Africans dancers and composers, who have shown interest in participating. Therefore, I would like to invite any reader who might be interested in contributing something to the project, such as a song, painting, etc. to e-mail me! We're looking for a rich experience in this project! (If you don't have my address, post a reply, including your name, and I will receive an e-mail notification).



I saw Episode III of Star Wars in the theatres, and managed to watch Episode II as well, in preparation for the former. I really enjoyed them! I especially see a clear representation of the condition of the world today, and appreciate how it came full circle back to Episode IV in a mostly fluid manner.

Clay --- EVERYTHING IS GOING SO WELL!!


Love! I feel love everywhere! especially within! Truly, my God is an awesome God!


Zarasun, Orion and I just got back from a Baha'i conference for young adults. It was very nice, but unusually personal and internal for me - I habitually have all kinds of ways I wish to share my new experience and insights with friends, my home community, etc. This time, I took in a lot for just myself.



We have our first meeting for "The Rose Night" on Wednesday! Kyndra offered home and will cook us dinner!!! There's some extraordinary energy already gathered, and it can only get better - God willing. We've already got over a dozen of people interested in performing - we'll find out a little more where everyone fits at the meeting.



I'm kind of emotionally overwhelmed at the moment. I reached a similar point exactly one year ago: I was completely overtaken by intense emotions for two weeks, at the end of which I came to a new level of spiritual maturity, where I learned how to better cope with more consistently living in the moment... I'm thinking something similar might happen! especially with my travels coming up! I'll be driving around visiting friends and going through pioneer training (to prepare Baha'is who wish to serve outside their homes) in the midwest for some 10 days.

Touch --- The Ridavan play went up two weeks ago now. It was a great success. We pulled together in the end, and got help from bonus people - including my brother (close friend) Soup, who was visiting from California. Everyone had a great time, challenged themselves, and delivered a nice show. I had several visitors from my office, which was just delightful! So great to have friends to support me! There were also several friends that visited from Cockeysville (Baltimore area) and Norfolk, VA! Behnam and Martin are very good friends, and it was fabulous for them to drive all that way to see our play in Richmond. Also Will was visiting from DC. The afterparty was just fantastic! I think it's the first time I see 35 youth (mostly Baha'is) gather here in Richmond! We had a splendid time, with prayers, games (mafia, board games, video games, air hockey, foosball), fellowship, music, etc. last people didn't leave until around 4am!!



Soup had a great time visiting, as much as I had him running with me all over the place. He gave me a toy monkey. We hadn't seen each other in almost two years!



I bought a Toshiba laptop, got it this weekend, but I have to send it back cause speakers no work. It will definitely make a huge change in my life to have this new resource at my fingertips. Among other things, it will help me in my new role as recording secretary for the Local Spiritual Assembly.



I just went to my first Interfaith Council function on Thursday. It's a wonderful group, and they are dedicated to uniting local efforts among religious groups.



Shawn and I are still in the very beginning phases of our project, but we've made good headway. No doubt it will be an enriching and exciting endeavor to put on this play together. I'm meeting with the artistic director of the Firehouse Theatre tomorrow, so if you're reading this, maybe you can send a prayer, so we can maybe secure it as the location for our performance (this would truly be ideal!)



I got a new Nalgene bottle! They recently came out with a new model - it's so beautiful, makes me very happy.



We had a great time, my parents and I, having dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant last night. I was surprised at how pleased she was with the card I got her (Robbie and I spent some 20 minutes looking though piles and piles of pathetic or aweful greeting cards at Hallmark - I hope to not have to do that again for a long time - although it was evidently rewarding in the end...)



Did I mention Bjork rocks my world?

Vacation --- There is a reason for the lack of posts!!: I took a vacation! a vacation from everything! It was forced, in response to a sense that I've been a little too much on overdrive. The solution? take advantage of the 9th and 12th Days of Ridvan falling on a Friday and Monday to have a lax four-day weekend. What's in such a weekend? one might ask... lots of nothing! The first slow day was difficult and disorienting. I was confused, irritable - cranky even! But by nighttime, I was in the groove: I stayed up until almost 7:30A, mostly watching TV, hanging out with Orion, and playing some video games. The weekend went on like this, with lots of delightful nothing.



Of course, being a danio, danio did have a few things scheduled, including observance of the Most Holy period of the year (Ridvan is when Baha'u'llah proclaimed His Station as a Manifestation of God, and His Mission), a meeting with Shawn to work on the play that she's writing ("The Rose Knight" = provisional title) and that I'm directing/producing, a meeting with our monthly group of (mostly Baha'i) artists. This latter group finally has a name! It's called HUMMUS (Human Units Modeling Makind United in Spirit)