What made you smile today?

Just a little work-chuckle. Having a conference with all the reporters, partners of one of our projects, 60 or so in all. Did the introduction round this morning, everyone was slipping in a sentence boasting about the impact in their country - the President quoted it! Two draft laws were scrapped! The regulatory authorities were furious! - next up is a woman: "I'm Jane Smith and I'm from Serbia. That wasnt a country when we were writing the report, but it is now. So we achieved something."

Heh.

Can someone explain this outfit?? LOL

An Irish girl that I work with told me my Irish accent is pretty good. That definitely made me smile. Then I tried my Scottish on her, and she got to smile. Well, she laughed actually. It's so bad. I always feel like I'm a pirate when I try a on a Scottish brogue.

Today has been really hard for me.

My friend, whomI have had suspicions about.. just told me last night that her husband left her.
I always thought he was an abusive man.

So, I spent today tapping into our friends and a group of mothers we are both a part of, trying to arrange for her child care, extra groceries, bill pay assistance, company, safe place resources
you name it

I have been in front of this computer almost 8 whole hours today , organizing over 60 women into one tunnel vision.. Keeping our friend safe and making sure she can survive on her own with 2 kids.

im tired.

I have just had more items dropped at my door by some people who have never even met my friend , then I would ever guess to even care about a stranger.
Smile...?
****.. im so happy Im just .......melting.

people are amazing.

Is that madona?

Shewolf - that kind of thing should make the world feel all warm and fuzzy - good on ya!

The variety of women in bellydance class.

Every shape, every size, every colour, nearly every stage of life from youngish and pregnant (our instructor and one of our classmates) to not-so-youngish and full of attitude to post-menopausal and really full of attitude. Everybody was working hard and laughing.

Watch us learn to shimmy

Now if I could just remember to keep my feet in place.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Shewolfnm and friend))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

[size=7](I KNOW it's twee...but heck)[/size]

Loving hearing about your class, you shimmy, sister!

Whatta day, shewolf. Good for the group response..



I've had a somewhat miserable day re my house, 'nother story, but a fine time re my car and tooling around with Diane. My car died yesterday, also long story, but it was towed to a volvo dealer alternative here. First good thing about that place was that as jammed as it was with stricken volvos, heh, the folks there had sardonic wit. Not just one, the whole crew...or so it seemed. They told me my car would be looked at later this month.

They called me last evening, the boss figured it out, ship shape, car was ready, at a fraction of the money I feared. So today, Diane took me there and I paid up and then we went antique store-thrift shoppe looking.
Will cut the story there, while I'm still smiling.

OK, this is crazy, but good crazy in a quirky way.

(I am still smiling)

First, a young girl in my Stats class thought her book was in the car and came to school without it. I was studying in the library and she studied with me for an hour. She is a free spirit, and so am I--(only I'm a dino-freespirit) and we were laughing and having a blast. I told her I couldn't stand Nurse Know Everything Loudly, who sits beside me, and we commiserated about this. So, in class, since she didn't have a book, I was able to MOVE seats to let New Girl share. I have escaped the clutches of Nurse Ratchet!!!

We also (surreal) had a substitute for the Stats prof...my Basic Comp professor, who I SWEAR, referred all of his comments to me all night long. Everybody in the class was laughing (he's hard of hearing), because he stood right in front of me and stared at me for the entire three hour class. I have NO CLUE what to make of this. Another bizarre day in the life. But, it made me silly.

He showed short films of him in the control booth during some blast offs. He was a design engineer (satellites) with NASA for a while, and had neat films. He'd known Judy Resnick, and she was on one of the films.

Anyway. Fellini-eque.

<grins>

Better smile. I peeked at my daughter's myspace. I won't belabor. Simply, she said some of the most wonderful things. Being a mother is sometimes a thankless job. Mothers get blamed for a myriad of their children's problems. (God knows I blame my mother for loads of **** ) But, she talked about some things she'd like to "inherit" from me. I think it increased my life ten years. My children are miracles.

<mother's contented smile>

I was gonna add some really minor stuff to this, but the Internetcafe shut down so I was cut short..

One, little ego-thing; night before last at dinner a colleague introduced some guy I hadnt ever met to me, and he said "oh yes I know - he's the guy you stole away from [name of my old organisation]!"

Wowee, I'm someone they "stole away". I feel almost a little important.

Last night we had dinner on a boat, it went up & down the Danube and it was actually pleasant enough - anyway, my colleague and I were joking with someone about how - if you could send in requests to the terrorists for anything specific to bomb if they were gonna bomb something anyway (there was consensus on the Marriott, a concrete enormity on the Pest shore), and a Serbian girl chipped in.

She: you should come to Belgrade, lots of ugly buildings to bomb there.
Me: I thought they already tried that.
She: Yes, but they bombed all the wrong buildings.

All that without missing a beat. Heh, I like her..

nothing yet.

Wow / Aw, Shewolf..

Thanks. :-)




What made me smile today was seeing all of my work in print, wich I gave to my friend last night.
Just updated once again because I have had afew more offers.
I just printed it


7 people offered to do phone research. Of any kind for what ever she needs.

3 women have dropped off some clothing in the appropriate sizes for my friend. Everything from office wear to shorts. Some brand new, some not.

2 Women have brought in extra baby clothes

1 Woman brought up an entire bag of toiletries.. Makeup, deodorant, hairspray, hair brush, soap, shampoo.. you name it. The bag is huge

17 women have offered to prepare meals, and deliver them to my home so I can take them to my friend because her husband doesnt see me as a threat and if he is ever there, or watching, I am a safe person to him. I have her food covered for 3 1/2 weeks.

43 women offered everything from 5.00-100.00 for assistance to her bills because she is now on one income with 2 kids

I have a working back up plan for emergencies . She comes here, then goes to another home. This other woman has stopped construction plans on her 2 bedrooms so they will always be liveable for the next 2 months in the event of an emergency.

My own hubby is going to be doing her heavy moving and offered to help with yard work and other simple things .

I have 22 pages of addresses and phone numbers of women who will offer anything they can at the last minute


What is absolutly amazing?
Only about 7 of us, have even met each other.

Virtual strangers all coming together to help one wounded woman.


Can ya feel that love? :-)

Thats amazing..

nimh, I bet it makes you want to change your sig line......

Naw... not in the least.

I had to interview someone for a psych class--re Erikson's Life Stages, and I've been dreading the hell out of it, because the people who are closest to me are passing through difficult phases. My sister is facing her children moving out--she's "very attuned to her appearance," and something has been going badly in that area in the past year..., I think she's having hormone problems, because she's put on a great deal of weight, and the weight is settling in unsettling places... It's one thing to gain weight and look like yourself, only a bit more of you--and then, to have your appearance alter significantly... After the "bad haircut incident last week, I knew I couldn't interview her. And my mother is having a hard time with "the last phase," as described by Erikson. (Who wants to see that on a piece of paper?) But, I talked to my mom this morning over coffee.



There were very hard times in the interview--my father's death, how that has affected her, her goals at this time in life,as compared to her favorite phases, earlier in life ... Weirdly, I was drawing Pie Graphs about how she spent her time in her favorite phase, and this phase, and she became so animated and happy. She was very pleased, and as we portioned out her work, charity work, tutoring, community service... I felt a renewal of respect as we discussed what she's done with her life, and what she was still doing.

We had a wonderful time. I don't know why I thought to do the "pies," but she said it was the best pie she ever made.

She thanked me at the end of the interview, and said she's really needed to see her life on paper in that way. She's been sort of beaten down by health, finances, uncertainty and missing my father acutely for 12 years. It made her happy.

Some of my most deeply treasured smiles today. Some of her most beautiful.

Thats nice, Lash..

Me, I just had two grins. They were setting up this big tent outside last night, I didnt think anything of it - will be something going on.

Tonight I stepped out the door - into the rain, fer chrissakes (whats that all about?), and duh - of course! Tent's got big screen, world cup. Seventy-eighty people inside watching Argentine play Ivory Coast.

Then - they had only 20 mins to play or so - five minutes I was there, Ivory Coast scored. And the whole tent seemed to erupt into a roar: cheering, whooping, beating on the tables.

Ha! Whodathought!

To be fair, when Argentine seemed to score a bit later (offside), half the tent (another half of the tent?) also started cheering and banging. But in public support, Ivory Coast won, here, in Erzsebetvaros, Budapest.

They lost the game though.

Still in the doldrums. But also a smile. One I had to work for, but still.

My friend Esther, whom Ive bitched and raved about here before, is a bit of a flake. When we meet, she's wonderful - the most caring, engaging, beautiful friend. Who'll also tell me she loves me, and that I'm a jewel of a friend. But there's always some kinda weirdness going on in between, and sometimes she wants to meet all the time, then will just disappear on you for months, and never clear what the F is going on. Well, there mighta been a dilemma skirting in the background (with us) previously, but now it's just flakiness I think. Generally I mean, there was also important personal stuff in specific recent weeks that played a role then.

Anyway. I miss her, and her hugs. More than I'm glad about <nods>. So after I'd randomly invited her + her man to come watch the footy Sunday (nope), I got over my pride and SMSd her back that I'd actually been on the verge of texting her a coupla times last week to say, where you at right now, and can I come out there just for 10 minutes for a hug + a hello?

She SMSd back that Id probably have been succesful, and she started work in a street near my job now. The wording again kinda irked, but I shrugged that off too and today just texted, what about a 2-person 10-minute flash mob on the steps of the St. Stephen Basilique? 5:10?

Worked <nods>. So there we were, she coming dramatically running up to me across the square (as we jokingly do), we hugged, set on the steps for a quarter or so, in just the window she had before she had to meet someone re classes at 5:30 and then go home, and hugged some more.

I swear, when she holds me everything is all-right. Well, I'll admit it, it'd probably be the same if someone else did, too, I'm an affinity-ho. Someone else female. Well, almost ... she is also especially sweet, and fine. True.

Anyway, it was just very nice.... I've been feeling very desolate - no comfort anywhere - whereas, if I'd have just one ten-minute break like this a day, I swear, I'd be perfectly happy. Or close.

(Just to avoid impressions that I'm just some kind of leech preying on a nice person's sympathy, the last time we met was after that "important personal stuff" I mentioned and, tho I'd been feeling very distressed and had looked forward to being with her again very much, when as soon as we met it was clear that she had had things happen in the weeks before, I swept that away and we talked about those instead throughout dinner. Didnt say anything about myself till the very end.)

Anyway. This one, its true, was kindof a present for me. For 15 minutes, everything was nice, and quiet, and everything was all-right. Plus, the set-up was a victory for pragmatism kinda. That gives it an ambivalent edge (swallowing pride about having to try so hard, just for someone to want to see me - for 10 mins??) -- but it's also important for someone like me who, when insecure, tends to lurch into emotional fundamentalism. If it doesnt work out one way, dont sweat it - and just try what will work, instead - some lesson like that.

Hmmm .. all in all more a post for the Dear Diary thread, phaps.

So this morning, I woke up, opened up the computer - there was a funnin' email from my charming colleague Cs - there was an email from a colleague in the other building whom I'd asked, in passing, whether she wanted to go have a tea/coffee some mid-afternoon break some time, writing back, also in passing, that that "sounded lovely"; there was an email from Esther asking me to come along to a party she was invited to tonight (I couldnt cos I'd already promised Cs to go somewhere) ...

... and this Serbian girl (points up) - I'd chatted a bit with her still when we all went to some garden pub on Friday night (talking bout a concert she was still going to here and stuff) - and she's really cool. Fun-loving and outgoing, sharp-witted and smart, pretty and hip, even some geek chic mixed in as well. I was impressed. Anyway, email from her too: writing that she'd tried to call me on Saturday and Sunday, but my number didnt work - she was sorry I wasnt there for the concert - next time we meet she's taking me to a gig - she'd also wanted to watch the football together (Holland:Serbia) - and, stay in touch.

La-de-dah.. <insert nimh this morning skipping around the room and smiling at everyone on the street..>

Hell, who knows, she might even just be out for extra work, or networking ... in fact, I'm thinking we could set up some work together (she does actually have exactly the expertise I need) ... whatever ... I was smiling



[size=8](And yet another WMYST post I cant cross-post to my searchable-by-real-name blog... ;-))[/size]