Un-Perfection

 

Human perfection is unattainable. Ponder that. Some people come close in certain areas, but no one hits the bullseye every single time. Get used to it. Embrace it.

 

In a lot of my altered books I have illustrated the following paragraph. I don’t know who originally wrote it:

 

“I’m not a perfect girl. My hair doesn’t always stay in place and I spill things a lot. I’m pretty clumsy and sometimes I have a broken heart. My friends and I sometimes fight and maybe some days nothing goes right. But when I think about it and take a step back, I remember how amazing life truly is and that maybe, just maybe, I like being unperfect…”

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

 

Another concept of un-perfection is the Japanese idea of wabi-sabi. It’s a relaxing acceptance of the transience of nature and life. It favors the imperfect and incomplete in everything: pottery, architecture, flower arranging, art.

Wabi – the elegant beauty of humble simplicity.

Sabi -- the passing of time and subsequent deterioration.

 

Nothing lasts forever, enjoy it NOW.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

 

Then there’s this post from Facebook that smacked me in the face the other day. When Sarah and Lia were up here at Easter, I was whining about how I didn’t have any talents. Both of them are fantastic artists. I can MAYBE manage a recognizable stick figure. I love music and singing, but am totally awful in the singing department. I can play the piano fairly well, but not up to MY exacting standards. Here’s what the post said: (The capitalization is mine)

 

“Destroy the idea that you gotta be good at artistic things to enjoy them, that every hobby has to become something you’re so good at, you can monetize it. THAT IS A LIE. Sing off-key, draw poorly, write badly. LIFE IS MEANT TO BE ENJOYED, not monetized. You are not a product.”

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

 

I CHALLENGE YOU – (and myself)

Write down things you enjoy/love doing, no matter what level of competency you’re at.

DO THEM. HAVE FUN. ENJOY YOURSELF.

 

100 Books – part 2

 

 

 More from the list of books everyone should read in their lifetime.

 

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

When I was in grade school, my mom bought a set of illustrated classics for kids. One of them was about Sherlock Holmes. I absolutely loved that book and went on to read all the Holmes books and stories that Doyle wrote. I will add to this list with a couple of Doyle books that are not a part of the Holmes writings.

The Lost World – An expedition to the Amazon area discovers an island inhabited by prehistoric animals and humans.

The Mystery of Cloomber – Very moody book about a retired general who is fearful and paranoid and haunted by his past. Lots of dark atmosphere. I loved the book.

 

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll 

I don’t care how old you are, if you haven’t read these books READ THEM! The poetry alone is worth it.

 

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Only this book was on the list, but everything Agatha wrote should be read. And I’ve not only read it, but seen at least 3 adaptations for movie or TV. (And they were fine, but the book is better)

 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl

Once again, all of Dahl’s children’s book are worthy of being read. But the Charlie books are big favorites with me. The movies were good, and I enjoyed both Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp. But read the books as well.

 

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

I did a book report on this one a while back. Great read that really brings you the feeling of the early 1900s. Haven’t seen the movie.

 

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

This entire series is fabulous. IMO they should be read one right after the other. L’Engle was a wonderful writer. Deliberately did not see the movie because of some of the things I head they’d done to the original book.

 

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

This was really a fantastic book that I thought would be good to read to Lia. When reading it again after so many years, I realized that this is a book that needs to be SEEN rather than just heard. So much fun visual word-play that just doesn’t come through vocally.

Pet It, But Don’t Feed It

 

AKA – Major and minor peeves.

A “pet” peeve is something that annoys you and is nurtured like a pet. You seldom miss an opportunity to complain about it. Minor peeves aren’t as big, but still very annoying…

 

Look it up!!!

When I read something on the internet that is interesting, something I’m not familiar with, or uses a word I’m not familiar with, I look it up. Especially if there is a link included. I always do this. If I can’t find the answer or still don’t understand, and it was a post on Facebook, only then will I ask for an explanation. It really bugs me when I post something and instead of looking it up, I will get comments like:

What does that word mean? (look it up).

What is a _____? (look it up)

Why ____? (look it up)

Obviously, if you’re on Facebook, you have access to the Internet.

 

Speak English!

The only language I am really proficient at is English. I took Spanish and French in school but didn’t really do that well. I know some German words. And that’s it. I hate reading a book when the author has one of the characters speak spontaneously in another language. Usually French. With no translation. The main 2 culprits are Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh. I guess everywhere except the US people naturally learn more than one language, and the authors assume the reader can at least speak French. At least now with an iphone I can look up the words very quickly. But it still annoys me. There was one book, I think by Dorothy L. Sayers, where the amusing main character jauntily wrote a letter IN FRENCH and there was NO translation. I was NOT going to look up the words for an ENTIRE LETTER! And the people in the book commented on it with apparent amusement. Merde! (look it up)

 

Interruptive commercials!

I love youtube. Music, crafting, tutorials, interviews. I get tired of all the commercials at the beginning, but that’s really no big deal. Things have changed a bit, though. Some of the longer videos now cut into the main posting and show commercials that you can’t fast forward through. Then it will go back to what you were watching. Hate it!

 

Locked up merchandise, closed fitting rooms and register 8 at Walmart

Big peeve!! Gigantic!! At least here in Oroville. I can understand some things needing to be locked up. Make-up and that sort of thing. But contact lens solution? Denture toothpaste? Blue jeans?? Marv used to get jeans at Walmart all the time. But they’re all locked up now. So are men’s socks and underwear. And no fitting rooms! Trying to find someone to unlock something is a major chore as well. You can grab a passing clerk, but chances are they don’t have a key and have to find someone who does and it takes forever to find that person. And then we come to register 8…you can buy beer or wine that’s not locked up, but if you want Kahlua or rum, you have to get a person with a key. Then you have to go to register 8 to buy it. And of course register 8 is the ONE LANE that has all the other stuff that you have to buy there, so the line is LONG. At least now you can go through a normal checkout lane (no booze, though) and they will get your stuff from register 8 for you. We got one of those special sealers to store food in for the freezer and of course it was all locked up. They let us buy the sealer, but the bags had to go in one of those clear plastic boxes. Problem is, they don’t have a box big enough, so it goes to register 8. SMHATSOIA!!!!!

(shaking my head at the stupidity of it all)