I've been wanting to mention a few of the beyond wonderful things that have popped up recently in support of Great Lakes Bengal Rescue. First off, you are the BEST Fiends ever. And I love you beyond. Beyond anything. It means so much that you care enough to help with a cause I am so fully committed to.First Erin Underwoods Poetry for Cats.
And next, The Night Garden Project, a group of artists donating time and work with 100% of the proceeds going to GLBR. Here's the shop, with my Magic, himself an F1 rescue via GLBR, on a mug!!!
And the portrait Kelli Bickman did of all five of my Bengals, Bengal Tree, is now available in prints, cards, bags and such, with a percentage going to rescue as well.
Thank you. From my heart. Words can't cover how grateful I am.
The other thing I wanted to mention was I got a letter today from a girl talking about how brave I was, writing about getting FIT, going for it, and all the things I've been doing. She said it had inspired her, and I am glad because that is half the purpose in writing about it. (the other half being, I need to keep telling myself things) But, I need to stress, being brave doesn't mean one is not scared. Exactly the opposite.
Me? Scared? Oh yeah. All the time. What if I fail? Hello? Skating Derby? Riding Dressage shows on my teachers horse? Meeting so many new people face to face and telling them, yes, I can be that good? Telling the entire world I can DO this and get FIT? It's a lot, and it's a whole lot of scary.
I have to tell myself every day and often: "Suck it up, Quiche Medeadly, you're doing this" Being brave isn't not being scared. It's being scared and doing it anyway. And if it were easy, what's the POINT? It doesn't matter what you feel inside, as long you do it anyway and smile like, yes, that was the plan all along. Know that you rock. Even if you don't believe it.
It reminded me of this picture Amanda Palmer posted sometime back, and a phrase I've taken on and play on repeat in my head. Repeat it often. It may help. The caption is hers and it helped me.
"Fuck Fear. I rock on purpose all the time."Amanda Palmer
Yeah.
Love, Bengals and Brave,
Lorraine
Bravery is all about having fear and doing something anyway. If you aren't afraid then there is nothing to be brave about is there?
ReplyDeleteRock the fuck on Medeadly, Rock the fuck on.
rock!!!
ReplyDelete\m/
Amen, sister. I have a magnet on my refrigerator that says Do Something That Scares You Every Day and I use that as a mantra. We need an Amanda Rock Every Day magnet. (Right now, I'm afraid I'm going to eat my daughter's leftover cinnamon roll. But I am strong and fearless! I am powerful, sentient being and you little cinnamon roll will go in the TRASH.) Thank you for sharing your journey with us.
ReplyDeleteRock is awesome.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course I have to link this, now.
ReplyDeleteI'm really grateful to you, Medeadly, and to everyone else here for supporting and participating in The Night Garden Project, and for helping me make it happen. On many levels it's the scariest thing I've ever done-- because I didn't know whether I could pull it off, because a lot of the time I'm not sure I am pulling it off, because it involves talking to people, organising people, and approaching Somebodies who might well question my Nobodiness in order to ask their generosity. There's always that moment where I think, This will end badly, with me in front of a roomful of people who are pointing and laughing, and not in a fun way.
And of course what I've learned is that I am not alone in it, that we can pull it off, and what's more that people are quite happy to talk about it, get involved, and make stuff happen. I've met and worked with many, many cool people doing this thing whom I wouldn't have met otherwise. If I hadn't sucked it up, been brave, and risked making a complete tit of myself, I'd never have known what I could do, or what was possible. So yes, one does fucking well rock into Mordor, actually.
</Oprah moment>
This is me, saying something insightful.
ReplyDeleteExcept right now the only insights I have are mathy, and you probably don't want them.
Rock on!
ReplyDeleteGive us an equation for ROCK, Phi.
ReplyDeleteAll I can think is "Pi R Squared"
ReplyDeleteSorry, can't do that. But I can give you two separate things.
ReplyDeleteEquation: K <- lm(log(as.vector(x[slope >= targetslope])) ~ log(as.vector(IL[slope >= targetslope])/cos(sunzenith)))
(copied out of the stats code I'm working on right now)
and ROCK.
Hot damn, lady! You should have posted the pics of his ass as well.
ReplyDeleteThere is ass in the first one, but I didn't post the full-size version.
ReplyDeleteI'll see what I can do. :)
Indeed.
ReplyDeleteFuck fear & rock on purpose and don't listen to the voice in your head that says it will all end with people pointing & laughing.
Words to live by.
*sidenote* When I sneeze, there is a muscle in my shoulder that get's pulled and screams in pain. I can not figure out why. Can one of the various hot stalker chicks come in and rub this thing out? kthanxbye
ReplyDeleteTell you what: not to sound like the poster child for taking up yoga or anything, but Eagle Pose has done wonders for my neck and shoulders. Though I do half-eagle: meaning you stand with your feet planted hip-width apart, as opposed to crossing over, and after you lift the arms, you tuck your chin and roll down. Once you're bending over, you keep your arms entwined but allow them to hang a bit more towards the floor for a minute (gives you a nice stretch in your shoulder blades); then release and roll back up. Do that once on each side.
ReplyDeleteJess, nice version! I'll try it right now.
ReplyDeleteOoo That one looks tricky! I'm such a beginner with Yoga. I do love the Sun Salutation though, so invigorating. :-)
ReplyDeleteEagle is the best I've found for stretching that annoying place inside the shoulderblades.
ReplyDeleteEven without the leg part, with just the arms, it's an excellent stretch. And with just the arms you can do it while sitting at your desk working.
PS I have to admit, when I do the full version I can never remember which arm/leg combo goes which way. I figure that as long as I'm balanced it will all average out in the end. :)
ReplyDeleteI can't remember, either...so I'm with you, if I don't' fall over it's all good :-)
ReplyDeleteI love that line from Amanda! Woot!
ReplyDeleteI really need to get fit. I just ate a handful of jelly beans while I read this. :-( I must stop eating sugary things and get my butt to the gym. I must make this happen.
:-) GLBR is awesome! I was soooooo happy to help, but really all I did was gather some amazing poetry dedicated to lovely little furry creatures. I really was touched by how many people offered their poems to the cause. Go Bengals!!
Also, the Night Garden Project is lovely! If you haven't been there, you should go now. Immediately!
ReplyDeleteFor Jess: more ass.
ReplyDeleteAnd now, back to work.
Nearly enough to make me start writing ass tanka again! But not quite.
ReplyDeleteI hate the balance poses. I'm very wobbly. Tend to skip them when I practice at home, because they annoy me.
If you are interested in men and Jon Bon Jovi's ass won't inspire tanka, you are a tough cookie indeed.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with skipping the balancy poses is that doing them is what makes you strong and balancy. Frustrating, that.
How does one manage to get the hands to touch doing that darn eagle pose?!
ReplyDeleteSeveral months of practice.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to print this post out and use it as inspiration.
ReplyDeleteAt least until someone makes the AFP magnet.
Don't worry if you can't get your hands to touch at first. They will eventually. Just means your shoulders are tight. Only do as much as you can, and DO NOT try to force it. Otherwise you will end up with pulled muscles or worse.
ReplyDeleteYou are an inspiration. That blog gave me a proper good kick up the ass, thank you. I always used to think that being brave meant not feeling scared, so I always thought I wasn't as good as the confident people around me. I'm quite a scaredy-cat, but the feeling after doing something terrifying can't be beaten. Sometimes I might even thinking, oh that wasn't so bad..it was actually fun!
ReplyDeleteI found a skipping rope when I was clearing out the cupboard in my childhood bedroom last weekend. I bought it home. I suspect I haven't skipped since I was about 11. The neighbours are probably wondering why the crazy grown woman is skipping around the garden with a rainbow coloured rope.. I don't care, it's so much fun!
Yoga is not about forcing anything, do what you can, maybe push slightly beyond your comfort zone, but it's not about pain, either.
ReplyDeleteJess, the very poses I hate are the ones I should do :-)
Oh I wouldn't force anything, I just find it freakin' impossible!
ReplyDeleteI love and hate what yoga I have done. It can be very centering, which is great, but if I am hormonal, then it is very emotionally hard for me. I used to dance. Like I was going to go to college for dance and then go to NYC and dance on Broadway dance. So I was REALLY flexible. So when I am hormonal, I get really down on myself when it's hard to reach my toes. I mean I used to be able to do a full straddle and stand on one foot with the other one above my head...just stand there perfectly balanced. Right now I can say, "I will get there again" next week, the idea will probably throw me into tears. *sigh*
Oh, I do plenty of poses I hate, Sharon. Just not stupid Crane and rubbish Tree and friggin' Full Eagle. Bah!! :D
ReplyDeleteCecily - don't get down on yourself. What you were like is not what you are like today. And today is the important day. I once could put my foot behind my head, too (no standing up, though!)but today, no way and it's OK.
ReplyDeleteYou could teach me to dance - I've never been good at that!
Another cat from the fire I mentioned before has been rescued, and there is a better chance that rescue workers will be allowed access to the building:
ReplyDeletehttp://citykitties.org/2011/02/another-survivor-annie/
Ahhh, meeting fear face on and walking with it.
ReplyDeleteYou really give me constant reminders that this is possible Quiche Medeadly. And all of the Fiends.
And now I'm off to look at Bon Jovi's ass...
Jess! LOL Just wait until my next class when I can refer to these asanas by their new names!
ReplyDeleteMy bad names are reserved for backbendy poses.
Just caught up with the tail end of comments from the last post.
ReplyDeleteSharon - I hope they figure out what is causing your pain and fix it pronto.
Giving Sharon and Cecily soothing massages from afar.
You are very, very right. Being brave means doing something in spite of the fear you feel.
ReplyDeleteI think, a lot of times, it's important to do exactly what scares us.
Hooray for Bengal Merch -- and picture of Amanda Palmer is fantastic. ~Ali
me likes the totebag d' Bengals! great job to miss Bickman! i gonna go order one tonight.
ReplyDeleteyou never seem very scared.
even when i know you are.
always an inspiration, Q.
thank you.
and AFP, what a great shot-- i missed this one until now.
xoxoxo love you almost birthday girly.
The only vaguely backbendy poses I do so far are cobra and fish. I like fish. I attempted camel once, and realised just in time that if I did it, I'd be stuck like that forever.
ReplyDeleteNot very backbendy, is the point.
Camel I can do. But I am a forward bendy girl all the way.
ReplyDeleteYou rock virtually everything you touch, Lorraine!
ReplyDeleteI've been fighting my social fear/anxiety all day. I'm supposed to go with my sweetie and his husband tomorrow to an event/party tomorrow, and I'm feeling very anxious about the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteI know it will be fine once I get there, and there will be other people I know, but there's going to be over 100 people total and it's an environment I've not been in before.
But I'll keep breathing...
Oh dear, the spammers have found us.
ReplyDelete*shoots death rays at spammers*
Pretty brave this morning: Slept the heck IN! Lovely coffee from Joan of Dark, which I have most mornings but not made by her. Just waking and getting ready to nip to the gym.
ReplyDeleteBout tonight.
All good!
I habe a code.
ReplyDeleteActually not that stuffed up, but sniffly, coughy, sore throat. Really, this is a good time to get it out of the way - two weeks ago or two weeks from now would be disastrous. So I will snuggle on the couch with the cat and read books. Maybe not The Stand, which is what I was reading in bed this morning...
But I didn't come to whine at you all, really. I'm looking over my calendar, and I'm thinking I should go to the Pittsburgh SF convention July 22-24. I know some of you are VERY close, and some of you are within reasonable travel range, so I thought I'd mention it early and see if we can get some folks together.
Saw that! Hmm. If Fiends turn up I shall do my level best to locate them for drinks.
ReplyDeleteBut why the Doubletree by the airport? That's a good half hour to 45 minutes away from anything worth seeing. Why don't they do it downtown?
At a guess, free airport shuttle and cheap convention rates.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning Fiends!
ReplyDeletePhiala, come to Boskone! :-)
ReplyDeleteErin, it sounds like fun (Charlie Stross!), but that's way too long a drive for February.
ReplyDeleteErin should come to the Pittsburgh one!
ReplyDeleteMind you, I'm not actually that interested in attending the convention. Just in seeing Fiends.
Somebody called?
ReplyDeleteSorry. Not feeling too math-y today!
Been thinking hard about what Quiche has posted about fear and courage...and how once we do something even though we may be fearful we're gonna have to wake right up the next day and do it all over again. About how there will be a next thing and then another thing we need to face...and somehow this doesn't get me down (no rest for the wicked!) but makes me feel better knowing everyone has their own battles to fight and new fears to face everyday so that I (and you) are never alone in our battles.
I for one am gonna rock on purpose today (as I can't speak for tomorrow until I wake up and face that one.) But for now? For today? I'm gonna Rock!
Rock on Purpose!!!!
ReplyDeleteOn deck for tonight: DERBY!!!!!
Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteSince we're talking about cons, is anyone going to DragonCon?
ReplyDeleteI was wondering why my in-box had gone so quiet... A new post and I did not know it.
ReplyDeleteI only have one thing to say:
ROCK ON!
Home from a weekend that was full of food, friends and this. It's the place in Big Sur where we got married. It's a place where you realize how full and rich life can be.
ReplyDeleteAhhh.
Will catch up soon! (there's also no internet at the place!!)
*tick*
ReplyDeleteChantrelle...looks divine!
ReplyDeleteMornin' Fiends!
Its your birthday here in tomorrow-land Fearless Leader and to celebrate we are going to have a glorious sunny 30C day.
ReplyDeleteHappy Happy Firbday
Happy Birthday, and thanks for the Fearless post
ReplyDeleteHappy firbday eve for 23 more minutes!
ReplyDeleteAlso, TMKittyI update:
I did not have to take Kitty to the vet. By peeing along the wall, she seems to have been saying, "Mother, this is where I would like you to place my pee receptacle. Please do this with haste, or I will be forced to increase my peeing area. I will also be forced to pull everything you own into my pee spots in order to cover them up."
The window above where she was peeing has leaked in the past, and I think she could smell old water leak spots. But, problem solved. For now...
Happy Firbday, Fearless Leader!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your day :-)
Happy and fabulous birthday!
ReplyDeleteA birthday! Yay!!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Q. I hope it's a fabulous one.
:-)
Yes, I am doing a B'day blog here, working on it now...Hang on!
ReplyDeleteSneaking in a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! before the new post is up ;-)
ReplyDeleteNew post is up. Fearless Leader distracted by Joan of Dark. ;-)
ReplyDeleteTurn $200 into $5,000 Every Month - Secret Reveled!
ReplyDeleteLearn this simple way to make an extra income from home.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VyiMfqQST8