being sick is such a waste of time

"Her secret, if indeed she kept one, might be that we cannot comprehend how different our lives are from everyone else’s," on Diane Arbus, from this piece in the american scholar.

i was part of a community art project last weekend. it was a waste time home party and the concept was developed by artist anja franke. the event was part of a cooperation between trapholt, an art museum in kolding and the 7 communities that make up the triangle region of denmark. our local art associated played host to the event, together with our local library.

the idea is that your admission ticket to the event is a piece of white porcelain, probably something you found at a flea market or which was lying around your home, not used all that often. so a "waste" piece of porcelain. everyone who comes gathers to eat a meal together using the porcelain and then, when the dinner is over, it's all washed and the group embarks upon painting their interpretation of the waste time pattern onto the plates, cups and bowls. the painted pieces will be part of a larger exhibition in september at trapholt.

with the influx of refugees spreading across europe, the question of home was central. it was also important for us to include some of the refugee families that live here in our little town. we were fortunate to find a syrian family who was willing to cook the meal that we all shared. and i got to help prepare the food. we worked together in the library's kitchen all morning and i tried to learn as much as i could about syrian cuisine while i helped. it's quite a mediterranean kitchen and not unlike the cuisine i know from the balkans, turkey and greece. we had so much fun in the kitchen, laughing and joking as we prepared the food. i've posted some pictures of it over here (in danish, but the pix do speak for themselves).

part of the program was an all-too-short salon, where questions about home, waste and time were posed and discussed in small groups. as i've been lying around sick this week, trying to get over a miserable summer cold, i've had occasion to ponder the list of questions. there's undoubtedly a whole series of blog posts in the questions, but i found myself focusing on the waste section, as being sick feels decidedly like a waste of time. and since i've covered home a lot here on mpc, i'll save that and time for another...well...time.

"when do you feel that you're wasting time?"

i definitely felt like i was wasting time this week, as i wiled away the days in bed, blowing my nose, drinking tea, coughing and generally feeling miserable. even tho' i skyped in to meetings at work and actually got quite a lot of work done on documents since i was without the usual interruptions for cake or lunch or conversations that happen at the office, i still felt like being sick was such a waste of time. it comes with a feeling of frustration - with myself, with my body for succumbing to illness, for not being able to do enough, for not having energy, for feeling crabby and achy and out of sorts. being sick is just such a waste of time!

i tried to put into practice some of what i've learned at yoga about listening to my body. getting sick was surely my body's way of telling me that i needed to slow down. but i couldn't help but feel impatient and want it to just hurry up and get well so i could get back to all of life's obligations once again. but that seems to be taking some time.

but in the end, i've given in to my dull headache and all that snot clogging up my brain and said i'd return to work on monday. and i've rested and snuggled with the kittens and tried my very best not to consider being sick a colossal waste of time. and i might, just might, be starting to feel just a little bit better. just in time to care for husband, who seems to be coming down with the damn thing now too. summer colds are the worst.

when do you feel that you're wasting time?

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the perils of following healthy living blogs.

there's going to be a lot of changes around here

it's been awhile since i went to a regular office job on a daily basis. the last time was the misery that was siemens wind power. i believe they will eternally take the prize for the world's worst workplace (and that includes those clothing factories in bangladesh that burn up whole rooms of employees on a regular basis - those must be better - and that's not even hyperbole). if there's just less crying in meetings, my new job will be much better. but already, i digress. 

as i impatiently wait for the next ten days to pass, i have been pondering how it will change things around here that i'll no longer be making my own schedule. of course, i have been working over the past few years, but it's different when your schedule is largely your own to plan. if i wanted to do all of my work between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m., that was cool. if i did my work while wearing the same sweatpants and t-shirt three days in a row, that was also cool. now, people will be expecting me to appear, fully clothed and coiffed and not wearing the same thing for days on end, in an office during normal business hours. on a daily basis! and although i have no idea what i'm going to wear, i am really looking forward to it.

but it will change a lot of things. like when the horses get put out and put back in for that matter. it will also mean that i won't be here to play cat flap to the cats all day long, letting them in and out at their whims. they're going to have to decide at the beginning of the day whether they're in or out and they're going to have to stick with that. and sabin will need to use her new bicycle rather than having me chauffeur her from school to starbucks and back at her whim. (there will generally be a lot less whimming around here.)

as for the interwebs, i hope i'll spend less time on facebook and generally messing around online. i will still use pinterest to relax and as my sunday morning ritual. i expect to have more to blog about, rather than less and to expand my daily photo horizons beyond my own back yard. i'm looking forward to that. i will undoubtedly need this space more than ever to process what i'm thinking about all of the new input. 

so although things will change, i'm so much looking forward to those changes. i can't wait to be with people every day! new people, learning new things! getting new stimulus and input and having access to different sorts of creativity and creative types. i know it's going to give me so much energy and open up so many new synapses in my brain. it's very hard waiting for it to begin.

i'd like to say i've been using my time wisely, tidying up, getting caught up on laundry, making fabulous meals, sewing up a storm and creating all kinds of things. and to an extent, i have, but not nearly enough. i know i'll look back and think, "oh, i should really have written that novel while i had the time."

but there's some kind of paralysis that happens when you're waiting. you sort of shut down somehow and go into a kind of hibernation, preserving your strength until you need it. i hope i can come out of hibernation in the next week. i have a few things to finish up and a few things to get ready and i would like to make something with all of those beautiful supplies while i have the time.

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must get some tiny people.

and photograph them.

like these.

only in my own way.

saturday morning meme

since this is going to be a day of running errands, i thought i'd do this funny meme that's been making the rounds of facebook--yes, memes have comes to facebook, which i find more than slightly disturbing. and then i saw that sebrina did it on sunmamma and so i thought what the heck. it made me laugh.

what you do is type "(your name) needs" into google search and you list the things that it comes up with:

1. julie needs your help (ha!)
2. julie needs high fiber content (no doubt)
3. julie needs to work on her parenting (for sure!)
4. julie needs paper pleasing ideas (how does google KNOW these things?)
5. julie needs a new pair of shoes (amen, sister!)
6. julie needs a boyfriend (not so much)
7. julie needs an early start.
8. julie needs the science of running (now there's a laugh)
9. julie needs a(nother) new home (this appeared to be about a spayed grey tabby female cat)
10. julie needs prayers and good vibes (don't we all?)

if you're feeling lazy on saturday, please play along. :-)