Kismet

Every now and then your partner says something that's so in tune with your own thoughts, it's like you're sharing one mind.

"Have you ever wondered," said Monte last night, standing beside the open freezer door, "why we have two identical ice cube trays but one works great and the other works like crap?"

I stared at him, amazed. "Yes," I breathed. "I wonder that every day."

These are the moments we fall in love all over again.

Very Merry Christmas

Few people know of the time in the early seventies when Stevie Wonder and I collaborated on a Christmas song. He wrote the tune and I penned the lyrics.

The first few bars were so funky and my lyrics were so hip, there was no doubt in my mind that the song would become a tremendous hit.

I was half right.

Stevie decided that the tune was too good to be confined to seasonal airplay. He severed our partnership, rewrote the lyrics, and Superstition was born. My musical career never took off.

But in the spirit of the season, I've decided to forgive and forget. And I'd like to share with you the original version of the song, taken straight from its first recording in Stevie Wonder's basement (hence the imperfections in sound quality).

A Mixon/Wonder collaboration and near-classic hit, I give you...Very Merry Christmas.

Very Merry Christmas from Errin M on Vimeo.

Give

I found this little piece of art* a few years ago at a flea market. I think I bought it for $5.

I used to display it on my bookcase, beside an empty bowl, as a joking request for donations. But when I took the bowl away, I found that that little block of wood made a powerful statement standing all by itself.

Give.

When I'm not giving enough, the universe lets me know. This year, the universe sent somebody to rob my apartment. It pissed me off initially, but then I got hip to what the universe was trying to tell me: You have so much. What are you giving back?

I attend Glide Memorial Church. Every time I go there I see people lined up around the block, waiting for food. Glide feeds people 3 times a day, 365 days a year, but during the Christmas season the giving really amps up. They provide new toys for the children of the Tenderloin and bags of groceries for families in need. This year they ran out of grocery bags. This year, more people are hungry.

I walk past the food line twice a week. I know that not much separates me from the folks who rely on Glide's meals. Every time I get an unemployment check, I remember that.

And yet, I still struggle with the act of giving. My savings account is in the low four figures. It's easy to tell myself that I don't have enough money to share.

But then someone like my friend Mark reminds me that my gift creates an opportunity for somebody else. My contribution, no matter how small, may help somebody rebuild their life. Mark lifted the offering at church a few weeks ago and he shared his story. I was moved to tears by all that he had, all that he lost, and all that he's gained.

Give from Errin M on Vimeo.

I give money to Glide because I see real people putting their lives back together with Glide's assistance. I smell the food wafting up from the kitchen during service; I see the line of people who come to eat. I've seen the new Teen Center and the computer lab; I know the Health Clinic will accept me if I need medical care. I found help at the prayer circle when I was last unemployed; I go to Speak Out to hear the voices of my community. There is help to be found there, but more people than ever are in need.

And you know what? I can afford to give.

Who will you give to this year?


*The artist is Albert Reyes.

Facebook

I knew it. I knew it! After pledging that I wouldn't, I just joined Facebook and I am already regretting my decision.

A friend from high school tricked me into joining, promising photos of his adorable toddler, who's just starting to walk. "He can do 7 steps in a row before toppling over," he tempted me, and I was hooked - I had to see the baby pictures, I just had to.

So I created an account and started clicking on people I recognize. And blammo! I've got about a zillion friends. Only I didn't realize that they were all going to be notified that I'd just joined Facebook - and I certainly didn't realize that I was going to get an email every time someone accepted me as their friend.

What the hell? Suddenly my inbox was flooded with emails. I realize this makes me sound very popular, but I've been ignoring friend requests from Facebook for quite some time now, so I think all those people became my friends automatically - and I got an email notification for each and every one of them.

So I'm freaking out over all this email and then I notice The Wall. What is this thing? It's frighteningly up-to-date with inane bits of information about every person I've ever met in my life! Michele is making vegetable pot pie! Alvin is having hot chocolate! Heather had her bikes stolen! (I'm really sorry to hear about that, by the way.)

And then I noticed that Facebook was tracking my movements. Errin just edited her profile, it said. Errin and Leah are now friends. Errin just sneezed and rubbed her nose.

Okay, I made up that last one. But it freaked me out! I feel like I'm being watched.

More accurately, I feel like I'm under pressure to watch everyone else. Michele has 31 photos posted. Well damn, I've got to look at those. Never mind that I'm hungry, my laundry is waiting and I've had to pee for 20 minutes, I have to look at Michele's photos right now because they are there. And because there are several hundred other people that I've got to investigate next.

I am unemployed and I still don't have the time that Facebook requires me to invest.

I feel a tremendous pressure to absorb all the information that is now available to me online. This is the new media, folks. The media created by the people you know. I am drowning in it.

I figured out that I could adjust my preferences so that I'm not notified for every friend request. So that's a relief. But then I realized that this means I'll have keep logging in to see if people are trying to connect with me. And wait - hold on - I've had 6 new notifications in the last 15 minutes!

What happens if I don't respond in a timely fashion? What if I forget to log in? Will I be hurting peoples' feelings? I don't want to do that! This is a huge responsibility! I seriously feel my blood pressure starting to rise.

You know what this is like? This is like having a virtual pet. It's like one of those digi-fish that you have to log in to feed. My cousin used to have one of those. I couldn't understand why someone would want to take on the responsibility of keeping a virtual animal alive. I don't even have a real pet because for years I've had nightmares that I would forget to feed it and it would eat me. Honest to God. In my dream I'd suddenly say, "Oh! I just remembered that I have a bunny! Jeez, I wonder when was the last time that I fed that thing?" And then I'd go to the rabbit pen and the bunny would be staring at me with its scary red eyes, and then it would launch itself at my face and try to eat me.

Facebook is like having a virtual pet, and I'm going to forget to feed it and it's going to eat me.

I'm freaking out. I'm logging off.

Errin & Monte get a Christmas tree

Monte gave me a new digital camera for my birthday. I am having great fun with it, especially the video function. Here's a little video of our trip to the Christmas tree lot this past weekend.

Errin & Monte get a Christmas tree from Errin M on Vimeo.

One of these things is not like the others

A friend just emailed me this:

(Click photo to enlarge.)

Ah! I love it.

61 things

I just said my first-ever rosary. And do you know what? That's a lot of beads!

There's - hang on...59 beads on that thing! And I think you're supposed to pray on the crucifix and the Virgin Mary connector thing too, so that makes 61 prayers. 61 prayers! That's a lot of prayers, people!

Why did I choose today to say my first-ever rosary? Well, I've developed a schedule to keep me on course during this time of unemployment. As soon as I got laid off I sat down and made a list of things that I need to do to keep myself healthy, productive and calm. One of things I'm supposed to do is meditate for 5 minutes a day.

The only problem is, when I meditate unsupervised, I tend to fall asleep. Which was kind of counter-productive to the rest of my daily tasks.

So I changed 'meditate' to 'pray' and decided that I would spend 5 minutes of every day in prayer.

That started off okay, but after a couple of minutes my mind wandered and I discovered I was making a grocery list in my head.

So today I pulled out my rosary. I got it for my First Communion in the 3rd grade. I've always liked that rosary; it has pretty glass beads that sparkle different colors under the light. In fact, there have been difficult periods in my life where I took to carrying it with me everywhere I went. I would often pour the beads through my fingers, comforted by the feel of the rosary in my hands.

But I never actually figured out how to use it.

So today I took the thing out and gave it a test drive. I thought it might help me get through my 5 minutes of prayer without my mind wandering.

I should have counted those damn beads first.

I didn't say Hail Marys. I didn't say Our Fathers. Instead, I said Thanksgivings. I said Thank You for 61 things today. And when I finished I felt abundantly blessed.

And as soon as I put my rosary away I started thinking of things I forgot to count! So now I have a head start on tomorrow.

61 things. Life can never be too bad if you can find 61 things to be thankful for.

I wholeheartedly recommend giving this a try, especially on a day when you're feeling gloomy. It'll brighten you right up.

But be forewarned - it takes more than 5 minutes.

Ah, Craigslist

I was surfing for gigs on Craigslist this morning and I found this post:

Wanted: Monkey for an hour
Reply to: gigs-xxxxxxxxx@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-12-03, 2:52PM PST

I'm looking to hire someone with a monkey to visit my house and show off their pet monkey for half hour or so. I have someone who's always wanted to meet a monkey and I thought it might make a nice Christmas gift. I can't find a place through Google, hence this shot in the dark. Also, I know monkeys bite and can be rambunctious so I absolve you and monkey of any biting or trashing of my house the monkey may do.

And as if that wasn't enough to delight me, I also found this post:

Snails and/ or Slugs
Reply to: gigs-xxxxxxxxx@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-12-02, 3:07PM PST

I am looking for some snails or slugs from somebody's garden, for an art project. They will not be harmed in anyway and will be returned just as they were. Let me know if you can help!

If you would like to charge a small fee for the use of your snails or slugs, please let me know. I am open to that.

This totally made my day.

Also, I am re-thinking your Christmas gift.

Big Mama

My grandmother has Alzheimer's. She's not making a whole lot of sense anymore, but once in awhile she reminds us that she's still in there - and she's still pretty damn funny.

My aunt Jackie didn't feel like cooking today and tried to convince my grandmother that cereal sounded like a good idea. "Mama, how about some Cheerios?" she said brightly.

Big Mama blinked at her. "How about some meaty-o's?" she countered.

It worked; Jackie cooked.