post-election euphoria

photo: tjgoogins/autumn field, connecticut/all rights reserved

well, it's november and the holidays approacheth...

"If we all made the same choices, we'd all just be robots." - T. J. Googins

the election is finally over & done with thank goodness - i want good things to happen for this country and we need to envision a brighter future - i don't know about you, but i want to work towards a greener future, not a dark-greasy-grimy "Terminator" future - so, who's with me???

oh - re: an earlier blog where i couldn't remember the name of the band responsible for the song "It's the end of the world as we know it" - i actually had to look it up - R.E.M., of course - i don't know, i think my mind is slipping - i used to have this knack of remembering the names of old movie stars and lots of other useless but entertaining trivia, but now i sometimes draw a blank - i guess it could be old-age brain drain - or Alzheimer's - or worse - but i think it's probably "caregiver stress" & insomnia - this sleep disorder just started happening to me over the past couple of years... post menapausal, perhaps? some nights are worse than others

ahhh, who knows? all i can do is try to eat more brain-fortifying foods, be less sedentary, watch less TV (which i've cut down on considerably), and just think & write & converse more (i really have to connect more with some old friends around here - i miss all that interaction) - but drinking warm/hot herbal tea, specifically valarian, really helps - and the valarian-mint tastes pretty good - so it's midnight and i'm off to the kitchen - more rambling another time

let's see, what shall i leave you with tonight? some comforting thoughts from more scintillating people...

A woman wears her
tears like jewelry.
~Author Unknown

Women deserve to have
more than twelve years
between the ages of
twenty-eight and
forty. ~ James Thurber

One is not born
a woman, one
becomes one.
~Simone de Beauvoir

Let us leave the
beautiful women
to men with no
imagination.
~ Marcel Proust

Being a woman is of
special interest only
to aspiring male
transsexuals. To
actual women, it is
simply a good excuse
not to play football.
~ Fran Lebowitz

G' night, y'all - TJ

happy hallowe'en

photo:tjgoogins; gargoyle, edisto island, SC 2003; all rights reserved

i am pleased that someone stopped by and left a comment - thanks, james! i already have a dog-eared copy of the book but it is good to know a source if someone else were interested

i finally finished making my halloween cards (i made four) - using some very cool vintage clip art i have on hand and borrowing a few halloween quotes from a web site called the quote garden

ok - it's getting late & i'm tired, but that's a good sign for getting some actual sleep - oops - i have to make my nightly cup of valerian-mint tea (it really helps!)

speaking of halloween, anyone watching the HBO show "true blood" - ? it's interesting - some friends of mine are part of the creative team behind it and they are really doing some good work - my stepfather is cajun (born and raised in louisiana bayou country) and so far the show is reasonably authentic (in a casual sort of way) - anyway, i'm enjoying it and i hope other people are, too - it's quite trippy

and now it's quite late - 2:02 am - must get some rest for the week ahead - TTFN, you lot - TJ

ponder on this

photo:tjgoogins/my brother's sunset/stony creek connecticut/2005/all rights reserved

it's october - cooling off here in the south

hallowe'en is coming - full moon is on the wane - still bright

been having trouble sleeping (probably need more B vitamins, less caffeine)

too many thoughts jolt me awake:
financial worries
healthcare issues
death & taxes
the end of the world as we know it
(song plays here - name of group? michael stipe's band... memory problems, too, apparently)

what to do?
can't make a living making jewelry or note cards or bookmarks or christmas ornaments

not much employment out there - "six months experience" - "must know CPT codes" - "work from home, make 1,000's of dollars" - c'mon, one thousands of dollars working from home?

anyway, two college degrees and no job, no career, no future...
well, i'll find something, somewhere, somehow

meanwhile, it's comforting to know that someone else has all the answers (yeah, right)

for a "deep" and meaningful read, try to find a copy of "Ponder On This" by Djwhal Kuhl (from the writings of Alice A. Bailey) published by Lucis Press - everything from A to Z in this tome - from Ancient Mysteries to Detachment to Glamour to the Moon to Wisdom to the Zodiac

Here are a few things from the Tibetan master's "Food for Thought" chapter:

"Let your horizon be wide and your humility great."

ok - here's a good one:
"Be not afraid of lonliness. The soul that cannot stand alone has naught to give."

and my favorite:

"At the center of a great tornado is a point of peace. And thus it is with all the storms of life. They lead to peace if you are not a leaf."

actually, that's one of my favorite quotes - the other one is from french authoress George Eliot:
"It's never too late to be what you might have been." that was a sign on the subway back in the late 80s, early 90s - i think it was an ad for NYU...

i've been trying to download some really cool clip art images but apparently this blog software will accept every other format but not .tif - oh well - i'll have to ask someone about that

ok - it's 2 am - that's it for me - give peace a chance - g'night - tjb

finding my blog

i have discovered a way to easily get to my blog so now i can do this right! no one has stumbled upon me yet, which is fine for now (probably because it's pretty boring so far!) but i'm sure i'll find my voice as i gain confidence as a blogger


wekiva river fla - tjbuckley 2007 - all rights reserved

this is a shot of the boat landing on the wekiva river in florida taken with my cell phone (samsung) and altered (sepia tone) for artistic reasons

the wekiva river is a beautiful place - slow current, lots of wildlife

more to come - TJ

trying to find myself

yin yang kitties - photo by tjbuckley 2006 - all rights reserved

here are some personal proverbs & hasty haiku

Blood pounding
In my ears.
Proof of life?
Disconcerting.

The hopeless are always looking for hope.

Inspiration... a fleeting moment
It does not linger.
Look: There it goes!

A crow is calling,
Breaking through morning silence -
I have no answer.

Pen in hand
Nothing to say.
Jobs and TV drain my spirit.

Tall trees still dripping
After a night of rainfall.
Damp air smelling clean.

ok, only two are technically haiku - all the rest qualify as my own proverbs

so now i have officially posted something tangible, perhaps even noteworthy

until next time...

"Only Love Can Heal The World"

my first blog

well, hello! i am a florida native - i have lived in new york city, los angeles, georgia and connecticut - i am overeducated (two degrees), i am an underachiever (or late bloomer?) and i am currently unemployed for the first time in 35 years as i gave up a decent job and health insurance to help my folks for a while

i have always followed my heart (to some degree of distress and discontent) and am guilty of being a dreamer and an idealist - i believe we should move towards a greener economy and i try to be optimistic about the future while being somewhat nihilistic (try getting that to work)

that's it for now - i am new to blogging and want to see how it all works

thanks!