the fire inside

[jazzfish]

Bolivia: "I am thirty three years old and have not once seriously considered moving to Bolivia." (To paraphrase Grant Morrison, this post contains the active ingredient METAPHOR. If you are allergic to METAPHOR, please consult a doctor before consuming this post.)

When the Yogurt Took Over: A Short Story: "WE UNDERSTAND, the yogurt said. WE HOPE YOU HAVE STOCKED UP ON CANNED GOODS." (Inspired by a throwaway line in What I Think About Atlas Shrugged)

The Great European Shouting Match: a bunch of maps of Europe, through the eyes of various European nationalities (plus the gays and the Americans). Hilarious.

I cannot stop watching these dolphins.

---

I probably make this post every year, but gord it is good to have autumn again. This year has nearly killed me: summer ought not begin in April and end in September. I walked out the door yesterday morning and shivered for the first time in longer than I care to remember. Rain and gentle mist and a chill prickling all down my arms, this is what October should be, and what I've been missing.

I love the cold. The thrill of cool slightly-damp air on my skin in the morning, the shock that reminds me I'm still alive and that's not such a bad thing after all. Scuffly crunchy leaves and visible breath and long coats and light that settles through the air to sharpen and soften the edges of everything.

More than that, though, I've fallen in love with getting warm. A blast of hot air on my feet, a mug of just-shy-of-boiling tea fogging up my glasses, someone to curl up with under a fuzzy blanket, a bath that turns my skin a nice deep pinkish-red. The transition energizes me, I think. Or maybe it's the sense of being (or getting) warmed all through while everything outside is crisp and clean and cool.

---

Today I'm tired (probably from not having slept more than six hours through in, oh, at least two weeks) and fragile (related to the lack of sleep, among other things) and reading and rereading Fleurs sans mort and wondering why I'm here.

Tell me something awesome about you. I already think you're awesome: you're a friend of mine. I'd like to know what you think is awesome about you. Or just what's kinda neat, or worth mentioning.

Comments

[tam_nonlinear]

The awesome thing about me is my philodendron. It is ALL about me- currently draped over every wall of my cube and at least three of the adjacent ones. Does that count?

[jazzfish]

Sending out your photosynthetic minions to colonize the office is an exceedingly awesome thing.

[voltbang.livejournal.com]

I am the other side of the calendar. Winter is coming, and I can't wait for spring. Human beings aren't well adapted for winter, even if I do like leather jackets, coats and gloves.

[jazzfish]

I hit my maximum operating temperature at around 85 Fahrenheit (excess fur isn't always, or even usually, much of an evolutionary advantage these days). And I can always put more clothing /on/ but there's a hard limit to how much I can take off.

[voltbang.livejournal.com]

Just drink more water. Your body will acclimate. You never get used to cold.

[pictsy.livejournal.com]

I love this time of year as long as most of my body is warm.

What's awesome about me is that I refuse to discuss politics or religion anymore.

[jazzfish]

Yeah, I imagine if I didn't have a working furnace I'd be a lot less cheerful about the chilly weather. My sympathies.

And, yay! That sounds like a very healthy lifestyle choice to make.

[jadelennox]

I love your link spams; you often have things I haven't seen elsewhere and they're always interesting.

I thought very hard about moving to Bolivia, and sometimes I'm still sad that I chose not to. I mean, I love where I live. I love the autumn and Fenway Park and the ocean and all my friends, and I wouldn't live anywhere else for the WORLD. But I talked to my friends who live in Bolivia, and even though some of them are having a really hard time fitting in, others have made a life for themselves which is just as awesome as my autumn and Fenway Park and the ocean, and I get jealous.

Not jealous enough to move, though.

[jazzfish]

oh, thank you. :)

Bolivia has always struck me as the kind of place where everyone who goes there fits in, because, hey, they're all in Bolivia together! I'm always kind of relieved to hear from people who didn't hear (or heed, anyway) the siren call, and are more or less perfectly happy with that. Gives me some hope.

And your autumn and ocean (and I assume your stadium as well, though I've not seen it) are indeed /quite/ awesome.

[diadelphous.livejournal.com]

Summer ought not begin in April and end in September.

Don't ever, ever, ever move to Texas.

That said, the weather has gotten so nice ever since the calendar switched over to October this year, which does not happen every year. I love autumn even though i only get about two and a half weeks of it, and no leaves. But still.

[jazzfish]

When I was looking to get out of Blacksburg back in 2006, I drew a horizontal line through DC on a mental map and said "jobs south of here do not exist." I require real autumn, and a real winter is nice to have as well, and if I can get minimal summer so much the better. (I'm pleasantly surprised to see that the Pac-NW has an autumn; I'd been sort of afraid it wouldn't, with all the evergreens.)

[nixve.livejournal.com]

For me, I've frequently visited other countries near Bolivia. As far as I can tell most of the cultural, emotional and physical benefits to living in Bolivia that appeal to me can be found just as easily in those other countries. However, having lived near Bolivia I do have to say that there are times when I wonder if the hassle of moving to Bolivia and making a life there might be worth the benefits. I'm not really sure, though, but I don't have any burning desire to figure it out.

[jazzfish]

That makes sense. I suppose we can discuss that immigration later, if and when immigration becomes an issue.

[playing-tragic.livejournal.com]

Loved the Bolivia piece, but now I've got the "Well, I've never been to Spain ... " song playing non-stop in my mental elevator.

Am now obsessed with getting my hands on some Hungarian porn thanks to the Strange Maps link. And want to visit Vampire Land.

Pretty sure the dolphin "meant to do that."

Like fall/winter but can't stand cold, drizzly rain, which is what it's been doing the last week.

Too harsh a self-grader so no claims to awesomeness. Best I can do is, "meets expectations" ... in her own way.

[jazzfish]

ha! And according to the US map of Europe, Spain is Mexico, and I imagine all of South and Central America is Mexico as well. So I guess you could get a lover and fly him off to Spain Mexico Bolivia.

There is something inherently awesome about recognising one's own overly harsh judgement. And more so about having one's own way.

[lizthefair.livejournal.com]

Somehow I'd missed that you also read Havi. Funny how circles intersect in funny places.

[jazzfish]

I didn't until I saw this pop up on ML. And now I do. It took me a bit to get used to her style, but now I'm a big fan.