h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I remember you - where did you get to?

Jazz

Of COURSE I remember you!

Feels as if I've been running in circles lately, but have been making huge changes in my life. I'm finally getting a grip on the discipline thing...damn, it takes a lot of time to practice discipline! Also, I'll be moving to the Poconos in Pennsylvania at the end of October. I'm planning to throw myself 100% into being an artist for 6 months, will focus on painting, photography, putting my book together, and learning mosaicing. Nothing like going to Tibet for that. It's gonna be cooooold so I suspect I'll have limited distractions.

What have you been up to? It's been a loooong time since we've been in touch. Are you and the family all doing well?

Hi darlng

How lovely to hear from you again - I thought you must have gone off to Penntsylvania without saying bye bye. I emailed you once or twice and checked for answers three or four times a week but no response . So you are still bent on living as an artist - I thought you had to starve in a garrett in Paris for that ?? I wish you all the best of luck and every success - try to find a moment here and there to keep in touch with me.

I am still up to my ears in calligraphy - learning, attending workshops and preparing lectures for my second year students. I have already taught the first year pupils all that I learned in 2 years, and more! And I have collected together quite a large library on the subject which has involved a lot of reading.

We have been away three times in the caravan and it is currently in the lake district on loan to my daughter and family. Also I have been doing some work for an architect friend so the drawing board is almost always out in the back bedroom.

We had Graham and his wife over from Canada for two weeks so I was in great demand as taxi driver moving them about - but it was great to see them again. Apart from that everyone here is OK - and I'm in touch with the lovely MOG again !!

Keep in touch darling

Jazz

I'm so glad to hear that all is going well with you! Did you ever get a scanner? Can you show me some samples of your calligraphy?

For me things are changing again. *sigh* I'll not be going to PA, as Blaise came to the conclusion that he's not ready for the kind of committment that would involve. Better to know that now than to discover it the hard way after I've uprooted myself and spent a chunk of money on relocating, but still I'm kinda sad. It's a shame that the two of us have such a powerful relationship, with such potential for mutual benefit, and we have conflicting expectations. Oh well. Movin' on.... I think I'm going to give up on making plans and just set goals instead. Seems as if dashed plans are at the root of a lot of inner turmoil.

I'm still gonna pursue my art, though I'll continue to work part time until I generate enough income with my stuff to quit working for someone else entirely. With diligence it shouldn't take toooo long.

I'm hoping to take a couple of weeks in October to go on a camping expedition, mosey my way up the east coast to North Carolina and then across to the mountains and head south, return via Florida's west coast. I'm looking forward to feeling the crispness of fall in the air, seeing the change of season, taking loads of photos, re-uniting with my accordion and getting a feel for other parts of the country. I think a change of scenery will help towards emotional re-charging.

Hello love

Sorry to hear things are not going the way you planned and that you are emotionally upset about it - all men are pigs? Or don't you feel that upset? As you say, better to find out about a lack of committment before the event - does Blaise just want things to go on all as before? (I'm assuming Blaise is a he and not a she) Here's a kiss or two to help

Yes darling I have a scanner now and will send you some copies of my calligraphy so you will have to watch your email !! Warning though - I am not the world's best at calligraphy.

Love

Jazz

No, all men aren't pigs. There's always you, isn't there?
Blaise isn't a pig either. He was very unhappy making that decision, especially because he knows that I can't go on as we have been. We're still close friends, but I'll not see him for quite a while. Actually, I think he just realized that he has a problem with *any* kind of committment, and that it's his nature to resist anything that he percieves as a demand, even when he realizes that often those 'demands' are reasonable requests, and that we wouldn't be very happy under those circumstances. I think he didn't want me to be disappointed since he hasn't been able to figure out how to change that aspect of himself.

I shall watch my email eagerly!

Thanks for the kisses. They help.

Darling

I still love you

Will email soon

Jazz

Hi Mog,

hope you aren't too depressed - keep the old pecker up eh?

Love you

Jazz

Hello darlin'! I've been meaning to write a long email, just haven't had the time and figured I'll do this now, while I'm *here*. No depression problems at all... actually I think I'm happier than I've ever been. Lots has been going on during the past month or so. I quit my job, went to Kansas to visit my parents and pick up the truck (what a totally perfect MoGgie-mobile it is! It has a small engine so it doesn't suck toooo much fuel, and a topper so I can travel all over the USA without worrying about my gear.) Woooohooooo! Had a great time with the folks, and then saw my brother and his family in Atlanta. My nephew is a bit over 2 years old, has developed a character of his own now, and we hit it off marvelously. I'll be seeing them again in a couple of weeks, as I head homeward on my Great Adventure. And the Great Adventure: tomorrow morning, bright and early, I'll be heading off for a couple weeks of camping around the Southeast. I'm gonna start with St. Augustine, FL and then will mosey up the coast to Savannah, GA. Then I'll bop through the hills of South Carolina for a while, hit North Carolina and go to the top of Mount Mitchell (the highest elevation this side of the Mississippi), spend a bit of time in the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee, visit friends and family in Georgia, and make my way back south on Florida's west coast. I'm planning to do a good bit of hiking, want to see the Jack daniels distillery in TN (I hear they give samples on their tour *hic*) will fester at the Oktoberfest in Helen, GA, intend to go for a dip in Ponce de Leon Springs, and want to visit the Salvadore Dali museum in North FL. I'll be staying at State campgrounds everywhere except in GA and am planning to let the wind blow me where it will, with those few goals in mind. Naturally, I'll take hundreds of photos, and I'm expecting to get enough material to complete the photo/Buddha book I've been working on, as well as keep a journal and interview people along the way. I'm thinking I'll try my hand at making a novel out of this trip, see what happens. I found the perfect vehicle to do that with so I don't procrastinate myself into finishing it in future lifetimes, as is often my M.O. ;-) http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/F19585?thread=327408 Anyway, if I find myself using the internet enroute, I'll create a Great Adventure journal entry and you can follow my progress. When I get back I'll send a proper email. and MoG

Hi darling,
Bon voyage on the great adventure - hope all goes well for you - have a great time

Let me know when you get back - and look at your email - I sent some pictures recently with a great big

Looking forward to hearing from you again

Jazz

I'm back, and it was wonderful! Nothing like I'd 'planned' and everything I needed. I ended up going north into Virginia, spent a couple of nights on the Blue Ridge Parkway during the peak leaf changing weekend, saw the Natural Bridge (totally amazing and undescribable), discovered a tiny village called Glasgow where there be dinosaurs (!), got creatively lost all over the place, and decided that I'm going to become a hillbilly cosmetina (which my brother defined as having no teeth at all but being perfectly made-up). Let's see.... my brother Botoxed me on my trip, so now I can't furrow my brow and scare small children. I never made it to Tennessee or Mount Mitchell, but did have a beer and bratwurst at Oktoberfest, and fell in love with Helen, GA. Spent more time with people than I'd anticipated, friends in Helen and with my family, both of which were kinda full of humanity. Both families are in the midst of severe crises, and it was bizarre to splash down from being totally blissed out on nature and into lives that appear, superficially, to be perfect and are actually filled with pain and tragedy.

I didn't do the west coast Florida segment since I was with people, but that'll be a mission for another day. Now I'm ready to start my book, have about 900 photos to go through and edit (a few of them are really *good*, so I have enough material for the Buddha-book, too.) This Sunday I'll be recieving Gohonzon, which is significant as it means I'm officially becoming a member of SGI and am finally ready to thoroughly commit my life to maximizing my potential through my practice. No more excuses now.

I got a pair of pics of you and your family some time ago. Did you send others? For a while my email was being ornery, so they might not have made it to me.

I'd like to ask a favor... when I begin to edit this book can I send chunks to you periodically for your advice and opinion? I notice that when I write things they often make perfect sense to me, but are not so clear to people who don't live inside my head. I'm gonna gonzo-write this thing and then go back and edit it once I've got all the stuff out.

Today it tastes like fall, Florida style. Windy, cloudy/sunny, and not stinking hot. YAY!!! I'm feeling frisky and raring to go! This afternoon I'm going to start with some yoga, wash the mountain dirt from my truck, and then mix up some martinis and work on my painting. Wooooohooooo!

Hello darling,
Lovely to have you back and to read of your great adventure.

Welcome home

Things seldom work out as we planned do they? But you seem to have gotten a lot of good from it all.

You are going through a process of establishing ideas and beliefs that I went through in the air force just after WW2 when I was conscripted to let our forces come home having done their bit in the war. I threw out many of the beliefs I had spoon-fed to me as a child and settled down to live life as I saw it should be.

I would be pleased to read your book and give my opinions, for what they are worth, and proud to feel that you value them.

So glad you got the photos I sent - I only sent the two until I established that they were reaching you OK.

Looking forward to hearing from you again - I may even do some more of my life history now !!!

Lots of love

Jazz

You're up late/early darlin'
I'm bouncing around the living room, drinking wine, painting and playing in Ben's intervention. She's mostly given up h2g2 and I miss her dearly. I'd hoped that she'd be able to join me on my Great Adventure, but Real Life got in the way.

Send more pics, and I want to see some samples of your calligraphy. If I have the time tomorrow I'll open up a new yahoo photo place and stick in some pics from the trip. I'll let you know where it is when I do.

Now, back to the . My fingers are all blue, and I have a big streak across my cheek. *sigh* The hazards of being me....

Hi Love,

Yes I'm up late again - Audrey's in bed, hopefully asleep and I am ostensibly preparing for my calligraphy class tomorrow night.

I've been practicing Italics sos I can do a decent demonstration tomorrow. Promise I will scan some things and email them to you.
Enjoy your painting!!

goodnight darling

J

Shello darlin'

What does a MoG do in her spare time? What spare time?

Let's see. I went camping over the weekend on the west coast of Florida, got to watch the lunar eclipse and it was marvelous! I needed to get back into the real world and fluff my aura a bit, and the two women I took with me were exactly who I needed to be around to re-center myself.

I'm looking for a part-time makeup artist position to last through the holidays as it's time to start earning regular income again.

Spent an unplanned day helping a friend who'd been involved in a car accident. She was ok, but quite shook up, and she needs help with the insurance and paperwork etc. because that's not her strong point. Tomorrow I'll be taking her to the doctor.

I've been painting and editing photos and trying to work on my book. That's not going as smoothely as I'd hoped. I'm having difficulty with just writing and not thinking about editing the crap out, and it's been frustrating. I've been hiding from h2g2 so I don't get sucked in and find myself hours later with nothing to show for it.

In the story on Ben's page they're getting along just fine without my textual input, and I'm still there as a character to be manipulated as they see fit. Once I'm a bit less frenzied I'll participate more often, just right now I need to try to focus on all the things I'm trying to juggle so they don't start to fall down and bonk me on the noggin.

I'm currently reading Irving Stone's "The Passions of the Mind", a novel about Sigmund Freud. Last week I read several books while I was avoiding doing the things I *should* have been doing. Rebecca Wells' "Little Altars Everywhere" was excellent, the others were not remarkable.

The Buddhists have been popping out of the woodwork lately, seems as if half of my evenings are spent doing some kinda activity with one or another of them.

All is well, I think I just have too many projects in the works right now and I'm a bit overwhelmed as I'm trying to actually *complete* some of them in *this* lifetime, contrary to my usual M.O..

Lovely to hear from you again darling and to know that you are still OK I know all about being busy and have to make time to go into that silly story just in case you popped up again.

I'm busy reading a very long book about the Lindisfarne Gospels - an 8th century new testament written just North of here on the island of Lindisfarne - one of the most beautiffully crafted, hand written and decorated ooks existing from so long ago.

A calligrapher's treasure !! I've been to my class tonight and there were on 5 people there - makes it easy as you have time to go to each one individually and spend more than just the odd few minutes with them.

Tomorrow morning I go (as a pupil) to another class where we are doing an illuminated page of manuscript.

And shortly I am going to bed because it's late. Night night my love.

Jazz