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Yogamum tagged me for a book meme:

Total number of books?

Oh, God. Let’s just say my family and friends have suggested the need for an intervention MANY times. And The Cop rolls his eyes when he references my “book problem.” I have too many here in the house, and have ditched, sold, shared and given away hundreds and hundreds.

Last book read?

Pleasure: Baba: Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Yogi
Business: Navigating the Badlands

Last book bought?

Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide

Five meaningful books?

The Portrait of a Lady
The Awakening
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Ulysses
Kafka on the Shore

Zen addendum:

The Zen Teaching of Huang Po: On the Transmission of Mind
Two Arrows Meeting in Mid-Air: The Zen Koan
Cultivating the Empty Field: The Silent Illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi
Dropping Ashes on the Buddha: The Teachings of Zen Master Seung Sahn
The Compass of Zen

I’d like to tag (0v0), Cody, and Tova. Whatcha been reading, you guys?

***

Vague dream of practice

Webconference with Brussels from midnight ’til 5:45. Then I drove over to the shala. The British Director, Sanskrit Scholar and The Gymnast had already begun. I get going, feeling kind of disoriented. Hey, what’s this? The new yoga studio head has hung paper lanterns off the ceiling and they are swaying in the breeze of the fan. Nice. Drishti-distractors. How interesting that a moving object in my field of vision can almost make me fall over.

Muscle Man comes in to practice. Haven’t seen him for a while. VBG hits me with a new Prasarita C assist; it involves a very light hand on the sacrum and a crank o’ the arms. Alrighty. Then a second-side adjustment on Janu B. I always wonder what’s up when he does a one-sider: I imagine it’s a sign of emotional distress, for some reason — like he’s got something on his mind that’s bothering him. No idea why I think that. Big crank on Marichy D, which is now a perfectly comfy pose. No idea when that happened, but nice.

Whoa, look at me, I am at the intermediate poses. How did that happen? Everything is a blur. Okay, then. Laghu Vajrasana. Wait a minute, did I do everything else beforehand? Yup. Okay. Backbends and dropbacks. Dropbacks are now a game where VBG stands there and says, “Do what you’d do if I wasn’t here.”

“Fall?” I always ask in my mind. That may not be positive thinking.

I am unable to focus enough concentration to pull off a slow curl toward the floor. The fourth dropback is mostly a hurtling toward my mat. VBG grabs me at the bottom of the ride. Whew! I have no concentration. Sorry. Fifth one is okay, but only ’cause I know it’s the last.

Savasana. Mmmmmmmmmm. Am I snoring? No. Okay, then. Comfy… Mmmmmmmmm. Am I snoring? No… This is nice… Mmmmmmmm. Am I snoring? Oh brother, you’d better get up and get out of here.

***

As I started practice, I noticed a pain in my right forearm. And remembered hurting it. I mean, I remember the pain and looking at my arm and thinking, “Ow,” but that’s about it. I can’t remember where I was or what the circumstances were. I don’t think it had anything to do with practice. I treat all physical stuff like this: if it hurts, I look at it, and if it isn’t bleeding profusely or if the limb isn’t trapped and impeding my ability to go about my business, I just forget the whole thing and proceed.

Which is fine 99% of the time. But every so often I end wondering what happened.

Maybe it’ll come back to me.

Why am I posting at 1:50 AM? Funny you should ask. I’m on a global conference call. The organization is putting on a conference in Brussels, and then one in Singapore. I’ll be in-person at the Singapore conference, but I am virtual for the Brussels conference. Which means I am currently hooked up to the phone/visual feed. We are on a break. I can hear all the side conferences like a cocktail party in the background. Very cheery.

I’ll be on until 4:30 AM, which is lunch time in Brussels. I’ll head over to the shala a little early, so I can start in at 5:15, and be back here in time for the last session and the wrap-up.

And in the meantime, I’m doing the little meme that Jenna has on her blog. Very amusing.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
Tia Wrangler

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Sweet Cream with Junior Mints Mix-In Chocolate Chip (??)

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
K Kel

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Red Tiger

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Marie Lawrence

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
Kelka

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
The Green Margarita

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Nick Cosimo

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
Joy Kit Kat

10. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names)
Rita John

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
Kellan Kahului

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
Winter Orchid

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Mango Robey

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Chai Aspen

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)
The Writing Cloud Tour