***
Some Buddhist wisdom that currently resonates with me:
I heard these words of the Buddha one time when the Lord was staying at the monastery in the Jeta Grove, in the town of Sravasti. He called all the monks to him and instructed them, "Monks!"
And the monks replied, "We are here."
The Blessed One taught, "I will teach you what is meant by 'knowing the better way to live alone.' Monks, please listen carefully."
"Blessed One, We are Listening."
The Buddha taught:
"Do not pursue the past.
Do not lose yourself in the future.
The Past no longer is.
The future has not yet come.
Looking deeply at life as it is
in the very here and now,
the practitioner dwells
in stability and freedom.
We must be diligent today.
To wait until tomorrow is too late.
Death comes unexpectedly.
How can we bargain with it?
The sage calls a person who knows
how to dwell in mindfulness
night and day
'one who knows
the better way to live alone.'"
From the BHADDEKARATTA SUTTA, translated by Thich Nhat Hanh
***
So it's Saturday night, and my whole body is humming from fatigue from the trip to Cincinnati. It was a good trip though! I didn't know much at all about the place. Turns out it's barely north of the border with Kentucky. The airport, in fact, is in Kentucky, so I got two states for the price of one.
Wednesday, departure day, was long and tiring before the trip even began. The flight was uneventful, though the other folks from the agency on the flight had already been bumped from flight to flight. Once we arrived we set out to find some food by the hotel, and we had to hit three places. Turns out it's a bit difficult to get fed at 10pm in Cincy. Weird.
***
The hotel was only a couple blocks from Fountain Square, which became the main landmark for navigating the stretch of downtown near the hotel.
And besides having this great fountain, there was also a huge video screen on the side of the Macy's building where they'd broadcast football and baseball games. I don't know how many times various groups of us would pull up chairs out there and watch, say, a Reds game or whatever else happened to be on. With the mid-70s temps and the light overspray from the fountain, it was very comfortable. Police on horseback were sometimes present, but as soon as they moved along the various street urchins would move in and panhandle or otherwise peddle their particular brand of creepiness.
***
I crashed hard that first night and woke up the next morning feeling like I'd been hit by a truck.
The view from my floor
I slowly and steadily came around though. The conference itself was pretty doggone good for the most part. Oh, we had some clunkers here and there, but really, I enjoyed much of it.
I also had the good fortune to corral some folks to sneak out to part of a Reds game that day (sssshhhhh!). We paid $5 for nosebleed seats and watched the last few innings of their victory over the Cards.
The Great American Ballpark was decent I'd say. It's certainly a very red place, and the location along the Ohio River is quite nice, sure. The Reds aren't exactly a big draw though, so being on the top concourse and having to walk halfway across the park to buy a soda wasn't fun. Seems they don't open all the concession stands when the place isn't full to bursting.
Beer was apparently available in sufficient quantities to inebriate this woman in our section we nicknamed the Baseball Princess.
She wore a tiara and some sort of black gown that my male ignorance can't say much about except that it's meant for some shindig that doesn't include a seventh inning stretch.
She had some fine outbursts and mini-tirades directed at players like Rick Ankiel, though the later in the game it got, the less sense she made. After a while she kept shouting all this crazy stuff that sounded like instead of buying the vowels she clearly needed, she merely bought more beer. She looked mighty wobbly afterwards going down those steep steps.
***
Friday morning I hit the hotel gym for a workout. I'd brought my grappling gloves, and was pleased to find a heavy bag in the back corner of the room. Excellent.
I punched and kicked and elbowed that bag like it had backtalked my grandma. I felt strong, and the bag stand slowly crept to the left, inching closer and closer to the situp station.
I was in my own world, alternating bag work and pushups. The music on my iPod drowned everything out, though I was making a lot of noise. My mechanics were working well, and everything felt explosive. My elbows are skinned up and I've been sore ever since, and you know, all is right with the world.
***
The Friday seminars were great, just great. And I don't just mean the ones I attended; we often gathered in the lobby and elsewhere to compare notes and thoughts, and some of my coworkers also found their information to be "electrifying."
***
A big group of us headed past the square last night to get some supper at some place called... Shanghai Mama's or something? I think that's it. Eleven or so of us descended upon the place and had a good evening of food and humor.
After that most of us headed back to the hotel to watch a tight little bluegrass combo do their thing. They did "The Great Speckled Bird," a song for which I have a soft spot. Love those old countrified Baptist hymns. They did a Gillian Welch song too, which was cool even though I didn't recognize that particular tune. Welch sings some rather stark, gripping stuff, much of which doesn't exactly lend itself to singalongs.
***
Today was getaway day, so to speak. In baseball parlance, that refers to the day the team's got to play and then hit the road.
In seminar parlance, it means the day we blow off an obligation or two and, say, walk en masse to the Kentucky border (it was only a few blocks).
***
Leaving Cincy was bittersweet for sure, as it was really a fine trip. The hotel was great, most of the presentations were well worth the time, and the city itself was fairly enjoyable.
MOBB was clear when talking about last year's trip to Italy when she said she missed the kids something awful (ME she could take or leave I guess). But she's right; I missed the kids, bigtime.
***
And now, a random survey. It's been too long since I did one of these things.
*
This one is cute....place an X by all the things you've done, or remove the X from the ones you have not, and send it to your friends (including me).
This is for your entire life!
(X)Smoked a cigarette
(X)Drank so much you threw up
(X)Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
( )Been arrested --
( )Gone on a blind date
(X)Skipped school
( )Watched someone die
(X)Been to Canada
(X)Been to Mexico
(X)Been to Florida
(X)Been on a plane (about 3 hours ago, in fact)
(X)Been lost
(X)Been on the opposite side of the country
(X)Gone to Washington DC
(X)Swam in the ocean
(X)Felt like dying - (see "up, throwing")
( )Cried yourself to sleep
(X)Played cops and robbers
( )Recently colored with crayons
( )Sang Karaoke
(X)Paid for a meal with only coins.
(X)Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(X)Made prank phone calls
( )Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X)Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X)Danced in the rain
( )Written a letter to Santa Claus
( )Been kissed under the mistletoe
( )Watched the sunrise with someone you care about
(X)Blown bubbles
(X )Made a bonfire on the beach
(X)Crashed a party
( )Gone ice-skating
(X) Been skinny dipping
(X)Gone to the movies, paid for one ticket, and then snuck into another theater to see a different feature
1. Any nicknames? "BB" or "B."
2. Mother's name? Charlene
3. Favorite drink? Eh... I've cut so far back on the coffee... dunno.
4. Tattoos? Nope.
5. Body piercing? Nope.
6. How much do you love your job? There is almost nothing I dislike about my job.
7. Birthplace? Freeport, TX
8. Favorite vacation spot? Going all Jimmy Buffettt on you and going with Destin, Florida. I sure do like rural Louisiana though.
9. Ever been to Africa? No
10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Of course.
11. Ever been on TV? Yes
12. Ever steal any traffic signs? No
13. Ever been in a car accident? Just little stuff
14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? 5 door if you count the hatchback on the van
15. Favorite salad dressing? Vinaigrette, which I may have misspelled.
17. Favorite number? I'm generally not too fond of numbers.
18. Favorite holiday? I enjoy Halloween probably more than I should.
19. Has mysteriously disappeared.
20. Favorite dessert? Apple pie a la mode
21. Favorite food? Pho
22. Favorite day of the week? Saturday's pretty flawless
23. Favorite brand of body wash? I've got some stuff that's in a blue bottle that smells pretty good. Uh... I'm sure it's got a name...
24. Favorite toothpaste? Minty
25. Favorite smell? Rain
26. What do you do to relax? Read, play guitar, take classes on butt-kicking.
27. Do you have a message to your friends reading this? Life is too shorty to wear tighty-whiteys.
28. How do you see yourself in 10 years? As a successful counselor and college professor
29. Furthest place you will send this message? Uh... I bet it'll be huge in Beloit, Wisconsin.
30. Who will respond the fastest? My sister.
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