snafu getting old

This valet alarm problem hasn’t ended, even though I drove away from Honda. I was even able to drive to work today. Then the phantom “valet” alarm came back on. I had to leave it on in fact, as there was no turning it off. Thankfully, my battery wasn’t dead when I returned to my car after work. I made it home and parked in the only spot available, 20 minutes until 11 pm. When I left my car I couldn’t turn it on and the alarm was going off, varying from quiet to loud. Hopefully I didn’t get a ticket tonight. And I will be up early attempting to move my car by 8 am, to drive back to Honda to attempt to remedy the problem that didn’t exist before they touched my car. Oh, I also noticed that the alarm remote button is cracked. It was never like that before. Argh.
These car troubles bring up NYC memories for me. I was fine for a decade as an adult with no car. It was awesome. Nor did I have a car while living in China. It can be done.
Tonight I will meditate on can it be done in my life again? Because I am so over the problems that accompany owning a car.
Hello Big Blue Bus, my best friend.

Carma

I think I was involved in a scam today at Santa Monica Honda!
I took my car in for the basic oil change and inspection with coupon. When I came by to pick up my car there was the usual laundry list of things I need to have fixed. I declined but asked for them to be written up. My rep called back to the mechanic and said, “No, she only wants the oil change. Can you bring the car up.” So I paid, got my car and my list of recommendations and I left.
I got home, parked and hit the remote button to turn on the alarm. It was totally weird, like nothing I’d heard before and not at all like my normally functioning alarm.
I got back in my car to return to Honda and it still was making noise and the car wouldn’t start. Yikes!
After playing with the remote for a few minutes I was able to get the car started and hustle back to Honda.
My rep quickly denied that they had anything to do with it, “But we only changed the oil.”
He brought the mechanic out to look at it. He insisted he hadn’t touched anything and said I should talk to my rep about what to do.
Back to the office where my rep gave me a card for an auto shop specializing in alarms and said I should drive over.
WAIT A MINUTE! My car was fine when I came in this morning. I’m not going anywhere. And I’m not paying someone to fix a problem YOU created.
I politely gave him back the card and repeated that I had no problems with my car or my alarm when I came in, so something must have happened while it was being checked out.
The mechanic returned and said he’d take a look at my car and see what he could figure out. And (surprise!) he figured it out. He said the alarm had been switched into “valet” mode.
Thankfully, I didn’t have a heart attack. I came close to inviting my aggressive bulldog-ish lawyer-esque friend to come down to be on my team, because my “Rep” at Honda was definitely not representing me and my best interests.
Business sucks for everyone right now. My wages are way down. Everyone I know in the service industry is making less and taking it one day at a time.
Don’t sell out your integrity to increase business.
I hope it wasn’t a scam. I hope it was an honest mistake. But the whole thing made me feel YUK, like it was a scam. It makes me want to never go back to SM Honda for service, big or small.

of late

After a hiatus from this and my other blog, I’ve decided to return.
Why the break? In retrospect what I think it was, was a need for me to delve into my life, real life, not virtual life, doing not writing about. I’ve committed to being more pro-active about my life in general. This means I am cooking more, working more, writing more, enjoying more and so on. I’m doing all the things that make me myself, but more.
Something about turning 33, and knowing 34 is right around the corner really has affected me. Defining for myself what ‘being an adult’ looks like took a little time. Some things came up, such as my material wealth, my living arrangement (I live in a share), being single, moving 3,000 miles away from my blood-family (whom I get along with very well) and so on. I had to pause and listen to what was going on in my mind and body around these parts of my life. I continue to check in but the introspection seems to have moved to the back burner.
The major action I’ve taken is caring for myself through diet.
When I lived in China, food was so important. If I had an ailment, someone’s mother would make me special soup and tell me it would help. My TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) doctor would also recommend certain foods to help me. I’ve since learned that food and diet are incredibly effective tools to maintain health, and that food-as-treatment can be very specific, going far beyond “eat more vegetables.”
I grew up eating an American diet. Pretty standard and it was good at the time. I grew big but not particularly healthy. I learned that the American diet of processed food and dairy couldn’t take care of me into adulthood.
In college, in New York City, I was exposed to fresh food and cuisine from all over the world. My roommate would take off to the Korean restaurant for Soon Doo Boo Chigae, a spicy tofu seafood soup, at the first sign of sickness, and she never got sick. I paid attention and tried new things. Now I’m healthy and know how to eat but I can’t always deny the cookies and sweets that I grew up with. I limit my sugar to really good quality, so I won’t have too much or end up with a bellyache. Something else I learned along the way is that refined, white sugar actually breaks down your immune system and makes us humans susceptible to infection. A poorly written book with a great message on the subject is Sugar Blues.

Everything in moderation, even moderation!

There are two more things I’ve been doing to up my health and wellbeing recently. One- drinking a daily dose of Kyo-Green. It’s a powder from Japan that contains Wheatgrass, aka liquid gold, and Chlorella, among other things. I mix it with juice. A friend who beat Cancer kept talking about it, so I bought some. I feel a difference in my overall energy and in my moon cycle.
And, two- I’ve been chanting every day. I have done it from time to time in the past and in Yoga class but doing it regularly and on my own has been quite powerful. My voice sounds clearer and stronger, in general, and it’s so meditative and relaxing to chant. Sometimes I’m loud, sometimes quiet. I often chant while driving, which is very focusing and I’m not at all self-conscious of how I sound alone in the car. I’ve been chanting the following Mantra, which was passed on to me by a friend,

Om Gum Ganapatayei Namaha

Sunny and Warm in January?

Yes, it is beautiful here by the beach. When I left NYC I said I’m going to California to “skip winter.” Three years later, I am still skipping winters.
Though the sun is shining, which I am grateful for, I still am feeling the heaviness of winter. It could be seasonal winter or economic winter, but I am feeling it.
The massage business is slow. The small, independently owned spa is so slow I might as well not work there at all. It’s mid-priced, so I figure our clients are scared to pay mid-range when they can go to the cheap place up the street and pay half. Luckily the high-end spa where I work has retained some of the clientele, but it is slow. When they no longer can afford our services, then they too will bypass the mid-range spa and go straight for the cheap place. I think I might just be in the wrong business for these times in this town. It’s a sad conclusion as I love the work and love helping people feel good. All the red tape and taboos surrounding massage have done a number on my morale, coupled with the business slowing way down, I can barely defend this career choice.
I haven’t won the lottery. I haven’t finished a big writing project yet. I don’t know how to make ends meet.
I’ll start networking again. I’ll go out and be charming and open to new ideas and opportunities. I’ll do what I have to do to make it work out, as rent is still due, as are all the other bills.
My smart housemate told me something Studs Terkel said before he recently died. He was comparing this recession to the Great Depression. He said there are three things to remember,
It’s not your fault
Turn to your community
Have Hope
Yes, yes and yes.

Almost a New Year

Coming up on a New Year is always an opportunity for reflection.
2008 is coming to a close. I am keenly aware of how different my life is from the “norm” and that I am okay with it. I am also aware of how different my life is now from my twenties, when I lived in New York City and was still in that life of hustle and bustle.
The thirties are beautiful as are the wisdom and freedom that accompany age.
So I guess my lessons today are self-acceptance and being non-judgmental towards yourself. As long as I live with the belief that everything happens exactly as it should, and in the order that it should, then my life is right on track. My journey is continuely being born and revealing itself to me with each step I take.
Who wants too much too young anyway? What do you have to look forward to then?
A favorite quote from Bill Gates is,
“Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.”
Another favorite quote, from CB, is,
“Life is down 7- up 8.”
I remember this when I am feeling beat and ready to let go of a dream or dream-project.
Wishing us all good health and happiness in 2009.

Winter in Florida

A month ago with plenty of time on my hands, I decided to fly to Florida and spend a week with my Grandmother. She’s not blood but I’ve known her since I was 3. She’s still fierce, even after a stroke, which she attributes to the stress from the construction. She’s active and capable but a little fuzzy sometimes. Her sequences are off, like not waiting in line to purchase something. She just goes to the person at the register and hands over her credit card, regardless of them helping other people.

She’s alone these days. My Grandfather died years ago and her last husband also passed away. She’s having her house renovated, a new bedroom for herself. The contractors are not on top of things. I’ve been here three days and am embarrassed by the grown men that are swarming around her for work and a check. Some are pushy, others incompetent. I’m here for just a week and I will kick their asses for my time here. It’s a shame no one appears to be in charge. I’m a quiet person and I actually yelled at the “temporary foreman.” I heard myself and didn’t feel rude but felt more righteous.

If there is a lesson in this experience it must be to COVER YOUR ASS, no matter what you undertake in life. And SPEAK UP FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE TO BE TRUE.

The goal in all of this is to get my Grandmother’s home back in livable order. Living for 9 months in a slow-going construction site is not acceptable for anyone, but especially for a woman of 88, who survived a stroke  in April.

Afterglow

The afterglow of Barak Obama’s Presidential win is still in effect. Random people on the street still seem happier, lighter, more hopeful. I am among them. However, the reality of the economy still exists and is just as prevalent as it was before election day and the victory.

I’m sick. The wind got me. It’s a sinus infection and overall lowered immunity. I think I was susceptible, in part, because of stress. In addition to all the happy Obama supporters, I’ve also been noticing lots of people are sick. It sucks to be sick.

I wish I’d bought November 5 editions of the New York Times. I heard they sold out and were already selling for $140 each on Ebay.

I start a new job tomorrow. As Main Streets business is in the gutter I made my way to a fancy hotel-spa in the city. Hopefully the travelers are still spending on massage.

Let Me Start Here

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/us/30insure.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogi

The above links to an article about women paying more than men for health insurance coverage. I’m pissed about the health insurance INDUSTRY and I have hope in Obama because of what his mother went through with the industry while she was dying. Having or not having insurance has shaped my life. I now have insurance, after being declined, then uninsured for a long period. I promised my mother I’d get it and I can barely afford it. As I look over my budget and see what I pay every month, and I just paid (a lot) out of pocket for a physical exam and blood work, I question whether or not I can keep up the monthly payments. But as a woman of 33, I now have to bet against myself and have insurance, just in case.

LA DRIVERS- Please stop at the stop signs and/or the painted line on the street. This bad and dangerous habit is even more prevalent than tailgating. A friend points her finger at drivers who hang out in the lane of oncoming traffic and murmurs something to the effect of, “no you don’t.” She swears they stop every time.

Please vote. It’s really important. There is such a tidal shift taking place and we Americans must heed it and take care of ourselves for the next 4 years.

Do you remember a time when you weren’t stressed out? I love all of our communications tools but we need a break. Too much stimulation dulls the senses and then we freak out or cease to feel. And our threshold rises and it takes more and more stimulation, newer and more expensive gadgets, bigger, brighter, shinier… you get my drift.

This “economic slowdown” is a gift. Let’s not freak out but own it and act responsibly dealing with it, dealing with our lives.

To Recap

In the past weeks I’ve been,

Obsessed with Politics

More obsessed with Yoga (www.exhalespa.com)

Been to two Puja’s (Blessings)- one with a rockin’ Kirtan band, fire and calls to DURGA, LAKSHMI and SARASWATI, who are all manifestations of the DIVINE FEMININE

Another LAKSHMI Puja, more intimate, invoking PROSPERITY, followed by mellow music

Hosted a birthday party with Jing, my Libra sister. We share the 12th of October!!!

5 days at Esalen with a beautiful group of Souls

5 days at Esalen bathing under shooting stars and looking at the Milky Way

I’m feeling particularly grateful at this moment and reminding myself that everyday people and places make life special, not who is President. (GO OBAMA!!!)

Apres Moi le Deluge

My parents are smart. Thank goodness I was born to smart people.

While speaking to my father earlier this evening he used this term, which I’d never heard, “Apres Moi le Deluge”.

We were speaking of Bush and what happens when he’s gone.

(After me the flood, attributed to Louis XV)

We spoke of H O P E and of O B A M A.

I told him I’d just spoken to my 88 year old Grandmother in Florida. She said in her very long life, 88 years she’s experienced a lot of ups and downs with our country, including war. She said she’s never been scared before now. She thinks Mc Cain is the wrong man for the job. She thinks his A N G E R is out of control and not acceptable for the office of President. She is voting for O B A M A!!!

Also, two friends that live in West Virginia, and have never voted before, just registered to vote and are voting for O B A M A!!!

Florida and West Virginia votes count more than my California and my Family’s Maryland votes, but I still believe what I’ve been taught all my life- EVERY VOTE COUNTS.

My Dad and I agree that it’s time for a smart President. We couldn’t even speak about Palin, except that she is S C A R Y S C A R Y S C A R Y.

My parents are 71 and 65, white, middle class, smart, educated, live just outside of DC. Here’s your demographic.