Lumos!

I remember before the first Harry Potter movie came out, my parents and I were listening to a BSO concert on the radio.  It was the summer, so they were out at Tanglewood, and John Williams had come to guest conduct them, and to premier music from The Sorceror's Stone.  We hadn't known about it ahead of time and we did not listen to these concerts as a general rule, but here I was, an avid Harry Potter fan (sorry Madeline L'Engle, but I am) and I was catching the first notes of what I knew would become an epic soundtrack.

The first thing that they played was Hedwig's Theme.  Without naming it, I would have known what it was.  I got chills when I heard the celesta come in and I think that I may have held my breath for the entire opening.  I know that I got teary-eyed.  I have a great amount of respect for those books.  While they have their moments, I would not consider them to be beautifully written.  They were certainly entertaining, and like a great mystery they always kept me guessing, but there is nothing about the writing that suggests that an equally as creative high school student with all the plot points could not have come out with the same product.  No, the respect that I have stems from the fact that J. K. Rowling, knowing or unknowing, took the pulse of the entire world and came out with a captivating tale that inspired millions of people (not just children) to read!  Not only that, but she has opened the doors for other writers, and obliterated the stereotypes that surround fantasy fiction.  I don't care if she's as rich as the Pope!  She has changed the literary world for the better.

On the other hand, that's a lot to live up to.  Up to which I must live, I should say.  :-) 

joy to the world

There is a bright orange sticker in the stairwell of the garage that I walk through to get to work each day.  It looks like it's been ripped off some larger, neon orange sticky surface.  It's not a large sticker, but in the largest capital letters that will all fit on that small surface it says, "DON'T POSTPONE JOY."  I have usually forgotten that I saw it by the time I get up to work, and when I leave work, I usually forget that I have seen it again by the time I arrive at my car.  Still, every time I walk up that staircase and that orange beacon catches my eye, I think it was put there just for me.  

My job is important to the people for whom I work, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not that important.  I'm not a teacher, or a surgeon or a government official.  I'm not on the cutting edge of science or directing air traffic.  Even celebrities have more important jobs than I do, because they can use their money and influence to affect real change in the world.  All I do to improve the world is recycle.  (Everything.)  There is no reason why my job should be as stressful to me as it is, and yet sometimes I get so frustrated that I want to throw things.  There's just no excuse for that.  But I don't think I'm alone.  I think that lots of you feel that way too.  We need to stop putting off what we want to do...the things that bring us genuine joy...because we get caught up in our everyday mishegoss.  

There was a time when I felt very strongly about this very sentiment.  My now husband and I met at the end of July, and were engaged by the following March.  We just wanted to be married.  We didn't want to postpone the joy that we felt when we were with each other.  But while I still feel the same way about him (and he about me!) other parts of my life sometimes seem to overshadow that feeling. 

So thank you, anonymous staircase befouler, for reminding me of one of the most important lessons I may ever learn.  

Don't postpone joy.

"If a picture paints a thousand words then why can't I paint you?"

Painting is the one home improvement that I thought I would definitely be able to do well. I am generally a patient person, and as long as I have a good story or some great music to listen to, I actually somewhat enjoy doing mindless tasks. In fact, some of my most profound thinking is done cleaning the bathroom or sitting in traffic.
I discovered last year however, that though I read books on painting, watch HGTV like a madwoman and have at least a moderate IQ...I am the world's worst painter. Last summer we moved into our first house and I painted a couple walls in our living room white. They had been white before, but I thought, new owner, new coat of paint. What could possibly go wrong? To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what did go wrong. All I do know is that it looks terrible! There are drips everywhere and where I cut in is so much better than where I rolled.
I am sharing this story because I am preparing to paint the bathroom (another painting adventure...we had to paint that room in the dark) a light blue this weekend. It is currently hospital green. This is meant to serve as a warning for the potential painting tirade I may engage in early next week.
(Post title is a quote from the song "If" by Bread)

nobody ever looks up

This was actually the alternate name for this blog. I have this theory that nobody ever looks up. We look at computer screens, at dashboards, at billboards...but rarely "up." I got a degree from the school where I now work and it wasn't until I became the facilities coordinator, 2 years after I first walked in the door that I could tell you what the ceiling looked like in any given room. I ended up deciding on fairy tales to fashion rags instead because it describes me and my interests. (And since the blog is a rather ego-centric medium I thought it exceedingly appropriate.) I read articles on the economy, on the environment, fashion, interior design, and the universe. I read books about hobbits, "tesseracts" and comical "Nightwatch" men. I'll watch anything from Stargate to Scrubs. I hope that as I catalogue and espouse my many interests and opinions, I'll hit upon something you care about as well.