Leaving on a jet-plane....

Tomorrow morning we're OUTTA HERE! Headed for that time in the sun all dwellers of the Northeast dream about this time of year.



We're headed to where the sun is warm, the beaches are silky sand - and the drinks come with those little umbrellas.



We hope to encounter the wonderful, the unusual and the beautiful (that's a nudibranch: an underwater sea creature related to the snail).



And, always the humorous, wherever it presents itself....

I look forward to catching up with you all when I return!! Happy Trails to you...!

HNT #5 (or, I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles)

Who's bubbles?!?

Speaking of self-portraits...

Newsflash:

"Folks, the future of self-portraiture is here, and it's not a tripod, a monopod, or even a handy hovering robot- no, it's the MonsterPod, a device that definitely does not work via suction cups, glue, bean bags, or magic (as the website helpfully points out) and sticks to "1,000 objects and counting." The $30 MonsterPod lets your point-n-shoot seemingly defy gravity thanks to a patent-pending elastic solid known as Viscoelastic Morphing Polymer which forms a temporary bond (anywhere from a minute to an hour) with almost any surface that it comes in contact with after a little pressure is applied."

"While this is certainly a much more versatile and portable option than traditional tripods (if not more available: the MonsterPod is scheduled to be released "two weeks" from an unspecified date), the near-impossibility of leveling your camera means you better have a passing familiarity with photo editing software so you can rotate and crop all your crooked pics."

To learn more click here.

Spotted Dick (HNT#4)

Here in New England we are in the midst of the coldest temp's of the winter (strange, but true), and my thoughts are in The Carribbean. We depart in just two weeks to spend 10 days blowing bubbles and going nose-to-nose with the fishies.

Now, getting the sun screen applied *evenly* is a big part of each morning! Here is one method. What methods do you use??

Flirting

Darkneuro has a post today about her surprise at someone flirting with her. Read the entire post here. She was berating herself for getting half way home before recognizing that a store clerk had been flirting.

In my experience, women tend to be more subtle with their flirting than men. And, too, men can all too often miss even the most obvious sorts of flirting when it's staring them in the face. (Yes, guilty, as charged - but I'm getting better). Darkneuro's story is a familiar one to me, at least.

But, I was at Home Depot the other day - I'm there several days a week for someone's project or another and I know most of the people by their first names. But, my cashier was new, maybe in her late-20's, and when we completed the sale and I was turning to leave, she cocked her head just a little and smiled at me, saying "see-ya...."

Nice!

These sorts of little encounters in a day can really give you a lift. They are memorable - if only for the more soulful contact they provide. (OK, the tingle in the groin is nice too!)

Darkneuro complained she doesn't know how to flirt. I believe less is more: making and holding eye contact, perhaps for a bit longer than usual is huge! It says, I noticed you - and I like what I see. A simple "Hi" - said with a bit of warmth can be very powerful. On the receiving end, raising your eyebrows (with smiling eyes?) makes a great response....

I think perhaps the most important element here is a sense of spontaneity and "on-the-fly" reaction to a situation - i.e. unpremeditated. And, this suggests going about your daily business with a certain openness of spirit; a certain sort of availability to the world at large which can make the landscape we occupy so much more alive and rich. Our connection to the world is essentially erotic (says James Hillman) - the world speaks to us through *attraction*. Flirting in this respect is simply being alive and available to the world that surrounds us....