The Warmth of Innocent Closeness

Fri, 30 May 2008 02:10:36 GMT

The warmth.

The softness, the pressure of a mouth pressed against mine.
Tongues intermingling – playfully at times and passionately at others.
Hearing a soft breath or a harder, more jagged one near my ear as we embrace.
Feeling your hair tickling the side of my face

Nuzzling into your neck, I sense your skin with my cheek.
It may have the scruffiness of half a day's growth or it may be baby soft. No matter
You slip me a scrutinous gaze as I mention liking the feel. What do I prefer?
I'm not so shallow; just noting the difference. So I defer.

I remember the first kiss. Anderson on the way home after school.
His lips were tender and he gently held my shoulder. It was warm.
Nothing came of it except a pleasant memory. (And that's all it should have been.)
We were twelve and Truth or Dare was the only action we'd ever seen.

Thinking back to various firsts and assorted experiences; I've loved exploring
Not always sensational but, at least, educational
I have learned which things I really like and the very few I don't.

Candle Burning and Time to Breathe

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:01:50 GMT

The past several weeks have been super busy both socially and professionally. The professional busy-ness is more or less status quo. My industry ebbs and flows and it's been flowing quite heavily for the past while. The next foreseeable ebb is...well...not quite foreseeable, which is why I have scheduled in a couple of "personal health" days over the next couple of months.

Sometimes, especially when things get hectic, it's important to remember to take extra good care of yourself. Of course, the periods that really tax the vitality are the ones where it's easiest to forget to do little self-pampery things. This is why I'm learning the habit of scheduling time off. It's important to take care not to burn out and, let's face it, I get pretty darned cranky with too many consecutive weeks of considerable over-work.

Last summer, I managed to get stuck closing out audit findings on someone else's project. I worked 83 hours that particular week, with 36 of them between Friday and Sunday. The following Monday, I found the need (and fortunately for me the self-control) to avoid loosing various "career-limiting statements" to a client who DID NOT appreciate the effort put into wet-wiping their dirty little tushies. Had I not so significantly over-worked and under-slept, I would not have had risk of...wouldn't have even really had the urge to...express my sentiments.

That aside, I enjoy what I do. It's just all things in moderation...balance...peace...harmony...FUN!

Which brings us to the social activity. If you know me slightly you may not realize, yet, if you know me well you will be aware that I am a bit of an introvert. I enjoy socializing. I love game nights and parties, and varied activities with friends. It can wear me out at times, but I have been having so much fun that I don't seem to care that I'm burning the candle at both ends. Candles are cheap...ok, not the really nice scented ones but, you know, you can always find a good solid emergency candle for a good price when you need one.

For the first time in a while, I'm finding the need to keep appointment calendars. No, it's not because I'm getting old and forgetting stuff. (At least not the getting old part!) I am finding though, because I've actually been meeting people that I like to spend time with, that juggling commitments can be challenging if I don't remember to stay organized. Mind you, this is sooo not a complaint.

I did almost have a complaint, but I worked it out. SOMEONE invited me to a concert that I was so excited about attending; a while later (those of you who know me well also know that I have minimal concept of time...was it days or weeks later?) a while later one of my clients wanted to schedule a meeting in California which would have overlapped with the concert. I was in "work" mode and completely not thinking about the personal life, and agreed to this meeting. Ugh. Fortunately, I was able to reschedule the meeting to avoid the overlap. I would have hated missing the concert and I would have hated letting work trump my personal life. Not to mention that I would have been tremendously disappointed at missing a well spent evening with someone that I care about. It doesn't set a good precedent and one has to have her priorities straight. (Yes, the ability to support myself comes before going to a concert, but there's a greater theme here. This has to do with not letting your job swallow you whole by remembering to take time to enjoy a more balanced lifestyle.)

So now I've integrated my personal and professional calendars so that I can easily identify potential overlaps. And I'm not letting friends or family take a backseat to work. And I'm not feeling guilty about planning time to play and relax and have fun. These things are needed to stay healthy.

I guess what I'm saying is that, as much as I enjoy my work, there's more to life. Now that I've been building and enjoying having a social life with real live people, I'm not giving it up. This is the good stuff.

This or That?

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:22:00 GMT

View Poll: This or That?

Would you rather?

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:05:41 GMT

View Poll: Would You Rather?

Camille

The Warmth of Innocent Closeness

Candle Burning and Time to Breathe

This or That?

Would you rather?