Joy Rebel Day - then & now

July 1st was actually the first "unofficial~official" Joy Rebel day. You can read more about it here, and/or in Miss Brandi's blog. I was all set to participate, thinking I would post about my adventures after I got back from North Carolina, for I was flying out July 2nd, very early in the morning!

I put on my lavender tank top, my rainbow-checkerboard skirt, and my gems of all colors necklace. There was grocery shopping. There was going to Kinko's (okay, they're all Fed-Ex Office locations now, but they'll always be Kinko's to me!) to make more copies of the flyer for our co-conspiracy workshop, taking place right after I came home. That was going to be my rebellious act of the day - distributing the flyers!
Well, I dropped them off in Encinitas, and was on my way to my chiropractic adjustment when the water bottle broke open, spilling on the passenger seat and on the floor. Only water, no worries, I thought - until I saw the remaining flyers had pretty well been trashed. Fine; I'll wait till I get back, then make a few more copies and do one big final push. This, of course, was before I got home, logged on to my computer, and found the "major change of plans" email I've discussed earlier. That's when the wheels officially came off of my Joy Rebel Day. Joy went out the window, to be replaced by concern.

My time in North Carolina was beyond awesome...yet I noted an interplay of light and Shadow just beneath the surface. I came back home, scrambled around a bit (again, old news - especially if you look at the entry just beneath this one), and thought I was off again. Yeah, I was off, in a completely different direction. The Orange County workshop went over like a lead balloon, alas; in hindsight, a precursor for what was to come.

My tweet-clouds tell part of the story, but not all of it. This quote will tell a little more:
Coyote teaches much...but his lessons are expensive. The Trickster's wisdom is to lead us down paths right into trouble just to show us why those aren't the paths we should have traveled...(W)hen a path seems attractive, take a moment to ask yourself why it seems that way. It might be that it is the path you should follow. Maybe, though, what makes it attractive is something that needs fixing here. Every path has a lesson for those sharp enough to see it. --"Hosteen Ahiga," from Barry Longyear's story, Turning the Grain.
Suffice to say business plans weren't the only ones to fall by the wayside, recently. 'Sall I'm saying about that. Neener neener.

So Coyote has been showing me what/who needs "fixing," and I've been doing some interesting Work within myself. (Gee, what else is new, eh? lol) Now I feel as though I've risen sufficiently from the Shadows again, and I had a few things to do on my list today (a free Saturday! how bout that!), so I boldly declared a do-over for Joy Rebel Day. Take 2!

This time, I was the "woman in black," and orange and yellow. ;-) Going to the grocery was the same; making copies of flyers was the same; dropping said flyers off in Encinitas was the same. This workshop, though, is more mine. Rescheduled, and shifted in content - yet still true to the bigger picture that is emerging. The day was a perfect SoCal summer day...which is to say, very hot inland, cooler on the coast, and utterly delicious if you run dragon energy like I do!
The sky was crisp and blue; puffy thunderheads arising in the east, over the desert; the marine layer lurking just offshore to the west, but not ready to venture in. The scent of native and exotic plants in the summer sun - I tell you, this is what green smells like.
I drove up the 101 to my second destination in Oceanside; taking in deep breaths of salty ocean air as I did so. Since I can't quite remember the last day I was at the beach, that must mean it's been too long! (lol) Need to put that on ye olde calendar...! Stopped in at a bead store and found what I'd been seeking for a while: a strand of red crystals (maybe garnets, but I don't think so, not for less than $4!) Found a pair of single citrine strands to go with it. Let's see - $3/strand here, vs. $11/strand elsewhere. That's a no-brainer! lol
Meandered a little getting home, since I-5 traffic was bordering on ridiculous. Stopped in at Fry's Electronics en route to get a new mic for my computer...and El Pollo Loco to grab supper. Mom enjoys the chicken, while I have their vegetarian (!) BRC burrito (beans/rice/cheese) and some corn on the cob. Also got a salad to save for tomorrow. And what better way to cap off a perfectly unfolding day than with a chocolate bonbon? (from Trader Joes, of course!)

This was more like the Joy Rebel Day I'd planned!
"Stella" is getting her groove back, yes indeedy!
(note: there won't be any pix of this outing, since I'm not one to try to take pix while driving. I manage to just drive while I'm driving, most of the time, 'mkay?) ;-)