New Year's Wishes for Friends & Family

I had an awesome time last night, even though my friends felt it vital enough to pause our game of Catch Phrase to watch the ball drop. I've managed to avoid the sentimental musings that come at this time until now, when I just woke up in a contemplative mood.

After a hellacious year (is that still a bad word when you add "acious" to it? if so, and if I've made your eyeballs pop and your jaw drop at my profanity, my apologies), which includes a home-destroying fire, a huge upheaval at work, some deep depression and soul-searching, one HECK of a scary day that ended up with an ambulance call and my aunt still (that would be "as of right now") recovering from a mild heart attack, pneumonia, and a leg infection combo of cellulitis and lymphodema, and a sudden jump start on a popular new-year's resolution (lose weight)... I think I might have a little to say to the people I love (and whoever else stumbles on this blog). (Gee, how's that for a great run-on sentence and a major overuse of parentheses?)

So, at the end of this crazy year, here's what I wish for you, Dear Reader:

May 2007 bring you to better health. Maybe you'll carry through with that resolution you've made, or the one you're ignoring, or maybe you'll get a huge scare like we did. Honestly? Whatever it takes, because I want you around for a good, long time.

I hope you find a deeper level of brokenness and vulnerability than you've ever reached before. I know when I say this the odds are 10 to 1 it will have to come through some crappy circumstances I'm not really wishing on you, but I also know that's what it usually takes to get there. And let God use that brokenness to change your heart, and that vulnerability to make bridges to other hearts. It's so much greater than staying the way you are, because we're all broken anyway, and we might as well move on to where we let it actually make a difference.

I hope someone surprises you with something you've always wanted. It's nice to have people come through like that, as long as it doesn't happen all the time.

I also hope you get denied and rejected now and then. It's good for us. It reminds us to trust God, and rejection can sometimes help us identify with Him.

And I really, really hope you discover for yourself (or rediscover) how much you are loved. If by no one else, then by God. But chances are that if you're taking time to read this, you're family or friend. And I love you. I hope I'll be able to show it better this year, that my love will be more mature and sensitive to the needs around me, but just in case.... I love you. Remember that when I act stoopeed or selfish or even offensive. Cuz we know that's pretty much a given.

That's it. Well, not really. But I think I've been mushy enough. Maybe I'll add to it next year.

But until then, be blessed. Be hungry. Be satisfied, and hungry again. Be loved and loving. Be joyful, and spread it around. Be changed.

Love,
Amanda

Lost & Found

Whenever I think about the fire, I think of some of the things I lost. Many of those are books, and one in particular is a poetry anthology. The copy I had was dog-eared from reading and re-reading and re-discovering poets like Mari Evans and Phyllis McGinley and Richard Wilbur, and even the standards - Whitman and Frost and Browning. This is the book that made me realize that the copious amount of verse I wrote in high school was not really poetry. At least, not the kind that contributes to literature, the kind people read over and over again and come to memorize certain passages, even whole poems, and helps them crystallize their feelings and thoughts and understand the world around them. The majority of my poetry rarely transcended above my selfish need to pour out my adolescent angst.

I loved this book. It's the only one I have spent any real time searching for so I could replace it. My problem was that I couldn't remember it's title or the editor's name - only that she was a she. I've actually grieved for this book (hey, some books are like good friends - you can turn to them anytime you need to, and you understand them and they understand you), and I've almost given up searching for it. Almost.

And today... I FOUND IT!!!!!! Excuse me for screaming, but it's worth it. And... I found it for the perfectly paltry price of $2.95 (plus shipping). Thanks, Alibris!

God bless the Internet.

Class Clown?

Turns out my high school class president is now a full-time comedian. I'd make some smart-aleck comment about that being indicative of the quality of my public school education, but Rajiv is actually a pretty intelligent guy. And, from what I choose to recall of my adolescence, a pretty nice guy to boot. (Irrelevant side: why do we use the phrase "to boot"? Sounds like I want to give him a kick in the pants.)

I remember three main things about Rajiv. The first is from our freshman year at Fairfield High School, the first day, in English class. The teacher's doing roll call and gets to Rajiv Satyal. She takes her time to pronounce it... "Rah-zheev Saht-yawl"... and immediately asks if she's said his name correctly.

Rajiv: Almost.

Teacher: Well, how do you pronounce it?

Rajiv: Rah-zheev Saht-yawl

Class: Ha, ha, ha...

The ironic? coincidental? thing about all this is it's similar to part of Rajiv's stand-up routine (go ahead, google "rajiv pronounce" and you get a ton of links, the first one being one of his clips on YouTube). From this incident, I (in my pathetic attempt to be humorous myself) would refer to him as "Almost Rajiv. Because he's almost there." (Please stop groaning.)

The second thing I remember about Rajiv is that he would either write "Just Do It" or "Vote for me - Class Clown" (or both!) every time he'd condescend to sign my yearbook.

Lastly, I remember "working" with Rajiv in Peer Counselors/Helpers/Do-Gooders. Don't know if he did that because he was truly a nice guy and wanted to help his peers, or because it might help him get more votes when running for class president/look good on his college resume, but I prefer to think it was the former.

Good luck, Rajiv! Oh, and by the way, Toledo does have a Comedy Club. *cough*

If you want to help Rajiv make it to the big time, here's what he asks people do to promote him:

Website Subscriptions: Get 10 of your friends to sign up on my website. All they have to do is go to www.funnyindian.com and input their information at the top-right. They won't get spammed.

MySpace Friends: Add me to your friends on MySpace at www.myspace.com/funnyindian. Send out a bulletin to your friends to do the same.

Website Blog: Read my blog! Bookmark it and surf it when you have downtime at work. Comment on it — I love the interaction.

MySpace Blog: Subscribe to my blog at http://blog.myspace.com/funnyindian.

Friendster: Add me to your friends on Friendster at www.friendster.com/funnyindian.

iTunes: Subscribe to my podcast in iTunes.

Funny Indian Newsletter: Forward this update to your friends.