Many Thoughts (and a few spare moments)
Apr. 7th, 2008 11:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smile_n_cuddleI wonder whether life is ever perfect enough. I have, I thought, everything I could have wanted. A sweet husband, a lovely little pet family, a meaningful job--and a bonus! Parrot pictures and a starting-to-boom business!
But nothing ever seems to be enough. Now I want one more thing--to work part time in law and to sell pictures / parrot products part time. Why? Because the days fly by too quickly when I work all day. It is a whirlwind of activity at the office, and never a dull moment. That is nice, but I come home too exhausted to appreciate the beauty of each day. Too exhausted to even want to deal with the parrots' little quirks, to make dinner...
I DON'T miss law school even one tiny iota--but if I did, I would miss this: the days off (2x/week) when I stayed home working from the desk in the office, watching the fids on the patio, making breakfast and doing light cleaning before starting the day, meditating and doing a 15 min. workout of pilates... Smelling the flowers and smiling at silly sibling rivalry between the little guys. Petting kitties and laughing to myself as I ponder and start a crock-pot dinner... journaling about the tiny terrorists (and all else).
I started working nine months ago. And the days have flown by so quickly I'm not sure what happened. I do not want my life to fly by like that. I do not want to miss taking time to smell flowers, to document my thoughts, to keep up with friends.
Don't get me wrong--I'm not lazy. If I work part-time from home, I would work on the business. But the business is what would allow me to glance up and see Athie dangling like a bat from the swing canopy on the patio, etc. The business would allow me to be surrounded by the things I love during the stillness of the day, when I can hear myself think, and work in the peacefulness of happy parrot chatter.
The parrot business is going really, really well. Saturday was picture day--and I had so many customers that I had to reschedule some for April 19! I've gone from selling the occasional item on ebay to having at least one purchase almost every day. It's certainly not enough to support me--but it shows there is interest in the market. Once I hopefully get the products out onto the shelves in bird stores around the US I hope to keep busy!
But nothing ever seems to be enough. Now I want one more thing--to work part time in law and to sell pictures / parrot products part time. Why? Because the days fly by too quickly when I work all day. It is a whirlwind of activity at the office, and never a dull moment. That is nice, but I come home too exhausted to appreciate the beauty of each day. Too exhausted to even want to deal with the parrots' little quirks, to make dinner...
I DON'T miss law school even one tiny iota--but if I did, I would miss this: the days off (2x/week) when I stayed home working from the desk in the office, watching the fids on the patio, making breakfast and doing light cleaning before starting the day, meditating and doing a 15 min. workout of pilates... Smelling the flowers and smiling at silly sibling rivalry between the little guys. Petting kitties and laughing to myself as I ponder and start a crock-pot dinner... journaling about the tiny terrorists (and all else).
I started working nine months ago. And the days have flown by so quickly I'm not sure what happened. I do not want my life to fly by like that. I do not want to miss taking time to smell flowers, to document my thoughts, to keep up with friends.
Don't get me wrong--I'm not lazy. If I work part-time from home, I would work on the business. But the business is what would allow me to glance up and see Athie dangling like a bat from the swing canopy on the patio, etc. The business would allow me to be surrounded by the things I love during the stillness of the day, when I can hear myself think, and work in the peacefulness of happy parrot chatter.
The parrot business is going really, really well. Saturday was picture day--and I had so many customers that I had to reschedule some for April 19! I've gone from selling the occasional item on ebay to having at least one purchase almost every day. It's certainly not enough to support me--but it shows there is interest in the market. Once I hopefully get the products out onto the shelves in bird stores around the US I hope to keep busy!
Here are two of my favorites so far. :) Many more to edit--but these two are pretty I think. :)
This sweet cockatoo girl was rescued from a terrible home. The owner thought she was a cockatiel--had her in a cockatiel cage with budgie seeds as a diet. She was skin and bones. When one of my customers asked to see her coworker's "cockatiel" the coworker showed her this poor baby--my customer offered to buy her on the spot, and did. She took her to her mother's house as she has a parrot herself and was concerned about disease. Turns out she was rightfully concerned--the poor cockatoo had a bad infection.
At the time the customer brought the parrot to her mom's house, her dad had just had a stroke, and was depressed, impossible to deal with. They were afraid that through his depression they would lose him--he was very ill as well. This sweet, terribly neglected little 'too girl sat with her father for hours every day, and he would stroke her feathers, she would place her head to his cheek. She brought him out of that depression--and he (and her mom) nursed the 'too back to health.
Today she is still very tiny for being an umbrella cockatoo, but she is, hands down, the sweetest U2 I've ever, ever met. So full of love and gentleness. And look at those feathers! PERFECT!!
I have to hand it to Jay at Birds off Broadway, his parrots are among the happiest, most well-adjusted ones I photograph. Generally parrots are a bit freaked out by the basket and flowers. His are so relaxed they play with everything and then fall asleep! This one was purchased by a guy about a year ago from the store. He was sooooo funny! After playing with the flowers he took a snooze--and I had to cajole him to get him off the basket! LOL!!!
I've titled this one "Pondering Flowers." Any title ideas for the one above? Maybe Rescued Angel? Smldada??
This sweet cockatoo girl was rescued from a terrible home. The owner thought she was a cockatiel--had her in a cockatiel cage with budgie seeds as a diet. She was skin and bones. When one of my customers asked to see her coworker's "cockatiel" the coworker showed her this poor baby--my customer offered to buy her on the spot, and did. She took her to her mother's house as she has a parrot herself and was concerned about disease. Turns out she was rightfully concerned--the poor cockatoo had a bad infection.
At the time the customer brought the parrot to her mom's house, her dad had just had a stroke, and was depressed, impossible to deal with. They were afraid that through his depression they would lose him--he was very ill as well. This sweet, terribly neglected little 'too girl sat with her father for hours every day, and he would stroke her feathers, she would place her head to his cheek. She brought him out of that depression--and he (and her mom) nursed the 'too back to health.
Today she is still very tiny for being an umbrella cockatoo, but she is, hands down, the sweetest U2 I've ever, ever met. So full of love and gentleness. And look at those feathers! PERFECT!!
I have to hand it to Jay at Birds off Broadway, his parrots are among the happiest, most well-adjusted ones I photograph. Generally parrots are a bit freaked out by the basket and flowers. His are so relaxed they play with everything and then fall asleep! This one was purchased by a guy about a year ago from the store. He was sooooo funny! After playing with the flowers he took a snooze--and I had to cajole him to get him off the basket! LOL!!!
I've titled this one "Pondering Flowers." Any title ideas for the one above? Maybe Rescued Angel? Smldada??
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Date: Apr. 7th, 2008 05:05 pm (UTC)This job could be so much cooler by the hour, just for benefits and such. Then I could spend the bulk of my time on better things. Work to enable me to pay bills and such, not suck up all my time & energy.
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Date: Apr. 7th, 2008 05:28 pm (UTC)EXACTLY! I'm glad you are thinking about it too! I worried that it sounded lazy or something, but life really is too short to spend all my time in an office cooped up and being too tired to do anything when I get home!
I don't mind making less--can't bring $ with me when I die... Just need enough to pass.
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Date: Apr. 7th, 2008 07:35 pm (UTC)Synonyms:
Rescue: accomplishment, affranchisement, deed, deliverance, delivery, disembarrassment, disentanglement, emancipation, exploit, extrication, feet, heroics, heroism, liberation, performance, ransom, reclaiming, reclamation, recovering, recovery, redemption, release, relief, salvage, salvation, saving
Angel: beloved, darling, dearest, fair-haired boy, favorite, honey, light of one's life, loved one, object of one's affections, pet, sweetheart, the pet, treasure
I'm more inclined to fall on the side of redemption and salvation rather than rescue after reading the story.
Salvaged Angel
Redeeming Flight
Second Chance Treasure
Seraph Redeemed
Seraph Reclaimed
Salvation Delivered
Second Chance Sentinal
Beloved Redemption
If none of those strike your fancy, let me know, I'll see what other directions I can go in.
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Date: Apr. 7th, 2008 10:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Apr. 8th, 2008 01:49 am (UTC)I love the dark purple flowers with the white edges, they're the perfect foil against her.
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Date: Apr. 7th, 2008 07:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Apr. 7th, 2008 10:49 pm (UTC)