Mixed reviews on the first day of the rest of my life

or July 1st on other peoples' calendars.

Yesterday did not work on all levels, but an end of the day walk in the pouring rain kept me on task. I was a bit distracted by an assignment passed along early in the day. But staying in an air-conditioned office after I was soaking wet...did not lend itself to working late. Good news. Let's see how it goes today.

I also shared a bit too much with my co-worker I was walking with but maybe having someone who knows my "issues" will help keep me in line at work. We will see. She has a few things on her plate to deal with, but she is in her 20's, blond, and goes to Martha's Vineyard every weekend...so I think she has a VERY good chance of landing on her feet... And the ripple effect of her actions will be good for all those around her - some might think they were hit by a tidal wave instead of a ripple, but in the end it will be "all good" for all around.

"Re-framing" was my word for yesterday. I need to re frame every minute of every day IF I am serious about making real change. My laziness and "path of least resistance" history makes it an interesting task. But part of my July 1 "analysis", I would not trade my life for anyone I know (except maybe the 20-something blond once she gets past the next few months...)

Got a great article from a friend yesterday - the "Gone Baby Gone" article from our local paper about what "automotive features are going the way of the dodo bird". Out of a list of 10...I have 2 and very close to three and might have 4 or 5 once I look at my car this a.m. Not bad and the sad thing is I would have shopped harder to find more if I saw this list before I went shopping. "Retro" feels right for me especially after all the reading I have done about where the latest generation of consumerism has landed us. Here is the list.

1. Crank Windows 2. Cassette tape decks 3. Keys/locks/any means of getting in your car 4. Lap only seat belts for the center rear seat 5. Cars priced less than $13,000 6. 85 MPH speedometers 7. Motorized antennas 8. 3-speed automatic transmissions 9. True compact pick up trucks 10. 6-passenger, rear wheel drive, body on frame cars.

I know I have 1 & 3; I am $1000 off on 5 (for a brand new car , 65 miles when I got it); and I need to check my car for 4 & 6. 6 because I did get my "Zoom Zoom" bumper sticker to put on the car when I bought the new Mazda... I had not even thought about the motorized antennas - how did those fall out of favor?

I thought I better check my cosmic guidance for today. As always it got me thinking on the right track.

"It's the Power-Gathering Season for you, Libra. A good way to energize your efforts would be to define clearly and imaginatively what power means to you. I've got two riffs to get you started. First, here's one from a famous French ruler whose name I'll withhold so as not to distract you from the riff itself: "I love power. But it is as an artist that I love it. I love it as a musician loves his violin, to draw out its sounds and chords and harmonies." Here's the second definition, from poet Dennis Holt in his newsletter "Quincunx": "Power is what sends the woodpecker down from his tree to poke for worms in the muddy road one morning after all-night rain on a ridge above the Pacific within earshot of the surf.""

"The new moon suggests that you may be feeling quite reluctant to push yourself forward today. However you should play to your strengths and distract from your weaker points if you want to stand out from the crowd. The strengths are: originality and creativity, but avoid overextending yourself!"

After talking to my walking companion yesterday - I guess I am working on the 3-R's - relaxing, "(w)riting", and relationships. Always nice to put titles on things for me.

Here goes Day 2 - new moon assisted. Have a good Wednesday.