HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I made it!!! I'm HOME!

I had wonderful weather to start the journey home. For the first 6 hours or so it was near 70 degrees. I thanked Spirit for the warm sun while I had the windows down and the sun shining on my face. When I hit the middle of Ohio it started raining and I drove through the rain until I got through Chicago. I'm not a fan of driving at night but add semi trucks and rain to the mix and you have my personal version of hell. But obviously I made it through.

I had several things happen on the trip which let me know the guardians and angels, I asked to surround me, were there. I was not expecting the tolls to be so much so I needed to get more cash. All the ATMs I saw at the rest stops were from banks I've never heard of and you know what that means, huge fees from them and from my bank. So, I put out to the universe that I needed a Bank of America ATM. I pulled into the last gas station/rest stop area on the Ohio turnpike (btw, the rest stops on the Ohio Turnpike are the best I've ever stopped at) and what do I find, a Bank of America ATM. Earlier I needed a break from the rain as I was tired of the spray from the semis speeding past and blinding me. I was so tensed up and I said "I really need a break from this for a few miles." Guess what happened, shortly after I said that there was no rain for 10 min or so. This repeated itself a few times.

The point of this whole year was about a spiritual journey/adventure so I decided to take a little detour as I was driving past LaCrosse, Wisconsin. I saw a sign for a shrine for Our Lady of Guadalupe. I was in no real hurry so I followed the sign. I had no idea it was so far off the road I was driving on, which was probably a good thing. As I was driving through the streets of LaCrosse there were a few times I wondered if I missed a sign telling me to turn because it felt like I had been driving a longer time than necessary. So, I told myself if I didn't see a sign by X time then I would turn around. EVERY SINGLE time I did that I saw a sign before my specified time. I finally arrived and found a very nice little complex dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. I browsed the giftshop, purchased a postcard (lighting for the statue was bad at the time so I couldn't take a picture), and went to see the chapel. As I entered in I discovered a mass was about to start (more perfect timing). Not wanting to be rude and leave I decided to stay. I posted a few days ago about my list of things I want to do this year and guess what was on the list? Attend a Catholic mass!! It was a small intimate service, just the way I like it.

I'm getting tired and I need to do a few things before I go to bed so I am going to sign off for now and write more tomorrow.

On my way

I'm finishing up the last bit of packing then I'll be on my way to MN.

I'm praying that all my guardian angels will surround me everywhere I go.

A last ditch effort

Today was my last day at World Market. While I loved being there I have been ready to move on for a while now. Yesterday the head manager made a last ditch effort to try and get me to stay. He offered me the lead gourmet position which will soon be vacant. I asked him to tell me what I'd be making per hour and his reply was "not enough to keep you here." It was a nice to hear that he was making an effort to keep me, but a person can not live here on $11/hr.

Yesterday I was talking with one of my co-workers about religion. I know it's not normally a suggested work topic but it was relavant to what we had been talking about earlier in the conversation. He has the same feeling as I do on traditional religions/churches, he does not like them at all and has pretty much given up on God because of them. I went on to tell him about the Hope Interfaith Center and he said "I wish there was someplace like that here."

Later on that night I was getting more than a bit aggitated at customers. I kept saying to myself "If they would just open up their eyes....". Then I remembered my spritual teacher, Hope, and what her name stands for, Help Open Planetary Eyes. I then started looking at them in a new perspective. My spiritual eyes became a little more open and I saw them as needing their eyes opened too. It's still a bit jumbled in my mind so forgive me if this sound a bit confusing or odd. I am starting to believe that the condition of a person's spiritual eyes directly affects their outlook and how they physically "see" the world. Some of you may be thinking "But what about people who are blind?" Those who are blind have other ways of "seeing" the world through their other senses. When ones spiritual eyes are out of focus their thoughts and sensory perceptions get so messed up theat they are not able to fully take in the world around them. They don't see as well, they can't smell as much. At times when my "eyes" were closed and I remember not being able to see things that were right in front of my face, I was so distracted by what was going on in my head.

2,008 things in 2008

Loosely inspired by ads for the movie "Bucket List" I am coming up with a list of things to do in 2008. Make that a list of 2,008 things. I purchased a notebook at Target and have close to 60 things on the list already. I have a few criteria for items that are going on the list: 1) I have never done it before and 2) it is not an everyday essential. So far I have things like try sushi and try out for a local play. Most of the things on the list are/will be relatively easy to complete. I'll be reporting on my progress right here on my blog.

I think this is a much better list to make than the traditional New Year's resolutions. So, what's on your list??