String: Cats are predictable.

Had a small ball of string ready for use on my crochet-lace scarf. Set it on the table.

I have four cats.

Why am I surprised that it's missing?

(Oh, ah! Found it. I didn't stupidly leave on the table after all.)

In other news, spent the day wearing ... the wrong earrings. I had on a silver necklace with a square garnet. Silver and garnet ring. Did I put on the matching garnet earrings this morning? No. I grabbed the gold and smoky quartz.

Mismatched earrings aren't quite like having your tag showing, but it's close.

Week three of teaching Tibetan

Jetsunma asked me to teach a Tibetan class at the temple.

I kind of, er, let's politely call it panicked, and avoided it for several weeks. (Then I got laryngitis.) Kept saying, "But why couldn't we have started this in 2009, when I'd just finished UVA's Tibetan program? I'm rusty! Creak!"

Went ahead anyways. With help from Paljor (and he is the best speaker, very well educated).

It's going great. Just completed week three of six. And this time I did the class on my own! We have a surprisingly large group: eleven people.

On a Sunday night at 8pm? Wow. I didn't even advertise.

Jetsunma was right. People want to learn Tibetan.

Even today, with a Buddhist holiday tomorrow (Saka Dawa, where all virtue is multiplied by 10 million, so pile on those good deeds...) even after a day of hard work in the sun repairing stupas ... my team gamely showed up.

We covered a massive amount of material. (Today's class: stacked letters, and what you can ignore.) I'm following the structure my first Tibetan teacher, Rick, established. I had all these ambitious plans but found what he did was just perfect: small bites. Build that foundation strong and solid.

They're learning. And I can see them grow more and more confident.

*Pleased as punch.*

Occupy food ends....

Last week I told Ani Drolkar (you'll recall the meandering way I found out she was in charge) that I'd heard the DC Occupy group had tapered off,* so I wanted to focus more on our food bank. Buying canned goods is cheaper than buying supplies for sandwiches, for one thing. Plus we have a couple of families relying on it.

Well, guess what?

Come’n’ get it!
"I’m pleased to say we have dry and canned goods at KPC for locals that need it. All can take for their families and selves and give what they can. You need not go hungry or eat fast food. We do have dry beans etc with recipies on the bag. It’s not hard, I wish we could give more but law goes against spoilable foods. Ideas anyone? You needn’t be Buddhist, just hungry. Ordained first s best. Their ability to make money is limited. Come’n’ get it!"

Ha! I knew the trend before it was a trend.

So. Know anyone in Maryland who's scraping to get by?



* The police scored a deep hit against the movement when someone fell asleep in their information tent and the police used that as an excuse to take it down. Occupy attempted a consolidation of the McPhearson Square and Freedom Plaza groups, but the two camps were distinctly different and didn't really get along. I also suspect that Occupy was hanging in there till spring, expecting an influx of people. But after they'd withstood the winter, the summer influx never happened. My weather sense suggests that there's an indrawing around the president. Democrats don't want to tacitly criticize president Obama in an election year. No one wants Mitt Romney. ETA: Okay, Occupy's still there, they have an office, but they don't need food now. Looks like a shift in strategy to me.