Your Monday Photo Shoot:: First Photos Of 2007!

"To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them."

-Elliott Erwitt

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Put up the first picture you took in 2007. Some of you too them last night, right around midnight; some of you haven't taken them yet. But whatever your first picture is this year... post it, baby!

-John Scalzi (By The Way...)

So there I was, sitting at my local Starbuck's on New Year's Day, not particularly happy, when I noticed that my cup of raspberry hot chocolate, wasn't just yummy and soul soothing, it was attempting to be my friend. And not just any friend, that annoying friend, who likes to give you advice whether you ask for it or not! LOL.

The Way I See It #141...

"I used to feel so alone in the city. All those gazillions of people, and then me on the outside. Because how do you meet a new person? I was very stumped by this for many years. And then I realized, you just say, "Hi." They may ignore you. Or you may marry them. And that possibility is worth that one word."

-Augusten Burroughs
Author of "Running With Scissors."

Mummphf! If I had wanted that kind of advice, I would have asked for it! But who exactly would I have asked? The man sitting next to me? The lady waiting for her "Grande Double, Double, Chi No Whip," standing against the far wall, and looking as lost as I felt? Is the word, "Hi," really enough to begin a relationship which might last a lifetime, or maybe just a couple minutes, depending on how time is flying? You know what they say, "Time flies whether we are having fun or not." I was thinking hard on this, but why in the world would this particular piece of advice be getting to me so much?

Truth is, I suppose all relationships do indeed have a starting word, although as I sat there, sipping my the advice, I began thinking about the various friendships and acquaintances I had gained, and lost, over the years. I couldn't really think of what the opening words in my relationships had been, with the exception of a couple cases. In those instances, "Hi" had indeed been the magic word, and "goodbye," wasn't always the last word, sometimes there was no magic word at all. Hmmm. Soon I realized, I was being way too reflective, and it wasn't really helping my mood too much. I put my consideration of this away, and I moved on. I didn't give it any more thought. I went back to Starbuck's yesterday, and again ordered a hot chocolate with raspberry syrup, and again I got advice #141. Curious. Was someone, somewhere trying to tell me something?

Is it time to go out into the world and say "Hi" to every stranger I meet? Is a new friend just waiting for me to make the first move? Do I even want to go out on that limb again? There is something to be said for being your own best friend after all. You can't stand yourself up. You can't cheat on yourself. You can't break your own heart, oh wait you can, but you have to really work at it. LOL. You never have to say goodbye to yourself, unless you get completely lost and forget who you are. That wouldn't be very convenient. Sigh. It was all so deep. Then a quote from "Sex And The City," came to mind...

"Can you get to your future if your past is present?" -Carrie Bradshaw

Maybe I have spent too much time worrying about what has gone wrong. Maybe I have made the past my permanent present. I have made mistakes in a lot of relationships, but what's the good in being 40 something, if I can't consider my mistakes, give them the proper respect, and then indeed move on from them, older, wiser and walking forward? I think I will take the Starbuck's advice and be open to new people, places and things, but I think I will move a lot more slowly into the future, because really, what's the hurry?

-OndineMonet
"Cup O' Advice"
Starbuck's
Castro Valley, California
January, 1st 2007
Afternoon