Mr. Duchamp goes to the beach.

 

Nothing better than finding your person unexpectedly, ice-cream in hand.

..next time, I'll find you in London town.

can't be bad to feel that good..

 ..belting the Elephant Love Medley on the daily.

To those who quiet their mind, the universe bows.

Is this short enough.

..back to the basics

Imago

"Perhaps the deepest reason why we are afraid of death is because we do not know who we are. We believe in a personal, unique, and separate identity- but if we dare to examine it, we find that this identity depends entirely on an endless collection of things to prop it up: our name, our 'biography,' our partners, family, home, job, friends, credit cards...It is on their fragile and transient support that we rely for our security. So when they are all taken away, will we have any idea of who we really are? Without our familiar props, we are faced with just ourselves, a person we do not know, an unnerving stranger with whom we have been living all the time but we never really wanted to meet. Isn't that why we have tried to fill every moment of time with noise and activity, however boring or trivial, to ensure that we are never let in silence with this stranger on our own?"

- Sogyal Rinpoche 

              

And the most ironic part about this is the part when I found the quote- alone & seemingly looking for a distraction.

August 12

Here's to you friends, life, rude waiters and music festivals..

The tools of self discovery..

Coherence. Balance. Focus. Effectiveness & Communication with People. Flexibility. Portability.

Principally Centered

I might as well center this text. 

Centering one's self is very hard. It is a constant battle to fit every little thing into a (very) short time frame. Principles govern the little time that we have for ourselves. But what are principles?

For me, principles are truths. They are deep fundamental beliefs that construct the fabric of life. They are interwoven into our very beauty and livelihood.

Staying true to my principles is tough. It will be my goal, starting tomorrow (or 7 hours from now), to stay true to the written principles in  my moleskin. How hard can it be? Hard enough to make it worth trying.

I challenge you to do the same. Please share your thoughts and experiences.

Simply Love. 

Food for the Highly Effective

I recently acquired The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, a book that I've aspired to read for quite some time.  I was perusing the aisles of Green Apple when I noticed this book sitting on one of the higher shelves. It was in the "Self-Help" section, which was a ironic considering that was the last thing I needed at the moment..  Hmm, self help? I hesitated before walking over to the section. I didn't want the regulars/employees of Green Apple to think I was a crazy person, which would have been a problem considering the fact that I go to Green Apple on a daily basis (thank you unemployment!)

"Whatever," I breathed. Who the hell cares. I'm already a crazy person anyway.

Fast forward to today when, after leaving Green Apple, I decided to take a little coffee break down the street. There, I opened up my 1980 edition of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. And it was there that I read these wise words:

"On the maturity continuum, dependence is the paradigm of you-you take care of me; you come through for me; you didn't come through; I blame you for the results.
Independence is the paradigm of I-I can do it; I am responsible; I am self-reliant; I can choose.
Interdependence is the paradigm of we-we can do it; we can cooperate; we can combine our talents and abilities and create something greater together.
Dependent people needs others to get what they want. Independent people can get what they want through their own effort. Interdependent people combine their own efforts with the efforts of others to achieve their greatest success.

If I were physically dependent-paralyzed or disabled or limited in some physical way-I would need you to help me. If I were emotionally dependent, my sense of worth and security would come from your opinion of me. If you didn't like me, it could be devastating. If I were intellectually dependent, I would count on you to do my thinking for me, to think through the issues and problems of my life.
If I were independent, physically, I could pretty well make it on my own. Mentally, I could think my own thoughts, I could move from one level of abstraction to another. I could think creatively and analytically and organize and express my thoughts in understandable ways. Emotionally, I would be validated form within. I would be inner directed. My sense of worth would not be a function of being liked or treated well."

My feelings, precisely.

The Greatest Adventure.

THE CRISTIMON CHRONICLES

PART II: The Engagement Photos...at least the first set.

THE CRISTIMON CHRONICLES

PART I: The Engagement

 

...I like you guys. Congratulations!!!!!

Day 3.

Just breath..

WINTER ROADTRIPS.

PART I.

So, tomorrow my best friend Rachel and I will be road tripping down south.  We wanted to go somewhere that had: 1) a decent beach, 2) fruit growing on trees, 3) and the occasional friendly face. 

Hello San Diego!

Staying Present

...allows us the Transcendence of thought.

Joyeux Noël!!

Have a very happy Christmas. I love you all!

ROCK IT.

 

..the power behind my essence

an Explorer of this world

a valuable resource

 my guide

a way to focus on the good

the encouragement to live my best

a wise monkey

the animal lover

a dashing partner in crime

a worthy opponent

the perfect teammate

a mysterious mask of thought

a character to take notice of

a loyalty to strive for

a looker

an artist to appreciate

the yogi to meditate with

the writer who writes beautiful poetry

a dreamer who aims high for those he loves

and those he does not yet know

a spiritual being

a remarkable human

the first person I think of

my best friend.

Nico C.

Birthday Girl

 Rachel Taylor

You're great.

And super pretty.
 

...and because it's your birthday, I felt inspired to write you an acrostic poem.

R adiant
A blaze
C atchy
H ottie
E ntertained/Entertaining..that's right...lots of laughs
L ovable

Your welcome.

See you in 41 hours, 56 seconds.

or perhaps a little thirsty?

key vino ingredient.

hungry?

take a bite..

simple words

"Find ecstasy in life; 

the mere sense of living

is joy enough."

-Emily Dickinson

baby dinos in the backyard..

 

 

an Italian beginning..

Oh my goodness, I have been horrible about keeping up with the blogs.  It seems that there are always things that I should be doing instead of enjoying a little writing time...  Isn't that ironic?  Why shouldn't we always be enjoying ourselves?

Speaking of that, I did find a infinitesimal amount of down time today, which was gladly spent in Italian class.  My mom and I went to our first class at Santa Barbara City College.  We almost didn't go, mostly because we were too lazy to park, buy a parking permit, and walk up the (extremely steep) hill.  But alas, we knew it had to be done. 

Once getting to the Humanities building, we trudged into our classroom.  I was a little surprised to find a our tutor, as he appeared to be about 15 years old.  Not to mention he looked more Americanized than me.

We began immediately.  Oh my god-I didn't know anything.  I immediately regretted coming to class.  This was so silly.  Maybe taking a quick break from class to buy the book was necessary.  After all, I didn't feel exactly 100% comfortable sharing a book with the stranger sitting next to me.

Coffee break?  Yes please.

To make a long story short for sake of time here, my mom and I sounded a little rusty.  That might be an understatement...BUT we did manage to put a few words together to make just a baby bit of Italian sense.  It will be an interesting semester, needless to say.

My studying starts tonight.  Vino might be necessary.

transcending the limits

..Nico & Ben

the pretty bride

...and her Wedding

Jalama Canyon Ranch

My good friend, Rebecca Michealsen, was married to Stephen Searer this past Saturday.

She looked absolutely gorgeous.

It was a Seareriously big occassion..

..and a beautiful day.

Love you Bec

Dirt Face

On. Horse. Back.

 

It had been a long time since I had last been on a horse.  When I was a youngster, I used to go riding at least once a week.  I liked horses, a lot.  I felt very comfortable on a horse, riding at many levels.

Well, that was a long time ago.

Last Saturday, Nico's family and their family friends from Texas decided to go on a little adventure, horseback riding! The entire fam was going, so they very generously invited me to join.  I was stoked, heck yeah!

I got my riding gear ready the day before: leather boots (no spurs this time), dark leggings, a shirt that breathed well, and of course aviators.  I was ready for some horsey action...

 
Getting up on the horse was a little more difficult than I had remembered.  I suppose it's always easier to hoist yourself up when you weigh 35 less pounds.  Once I got seated comfortably, had my stirrups adjusted properly, I could already feel the discomfort coming on.  My butt was going to be so sore tomorrow.  And it was.

However, having an uncomfortable rear was really the least of my worries. Two minutes into our trail ride, the dust began to rise in our faces.  Oh, and did it rise, and cover..everything.  I was breathing dust the entire time, whilst attempting to cover my camera from the little brown specks.  Unfortunately, I didn't do a very good job, as my camera still has a brown film covering it.

Ahhh, nature.