What’s that? Oh, I know I’m a couple of days late. I did that on purpose. Why’s that? I figure it’s good to get used to disappointment.
Ouch.
No, really –August is the month of transition, the month of bittersweet sadness, of joyful letting go, of acceptance, change, newness, repetition…. all that life crap. August is the month when you do a paradigm shift, people, and I figure the first step to accepting change is acknowledgment, and what’s a better way to acknowledge the acceptance process than by first being disappointed?
Am I not making any sense? Are you surprised?
Look: August is my most favorite month of the year. It is the only month that is simultaneously the beginning and the end. Screw the December to January new years transition — that one’s too obvious (and it’s two months, besides). August can simultaneously be the height of summer and the end; it is the month with heat waves and falling leaves; it is “back to school” and the forward progression of more darkness into our day.
It represents the first inkling of an end without being an end in-and-of-itself, you got me? August, in other words, represents that age-old Dynamic Duo, the Yin and the Yang, the point of balance, the contradicting yet co-defining pair of terms:
It manifests the most insidious kind of Death — and that is Life. That, terminal, incurable affliction.
[Shannon takes her magic wand, taps the screen three times, and declares "I now pronounce you..."]
Oh my God, someone get this girl a head check… or at least a season’s DVD of Curb Your Enthusiasm. This girl needs a laugh, and STAT!
Not to worry. Your author is smiling. She just loves the month of August for all of its complexities, and she thought she’d share. No need to panic.
With all that out of the way, let’s get down to a recap, shall we?
1. Project Chillout is nearly complete – ha! You, dear reader, where beginning to think that Not Keeping Score was Not Keeping Up. The posts were less frequent, the quality was iffy (– go on: you can tell me. I won’t be hurt. Honesty is the best… you know.) But you were wrong! Oh ye, of little faith! While you were over there twiddling your thumbs, anxiously checking your RSS feed, wondering why in the hell has Shannon not updated her goddamfreakingwebsite? I was indeed embarking upon a project, unbeknownst to yourself.
[holds up hand, palm facing the computer screen]
No, no! No need to apologize. I understand. I’d lose faith, too. But the timing was all too right for me to begin my most difficult project to date — the project of doing less and breathing more. I trust you will support me in any further efforts for this project, and trust that all in due time, my friends, will the words unravel at their previous pace.
2. Another Slinky event is coming – I swear it. This is happening. When? TBD. But I kid you not, there is one forthcoming and aside from Project Chillout getting in the way, the main obstacle has been that I haven’t been able to get the damn pictures from the last event up, and I refuse to send out invites to the next until I get all the projects and pictures up on the Official Slinky Website (which is horribly behind as well). I can’t believe it’s been over 4 months. Jiminy Christmas.
3. I’m pregnant and getting married – okay, this isn’t true, but I didn’t have any good dirt for my third point. (You always need at least 3 points, right?). I mean, life is always full of drama, of course, but “made up drama” is sometimes more impressive than “real life drama,” so I thought I’d take a stab. Actually, I have a very good friend who’s pregnant and a very good friend who’s getting married, so it’s sort of half-true. Just switch the pronouns.
