museum tour and moving the car in a snow squall

 greg and i attended a "mindfulness" tour at the rubin museum this evening.

 this pedestal is a computer and keyboard on which you type a thoughtful inspiration, hit the return button and then turn the dial and it sends the message up along the stairwell . . all the way to the sixth floor (it's a spiral stairwell). i typed in "breathe" this evening and sent it floating.

 you can maybe see a few stars on the underside of the stairwell . .

 we had a wonderful docent who spoke about buddhism and the symbolism of the stupas and tonkas that one sees in the museum. everything on the figures and in the pictures symbolizes the struggle for enlightenment . . one's struggle to understand our place in the universe and accept inner peace. (that explanation is simplistic, but i hope you get the idea!)

 this is an artist's rendering of a modern mandala. the pink balls represent lotus blossoms and the sounds that emanate are a comingling of islamic, gregorian and buddhist chanting.

i found the evening informative and inspiring and am so glad we went. it is taking me awhile to absorb the tibetan buddhist way of seeing the world and of thinking. it's very different from my american, german and italian western upbringing . . it's different and yet it's the same. i'm thankful to learn from the museum's programs and exhibits.

it was such a freezing cold day! winter is finally here in nyc. in the late afternoon i looked out the window and saw grey clouds blowing sideways off the river, fogging my view of the street and the buildings across the way. i don't remember experiencing such a snowstorm before.

 it's been sleeting and snowing off and on ever since. by tomorrow morning the temperature should go down to 15 degrees or so. i went with greg to move the car (everyone was grumbling on twitter that alternate sides was not suspended! the radio said the mayor was saying to stay off the roads, but he didn't suspend the parking rules so we couldn't, and all had to go out and move our cars!). the wind whipping off the river was brutal. greg misplaced his phone after finding a space and i stood shivering out on the sidewalk while he searched in the car. finally we crawled back into the vehicle and started it again to warm up while i called his phone. it had slipped through his torn pocket into the lining of his coat! "you can sew that!" i said. he complained that all his clothing is worn and he'll never be able to have new things . . he was just being silly . . but that pocket needs to be mended! i'll probably do it, or morgana.

i miss our bulldogs! greg received this as a gift last christmas. i finally cleaned the car the off just a few days ago, and put it on (it's magnetic).