No place like home...

I realized a couple of days ago why coming back to The Beach was so easy; why it felt so right. I was (or still am) staying at The Little Apartment. A friend of mine moved into The Little Apartment when I moved out and now I'm staying at her place as a guest. When I first walked in it felt as though I were walking into a new house. New decorations were on the walls and a different aura surrounded the place. And yet it felt so much like coming home. And at the best possible time, I might add. A time when I desperately needed a break from my life.

And so whether I am in The Country or back at The Beach, there is no feeling like coming home. And no place like it, either.

Zen in Oh Ten

A few years ago I had some roommates that claimed things would be great in '08. And they were right! After having a crappy go-around with 2007, the roommates decided to take the outcome for '08 by the horns and staked their claim that things would turn around. And wouldn't you know it, these feisty girls were right! Life took a turn for the better in 2008. And so we continued with this habit of rhyming an upbeat word with the following year. And as predicted, things were indeed fine in '09.

Since then we all went our separate ways. One by one we all moved out of the Big Yellow House we shared together for years. Some went on to other cities in this fine state while others went to cities in other countries. (And we all know what happened to me!) Talking to my old roomies in the past few months, we have the same thing to say: We're all trying to find the zen in '10.

Or Oh '10, as I like to call it. Ha!

As the world seems to be diminishing around everyone these days, people are striving to make something out of nothing. Life has given us lemons and everyone is doing their darnedest to make some stinkin' lemonade! In fact, I had a little chat with my mom about this very thing this morning. And the question she spit out in an exasperated tone was, "Man, everything is falling apart. When are things going to be fun again?!" To which I thought to myself, "Well, sometimes things are just going to suck. For awhile. But it's all going to be OK." I don't know how I came to this conclusion. I certainly have no hard evidence for this, but I have been making a point lately to take stock of the good things that have happened this year and am looking forward with hope that life will be good again for everyone.

So, my question for you, faithful readers (and lurkers), is how are you finding a little zen in Oh Ten?