Escape the Basement

[Sangye]

Ha! A few of you remember the Escape the Room game that Andrew put up for us several years ago. Most of us never got out of that stupid room, but I'm finally getting out of this horrible basement that I've been stuck in for the past 3.5 years.

Some of you know about this place --dark, mold-filled, a wall that leaks every time it rains, noisy, filthy, chemical fumes, can't see sky or trees, etc.... This is the worst place I've ever lived--unhealthy in every way and very depressing. A sangha friend has offered me a place in her newly purchased townhouse. It's also a basement, but completely unlike this one. My current place is boxed in by other townhouses. The only way I can tell it's sunny is by the light reflecting on the building behind me. The new place has only a wonderful grassy area with trees and then a huge LAKE! The view is unbelievable. It gets sunshine and is spotless. There is a paved trail that goes around the lake. It's a climb to get down to it, but at least my dogs can have a better place to walk when my friend takes them out. Someday I hope to take them there myself. And it'll be great having a sangha member upstairs to hang out with, and someone who respects other people. (My current landlady and her son live upstairs and have absolutely no regard for how much noise they make.)

I move on May 20. I'm so excited. I'm also a bit concerned about how I'm gonna get everything done in time. It's not that there's a lot. I don't have many possessions and this place is so tiny there isn't much to clean. It's that I have to do this stuff on top of my ordinary life, which is already exhausting! (A healthy person could clean and pack this place in 3 days tops. Maybe two.) My next round of rtx starts June 5 and I'm also trying to keep the Wegs dog quiet until then. I can ask for help for some stuff, but some has to be done by me. Anyway, this is the most uplifting news I've had in awhile. :w00t:

And as if to tempt me to stay, my yard is increasingly filled with baby bunny poop the past week. No, baby bunnies. I'm sorry. You will have to come with us to the new digs. :biggrin1:

[pberggren1]

I'm so happy for you Sangye. I sure hope your friends can do most of the cleaning and packing and moving for you.

[Sangye]

Thanks Phil. Even just the thought of collecting boxes seems overwhelming today. Past couple days have been really low energy days. Come on, body-- work with me!

[pberggren1]

Thanks Phil. Even just the thought of collecting boxes seems overwhelming today. Past couple days have been really low energy days. Come on, body-- work with me!

I so hear ya! I have to make quite a few phone calls today and even just getting ready like eating, taking meds, and such, just is wearing me out. I probably wont even shave or shower today.

[Sangye]

Just saw a baby bunny in the yard! They should be grown up and ready to move with us in a month. :biggrin1:

[Jaha]

Sangye,
Congrats on moving out of that unhealthy enviroment. Moving and getting Rtx treatments might just bring you to remission. I wish all best for you.

Jana

[annekat]

That's wonderful to hear, Sangye! It will make such a difference waking up to nicer surroundings each day, and your dogs will love it, too! Maybe you'll have to change your avatar to one of the dogs in the new place. Or the bunnies, or whatever...

[Dryhill]

Wonderful news Sangye, being able to see sunshine can help make even us weggies feel a bit better. :hug3:

Jim

[Al]

....Some of you know about this place --dark, mold-filled, a wall that leaks every time it rains, noisy, filthy, chemical fumes, can't see sky or trees, etc.... This is the worst place I've ever lived--unhealthy in every way and very depressing....

I'm sorry for the foaming mouth, Sangye, but...seriously? You've gotta get out of there! A cardboard box on the curb would be healthier, though it might not have broadband access. No windows might--might--be okay for sleeping, but humans are built to see vistas, not walls. When I designed my house, I specifically planned it so that all rooms had light from at least two sides. (Watching the eagles and ravens is cool in all cases). I hope, and believe, that once you and the pups see the lake, recovery can begin--or at least being sick won't be such a pain!

Al

[pberggren1]

Gotta love the baby bunnies.:thumbsup:

[mishb]

Wow, that is the best news I have read all day.

No more water coming in the doors or down the walls, no more mould, no more sick Sangye .....yay :w00t:

[renidrag]

Awesome news Sangye. And a sharing friend to boot. Can you move stuff in over time rather than "moving day"?
Very happy for you.
Dale

[drz]

Awesome news Sangye. And a sharing friend to boot. Can you move stuff in over time rather than "moving day"?
Very happy for you.
Dale

Glad to hear it. I bet you will feel much better in your new settings. Hope the move doesn't wear you down too much. Last night's paper had an article about how neighbors came over to plant a couple thousand acres of fields for a man whose wife is in the hospital with cancer and he has five young children at home and not time to do his field work. Maybe they can have moving Sangye day like the old barn raising bees.

Thanks for the happy news.

[Sangye]

I'm sorry for the foaming mouth, Sangye, but...seriously? You've gotta get out of there! A cardboard box on the curb would be healthier, though it might not have broadband access. No windows might--might--be okay for sleeping, but humans are built to see vistas, not walls. When I designed my house, I specifically planned it so that all rooms had light from at least two sides. (Watching the eagles and ravens is cool in all cases). I hope, and believe, that once you and the pups see the lake, recovery can begin--or at least being sick won't be such a pain!

Al
Yup, I have tried non-stop to get out of here since the day I moved in. I constantly looked for another place. I need a self-contained space, no stairs, and have 2 dogs--impossible to find that in my price range. And everything I looked at had a mold problem as well. If karma ripens, there isn't much you can do about it until it's exhausted.

[Sangye]

Glad to hear it. I bet you will feel much better in your new settings. Hope the move doesn't wear you down too much. Last night's paper had an article about how neighbors came over to plant a couple thousand acres of fields for a man whose wife is in the hospital with cancer and he has five young children at home and not time to do his field work. Maybe they can have moving Sangye day like the old barn raising bees.

Thanks for the happy news.
In 2007 I had to move from Flagstaff to Sedona within a week. It was unexpected. I was still extremely sick, on oxygen and was keeping my business until I recovered. Thankfully my friends in Flagstaff took over. They descended on my house with boxes and packed it up in a day. Then they packed my office. We trucked it all to Sedona by the 3rd day! It was just amazing to be the recipient of such loving-kindness and generosity.

[pberggren1]

It is awesome to have friends like that. You are very blessed Sangye. I hope you have many good friends in Maryland as well.

[Debbie C]

Sangye..I'm so happy for you on yr new adventure.I'm sure it will make u feel better in more ways than one. Maybe you can find something they have around here called 2 men and a truck.They'll come in load everything and move it for ya.And just have the grocery store save you boxes and whenever u feel like it, at your own spend just pack things up. YEA for you and your puppies !!!!:hug3:

[Al]

Yup, I have tried non-stop to get out of here since the day I moved in. I constantly looked for another place. I need a self-contained space, no stairs, and have 2 dogs--impossible to find that in my price range. And everything I looked at had a mold problem as well. If karma ripens, there isn't much you can do about it until it's exhausted.This made me laugh, as I have a colleague who insists that we just have to play a little rope-a-dope with Karma. You remember the old Muhammad Ali strategy? Just let your opponent whack you around a little until he gets tapped out, at which point you are home free. Anyway, your new digs sound great, and so important I would be there in a flash to help you move if the logistics permitted it and I was having a good day....

Al

[Sangye]

LOL I love the "rope a dope" analogy. There's actually a lot of wisdom to that. :biggrin1:

[Dryhill]

Gotta love the baby bunnies.:thumbsup:

I had two Border Collies who loved baby bunnies, grown up bunnies, squirrels, cats well basically anything they could chase (they did know better than to chase sheep).

Jim

[Sangye]

My dog Patch (the big guy) is part Border Collie. He doesn't have much of a herding instinct, though. My last dog was an Aussie mix who would herd everything. She was great with kids. One day I had left her outside playing with some kids in a common area. Suddenly they all got quiet. I went out to find them all bunched in the middle and her running around them, herding them! It was hysterical. They were giggling at my funny girl.

[pberggren1]

My dog Patch (the big guy) is part Border Collie. He doesn't have much of a herding instinct, though. My last dog was an Aussie mix who would herd everything. She was great with kids. One day I had left her outside playing with some kids in a common area. Suddenly they all got quiet. I went out to find them all bunched in the middle and her running around them, herding them! It was hysterical. They were giggling at my funny girl.

That would have been cute and hysterical for sure.

[Al]

I had two Border Collies who loved baby bunnies, grown up bunnies, squirrels, cats well basically anything they could chase (they did know better than to chase sheep).
This reminds me (in a backward sort of way) about an Irish setter who lived with me back in my student days. A great gangly goofy galoot, he clearly had no truck with stereotypes. For years, I had a snapshot of Bart, lying on the ground, his long forelimbs wrapped around his food bowl, with muzzle fully into the crunchies. On the other lip of the bowl perched a gray squirrel, snout into the same bowl: dog sharing a meal with rodent. Alas, I lost the photo a few moves ago. But I still remember his indomitably screwball esprit, rest his large doggie soul.

Al

[Dryhill]

The most increduble experiance I had with my two dogs was near the end of a training run. I had a large field to cross that was normally empty of any animals, but this particular evening there were about 50 cows right in the middle. Now I do not mind cows but they do get excited by something different and would probably come running (or whatever cows do when moving fastish) up to see me. That would be ok but they have four legs and I only have two and a little unintentional nudge among the herd could be nasty, so I was a little bit concerned. Then the two dogs charged ahead, split the herd to make a path for me to run through, then they stayed behind me to keep the cows away - and this was all without a single word from me and no such training.

Another amazing thing that I saw was back in the seventies while on holiday in the New Forest (a large wooded and heathland tract in southern England), a lady was moving some cows back to her farm and she was assisted by eight cats! I stood and watched in amazement how the cats controlled the cows by hissing and spitting at another animal many, many times their size. When they had gone I suddenly realised that I should have taken a photograph with the camera slung around my neck ... doh.

Jim

[annekat]

Jim, as a cat lover, that story of cats herding cows really got my attention! The mental image is fascinating and exciting, and I wish you HAD taken a photo! Your dogs were also very impressive, especially considering their lack of training. It's amazing what genetics can do.

[Sangye]

Al, your story of the Irish Setter jogged a memory loose of a friend in high school who had an Irish Setter. People who knew the dog kept telling the family that they swore they had seen him at this place or that around town. The family figured it was another setter who looked like theirs. The dog spent the day in the backyard while the family went to school and work. One day my friend had left for school and realized he forgot something. He went back home just in time to see his big dog scaling the fence and running down the road. It took awhile for them to piece it all together, but apparently every single day the dog escaped and went on a tour around town! Everyone assumed the family knew about it. LOL

[Al]

Jim, as a cat lover, that story of cats herding cows really got my attention! The mental image is fascinating and exciting, and I wish you HAD taken a photo! Your dogs were also very impressive, especially considering their lack of training. It's amazing what genetics can do.Yes, the image of herding cats is one of the greatest similes, I think, but the idea of cats as cowherds is so outrageous that it is hard to wrap my head around it!


Al, your story of the Irish Setter jogged a memory loose of a friend in high school who had an Irish Setter. People who knew the dog kept telling the family that they swore they had seen him at this place or that around town. The family figured it was another setter who looked like theirs. The dog spent the day in the backyard while the family went to school and work. One day my friend had left for school and realized he forgot something. He went back home just in time to see his big dog scaling the fence and running down the road. It took awhile for them to piece it all together, but apparently every single day the dog escaped and went on a tour around town! Everyone assumed the family knew about it. LOLAlso, the idea of an Irish setter coolly calculating his daily explorations is hard for me to figure. My experience, admittedly based on a single relationship, it that setters are, in fact, quite smart, though not exactly world champs in the linear thinking department (I wouldn’t hire one to do my taxes!).

Speaking of going to the canines: Doggone it, Sangye, you’ve gone and thrown me a philosophical bone, which I have been gnawing at heavily: playing rope-a-dope with Karma. In fact, those thoughts put me to sleep last night, and then I dreamed. Most dreams--even the more elaborate ones--I usually forget the details of quickly. This one was so appropriate to my insomnia that I had to write it down. In the dream, I was visiting a friend who had two dogs (interestingly enough for this thread!). They had, between them, one chew toy of some kind. One kept yapping at the other and running around and fussing and nipping the other’s tail. The second dog just sat there until his tormentor left the room to get a drink of water. Then the second dog took the toy off to the corner.

The question, which, as I see it, has implications for the philosophy, and treatment, of WG, is this: Is destiny inerrant? Every tradition has, so far as I can tell, some version of the Fates--those incarnations that weave the threads of history. Generally, the implication seems to be that the Fates are answerable to no one; destiny is destiny. However, most traditions do seem to leave an out. I’m not sure how this works in the Vedic and Zoroastrian traditions, but in Hellenic literature, The Moirai (who, in Roman, become the Parcae) are not quite infallible, being under the influence of Zeus, at least. (Zeus, in turn, is regularly influenced by his passions.) In Teutonic and Nordic mythology, the Norns hold sway...until they don’t. As humans become a larger part of the universe, their chain of destiny breaks; all becomes unpredictable. And we know that the idea of the gods getting the wrong guy is a popular archetype in a lot of literature (and cinema: cf. Heaven can Wait). Finally, as I watch the ravens playing in the thermals, I think of the North Coast Indian stories of that bird as the Trickster who can challenge the gods--and often gets away with it.

Is there an element of uncertainty in the universe? Physicists would say so, that, at the bottom of things, the universe is constructed along quantum mechanical principles that, while deterministic, are quite unpredictable. But does Destiny sometimes “get it wrong”? This is tougher to tell, and, in any case, please note that my point is a philosophic rather than a religious one. But I believe I could make the ontological point that no one, within time, can possibly take a “God’s-eye” view of how the universe unfolds.

I said that there are therapeutic implications. Humans are, I believe, built to thrive in a universe that unfolds unpredictably. Indeed, humans are built to influence that very unfolding. Our “home in the universe” is not a place, but an arc through eternity. A serious illness or physical incapacitation can wreak havoc with, and crucially constrain our possible paths. Often this starts with being confined to a hospital room, but there are other, more lasting constraints. One example: since my immune system is suppressed, I am locked out of visiting parts of the world that require live-virus vaccinations. Also, fatigue, inability to do certain kinds of work, and various kinds of confinement stemming from those issues impede (or at least redirect) our “travels”. So the search for that “new normal”, new doors to open and new roads to travel, can get get desperate--just when the ability to seek out those doors and windows gets dodgy.

Well. Enough philosophy for one day. Time to nap, perchance to dream....

[Psyborg]

Glad to hear you are getting out of the basement Sangye. Hopefully the new environment will do you good :)

[Dryhill]

Well. Enough philosophy for one day. Time to nap, perchance to dream....

Ay, there's the rub, For in that sleep of Wegeners what dreams may come? Now I wonder if Shakespear was on Pred??????

Jim

[Al]

Ay, there's the rub, For in that sleep of Wegeners what dreams may come? Now I wonder if Shakespear was on Pred??????

(Sorry, Sangye, for the Putin. See how you inspire us? Besides, we are so giddy that you are moving out of that moldy hell-hole!)

I like it, Jim. Maybe Shakespeare was a Weggie. A few candidates:

What you tell the doctor on the first visit:
True is it that we have seen better days.
The world is grown so bad, that wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch.

What the doctor says:
Delays have dangerous ends.
The worst is not, So long as we can say, 'This is the worst.
This is the short and the long of it.

Your response, when you learn your diagnosis:
These words are razors to my wounded heart
But, for my own part, it was Greek to me.

At the hospital:
The miserable have no other medicine but only hope.
If you prick us, do we not bleed?
I have not slept one wink. (How can I, when they come to check my vitals and prick me so often?)

When they discharge you:
Out of the jaws of death....

When the insurance company denies your claims:
The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.

Scary thought, on high-dose pred:
We are such stuff as dreams are made on, rounded with a little sleep.

Any food, on high-dose pred:
A dish fit for the gods. (Also, me now, if only I could get my taste buds back!)

On the all-too common bad day:
Everyone can master a grief but he that has it.
Having nothing, nothing can he lose.

On the (fortunately, rare) really bad day:
To be, or not to be: that is the question.
A hearse! a hearse! my kingdom for a hearse!

Al

[pberggren1]

That was 2 funny Al.

[Lightwarrior]

Wow Sangye, this news makes my heart sing. I am so happy that you are moving into a place that gives you physical, emotional and spiritual light. :hug3::w00t:

[Dryhill]

On the (fortunately, rare) really bad day:[/B]
To be, or not to be: that is the question.
A hearse! a hearse! my kingdom for a hearse!

Al

Al, brilliant. Perhaps we should start writing a play?

Jim

[Al]

Al, brilliant. Perhaps we should start writing a play?
Sure, Jim--"The play's the thing." [Especially since we can't work so much.] Hamlet, Act II, Scene 2

Al

[Dryhill]

I really miss designing and operating the stage lighting for plays and especially musicals, but there is no way I can manage going up and down ladders now due to the fatigue.

Jim