Homeless at the Hilton

It's 5 A.M and the warmth of my laptop is providing the only comfort in this chilly, refrigerated lobby of the DoubleTree Hilton here in San Jose.

My 2 month anticipation of the seminar I am to attend, THE RECONNECTION with Dr. Eric Pearl,  and a calendar with all the daily squares filled in with train departure schedule planning, had me fail to see the little arrow pointing to Thursday as my actual departure date, so I left for the seminar on Wednesday.

MAJOR OOPS!......as my "room at the inn" was booked beginning on Thursday, it was a full-house ( I don't mean a card game, folks!) and all hotels in the area were also full.  It was a fun train ride, but I had no where to sleep.

So, what's a girl to do?  Good fortune in my favor,  I have nice luggage (NOT Gucci or Louis), top quality cosmetics and wore my best jewelry.  Even better, my beloved stylist daughter freshened my almost platinum locks with color and a smart new cut, so throughout this evening's shenanigans, I was not treated like the role of the vagabond I had just assumed.  It was mid afternoon, just about check-in time when I learned there was no room for me until the next day.  I was in such delightful anticipation of spending a free day in a glorious room before the seminar began, I didn't realize I was two days early, and even when the check-in director kindly dealt me the blunt honesty with a smile and a shoulder shrug, I did not let the unreality of my situation diminish my joyful state of mind.  I simply told her with that sweet sense of humor I've been known to have kick in at a twisted time such as this, "well, you'll be wanting to hire me next week, because by tomorrow I'll know every nook and cranny of your fine hotel."  

In my wanderings I made friends with Raphael, the security guard who's shift ended at 11 and let him know he'd be seeing me around and found a nice spot on the atrium roof with two chairs and an ashtray.

To keep this story a blog & not turn it into an actual novel, I'll get to the point that during my wanderings, I found the housekeeping department on the same floor that I discovered an unlocked conference room.  Doing that equation yourself, you can conclude that indeed, I absconded with a pillow, a sheet & two comforters, and by 8 p.m. was nestled on the floor of "The Riesling" room which was a former guest room revamped for conferencing.  Ahhh, it was as quiet as stepping in to a nice private room!  

I kept my stuff organized and in one neat place, laptop charging.  As there was no actual lock on the door, it was kept shut by just that little hardware that all rooms have as an extra security in case some wayward happens to open the door.  So, after a bit of sleep, I heard some wayward try to open the door.  After it happened again, thinking it was maybe some partying firemen from their massive convention occupying the entire hotel I put a barrier of two chairs like you see in the movies when the bad guys are trying to break the door down.....(yes, there were hundreds of really good looking FIREMEN everywhere!) - if I were in that feisty way of my younger day, I'd probably not have the problem of not having a room!   Firemen used to always be that fantasy since I was 18.....and now they were absolutely EVERYWHERE!!!!  Ah the irony!


The wayward intruders turned out to be my security friend and a maintenance man trying to figure out why the door had that fastener on it from the inside.  I moved the chairs, called, "one minute!"~ then answered the door clad in a stark white sheet, tousled blonde hair and a friendly, sleepy smile.  They were quite surprised but friendly at this sight, and told me the banquet manager was going to be here in 10 minutes to prepare the room. As they were going to return the bedding down the hall, I talked them into letting me keep the pillow.  I made my way to a ladies lounge nestled in a more remote area, put two little armless chairs together and continued my attempt at sleep.  It got cold, so I put on more layers and covered up with the hoodie I brought.  

I got enough sleep to have dreams about hotel bathrooms and then the disturbance began with someone using the restroom, followed by a big security officer popping his head in, no doubt following up on a report from the previous intruder.  Telling him my room will be ready in the morning, he kindly said he was going to forget he saw me.  Shortly after this, at just after 4 a.m., I decided to get up, freshen up and start the day.  I brushed the ivories (as daddy used to call our teeth), applied my new cosmetics to a freshly splashed face, stuffed my pillow in my black tote and here I am!  Their cafe opens in 1 minute, and I will be the first one there with my own thermal mug ready for their freshly brewed STARBUCKS!!!!!  This has been more fun than a barrel of firemen, er, monkeys!

Everybody Selling Something

Ah the simple life of days gone by!  The days when the Fuller Brush man came to the door, I remember him well, his name was Buddy and he played jazz guitar and became a friend of the family.

As a small child, the egg man came to the door & sold fresh eggs, the bread man came and sold fresh bread, and yes, the infamous milk man, accused jokingly of fathering many children came to the door also.  None of these salesmen caused questions of paternity, but I do remember fondly these good ol' days.

These days, ones head can spin at all the self help stuff people are selling, enticing the public with how their wares can change our lives in five days or five minutes.  Their sales line includes how much they care about our personal growth, but they over-charge for any of their tidbits of wisdom they might offer for the good of humanity.

Of course we all have to pay for shelter, other basics, and these days the all-coveted luxuries that the media has instilled within all the blinding desire to have.  The media has attempted to program into everyone that life is not worth living if you are not a celebrity of some sort, a high-paid public speaking expert on any subject, especially those subjects that ensure wealth and fame and huge sales of your books and other products that spawn from such expertise.

If we are not some success as defined by society by the time we are in our 50's, then we are considered failures.  The societal, media-definition of success is anything but.  I personally have never fit into societal boxes that bring about acceptance or respect or a pension or financial portfolio that will support me should I live to old age.  I'm here to cultivate within me that which I can take with me when I depart this earthly plane.  But that cultivation does not bring acclaim or financial wealth, unless of course I start selling the wisdom of my experience.  Do I start blogging about it?  Jumping on the bandwagon of selling my life in print or video, hoping to become, of all things, "VIRAL" on You Tube?

The very essence of the artiste does not necessarily include the desire 'to market' my art.  I would have to hire someone to make me into a product that sells well.  Isn't that sort of like prostitution or is this an age-old belief system that is keeping me from enjoying the financial fruits that is my birthright?  There's plenty of people out there that want to sell me the solution to this perceived 'problem'.  My head spins as I open the inbox of my email and see the listing for all the products that will enhance my spiritual progress, from "quantum jumping" to utilizing the "Laws of the Universe".....pretty funny that the very Laws of the Universe have become a product to sell the masses.  Sort of like charging admission to take a walk on the beach or the forest.  They've packaged everything and it's usually for the low price of $97.  This seems to be a popular price tag, except of course unless you want to buy a workbook from Brendan Burchard for $10,000.  No kidding, he brags that his workbook cost less than $20 to make, but the information in it is worth $10,000!!!!

I'm glad Buddha's descendants don't charge for the wisdom he discovered in his time.  Gandhi's wisdom is still free, thankfully.  I can chant the holy mantras and not pay a user fee, but then of course I get the comments from people 'out there' that have viewed it judging me to be something other than what they view as devotional.  I have utilized the internet to express my artistic nature and it's just plain fun to do.  I am amused by some of the commentary that judges me for my self-expression.  The judgments of others is not a concern, for in the words of W.C. - "what other people think of me is none of my business" - using that quote is still, thankfully at a no-charge.

I imagine that someday there will be a breath-ometer, charging people for the very air that they breath.  I just wonder if one will have to pay extra for clean air, or for say, L.A. quality air is a two-for-one-inhale breathing charge. 

 

MORAL TO THE STORY:  maintain a sense of humor, it's not only free, but one can't afford NOT to.

~ A PAPARAZZI FREE LIFE ~

HEAR YE HEAR YE! Friends, Royals, celebrities, public at large: I am not now or never have been a paparazzi photographer, nor will I ever photograph a celebrity, a person of royal status or anyone related to famous persons without having been commissioned to do so.

During my visit to Venice, clad in my black trench coat with both my Canon 5D and my video camera around my neck, lost in a remote and non-tourist zone from taking the wrong water taxi, someone mistook me for a member of the paparazzi force. I must admit I looked rather like one of these intrusive vultures, but I was in fact just a spirit on a sojourn, an adventurer on a quest for self expansion. I just happen to love viewing aspects of the world around me through the lens. In my GALLERIES on my website, you will see Venice as I have seen it. Had I not had my Canon with me, I'd not have gotten to share with you that amazing boat fire! Photographing that scene was most exhilarating!

SOUND SILLY? Maybe it does. But I'm making an official statement. Photographers get a bad rap thanks to those invasive bastards who work for the media that have interest only in making money, cultivating not a sense of integrity about themselves or their 'work'.

I boycott the purchase of any paparazzi based publications. People that have offered their gifts for the public's demand to be entertained should not have their private lives invaded. The public, hungry for satisfaction of their voyeuristic nature and the complying media moguls who have made millions on this deviant appetite, have gone over any boundary of respect as they wish to peer into every detail of their favorite public figure's life, inventing far flung untruths to go with a photo they stole of their victim in an awkward moment of let's say, right after a sneeze.

If the public figure has personal life issues, the paparazzi will distort photos or publish photos stolen in a moment where they can match a false headline to perpetuate a drama, say, if the sun is in the 'victim's' eyes and they are frowning. That frown will be on the front pages with words touting their unhappiness with their cheating spouse when the sun was merely in their eyes and their spouse isn't cheating at all. The public eats this shit like an entree as if they were starving. Their soul is actually starving, and they think this is the food they need: "entertainment by distraction at another person's expense" ~ but the hunger they have is for expansion of their own soul, and the nourishment for that is never at the expense of another. Has anyone considered the effect on the children of these celebrities having swarms of paparazzi round them wherever they go since they are born? Although materially wealthy, these children are starving to just get to be kids walking around with their parents (who happen to be celebrities). The paparazzi has proven they will kill their subject with their invasive habits to 'get the shot'....and we all know who I'm talking about.

I am a fine arts photographer, and sometimes my photos include people. As an artist first, born with 'the eye' - what I see every day is art, with or without my camera. This is a gift that I can market and make money with, but mostly I choose to just enjoy it privately. As I paint, draw, write, design gardens, create songs, play music, and assist in the raising of children (now grandchildren are my little works in progress) - every aspect of my life is an art form in one way or another. Oh, did I leave out the training of my dawg? Living with and training & grooming a standard poodle (or any breed) is TRULY an art form!

I get to live with the enjoyment of this gift of seeing, even when my life is presented with dramatic and/or uncomfortable life events (for what life is without these?) - My emotions and how I navigate through these phases and events is the art of "life in action". My existence contains myriad canvases, and upon them are many colors, shapes, textures and vibrations, and they depict a beautiful life, hanging in the gallery of my experience.

I am also blessed to have in the gallery of my life the art form of "TEXT", as I have kept journals chronicling my entire life.....and have two self published books, as you know, one being from the compilation of several journals that documented an experience that would have been impossible to recall from memory with the intent to write it. I had no intention to make public this private, multidimensional experience and be judged by family, friends & people I'll never meet, as CRAZY. How folks love to throw that word around to label something that is outside their box of limited understanding and beliefs.

I delight in having my life be lived outside the boxes that represent conformity and attempts to fit in and be accepted by mainstream society. I have withstood many crucifixions from living this experience fully. I have also experienced as many resurrections, and all of them have been glorious.

That said, my life today is extraordinary, colorful and amazing, and the development of my next two books are in progress.....it's like growing twins in the womb, they both must be developed at the same time as their fertilization moment has sparked simultaneously. I take delight and share my delight with whoever wishes to peek into my life through the website I have created with my genius webmaster friend, Sir Robert Spencer. We have not worked together in a while, and are embarking on projects in his studio this week....we shall see what golden nuggets emerge from our collective energies of creativity. Stay tuned......

FRIENDS, WELCOME TO MY WORLD OUTSIDE OF FB

KIDS, it's time for a change! Time to get OFF that Facebook network and get you all to visit my website, blogs & videos.

I will not have the once friendly network take my every click and make money off of me and use me to add spam to my friends' lives and have my friends' clicks, likes & dislikes add spam and marketing bullshit to my life.

We must take a stand, and this is my way of doing it. Besides, friends, my website is MUCH MORE FUN to look at, it's so perty! You can view my galleries like taking a stroll through an art gallery. You can subscribe to my videos which will I'll be creating a whole new version of starting next week.

ave NUES will be the new video series. It's a pun using the abc NEWS logo, only we're gonna revamp it a bit so I don't get slapped with a lawsuit, and rather than NEWS it'll be NUES - we all know it's pronounced the same, but Ave's "NUES" will be so much more fun to read. We will not add to the fear base already with a stronghold on the planet, we will add to humor, guide you to a better way so you may enjoy your life. You will be encouraged to be a bright speck on the planet rather than be filled with bad news that adds to the collective doom and gloom mentality which bestows hopelessness and despair.

Remember, the powers that be are intent on taking us all down: divide and conquer. Feeding us terrorized animals raised on chemicals and treated with cruelty and disregard for their feelings and lives, and vegetables and fruits sprayed with poisons that contain no nutrients and they will have us where they want us....and they are succeeding with the masses.

WE MUST TAKE A STAND by what we feed ourselves and our children. It takes more time to read labels and it costs more money to buy organically grown foods, and it takes a lot more discipline to wean away from the diet of flesh that we were mostly all raised with, BUT IT CAN BE DONE.

All that said, you may ask any question in the comments section and I will address it to my best ability. Who knows, my blogs may turn into a column to assist with individual re-empowerment. My life is to continue the service that I raised my children with, teaching them about Spirit, their own empowerment and nutrition, REAL NUTRITION. I didn't feed them any packaged foods when they were young, and yes, that will be a challenge to transition into if you are currently too busy to cut up apples for your youngster than flip that pop tart into the toaster. I WILL HELP YOU. I will make you laugh.

WARNING: I have a dry and sarcastic sense of humor that sometimes may be mistaken to be ranting negativity - but with this knowledge, you can LAUGH when this comes up, rather than think I'm being negative. I'm making puns on negativity itself. THAT SAID, let the fun begin!

THE SEQUEL - DIARIES

The Quantum Love continues, supporting extraordinary spiritual evolution for both the one embodied on earth & the one in his invisible energetic form. The merging of the love between the dimensions realized, LOVE in it's purest form continues and deepens.

Will the sequel to THE CHE DIARIES be a novel 'based' on a real life experience?
Will the sequel to THE CHE DIARIES be a chronological account of the actual multidimensional love affair between the earth girl & the revolutionary?

"I'll not tell at this point, or maybe ever," concedes the author and traveler of this amazing journey with the notorious one. "I begin the works tonight, to the dramatic music of Beethoven's 9th Sinfonia. Of course it's been "in the works" for much longer."

"No, she is definitely NOT possessed"~say the medicine man, the doctor & the priest.