About Me

With no lid on the universe, the possibilities are endless.

Writer, meaning-maker, non-denominational Rev, permission giver and creative type ... on the road of bringing my gifts to bear in the world so they are joyfully received and appreciated, and I'm (delightfully) well paid to do it.

(poof; it is done ...)

ABOUT THE BLOGS NAME:

I learned about infinity when the Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Someone - I'm pretty sure it was a teacher at the end of the school year - told me that the astronauts would break through the earth's atmosphere on their journey into the sky, and somewhere in the course of this conversation, I remember hearing that the sky was infinite.

When I learned what infinite meant I nearly blew a gasket; I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.

I remember lying in bed at night trying to conceptualize a sky that had no end. For some strange reason I imagined a ladder made entirely of cows going up, trying to find the sky's ceiling. Each time I’d create a artificial lid in my imagination, the cows would keep on going up, up, up - totally out of control like the cloning brooms in Fantasia.

Then I’d imagine god (at the time i was into the big-guy-with-a-beard-in-the-sky concept) putting his hand out to stop the cows, but they’d push right through his hand and keep right on going. This nearly fried my 8 year old brain.

The idea terrified me - without a container for the sky, I figured chaos would reign and all manner of horrors were possible. While I had a pretty happy childhood, there was also this inner Woody Allen inside me telling me not to get too comfortable, and the whole infinity thing did not help.

Eventually (ok, in my late 20s) it dawned on me that if anything horrible was possible, then amazingly good stuff can happen too.

And while I still fight my inner Wood-man, there now an inner Yoda too and he kicks Woody's ass pretty regularly. So when I entertain infinity these days, I know that good is possible, and I'm making it up as I go along. (oh, and the force is with me) :)

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT WHO IS BEHIND ALL THIS:

What can you say about a 40something woman who paraphrases the beginning of Love Story to begin a bio?

That she is fabulous and peculiar, complicated and not, that she loves pop culture and unrestrained self expression, and music, theater, film and docu-tainment on VH1.

That she believes in planning and dreaming, and also knows she's in trouble if she starts to think she's actually in control.

That she lives in Joisey now, and she left much of her heart in Berkeley, CA and Sydney, Australia.

That she will never regret getting part of the Australian flag tattooed on her left shoulder two days before she moved back to the US from Sydney.

That this construct is getting old.

Yes indeedy, I'm making it up as I go along.

A FEW NOTABLES:

- At last count, I had over 30 nicknames. (i'll write a post about them sometime)

- I worked on a cruise ship on summer breaks between my senior year in high school and my first year in college, and during two summers during college. (it was NOT like the love boat...)

- Once my father asked me what my ideal work-life would be, and after I described it he said: "You're a dilletante!" - like it was a bad thing.

- Almost all of my junior high crushes turned out to be gay. I was a fag hag before I knew what one was.

(and speaking of fag hags, one of my dream lives is to be the jewish margaret cho...)

- I have been keeping a diary/journal since I was 11.

- My primary creative outlet is writing, but I also do collage, play a little bit of guitar, sing and take photos. I also facilitate writing groups and non-denominational weddings/commitment ceremonies and these feel like a huge part of my creative expression. (i like making meaning no matter what the canvas ...)

- The first time I was published I was about 10; I'd written a poem about my baby brother.

- I've been married and divorced. I count my ex as one of my best friends. My stepson wants little to do with me at the moment (he's 21), but when he's not being 21 and grunting/ignoring me, he's a great kid and I'm proud to still be called his stepmother. (we are the poster children for the blended-extended-upended family of the new millennium!)

- There are two degrees of separation between Kevin Bacon and me. (i'm sure he's couting too...)

- Did I mention I lived in Sydney, Australia for a spell? Loved it.

- And Berkeley, California? Loved it too.

- I have an uncanny ability to remember song lyrics and trivial factoids from the 60s, 70s and 80s and if I could figure out how to make a living at this, I would.

- I think the aforementioned song lyrics, etc. have taken up the space in my brain where math and linear/organization skills should be.

(you can learn more by reading the blog...)