Photo by Inger Maaike (cc)
I’m back in Seattle now after several days of ducking out in Portland with Havi.
Her adventures with finding a not-office space and turning it into the kooky awesomeness of the Playground was… strangely compelling. Partly because it sounded like a ridiculous amount of fun, and partly because her descriptions of things sound suspiciously like the way El Pisces talks about things.
So I decided I had to go, both to work on a bunch of stuff and because I had a sneaking suspicion that a trip to the Playground would be like inhabiting my husband’s brain for a few days.
I love him dearly, and I try to empathize, but I have a third-house Mercury in Libra– I’m way more Mr. Spock than Dr. Seuss. Time to conduct an experiment!
Oh, the places you’ll go
So off I went to the land of pie. And socks. And Creative Outlets. I sat under a tree and had a brainy new idea. I drank tea and made weird free-associations between things. I picnicked on the floor and drank out of robot mustache glasses. I admired art about getting drunk and eating waffles. I went to the grilled cheese bus. I hung out with a bunch of super-awesome people.
Can’t forget the costumes and escaping and SILENT RETREAT and naps either. I don’t think I’ve ever been so in touch with the good parts of my twelfth house. whoooosh…
You have brains in your head, and feet in your shoes
Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.
~ Dr. Seuss
And, of course, there was Shiva Nata. I love it dearly, but in the past I’ve noticed a correlation between when I’m motivated to do it and when my DVD goes missing. But after three days of swirly spirally chaotic mental madness, I was thoroughly hooked all over again. I figured out a bunch of weird stuff I do. My mathy brain was ridiculously confused. My patterny brain was deliriously happy.
I got a surprising amount of work done. Especially considering that I felt like I was screwing off most of the time. But yes, things started to happen.
Playing foreign-exchange student
El Pisces actually came down for a day to hang out with us and eat pie on Thanksgiving. He didn’t say a whole lot about it while we were there, but now that we’ve been home for a couple days he concurs that that’s basically what his head is like all the time.
“Wow,” I told him at one point yesterday. “no wonder you’re frustrated all the time! It’s like inside-out world compared to ‘regular’ life.”
“You have no idea,” he grimaced.
I told him I feel like I’ve been a foreign-exchange student in his brain now, and he’s amused at the idea. I think I’ve raised the bar a lot higher for myself though, because now if I look confused by something he says, I get a “well, you know how my brain works” at first instead of an explanation in English.
Mad scientist to the rescue
I haven’t quite figured out what all the results of this bizarre experiment are yet, but our household is running more smoothly and I’m getting a lot of work done so there may be something to all this fishie nonsense. I’ll let you know if I’m able to wrap my own brain around it.
“More Mr. Spock than Dr. Suess” – Hilarious, Shannon.
I’d love to hear the brainy brainstorming you accomplished.
and NooooW…Back to practicing Shiva Nata. Now WHERE is that Dvd?
Twitter: playwithamy
Heh… when I was a kid I was convinced I was part Vulcan.
And the roving DVD? It’s a thing. Seriously.
Twitter: clover
yo ho ho, and a fishy brain and sockyed feets. I will now be visualizing El Pisces with a fish hat as I fondly remember you sitting under the Pirate Monkey Tree sipping up the limitless juice from the Creative Outlet. Can’t wait to hear about the Mad Scientist un-officing in your future!
Un-office, arise!
It will be soon, I can feel it. Not quite yet, but early next year I think.
Twitter: clover
PISCES FTW…I think!
Glad you got a chance to hang at the Playground.
Yeah, it’s pretty surreal up in here. Welcome!
Twitter: simonebernhard
Can you tell I’m out of my element? I’m learning… and I got to see more of your hats! It was exciting.
Twitter: clover
I love how you compared the playground to “being in your husband’s brain for a few days.” I am so happy that I met your husband, because I totally get it. He was awfully good at coming up with band names.
And his, “You have no idea,” response. . .it made me laugh out loud.
Classic. So hilarious.
It was so nice to meet you! And yes, he’s a brainstorming genius. It blows a few circuits in my own brain every day.
Twitter: clover
Wow. That was so much astrology it sounds like it’s coming out of my thoughts.
I so enjoyed meeting both you and El Pisces. It was fabulous.