ENERGY SHIFT
Sure enough, when I feel overwhelmed by gloom and disappointment, it is a certain sign of a shifting in the energies of my little part of the universe.  Disappointed not only in the careless slaughter of my beloved albizia trees (see previous recent posts), but also in discovering that a couple of my very favorite YouTube videos have been vanished (due to ownership/copyright issues), I am heartened to realize the sun will be entering my own birth sign this weekend.  I am always pensive through Scorpio, a feeling my western astrologer friend says is only natural.  We evaluate ourselves before our birthdays, markers in the cycles of our lives.  Or maybe not. 

I will cope with not being able to visit my favorite Vincent Zhao wushu demonstration on You tube -- I can no longer even point you to it. I have pretty much memorized the routine, so if I just close my eyes, I can almost see it, and maybe practice as if I am following along. And since I have pretty much acquired his entire ouvre with English subtitles, I can hardly complain about the loss of a 2-minute sequence. (What do I want most for Christmas?  Private tai chi lessons with Vincent Zhao!)  And when he gets famous in the West when/if True Legend is ever released (apparently scheduled for a Chinese New Year release in Singapore), just remember, I knew him before!

And the missing Bob Dylan concert video? Well, even had I been AT those concerts, I wouldn't be able to remember them as well.  They all become just another dreamy memory.

Arriving at work, I notice the maintenance staff has put holiday wreaths on the building and are busy stringing lights up the trunks of the palm trees in the parking lot.  And Starbucks is fully in Christmas mode, decked out with snowy pine boughs, and coffee-themed gifts and Christmas CDs on offer.  If it wasn't for all this, it would still feel like July.  We got through the hurricane season (August through October) --the humid depressing late summer in Hawaii-- and now are coming up on the solstice.  The seasonal clues are so subtle here, but I can feel them (trade winds more reliable, cooler nights mo' bettah for sleeping) ... and with the help of Starbucks and the oddly out-of-place holiday decorations (as strange as a tiki bar theme for Thanksgiving in New England). While it seems a little early for all this stuff, I have decided to go with the flow and enjoy; it all comes down so soon after Christmas. 

In the meantime, I am planning my regular Thanksgiving getaway on a Neighbor Island -- Maui this year-- with my astrologer friend.  While we never take pork over the Pali, there is no prohibition about carving up a turkey in Hana!