Dalai Lama recap

Sorry for keeping everyone in suspense. I'm fighting some sort of fatigue thing. My guess is it is sleep oriented, but I haven't tried to figure out what all the factors could possibly be.

So my Friday trip to see the Dalai Lama started out in a frazzle. I OVERSLEPT! I could not believe it. This rarely happens to me. I woke up at the time I wanted to leave, so I felt like my ass was on fire at the rate I was moving to get everything done. Everything got done but the shower part which I had planned that morning. There just wasn't enough time, so me and my grungy self left in 30 minutes with a cup full of joe, a water bottle, and my camera.

Amazingly, I got there with time to spare. Let's just say I had a few factors in my favor like 70 mph almost all the way there, no rain (had previously rained several days before that), and no accidents. A friend of mine and her husband were also going, so she saved me a seat.

There were quite a few people there and flashes went off everywhere! I attempted photos, but I was at an awkward angle, on a macro setting, and just couldn't stop jiggling the camera. Most of my photos turned out like this. Ahh!

I wound up taking some photos on the screen ahead of me.

And of course, the only really in focus photo I took, the Dalai Lama's back was turned.

I attempted a video too, but it's difficult to hear. Though I think very highly of the Dalai Lama, it was a little harder than I expected to hear everything he said due to broken syllables. I understood the gist of what he said, but some words were lost in translation. In any case, it was very inspiring. It's not everyday you are in the same room with such a well known world leader.

Much of his talk was about what you would expect him to address--love, compassion, affection. These all seem so common sense, but still, it is difficult for people to completely contemplate. He also touched on remaining positive through difficult times which was humorously conveyed in the answer to a question a woman asked about how to not remain angry at her ex-husband. This was the other thing that was out of the ordinary--the

Dalai Lama has a good sense of humor! I had seen it before on television interviews, but to see it in person really makes you laugh even more.

Overall, despite my unplanned, on the fly morning, I was so glad to go. I had hoped there would be some photo ops with the Dalai Lama, but after his talk, he was whisked away. My friend, her husband, and I looked around at the vendors. I bought a few little Tibetan items like medicine wheels, a keychain, and metal plate to go over doors to bless people as they walk in. One thing I saw there were blessed handmade dog collars made by a Buddhist nun. They were nice but also $40. I love my pets greatly, but even that seemed a bit steep to me for a pet collar.

After that, we went to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory and the Hard Rock Cafe. My friend's husband got a hurricane. My friend said the hurricane was fruity, so I took a sip. Well, apparently not fruity enough for me. Call me sissy in that way, but I only like really fruity drinks. I rarely drink at all, maybe once or twice a year.

I left after that and headed home. It truly was a great experience, and it was fun to meet my friend there. I feel fortunate enough to have seen the Dalai Lama before he is no longer here with us. He's 73 years old and apparently in good health, but still, it is easy for something to go wrong suddenly at that age. He has done a lot for the world and it has been forecasted, he'll be the last Dalai Lama from his people. It is likely that China will pick their own Dalai Lama once he is gone. It's kind a sad prospect to think but realistic.

The day after I went to an all day dog seminar which was fun. I made some new contacts, met a girl who I had not seen in 14 years (more on that in the next post), and was forced to change my lunch plans at the last minute. By the end of the weekend, I just felt like I was dragging and have since had a hard time getting myself going this week. Hopefully, next week, I'll be more energized.