The zen and art of haiku and holiday package maintenance

Blogger's note: The use of the word "zen" here is misleading. In fact, readers' efforts to help the author find the zen in haiku and holiday package maintenance are encouraged.

Haiku is cool.

Well, mostly.

Actually, I'm not too fond of it. Ain't for me to write, just to read.

It's not meant for English, you see.....

My friend and fellow poetry workshopper, Steve, told my poetry group (finally named! The Liminal Wrablets of Hermes) a few months ago that an American writer gave the old haiku a facelift. That wonderful writer, whoever he is, has decided that English haiku must follow a 4/8/4 pattern, not 5/7/5. Because, hey, our language is different. It fits our syllables better, thank you.

I have a longtime friend who keeps a haiku blog: Pink Shoe Haiku

And she recently started an open haiku thread. So knock yourself out and pay a visit, even if just to see what everyone else has done.

Updated daily as far as I can tell, here's another impressive haiku blog at blogspot:
">James A Lockhart

And, finally, the director of the Colorado Poets Association led me to this haiku link:
The Colorado Poets Association's haiku page

As for holiday package maintenance, OH DEAR. I had virtually all of my holiday gifts purchased at least two weeks before Thanksgiving.

And I was in the mood to wrap them and bring them to Thanksgiving at my parents'.

But, no, I've absolutely NOT done anything close to that. And I have gifts to mail to Jerusalem.

I thought the holidays were about spending time with those you love. And warmth. And fun things. But now that I'm out of college and on a career path I can live with, I very much understand where the working world comes from.

Preparing for the holidays is a right pain.

YOU people can come get your pressies and we'll save the environment together by me not wrapping them:

Steve
Kathy
Nick
Julie
Yael
Mom
Dad
Mom2
Dad2
Ga-Ga

Oh man... And I'm going to be in the secret gift exchange at work, and I'm leaving for vacation Dec. 17...