Everyday this week, I arrived at City Yoga to find a bowl with many pennies. At my last count, we had $13.71 cents. This big, clear plastic coin bag has barely filled the whole bottom. This is going to take a while. Perhaps that is why the bank teller was smug, she probably knew how long it would take to fill the 3 bags she gave me, and to think that I was wanting more.
There is a running joke now at the front desk, that if you can't find me, but you know I'm in the building, I'm probably counting pennies. I am in the groove of counting right before or after my classes. As my students arrive they are greeted with a smile and me mouthing my counting, when they leave they get a smile and a special blink of my eye to acknowledge their thanking me for the class, still mouthing the count of the pennies. If one of them looks unsure, Brookelin, our manager, speaks for me and says, "she's counting pennies."
Since explaining this project to my almost 6 year old son, he has been kind and generous in giving me any pennies he finds around the house or in the street. He has since given my .05! It was a fun lesson to sit and explain to him the value of all the coins. He knew some of it, but now you can see that he understands better and is happily giving me the pennies, where as before he was SO exicted that he found MONEY!!!
My 3 year old daughter however, will not let go of her clenched fist of one cent.
People at City Yoga are starting to ask where this money is going. One person suggested that we use it for improvements at City Yoga...I was stunned. I don't even know what improvements those could be, in my mind our studio is perfect. I mean, we need a paint job in MY studio and perhaps we could polish the wood floors to make them sparkle again. It just never occurred to me to use this for us. Someone else mentioned how we don't always have to give it away to feel good, that sometimes we should look in our own backyard first. I love how the yogis are throwing the yoga right back at me.
The truth is I am very undecided about where to place the pennies. I am open to suggestions on this and look forward to hearing about charities I don't know about, and any other ideas from you, the people.
I'm off to Malibu with 4 of my closest friends for 24 hours. Not likely that I will find a cent on the beach, but perhaps I will receive more inspiration.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
I just got to City Yoga and found a bowl of pennies at the front desk. I deposited my few that I received in change over the weekend, and will count them all later.
What happened on the journey with pennies over the weekend? Well, I was busy celebrating my son and his friends graduation from Pre-school, and a dear friends 40th birthday. In the midst of all that, there were no miraculous pennies appearing to keep my fire going. So, as we were driving home from Ojai yesterday, and I was thinking about the busy week ahead, I thought maybe I have jinxed pennies out of my life with this recent, craze of mine.
You know the "give a penny, take a penny" bowls you see around town...I have wondered if perhaps I should start going around an taking one...or is that bad karma since I don't really NEED them, I just want them?
What happened on the journey with pennies over the weekend? Well, I was busy celebrating my son and his friends graduation from Pre-school, and a dear friends 40th birthday. In the midst of all that, there were no miraculous pennies appearing to keep my fire going. So, as we were driving home from Ojai yesterday, and I was thinking about the busy week ahead, I thought maybe I have jinxed pennies out of my life with this recent, craze of mine.
You know the "give a penny, take a penny" bowls you see around town...I have wondered if perhaps I should start going around an taking one...or is that bad karma since I don't really NEED them, I just want them?
Friday, August 14, 2009
Day Three
Blogin' has been on my noggin all day long. I can't believe how hard it is to find a quiet moment to sit and write. I am not a night owl, so that will never work, and my children wake as early as I do, sometimes earlier. Being a Mother of two and a business owner, and a friend, daughter, sister, wife and a self makes it hard to find time. I wrote that on purpose because that is the cop out reason I always hear why people can't do yoga, or whatever it is, in their lives. Though I feel that way, my work here is my new yoga...finding the zen in the blogin'. Finding the time and the peace in which to get my thoughts out has been interesting. If I want a penny for my thoughts, I have to make time to write them down right? The distractions of life can keep you from getting anything you want, or not.
Right now, I am fighting the sound of golf on T.V. Though it is a somewhat zen sport, the announcer is annoying me and the applauds and yelling is even more annoying. You see this is only one of about 3 sports I must be patient about which could be another reason I "can't " do this blog business.
So, now that I got that all that out.
Pennies! Ahh sweet pennies.
When I left City Yoga today, we had exactly $3.87 ! It felt good. I know it's pennies but it feels good to be on a mission.
As I asked my class today to dump their pennies in the bag, they made comments like, "now my purse feels lighter" and " wow that had no emotional effect on me, not like when I donate $5.00 or more."
What I am realizing is that no one is emotionally "invested in their pennies", pardon the pun. People can't be bothered by their pennies. They are time consuming little suckers that nobody wants to count, deal with or pay with.
I went to get a mani/pedi with my friend Sue and low and behold as I looked down at the UV dryer machine to see my fresh toes, there sat a penny. It was on the machine, centered and aligned between the 2 sets of fans. Ha!
I had just told my friend about my latest project. Her comment was, "that is so you, but when do you have time in your busy life?" She also has two kids and are lives are quite parallel in the amount of running around we do. I proceeded to tell her how I want to see this through, because after seeing Julie and Julia, I realized I don't finish some of the things I start. Sue disagreed sweetly. Then after a short pause, she said," well actually, you finish things except maybe Evan's stool." Evan is her son who shares a birthday with ME, and I have been working on a hand painted stool for him to reach the sink for almost a year. We are both Virgos, which if you are into astrology, tells you my 2nd deadline is almost here.
I went on with my day, did a yoga lesson with one of my favorite people on the planet (more on the inspiration that comes from this person later.), went shopping and then came home. I walked in to find a bright and beautiful bouquet of flowers from Anthony. Next to the vase was a penny. Ah!
I asked him where he got it, because now I am obsessed with the mysterious presence of pennies in peoples lives. Sadly, the penny was just in his change from paying cash for the thin, garlic breadsticks I need for a party platter. Not so interesting, except that, he almost forgot the breadsticks, so after paying with a credit card for all the other groceries, he had to go back and get them and paid cash, only to recieve one, single, shiny, copper colored penny!
Our total at the end of this day, with Anthony and the nail salon's two cents, again pardon the pun, is $3.89!!
Right now, I am fighting the sound of golf on T.V. Though it is a somewhat zen sport, the announcer is annoying me and the applauds and yelling is even more annoying. You see this is only one of about 3 sports I must be patient about which could be another reason I "can't " do this blog business.
So, now that I got that all that out.
Pennies! Ahh sweet pennies.
When I left City Yoga today, we had exactly $3.87 ! It felt good. I know it's pennies but it feels good to be on a mission.
As I asked my class today to dump their pennies in the bag, they made comments like, "now my purse feels lighter" and " wow that had no emotional effect on me, not like when I donate $5.00 or more."
What I am realizing is that no one is emotionally "invested in their pennies", pardon the pun. People can't be bothered by their pennies. They are time consuming little suckers that nobody wants to count, deal with or pay with.
I went to get a mani/pedi with my friend Sue and low and behold as I looked down at the UV dryer machine to see my fresh toes, there sat a penny. It was on the machine, centered and aligned between the 2 sets of fans. Ha!
I had just told my friend about my latest project. Her comment was, "that is so you, but when do you have time in your busy life?" She also has two kids and are lives are quite parallel in the amount of running around we do. I proceeded to tell her how I want to see this through, because after seeing Julie and Julia, I realized I don't finish some of the things I start. Sue disagreed sweetly. Then after a short pause, she said," well actually, you finish things except maybe Evan's stool." Evan is her son who shares a birthday with ME, and I have been working on a hand painted stool for him to reach the sink for almost a year. We are both Virgos, which if you are into astrology, tells you my 2nd deadline is almost here.
I went on with my day, did a yoga lesson with one of my favorite people on the planet (more on the inspiration that comes from this person later.), went shopping and then came home. I walked in to find a bright and beautiful bouquet of flowers from Anthony. Next to the vase was a penny. Ah!
I asked him where he got it, because now I am obsessed with the mysterious presence of pennies in peoples lives. Sadly, the penny was just in his change from paying cash for the thin, garlic breadsticks I need for a party platter. Not so interesting, except that, he almost forgot the breadsticks, so after paying with a credit card for all the other groceries, he had to go back and get them and paid cash, only to recieve one, single, shiny, copper colored penny!
Our total at the end of this day, with Anthony and the nail salon's two cents, again pardon the pun, is $3.89!!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Day one and a half
I saw the Movie Julie and Julia last Friday with Anthony, my husband, and was hugely inspired to do something. I related to the Julie character, because I too, start many things and finish very few. Really what I've learned about myself is that the things I am most passionate about are the things I don't finish...it's too scary or what if I get so satisfied that I can't handle the sensation of that and then nothing else would ever compare? I am sure right now many of you want to give advice about that. The only problem with that is I don't want advice, I am blogging as a form of welcomed narcissism in the day and age we live in. The way I see it, the word"blog" is just missing a few key letters that really make us all want to do it about something. What letters are they? b(e)lo(n)g. We all want to belong! This is my attempt to belong to a hip, trendy, fast, and patient community in which I am certain I don't "belong", but will try anyway.
I didn't ever think, and still don't have much faith, that i would do something on the computer besides e-mails.
I have been known by my husband, friends and even some co-workers as "the idea girl"...I am full of them. This is how I came up with the name of the blog. Who am I? answer: Idea girl full of thoughts. What am I passionate about? at the moment anyway? answer: pennies.
The night after I saw Julie & Julia, I saw a commercial for Staples, the office supply store. The commercial takes place on a used car lot and is basically pointing out that no one wants to be bothered with pennies. When the salesman finds out that he can give a cash discount to the customer, he is ecstatic until he sees that the cash is a truck bed full of pennies.
So, I start thinking about all th pennies in the world, and how random a coin they are. They appear everywhere, get stepped over and tossed in cups at cash registers with signs reading," give a penny, take a penny." They are currently in the bottom of every purse I own. Pennies appear on the floor of my car, in my kids pockets and in the toy box.
My curiosity begins to deepen and now is non-stop. I started my yoga class yesterday talking about this and I got my students curious. Now, what to do? My class and I brainstorm a little, but that wasn't enough. If I practice anything I preach it is to tell someone, so the idea, feeling thought, dream can be realized or processed. Not that my students weren't good enough, but I knew I had to take the next step.
Where will all these pennies go to be counted? Me? Will I teach my kids to count and roll pennies? Shall I collect them in a large water bottle and then sit and sort and count with my students as a form of meditation? Will the bank take them and count them? The latter was my brain wanting to cop out and not go through the whole process of this.
As I leave my studio I realize I have banking to do, what great timing. So, after doing my deposits, I dare to ask, the not so friendly teller about pennies. At that moment I realize she is probably as annoyed by penny counting as I am. Which is why I was asking how I could most easily get them counted. As soon as I said the word penny she sat up straight and tightened her lips.
First, the teller tells me she is out of penny paper rolls and I would have to go to another branch, then I decide, fuck it, I have been at this bank for almost 18 years, and in a split second I decide to try getting her interested in hearing how I am going to perhaps start collecting pennies. She stood up and gave me 3 large coin bags. Then she said if you need more just come back.
Now what I have in my possession is 3 coin bags , 1 bag containing $1.10 in pennies. Plus I have the 18 that Anthony found in his car for me this morning and one .50 cent roll from yesterday that is in my purse. That is a total of $1.78!
This is the beginning of what? I don't know? But I'll take a penny for your thoughts?
I didn't ever think, and still don't have much faith, that i would do something on the computer besides e-mails.
I have been known by my husband, friends and even some co-workers as "the idea girl"...I am full of them. This is how I came up with the name of the blog. Who am I? answer: Idea girl full of thoughts. What am I passionate about? at the moment anyway? answer: pennies.
The night after I saw Julie & Julia, I saw a commercial for Staples, the office supply store. The commercial takes place on a used car lot and is basically pointing out that no one wants to be bothered with pennies. When the salesman finds out that he can give a cash discount to the customer, he is ecstatic until he sees that the cash is a truck bed full of pennies.
So, I start thinking about all th pennies in the world, and how random a coin they are. They appear everywhere, get stepped over and tossed in cups at cash registers with signs reading," give a penny, take a penny." They are currently in the bottom of every purse I own. Pennies appear on the floor of my car, in my kids pockets and in the toy box.
My curiosity begins to deepen and now is non-stop. I started my yoga class yesterday talking about this and I got my students curious. Now, what to do? My class and I brainstorm a little, but that wasn't enough. If I practice anything I preach it is to tell someone, so the idea, feeling thought, dream can be realized or processed. Not that my students weren't good enough, but I knew I had to take the next step.
Where will all these pennies go to be counted? Me? Will I teach my kids to count and roll pennies? Shall I collect them in a large water bottle and then sit and sort and count with my students as a form of meditation? Will the bank take them and count them? The latter was my brain wanting to cop out and not go through the whole process of this.
As I leave my studio I realize I have banking to do, what great timing. So, after doing my deposits, I dare to ask, the not so friendly teller about pennies. At that moment I realize she is probably as annoyed by penny counting as I am. Which is why I was asking how I could most easily get them counted. As soon as I said the word penny she sat up straight and tightened her lips.
First, the teller tells me she is out of penny paper rolls and I would have to go to another branch, then I decide, fuck it, I have been at this bank for almost 18 years, and in a split second I decide to try getting her interested in hearing how I am going to perhaps start collecting pennies. She stood up and gave me 3 large coin bags. Then she said if you need more just come back.
Now what I have in my possession is 3 coin bags , 1 bag containing $1.10 in pennies. Plus I have the 18 that Anthony found in his car for me this morning and one .50 cent roll from yesterday that is in my purse. That is a total of $1.78!
This is the beginning of what? I don't know? But I'll take a penny for your thoughts?
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