The Universe is Speaking

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers!

While I was on vacation, I hit the 50,000 page views mark.  Now I know other blogs may get this per day or per hour or per millisecond, but for me it's an achievement.  So thank you for making LilyOnTheLam.Com part of your daily recommended allowance of web surfing!

I am about 10 blog posts behind in my British Virgin Islands series- but rest assured, I will soon be updating the current posts with pictures and writing up the stories from the second half of the BVI trip.  So stay tuned to LilyOnTheLam.Com!  (The Near Death by Caterpillar on Cooper Island blog post has been updated with pictures already.  Check it out here!)

Now on to today's blog ...

Ninety-seven percent of the time, I try to be a cold, stoic biatch - like Meryl Streep's character in "The Devil Wears Prada."  Um, ok - maybe more like Octavia Spencer's character Minnie in "The Help."  But underneath it all, I do have a warm, mushy, cheesy interior - one that has an appreciation for really bad, sappy, emotional chick flicks.  (Please don't tell my secret!)  

One really bad movie that I really love is Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek's ridiculous 100% imitation cheez fest "Fools Rush In."  According to the movie's Wiki page (really, it needed a Wiki page???), the movie cost $20 million to make (again - REALLY?) and brought in $29 million.  I am going to spare you the ridiculous plot line synopsis (that's what the Wiki page is for!), however there is a scene where Matthew Perry's character realizes that Salma Hayek's character's belief in signs from the Universe is correct and if you just look all around you, you will see the messages.  One of the movie's recurring messages is that "there are signs everywhere."   

As cheez-a-licious as "Fools Rush In" is, I do think that the Universe does send us signals or messages.  I also believe that most of us are too distracted to notice these signs.  As a lover of Greek Mythology, I like to think that there are supernatural beings that are helping to put these signs out there.  I also believe that every now and again these message senders get supremely pissed off that their messages are being ignored.  I believe that every now and again, they amp up their work and send incredibly clear signs that even the most distracted person cannot help but notice.  

If I were a preaching woman, I would say that the theme of this blog post is "Pull your head out of the sand (or your arse) and look around you for signs from the Universe."  But I am not a preaching woman.  So the theme of this blog post could very well be "There are signs everywhere but not a lot of themes everywhere."

Instead of preaching, I will tell you two stories and leave you to draw your own conclusions.  You're welcome.

I was at Foxy's Tamarind Bar and Grill on the island of Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands.  I loooooove Foxy's because they probably have the best gift store merchandise in the BVI.  Every shopportunity matters!  I am ALL about the gift shop.  I seriously am considering opening a gift shop in my condo.  Who wouldn't want a "Lily's House of Cats" t-shirt to take home?  Christmas is just around the corner, people!  Time to BUY! 

My sister took a picture with the legendary Foxy himself ... out of respect for her, you only get to see her shoulder.  But it's an impressive shoulder ...

When visiting Foxy's Tamarind Bar and Grill, many visitors bring a flag or t-shirt (or even a hat or bra) that they autograph and have posted on the ceiling.  (Why not?)  

I took my sister Squidge to Foxy's and we loaded up on souvenirs and clothing.  GIFT SHOP!  Afterward, we headed to the open air, sand floor restaurant for lunch.  I sat down on the wooden bench and ordered a Banana Bushwhacker (which unfortunately was not as good as a regular Bushwhacker drink).  I was feeling very content - we had just spent 11 nights on the fabulous Yacht Promenade trimaran sailing charter and we had 3 more days of vacation on land before heading back to the continental United States.  

Prior to the vacation, I had been feeling extremely burned out.  I was incredibly happy that the vacation had completely recharged my emotional batteries.  I stretched my incredibly tanned arms and looked up at the ceiling to see the flags that had been posted above our table.  My heart caught in my throat at the sight of the flag above me.  

The flag was the name and logo of my corporate giant employer.

Seriously?  What the heck?  What are the odds of THAT happening?  I'm on VACATION!  My mellow feeling of being emotionally recharged took a nose dive.  

Just the name of my company above my head was like the cold hand of death tapping me on the shoulder.  But as my sister Squidge and I had been watching the amazingly good HBO series "Game of Thrones" at night on the Yacht Promenade, I will quote a wonderful scene - "There is only one thing we say to Death ... `Not today.'" 

I squinted at the corporate flag above my head, reminded myself that I had 3 days left of vacation and hissed at the flag: "NOT TODAY!"

When I returned from vacation, I was having issues with my work computer.  I work from home but we do have a local office in Tampa Bay about 20 minutes away from me.  I spent several hours with Level One and Level Two Deskside "Support" before I was told that I needed to go in to the local office for further assistance.  Due to a heavy meeting schedule, I decided to go in to the office the next day.  

I am very spoiled working from home.  My usual "work uniform" is an Old Navy tank top and shorts.  The thought of having to get "dressed up" to go into the office just for an IT issue made me pout like a middle school girl.  But I did it and dealt with the rain and traffic on the commute in to the office.  And thanked my lucky stars that I did not have to do this every day.  

While I was at the office, a tornado touched down basically a few blocks from my condo.  Check out this spectacular picture of the storm along the Bay.  I returned home.  Luckily for me, there was no damage and my beloved pets were safe and sound.  Seeing that my home office has one wall of windows that were facing the tornado site, had the winds been stronger I could have been lacerated and julienned by shards of glass.  But for my trip to the office, I was blissfully unaware of the tornado as it was happening.  Not today, Death, not today.

I'll let you draw your own conclusions to these "signs" from the Universe, as I stated before I am not a preaching woman. (Ha!)  

But I will say that I do believe there are signs everywhere.  You just need to slow down and look for them.