You Can Never Drink the Same Cup of Tea Twice

Each cup of tea we drink is an ephemeral experience in time, never to be duplicated again. We can try and come very close, and there are too many factors that change not only with the tea, but with the person we are in the moment we sip.

In this sense, we can never breathe the same air again, kiss the same person, or live the same life. Live is an ever change experience and times is constantly moving.

My philosophy is to enjoy what I have while I have it. To understand my experience will not last forever, regardless if it is very good or very hard in the moment. I never want to stop learning, creating, meeting new people, loving, and growing as a person.

I Breathe

Photo by Rodrigo Argenton

I Breathe,
My heart pounds in my chest,
Trying to relax,
I rearrange my thoughts,
I open the door,
I Breathe.

I walk into the void,
I Breathe.

I watch in my heart,
I write the story,
There is no pause,
My heart breaks,
I Breathe.

A new warmth wells and blooms in my eyes,
Warm wet summer rain,
I breathe.

A tired and content smile whispers across my face,
I fill my cup,
I breathe.

*Wrote 2011 Monday, April 11 9:12:53 AM.

Suggested Reading How to Tame a Fox by Lee Alan Dugatkin

How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog): Visionary Scientists and a Siberian Tale of Jump-Started Evolution

This should be an interesting read. I like dogs, but am more into the dogs that are not designed or bread to look a certain way. The designer breading leads to a lot of genetic and behavioral problems. I'm putting it on my to Goodreads list.

Tempted to Get Rid of My Computer

I wanted to share a little piece of  tech with you that has changed my life. I no longer take my laptop to the coffee shop to write, instead I take a full-sized folding keyboard, the iWerkz Universal Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard (44652BL). I absolutely love this little thing. And can now write almost anywhere at anytime. I use mine with my Android Moto G. Between this and the speech to text writing on my phone it has almost replaced my computer. I have had the keyboard for less than a week and already use it more than my computer. The only time I turned on the computer was to do some bookkeeping and stream a show so far. I am tempted to see if I can get rid of my computer. I use a free app called JotterPad to write on my phone. The paid version saves multiple versions and works with the free Dropbox.com app, so I always have my most recent drafts handy, no matter what I write on or where I am at.

Haiku for Ken

Embrace ©Anna Harper 2017 

Vast as any ocean,
When I look into your eyes,
You fill my soul.

Pink Bike, Published

I am very pleased to announce that the print version of Contraposition Magazine is now available!
Contraposition Magazine Vol. 1 Page 18 #Poem "Pink Bike"My work "Pink Bike", is on page 18.  Annette Jacob (aka Anna Harper)

The Kindle version is free.

(Original publisher): http://www.write2grow.org/contraposition/

(Amazon - Kindle version): http://www.amazon.com/CONTRAPOSITION-1-Al-ebook/dp/B00H9UFGOE/

Born Dreaming

Photo by Eflon

I was born dreaming, wrapped in the prefect desire of intoxication with unlimited expansion.

So you can imagine why I screamed my head off when I opened my eyes.

Cursed & Charmed

Sometimes I forget to breath,
For all my Sorrows,
I'm sometimes charmed,
Perfect in my own way.

Some people forget to live,
The passing moments in between,
Holding tight to an idea,
Boiled down to a bitter ounce.

True joy, happiness,
Sometimes painful,
Sometimes charmed,
Rarely what we think.

Whispers, A New Year's Poem

Photo © Anna Harper 2013

A new year is unfolding,
like a soft whisper on the lips of a young child,
like the moment before a kiss,
with all the hope and excitement of the unknown,
like a blossom petals curled tightly concealing beauty within.
Cheers to a new year and all that it brings!
Another year to love, laugh, be more joyful and right our wrongs.

Wishing you the best year you can imagine!

Dreams Traveled

Photo by Eflon

I am too sad today to go and I am too sad to laugh,
Though, I will find a way to dabble through my day,
The time just slips through my fingers like water,
I feel as if there is no substance for me to hold,
I squeeze my hands shut tight and find they just hurt,
I shut my eyes and hope to be somewhere or someone else,
And yet I find a way to smile and travel for miles in my mind.
My motionless wonderings open my mind,
I remember important secrets I have forgotten,
I relax once again and see I am loved,
No action can be defined to one exact reason.
The world is complex, my daydreaming healing.
I don't know everything and that is good.

I love the mystery and wonder that is life.

Peace

Peace is not always silence.
Peace is about sharing what's on your mind,
Peace is letting others speak their minds,
Peace is finding ways to make relationships work or ending them,
Peace is loving them anyway from a distance if you need to.
Peace is thinking for yourself.
Peace is caring for your wellbeing as much as you do others,
peace is knowing you are good enough,

Peace is what you make of it.

Words

Words to cut marrow, anger and sorrow,
Words you regret and forget,
Words you wish you could say,
Words familiar, well worn and clumsy,
Words inspiring, uplifting, strengthening and reassuring,
Words healing and forgiving,
Words full of life and death.

Summer

Wind blows through green waves,

Dreams of your smile warm my heart,

I lay in the grass.

Pink Bike

The following is a short poem I wrote when I got my first bike.

Cute princess bike,
Cheap bright pink paint,
Plastic streamers sprouting from the handlebars,
Banana seat with cartoon flowers,
Last one in the store,

Rode as fast as I could down hill,
Wind in my face, hands in the air,
Hit a pothole,
Wrecked,
Skinned my knee,
Scraped the pink paint,
Smiled.

Formosa Jade, Green Oolong, Tea Zone

Today I am drinking Formosa Jade, which is a green oolong tea and from Tea Zone. I love that the name oolong means black dragon tea.

I have been thinking more about the grading scale I want to use for reviewing the tea I drink. First off, I am a tea geek and not a tea snob. I love tea and drink all kinds! I love trying new teas. I think that to a good degree that how much a person enjoys a tea is based on what types of taste and flavor preferences one has. I have been drinking tea since I was a little girl and I think that is why I am more open to a wider variety or it. I like to think of good tea as a layer cake, that is to say there is a good beginning middle and end to it. I prefer to describe my experience with the tea rather than give it a number and let people deiced if it is one they would like to try. I like this method because each time you drink a tea you are a different person and the tea is also different. In this way you can never truly have the same tea twice, just as you can never step in the same river twice.

This tea has a beautiful flowery smell to it. This tea has a a delicate green tint to it that is quite simple and beautiful. Formosa Jade has a texture to it that is like velvet and has a medium body. It is grassy and slightly nutty with a delightful earthy taste to it. It is slightly herbaceous. It has a nice dry finish that is refreshing.

Blueberry White Tea

This is my first tea post! I just ordered a bunch of new tea and have been enjoying it quite a bit. I will slowly add in some guidelines as I write more reviews.

I will also be adding tea related links. If anyone wants to swap links, just let me know!

I am drinking Blueberry White Tea from Tea Zone today. It is made of a white tea base with dried blueberries.

The aroma for this tea is clean. Very slight scent of blueberry and a very light lingering after taste that is pleasant, though not what I expected from the scent of the dried tea. I thought that it would smell and taste more like blueberries. I was a little disappointed when it didn't. I still enjoyed the tea it is very drinkable.

The end of eBay's Monopoly

As a seller on eBay I have to say that over the past year ebay has fallen as my favorite marketplace. The no link policy hurt sells for many of us and they keep raising their fees. Sellers are moving to other sites like Amazon, Craigslist, Etsy, and buyers are following!

They have made many attempts that were clearly a way to keep hold of the advantages that they had. The problems is they are not that friendly when it comes to be social on the web, and so they are being left behind. Like AOL did when they tried to keep users away from other sites back in the nineties, they have lost part of what made them sticky by giving sellers less options.

There are many ways to sell and market now and if ebay is not willing to change and keep up with the new needs they will be left behind. They, like so many other past sites will be out of fashion.

"eBay has reported that for the first time ever, their 4th quarter revenues fell from the previous quarter."

Read More... http://onlinebusiness.about.com/b/2009/01/23/amazon-and-craigslist-batter-ebay-from-both-sides.htm

Twitter Will Go Mainstream, And Here is Why!

As many of you know, I love to Tweet! I will even Tweet for tea!

I think that Twitter will 'tip' in the next year and go viral in a very big way because it is so easy to use and it takes very little time to connect to other people. This is the uniqueness of Twitter. It is simple, like taking a snap shot with words. This is missing from other social networking sites, like My Space and Face book. You can connect quickly and get on with your life. I find most other sites take way more time than I want to spend behind the keyboard.

I find it is a very good social networking tool that is helping people become more familiar with my artwork. It also gives people a sense of who I am, what I spend my time doing and taps into other people who are passionate about the same things that I am. And the best thing about it is that I can share these things quickly. I love it! It is so simple, and yet such a rich resource!

http://blog.mrtweet.net/poll-results-7-reasons-why-69-of-users-think-twitter-will-go-mainstream-part-1

Pipilotti Rist: Pour Your Body Out @ MOMA

Pipilotti Rist: Pour Your Body Out @ MOMA

I just got back from the Pipilotti Rist intimation at the MOMA. It is such an amazing design. At first you feel as if you have motion sickness because you feel as if you are moving even though you are not. Once you get over the first impression though you can relax and enjoy it as if you were floating around in the space even though you are still.
If you want to see it better hurry it ends February 2, 2009!

Tea Links

Co-Op Tea Swap