Katie Briggs

Best of Scotland

2008-04-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

I finally got my pictures up from my trip to Scotland last summer. Click here to see.

My sister is the best

2008-01-03T09:46:00.000-08:00

She one this big award from the Philadelphia Bar Association. Go Bex!

Kelly and Mark's Wedding

2007-10-03T11:14:00.001-07:00

Weddings, weddings.

Pics from Kelly and Mark's wedding!!

I got married

2006-12-04T19:03:00.000-08:00

I am so happy to be married to Doug. Our wedding day was picture perfect, and everything went well thanks to the angelic support of family and friends.

Tibetan Daggers

2006-05-22T16:16:00.000-07:00

So I recently was a bit perplexed because I could not recall the name of this Tibetan ritual implement:

It turns out that this carved knife it is called a Dargu or a Kartika in Sanskrit. It is not to be confused with a Phurba, which is a more conventionally-shaped dagger. These spiritual implements are used to represent the forceful "wrathful" aspect of the Buddhas' compassion and wisdom. It is worth mentioning that the wrathful deities respresent inner aggression and power used to advance spirtual attainment. They defend against negative energies and lend energy and power to the spiritual path.

I acquired a Dargu today because this weekend at Esoterica, we are holding a dark moon ritual and each celebrant will bring a knife or Athame to symbolize the disappearing, severing energy of the waning moon. Other rituals I have attended include Ostara (Spring Equinox) and Beltane (May Day).

Week's Reflections

2006-05-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

I’m sipping ice tea at Jammin Java. Outside it is warm and humid. I am getting over a post-lunch coma and thinking about what I am going to do this weekend.
Last night we had a Beltane Sabbath at Esoterica in Leesburg. The crowd was animated and numbered around thirty. Just before the ritual, I performed the task of ringing bells around individual celebrants to help center and cleanse them. Irene brought chocolate-covered strawberries that she had made herself and they were sweet and delicious.

Beltane is one of the major Pagan holidays, and it was so cute to so Irene excited about the creative, beautiful energies of spring. She must have encouraged us to “Go Outside!” about fifty times, which was good to hear.

I did some gardening earlier this week and got a little plastic angel statue at CVS. There are now impatiens growing the the front garden, and containers of herbs and flowers around the rest of the yard. My indoor houseplants are all flourishing. I actually had one of my little Pothos plants get slightly sunburned a couple months ago! Pothos does not mind sun, but in the case of this plant, it was unaccostummed to such a large quantity of direct sunglight and its little leaves were slightly fried. It is bouncing back, however.

My superstar plant (right) is a little prayer plant that was this close to dead when I bought it off the sale rack at Safeway for $1. It is now vibrantly healthy and growing very, very well. I always tell it that it is a good little plant!

Doreen Virtue Podcast

2006-05-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

I am listening to Doreen Virtue's radio show on Hayhouse radio. I love everything this woman says and writes. I like her gentle energy and focus on mindful intention, peace and love in accomplishing goals. People call into the show for her metaphysical advice, which is delivered in a pretty sensible yet very soothing and metaphysical way.

Fairfax New Age Store

2006-04-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

I recently paid my first visit to Terra Christa in Vienna, Virginia, and I am thinking of going back there again today. Their selection of new age books and especially audio is great. I would say that Crystalis in Herndon probably has better minerals, but Terra Christa is very convenient and has some great specimens as well.

I am almost done with a new painting of an Iris. I have just a little bit left to do on it.

Yesterday I visited Murky Coffee in Arlington for the first time. Their coffee was great and the free Wi-fi was even better. I worked there for a couple hours yesterday. I accomplished the goal of finding out about stuff going on in the community when I saw a poster for a Buddhism group in Northern Virginia called Earth Sangha. The timing could not have been better for finding out about these folks, since I have been looking for ways to get back into activism, particularly environmental positivity.

Today I decided to make it a Jammin Java day and I met some kids from a band called The Duhks, a Canadian alt-folk outfit that played last night at the Birchmere. I talked to dude Leonard for awhile about the band and he invited me to their show in Annapolis tomorrow, which I am seriously considering despite having class tomorrow evening. In either case I will prolly download some of their stuff off of Itunes, which is really good.

Oddly enough, right after the band left Jammin Java, I heard the Duhks come on FolkAlley.com, an online radio station that I listen to. It was a sign man!

Active Silence

2006-04-13T10:05:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog post in about six months. My first really Katie blog post. I want to emphasize that the past few months silence have been very nurturing and regenerative. In thinking about my goals for my personal blog - I am thinking a lot about the goals that I have for myself!

In the past months, I have done lots and lots of writing and editing for my work, because that is what I do. I have written dozens of articles, summaries, ads and the like. All of this is all well and good - it gives me a experience and helps me earn cash-monay.

Any writer has an audience. But knowing yourself is about knowing your audience, your market. My Livejournal blog is very tailored to my interests, focus and priorities in relation to my friends. On that blog, I tend to focus on our shared interests, and on stuff that I want to really bounce off others. That is also great! I love reading my friends' blogs.

The fact that my friends' interests tend to differ a lot from mine in some areas is a good reflection upon myself. I think it means that I am comfortable enough with who I am to realize that not everyone has to be like me. In fact, I somewhat enjoy spending time with people who connect in novel and intelligent ways that differ from mine to various degrees.

But for some reason, I have had difficulty really getting away from the crowd and focusing on what is really needed as opposed to what appears to be desired both for me and for the greater good. So I am going to start! This blog is going to be a study in anti-marketing, really. It is going to be totally dedicated to a metaphysical and aesthetic intuition that may or may not have any merit for the average Joe. And you know what - I don't really mind.

New Flickr Account

2005-09-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

For awhile I was avoiding Flickr because I prefer to host my own pictures rather than put them on Flickr's computers, but I can do both I suppose. I enjoy the service a lot - and the app scores high marks with me for using web standards (*and by extension, working on my computer).

Bloggers Everywhere

2005-07-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

I have barely begun to develop my website/blog, and already I have tons of other blog ideas. First of all, I am thinking of starting a renovation blog with Doug. I am helping him in his quest for townhouse glory/hospitality. We are still very much in a "before" stage with the house. Keeping a blog could help motivate us to keep up the momentum - plus it allows us to share the project with others.

There are a couple of other personal blogs that I might start. First of all, I am thinking of participating more in the Java Community. They have a very solid blog network called "Java Blogs." Doug is a regular readers, and his habit has interested me. Secondly, I have a great idea for a conspiracy blog. The concept is a bit post-modern and surrealistic, and I am not sure if I even get it. That blog would be a source of amusement more than anything else - a kind of comedic take on the age of paranoia.

As far as this blog goes - I am still vacilating, to be frank. Deep personal secrets will remain such, and I will not post intensely private stuff online. Yet I am really trying to find that balance between insight into personal experiences versus a more impersonal blog that focuses on politics, news analysis and lists, robotically, the days' events without little reflection. I realize that often, I fall into the latter at the expense of the former. My writing tends to weaken when its subject matter is dry and bland.

Newly redesigned blog holds forth

2005-07-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new webpage and blog! This new page throws a blog into the mix. This change will allow me to post and update my page more often. Coming soon : a blog roll, click tracking, more pics and perhaps my resume.

Please check out my other blog, currently hosted on Livejournal.

At present, I work at an internet company in Reston, Virginia. I work as a search engine marketer and also optimize my company's sites for search engines. I have been interested in computers my whole life. I am constantly learning new things about design and programming. My academic background features a strong study in politics, religion and languages with luminaries such as Hegel, Nietzche and William Faulkner acting as ideological touchstones. Because I have studied structures of of individual and shared meaning, I am naturally fascinated by the internet, which is the ultimate "free market of ideas."

I am lucky to have a great group of friends, many of whom have been affiliated with the University of Virginia. Some of my hipper friends are on Livejournal.

My eccletic interests tend to change and evolve, but there are a few constants. These include the outdoors, books, writing and intellectual discussion. Just as Nietzche found himself enraptured by the music of Wagner, so too am I slowly drawn to the nexus that people call "indie/punk/experimental music."

I pride myself on my ability to interact with a broad range of human beings. I have marched with suspected terrorists; shaken hands with a billionaire; milked goats; danced at the Google headquarters; and many other things which I will not mention here.