Thursday, December 31, 2009

Another New Year


Well folks, it's almost time for another new year. I can hardly believe it.

2009 was a bit of a struggle. But it also had brilliance and happiness in it. As I think about it - and I've been sort of peripherally thinking about it for a few days now - the good far outweighed the bad this year. Or maybe I'm feeling so great this week or month that I can't be bothered to even go back and worry about the hard parts.

This decade is being touted as one of the worst ever. No wonder, with Bush as president for 8 of the years. How could it not suck? And now that we're out of the single digits, we get to say the year easier again. Twenty ten. Much easier than Two Thousand and Nine. Someone on Facebook was wondering the other day what we call these 00 years. The Aughts. That's the answer. And now we are entering what, the Teens? Or the Tens?

Tonight I will attend the second year of my 'hood peeps getting together for poker played for random things. "I see your q-tip and I raise you a contact case." It was fun last year and I think it'll be fun again this year. I have quite the little stash of curious bits to bet with.

As always at this time of year, as Christmas winds down and New Year's hits, I start to think about my birthday. I'll be 37 in a mere 4 weeks. Holy crapola. I have no idea how the hell that happened. My 15th Reunion for college is in June. How have I been away from college for 15 years? I have lived more than half my life independent from my parents. I have been driving for more than 20 years. These silly milestones sill amaze me.

Things that were great about 2009:
- Getting fit. Finally and completely.
- Launching Never Cease Photography.
- Getting to know Sonia as a real little person.
- Starting a new job!
- Dogsledding for the first time (and winter camping too)!
- Another great trip - Turkey!
- Getting to share the joy of a new Cobbett's house.
- A new camera.
- A big garden!
- Finding Jackie, my trainer.

Goals (not resolutions) for 2010:
- Keep on keepin' on the fitness wagon.
- Take even better photos.
- Visit Kate and Todd in STL.
- Go to Houston when there's no event happening.
- Grow an even bigger garden.
- Take a summer course and think about fall courses.
- Buy a bike (! - I'm not entirely sure about this one!)

I hope 2010 proves to be pretty good. I have no reason to think it won't. Here's to another new year!

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

An Update

I meant to post this weeks ago and got sidetracked.

I clarified with my friend in the post below about his reasons for wanting marriage to remain between men and women only. His reasons are religious.

I respect that.

I wish it could be different for us as a society, but I respect those who have beliefs in religious marriage and want the sanctity of that to remain intact.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Some Emotions about Gay Marriage

I am bothered by gay marriage.

I have been really passionate about it for a long while now. Perhaps for the past 10 years. I was aware that gay people weren't able to marry and then happily moved back to Boston just months before Massachusetts legalized it in 2004. I worked on the campaign to save it when the opportunity to overturn it was offered to the voters of Massachusetts in 2006. I celebrated when that failed. I mourned when Californians lost the right in 2008 and I cheered for Iowa. I most recently mourned again about Maine.

I am not gay. I am not married. I would like to be married someday: I believe strongly in the idea of it. I don't want children, so for me, marriage has nothing to do with procreation. I believe in the separation of church and state - more than our government does, I think. I don't understand why the word "God" is on our money or why our President has to say "So help me God" when he is sworn in. I understand why the government chose to regulate something that is actually a religious institution; economics, inheritance, decision-making rights, etc. require it.

I think we made a mistake though. By adopting the word "marriage" when enacting laws, we chose a word that has different connotations for everyone. Instead of choosing a secular word, we went with the religious one. Now we're stuck with it. I have to go get a marriage license, even if I don't intend to be "married" in the religious sense; in a religious ceremony or in the eyes of a religious being. My religion is allowed to regulate who it marries based on their own rules, even if these are in opposition to laws of the government because marriage is a religious institution first (example: I cannot marry in the Catholic Church if I don't intend to have children; I cannot marry in the Catholic Church if I am divorced - neither of these restrictions are of concern to the U.S. government and I cannot "sue" the Church to force them to marry me.)

So now, we have semantics. Some hide behind reasoning that relies only on the definition (or connotation) of a word. Marriage. Those who "believe" that marriage is between one man and one woman choose that as their reason for why gay people should be denied equal legal partnership rights. They do not see any reason to have to have a more developed reason than that. It is what they believe and it is what is true and right and then, for them, the discussion is over.

Recently, I was caught by surprise by someone who I thought was in support of gay marriage who clarified that actually he isn't. He is for "civil unions" for gay people, but not marriage. I was floored. What? I asked why. I got the above answer largely based on semantics.

But it got worse. He offered up that gay people are fighting a losing battle they will never win and they should choose some alternative to fight for. If I was floored the first time, I was astounded at this. I asked if black people should've given up the civil rights fight early on, since it was clear they couldn't win and should've come up with some alternative form of equality to try for instead. This was declared to be a completely different argument. No, it isn't. It's exactly the same.

I offered up that women should definitely just have realized that college/university is for men. Women should've asked for some other type of educational system instead. Again, this was denied as anything remotely resembling the gay marriage argument.

I think the reason this person claims those other examples aren't the same is because then he is committing an "ism" with his gay marriage stand. Because if someone was or is against the racial civil rights movement, that makes them racist. If someone was or is against women going to college/university/work they are sexist. Clearly.

But if someone is against gay people marrying, they somehow don't have to be homophobic. They can just have it "be my opinion" or they can reach into some non-secular doctrine and support it that way. It's cowardly.

Heterosexual people are not at risk of anything by gay people having equal marriage rights. The same way that by a black person having equal rights to me, I as a white person cannot lose mine. Family values are not at further risk by gay marriage. Family values are already at risk enough by the behavior of heterosexual people. There's no way it can get worse.

Before writing this post, I read a number of essays on the topic, mostly from the "no gay marriage" side of the fence. I wanted to see if there was anything I was missing. Was there a compelling argument that I might actually agree with? Unsurprisingly, no. It was all the same either religious or fear-based bullshit I've heard before. Not one compelling argument.

Someone said to me recently that conservatives argue with facts and liberals argue with emotions, and this is why conservatives are so much more successful and logical. In the moment, I retorted something along the lines of being fine with that if it meant that I exhibit care for other human beings.

Another friend clarified further, though. She said conservatives believe they have facts because they form beliefs based on faith or economics or something they care about and they stay true to those beliefs regardless of circumstance. Liberals think openly, fluidly, and are always looking for a better answer. Conservatives see that as weak and flip-floppy and as an inability to make up our minds and therefore name it as emotion. This makes SO much sense to me. I already knew why I think conservatives are idiots - who would settle on a belief and then stay there regardless of evidence? But now I know why they think I'm an idiot. Who would take so many things into consideration and change their mind or wait for more info before forming an opinion?

I am so proud of the way I develop opinions. I am so proud of my openness and my ability to always see the next thing around the corner as a potential help to fix a problem. I am proud of my desire to help whoever needs it in whatever way I can; perhaps in a way I haven't even thought of yet. I have no need or desire to develop a set of "facts" and then hide behind them. I have no need to be afraid that by others receiving a bigger piece of "the pie" (or even a first piece of "the pie") that my piece might get smaller. I'll still have a piece.

Gay people deserve the exact same civil rights for partnership as heterosexual people. The U.S. government should not choose this group to back off on simply because religion is involved - because it isn't. We shouldn't be voting on this. Seriously - if men had voted on women's right to vote? I think we all know what the outcome would've been. If we had voted on the desegregation of schools? Yeah, that too. We need a Supreme Court case or a federal statute or something that stops all this nonsense and just grants rights to Americans, the same way we've been doing for a while now. Why have we changed the game?

In our history, we have had affirmative action to ensure people of color were, in practice, afforded the rights the government gave them legally. We had to enact a law to give girls equality in sports programs and we still have athletic directors who begrudgingly create the girls rugby team under Title IX in order to get funding for the boys team (and the Winter Olympics still have one sport that does not allow women to compete and that's being fought now since it goes against Canadian law where the winter Olympics, including ski jumping, will happen in 2010). We have yet to adopt the damn ERA, which was introduced in 1923 and ran out in 1982 and failed to be ratified.

I ask for those hiding behind semantics and fear to own your cowardice and just stop. Think for a moment if you, for some reason, couldn't have all the rights you are currently allowed by our government - supposedly one of the best and the most free in the world. Think for a moment whether there really is a threat to you.

Support your neighbors, your friends, your relatives, your co-workers, your service providers and strangers. Because even if you think you don't know any gay people - you do. Perhaps they are just not telling you who they are because you've been so clear about how you think of them. As lesser than you.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

The Post-Turkey Blog-Post

Turkey. What an amazing country. What an amazing trip. And how lazy I was about blogging. I journaled a fair bit though, which for my past two trips I didn't do because of the blogging. So there you go. I don't pick the method - it seems to choose me.

I won't bore you with chronological details. Rough itenerary was Istanbul, Goreme in Cappadocia, Pamukkale, Selcuk and Ephesus, Canakkale/Eceabat, and back to Istanbul. 40 hours total on buses. Three nights accommodation saved on night travel. Seven nights total in one of the coolest cities I've ever been to: Istanbul. 8 nights elsewhere.

Two visits to ancient city ruins (Heirapolis and Efes - I skipped Troy). One hike up a hill to watch 30 hotair balloons. One hike up a mountain barefoot over calcium carbonate deposits. Two plus nights spent smoking nargile (flavored water pipe). Three American travel companions. One BBQ on a rooftop terrace in Istanbul. One night of major Raki drinking (Turkish anise alcohol). Countless tuvka sis (chicken shish) eaten. One series of backgammon with a skeevy Turkish dude in Selcuk and one with a good friend in Istanbul. Visits to 4 or 5 mosques. Approximately 80 calls to prayer heard in 5 cities and towns. Two pieces of local jewelry purchased. Countless flirtatous Turkish men - one of whom got the flirting returned.

Five bodies of water (Bosphorus Strait, Sea of Mamaras, Black Sea, Golden Horn and the Dardenelles). One pair of shoes packed that I never wore! One lost article of clothing - my favorite brown sweater/jacket/duster thingy - left on the bus in Denzili when changing for Pamukkale at 5:15 in the morning. 5 books read. Many Efes (the local beer named after the most famous ancient city) drunk. About 200 YTL (Turkish Lira) (about $130) spent getting into sites, attractions and museums. One load of laundry done. Two pair of underwear bought to avoid having to do laundry again!

Countless cups of cay (tea) drunk with two sugar cubes each time (more refined sugar than I've had in probably two years!). One slightly hungover day spent sightseeing. One Turkish daylight savings time observed. 45 minutes spent humoring the carpet-salesman guy explaining the history and making of kilims to me without buying anything (I told him I wasn't going to from the start). Approximately 42,000 older Europeans and Americans paths' crossed in Topaki Palace and Ephesus combined from cruise ship trips. One motorbike ridden on while wearing my pack because I didn't understand the hotel owner and was randomly standing in the street when I really belonged 100 yards down at the bus company place! Repeatedly awakened on the trip from Istanbul to Goreme by the woman next to me trying to ask me questions in Turkish and offer me food - nice, but I'm sleeping here!

Many jetons bought (small blue plastic tokens used for the metro system). Repeated amazement of the systems in Turkey: buy your ticket at any site, stick it in the turnstile reader, an automated voice says "Please Pass" and you walk through the turnstile. This was especially interesting when the turnstile was outdoors and after walking through you're in some holy ruin. EZPass on the highways and one of the most clean, efficient city lite rail tram systems I've ever seen.

178 YTL ($120) spent on bus fare. Approximately 20 YTL spent going to the bathroom. Most places you must pay between 50 kurus and 1 YTL to use the toilet. At least there's always paper and soap! A few Turkish words learned: merhaba-hello; teshakur ederim-thank you; bay/bayan-man/woman; tavuk-chicken; tuvalet-toilet; cay (said chi)-tea; tamam-okay/no worries; checheve-cheers!

Zero times my life was at risk (this is unusual as I usually think I might die at least once while travelling, usually transport related). One fresh squeezed pomegranate juice drunk (too bitter!), a few grapefruit juices drunk (delish!). Two nights spent sleeping in a fairy chimney, which come to find out is an ancient term because people from afar saw candlelight flickering and thought that humans couldn't be living in these stone turrets so it must be fairies. One scraped elbow suffered when stumbling out of aforementioned fairy chimney to descend the 14 steps to my shared bath in the middle of the night. Approximately 580 photos taken. Doner (schwarma) sandwiches eaten for only 1.5 YTL. Delish! 15 free Turkish breakfasts eaten (all rooms/hostels come with breakfast) consisting of cukes, feta cheese, tomatoes, boiled egg, bread, jam, honey, olives with tea or coffee. Way to many clothes packed! The comfort of sneakers as travelling shoes re-realized. Buses that serve drinks and snacks like on a plane!

Totally overwhelmedness in a bazaar like I've never been before. Two hellacious days of pouring down rain. One of the best dates of my life. More Christian/Jesus/Mary depicting mosaics and frescoes than I can count. Successful and mostly hassle-free shopping. Being known by name and I them, at one little bar/restaurant in Istanbul. Free towels, soap, breakfast and internet at every hotel/hostel I stayed at. Being in Istanbul on 29 October - Republic Day - celebrating the founding of modern Turkey (and modern it is)! Turkish yogurt (better than Greek).

Tons learned about WWI and Turkey. Left with a bag that weighed 27 lbs and am returning with 33 lbs. Not bad! One city bus trip navigated in a downpour - totally sucessfully! One trip up a tower to see the city from on high - one of my favorite things to do everywhere I go. Two obscene pastries eaten (one day after the other) as a rainy-day-in-Istanbul activity. One ancient hill-carved monastary visited. Orange tights purchased for 4 YTL. One very early shuttle bus to the airport to begin the journey home. 6 hour layover in London.

SUCH A GOOD TRIP.

Other thoughts that I think are important:

When I travel, I am a different person than I am at home. I'm calmer, I worry less. I go with the flow. I'm open and friendlier. I'm less opinionated. I listen better.

I need to adopt some of these things for my regular life, which it seems to me now is a misnomer anyway. For am I not a traveller in my life? Am I not discovering and learning every day? Should I not be as open in my day to day as I am when I am a foreigner? Should I not take in stride whatever happens in the way I am so willing to when I am away? Yes. The answer is a big yes.

Living in Thailand taught me to relax. Before my years of mai pen rai (no worries!) I didn't know how. I failed at relaxing, but now I do it well. It is time to take another lesson from the world and make it mine all the time. Because why do I travel if not to learn more and then integrate the lessons? Just to say I've been places? Not I. I want more.

And so, I will try to be more open at home. To look around more, not hurry to no where so much, to smile at people and be friendlier. I will try to worry less. I will attempt to stop living so comfortably with annoyance (one of my favorite defaults) and instead will take a moment to determine if energy could be better spent another way (my guess is yes). I will attempt to be more free of myself - of my own self-constraints that keep me from feeling all the time the way I feel when I travel.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Turkey's So Great, No Tıme to Blog

Just a little post to say that İ've obvıously decıded not to post from Turkey. I'll do a bıg trıp-roundup post when İ'm back statesıde.

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Update about Missing Pants

It's here! The blog about missing pants. It's called Find Your Pants and it's the brainchild of one of my illustrious Boston Cares co-workers.

She's collecting photos, so start snapping those missing pants chicks on the street and submit! Click here to check out her blog, called Find Your Pants!

Monday, October 05, 2009

You Forgot Your Pants


There is a disturbing phenomenon happening at the moment in fashion. People keep forgetting their pants.

I started noticing this last spring. Women on the streets of the city with what appeared to be shirts, with no pants or skirts. Some were button downs, like they stole them from their boyfriends or their dads, belted. Some were what looked like long t-shirts. Sometimes they were dresses that were shirt-sized. But each and every time, legs up to here and more often than not, a piece of butt now and then peeking out.

This summer, my parents and I were walking through the city and I pointed one out to my mom: "See that girl, she forgot her pants." My mother looked at the woman, looked at me and said, horrified "Oh my god, she did!" I laughed and explained the phenomenon. She was doubtful. But then the next one and the next one and the next one walked by. Each time, my mother pointed and stared. By the time she was getting on the T to go home, she was as disturbed as I was.

Let me clarify on age and size of these women. Varied. All over the map. Young and cute and small. Not-so-young, not so cute, not so small. Sometimes one would have tried to have sense by putting on tights or nylons (not leggings, mind you). This, while a valiant effort, often makes it worse. Now your ass cheek is peeking at me through purple nylon? This is supposed to be better?

Sitting down is always a challenge. On the T, crotch shots abound. What are these women thinking? Do I want to see your underwear? No, not really. And especially not at 7:30 a.m. And where are you going? To work or school? This hardly seems appropriate attire for either. If you want a bare ass at the club, fine, but I think your teachers and co-workers would appreciate a fully clothed person to show up.

Now, I'm a pretty conservative dresser, I'll admit. Not as conservative as some people (I'm considered in my family to be a little on the trendy side in comparison). But I cover up my bits. Fully. Maybe I'll show a little cleavage now and then, but boobs are not orifices. Stuff does not accidentally come out of them. (Graphic, I know, but seriously people!) I realize that I am not the best judge of what's hip or appropriate. I came of age during grunge, where we wore flannel and 4 layers and jeans with tights and big boots and long underwear under skirts. All our clothes were 2 sizes too big. I borrowed my dad's jeans in high school (he is 6'4" and weighed 215 at his skinniest) and his sweaters whenever he wasn't looking. I understand this. But this swing so far in the other direction is problematic, I think.

Boys aren't dressing like this. I don't ever see a guy out walking around with short shorts on. Or a dude with his package somehow highlighted for the world to check out. There is no equivalent to this for men. Women are expected to leave nothing to the imagination and walk around half naked (literally), but men are allowed to continue to wear cargo shorts hanging down to their mid-calves that are so baggy I can't even tell if they are fit or not. Let's not turn this into a feminism argument, but women continue to be objectified and objectify themselves through fashion. It's a problem.

My female co-workers, who are all far younger than I, agree with me. None of them would be caught in an outfit like this. They joke that they want to get stickers made up that say "This is where your pants should be" and then stick them on people's legs as a public service. I am pleased that there is this group I know who show me that it is not every woman who is willing to bear her ass in public. Because I'm certainly not going to any time soon (even though my ass is much smaller than it used to be these days).

So, women of the world. Put on some pants. Or a skirt. Anything on the bottom that covers up that half of you somewhat. Be risque if you like. I had a long, black, see-through skirt in college. I wore it with black tights. You could see my legs right through it. It was sexy and fun. But it wasn't obscene. There's a difference. The man who is checking you out on the street should be wondering what you look like under that cute dress you're wearing. He should be striving towards getting you out of it to enjoy his first look. But he doesn't have to do any of that, because he can see it all already, right there on the street. And then he goes home and masturbates to the vision. Hardly romantic.

Start a movement. Get some pants.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Homelessness Awareness Month


Feeding America is asking bloggers to post in the month of September about Homelessness Awareness Month. Since I am on the board of a soup kitchen in Boston, I thought I'd write about that.

The Friday Night Supper Program is in its 25th year of serving hungry and homeless people every Friday night in the basement of the Arlington Street Church. It was founded by the Church and Dignity Boston, a group of GLBT Catholics. It then became its own 501C3 nonprofit organization and has operated that way ever since. It has only two part-time employees and relies on volunteers to serve a nutritious meal to approximately 130 people each week. A Friday night has never been missed or cancelled, ever, in 25 years. Come rain, snow, hurricanes, holidays, power outages and more, Friday Night Supper is there.

The meal is served restaurant style. Guests begin with bread and butter and water on their tables and can go up to get coffee and juice and soup during the first hour. At 6 p.m., volunteers serve the meal to the guests at their tables, accommodating special requests for vegetarian options and other requests. As soon as the meal is served to everyone in the hall, the door is opened again to late comers, who receive a meal at the door as they come in. Dessert is also served to guests at their table at 6:30. Guests are welcome to spend time in the hall until 7 and then the hall closes so volunteers can clean up, sweep, mop, breakdown all the tables and chairs and do all the dishes. Without fail, all the volunteers leave by 7:30. It's like clockwork.

We serve guests who are homeless and those who live in subsidized housing or low-income housing. Some work, but many cannot for varied reasons. Some live only on disability or on social security. At the beginning of the month, our numbers are often lower, but come the end of the month, it can get very busy. On cold or rainy days, folks tend to stay longer in the hall, protected from the weather.

We also have a "Clothing Closet" which provides whatever we can to guests when we can. Clothes, shoes, socks, underwear, toiletries, and more are given out each week to folks with requests. Often, we cannot meet all the requests we get, and are constantly looking for donations. We always need men's things - we get about 90% male guests at the Program. If you have things to donate, let me know! Or, adopt FNSP for the holidays or for your birthday, and do a drive for us!

Homelessness is pretty horrible. Sleeping on the streets, on a bench, in an ATM vestibule are all risky, cold, and uncomfortable. People are homeless for lots of different reasons - many of them their own responsibilities, but many that are more luck of the draw than anything else. Undereducated, under resourced, under supported people struggle across the United States every day to be sure they can keep a roof over their heads.

Is running a soup kitchen solving the problem? Nope. It's not. We aren't doing any work at the root of the problem. We aren't working to change the source of the problem. But, for only $70,000 a year, we can serve about 7000 meals to people who can't wait for the system to catch up - because they are hungry right now.

Want to come volunteer with me? Let me know. You can come anytime! It's easy, fun, and rewarding.

And this month, when you walk past a homeless person, say hello. Or give the dude on the corner a dollar, even if you usually wouldn't. Or get your extras wrapped up at a meal and give it to someone who's asking on the street. Or, make a donation to a homelessness serving agency (FNSP!). Or volunteer. Before I served my first meal at FNSP in 2007, I had never worked in a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. I had no idea I would care so much. But I do. And you might too.

Sunday, September 06, 2009

An Okay Spreadsheet



Life was not supposed to be this way. I'm not exactly certain what way it was supposed to be, but this isn't it.

I was looking forward to this weekend as I always look forward to a weekend during which I have nothing or almost nothing planned. My life is so busy and days or whole weekends with nothing in them are a blessing. These past few weeks have had me running, so knowing I had three whole days with nothing much to do had kept me going. And, as usual, this afternoon, seemingly from nowhere, I was hit with a bout of extreme loneliness, as I often am on three-day weekends during which I have nothing or almost nothing planned. A hideous Catch-22.

I have no idea how I have wound up in my late thirties and single. Absolutely no idea. It's as if it is calculus. That is how little idea I have about it. I don't know why this is my path, I don't know if I did something or a series of somethings to wind up here, I don't know if perhaps it is just fate.

I've learned quite a bit about Microsoft Excel over the past couple of weeks. (How did I get along this long without knowing the simplicity of formulas or that dragging a row that starts with "Monday" and "Tuesday" will autofill days of the week to infinity?) Tonight I was picturing my life like a spreadsheet with the bottom right "Total" cell being empty where "marriage" should be. All the experiences that supposedly lead to that are effected by some formula that adds up to it - in this spreadsheet. And then I am able to play around with scenarios, changing out a cell that says "Thailand" with a cell that says "staying put" or retyping a cell that says "Simmons" with a cell that says "URI" to see if the word "marriage" magically appears in that bottom right cell. But, even if I could have that grid on the screen, it's too late to change any of the cells. Time passed cannot be changed. It's wasted energy and wasted fantasy to even wonder about it.

It's been a good while since I thought about he-who-shall-not-be-named, and tonight I was besieged. A symptom of the loneliness of the three-day weekend, no doubt. I remembered, all of a sudden, that he knew he was being sent away on Army mobilization before he kissed me the first time. That he wooed me with great vigor, knowing all along that when he had me hooked he would then tell me he was leaving, pretending that he'd just learned it himself. How horrible. How really really horrible. The feeling of horror isn't as strong now as it was when I first came to know this nearly 8 months ago, but my disbelief is. It just sits on top of the pile of other disbelief I have. There are so many things I just cannot believe.

I cannot believe that I sleep alone each night. I cannot believe how long it has been since I had sex. I cannot believe that I am not allowed to care for someone as deeply as I wish to and have the capacity for. I cannot believe that nobody cares for me. (Friends and family do not enter into this equation.) I cannot believe that I wasted some number of years not caring about finding a partner. I cannot believe that still, today, I am very very shy and have a hard time engaging in conversations with men in many situations. I cannot believe that about half the time, I am rejected when I reach out to someone new and ask if they'd like to get a beer sometime. I cannot believe that more than half the time, when I do get a beer with someone, I find that I'd rather be talking to my roommate or reading a book than carrying on the conversation I am in. I cannot believe some of the people who I am connected to on FaceBook have found partners and I have not. I also cannot believe how rude that last statement is or how vehemently I feel it. I cannot believe how embarrassed I am sometimes to be like a broken record about my singleness to some of those around me. I cannot believe that both my siblings are married and both of my in-laws' siblings are either married or engaged. I just simply cannot believe any of it.

This disbelief is new. For a long while now, I've been actively engaged in looking for a partner. For him. Wherever he is. (I've always thought there are many "hims" who would be great for me, I use the singular for simplicity sake.) All these years that it hasn't worked, I've just thought I wasn't trying hard enough. Or perhaps I wasn't being forgiving enough. Or maybe I wasn't being charming enough. I always thought it was something fixable or make-able. Now I don't think that. I only know one other person who has tried this hard to find her partner, and she's now in a new relationship that I hope will work out for her. But everyone else? Not so much effort. (Don't get me wrong - the RELATIONSHIPS are effort - I know some folks with what I would consider an inordinate amount of relationship effort - but I mean the meeting part.) Why haven't I ridden up the chairlift with a guy who asks me out for a beer apres ski? Why didn't the guy in line at Chacarero that day - the one who I talked to the entire time about the Mango Mash soda I had chosen - ask me for my number? Why did the friend of a friend who I worked up the guts to email and ask out for a beer reject me so swiftly with a "no offense, but I'm not interested" response? I'm just not sure. Perhaps it IS me. Perhaps I'm like those people who audition on American Idol, whose family and friends should definitely have told them they cannot sing for shit. Maybe I am really not attractive and not good company and nobody ever tells me. It's possible. There's things I don't tell those in my life. Maybe everyone's been sparing my feelings for years.

All I know is that other people meet. And I seem not to meet anyone. I go through my days and nights, and I don't come across interesting people who are single. I am actively engaged in lots of things, and none of them bring me closer to anyone who I might end up loving. And so I go back to the disbelief.

Occasionally, I make a comment about how thankful I am to be single. Usually cheekily, in the wake of some idiocy someone's partner has done or said. And yes, it's nice to not have to ask anyone before I make plans or negotiate someone else's family on top of my own. But none of that, for me, is worth what it means I don't get. There are those who don't care about marriage; who see the single-person benefits as outweighing what one might get from a partner. I am not one of those people. I'm pretty sure all that compromise is most likely worth it in the end. Watching my parents for 36 years has led me to be this sure.

I've been very very scared for a while now that if I do end up alone for the long term, that it'll change me drastically in some way I cannot predict just yet. I cannot help but think that change will be negative. I work, though, to put support beams in place in the foundation of my life so that won't happen. I maintain friendships, I strive to be a very good aunt, I reach out to those who need help. I do all this because I care, but I also do it shore up my own dunes. To make sure that if I need the favor in reverse, it'll most likely be there. Because I might not have that person who HAS to be there for me, I need to fill up with people who would WANT to.

We singletons are not taken seriously sometimes. We don't have partners to drag us away, we don't have children to take up our time, some of us don't have houses to maintain. And so we are considered less than actually grown up. I feel this regularly. It is another thing I just cannot believe. How is it that someone who has been financially independent for 14 years, who put herself through graduate school, who travelled across the planet and back - how can this person not be fully adult? And yet, I am not. Now and then, I even treat myself that way.

As it often is when these kinds of thoughts enter my head, it is late right now. I cannot sleep. I am, 99% of the time, a very good sleeper. Yet, every six months or so the doubt-tapes begin playing and I can't make them stop. And tonight the result is this post. Perhaps before I make it go live, I should go back and re-read the few other posts about my alone-ness and make sure the broken-record tracks at least have a few different chords. I won't though. This is my story tonight, and so it shall be recorded. With a tiny bit of luck (and perhaps some more effort on my part), I'll re-read this the night before I am going to walk down the aisle and I'll laugh. Or I'll re-read it when I'm 66 and off to my brother's for Sunday dinner with his kids and his wife because I am the fun, single aunt who the kids can't wait to talk to, even though they are already graduated from college and one is engaged and I'll sigh for a moment, but of course, I'll be okay.

Because if there's one thing I always am, somehow, no matter what, it's okay. And that is what I assume is in that bottom right corner of the life spreadsheet right now, rather than it being empty - "okay".

Friday, September 04, 2009

Summer 2009


Me, Kelly, Ashley, Nikki, Becca, Allie and Youngmi during our AmeriCorps celebration trip to the Boston Harbor Islands, 2009.

Now a tradition, here is my 2009 "What I Did Over My Summer Vacation" Post.

-Went white water rafting in Maine - did my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th months of FitCamp (had to stop wearing my contacts in August because the sweat running into them was burning too much!) - trained to be a Civic Reflection Facilitator by the Project on Civic Reflection in Chicago - saw Away We Go with Maya Rudolph, John Krasinski, and Dave Eggers at the showing! - ran three 5Ks and one two-miler! - saw Kathy Griffin live - launched Never Cease Photography - met a cousin I'd never met before - was in the same room (albeit a giant conference center room) with Michelle Obama - visited San Francisco - ate lots of CSA veggies - grew zucchini, beans, radishes, cukes, basil, and lettuce - donated double red cells - spent another 4th of July at Cobbetts Pond - saw Michael Franti & Spearhead, twice - saw Goonies on the big screen at midnight - had an overnight in JP with the Clinton kids - said goodbye to 4 AmeriCorps staff members - and hello to 5 new ones - finally visited Burlington, Vermont - camped on the shore of Lake Champlain - went canoe/kayaking with mom and dad after getting rained out twice - presented a writing workshop to 6 little kids at 826Boston - went to a wedding in Kennebunkport, Maine, in which the groom promised during his vows to always love the bride, even if she was disfigured in a tragic shark attack - visited with the Dailey family - hosted my sister and niece for a sleepover at my house - went to 2 Sox games - got brand new $500 brakes - made 56 ounces of homemade pesto with the basil from my garden - was a First Thursdays artist in JP - thoroughly enjoyed myself as always!

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Why I'm not Writing Blog Posts

Because I'm addicted to online episodes of Friends. Shown in order, 7 episodes at a time, reloaded on Mondays. I'm on season 7, episode 3. And I cannot stop. I am weak.

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Stay-cation


I had my first ever stay-cation this week. I really needed a break from work before my new staff comes on board on August 17 (AmeriCorps turns over every year). I figured out pretty quickly that due to a $500+ brake job, and a couple of big donations I made this month, I wasn't able to go on a vacation as originally planned. So I had a stay-cation.

This term seems like it should be annoying, but I love it. It's a vacation, but you stay put at home (more or less). I really made a good one. I spent one day visiting my parents and having dinner at the Pond in NH. One day with my friend Sara and her kids at the pool. Two days and one night driving to Burlington, Vermont and camping out on the shores of Lake Champlain, and one day at the beach in Quincy. I rounded out my week with a weekend painting a friend's new condo and a canoeing trip to NH with my parents (their mom/dad's day gifts).

I feel like I haven't been at work in a month and I'm completely relaxed. I was off this week from FitCamp, but Annamaria and I did our own do-it-yourself FitCamp on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning which I could still do, this being a stay-cation. I didn't miss First Thursdays, which was nice. And I slept, all but one night, in my own bed, which was also nice. I read three books and three magazines cover to cover. I didn't open work email except once. I got a few errands done that I needed to get done.

I've had a few people tell me that they don't take all their time off because they don't really have anywhere to go. Stay-cations. It's the answer to what ails you. I swear.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Sesame

I am reading "Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street" by Michael Davis and it is spectacular! First of all, it has all the stuff I ever wondered about. Secondly, it is bringing back amazing memories of watching the episodes in the 70s that he keeps referencing. (I still think I should work there. I've always thought that, and come to find out, lots of the people who have didn't have any more experience than I have when they started.)

I came back from lunch and was playing around looking for classic clips (God bless YouTube and the bored people that populate it). Orange Oscar from 1969 singing "I Love Trash" for the first time with the original Gordon! Amazing.

Then I found this and just felt all warm and fuzzy remembering how VERY MUCH I loved and understood Ernie. (I was also a bit of a crazy weirdo - still am.) This is from 1988, so not totally classic, and I was 15 when it aired (I was still watching then after school - cried when Mr. Hooper died in November of 1983 when I was almost 11).

Enjoy this. Sesame at its best.

Add on: A friend who just read this post sent this article along. Really great info as Sesame prepares to celebrate its 40th Anniversary in November.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

United We Serve

President and Mrs. Obama have announced a new White House initiative, United We Serve. Officially kicked off on June 22 at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service by Michelle in a brilliant speech, and running through September 11, which as been declared a day of remembrance and service, the initiative will ask Americans to serve - in whatever way is best for them - and then add service to their lives in a permanent way.

The goal is to reach a time when service is a given in our lives. When we help our neighbors who need it, when we choose to give time and energy to those causes we care about. Self-directed service is encouraged: clean up a park in your neighborhood or town, have a potluck for the elderly on your street, do an energy audit of your home and change out your lightbulbs and start unplugging the toaster when you aren't using it. Whatever you do, register it on http://serve.gov.

You can also contact a local nonprofit that needs help. But be prepared if that soup kitchen or homeless shelter or kids program is inundated with volunteers and isn't sure they can use you. Don't get annoyed. Nonprofits are struggling to keep up with everything going on, are less funded than last year, and often don't have the infrastructure to take on more volunteers. (Perhaps they need someone to organize the volunteers! Do you have that much time? Do that!)

Families! Encourage your kids to volunteer. Volunteer together as a family. Outdoor projects are perfect. Park clean-ups, invasive species removal, beach clean-ups, and graffiti removal are just a few ideas. If you'd like to do something RIGHT NOW without having to book it with an agency, find a nonprofit nearby your home who needs something, and make it at home! This is called portable volunteering and it's a great way to get the whole family involved. Contact the local animal shelter: could they use catbeds? If so, make no-sew catbeds stuffed with recycled plastic bags! Contact the local soup kitchen: could they use dental kits for guests (travel size toothpaste bundled with a tootbrush?)? Make them and deliver them. Just make sure that you ask what an organization needs first (don't make something and then try to figure out where to donate it) and how many they need. And once you make a commitment to deliver, make sure you do!

Perhaps you are already volunteering and you don't really know it! Are you the coach of the T-ball or little league team? Your daughter's Brownie Troop mom? Register those things and that time on serve.gov! Let the White House know how much you do for your town.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California, the first state to have a cabinet position dedicated to volunteering and service, says that he didn't serve until he was asked. (Of course, those doing the asking were his in-laws Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics and Sergeant Shriver, founder of the Peace Corps, so he didn't have much choice!) Ask someone else to serve. Ask them to come with you, or ask them to help with something. People often don't know how to volunteer until someone else helps them to do so. The number one reason in the U.S. people give when asked why they don't serve is "Nobody asked me."

Talk to your local Hands On Network affiliate. These volunteer centers are across the United States and can get you connected to service. Find yours here. Boston Cares serves Greater Boston, and we will have a United We Serve volunteer challenge which will kick off right after the Independence Day holiday. Join us!

And 9/11. Finally, we know how to honor 9/11. On that day from now on, we as a country will remember those lost on that day and serve in their honor. We will come together as communities and neighbors and help. What better way to commemorate a tragedy than to work together for those who need it most?

That we have an administration this dedicated to service in the United States is no small thing. We have had a culture of service in the U.S. for many years, and in fact it is how we even came to be in the first place. But in these times, the worst we've seen economically in almost a century, it is up to us to renew that culture. To remember where we came from and help each other instead of shoring up alone to weather this storm. And the goal this time is for it not to be temporary, but to become a way of life for all of us. Coming out of 8 years of war and revenge and "if you're not with us, you're against us", into this feels lighter somehow. It's still a lot of work, though. There's a lot to be done. But the more people who do it, the more who help, the easier it will be.

I for one, am signing up to join the White House in changing our nation. Won't you join me?


Thursday, June 25, 2009

San Francisco


I love San Francisco, almost as much (it's a VERY close second) as Boston. I got to spend 4 days there this week for the National Conference on Volunteering and Service and remembered how much I love it.

And, Michelle Obama spoke at the conference. What's better than that? More on United We Serve, the White House's new initiative later.

Friday, June 12, 2009

826


A few weeks back, I went to a fundraising event for 826 Boston. I've known this center is in Boston for a while now. I am also familiar with the history of 826. I can't remember now why I know this. Perhaps because I'm a little bit fascinated with Dave Eggers.

I read Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius way back when it first came out. I think my mom may've passed it along to me. It was odd and interesting and I liked it. Then Eggers, the author, fell off my radar screen for a good long while until one day, in the mail from Amazon, I received a gift from my book-giving friend Robin, What is the What. What an absolutely amazing book. I loved every minute. And then, my roommate at the time had McSweeney's lying around.

Around this same time is when 826 Boston came on the scene. Okay, a brief history of 826. Dave Eggers and some others wanted to start a writing center in San Francisco in the Mission District (one of the San Fran neighborhoods most in need of this kind of thing). They found the perfect space at 826 Valencia Street. But it was zoned for retail. So they all put their heads together and decided to sell pirate supplies. In the back of the store was the after-school tutoring center for kids in the neighborhood. The pirate store did so well, it paid for a bunch of the needs of the center! As other 826 centers have opened up around the country, they each have a store out front. Boston is the Greater Boston Bigfoot Research Institute, where one can purchase all your needs for hunting bigfoot and other mythical creatures. It's pretty cool.

So, back to this event I went to. It involved Steve Almond, Julia Glass and Dave Eggers. They did the intros of the student authors who were published in 826 Boston's first book, 2% of 2% of All the World's Stories. Each child came up to the stage, sat in a big easy chair, and read their story to the over 300 people in the room. One kid was 7! It was so wonderful. It made my soul lighter. I asked that 7-year-old to sign my book afterwards!

Then I heard about a special screening of Away We Go, a new Sam Mendes film starring John Krasinski (the Office) and Maya Rudolph (SNL), written by Dave Eggers and his wife Vendela Vida. So of course I bought a ticket to that. All the money went to 826 Boston. And I knew that Eggers would be there to do Q&A at the end, but lo and behold, so were John and Maya. So cool! They are doing special screenings all over the country to benefit 826 centers, just because Dave Eggers wrote the movie. Pretty awesome.

Another note. 826 Centers only serve the schools right in their direct neighborhoods, that are often the most in need in the city overall. 826 Boston is in Egleston Square in Roxbury and serves elementary, middle and high schools (specific ones) in Roxbury and JP. They also don't serve any kid that wants to come in. The kids are selected, and the Boston center serves about 35 right now. Once they have some more money, they will double that number. The kids all have a binder that tracks everything they are doing while in the center. They finish homework first, and then have to read for 30 minutes, and then they can work on a creative project. It's all very structured and very results-driven.

The Center does four types of things. First, the after school tutoring. Second, field trips, where a class comes from the school to the center to write a book together with an illustrator, a publisher, and them. Each kid goes home with a bound book of which they write the ending. Third, programs in classrooms - volunteers go to the class in the school and run a program there. Finally, workshops, held on evenings and weekends in the center. They also run summer "writing camp" programs.

I went last Saturday to a volunteer orientation at the Bigfoot Institute (826 Boston). It was great. I can't do after school tutoring because it's 3:30 - 6:30 during the week and I can't get there from work. But, they need workshop presenters. You create the workshop and then teach it to a group of kids on evenings or weekends. Right up my alley. I submitted a proposal that same day for August (when they noted they need workshop presenters every day for the summer camp program). I heard back from them yesterday and we're going to finalize everything next week. I'm very excited to share writing and creativity with a group of 8-10-year-olds.

And what do I get? That lighter soul feeling again, if I'm lucky!

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Dating in the Dark

I am sitting here, minding my own business, drinking a glass of white, having just finished a chicken burger from Trader Joe's that I cooked up on the grill and ate on toast, not having hamburger buns in the house. I am reading my Entertainment Weekly magazine, an issue of which I have not missed in about 10 years. And there's a little note, under the Summer TV Preview section, about a new show called "Dating in the Dark."

Yes, this is exactly as it sounds to you. A reality show in which two people "meet in the dark room to get to know each other emotionally and physically, while viewers watch via night vision." Then they turn on the lights.

Great. Just great. This is where we are as a society. And, before you even say it, I realize that there are a lot of other things that could make me question where we are as a society other than this. So shut up.

Course, the little EW blurb goes on to say that the executive producer of this show says that these folks in the dark room form a connection, but do looks change that? And EW says "We're gonna go with yes." This, dear friends, is the problem.

The show has set us up to further realize that looks are the end all and be all of everything. And this being television, they are going to find the hottest dude ever who has the personality of a noodle or a velocaraptor, have the normal, fine looking chick hate him, then the lights come on, she changes her mind, and the ass decides she's not good looking enough for him. And they'll definitely have the total dork guy or the woman who isn't even as overweight as I have been, and their partner-to-be will love them, declare them the best kisser ever and will get one look and back out.

All proving to all those young, impressionable girls and boys out there that in the end, it doesn't matter a whit whether you're nice, or smart, or have a super personality. And even worse, it'll prove to all those unpartnered 20- and 30-somethings out there that they're justified to reject the person they really dug over email or on the phone the minute they get a look at them (even if they, themselves have some relatively good sized flaw either physically or otherwise).

It's embarrassing. And disgusting. And it's shit for those of us out here still looking, in the dark, for someone who gets us.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this show will be the best thing ever and people will overcome their prejudices and go home with the girl with acne to live happily ever after. Maybe. But I won't be watching to find out.

Note: Half-way through writing this post, I thought to myself "Who are you? Don't you judge guys by what they look like? Haven't you rejected someone because they were just too much of a dork for you?" And then I tried to figure out what to do. Go back and insert a paragraph? Write a disclaimer about how I too have done this? Psychoanalyze myself about why I do that and then try to either justify it or explain it away by society's influence? Then I decided to just name it here. Say I've done it. I'll do it again. We all do. But let's not make it voyeuristic. It hurts every time someone does it to me. Or you. So let's not watch it happen to other people.

Monday, May 18, 2009

FitCamp


This morning, I lunge walked up and down the basketball court in front of Stony Brook T station in the South West Corridor Park at 6 a.m. After that, I ran back to the other side, and then walked back down the court, raising one leg in the air touching the toes with the opposite hand like a tin soldier, alternating legs. Then I squatted down, put my elbows inside my knees, raised one arm, then the other, and then stood up. Repeatedly. Then I did 5 divebombers, which is where you put your hands and feet on the ground with your butt in the air (downward facing dog for you yogis) and then lower yourself down using your arms but without your body touching the ground and then up again.

That was the first 10 minutes.

After that, I got inside a giant rubber band (literally - a giant rubber band) with another person. She braced herself while I ran back and forth in the band touching her knee, alternating sides for 20 seconds. Then she went. Next I turned sideways while she stayed frontwards to brace and I side-walked back and forth, with my body low and knees bent back and forth. Then we turned so my back was to her and I ran in place, back and forth closer to her and further away. All while fighting the resistance of the band.

My awesome trainer is the only fully certified trainer for the full bands (not the kind with the handles) on the East Coast! And she loves to show us how good she is!

Then we had to do wall jumps. Literally jump with both feet from the ground up onto the stone wall. My guess? A foot and a half? Two feet? Not sure. I just know every time I jumped, I wondered if I would miss and crack my face open. I didn't. We alternated that with arm presses with the bands again. Three rounds. Then we had to do wall push-ups. Hands on the ground, feet on the wall. Push up. For 30 seconds. Sure, right. Push-ups are one of the only things that I can't even fake doing. I held the position most of the time for those.

There was a bunch more stuff after that. I can't even remember all of it. Then we finished up with "burpy" runs. What the hell, you ask, is that? We had to run the length of the court, then do 3 burpys, then run, 2 burpys, then run, 1 burpy, then run, 1 burpy. A burpy is going down into the push-up position, then keeping your hands on the ground, jump to your feet being under your chest, then finally, jump up into the air! Crazy.

I am a total convert to FitCamp. I've convinced a friend to join me for the June session. I am perhaps going to go bankrupt staying in this program. Although, it's actually pretty affordable. Two weeks ago, I could barely walk because my quads hurt so much. Now I'm much better now, except today my lower back hurts (must be from all that impact of jumping up on a wall). I love my trainer. She's no nonsense, but has the ability to read when you need a bit of motivation "Go, Karen!" or prodding "Keep it high! Keep working!" She plans out the workouts - they're in a notebook. (I'm a big fan of people who don't wing it.)

Join us in JP June 1 - 26, MWF, 6-7 a.m. Sign up here. It's the best $150 (for 12 sessions! a bargain!) you'll ever spend!

Friday, May 08, 2009

Resiliance & Grace


Four months today. Four. Since my world supposedly crashed down around me. That's what it felt like. And two months later, it still felt like that. But here, here on the mark of four months, it feels almost like that never happened. Like it was a story someone told me. (Perhaps this is an indication that I'm not in touch with my emotions enough?)

I still wonder. And I still have moments of extreme sadness. And I still think about when the inevitable "bumping into" will happen. But those moments are fewer. And they're farther between now.

Resilience is a skill. A talent. A blessing. And I've always had it. Thank god. Grace is also a skill. A talent. A blessing. I've not always had it. I'm learning it, though. To take things with it. To understand things with a sense of it. To move through world with some. It'll come.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Waiting? Or not?

Any minute now my ship is coming in
I'll keep checking the horizon
And I'll stand on the bow
And feel the waves come crashing
Come crashing down, down, down on me

And you said,"Be still, my love
Open up your heart
Let the light shine in"
Don't you understand?
I already have a plan
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

When I awoke today suddenly nothing happened
But in my dreams I slew the dragon
And down this beaten path
And up this cobbled lane
I'm walking in my own footsteps once again

And you say,"Just be here now
Forget about the past
Your mask is wearing thin"
Let me throw one more dice
I know that I can win
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

Any minute now my ship is coming in
I'll keep checking the horizon
And I'll check my machine
There's sure to be that call
It's gonna happen soon, soon, oh so very soon
It's just that times are lean

And you say,"Be still, my love
Open up your heart
Let the light shine in"
Don't you understand?
I already have a plan
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

Hey heyeyeyeyey
Hey yeeeeeee
Hey heyeyeyeyey
Eeh eeh eeh eeh eh

On a clear day
I can see, see for a long way

On a clear day
I can see, see a very long way

-Colin Hay Band | Listen here.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Some Randomness

All week, I kept thinking that I hadn't posted in a while and that I should write about "fill in the blank thought of the moment." Then I'd get caught up doing something else and I'd never login and actually write. So here I am on April 17 and I haven't posted since March 20. I actually don't know the longest break between posts on this blog, but I'd venture to say this might be it.

So, since I can't remember anything I thought of this week to write about, here's some random thoughts:

- I'm in Houston visiting my sister, her husband and my niece for the occasion of my niece's first birthday. I can't believe she's been here for a whole year. It feels like she's been around a lot longer, but also feels like almost no time at all at the same time. She's hilarious and smart and sweet. I'm so glad to be able to be here for her birthday.

- I have decided that I am way too busy. It is very rare that I have a weeknight without something scheduled into it. Now, many of those things are social in nature: dinner with friends, a date here and there; and some of them are gym-natured: yoga on Wednesday nights. Some are work-based: an evening obligation, a board meeting and such, but I just can't figure out how I used to have so much time free. I don't anymore. And now that I'm up most mornings to go to the gym, I try to go to bed a lot earlier, so I feel like I have even less time.

- Community theatre is great. I finally saw a show at the Footlight in JP (which claims to be the oldest community theatre in the United States) and it was great. Gypsy, which I'd never seen before.

- FaceBook is a little addictive. And I really like it. The anthropological side of it: why do some people post a status update every few hours while others never do? is very interesting.

- I continue to love the gym. But my left knee hurts most of the time. So I might be forced to start wearing the neoprene brace I have to the damn gym. This is annoying to me.

- I am running a 5K in Groton, MA next weekend with my friend Sara. There's a good chance I won't be able to pull it off. Even though I have been exercising for months, every day, and I can run 5 miles at the gym, I have yet to run outdoors. I am psychologically tortured by the idea that it is harder and I will fail. I also haven't prescribed to any 5K training, either. I've just worked out every day. So, we'll see. If it's a huge joke, I will certainly begin an actual training regimen so I can do the 5K on June 7 and not embarrass myself.

- I am trying to figure out how I spent almost $2000 on credit cards between March 15 and April 15. Holy cow. That is way over what I usually spend in a month. There were quite a few big purchases on there (a flight, a rafting trip, mom and dad's day gifts, my niece's bday gift, etc.) but still!

- My roommate and I determined recently that we are both super happy in our place and we're planning on signing the lease again in September. I'm very pleased about this.

- I ditched Verizon (effers!) and moved to Sprint. I have a Lotus phone and I love it.

- Obama is going to sign the Ted Kennedy/Serve America Act during volunteer week next week. This is super awesome news!

- Obama also finally got his daughters their dog this week, and ended up getting it from Ted Kennedy instead of a shelter. He has taken surprisingly little flack over this.

- I hosted Flat Jack (like Flat Stanley, but a version of my friend Melissa's son Jack) in Boston for a week. I took him all around Boston and then added the photos to his scrapbook. He went to Switzerland, Scotland, Boston, NYC and Vegas on his travels. Such a cool geography lesson for little kids.

- I am already beginning to prepare to mourn the loss of Lost when it ends next year (I think it's next year). It is the single most awesome media experience I have ever had. I love to watch it, I love to think about it. I think it's rad.

- Adventureland was great. Greg Mottola is great. I loved it.

- Boston Restaurant Week makes me happy.

- It seems like spring is never coming. Apparently I missed a real spring day today in Boston, which would've been the first real one.

- I planted my garden last week. Scallions, zucchini, cukes, green beans, radishes, green peppers, basil, rosemary, and parsley. Then it got down into the 30s at night. Now all the little seeds might be frozen to death. If nothing ever grows, I may have to completely replant. Bah.

- Family dinners have begun. They are once a month on Sunday afternoons and involve my dad's side of the family: cousins, aunts, uncles. I am hosting on May 3 and we are headed over into the Arboretum for the lilacs first before dinner. Fun!

- Men continue to be confused about appropriate behavior. Evidenced by my and friends continued dating experiences.

- I'm trying to figure out how often I need to replace my sneakers. I think every 6 months will do if I keep up this rigorous gym-going.

- Bella Luna/Milky Way in JP has closed. So sad. But it will reopen it its new iteration soon at the Brewery. So happy.

- I will attempt to be better at posting here as summer progresses.

Friday, March 20, 2009

I get it now

Every time I read one of those reports about a celebrity that says they work out 2 hours a day or that they lost their baby weight because they worked out 5 hours a day, I would think, "Impossible!" "Ridiculous!" "Who could possibly do that? Or want to?" And my thoughts are never about having the time to do it. Now, obviously, your average Joanne worker woman in the U.S. does not have 2-5 hours a day to exercise. But celebrities do. But I always thought, even if I had that much time, I would never, ever exercise that much.

I've seen the light.

I wish I had even 90 minutes to exercise each day. Now, of course, I could stop doing a lot of other things and only work out. I could go in the morning and again at night. I could go at 9 p.m. or some such crazy time if I had something to do after work. But that, my friends, is what we call obsession at best and addiction at worst. And that is not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about leisure. The ability to have a bit more time to walk to and from the gym instead of driving. Or to be able to go for a big, long walk around the JP pond as well as go to yoga class. That kind of thing.

I have been exercising every day for about 3 months now. This is not a long time. A lot of people have been exercising every day for 3 years or 13 years or 30 years. This is not a competition. This is about me, a relatively active person who has also been relatively sedentary for my entire life. Going to the gym every day for 3 months is an accomplishment over here in these parts. And, I am exercising smartly. I vary what I am doing, I don't forget about the value of strength training and weight work, I am trying out new machines (I have a torrid love affair going with the rowing machine and the arc trainer!). I spend between 50 and 60 minutes at the gym most days, mostly at 5:30 or 6 in the morning. I have also managed to fit in 1-2 yoga classes each week most weeks.

Every time I get going, I am just too tired. I just got out of bed, it's still dark, I didn't get to bed until after 10 p.m. The first 5 minutes of whatever I'm doing is killer. But then my heart gets going, and I begin to sweat. My legs feel strong, and the songs on my shuffle never do me wrong. And as I watch the clock, the minutes tick by, I start to get sorry that I'll have to leave soon. I stood there yesterday, holding onto a support pole in my old brewery gym doing a quad stretch and said to myself "This is why Jennifer Aniston can workout so much. Because it feels amazing." It's like drugs. Really. It is. Endorphins are powerful little buggers, living right inside of me. And finally, I've let them out to do their job.

Twelve pounds, a bunch of inches and wearing clothes that haven't fit in over 2 years are side benefits. The real value is in knowing I'm helping my health over the long term. Well, that and the high. I'll never turn down a high.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Spring-tastic!

I have found that the older I get, the more happy Springtime arriving makes me.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

My (Boring) (Adventuresome) Life



People often comment on what an adventurous life I live. I travel to weird places by most people's standards. I book myself on cool trips, find people to go with me, give trips as gifts as a secret way to do stuff, and sometimes even go alone (see dogsledding in Maine, kayaking Casco Bay, canoeing on the Charles, lighthouse climbing in Boston Harbor, whitewater rafting the Kennebec, zip-lining in NH). I find interesting hobbies, have interesting friends, volunteer, and engage in my community.

All of that is true. To be honest, though, I feel pretty boring most of the time. I have purposely created as simple a life as possible in order to reduce drama and stress. Mostly, I succeed at that. I have a lovely little apartment on a lovely little street near lots of greenspace, but still in the city with a lovely roommate who I really like. Neither of us own a lot of things and there's little clutter in our home. I have a simple little car (and a simple little loan to pay for it) that is easy to navigate, easy to park and easy to maintain. I have a small group of regular friends who don't contribute drama to my life. They are loving and caring and like to drink beer and host potlucks and talk about politics and movies.

I go to work, volunteer, go to the gym (these days), make a healthy dinner, occasionally bake something, check my email, write a blogpost now and again, watch Lost online (my simple life has resulted in no cable TV), and go for a walk in the park near my house. I gossip much less than I used to, I avoid "Did you hear about..." talk as much as possible, and I attempt to not create drama for other people as much as possible.

Unfortunately, this is not how I used to be. I used to love gossip (as long as I wasn't spreading lies and other people were not aware I was talking behind their backs, why did it hurt them?). I used to be in the center of the "Did you hear about..." discussion. I still harbor these tendencies, way down inside the teenager that still lives in a little room in my heart and always will. Last year, I had a friend who was full of drama. He claimed he wasn't. Claimed an allergy to it. Sure - to other people's drama. But he swirled in it - bathed in it every day. Created it at every turn. He complicated everything. And I got sucked in. Him going away has reverted me back to my days pre-him. And it feels weird.

And so, here I am, in my simple life, wondering if I've done something wrong to not have more action happening in my life at my age. I have just gotten fully engaged on FaceBook, and I've reconnected with lots of folks. Now, I'm not saying their lives are complicated or filled with drama, but they have kids and homes and husbands and wives and in-laws and all sorts of craziness going on. I don't have any of that. And I'm glad. Don't get me wrong. But am I somehow less mature - less developed - because I don't? And should I be somehow doing more? If Becky has a child and a job and a husband, and she just opened her own baking company on the side, what am I doing with my time? Shouldn't I somehow be saving the world or something amazing? What I'm doing is baking chocolate macaroons and finishing reading Revolutionary Road in a day and a half. Nice for me, but significant?

I'm not sure I even believe any of those thoughts in that paragraph up there. But there the ones that have been parading (uninvited, I might add), through my head all week. Part of me, the big part, I should clarify, is really pleased with simplicity. I hope to hang on to it for the rest of my life. This other little part, probably the part that still listens to that teenage self in my heart, is wondering when the BIG will happen and what it'll be.

And while all these thoughts are happening, I'm hatching my Mother and Father's Day adventure-trip gifts for this year and looking forward to that rafting trip in May. And spring. Bring on spring! The parks look lonely out there in my neighborhood! Simple tasks, simple anticipation, simple requests. That all feel really good.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Wishing for a Visit to Mars

I am a woman who is meant to have male friends.

In high school, many of my closest friends were boys. When I left college, which I loved every minute of, and am still very glad I had the extraordinary experience of a women's education, my first close friend in grad school was a man. When I moved to LA, one of my three closest friends there was a man. In Thailand, my closest friend was a man. I have always, up until two and a half years ago, had men in my workplace who I thoroughly enjoyed (they tended to be married or gay, but they were men, nonetheless).

I miss this very much. My one close male friend left Boston last summer. I miss him. And then I just lost the closest male friend I've had in a long time. And he was truly male. In every sense of the word and I loved having that again.

I know that part of the reason I lament being single as much as I do is because I really really dig maleness and having it in my every day existence. I also want a partnership and to be loved, but on a base level, part of that is wanting maleness in my life.

I am in a field that is dominated by women. Ninety percent of the meetings I attend in and out of my office are filled with women. And the one or two men who happen to be in some of them tend to operate in a female-dominated field in a way that downplays their maleness. I work with 12 other people, only one of whom is a man. Everyone who works for me is a woman. I hire them. And I can't find AmeriCorps members who are men very easily. Believe me, I try.

I love my women friends. Deeply and madly. Women are allowed to have friendships that are intimate and special, and I wouldn't trade this for anything. I would never want to be a man, because then I'd have to give up the way I understand friendship as a woman. I love my sister and my mother more than anything. I am very pleased my first aunt experience is to a girl. I understand that better.

But I want testosterone around me. I want to have a man's way of knowing on my Board of Directors. I want that back. I had it for a full year, in a very intense manner. I explained what was going on, and he saw the situation in an entirely different way, just because he is in possession of a penis. I swear it's that simple. Men just see things differently, know them differently, and solve them differently.

I do not miss this man who wronged me. I don't miss him. But I sure miss his maleness. I want that back. My brother is great, but he's my brother; not the same. And I have all these family friends who are men, but they too, are family.

Men and women, it's said, aren't meant to be friends. The Harry Met Sally syndrome and all. Yeah, yeah. And that's mostly true. I have a terrible history of falling for my male friends. I know. But the ones who are married or gay or otherwise engaged have been godsends to me. And I wish for one, long for one, right now. Tonight. To drink a beer and talk. In a boy-man-way. A way that's a treat for me. A way that's not my default. A way that feels interesting and comfortable and a little bit racy.

I'm can't just order it up, though, can I? Shit.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Running: Who Knew?

I have never liked to run. In junior high, when we had to run the mile for the Presidential Fitness program, I refused to do it. I walked. But you have to finish in 15 minutes or something like that, so I had to run part of it at the end. I hated every minute of the damn thing.

There's a 2 mile road race before my hometown's 4th of July Parade that raises money for a scholarship fund in the name of a childhood friend's brother, who was killed when we were all still in high school. I've done it a number of times through the years, but I've always walked it, on purpose.

I played soccer when I was 10 - 12 or thereabouts. I quit after that. So much running.

I got yelled at in gym class routinely through my entire school life for not fulling participating, especially when the activity required running.

I was practically the tallest girl in the 9th grade and the gym teacher / coach tried to recruit me for basketball. You kidding me?

I was never overweight in school, ever. Not till college did my family genetics catch up with me, and even then, I've never been more than 30 pounds overweight, and on my 5'10" frame, I can (mostly) carry it off. And, I'm active in other ways. I ski, I dived for years, I love to canoe, raft, do adventure stuff like bungee jump, dogsled, zipline, etc. I am also a city-dweller, so I walk a lot. A tank of gas typically lasts me a few weeks and I have a 12 minute walk on the front end of my commute and an 8 minute walk on the back end, reversed on the way home. I often go walking in my neighborhood (which has a huge pond with a 1.5 mile walkway around it and a huge Arboretum, which includes two good-sized hills).

I have only been a religious gym-goer one other time in my life, when I lived in LA, and that was because everyone in LA is a poser in one way or another, and I really wanted to stay thin while I was living there. For the record, it didn't work. I was fit, but gained weight just the same while living there because I was eating like a pig, as usual. I have also dieted my way out of those 30 extra pounds a few times over the last decade, using Weight Watchers mostly, and skipping the exercise, since I hate it so much.

I have used every excuse in the book. Here's a few: Exercise doesn't work for me, it's all about what I eat. I hate to run. I hate the gym. I won't get up in the morning. I like to be outside too much.

I decided just after Christmas to give the gym another go. I thought I was going for the classes: affordable yoga is almost impossible to find. And I needed something to relax me, and perhaps help with toning my body a bit. At the same time, I made an attempt to stop eating so much and so frequently and so much bad shit (my sweet tooth is the bane of my existence). I started going. And I jumped on the treadmill, being such a good walker and all. I could walk forever, really.

And I ran.

And I almost died. I said to myself, "If you can run 5 minutes in a row, you can stop." And this was at a 13-minute-mile pace. And I ran those 5 horrible minutes and I stopped. That week, I went to yoga and went to the gym every day. I rode the bike, walked a lot, and even did the elliptical machine.

The next week, I convinced myself to run a whole mile. And I did it. I hated it, and I sweated more than I've sweated in a long time. But at the end, I felt accomplishment. A sense of "I can do this!"

By the fourth week, almost to the one-month day of when I began going to the gym, I ran 3 miles. And I did it in just over 32 minutes. I was amazed. Holy cow. I can do this. I can run. And it feels amazing. That first mile's a killer, and the second one tries to convince you the whole time to stop, just stop! But that third one, it's easy. Really.

So now I'm running three miles about three times a week. Some days are easier than others. Last week, one morning, I could barely convince myself to keep going, and had to walk part of the second mile in order to push through the third. But three days later, I got on there and ran three like it was my job. And yesterday I ran three miles in only 31 minutes. I've even gone past the three-mile mark and done 3.5, but have to get off for someone waiting or because I'm going to be late for work.

My goals now? Run 5 miles by the 4th of July. Run outside once the weather gets nicer and see if I can actually run 3 miles outside (big difference between the treadmill and the street). Enter a 5K and run it by the end of the summer.

Dream goals that I'm not ready to commit to yet? Run a 5-mile roadrace by the fall. Train for a sprint-trialthalon for next spring (1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run). God only knows if I'll follow through on this long enough for those to become a reality. Time will tell.

In the meantime, running's like drugs. I tried to figure out how I could get to the gym today. There's no way. I left the house at 7 a.m. for an 8 a.m. meeting and my last meeting of the day will get out at 9 tonight, getting me home by 9:40. For a minute and a half, I considered trying to get to the gym by 9:30 for a 30 minute run before they close at 10. No way I'm gonna make that, but I thought about it.

And my body's changing. My legs are more powerful. The celluite is slowly disappearing. My ass is smaller. Jeans that have been in my drawer for a year or more fit again. I like the idea that my body might sculpt itself differently than it ever has before.

And I'm keeping the yoga. All this running needs to be countered by strength and relaxation. The balance will keep me healthier.

And those calories? I'm staying away from the cookies for the most part, making a three-pieces-of-fruit smoothie each morning, and keeping the beer to a minimum. Because what goes in my mouth still matters. But now exercise does too. Another great balance.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

The powers of three-year-olds


I went today to visit my friend Sara and her three kids (and her husband, too). They are a lovely family and are doing really well. We try to make sure to see each other at least once a month since we lived so far from each other for so many years, and here we both are, full circle, both close to where we started.

Her daughter is full of life and has been verbal from before she could talk. Today, Sara told me a story that happened last Tuesday. Her daughter was having a not-so-good morning and Sara was reprimanding her for whatever transgression. Caroline, in a fit of anger, said to Sara "Your day is cancelled!" HOW AWESOME!

Imagine if we could just cancel someone else's day? Just take it away from them as punishment? We'd never need any other power, because that one would just be the end-all-and-be-all! And, on a twist, I have to say I'd love the ability to cancel my own day once and a while too. Just have a break, but nobody's expecting me anywhere, because my day doesn't exist. It's just been cancelled.

Apparently about a year ago, when Caroline was still only 2 and a half, she once said to Sara, "Get out of my mood!" Which is also not only clever, but totally sums up what we grown-ups need to do for each other sometimes.

Children are wise. Why do we unlearn that?

Monday, January 26, 2009

36








I am 36. I am still in my mid-thirties. (Yes. I am. No. 36 is not late-thirties. No, I'm not listening. It's not.)

Fun facts about the number 36 are available easily, as is all other knowledge of the world, on Wikipedia, of course. I harvested these three from all the others.

First:

36 is the number of degrees in the angle of all 5 tips in a perfect star.

Ah, perfect things. A perfect star. Drawn with a protractor. From 1982. When I was 9.

Second:

36 is the sum of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.


Well, that's just cool. And nice and round. And happily mathematical.

Third:

The sum of 1+2+3+...+36 is 666.

Great. The sign of the devil. Hmmm...

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Darlin' Do Not Fear


Through Pandora, I discovered Brett Dennen. I love him. His songs are simple and sweet. This one was just playing, and I really heard it for the first time. I do that, you know, don't really listen to a song, even one I've heard again and again. Anyway, this one is apropos this week.

These are excerpts. The song is Darlin Do Not Fear What You Don't Really Know.
Listen here, but don't watch, because the hand held camera will make you sick. :)

From its place on the mantle my heart and was taken down
scattered in a thousand little pieces on the ground
And out below the street lamp like an orphan with a halo
Darlin' do not fear what you don't really know

'cause it won't last - the worries will pass
All your troubles they don't stand a chance
And sometimes it takes more than a lifetime to know
Darlin' do not fear what you don't really know

If you have a broken heart or a battered soul
Find something to hold on to or to let go
to help you through the hard nights like a flask filled with hope
Darlin' do not fear what you don't really know

Sunday, January 18, 2009

I will

Bad things sometimes are done to good people. The key is, though: the bad thing was created by someone else. So the good person (me, in this case) doesn't own it. It isn't mine. I am affected by it, but it's not mine. So moving on from it is easier.

I had a relationship this year with someone I came to love. We started out dating, I broke it off because it wasn't working, I went back looking for friendship, I discovered a lie, I left for "good", I sought the friendship again, I thought the friendship had potential to be a relationship again, and I found out the entire thing had been a lie, from the start.

It's been quite the journey. And difficult. There're details that are mind-blowing; details that are disgusting; details that are shocking; details that are just plain sad. Sufficed to say, though, that the details aren't really important any more. I've had my fill of details.

I am okay. Good, even. It has been 11 days since I learned that I'd been duped, tricked into thinking something existed that didn't. It's been 11 days since I learned that some people are ill. I knew this, of course, but I'd not had a relationship with anyone who has a real disorder before. It's powerful stuff.

It is the big picture that is important now. This is the big picture as I understand it today:

- I am a loving, trusting, pure-of-heart person. (Not to say I'm naive, because I'm not; purity is something different. I use that word to mean that I always have good intentions, my interactions with others are always organic, my emotions are always available to myself and others, and I do not possess the ability to hurt another person on purpose, nor to I have the ability to understand how others can do so.)

- I have a deep desire to be in a partnership with a man, but that hasn't presented itself to me yet in a real way. I need to be increasingly careful to not see potential where it isn't because of this desire.

- I trusted someone who shouldn't have been trusted. I had no way of knowing that he didn't deserve my trust. So none of this is my fault.

- I am not willing to give up who I am at my core, so I will trust again. Some might see this as wanton at best or stupid at worst. I am not really interested in a tempered version of myself and so, I will trust.

- Karma is very powerful. Whenever I've said in the past that the Universe is watching over me and I listen to its messages, I really mean Karma. That my behavior and intentions are so honest and open that Karma helps me get what I need. I believe this is why things come easier to me, why I often find myself in the right place at the right time, and why my life is simple, clean, and beautiful. Karma will work out what needs to be worked out in this case without my intervention.

- I have truly wonderful friends and family. Ones who listen to me, love me, understand me, and are protective of me. They are willing to hug me, cry with me and hold my hand when I need it. They are patiently waiting for me to laugh again.

- I have a honed ability to process information, evaluate my emotions, gather information from inside myself, and move forward in ways that are useful and healthy. I have exercised this ability numerous times in my life, and it has served me especially well this time around.

I realize this post is cryptic. I realize, dear reader, that you aren't getting the whole story. But my intention in this post is to outline the future, not get bogged down in the past.

So, as I move through another January and into a new year, I will walk tall, with my given confidence and belief in myself. I will slowly stop wondering why. I will stop glancing back and instead I will look forward. I will continue to do yoga two or three times a week because it is as good as therapy. I will start to want to eat again. I will laugh, loudly and obnoxiously once again.

I will.