big sur…

needless to say, i had a magical time. the communing with nature and lovely folks really made me feel good and centered and relaxed. and loved. by people i don’t see often. that’s precious and priceless, you know?

so much to tell…

i don’t really know where to start.

i’ll be back sometime this weekend to give the grand update with photos. short version?

my sister’s wedding: adorable, sweet, fun, and perfect.

camping in big sur: spirit-lifting, rejuvenating, gorgeous, fun, and a reminder that there are people i won’t see for years and still, when we do see each other, there will be a comfort and ease that’s hard to find anywhere else. ahh, old friends as family. absolutely lovely.

things

my sister’s wedding was this last weekend, and it was beautiful, touching, hilarious, sweet, and an all-around fantastic time. it’s always great to be in the presence of a couple who so obviously adore each other.

my sister is gorgeous!

tomorrow, i head to california to camp in big sur with friends i love dearly and rarely see these days. oh, adulthood, you sly fox. i can do whatever i want except afford to see them all whenever i want. i’ll be back next tuesday, late, and have to work the rest of the week after that. i’ll try to post a few more wedding photos as well as absolutely lovely photos of big sur when i return and catch up on a bit of sleep. at least my return flight’s not a red-eye… i can’t do those easily anymore, they just make me feel old and exhausted for like 4 days after. i’d rather pay a bit more for convenience. see? i am a good american!

oh, life.

things here are crazy. this time, instead of fighting it, i’m just going with it. it’s actually working out pretty well…

but, yesterday was… a bummer, for lack of a better term. a guy who’s very well known here in indy for being a sound engineer as well as a talented musician, was found dead at a local recording studio- died of an overdose. only 37. had an adorable son with bright red curly hair who’s only 3 or 4.

saw on the local news a terrible child abuse case in kokomo, indiana, only about 20 minutes north of where i grew up- and one of the girls involved was a girl i went to school with. it’s fucking tragic. she’s my age, 30, but was never in my classes, she was in special ed. so when i saw comments from people like “there’s no punishment bad enough for them” i agree, in a way, but also know that this girl was not well. at all. very very surprised that she was even allowed to keep a child, actually. the baby daddy lived in another town and was supposedly “shocked” that this was going on, and i could only think- you had a baby with this obviously- and i mean OBVIOUSLY- not normal, mentally ill woman, and you are surprised that she didn’t take good care of it ? still, horrible and tragic in every way.

on happier but still weird notes- friends are pregnant or actively trying, my sister will be married on saturday… life continues to continue.

ropes course, etc.

so today was supposed to be my final class for “adventure/challenge: experiential education” which meant we played a lot of group building activities that were cheesy but fun. i’m cheesy, so… it worked out well. this week’s class was canceled due to an big storm a-headin this way. it just started raining, in fact, and i hear my first thunderclap as i write this. luckily, last week we were on the ropes course, too. although a lot of folks in the class tried a few things, saying they’d do the rest this week, i did everything i could. it was not easy, but it was rewarding and fun. i wasn’t nervous, even though it was basically a big obstacle course, 40ft in the air. the harness i wore made me feel pretty confident that i wouldn’t fall to my death- and, luckily, i didn’t!

things i wanna do this summer: a list.

every late winter/early spring, i think to myself how wonderful it will be when it’s warm again. Oh, the plans i make and the things i talk about doing: this year, i’m going to take advantage of blah blah blah… well, this spring and summer, for real, i am going to do them. here is a list-in-progress:

i covet this.

… unless it’s uncomfortable to sit in. i’ll have to do some testing (when do i ever get to ikea these days??!) and get back to you.

yes, please!

introducing…

i got a pet today, a betta. i named him omar little fish because i’ve been watching so much of the wire, and omar little is one of the characters… and, he’s a little fish! he’s a pretty color, too- kind of pink. all other bettas i’ve had or seen have been a lot darker- blues, reds, purples.

behind the bowl i got for him, i put a photo i had of some cliffs and ocean, and it looks pretty cool. i have wanted a pet for so long, and what i really want is a dog, but i thought i’d satisfy my need for something now. here he is!

tonight i took a break from studying and writing my paper to watch the movie sicko (while i did dishes and ate dinner, too) by michael moore. it made me want to find a foreign lover and move to europe for the accent, hot lovin and free healthcare… not to mention the minimum mandatory vacation time! here in the us we just have mandatory minimum sentences! ugh. i just don’t know sometimes if things here will ever really improve. what will it take for people to give a shit about others and be able to let go of their own fears? what’s hard for us to get about this: if everyone takes care of everyone, nobody will need to worry- see, because we’ll all take care of everyone! but why can’t we trust? and why can’t we be trustworthy?

my cuttings

a couple weeks ago, i skipped boxing to go play garden with a friend, j. we went to one of our co-worker’s homes to dig up bulbs for j, and i took some cuttings of these bushy plants e had growing- a pussywillow and japanese pussywillow. e told me to keep them in water, but make sure to change it so it didn’t get stagnant, and they should start growing roots sometime. today i looked, and they are! it makes me very happy that they’re doing what they’re supposed to. i’m excited to move into my new place with better east facing windows and hope that all my plants will thrive! most of them are doing ok, but i definitely noticed a big difference in their performances since i’ve lived here with them getting only north light. here are some very exciting photos of the baby rootlets:

gap and gap.com

ok, a quick venting about gap clothes. i like them, i do- mostly because they’re the only ones i’ve found who have extra long pants (and tops) that fit me well. my problem? they don’t carry their x-long pants or jeans- or even tall shirts, for that matter (important cuz i have passed my “ok to show midriff cuz shirts are too short” phase. my midriff is to be well covered- at least until my boxing results in perfect abs, which i am not counting on. ) anyway. so i call them one day to ask what my options are for buying clothes- can they order some stuff i want into the store so i can try them on? no. my option, they tell me: order everything i want to try (yes, that means paying for them up front) and then return whatever doesn’t fit- or exchange it. so most fits, but i have to exchange a few things. i have to pay for shipping, again. one thing isn’t available in the size i need, and i can’t get money back, they’re going to issue me a “merchandise certificate” – “just like cash” they tell me. so today, i’ve paid all my bills and have budgeted a little bit for some new pants. well, i go online, i find what i want, and attempt to check out. weird! there’s nowhere to enter a merchandise certificate. there’s a place for a gift card and special promo codes, but nothing else. i call my local gap store to find out what i need to do. they don’t know, and recommend i call the online people directly. they tell me that oh, merchandise certificates are only good in store. i say “as a tall girl, who can’t find your stuff in my size except online, what are my options here?” i’m waiting for them to work something out for me. nope. my option is to go to a store and redeem my merchandise certificate for a gift card, and then use that online.

??! how is this convenient for me? it’s not. “we’re sorry” is all they say. can i place an order with you and use it that way? no. i say that maybe they should consider this, how it inconveniences their customers, and she tells me that they’re aware of this issue, that others have complained about the same thing. still. no options that make sense. ugh.