quote board

The latest entry in my random quote list, from my friend/coworker Kim while we were skipping out of one of the main sessions at an Urban Youth Workers conference last week:

"Find someone who wants to pay me $5000 to look at porn and then we'll talk."

OK, so the context was a discussion about situational ethics and the greater good of being merciful above all else, but even in context she had us going for a while.

Synchronize me

So, I bought an iPod.

What finally pushed me to do it was that I'm taking a distance learning class this summer, and when I went to pick up the course materials I had the choice of getting a 5-inch thick, 30-lb binder full of course materials and 20 CDs, or I could get the entire course in PDF and MP3 format on two CDs that fit into my purse. So, to save a few trees, I opted for the mp3 option, which conveniently also gave me an excuse to finally buy an iPod so that I could listen to the lectures on the beach instead of sitting in front of my computer. I ended up going home and finding a great deal on one on Craigslist and drove straightaway to West Hollywood to pick it up, so within two hours of stopping by the Distance Learning office I was busy trying to figure out how to work this thing.

And then I discovered podcasts.

I can get news. Music. Spanish lessons. NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. I could even download sermons via podcast, except that I still think that church is supposed to be a community-affirming experience and I refuse to partake alone in my bedroom.

So if you need me these days, you can probably find me in the kitchen, doing dishes, mumbling Spanish vocabulary under my breath.

did I say that?

So, a while back in the blog I made some naive and idealistic comment about being grateful for people who irritate me because they give me practice being kind. Well, that is all fine and good until my neighbor moved in.

I've chatted with him a few times, because I like knowing my neighbors and all. Anyhow, he's one of those.... umm.... chatty types, where you can't just talk to him for a minute, 'cause even when you're running away late for class he's still talking at you as you go, and if you don't go, he'll talk for 20 minutes nonstop, and you have to point out that you're holding 50 pounds of groceries and carrying your mail in your mouth and this isn't the greatest time to get into a long conversation about the cable service in the area.

Anyhow, even this wouldn't be so much of a big deal, 'cause it's not hard for me to point out the part about the groceries and the mail etc... and whenever I'm not in a hurry I try to stay and chat a bit... but I have this balcony, my haven, the place I go when I leave my phone and computer in the back room and want to just sit and ignore technology and listen to buses go by for a half-hour, or read, or just generally be away from people for a little while. And it overlooks his yard. So now when he comes out (which is most of the time, because the weather's nice and he doesn't have a job), he just starts talking to me on the balcony, even though I have pointed out that I can't hear him (because of the aforementioned buses) and have mentioned that I'm in the middle of reading. And it's one thing to walk away when I have the grocery excuse but it's hard to sit on the balcony and politely inform him I'll be ignoring him 20 feet away.

biking

A big THANKS to everyone who biked/walked to work/school during bike-to-work week! Every mile counted, from Jenn's 2-mile walk, to Martin's toodling around Leipzig in Germany, to Becky D's 32-mile round-trip commute in Boulder. Cumulatively, we biked 115 miles, including 28 miles biked by three folks at Goat's office, which is getting double-matched. So altogether we're sending $175 to Wild Hope.

For the cycling geeks among you, the LA times also happened to print a huge feature today about bike commuting, in their Health section.

Ride on!

heaven on two-wheels

Hey everybody... next week (May 15-19) is National Bike-to-Work week, culminating in Bike-to-Work day on Friday, May 19!!

Why should I bike, you ask? Well, OK, so all of you know the reasons. You're commuter- and enviro-savvy. It's good for the earth, it's good for your body, it makes a political statement, you arrive at work more alert and in a better mood, it reduces our national dependencies on oil and caffeine. It's a tangible way of being the change you want to see in the world. If you're not already a fan, give yourself a chance to let biking rock your world.

So, I'm going to donate $1 for every mile that you guys bike on Friday, either commuting, or running an errand, or some other activity that you would have done in a car. It's this easy:

1. Bike to work (don't forget to wear a helmet)
   
2. Take a picture of your bad self on your studly two-wheeled wonder
   
3. Send me the picture, tell me how it went, and send me your mileage.
   

I'll send a check to Dave Willis at Wild Hope, a non-profit faith-based organization that I've guided for, which is heavily involved in advocating for the protection and expansion of wilderness, and getting people (from college students to journalists to politicians) out into wild places to, among other things, experience it in a way that helps them understand why it's worth preserving.

If you absolutely can't ride, I'll still make a donation for anyone who replaces a car trip with public transportation (ask a stranger to take a picture of you on the bus... it's a great way to make friends) or carpooling. But if you can ride, do! Check out informational resources here, or ask me, or go down to your local bike shop - they're always friendly. Feel free to include your friends/SOs/coworkers... I'll make a donation for anyone you guys recruit to bike to work if you send me a picture in all your spandex glory*.

* spandex not required

scheduled maintenance

I had my "week seven breakdown" this week, right on schedule. This one was a little bigger than previous week seven fireworks*, as it included irrational thoughts about dropping out of grad school and wondering which I need more - a therapist or a babysitter. My current "to do" list contains items such as: 1. Brush teeth. 2. Dress self - matching optional. 3. Stop losing things.

Anyhow, this one was pretty cathartic, as my despondency over feeling out of control seems, so far, to have snapped me back to a place where I'm ready to start figuring out what I do have control over. But Goat had the pleasure of walking me through it... and as I was sitting in class the next day, I had to grudgingly admit that I'm high maintenance (thanks to all of you who have known that for years and humored me). Scott Peck writes that mental health is an ongoing process of dedication to reality at all costs. Does kicking and screaming count?

*"week seven" is grad-school speak for the point in the quarter where you're exhausted from the work and adjusting to a totally new schedule, but you're not yet close enough to finals week to taste the end.

Joshua Tree

Grover went to Joshua Tree this weekend... did some camping, did some hiking, did some climbing. As usual, he brought me back a picture.

hippity hop

Remember the giant blue rubber bouncy balls you hopped around your yard on when you were five? I think mine was a Daffy Duck one. They're still out there... I shot an Urban Assault bike race in San Diego this weekend and the Hippity Hop was one of the challenges... they are actually much tougher than they look, as a grownup. Good leg and ab workout.