A Working Title

curls curls curls....:)

2009-06-16T21:40:00.000-07:00

I love curls!

Curls makes me feel different. They make me feel like tossing out my makeup bag, my razors, my bras, my designer jeans, and donning a flowing skirt and chasing the eternal primal beat. Less drastically perhaps, they make me feel like it is officially summer. They feel good.

The last few days all the sweet comments about my curls reminded me of 2nd grade when my Mom had the great idea that a perm was the perfect 'do for her seven-year-old to sport on the playground. Little did she (or I) know that I would grow into a curly-Q ~ au natural, ~ one day.

I have my dear friend Kacie to thank for the recent haircut that made my curls perk up like I have never seen before. If you're down in the LA area, visit The Doves and ask for Mrs. Hengler. She is so talented and simply a delight!

And, go natural this summer. It feels so good! :)

Celebration!

2009-06-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

It's not uncommon that I read an autobiography or a narrative and find myself lost in someone's writing; their stream of conscious, infectious, rambling thoughts. And when I say lost, I don't mean lost in time or place, like I miss a coffee date or burn the cookies, but rather more of a loss of self. I find that I can identify with certain people to the point that I lose the sense of whose thoughts they originally were- written or otherwise. I have a few friends like this and I call them kindred spirits. And, I have a few authors like this. I'm not sure what I call them.

(*Sidenote* the loss of self that I truly desire is to the magnification of Christ, but this kind of human connection is all part of the tapestry, I think. Empathy. Common narrative. Relationship. Think about it!;)

Over the last couple months, Shauna Niequist has been added to the list. I have spent many long afternoons savoring the sweetness that is Cold Tangerines. It is her first book, I believe, and is a beautiful inauguration into the published world, in my opinion.

Yes, there are a number of reasons that I should relate to Shauna. We both spent a number of years of growth and becomingness at an idyllic little spot in the foothills of Montecito being instructed and poured into by some of the finest lovers of God and knowledge that you can find on a college campus. We both could be found at one point scampering from the beach to class and back on any given Tuesday or dancing the night away in a dorm of delirious girls. We had a similar gestation of formative years. Added to that, we share some of the same struggles and yearnings and upper-middle-class preoccupations, but it goes a lot deeper than even that, really. She pulls out and teases up and explicates and allegorizes what the French call Joie de vivre and the Greeks call Kefi and relates that joy and passion to our Creator, who calls us, His creation, good. She finds the smallest reasons in life for celebration, for consideration, for feeling...and the largest- Him. His faithfulness. His gift to us. This life- His death- and a duty and privilege to glorify Him in how we celebrate both. In a seamless, intricate web kind of way.

This description can simply not do her justice. You must read Shauna yourself. Page 178 may very well be the climax of her book, but I promise, reading the climax before the beginning will not ruin anything. So, enjoy...

Now we're talking about celebration. Celebration when you're calling the shots. Easy. Celebration when your plan is working? Anyone can do that. But when you realize that the story of your life could be told a thousand different ways, that you could tell it over and over as a tragedy, but you choose to call it an epic, that's when you start to learn what celebration is. When what you see in front of you is so far outside of what you dreamed, but you have the belief, the boldness, the courage it call it beautiful instead of calling it wrong, that's celebration.

When you can invest yourself deeply and unremittingly in the life that surrounds you instead of declaring yourself out of the game once and for all, because what's happened to you is too bad, too deep, too ugly for anyone to expect you to move on from, that's that good, rich place. That's the place where the things that looked for all intents and purposes like curses start to stand up and shimmer and dance, and you realize with a gasp that they may have been blessings all along. Or maybe not. Maybe they were curses, in fact, but the force of your belief and your hope and your desperate love for life as it is actually unfolding, has brought a blessing from a curse, like water from a stone, like life from a tomb, like the actual story of God over and over.

...and CELEBRATE! :)

Dum, dum, dum

2009-04-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago, DJ and I had a crazy idea to buy some drums one night and start a drum circle. The drums have been whipped out at a few different hang out seshs since, to the surprise and delight of many and it seems like more and more people are catching the tribal fever! ;)

A few weeks had gone by since I connected with my primal nature and I just had the itch. I heard there may be a drum circle at the Invisible Children event this weekend so I asked my friend and co-worker Amber to come along with me in search of the beat...

Although there was no drumming to be found at The Rescue (which was a really sweet event, so check it out!), we did not despair. I whipped out my trusty iPhone (the same one that got us the drums in the first place!) and found a Drum circle listed on SB Independent Events, every Saturday from 5-8 right on the beach! Eureka!

When we got there Amber just kept saying things like "I can't believe you're serious" and "Are we really going to do this?" right up until the point that we plopped down amongst the bearded men and bohemian dancers. Amber caught on really quickly and more than anything just humored my childish excitement through the whole thing- thanks for rolling with it Ambular! ;)

I loved the crew of people that this thing drew...some classic tree-hugging and tie-dye wearing, and others, salty-seadog retirees. Amber and I kind of stuck out like a sore thumb in our cute sundresses and big grins (at least on me), but the guys were so friendly and everyone shares their drums and chats between sets. This one guy even busted out a Tai Chi/chant/animalistic dance, which was kinda weird, but yeah....

A lot of people just hang out around the periphery and listen and bask in the sun and the ocean air. It was such a gorgeous day! I'm stoked to have found yet another thing I LOVE about this place! I'll definitely be going back so let me know if you want to join me! So fun!

It's time...

2009-04-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

After an awesome run with two wonderful tri-divas and friends early this morning, I finally decided to commit myself to re-entering the sport. Watching Amy and Janey run the UCSB Olympic a few weeks ago really stirred me up and I have been hitting the beach, the trails, and the bike trying to gear myself up to train again.

So, in that spirit, I decided to put some more money where my mouth is and buy a sweet tri suit. When we trained a couple years ago, Amy was terrified of wetsuits so I just decided to forego the luxury with her. Well, we have both grown and matured, which pretty much means we're not that dumb anymore. ;)

You can fully expect to see my expression harden with this kind of intensity when I'm about to hit the water with 100+ other crazy people in May. Either that, or I'll be squealing like a little girl, as was the custom a couple seasons ago. Some things maturity just can't squeeze out of you. :)

No race dates are decided yet (apart from a half marathon birthday weekend in July!), but I'm stoked to start pushing hard again!

I'll be the Elephant. You be the Zookeeper.

2009-03-13T00:08:00.000-07:00

I can't really describe the feeling of elation that I get when my clients learn to play. For many children with Autism, abstract thinking (that is vital to play) is extremely difficult; for others, everything they see if symbolic (ask me to explain to you The Brown C), so part of my job is helping them learn to play, both functionally, socially, and imaginatively.

While some adults may find it rather humiliating to run around on their hands and knees barking like a dog and picking up a ball with their teeth, or using their arm as a trunk and giving elephant kisses; I simply love it. I love the excitement in a child's eyes (and sometimes in their flapping hands) when they learn to roll over and pant with their tongue hanging out.

And today, after yet another session of Zookeeper & Elephant with my favorite little boy (yes, I have favorites), I came home and saw this post on TED that gave me such a rush of energy---it would have been an AHA moment, had I not already known it to be SO true!

Check it out!
A pioneer in research on play, Dr. Stuart Brown says humor, games, roughhousing, flirtation and fantasy are more than just fun. Plenty of play in childhood makes for happy, smart adults -- and keeping it up can make us smarter at any age.

So get out there and PLAY!

Give it up.

2009-02-25T22:25:00.001-08:00

I didn't grow up really celebrating the Lenten season, but when I went to Westmont I learned about the anticipation of Jesus' death and resurrection and how poignant that can be in my spiritual life. Christmas always had a well-known season, should Easter not as well?

I guess people don't get as excited about fasting, sacrificing, or surrendering earthly pleasures with the purpose of drawing nearer to their Savior, as they do holiday parties, egg nog and such. Understandable. I was (am?) right there with you.

So a few years ago, I went to chapel one day and someone put some gray stuff on my forehead and I was ushered in to the Christian tradition of Lent. Over breakfast burritos in the DC I discussed what superfluous (borderline sinful) indulgence I should give up. Dessert? Way too hard. Carbs? (Note how my Lenten sacrifice begins to resemble a diet). No, I need bread. TV? I don't watch it anyway. Gossiping? Oh, that's a good one.

I settled on Diet Coke. Let me tell you, it was rough.

Since that first season I haven't really participated wholeheartedly (that is, faithfully), and ironically, while living in one of the most Catholic countries in the world, Lent totally escaped me last year. So this year, I have been thinking about what I could abstain from that will give me more time to focus on the Lord and spend time meditating on Him and reading His word.

Don't make fun of me. Facebook.

To be honest, I didn't really think I was one who fbooked excessively. Maybe in college, but not now. However, since I added the fbook app to my iPhone, it has become a compulsion. Every time I drive between clients, have an awkward 5-10 minute break, or just can't wait to see which of my friends has the wittiest status, I just press the little icon. I haven't checked it all day, and let me tell you, I already feel disconnected. I also don't have fbook notifications sent to an email address that I ever check so I am totally out of the loop.

I'm really looking forward to the next 40 days though. I anticipate this "sacrifice" in particular doing a lot to foster that "otherworldly" mindset.

So, if you need to contact me, well....yeah, so there are still a number of virtual ways you can do it (email, blog, text), but maybe some of you will pick up the phone! Exciting. ;)

p.s. Props to Michele who inspired this decision. We'll be accountability partners;)

Surrender Your Myth

2009-02-22T22:01:00.000-08:00

After over 12 hours of yoga in the last couple weeks (I'm on a kick;)...I realized that the yogi's have it all wrong. Fundamentally, the entire practice is flawed. Yet, somehow, they get so much right. So, my challenge this week was to try to silence all that the wonderful, kind, soft-spoken yogi had to say while still focusing on balance, patience, endurance, and breath...or to embrace what he had to say, with my own (rather crucial) variations.

About the third or fourth class of praying that the Lord would spare me from any evil philosophy that the well-meaning master was trying to impart and trying to direct my focus and meditation to God, I realized that the yogi was, in fact, speaking truth. He just had his terminology confused. ;)

Allow me to demonstrate...

Yogi: Surrender yourself to your breath. (V: Surrender yourself to the Lord)
Your mind spends so much time trying to convince you that all of these other things are important, when really they are nothing. As you move into the shape (through life) and focus on your breath (focus on the Lord) you will find that the only truth that exists is between your breath and the love it creates in your body (between you and the love relationship you have with the Lord). It is so freeing (Amen!).

Your breath and the shape are the only things that exist. You do not exist in space or time (in it, not of it). You think you do. You move through life wanting something and then getting angry at yourself for wanting it the next moment (yep). That is all in your mind. Your mind will always wrestle with things that do not matter (mm-hm). None of those things matter. If they ceased to exist, would you? No. If your breath ceases, do you? Your breath is all there is. (God is all there is.)

So, I found with a few conscious changes, the practice of yoga to be rather uplifting. There are so many things I love about what yoga teaches. Tonight my teacher challenged us to surrender the myth that we all go around so desperately trying to write about ourselves and live into. Our reputation, our self-worth, our need for approval- and so much of it based on so little. He poked fun at the public monologues we hold to define ourselves; we update our status on Facebook and as soon as we have the moment no longer exists. It is fleeting and false. He asked challenging questions about the assumed seriousness of it all. He said, "If any of you are going to party tonight, ask yourself, would you rather walk away knowing that people thought very highly of you and lauded you with compliments, or to have had a wonderful time?"

He summed it up, "What would happen if you just stopped trying? Just stop worrying what it looks like. Find your breath." (Find GOD).

I just love his flavor of yoga. The description of Yoga Soup is "a class offering nothing, if we're lucky." It is a practice that can feel intimidating for its serious, ethereal, meditative qualities (not to mention pretzel poses and handstands) yet Eddie will weave in a little Sound of Music, a little Coldplay, a little no-name folk guy with guitar, and "I just want to dance with somebody" and pull us out of Half Moon to jump around like small children, much in the vein of Nia. Tonight, he actually played the famous song of the Academy Awards and had us ride horseback.

It is delightfully self-deprecating....although I suppose only self-deprecating if you give any weight to the self. That's the challenge. Worth considering, I think. :)

If I had a million dollars...

2009-02-16T17:56:00.000-08:00

(Said through clenched throat, with tears of joy brimming in my eyes)
I would give everyone I possibly could a gift certificate to Nia so that they too could experience the pure euphoria of dancing like a 3-year-old-through-the- sprinklers in a room full of strangers. And solve world hunger, of course. ;)

This is literally what was going through my head as I left Yoga Soup this afternoon. I could write a lot about how dance has been unjustly appropriated by the hip-hop or club culture and thus become a cause of self-consciousness or stress rather than freedom and unfettered joy...but this post is not about a soap box....

It's about play, laughter, movement, dizziness, feeling like a tribal warrior and a tiny spright, lacking all thoughts of self and feeling the music flow out of you. It's about dancing like no one is watching. It's about shared space that is free of expectations. It's super new-age and I don't even care. It's freedom.

I got this sweet battle-scar after last week's class and didn't notice it at all as I jumped and pranced around for over an hour:)

In all seriousness, if I had a million big ones I would give it to Opportunity International. But, that's a more serious post, for a more serious time.

Go dance.

It still feels like a new year...

2009-01-25T22:54:00.000-08:00

I'd like to keep the "new year" mentality all year long. I love the constant feeling of being refreshed. A good long talk with an old friend can do that. A good long hike with wonderful women can do that. God's Word can do that...perhaps most poignantly of all.

Today, Britt spoke about the life of Noah and how it sheds light on our own lives of faith. It contained three simple, yet powerful tenants. And, he asserted--the order is everything.

Worship. We are created to worship our Father God and in all things give thanks to Him. Our sole purpose on this earth is to glorify His name. We must first, before all else, worship our Savior.

Walk. Part of the reason we worship God is because He has called us into relationship with Him. That in itself is an awe-inspiring concept (that might just take you back to worship:). We must daily commit ourselves to walking in faith. Whom we walk with is simple; we walk with the Lord. Our destination, is also simple; we are walking to be with Him for eternity, pressing on for the prize. The pace must be decided, but with an eternity mindset, because God is not in a hurry as we are. The path that we take is perhaps more clouded, but we are assured that He will prepare the way for us and walk with us, and the road map is spelled out in His word.

Work. We are then to approach His work, and position ourselves to be His hands, His mouthpieces, His imitators, on earth, while recognizing that He does not need us and that this too, is a privilege we have in being His children.

I love the simplicity of these three active perspectives. I want to orient my life to them. So, through many conversations and many examples set before me, I've decided to wake up an extra hour early every day to begin my day in worship, which can take many forms, and then in walking with the Lord in one concrete way (among many) and that is in reading His word. I want these two things to begin the day, instead of work. I am excited to see the fruits of this faithful discipline as many have. And simply, I am excited to come into a deeper relationship with Him every day.

A New Year

2009-01-01T21:32:00.000-08:00

At the risk of being redundant (after all, my last post was a recap of 1/2 of 08)- here it is anyway...

2008.

Jan 1 on a plane to Europe. 2 bags. 6 months. Little to No plan.
Florence with Abby and Greg. Alex and Eduard, Italian aggression meets Italian hospitality. Delightful pair;)
Mara picking me up at the airport in Sevilla expecting a week-long visitor (may have under-communicated a tad).
Spanish immersion....complete with a Spanish cumpanero de piso.
10 day discoteca run.
Hiatus.
Moving out of the Spaniard's apartment.
Living life at high frequency with Miss Mara DeRitter.
Visiting adopted family, the Martins, in Portugal.
Carnival Part 1: Rota. U.S. Military Men.
Carnival Part 2: Cadiz. Mob mentality.
Teaching English to my sweet old men at La Guardia Civil.
Illegal employment by the government=quintessential irony of Spain.
Morocco. Riding camels into the Sahara. Camping with Berbers. Fez.
Semana Santa.
Learning to dance like a Sevillana.
KAITLIN and V. Eurotrip 08. Barcelona. Geneva. Marseille.
El Camino de Santiago.
Being adopted into a make-shift Span-Italian familia.
Cantabria with Paige and Deyl.
Homecoming.
Jill and Kevin get hitched.
Peripatetic summer, new home base: Santa Clarita.
Noah.
Homecoming Part 2: Back to SB.
The wonderful, rowdy Mollkoys.
Growing in my desire for more of God.
Children with Autism. Learning to work for a company.
Reality Carpinteria. Homegroup. Exploring ministry/missions.
Kacie and Greg get hitched.
Searching for my place here.
Growing up just a little bit more.
Settling into to a lower frequency.
Spontaneous trip to Denver for Katie B.
Brittany makes a comeback- Oaks 5 year reunion.

Resisting the urge to wander. Practiced Contentment.
Digging my heels in for a while.
Solitude. Communities.
Prayerful, Joyful Expectancy.

My goals for 2009 are still being worked out in my mind, but I know that they will include taking more calculated risks. Calculated is the more difficult of the two. I'm naturally prone to the obvious risks, so it's more of a risk for me to stay here and fight atrophy than to move to South America (for example). But, it is one I am willing to dig into and flesh out because I know there is real growth in that. And, while I know that having clearly delineated goals is one of the main keys to success (or how else do you measure it), I'm not sure I can make any hard and fast goals for myself this year that I don't already have as part of my modus operandi. I'm in the figuring it out, stretching myself period (and probably always will be)...so I prefer to have themes or schemata for my goals and bend and move from there...

There will definitely be a physical component. I've grown fond of training my body and in so doing, challenging my will, my mind, and my spirit. I'm open to suggestions...and training partners;)

There will be an educational component. Grad classes in Applied Behavior Analysis start next week and then...? All I know is I miss school and it's time.

There will be a financial/biz element. Learning about Commercial real estate and possibilities amongst the downward trend in the Residential market (under the tutelage of my sage uncle and precocious older brother). Astutely, carefully avoiding as many taxes as possible. Making personal and familial decisions around current and future investments. Still surreal. This is one of those things that makes me feel like I'm approaching the mid-twenties, because otherwise I could be 19 and I wouldn't know the difference.;)

There will be a ministry element. Further, and more specific investment in a church family, in community.

There will be a creative element. This has always been dance for me in the past, but I think it is time to broaden my horizons or recover that lost art. I might start writing. See what comes of it.

Really, I just like thinking about these things. I think on them often, but welcome the impetus that a new year can be for a fresh start. So here's to a surprising, challenging, joyous New Year!

Recap, Re-do, Revamp

2008-11-17T21:11:00.000-08:00

The first word of this post is overly ambitious. It's what has kept me from blogging for all of these months (at least initially, then I'm pretty sure it turned into an avoidance/laziness routine). It's not easy to recapitulate the 4 weeks I spent walking across the breadth of Spain nor all that has transpired since, but I will do my best.

No, I am no longer on the Road to Santiago. I finished the 900 kilometer trek on June 5, making it exactly one month of walking across the beautiful, peaceful countryside of Espana. It was pain, beauty, history, camaraderie, awe, loneliness, contentment, independence, prayer, determination, indulgence, simplicity, conversation, crazy Italians, crazy Spaniards, a motley crew turned international family, dirty, smelly, blistered goodness. I loved the simplicity of it, the grueling physical aspect, the eccentric strangers and cute old couples, the time I spent with Kaitlin, and more time by myself than I had ever really experienced.

After the Camino I was able to spend a long weekend with Paige and Deyl in their Spanish cottage by the sea. There is no describing what a room to myself with sheets, a big bubble bath, and the comfort of two dear friends and a lot of food can bring after such a journey. These two are an absolute gift in my life.

What followed was a peripatetic summer, still living out of a backpack while traipsing all over California reconnecting with family and friends and patiently considering the possibilities.

The following months have been so full and blessed:

~ The Collins/Davy wedding.
~ Spending more time with my new Brady family.:)
~ Spontaneous camping trip with the delightful Franks.
~ Job searching.
~ Moving into my attached studio in SB and realizing that it had been 4 months since I spent more than 3 consecutive nights in any one place.
~ Freaking out a little.
~ Patch Project.
~ Spending some wonderful time with Noah.
~ Living and Loving Team Mollkoy (Chris & Michele and their exuberant boys, Jesse & Sammy--->).
~ Behavioral therapy with Children with Autism (random, intriguing, exhausting fun).
~ Reality Carpinteria.
~ Spencer-Smith/Hengler wedding in Napa.
~ Tuesdays with Rachel.
~ Thursdays with Paige.
~ Finding a new work-out buddy when my old ones got pregnant and got a man.;)
~ Becoming a camper again with Amy.
~ Being nearer to a fire than I ever hope to be again in my life and being heart-broken for the Westmont family, then being proud and inspired by it.

Which now brings me to the present order of business: Re-do. Revamp.

I believe that a six month hiatus from the world of blogging is an appropriate time to make some changes; the most obvious being the title of this blog. There are a number of reasons I have a distaste for the old one, but suffice to say, there are some fads and phases in this post-college exploratory period that, while necessary and good, I do not wish to be tied to.

I think of myself as a Working Title. I hope to always be such. I am in a place and a mindset where I hope to be the most malleable for God's work. It is a place of expectation, of readiness, of patience, and of earnest desire. It is a place of vulnerability, which makes it difficult to share, but one thing I have learned to appreciate so much in my time abroad, in constantly meeting and talking with new people, is that our stories always seem to instruct and edify one another in the most surprising ways. I think they all, in some way, deserve to be recorded and at times shared. It will not always be a soul-searching manifesto, for at times, the light and pithy are most appropriate.

And I will say again, with a virtual *nudge*, that comments are always appreciated. Especially those of the sassmuffin variety. ;)

Besos y abrazos a todo,

V.

The Road to Santiago

2008-04-26T03:02:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons that I decided to move to Spain was to have the chance to do El Camino de Santiago. This historic pilgrimage marks the way to the entombed body and relic of St. James the Apostle, buried in the famous Cathedral in Santiago...just less than 800 kilometers from the traditional starting point on the French side of the Pyrenees mountains- St. Jean Pied-de-Port.

I had planned to do this pilgrimage sola, but by God's amazing timing and unexpected plan, my dear friend Kaitlin decided to quit her job, join her mom on a brief sojourn in Italy, and then explore the north of Spain with me! She is going to travel with me and do the first two weeks, which will no doubt be the hardest. Kaitlin and I are wonderful opposites in a lot of ways, which makes her the perfect compliment to my journey. I told my dad last night that he could rest easy, I have a faithful perfectionist by my side. We have calendars, maps, itineraries, passport copies, a security belt...all her! I plan to throw it all out the window on our first train, but shh...don't tell.

We are off to Barcelona today, then to Geneva, and across the south of France (Marseille, Bayonne) before reaching the starting point. It's amazing that I had time at all to blog today, and it is no doubt my hastiest attempt yet. We leave in one hour and I am not done packing!!

It's all part of the adventure...

I will be largely incommunicado over the next six weeks, so do not fret if you do not hear from me. Besos a todos! :)

"Sevilla tiene un color especial"

2008-04-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

Call Andalusia old-fashioned, unproductive, over-indulgent, if you will...as I sometimes do when the "siesta" cramps my consumer habits, when the "bar creatures" in the Guardia Civil never cease to hit on me when I duck in to use the bathroom, or when I order vegetables and they inevitably come doused in oil or deep-fried...but this week, no one can complain!

At midnight last Monday, thousands of Sevillianos and extranjeros braving the rain and ferocious winds, huddled together drinking rebujitos in one great botellón, for the traditional lighting of the Portada. With a marching band playing rambas and flamencos, the group surged forward to pass through the huge entranceway, newly designed and constructed every year to welcome you to FERIA de Abril!!

For 10 months of the year the Feria grounds are a wasteland and an occasional parking lot for big city-wide events, but two months before this particular week the crews begin constructing row upon row of little houses called casetas, each owned by different companies, member associations, or wealthy families. The casetas are elaborately decorated, inside and out, with wallpaper, antique mirrors, classic Feria posters, furniture, stages, full-service bars, kitchens, and bathrooms. They are arranged in a huge grid that runs more than 7 street blocks, with street names and barrios of their own.

Going to the fair is anticipated all year long. Dirt floor, carnival rides, circus animals, greasy food, bad weather, or not...you dress up for Feria. The women come in elaborate, colorful flamenco dresses, with flowers and dazzling combs on top of their heads and matching mantoncillos around their shoulders. The men traditionally wore bull-fighter style suits (as Feria also marks the beginning of bull-fighting season), but for a long time now have donned a classic suit and tie, unless, that is, they are one of the privileged few who ride a horse to the fair, as this age-old tradition requires the age-old attire!

Feria is one huge flamboyant, clamorous, lively, spectacle...yet, somehow, elegant and refined. The majority of casetas are private, which means invite-only. You must know a member of these casetas to be allowed in. Luckily, between all of us girls, we had plenty of invitations and were usually allowed to bring the group. Mara also brought me along to meet her host families from her study-abroad days in their casetas.

Each caseta is filled with families, friends, co-workers, neighbors, all drinking and eating and dancing the night away. This is a very special moment for Sevillanos, who don't often have the opportunity to entertain all of their gente in one place as the majority of them live in pisos no where near large enough for parties such as these.

Mara and I spent the last two months taking private Sevillanas dancing lessons with a Spanish friend, spending hours agonizing over which dress to buy (they average around 200euro), and carefully choosing our accessories....we were ready. We dazzled the Sevillanos at each caseta we attended with our confidence and ability and were the envy of many the extranjero, who only wished they had the movement in their sangre, as we seemed to have. We were at times mistaken for Sevillanas, which brought immediate grins to our faces and unavoidably betrayed our true identities. We danced until six in the morning the last three nights of Feria and wrapped up the whole experience by eating churros with chocolate sauce in the street, as all of the exuberant Spaniards do in the wee morning hours of Feria.

Having experienced it, in all it's authentic, joyful, glory...I will now dare to say, there is nothing I love more about Sevilla than Feria! Hasta el proximo...Ole'!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A glossary for my readers...:)

"Sevilla tiene un color especial" ~ title of popular song (and expression)
extranjero ~ foreigner
rebujito ~ traditional Feria drink of Manzanilla (sherry) and 7up
botellón ~ gathering and drinking in the street, think "tail-gate"
portada ~ façade
feria ~ fair
caseta ~ stand, stall
barrio ~ neighborhood
mantoncillo ~ flamenco shawl
gente ~ people
piso ~ apartment
Sevillanas ~ regional version of flamenco dancing
sangre ~ blood
Hasta el proximo ~ Until next time

Alpujarra Adventure

2008-04-09T06:57:00.000-07:00

I think I have become more of an outdoorsy person than I was before moving to Sevilla. I have always enjoyed a numerous amount of outdoor activities, but I'm talking outdoorsy, like escape to a mountain town, spend hours without a soul in sight (unless you believe animals have souls because there were plenty of those), not showering for days, woodsy kind of "outdoorsy." I crave the outdoors like I never have before and only there do I feel free, at peace, and refreshed.

That's what last weekend was. I took a bus to Granada (a beautiful city with a
Moroccan/Berkeley feel to it that I will describe more another time) and hitched another bus a few hours later to La Alpujarra. This is a region in the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains with tiny pueblos blancos nestled up into the hillside, home to many an ex-pat of the fruit and nut or British mutton eating varieties. Unbeknownst to me, I had booked a hostel for the night in the farthest town possible, which meant a three and a half hour windy bus ride through all the villages. I am so glad for this hasty travel blunder because it meant that I got a 6euro tour through the quaint and pristine countryside.

Arriving in Trevelez much later than I expected, I hiked (seriously, it was a 20 minute straight up hike) to my hostel in Barrio Medio and pounded on the caretakers' door just as twilight faded over the hills. I was greeted by a boisterous bickering British couple, who ushered me in, lit my heater, showed me every function and every nook and cranny of my little apartment, teasing each other mercilessly in the process, and thoroughly entertaining me. I was sad to let them go.

After getting settled in I went up the hill to Barrio Alto to have a look at the whole town and then popped in to a bar where I sat and had a beer and free tapas (courtesy of this region of Andalusia that has yet to commercialize the tradition) and then up to the restaurant for a lovely meal. I was surrounded on all sides with middle-aged British couples and realized in the process just how strange it feels to hear English as the common language in a public place.

The next day I woke up early, packed a bag with fruit and nuts (I'm not the mutton eating kind...;) and head up into the hills. I could see snow at the top of the mountain above me and decided I was going to touch it, which is actually quite silly because it was way further than it appeared as I found out as I reached the first crest. My disappointment quickly dissipated as I came face to face with a handful of wild horses...or what I thought were wild until the next surprise visitors appeared. Well, actually, I heard them before I saw them. Clink clink, clink clink. A curious sheep stuck it's head up and stared me down, the big bell around it's neck silencing for those brief moments of examination. The sheep quickly became disinterested in me and went back to its grazing. I walked amongst them for some time and sat on a rock outcropping for a while taking in the expansive valley, still hazy with morning light and dew.
I could hear church bells from down in Trevelez and realized it was Sunday. Since moving to Spain I have often missed worshiping in church as I did at home, but today, I decided to do it, with no one but God and the animals listening. The wind stole my voice and pressed at my body as I stood on the precipice looking out over "all the mountains and the valleys of the earth." I couldn't imagine a better service. I finished up with a scary yoga-balancing act and continued on my way.

As I walked back down the mountain I began to follow the canals of water that the town had created to direct the run-off from the mountain snow. It led me all the way back to where I started at a community fountain, with crisp, refreshing, mountain spring water. One of the cool things about the town was that everywhere you walked in the streets you could hear the sound of running water under you. It was so awesome to see a natural life-sustaining process.

I left Trevelez completely refreshed, in more ways than one. And, an added benefit...I gained a new smell! The funny thing is, I don't know what it is. All I can describe it as is "mountainy" because I can't place it otherwise...it might be a tree, or an herb, but whatever it is, it's nature and I was so happy to smell it! :)

Semana Santa

2008-03-26T08:59:00.001-07:00

Holy week in Sevilla begins well before the middle of March. I had heard talk of it since I arrived, but right around the beginning of February I turned a corner late one night on my way home and ran into this. The shock brought to mind a combination of some kind of medieval torture ritual and the local vagrant being made an example of in the town square, one day in the stocks for stealing a loaf of bread. No- this was the prelude to Semana Santa. A grid formation of 25 men carry a statue of Jesus Cristo that depicts some point of passage during his final week, the trial, the flogging, carrying his cross, his crucifixion, burial, and finally the resurrection.

There are two floats per Paso (passage in English)...the second is the Virgin because in the Roman Catholic tradition, Jesus is most often accompanied by his mother.

During Semana Santa there are on average 5-6 Pasos a day, but on the biggest days, Thursday and Friday, Pasos run all day and night. Each one lasts for hours on end as thousands of Nazeranos (or penitentes--sinners) wearing the traditional robe and head-piece to conceal their identities, precede and follow the main events (Jesus and Mary). Some Pasos have a marching band accompaniment that adds a morose or conquering affect to the procession. Others are silent. With crowd cooperation, all you can hear is the shuffling of the men's feet.

In the wee hours of the morning, on the night of his death, surrounded by thousands of people, we stood in silence and watched as an carefully and intricately sculpted image of Jesus hung on the cross. It was haunting and beautiful and very personal, yet so communal. People held their children. Otherwise rowdy and obnoxious teenagers stood still. All attention was focused on our Savior. I prayed for the people surrounding me, that this rapture would move beyond tradition and culture and right to their hearts and souls. And, it was finished.

Over the next two days the enthusiasm seemed to fade in the city, which gave Easter a strangely anti-climactic feeling- exactly the opposite of what I am used to. Anique and I went to mass with her Senora and had the privilege to worship in another language and tradition. I appreciated the experience so much, but did miss the joyful worship of the churches at home.

My comprehension of Spanish is still lacking quite a bit, but I almost felt lucky for that fact during the service because the few phrases that the priest repeated were really the only thing that stuck with me. I meditated on these words, as the others naturally drowned out. "Siempre estoy contigo." Always I am with you. At the end of the service as we exchanged "Paz contigo" (peace be with you) with the warmth of a strangers cheek and a light kiss, I remembered the first time I went to a Catholic mass, and felt strangely at home as sometimes the slightest similarities and memories can evoke. As they began the Lord's Prayer, the cadence the same, I whispered the same in English and instinctively turned my hands upward, not realizing at the time the power that memory can have.

Christ has risen..... verdaderamente ha resucitado.

Alhayatjamila

2008-03-25T13:33:00.000-07:00

"This life is beautiful."

The Moroccan adventure...

It began at the crack of dawn, boarding a bus in Sevilla, not knowing a soul, but not minding in the least. I have a huge aversion to group tours, even those that last a couple hours, let alone a week, but I was told this is the only way a Caucasian woman could do Morocco, and I wasn't about to pass it up. On the ferry I met a group of girls (American study abroad students) and we became inseparable friends instantly. Juliana and Anique and I spent hours and hours on the bus together, processing all that we were seeing, sharing our lives, getting to that real straight talk about souls that we crave and love. Days later we would be dancing down a massive sand dune in the Sahara desert to the sound of drumming in our camp, unable to tear ourselves away from the beauty of the sand and the deep blue sky, striking warrior pose on the cliff like crazy moon-worshiping yogis, breathless, elated, and alive.

As we drove through the port town of Tangiers almost the entire bus of boisterous young travelers was silent as we looked out into the streets, not unlike those of Tijuana (in fact, Tangiers is often called the Tijuana of Morocco), filled with men, with hardly a woman in sight. The few we did see in those first few hours were covered, head to toe in the traditional burkha. I hated that this gave me a hollow feeling, but it was such a hollow town. Days later, as we crossed through Tangiers, sunburned, plump, and happy, we were again slapped with an ugly reality of this beautiful country that we loved, as young boys jumped on the back of our bus and tried to crawl underneath- to stowaway to a better life, with nothing on their backs. This was a stark contrast to the country we had come to love over the previous week. A country full of music, color, faith, beautiful simplicity, ancient practices, always a cup of tea and smiling faces...

The first couple days of the trip were spent making our way down to the Sahara. Although we spent a lot of time on the bus, we were able to see a lot of the country, from the capital city of Rabat, to the high Atlas mountains, to the Lake of Tears (a beautiful legend told to us one night by a Berber man), to desert oasis's, to the heart of the Sahara. We stopped outside of the Sahara at nightfall and transferred to 4x4s for the last stretch. I felt like I was in Indiana Jones as more than 15 SUV's tore across the open desert, each on their own frenetic path, racing to our destination.

The hotel was beautiful and luxurious. We were told that Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett stayed there while filming Babel. There was a huge feast and a never-ending drum circle after dinner. We danced outside under the stars and an extremely rare and brief rainstorm, and talked with a Berber whose story simply must be shared.

Jamal (pictured next to the fire below) can speak 10 languages, all of them European varieties and also Japanese, but has never set foot in a school and cannot read or write even his own native languages (Berber and Arabic). As a boy he came across a car that was lost and stranded in the desert, with a Spanish family inside. The first words he learned were "a la derecha" and "a la isquierda" as he directed them to his village where his family fed them and let them stay for the night. The next day, the family offered to repay him for his kindness by taking him with them to see his country. He went with them to Marakesh, and further west, where he saw the ocean for the first time. He said that he stood in front of it and wept. He could not imagine that a body of water that large existed...how could these people have so much? His whole life was spent in search of enough water to survive. For the week he was there he slept every night on the beach because he did not want to leave the ocean and the hotel felt altogether too foreign to him. He went back and told all his friends about the sea and vowed to himself he would go back. Knowing a little Spanish now, he began leading camel expeditions for tourists into the Sahara. This is how he slowly learned all of the languages he now speaks with an almost undetectable accent. When he was 12, having saved enough money, he left his family and went back to Marakesh and on to the ocean. A local shopkeeper noticed after about a week that he was living out on the street and offered him a job. He worked there until he was 18 when he returned to the desert to work in the hotels. He is now an internationally known musician who has performed for the king of Morocco and Spain. He will even be in New York and California for the first time in July!

The next afternoon, after spending a leisurely morning by the pool (and having the most ridiculous massage of my life- I thought France was intimate- yikes!), we loaded onto a long train of camels and road into the desert to camp with the Berbers. After arriving at our camp we all climbed a massive sand dune to watch the sun set over the desert. I traipsed a bit farther along the crests of the dunes to get a bit further away from the group. The desert has an amazing quiet and stillness that gave me such a sense of peace. It was an awe-inspiring ethereal experience. The rest of that night was spent around a fire, dancing to Berber drums and singing about Africa.

After the Sahara I could have died happy, but on we went to Fez. The medina in Fez was a completely different whirlwind experience. We spent a whole day wandering through the narrow streets, trying not to get trampled by donkeys loaded with everything from rugs, to construction materials, to coca cola cases. We were introduced to Moroccan spices, rug-making, and a tannery that was built in the 7th century and has been run by 25 families through the generations. There were stacks and stacks of animal skins, pools of pigeon feces (used to soften the skins), and a tremendous array of colors to die the leather. It was at once the most nauseating and fascinating of our experiences. And talk about nauseating...in the market chickens heads were chopped off in front of us and bloody goat heads hung as prized commodities, but I was thrilled by all of it. There is nothing I like more than a truly authentic experience...and lucky for me, I couldn't smell much of it. ;)

Morocco represented a lot of firsts for me...

The first time I was in an Islamic country. One of my favorite things about Moroccan culture, infused as it is with Islamic tradition, is the custom of saying "Inshallah," which means "God willing" (in Spanish, "Si Dios quiere"). It is said when someone so much as remarks on the itinerary for the day...our guide would say, "We will walk around the Medina and have lunch at the old palace around noon, Inshallah." Perhaps more meaningfully, it is said along with man's hope for the future..."I hope that one day you will return to Morocco and we will meet again, Inshallah." It is a constant reminder of their focus, their perspective, and their faith.

Morocco was also the first country I had been in with a true monarchical system. Even more foreign than the idea of a medieval age-style ruling king was the fact that everyone loved him! As we drove into Fez we were greeted by scores of people lining the main street that leads to the king's palace in Fez (for he has many). The king was due to return home after a few months away and the people were there to greet him as his car drove through. The western world and modernity are being woven into this uber-traditional society, but somehow without the cry for a voice, for representation, for democracy.

Although parts of Mexico have the same kind of poverty as Morocco, this was my first time in a third world country. My first time in Africa. I don't want to belabor this point because I know the extent to which the bleeding heart of Africa is exposed, I am sure many of you can call to mind images of poverty, so I prefer to tell the other story. As we reached our first stop on the way to the Sahara, a beautiful hotel bedecked with typically Moroccan rugs and ornate detail on every corner of every edifice, and were greeted by a rowdy band parade complete with a criss-cross trumpet arch (think AYSO soccer post-game parents tunnel) beckoning us through the front door, I became extremely aware that Morocco was putting on its best face for us. This was true of the whole trip. Everywhere we went we were served feasts, our heads were wrapped in colorful turbans, we were offered fine hand-made goods (and some not so fine), we enjoyed endless musical nights, for this is a country literally run on tourism.

Even with the prevalence of foreigners, however, this was the first time I felt truly foreign...a combination of being in surroundings that I could not liken to anything else I had ever seen and being treated as a bright, shiny, foreign good of some kind. It is a feeling of self-awareness and vulnerability that I had never before experienced. I have never been so aware of my skin, my hair, my eyes...and my sex. Men are so vocal, which I thought I had become accustomed to living in Spain, but no...much more so, in Morocco. One amusing example: As our group left the rug shop in Fez, a local store-owner sat outside his stall offering camels as payment, evaluating our worth as he saw fit. Dad, you will be proud to know that he offered 3,000 camels for me, well above the others. I think it's because all the girls took on these deer-in-the-headlights faces as we walked by, but I could not help but have a spark of laughter in my eyes. For the most part, I found the whole thing very amusing, but having been there I will give credence to the warnings for women to not travel Morocco alone...as much as I still balk at that fact.

With it's many faces, it's natural beauty contrasted with it's poverty-stricken cities, it's gracious and inviting culture and it's harsh and intimidating gender lines, more than anything, I will say of this country and it's people, Alhayatjamila, this life is beautiful.

I will return to Morocco someday, Inshallah.

On the Road

2008-03-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

This weekend I took a day trip by myself and discovered a perfect gem a couple hours south of Sevilla-- Ronda. The town was built way up on a hill, surrounded by rolling hills colored Crayola Green, mountain peaks, and a clear blue sky. Right through the middle of the town is a small river that over time has formed a huge gorge. The two sides of the town are connected by a bride that spans 98m!

The best part is that this amazing natural wonder, combined with man's feat of engineering and strength, is completely unexpected. The bus drove up the sloping side of the hill and right into the newer part of town. Newer is all relative here because it is still very historic in appearance, but relatively commercial as well. You walk through the town past banks and shops and restaurants and are suddenly at the brink of a massive gorge! The other side is considered the true "historic" part, containing a classic cathedral and a fortress wall. The amazing thing about Spain is that there are so little safeguards and precautions taken so they let you climb all over without supervision! ;)

I guess they don't have to worry about insurance on a 13th century Moorish wall?

I cannot imagine how much fun it would be for kid to grow up in Ronda! So many things to climb, so many forts to discover and build...who am I kidding? I was a kid in Ronda! I came out of the gorge after hours of breathless ecstatic exploration, with leaves in my hair and mud on my boots and unknowingly waltzed into a 5 star restaurant (I was just looking for a good view), ignoring the ever well-dressed Spaniards lingering over 3-4 hour lunches. I lunched with Jack Kerouac, eagerly devouring a 3 course meal complete with a whole trout and lingering for a couple hours with Jack in my lap**, two glasses of wine- one for meal, one for dessert (on the house, naturally ;) and a spectacular view.

With what was left of the afternoon I stumbled upon a Wine museum and decided to relieve my sun-scathed skin and already sore muscles with a little viticulture. I love the history and art of wine-making, the beauty of wine country, and well, wine in general so it was a fine choice to top off a perfect day. :)

** I'm reading the unedited original scroll version of On the Road, which apparently Kerouac wrote in a 3 week haze of Benzedrine on a continuous sheet of typewriter paper, stretching out 119', "the road", literally, unfolds. There are no page or paragraph breaks at all. It is an endless, frenetic, stream of conscious, often nonsensical, constantly horrifying, surprisingly poignant, artful mess of a story. Because I have loved it so much, I just thought I would share some of my favorite passages so far with you...

"Although Gene was white there was something of the wise and tired old Negro in him, and something very much like Hunkey the NY dope addict in him, but a railroad Hunkey, a traveling epic Hunkey, crossing and recrossing the country every year, south in the winter and north in the summer and only because he has no place he can stay without getting tired of it and because there's nowhere to go but everywhere, and keep rolling under the stars, generally the western stars."

"Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together; sophistication demands that they submit to sex immediately without proper preliminary talk. Not courting talk---real straight talk about souls, for life is holy and every moment is precious."

"A pain stabbed my heart, as it did every time I saw a girl I loved who was going the opposite direction in this too-big world of ours. The announcer called the LA bus. I picked up my bag and got on it; and who should be sitting alone in it, but the Mexican girl. I sat right opposite her and began scheming right off. I was so lonely, so sad, so tired, so quivering, so broken, so beat---all of it had been too much for me---that I got up my courage, the courage necessary to approach a strange girl, and acted."

"We turned a dozen paces, for love is a duel, and looked at each other for the last time."

"It was the end of the continent, no more land. Somebody had tipped the American continent like a pinball machine and all the goofballs had come rolling into LA in the southwest corner. I cried for all of us. There was no end to the American sadness and the American madness. Someday we'll all start laughing and roll on the ground when we realize how funny it's been. Until then there is a lugubrious seriousness I love in all this."

(emphasis added)

Hide and Seek

2008-03-09T12:23:00.000-07:00

I have this thing with Ben & Jerry's, well, it's becoming a thing. A couple years ago I was standing in line waiting for my favorite scoop, Oatmeal Cookie, joking around obnoxiously with Rachel Tomlinson, as only we do...and who do I catch out of the corner of my eye but Bruce Willis. Bruce was wearing the classic, don't notice me, celebrity get up...ratty jeans, black t-shirt, hat, and sunglasses. As if no one notices someone who doesn't take off their sunglasses inside, but whatever, Bruce.

I like to think that seeing a movie star doesn't phase me because I have grown up around enough "famous" people in my town, my school, etc. so I didn't really react. I'm mature, I'm smooth. About a half hour later as we walked around the plaza (in Malibu), and who do we run into, but Bruce. Bruce, are you following me? I wonder. Of course it didn't occur to me at the time that I was in the smallest town in the world. Two Bruce sightings in one day? It was uncanny!

Fast forward to this summer in SB. I was sitting inside Jeannine's, waiting for my Turkey Cranberry sandwich (my mouth is watering), and gazing outside at the beautiful sunny day. After a few minutes I noticed a guy (hat and sunglasses, como siempre) who kept looking up from his meal at me. Only then did I realize I had been gazing right over the head of my good friend Bruce. Of course, being the celebrity that he is, naturally he assumed I was gazing longingly at him. I hastily averted my gaze, totally embarrassed, despite the fact that this time his incognito celebrity uniform had actually worked!

On Friday, as Mara and I strolled through Sevilla doing some lazy afternoon shopping and I noticed an older, scruffy looking bald guy sauntering along with an ice cream cone- from Ben & Jerry's (aha! a pattern, yeah okay, a loose one). I sort of recognized him and wracked my brain for a moment. Sometimes this happens when you see a celebrity, you get this, how do I know you nervous feeling, like you're about to have a blank-faced awkward interaction. As soon as I realized I said to Mara under my breath (smooth and classy, remember?), "Mar are you seeing this?" She kept on talking, not paying any attention. As soon as we passed him I grabbed her arm, "Mara that was Bill Murray!"

"No it wasn't!" she cried incredulously and immediately turned around to follow him, "I have to see his face!" I began protesting. I did not want to break my suave, unaffected performance! I followed her anyway, realizing how much I wanted her to believe me, but after a few minutes I couldn't take it any longer and ducked under an overhang, saying, "Is this the place you were looking for Mar?" As soon as Bill heard me (speaking english...dumb!) and saw that I had backtracked with a tall, blond, German girl (we don't blend well in Spain, have I mentioned that?)-- he crossed the street suddenly.

Mara stood there, exposed, and watched him walk. He proceeded to duck into an alley behind a big truck. I thought he had just disappeared and came out to continue on our way, but Mara stood and continued watching. "Vanessa! He is hiding behind the truck." QUE?? I followed her gaze, and sure enough, Bill Murray's feet stood right below the frame of the truck. We gawked for at least a minute and they didn't budge. He must be finishing his ice cream cone, I thought, and waiting it out. Crazy Americans!

I walked away, again, horribly embarrassed, but secretly thrilled. A couple minutes later Mara said, "Umm, remember when Bill Murray hid from us?" We bust up laughing. An amusing anecdote that I thought I'd share...doesn't surpass Jon sharing a joint with Rob Schneider in Amsterdam, but still, pretty good. :)

Bom Dia, Boa Tarde, Boa Noite!

2008-03-03T15:04:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday I hopped on a midnight bus to Lisbon to spend a long weekend with my Portuguese family. Well, if we're going to get technical, they are not "real" family, but Ana Margarida and Rita are the sister and niece (respectively) of a family that is as good as my own, the Martins, and they have never failed to make me feel that way on the various occasions that we have spent holidays or celebrations as one big, well, family. This time was no exception.

I emailed Ana Margarida on Monday of last week, having just been told that I would have a 4 day weekend for some Spanish holiday of no particular importance, hoping to seize this opportunity to visit the Portuguese Martins in Lisbon. Thankfully, Margarida, ever warm, inviting, and enthusiastic, embraced my spontaneity and booked me a hotel straight away, saying "Come to Lisbon, we are waiting for you!"

I took a midnight train two days later to Lisbon, arriving at 6am, and wandered to find a taxi to my hotel. I try to make a point of utilizing whatever meager amounts of a language I may have in my repertoire in each new cultural exchange, probably because of my perpetual fear of linguicentrism (I think I made that word up, i.e. expecting everyone to speak english), and this pre-dawn taxi-ride was to be no exception, no matter how tired I was. I managed a "Bom dia", the address of my hotel and an "Obrigada," which I thought was pretty good, considering how tired I was, but my taxi driver cocked his head up and took one glance at me through the rearview mirror and said, "You're English, aren't you?" "Americana," I responded. "Well then, speak English!" as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Despite my disheveled appearance and bleary eyes, my taxi driver saw my brief presence in his cab as an opportunity to practice his English and bestow upon me, what I later found to be, a characteristic Portuguese perspective. After relaying to him my current occupation in Spain he said, not without an air of disdain, "And how are your students?" I hemmed and hawed a bit, giving them a gracious report only to be met with what resembles a "Guffaw" and a small rant regarding the inferiority of the Spanish, them...and the French. For the remainder of the trip, almost without fail, I was met with Portuguese who could not only speak English proficiently but also Spanish, French and/or German, and this ubiquitous opinion of the Spanish.

On Thursday I wandered the streets of Lisbon, full of hills, taking in the plethora of awe-inspiring vistas, classic Portuguese white buildings with yellow or blue trim, castles, bridges, the vast river (often mistaken for the sea) and dined with the happy couple and the beautiful Mika in their flat in Cascais. On Friday I made a day trip to Sintra where I saw the most unique and exquisite palace, perched on the top of a hill overlooking the city, the forest, and the sea.

From Palacio Pena I decided to wander of in the direction of a convent, aided only by one road sign about 3km down with an arrow down a simple road. My fascination with convents and monasteries began not too long ago when I was sitting and talking and dreaming with my dear friend Abby about the adventures we were about to embark upon and she showed me a book of Monasteries in Italy that allow you to stay in them for a nominal fee. Intrigued, I did some research and found that the same was true in Spain, although the actual ones are not listed online. I inquired in the tourist office in Sevilla only to be told that "No hay en Andalusia." Bummer. I'm going to do it though, only a matter of time. Anyway....

I walked for about 30 minutes in that direction, perfectly content with earbuds tucked in and my "iphone glory" playlist of worship songs playing, imagining myself on a mini-pilgrimage, a sort of practice round for the somewhat longer pilgrimage I will take in May (more on that later). Not long after walking I noticed little posts on the side of the road marking the distance, 8.6, 8.5, 8.4km...and thought, perhaps this is to show how far the historic convent is from here. 8.6km, well, that's quite far...but no matter, I have all day and there is really nothing I enjoy more than walking through a new country, especially off a beaten path. And, let me tell you, this was an unbeaten path. Well, at least for a couple centuries. I came upon several dilapidated estates and only dared to enter one that was very near the road. There is something so enchanting and eery about abandoned buildings, especially ones that have been overtaken by vines and moss and trees and that now barely resemble a human abode.

I kept walking for miles, every once in a while being passed by a curious car, to which I paid no attention because I was set on walking the whole way there. As I reached the top of each new hill I found a new village nestled among the trees below or a clearer view of the sea and reveled in the beauty of this little storybook land. As I saw the numbers 3.2, 2.4, 1.1 pass by I began to walk a bit faster with excitement and anticipation in each step. Then, all of a sudden, I was at the end of the road, looking at another sign, just like the first one I had seen over 10km back, except this time, with one marked difference- note the distance: "Convento Capuchos 4". What? 4km back?? How did I miss it? Besides the obvious disappointment, now I was a bit worried. It was about 4:30 and I knew I had about an hour and a half before dark and I was well away from the town, not to mention the Convent would probably be closing soon. I knew I was going to have to hitch-hike back to Sintra either way so rather than walk down into another town to find my way back, I head back up into the hills to complete my quest.

This time, I decided, I would not be against a little help, so I decided to petition a small coupe coming up the road for a short ride. An old man named Grecia, the one Portuguese I met during my whole trip who did not speak English (or Spanish) opened the passenger door for me gruffly without saying a word. I just kept saying "convento" and he tried to speak German and we were a goofy lot for the 5 minute ride to his natural spring well. He stopped, said, "Agua" and pointed me in the direction of the Convent...okay, 1km to go. As I walked a blue BMW drove up next to me, rolled down the window and motioned me inside. I remembered seeing it parked in front of a glorious mansion at the end of the road. I shook my head and smiled, "Solomente un kilometer" (resorting to Spanish), and the man nodded reluctantly and drove on. Two minutes later the same car came back the opposite direction and stopped to inquire what (the heck) I was doing because apparently he saw me walking a couple hours ago. Refraining from just calling myself loco, I explained my destination and declined help again (I can walk the last km, claro!). He drove off only to return, once again, going my way, and insisting on driving me the remainder. The Portuguese are incessantly accommodating! ;)

I found myself at the convent, 10 minutes before it was to close, buying a ticket and appeasing the perplexed woman at the desk explaining that I would find some way down the big hill to town (I did concede that I was a little loco this time), and finally venturing into see the place I had walked over 14km to reach. I will explain it with photos only, but suffice to say, I was satisfied and once again enchanted by the history and beauty of the country. The ticket woman convinced me to drive to Capuchos with her and take a bus back to Sintra, so I agreed, happy to not have to hitch a ride in the dark and happier to set this poor woman's mind at ease (and my dad's too, because I knew he'd be reading this ;).

Once back in Sintra, I ran to catch the train, stopping in the station cafe for a hunk of chocolate salami for the road, realizing that I hadn't eaten since breakfast at the hotel. Chocolate salami is one of Portugal's mythic treats for me because Giselle and I were obsessed with it when we came 5 years ago and I hadn't had it since. That night, I met Margarida for dinner, exuberant, exhausted, and famished. We feasted on cod fish (also very Portuguese), wine, and a boiled egg dessert down by the docks.

Saturday Margarida and I took a long scenic drive down the coast to the Troia peninsula, where a lot of families from Lisbon have summer homes. On the way she stopped to show me a beautiful convent nestled up in the canyon overlooking the crystal blue water of the Atlantic. A colleague of hers was married here a few years ago...a new dream of mine! :) We took a ferry across the river and spent hours relaxing on the beach and eating a late lunch in a small fishing village. That night, we strolled through Barrio Alto, a four-street neighborhood of funky bars and restaurants with tons of people hanging out and drinking in the streets until the wee hours (which, like a lot of Lisbon, resembles San Francisco). I met some of Rita's friends and they took me in like one of their own and treat me to a great night in the Barrio and later at the best disco in Lisbon, called Lux. It was truly impressive, and was made all that much more so because we walked right to the front, greeted the doorman with a hug and handshake and passed well over a block of people waiting in the freezing cold of 4am. Yet another way I was happily spoiled in Lisbon. :)

On Sunday Rita and Luis had all of their friends over for a bbq and we spent the whole afternoon playing with the beautiful baby and chatting and gazing out on the Atlantic (and NATO headquarters) right from their balcony. Their friends were delightful and warm and I was so sad to leave, but I have been entreated to return in June for a big festival called Santos, so I hope to make it back before I head back to the states.

More than anything, spending time with Margarida and getting to know her better and Portugal through her eyes was such a wonderful experience. I told her and Rita that the thing I looked forward to most about coming to visit was the normalcy and comfort of being with a family and I enjoyed that time immensely. In some ways, coming back to Sevilla, I feel as if I have left my heart in Portugal...yet another place it now resides, as with all of you.

Boa noite!

A long time coming...

2008-02-18T14:44:00.000-08:00

Today is a momentous day. We finally have internet in the piso!! As many of you know, I changed apartments to live with a couple girls in a slightly newer, much cleaner place. We moved in at the beginning of February and had some technical difficulties, but are finally joining the modern world with our very own...not stolen while perched in the freezing cold on the balcony...wifi! :)

It kind of goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway...a lot has happened since my last post, so this could end up being arduously long and tiring. Well, grab a cafelito, and suck it up because here it comes...in themes.

Vanessa goes back to school to learn her a, b, th's (that's right, Sevilliano's have a lisp, love it.)....

I spent three weeks in an intensive Spanish language school to get my Spanish back up to snuff. While I am no where near fluent, and in fact still have rather awkward moments where I stare blankly at people and run to grab one of my roommates, I can understand the majority of Spanish that is spoken to me and express myself...well, mas o menos. I've been told that if you learn Spanish in Andalusia (the southern region in Spain), you will be able to understand it anywhere in the world, because the accent is just that difficult. I think this might be a bit of an overstatement. Throw in a "vale" or a "tio" and you've got yourself a ready-made local idiom. I think I can fool people with a few phrases, but once we get past the pleasantries, my American accent shines right through.

My class was a wonderful international hodgepodge comprised of a Japanese girl (talk about culture-shock...do not envy her!), a cute Belgian boy (spoke 3 languages fluently- that's hot;), a Swiss girl (my daily coffee break companera), a German girl (Ana, the architect), a Nigerian nun (her laugh was infectious), and a couple American girls.

I'm pretty sure I have already raved about my profesora, but I might just have to do that some more...there were many things about my professora that I loved. She has a masters in linguistics and teaches Spanish to foreigners 4 hours a day and then has the rest of her time to spend with her family. There is a constant flow of new people coming from all over the world into the school...different ages, different nationalities, different professions and reasons for needing/wanting to learn spanish. Inma infused the teaching of her language to a group of struggling scholars with such passion that I have been inspired to add another career-option to my list and as I have the desire to live abroad, maybe in Spain, or in otras lugares, for a bit longer in my life, teaching english seems to be the best common denominator right now...which brings me to my next section...

Experiments in Illegal Immigration: Vanessa teaches herself to teach English and the beautiful irony of Spain...

Pretty much all of the friends I have made here have been through Mara and they are all girls in her program (teaching English in local schools for the spanish gov't). One of those girls had a couple requests for private tutoring but her schedule was already full so she passed them off to me. So far this has resulted in two different jobs. One is pretty simple, two 1 hour sessions per week with a woman in her mid-30's who wants to start working for a man who owns a bunch of rental properties all over the world. She is really sweet and has two adorable little boys and she pays me 18e/hour. Pretty sweet, considering that I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. I spend a good amount of time preparing though, because I don't want to be ripping anyone off.

The second job is one that epitomizes Spain better than any haphazard expression I could come up with. I am teaching a class of 6 Spanish civil servants and military men at the Ministry of the Interior just outside of Sevilla. Their jobs range from customs officials to under-cover drug-traffic control agents. I have to enter through a guarded gate and be escorted to the classroom, but the irony is, I have NO papers. I have no visa to live here, let alone work here, and they could care less. So I went for my first day on Tuesday, and the guy who hired me was not going to be there because he just had back surgery, but the other 5 were supposed to be. I got to the gate and the guard did not have my name so they asked for my passport and I regrettably gave it to them (they wrote my info on a post-it though....I mean, do I look like a threat to national security?). I was already 5 minutes late by this point, for my FIRST day as a REAL teacher...I was flustered. I kept repeating the same few phrases to the amiable-enough-looking guard...despite the fact that all he said was "no" or "no puedo entrarte"...and finally I convinced him to walk me to the classroom to prove that I wasn't lying, that I was supposed to be there, I mean, I had a purpose, I was a MAESTRA DE INGLES for crying out loud!

Antonio, 55 year old career military man, father of 4, grandpa of 1, walked me back to my classroom to verify my story and make sure I was okay. Problem was, no one was there. So now, not only am I thinking that I have stood up my class and they have all left in disgust, but also, I have this guard with me who now thinks I'm lying to get on a base. I start apologizing and giving him all the possible scenarios in which my class would not be there at 4:12, but he just smiles and says, "No pasa nada" and asks if I'd like a cafelito? We head into the cafe next door and spend the next 3 1/2 hours drinking and gabbing (in the best spanish I could possibly come up with) and meeting every 50+ officer whom he has been friends with for years. It was one of the most memorable afternoons I have had so far.

I love the Spanish work ethic (or lack thereof...4 cervesitas at 4:30, Antonio?...por que no, tia?), desire to care for anyone and everyone (I got 2 invitations to 2nd homes in Granada and 1 in Cadiz), the excessive compliments (Que guapa, hija!), and the habitual and careless use of dirty words that somehow seem to mean nothing (not giving examples here b/c they still mean something to me!). I plan to go to work an hour early every time just to spend more time with my guys. ;)

I've taught one class now and, let me tell you, it was one of the most nerve-wracking two and a half hours of my life as 5 men sat looking at me expectantly, like I was supposed to have all the answers or something!! Actually, it went very well and I absolutely loved the challenge, even as it proved more challenging than I ever thought it would be.

Party-time en Espana....como siempre!

I would say I gave it the good old college try, but I actually never even partied this much in college! Spaniards have an incredible stamina when it comes to nightlife and living with Mr. Fiesta (David) for 3 weeks translated into a never-ending string of bars and discos, free drinks and dancing until my heels wore down. At one point I realized that I had gone out every single night until at least 3 or 4 for over a week...and woken up to go to class at 8 (perfect attendance, btw)! That came to an end after an all-nighter in Cadiz for Carnival, during which time I came down with the worst cold flu I had had in years and had to sleep for pretty much 3 days straight to recover.

The next weekend I was all rested and ventured down to Rota (another beach town) for the whole weekend with some American girls and Spanish guys, who graciously hosted us in their family's beach homes. Mara and I did a return of Poison Ivy and Cat Woman (you were dearly missed, Matil), but this time she got sick (boo)! Nevertheless, Rota was beautiful and it was so wonderful to walk on the beach and dip my toes in the ocean. It felt like home. :)

(Mara and I love this pic b/c exemplifies our exasperation with Spanish men;)
(I found a little bike...weee!:)

This weekend some of the girls from Mara's program wanted to have a party for Valentine's day...La Fiesta del Amor (claro)...but they got a hate note from their neighbors so we thought it was called off. A few hours later, Mara got a next saying, "Meet at 10:30 on Calle Letis, Manu said we can have the party in his palace." So, naturally we thought she had mis-spelled the word and had meant to say "place," but NO, it was literally a PALACE!
...Manu had access b/c he is supposed to be selling the place for 3ish million euros...

We were escorted down a side street and hurriedly snuck into a little door, which served as the only outside edifice of the massive building. It was three stories, with an expansive courtyard in the middle, windy staircases, floor to ceiling mirrors in half the rooms, but completely unfurnished and slightly decrepit, with no electricity or running water, and illuminated only by candlelight and the lively chatter that could only be produced by the excitement of 50 naughty children. Adventures in Spain...just keep getting better.
:)
Thanks for reading the novella...I will try to post more frequently with this new-found luxury called "weefee" in Spain. ;)

Besos y abrazos a vosotros!

Me encanta Sevilla

2008-01-21T13:41:00.000-08:00

I have been in Sevilla for almost two weeks and in some ways it feels like I haven't seen half of it and in others it feels like I have been here forever. Thanks for the friendly prodding from a few of you to keep blogging. It has been kind of a challenge for me to get in the reflective mindset that blogging often necessitates (at least for me), but I know you're not asking for the profound...so here it goes.

Very simply, I love Sevilla. I love the incredible vibrancy of this city, the colors of the buildings and the sky along the river at sunset, getting lost in the windy streets of barrio Santa Rosa, the fashionista Sevillanos, the enormous parques, the uneven tempo of the day and week, the cafe fuerte (Amy you would love it), the constant walking, the month long city-wide "day-after-thanksgiving-like" sale (rebajas), copas (drinks) any time of the day or night, the buzzing discos in the wee-est hours of the morning, the most adorable ninos you have ever seen, the guapos (hay muchisimo;), the bell at my language school, the fact that Friday night I was in a piso with a Mexican, a Spaniard, Danish girls, Belgian boys, Icelandic girls, a British boy, Germans...and was the only American (and the only person who could speak less than 3 languages) in the room, the tapas, the periwinkle sky at twilight (never seen anything like it) the siestas, the distinctly Sevillan spanish- short and sweet, the Spanish (in general) who speak the same language as the latinos but with the passion and energy of the Italianos...todos Bellisimo!

Last week I moved in with a Sevillano named David. He is such a fun guy, great energy, talks to/knows everyone in this city, and so nice! He owns three businesses in Sevilla: a finance/consulting company, a tourist/Spanish fusion company called We Love Spain, and a bar called El Duende. I was directed to We Love Spain by Mara's roommate who said they may be able to help me with housing, school, job, whatever I decided (I'll explain more about their business in another post- pretty cool idea though).

David's girlfriend, Elizabeth, who is from Redondo Beach originally, co-owns We Love Spain and she hooked me up with a room in David's piso (apt.). It's typically Spanish, which means out-of-date, muchas cosas no funcionas, y hay un perro- no me le gusta...but David and Liz are so sweet, we have had so much fun together, and regardless of the ever depreciating dollar, it's still really cheap!

I'm posting a few random photos. I am seriously not a photog...I never use my camera. I think I have a lot of difficulty shattering the experience with a camera...even after seeing great use of candid shooting from friends, it still separates me...and I am so IN it right now. I think that is why I haven't blogged as well. As much as writing can add to an experience, I think it takes away a bit of the magic for me. Haha...I'm so dramatic. No te preocupas...I will keep blogging, if only to add to the experience by hearing from you all! :)

Top center- bottom right is the bridge I walk across every morning to school and any time I go to el centro (a lot)

Middle- I bought two pairs of black boots in one day- Rebajas- what's a chica to do!? (still can't rotate image, bah! oh well) *note: the incredible color of the sky at twilight

Bottom- Mara, Samara, y yo outside David's bar El Duende...it's 3:30 we're giddy and it's closed :)

Besos! (cheek/cheek kisses)

Grathia

2008-01-09T05:18:00.000-08:00

Sevillianos have a unique way of speaking Spanish. They shorten and/or combine most common words and they use the classic Spanish lisp. So....gracias (which was even hard for me to convert to from grazie) becomes gracia, but sounds like grathia. And that's just the beginning!

This city is so beautiful, and much nicer weather than Florence was...50-60's and blue skies at least half the day! :) Most of the streets are lined with the famous (although I never made the connection) Sevillian oranges. I was so surprised that people don't pick them, but Mara told me that they are actually quite bitter so they stay on the trees until spring, at which point, the city collects them and makes jam. Nice little revenue source for the city and so pretty to look at!

I have been so blessed so far in my travels because in each place I go (Florence and now Sevilla) I have had wonderful friends to pick me up at the airport, give me a place to sleep, and show me around! It really takes so much of the stress out of traveling. My friend Mara, who I am staying with now, is working for the Spanish government teaching English in local schools. She has students from preschool to high school level. Yesterday evening I got to go with her to a 5-6th grade class and help her teach! It was so much fun!

Today, I went on a language school/apartment/job search and found a local business (started by a California girl and her Spanish boyfriend- We Love Spain) that is going to help me find all three!

So...about these photos...yesterday when Mara and I were strolling around El Centro and the Barrio Santa Cruz we came across a strike in front of city hall. The carriage drivers that take people on tours of the city stood all of their horses in front of city hall so that they would crap all over the sidewalk and express their dissatisfaction with...no se'. How funny is that! And of course, the riot police turned out for the intense rebellion! Mara and I just appreciated the dark handsome men in uniform and laughed at all the horse turds. :)

And then this morning, Mara brought in the newspaper with the exact same photo I took! I guess I'm not the only one that found it amusing. ;)

Time for tapas y siesta! Buenos tardes!

Ciao Ciao!

2008-01-07T00:49:00.000-08:00

I absolutely fell in love with this city all over again yesterday. After a really late night...Abby, Greg and I found some Italians to escort us to a disco called YAB, where we danced until 4 am!...A&G were really tired, so I slipped out to let them sleep and took myself on a little adventure.

I had planned to go to the Uffizi, but being that it was a rainy Sunday, that was the place to be and I couldn't bear a 45 minute line. I walked to the Duomo, thinking I might climb the tower again, but it was closed for noon mass. I really wanted to go to mass, but it was full, so I kept walking. I head across the Ponte Vecchio back to where the Palace gardens are and on my way found a little chapel, where I ducked in just a few minutes late for mass and took a spot in the back. Although I could understand very little, it was a moving experience listening to all the voices melodic chants...always ending in Jesus Christo, amen. That's all the commonality we need anyway. It was beautiful.

I ventured back out into the rain again and found my way to a rather lonely park on this dreary day. It took me back into this little community on the hill, which I think was mainly housing for military families...and I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to be there, but the people were friendly enough. I then continued to traipse across town, thoroughly soaked by now, and spotted a fort up on a far hill. I decided I wanted to go there and spent the next two hours hiking through a gorgeous, peaceful nature preserve with a view of olive tree orchards and quintessential Italian villas from the very top. I didn't see another soul for all of that time, which was wonderful. I love finding the unique places in cities where you forget entirely where you are. Forget the Duomo, the Uffizi, the Ponte Vecchio, this is by far my favorite part of Firenze...at least in those moments.

Coming down from the hill I assumed I would be pretty lost, but I found my way directly back to the Arno and quickly back to the hotel. I showered and hung all my clothes and then head out into the city for some lunch with Abby and Greg. I had my first true kebab (essentially a Turkish burrito with mystery meat) and it was delicious. We spent some time relaxing and then head out to our favorite restaurant from the other night for Nelo (the bossy, but entirely gregarious owner) and his fabulous pizza. One of the things I love about little restaurants here is if you talk to your server or the owner even for a couple minutes, you are family. Even though we had finished a liter of wine between the three of us already, Nelo would not let us leave until we had a shot of Limoncello, on the house, of course. We had a night cap of gelato and paid our respects to JJ's Cathedral (the heralded American bar), which we found entirely too American...and called it a night.

I'm hopping on a train to Pisa this afternoon. I'll post again when I get to Espana! Ciao Ciao!

Firenze

2008-01-04T03:50:00.000-08:00

After arriving in Florence at noon on the 2nd, I spent most of the afternoon relaxing with Abby and Greg in their sweet apartment and fighting off the jet lag. I didn't sleep much on the plane because I was sitting next to this fascinating Yogi from Iran. He spent hours telling me about various levels of human potential, levitation, meditation and the basics, like home-made cheese (he wouldn't touch the airplane food). He was on his way to an Ashram in the Himalayas to study with his Teacher. I told him about the recent chick lit hit Eat, Pray, Love and my fascination with Ashrams. He just smiled. Oh, simple mind. Anyway, I have a hook up in India if any of you want to go. ;)

It has been so fun and relaxing to hang out with "locals" here in Florence. My last tour of Italy was phenomenal, but the 4 day per city tempo lent to a pretty packed schedule and I have been so happy to hang out, stroll about town, visit their favorite eateries and stomping grounds, eat pasta, gelato, walk, rest, and then repeat it all over again a few hours later. :) Last night we hiked up to this incredible view of the city that I somehow missed last time I was here. After that, I convinced them to wander with me for a while until we found a restaurant that was "off the beaten path", should we say? The 45 minute walk proved so worth it as we finally stumbled upon a place with smoked window doors and a non-descript sign "Antica Porta." It was phenomenal. Napoli style pizzas, a liter of wine for 7e, and two desserts later we happily made the hour long trek back to the apartment.

Today Abby and Greg have to move out of the apartment (thank God, their Brazilian roommate has returned from Paris, with drunken early morning antics and all) so we are all moving to a hotel on the Arno. It's amazing how cheap it is on the off-season! I have to make the trip back to the airport to get my bags. They were supposed to deliver them here by yesterday morning (they were lost in Chicago), but when they had not arrived by 3 I started calling the airport incessantly and all they would do was hang up on me! Abby told me it's a right of passage. How I love Italy. ;)

p.s. I have no camera cord, plus, let's face it, I am a terrible camera person...so I stole these. :)

Too many words...suffice to say I have been challenged and blessed.

2007-12-31T19:08:00.000-08:00

2007.

First year post-college.
Alston house.
Tri divas.
Incredible, inspiring new friends.
New depth,distance with old friends.
New family business.
France.
Official graduation.
Napa.
Christie&Garret get hitched.
Bath house.
Double-duce with Katie B.
SB Triathlon.
New York.
Minnesota.
Hawaii.
New family-
Teri, Sean, Zech, Ethan, Tessa.
Sabbatical life in SB.
Leaving Bath St.
Multi-family nomadic Christmas.
Packing up my childhood home.

...and getting on a jetplane.

Stay tuned- next post from Florence, Italy! :)

life is goo

2007-11-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

I saw this sign as I walked downtown this morning. I found it very amusing...and the reason is- it's just so true! Now, I'm not sure the point that the shopkeeper or marketer was trying to make- but to me, it said a lot that I am positive was totally unrelated...

Say "goo" to a triathlete and we think Gu. Gu is a small packet of intense calories- basically straight sugar and caffeine. Marathoners and triathletes use it during long workouts when their bodies are being depleted of fuel and need a rapidly metabolized pick-me-up to sustain energy and keep moving.

Life sometimes feels to me like training practice with a bunch of Gu- giving me spikes of energy and maybe even sustaining me for a while, but when it comes down to it, too much Gu is not a good thing. You can sustain yourself for a while on the stuff, but more than likely, you do it too long and you're going to feel nauseous and eventually crash. The whole idea of squirting something quickly in your mouth so you don't have to stop to refresh yourself has it's benefits- convenience mainly- but it's pretty unnatural. The body just need some good complex carbs every once in a while!

I think that in the past I have erred on the side of relying on Gu too much- if you move quickly and embrace change, you don't have to think too much about what you're doing, who you are becoming, or the unhappy realities that sometimes surround you in life. Conversely, sometimes you miss the simple pleasures as well (can't forget those ;). I think Gu is my form of escapism.

A few weeks ago I was coming to the end of about 6 weeks of traveling and I was walking around a lake on a gorgeous fall day catching up with a few friends (via iphone). My friend Kacie was listening to me babble on about life in all its wonderful twists and turns and she said something that really jolted me. "Vanessa, I feel like you are always in fast forward and we're just trying to find the pause button so we can bring you back to play." I laughed at the time, and over the next few days tried to justify to myself why it was good that I adapted so quickly, made quick decisions, and grabbed hold of opportunities- I'm usually really good at justifying things- but for whatever reason, this time, that loving criticism stuck.

The last few weeks I have really tried to slow down and think, read, and pray- a lot. It has been so uncomfortable- and so necessary. I didn't anticipate how hard it would be for me to stop doing and to just be still. I've been doing yoga, even though - no, especially because, it usually drives me crazy because it is so slow and repetitive. I've even tried meditating. That's a doozy. But, mostly, I have just allowed myself to sit in a state of uncertainty and begin to recognize what I am drawn to when I slow the momentum in my life.

It has left me feeling a little more lost than I ever really remember feeling, but quite a bit more faithful as well. "Be still and know that I am God." He meant it. I'm grateful for the chance to understand even a little bit more what that really means.

Rave Review

2007-10-22T16:38:00.000-07:00

I think that I was recommended this book five or six times by different people whom I love and respect, people who know me and the way I think and love to be challenged and to see life, love, and faith opened up in different lights through poignant writing and music....but I still did not get around to reading it until now.

It is the kind of book that once you've read through it, you immediately feel compelled to read it again because it has the simplicity and familiarity of a simple pleasure like walking and talking to your best friend, yet a depth of insight that makes you sure that you didn't fully "get it" the first time, and maybe life is in fact about edging closer to "getting it"- the message, our purpose, all of it. I'm going to leave it at that in terms of description/analysis because I'm not usually so "out there" in my blogging habits and I don't want to lose everybody. ;)

But, I will say, that this book also gave me a wonderful surprise at the end. I have had several moments over the last few years when I have felt incredibly blessed to have gone to Westmont and receive the education that I did. I was reminded of that once again on page 217...in a section that began like this:

"It is always the simple things that change our lives. And these things never happen when you are looking for them to happen. Life will reveal answeres at the pace life wishes to do so. You feel like running, but life is on a stroll. This is how God does things."

Miller then proceeds to recount a moment of realization that he had...while attending a lecture at Westmont College by Dr. Greg Spencer. :) The lecture was about the power of metaphors and the way that we think about cancer, love, and relationship- in and through metaphors. I remember this day so vividly in rhetoric. It shattered me. It shattered Donald Miller as well. I am not going to explain it further, Dr. Spencer is the genius, and Donald Miller does an awesome job of summarizing and extending it into his thoughts on love and faith. Both are more appropriate parties to seek more from- I think part of "getting it" is the seeking anyway- I don't want to cut anyone short. ;)

Incredible book.

Guilty pleasure :)

2007-10-15T13:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I like to work from bed- just because I can. Usually I prefer to walk downtown to work so that I am around people, have a change of scenery and so I don't feel lazy, but I have been all over the place the last 6 weeks or so and it is so wonderful to wake up in my own bed, have the coffee already brewing, and just start plugging away. Plus, it's cloudy- so there's really no need to go outside anyway. ;)

It's so good to be home!

lakes, leaves, leinys

2007-10-08T08:37:00.000-07:00

Last week Josh and I went up to Duluth for the Minnesota Council of Non-profits Convention. It was a couple days of workshops on fundraising, marketing- blogs and OSN's were a hot topic :)- cross-sectoral advocacy, and a lot of other organizational functions that were totally over my head (I prefer it that way, anyway). We got to stay in his friend's cabin on Lake Superior, which was incredible. Every time I looked out the window I felt like I was looking out on the Pacific ocean and the Channel Islands- it's just that huge! What was even better was the two hour drive on the highway, tree-lined on both sides with the most vibrantly colored leaves I have ever seen.

We have been working pretty much non-stop preparing for a whole slew of meetings this week. In structuring the grants and scholarships for students, we have been thinking a lot about the importance of incentive in volunteering- apart from appealing to the end-goal of community betterment. Tim Ferriss posted this week about a similar topic- how to encourage and incentivize giving. The title of his post is The Karmic Capitalist: Should I Wait Until I'm Rich to Give Back? Needless to say- the answer is No- but he gives a good argument for it and provides an interesting incentive- check it out!

Josh's family lives on Turtle lake. I like to come out on the deck at dusk and decompress with a Leiny for a bit. Beautiful, isn't it? :)

The adventure continues!

2007-10-01T19:54:00.001-07:00

I'm taking off for Minneapolis bright and early tomorrow. I am so
excited to go somewhere new and experience classic "fall"- crisp air,
changing leaves- seasons- such a novelty! ;) I'm definitely feeling
like 5 days was way too short to be home though! Oh well- I'm off! :)

Sent from my iPhone

Hodge Podge

2007-09-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

It is so good to be home! Santa Barbara really is one of the most incredible places on earth. When I was flying in yesterday I was so excited I just stared out at the islands and the beautiful coast and grinned like a little kid. I feel so blessed to call this place home.

Anyway...I just thought I'd post a random mix of photos from the last few weeks that never made it on here due to this or that...busyness...you know. Enjoy- I did! :)

New York City (from the US Open in Queens)

The Jersey Shore

Miss Brittany Raffill <3

...and Mr. Gerald Lahay

Just a bunch of kids really...Central Park Zoo :)

Miss Amy Nave! <3 (p.s. I can't figure out how to rotate this baby- but I just had to add it...tilt your head a little ;)

Amy=Claustrophobic

2007-09-22T15:23:00.001-07:00

"wait...we're getting on that?" ;)

Sent from my iPhone

RAAARRRR

2007-09-21T12:21:00.001-07:00

Sent from my iPhone

I'm back in the city and last night Josh and I went to this incredible little Italian restaurant and then to The Lion King! Thank you to my dad's fiance Teri for these amazing tickets- we were 10 rows back, center stage and it was AMAZING!! It is such a wonderful, moving story (one of my fav Disney films) and probably the most visually stunning plays I have ever seen. The dancing was phenomenal and made me feel inspired and washed-up at the same time! ;)

AND...it just keeps getting better because Amy is flying in tonight and I am heading over the the Grand Hyatt to check us in now!! I cannot wait until she gets here! :)

p.s. I slacked on the blogging in Jersey...I'll post some about that later.

More fun!

2007-09-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

Too much to process = snapshot approach...

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Sunday- Brunch bottom-less mimosas...afternoon stroll through Central Park...Redeemer Presbyterian Church...dancing to the wee hours at APT- swanky- and pretty much a gay bar- so much fun though! :)

Monday- Business plans...David Letterman (we got the special tickets- red-sticker="T" for Trouble)...Le Madeline (best creme brulee in the city)...late night brainstorm sesh.
Tuesday- Slept til noon...Thunder storm (and Neil's first day as a bike messenger- yikes!)...Cocoa cafe- coffee, chocolate, wine= heaven on earth- right around the corner... fire-escape the madness for a bit...and more fun to come!

:)

Lazy day :)

2007-09-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

Reading on the fire escape (Eat Pray Love- poignant writing- love it)...

Long subway ride...The original hot dog- found on Coney Island...

Stroll down the boardwalk...long subway ride- home. :)

4:13

2007-09-08T00:48:00.000-07:00

Today was SO incredible! Actually, the last few days have been unreal. I wandered around Central Park and went to the Met all day yesterday by myself, which was so much fun. I love being by myself in this city. Then, Josh and Neil and I met up at this outdoor theater in the park and saw a free play- A Midsummer Night's Dream- which was so masterfully done. It's a tradition in NYC to have free plays in the park in the summertime- so cool!

Today Josh and I went to the Bodies exhibit, which is basically every conceivable part of the human body displayed in both informative and stunning ways. I was incredbily moved by the section devoted to the growth of a fetus and specifcally the female body that had a child still in her womb. So amazing to see that so vividly displayed.

I took all three roommates out to this ridiculous Indian restaurant we found yesterday that is absolutely packed with florescent lights. Then we hit up a few bars. We found one called Fat Baby that was playing pretty good dance music (b/c we all know that's the only reason I go out)- but no one was dancing! So Josh and Neil challenged me and I spent the rest of the night getting people to dance with each other. It was so fun- totally changed the dynamic! One guy saw what I was doing and told me I would make a great politician (food for thought...)! ;)

I can't believe it's only been 3 days- I feel so at home here. More later- I need sleep!

Love, love!

2007-09-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a blast! I got into NY mid-morning and met Josh in the city. He took me to his aunt's apartment and made me breakfast. So sweet! His aunt lives on the 44th floor of this building that is rent only to artists- she's a composer. Her apartment was classic!

Josh, Neil, and Chase have a sweet apartment on the lower east side, which is right by China town and Little Italy! They even have a fire escape- which I absolutely love! Josh and Neil make a great pair of cooks and after an incredible dinner (I'm being very spoiled here) we head out to the US OPEN!! I have never really watched tennis but this was SO much fun! The stadium was absolutely packed and I love that kind of energy! Plus- tennis players are pretty hot. My favorite was the Swiss guy- Federer. :)

Btw, I learned all sorts of tennis lingo- love,love means the score is 0-0. How fun is that!

Today I'm heading uptown to wander around the Met for a few hours...I love it here! :)

The adventure begins...

2007-09-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

So a couple hours ago I got on my first flight by myself! I have traveled a good amount but never without a friend or my family. It's been funny b/c I'm usually totally confident traveling, but the newness of this makes me kinda neurotic...I've felt like I was forgetting something since I got to the airport and I thought it had something to do with worrying about my bags, but I realized it's more of a feeling like I'm missing someone. Pretty deep, huh? ;) I think I'm going to start journaling. :)

Josh and I are going to the U.S. Open finals pretty much right after I get to New York so I'm supposed to be studying up on tennis and the players so I'm not totally lost. My solution: beer in a sports bar. What says lone traveller better than that?! :)

I'm so excited to get to NYC I doubt I will sleep at all on the flight. I hope it's not too taboo to laugh deliriously during a tennis match...don't worry, I'll hold it together. :)

Not for Sale

2007-08-31T09:09:00.000-07:00

I've been working with my friend Allie Trowbridge on the launch of the marketing campaign for the "Not for Sale...the documentary" this week. Allie is one of the most driven people I know and also one of the sweetest! We have had so much fun!

I learned a lot about the campaign as we discussed how to maximize viral marketing potential on the web. This is alarming and heartwrenching information.

"Slavery was abolished in 1865 in the United States.
Why then are 200,000 people in this country still enslaved?"

"Slavery is currently illegal across the entire globe.
Why then are 27 million people enslaved worldwide?"

She just launched the website-- Check out the trailer!

Vision Launchers (couple Westmont guys) did the design and it looks great! These guys are so hot right now! They have some serious talent and sound like a lot of fun to work with.

I am excited to do more of this stuff!

FINISHED!

2007-08-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

My goal was to finish the Santa Barbara Long Course Triathlon in under 5 hours and today I did it! I didn't wear a watch or anything and didn't stress too much about time or how well I was doing in the larger scheme of things...I even took a bathroom break, which apparently is more than others allow themselves (crazies!). I just wanted to have a lot of fun and- let me tell you- it was FUN!

I felt really good all throughout and only started to really feel tired when I start pushing in the last few miles of the run. I finished in 4 hours 20 minutes!! It felt so amazing to finish and have a bunch of friends cheering at the finish line- I even tapped the reserve and sprinted the last 10 yards or so! I'm a sucker for the crowd! :P

I don't have any photos right now, but DJ came and shot a ton....including a video of me and Amy before the race, which was so cool of him (in spite of his mean tricks!) ;)

So...the Tri divas (was a working title- but due to lack of energy- stuck ;)- Amy, Paige and I (and Deyl too!)- are already making big plans for a Half-Ironman in Spring '08...my vote is Hawaii! I think we're addicted! :)

I have a new hero!

2007-08-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

I have been learning a lot about social entrepreneurship and this guy has totally inspired me...in what direction?...I have no idea yet...but I am inspired! :)

Check out the video on TED!

Brotherly love :)

2007-08-18T17:46:00.001-07:00

Brotherly love :)
Originally uploaded by vanessafelts

Thanks Stevie! ;)

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Patience, grasshopper...

2007-08-17T10:55:00.001-07:00

To me, patience is a buzz kill.

I love the fast-pace, passionate, adventurous approach to life and will most often surround myself with people who feel the same. That's why it's easy to love Richard Branson- (well, I think I'll buy an island today, and then a plane...)- who wouldn't love to approach life AND work that way?

I have learned recently, especially when it comes to starting a business, not to distrust the calm, prudent, decision-making approach...as much as that makes me feel like a "grown-up," which I emphatically reject! ;)

In some ways, it is important to act quickly and decisively, but for me it has been difficult to separate that from the impetuousness of youth...it is important to make sure that the thrill is not controlling you.

Most importantly, I think that it takes consciously applied patience to hear God's voice of direction. This is something I have been praying about and trying to incorporate into all areas of my life. You're welcome to challenge me on it, I love a challenge. :)

Blech

2007-08-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

I don't get sick. I think it is a stupid mental thing. I can't even remember the last time I was sick...okay, yes I do, it was March and I had a bad experience with Nyquil b/c I had never taken it before so I didn't know that you shouldn't take it at 3am and try to work 4 hours later...I almost passed out in Paige's office. That was bad.

My mom never let us take stuff like that when I was little. If I was kinda sick, she just told me I needed to drink a lot of water....and if I was really sick, she maybe switched that prescription to orange juice...but we never took that weird stuff and hardly ever got antibiotics unless we were REALLY sick. She kinda went through a health-nut phase. I liked it though- I don't like medicine- it makes me feel funny.

But seriously, who gets sick during summer? Unheard of! I think I even have a fever. This is ridiculous. I'm mad....at least I'm not being a baby about it, right? LOL ;)

"Let me just check on that...."

2007-08-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

I spent much of the afternoon in various banks across town...well, two actually...then on my iphone with the third. I have my personal account at Washington Mutual, my F.R. Holdings account (family real estate partnership) at Wells Fargo, and a separate savings account with HSBC. bla.bla.bla.

I think banks are so funny. They're so intent on all having the best possible customer service, which I guess they have to because if they weren't smiling and asking if you want coffee then you would simply have a conniption fit watching them run around trying to figure out their own system.

My uncle wrote me a check that I had to deposit in the F.R. Holdings account, which only has his and my older brother's name on it- finances officer and CEO, respectively- simple/easy, right? So the Wells guy just could not figure out why I wanted to deposit the check even though I told him it was for the family business.

He ran around calling the lady at my uncle's bank (who was in jury duty), working with her assistant (nada) then asking if he could call my uncle (who is in Fiji for a month)...and totally ignored me when I said it was fine b/c I'm a partner and I'm not worried that I can't withdraw and- no, it's not going to disappear forever...and 30 minutes later finally came back and said, "Wow, was that confusing! He must just have done it for tax purposes..."

I could have told him that! So of course I apologize because it must be my fault it was so confusing- but seriously- do I need to explain why I want to deposit money? craziness! (I have some thoughts on the whole run-around game with taxes- but that is another post, for another day..;)

I'm so glad I had my iphone because I could just sit their calmly and let Colbie entertain me and do my other banking online. I love efficiency! HSBC has a legit online savings account- 5.05% interest! It's like a CD, but way better! :)

just thought I'd share...

2007-08-13T19:59:00.001-07:00

You know sometimes when you're cruising through some daily blogposts and you just keep finding one cool thing after another...so...this morning Seth really came through for me.

This guy publishes a list he calls The Personal MBA...it's a sweet tool for business education...and then his site led me to another one called Change This! It's full of manifestos that different people have contributed. How sweet would it be to write a manifesto! I'm going to have to start brainstorming that one... :)

Saturday

2007-08-09T17:42:00.000-07:00

Deyl gave me this sweet documentary for my birthday called A Map for Saturday. It's about this guy who decided to travel around the world for a year by himself (and film it, apparently). Great footage of some of the coolest places in the world! Along the way he met others doing the same thing. They formed various little back-packer communities and created mini-realities within the whole experience. Travel can be such a funny thing...surreal and euphoric and so far from "reality," but what happens when you commit to that experience for a year? There is nothing outside of that heightened state. It was so interesting to see how that changed people. They became numb.

I know how over-played Tim Ferriss is becoming right now (you can't hate the guy for be a trend-setter/incredible self-promoter now! ;)...but I couldn't help but hear his commentary on life-deferrment and binge-traveling throughout this film. The whole theme of the film rested on the idea that "everyday was like Saturday"...meaning no one was telling them what to do, they had no structure or expectations of them- no boss. But of course, at the end of the trip they inevitably returned to "true reality." What a sad perspective, but how prevalent it is!

I have struggled between the desire to wander around the world for a while in my "youth" to live in different cultures, learn different languages, to contribute first-hand where there is great need....and the even greater desire to be creating a life right NOW- that is full of freedom to pursue all of these things, that is irrespective of my age, that gives this gift to my family one day- a lifestyle. Thankfully, the greater of the two has taken root and I feel so blessed to have been given this perspective now.

Nevertheless, as Jessica takes off the Whistler to fall in love with an Aussie mountain and run the next Winter Olympics, Layne sets out to see the vibrant colors and cultures of Latin America, and Abby runs off to Italy to drink vino, wander through street markets, flirt with danger, and teach a little English on the side...the itch of youth creeps up on me a bit. ;) It's okay...I plan to stay young forever- young and free. (queue cheesy music now...) :)

Little entrepreneurs

2007-08-07T15:01:00.000-07:00

Paige and I have had a lot of conversations about the pitfalls of the current education system and how we would like to educate our children differently. We decided we wanted to create an Entrepreneurial School for kids that teaches them to work outside of "the system" and does not loom FAILURE over their heads. Her book is going to address a non-traditional education, informed by some of the top-achievers of today that she has been in contact with. I think that this could and should be a huge paradigm shift in the world of education!

Some educators have already moved in this direction and I love to see this happening! Paige was recommended by a local speakers bureau to speak for the staff of a non-traditional middle school for girls in NorCal. It's called The Girls' Middle School...so, the name doesn't say much, but I love what they are doing!

I also found a couple websites with programs to encourage entrepreneurship in kids. I loved this quote from a Kid's Overview section: "We have all dreamed about being a sports star, singer or movie star but once you know more about entrepreneurship, it will be the next real cool thing to be." Isn't that so true? I was telling DJ the other day that I can remember wanting to be every professional career I can think of- from architect, to doctor, to lawyer, to professor..."And entrepreneur?" he asked... "Increasingly!" I responded. :)

While I have no desire at this point to become an educator or to work toward educational reform on a massive-scale, I would love to instill the entrepreneurial spirit in my kids someday. Good thing I have at least 10 years for this idea to spread! ;)

p.s. I love that the joke is way more valuable than the lemonade- ideas are a valuable commodity- smart kid! :)

Military Intelligence

2007-08-02T16:55:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I had the privilege of driving General Henry Mueller and his wife Kathryn to various appointments in town. They are the sweetest couple!

While Kathryn had her hair done at the beauty parlor, the General and I drove around town doing errands. He filled me in on the last 90 years of his life- most of which were spent leading infantry battalions in WWII, Korea, and during the military occupation of Japan, serving as military atache to U.S. embassies in El Salvador, Panama, and Argentina, inventing/patenting the smart cart or doing military intelligence as the assistant to the Director of the CIA. Amazing.

So...after all of this talk about the military intelligence in his day, I decided to wow him with the fine little piece of technology that some of us carry around these days. I opened Google maps and showed him the satellite image of his house- right on my iPhone! He was floored! He said, "We could have used that in Japan! We would ambush and then spend hours trying to figure out where the hell we were!" Pretty snazzy. : P

Double-duce

2007-07-31T19:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend was such a blast! My roommate, Katie Burtis, and I have been planning to celebrate our birthdays together since we met- the first day of freshman year- and we finally did it!

I did a sprint tri Saturday morning and then spent the afternoon resting up for the night- dinner at El Paseo, drinks at Sandbar (where Kacie became our guest bartender!) and dancing at Tonic! It had been over a month since I'd been there and- Oh how I've missed that place! ;)

Sunday we spent the day at Leadbetter and had a bbq with my family. Oh...and I got an iPhone!! :) I felt so loved this weekend- thank you to my sweet friends and family!

One dreamline...

2007-07-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

Mini-retirement in one of these...

Do you think they have wireless? ;)

Thank you, Bobby

2007-07-26T12:34:00.000-07:00

I've been spending the last couple days researching internet merchant accounts, payment gateways, shopping carts, e-commerce website functioning...learning more than I thought I would ever need to know about this stuff, and really enjoying it actually.

I especially love it when companies put things in graphs or charts! Authorize.net has a really cool diagram that shows you the whole process from customer to bank account and the web guys I've been working with took my notes and put together two different charts that illustrated the confusing aspects, problems, or holes in the sitemap/functioning. So cool! It totally helped the conversation when I had a conference call with the designer and developer this morning.

I am just so amazed how much it can cost to build a website with all the functioning that we as consumers expect. I have really taken it for granted how much work is put into developing the pages that just seem to appear out of thin air and take my money and send me information.

I just expect the internet to do what I know it is capable of, but I don't really think about who makes it work that way. The guys at Hydrastudio really put me in my place today- in a good way. :)

And we're off!

2007-07-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

This week began at 12:30a.m. when I got a text from Paige..."I hope you have some coffee"...soon followed by "You=the best. XOXO Do you want to have a slumber party? It might be easier and more stimulating. There may be a lot of pts to talk over...Pushing now could = long term benefits. Love ya!"

I laughed and jumped out of bed, grabbing my laptop charger and my keys and heading out the door in my pj's to her house. I love all-nighters for all of the energy, creativity, and moments of insane laughter that are drawn out in the wee hours of the morning.

It's funny to think about the all-nighters that we pulled in college...fully believing that something significant was riding on those last few pages of a research paper.

Paige and I have now been working for the last 8 hours honing a new introduction and outline for her book. She will send it off to the former editor of Harper Collins in a matter of hours! Eeeek! :)

Cat lady

2007-07-21T15:57:00.000-07:00

I've been house-sitting for the last few days for my home group leaders. It's been really nice to have a big place to myself to work, relax, read, and re-focus.

One thing that I was not expecting when I agreed to stay for the long weekend was the zoo of animals that they have here! They have two grown cats, a dog, and a new litter of 5 kittens! They're super cute, but man, are they annoying! ;)

The first afternoon I was here they all snuggled around my laptop because it was so warm- precious, right? The next day, having already cozied up to the computer, they now decided to explore it, so every sentence I typed ended up having a hf38yt83ir somewhere mixed in.

I tried to grab a few of them and take a picture, but they just weren't having it (I have the scratches to prove it). In the process, one of them ripped the space bar key offon my computer! LOL

Here's the best I could do...

One cat- two shots.
Scaredy cat (cliche- I know) ;)

...then we're happy (well at least I am- it can't be bothered)

YouChoose

2007-07-17T13:09:00.001-07:00

Now I'm really serious about the whole crush on Tim Ferriss thing. I love it when people use their influence by directing attention away from themselves and toward the greater good. Bono and Angelina are another two of my favorites. :)

Check out how you can help direct $5 million to schools without school reform, a tax-payer initiative, or giving any money of your own! So easy. :)

They're doing a blogger push for this cause so tell your friends too. And, check out Tim's friend's non-profit- DonorsChoose.

One potential hangup- You have to have an AmEx card to vote- but if you do- vote now! :)

Just DANCE!

2007-07-16T16:08:00.000-07:00

I had such a fun weekend visiting Kacie in Santa Monica. She lives in this awesome 4-story condo with a patio on the roof that overlooks the whole city and the ocean. We spent the day shopping and walking around 3rd street and then checking out the local scene on Saturday night.

I usually love going out and Kacie is by far one of my favorite dance partners...but the Santa Monica bar scene leaves so much to be desired! The main impression that I got was that no one was really that happy to be out...they just did it because that's what you're supposed to do...especially when you're young and single. How sad!

On Sunday I had lunch with Nick and Christian and they told me about a new dating phenomenon called "Sargenting," which is sweeping the nation (watch out!). I'm not even sure I can explain it...but apparently it's big in LA, Miami, and some other city...idk. They also referred to a book that was written specifically for the purpose of helping guys perfect their "game"...(they were not advocating...).

When did the "game" become desirable?

I've always had really hard time understanding why people don't like to go out...give me techno, a dance floor and my best friends and I am in heaven!...but, I would totally hate going out too if it was all about a skilled, methodic approach to meeting people.

I think everyone should just dance...that will solve everything, just dance! ;)

I think I missed my calling...;)

2007-07-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love technology! I think it would be so amazing to be at the forefront of all of the amazing things that are developing. I love to try and wrap my head around it- from simple functioning to the implications of the way we communicate, relate, do business, etc.

A few weeks ago my dad sent me this really cool video about the way the web is increasingly becoming an expression of us (its users) and the social implications of that.

Today, my friend DJ posted about this incredible video that got me thinking about the way the web can increasingly simulate experience...really thought-provoking stuff...not to mention- SO COOL!!

Anyone that knows me knows that in no way did I miss my calling....I do not belong at the forefront of these developments- I don't even like syncing my email addresses together and coding a website is way beyond my technological capabilites! I do think that the constant study and communication analysis of this stuff is incredibly interesting, though. For a while, I thought I wanted to continue with school and get a Phd. in some specified field of Communication/Media Studies so that I could always be on the cutting edge of social communication analysis as the world transforms. I loved doing research papers...yep, I'm a big dork! ;)

I've since realized that interest should not necessarily = academic career, or even further academic study. I think that a lot of people go to grad school as a default to taking the plunge into the business world, which if they're viewing as 9-5 drudgery, I don't blame them (but that is such limited thinking)!

I am so excited to be learning so much about business and finding ways to merge my interest in the transformation of communication through new technologies with what the business world wants to consume. Starting a business (especially one that is product-driven) is as much a study of people- the way they communicate, consume information, use technology- as it is anything else. I love this stuff! :)

Exciting stuff!

2007-07-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

Paige and I officially became business partners today- as far as the Secretary of State of California Article # bla, bla, bla is concerned.

The Knowledge Age School, LLC has documentation- it's official! :)

Now, we just have to get this business off the ground...not as easy to do! ;)

I'm going to create a dreamline for TKAS so you can all follow along with the fun...

In the meantime, be praying that Tim Ferriss likes us as much as we like him!!

It just keeps getting better

2007-07-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

The last few days have been such an adrenaline rush! Paige and I have been working on a new business venture for the last month or so and it is really starting to gain traction...and when I say traction, with us, that translates to burning rubber. ;) We were reflecting this morning that it really feels like God is in so much of what we're doing right and that is the best kind of encouragement we can look for.

After an incredible morning, I got to have lunch with my dad, which was an absolute treat. I showed him my new apartment and we walked downtown to eat at Tuttini, this adorable little cafe that reminds me of Europe- one of my favorite spots. It was so great to see him and hear about his new job managing a sales team at Cisco Systems. He has been such a great encouragement to me as I explore and delve into new opportunities. Today was no exception. He always offers the perfect balance of thoughtful challenge to my ideas and loving support. As I told him I am prepared to go for broke on this new venture he expressed interest and even offered to invest! How is that for a vote of confidence in your daughter?

I am on an absolute high right now...just in time to go jump in the ocean with a hundred other crazy people for NiteMoves! Yeah!

(I don't know why none of these people are wearing wetsuits- serious crazies!)

Blogable

2007-07-10T19:29:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog! It has taken me months and months to finally commit to immortalizing myself on the pages of "blogger." Somehow, in the little nebulous of Westmont...the world of blogging escaped my attention (fbook dominating my online-community quota might have had something to do with it), but I have since been introduced to the wonders and joys of blogging through a few friends and my business partner, Paige.

The funny thing is, for the past few months, I have been such a blog evangelist! I've had many conversations with non-blogging friends, trying to convince them of the merits of a blog: personal, relational, and professional. I've read other blogs (Seth Godin is a great example) and books, and seen the fruits of a personalized business blog. I've taken the blog lens to my life and others'- introducing the term "blogable" into my everyday vocabulary.

All this to say, it's about time I jumped in. Besides, I think that blogging is a great post-college reflective activity...and let me tell you (I will anyway, b/c I'm writing this thing ;)...I have a lot to reflect about! (See shot of me...being reflective...;)

More of that to come...stay tuned.

p.s. If you ever want to add a cheeky comment, but hesitate to push that "post" button- don't hesitate. I love cheeky comments. Have at it! ;)