Top Transition

This weekend marked one of autumn's great turning points: the transition from the soft top to the hard top on the jeep. It always makes me a bit sad to change out the soft top. No more riding with the wind in my hair and the sun on my arms. (Though wind in my hair turned out to be quite a challenge this year.  After chopping all my hair off, I could no longer just pull it back in a braid. I ended up looking like a troll doll whenever I got to my destination!)

It's been a few weeks since I could take the top off, anyway. And it's been getting cold. So it was definitely time!

Changing out the top always turns out to be a many houred ordeal. I always take advantage of the window of no top at all to totally clean the jeep inside and out! Vacuum, clean the upholstery, wash the windows, clean the dashboard. Nothing makes my dad happier than cleaning the car (except maybe yard work) so it turns out to be a day to hang out with dad, too.

After taking the soft top off and hosing it off, I went to get the vacuum. The extension cord looked like something from one of those safety filmstrips they used to show us in elementary school. Remember those? With Jimminy Cricket?  

 Well, apparently, I didn't pay much attention to ol' Jimminy Cricket! Because I picked up a frayed extension cord with exposed wired and said "Is this thing safe to use?" My dad said "Yeah. Why wouldn't it be?" I said, "Well, it looks like it's seen better days" He replied: "I just used it last week and it was fine." So I wait "Okay" and plugged the unsafe Jimminy Cricket extension cord into the wall.

No sooner did I take my hand off the cord than I heard POOF! and sparks came flying out of the socket. The extension cord was ON FIRE with blue flames and sparks flying out.

"Oh, jeez!" I yelled and yanked it out of the wall. Luckily, it immediately stopped burning. (Though there was a giant black stain on the wall from the socket)

My dad and I looked at the melted extension cord and I said "Well, I guess we should throw that away!" He said "Yeah, it would seem so."

Then I said, "Hey Dad, aren't you an electrician?"

He replied: "Well, I thought I was, but apparently I'm losing my touch!"

The good news is, the hard top is securely on, the jeep is clean, and everyone is alive and well.

I think I'm gonna go review the safety videos on YouTube.

Love and Music Under the Stars

A few weeks ago, I went to what was one of the highlights of my summer: the Jason Mraz concert. Nothing is better on a late summer night than live music under the stars! It was supposed to be a girl's night out with a bunch of folks from work, but things ended up going a little differently.

Lots of big family and personal issues kept three of my co-workers away. It ended up a smaller, cozier posse of J, Wheelie, and myself. The good news is that one of the truths I've learned in life proved itself, well, true. That being: if you have extra ticket to a concert, you can always unload them in the parking lot. (I think I really made somebody else's night!) Nothing is better on a late summer night than finding tickets to a sold out show under the stars!

Another unexpected perk of the night: a ticket upgrade! Since we had one person in the party in a wheelchair, we were upgraded to the handicapped section. Much closer to the stage than our lawn seats. (Of course, we were then under the pavilion and lost our view of the stars. Good trade off)

I have to confess, after this event, that I am a little bit in love with Jason Mraz. Not completely in love, mind you; that would be ridiculous. (I haven't actually met him) Just watched him perform on a stage and listened to him on my ipod while I run along the canal. So, a little bit in love.

And not just because I'm pretty sure I'm bigger than Jason Mraz. That doesn't happen very often when you are slightly under 5 feet tall! Oh, if I ever did meet him, we could play "Amazon Women on the Moon" together! I would be fantastic. (J vehemently disagreed with me, and said that he only looked small because the stage was far away. But we had that ticket upgrade! We were pretty close. So that wasn't it) So she was completely wrong. Or maybe just partially wrong. There's a good chance he's actually a little taller than me, but I'm pretty positive I weigh more than he does. Have you seen picture of him since he went vegan? He's teeny!

But, I digress. The point was my partial love for him was not because of his minuscule appearance. Rather, it was because I just like the way that guy thinks. I like the energy he puts out. And he just seems like a really good person.

Before that night, I have never been to a concert where the artist tells everyone to take a few deep cleansing breaths in the middle of the show and be grateful that we are all here together on this beautiful night. (nice) Or give a warning to parents who brought small children to the show that the next song or two have language that they might not want the kids to hear. ("It might be a nice time to visit our merchandise booths. There are seed packets there that the kids can have.") Or tell the audience to turn to the people they came with and give them a big hug. Then turn to somebody you didn't come with and give them a smile and introduce yourself. Then look at somebody a few rows away and make eye contact and send them some good vibes.  (seriously, how nice is this guy?)

So nice that somebody proposed to their girlfriend in the middle of "I'm Yours". Pause the song, spotlight on the couple, lots of cheering, and a round robin sing along of "Oh, no he didn't, oh yes she did!" Also nice. I'm pretty sure that happens at every one of his shows.

Before that night, I'd never been to a concert where the artist gave everybody an assignment as they left: "Take all the positive energy you felt here tonight and hang onto it. Then go out and share it with the world. If you come across somebody who looks like they are having a bad day or are feeling down, then do your best to lift them up. Give them a smile or a kind word or a helping hand. Give them a little bit of the energy we generated here tonight. Let's all go out and together make the world a better place."

Admit it, you're a little bit in love with him now, too.

October

Is it wrong for a self proclaimed summer lover to admit that October may be my favorite month? (Well, maybe a tie with August.) I love October! The sunny, mild days, the crisp nights, the yummy food! And Halloween! I have invitations to THREE seperate Halloween parties already! I'm welcoming October with open arms.

September Goals:

1) Clean Eating: I've been a bit disconnected on this. I keep getting what I want to do mixed up in my head. Like, is bacon "clean"? Is it too processed? Can I ingest Gu during a race? Did I fall off the wagon by eating a Cliff Block? Do I give myself a free day on my best friend's birthday? Is it better to go vegan than clean? Anyway....I'm doing better overall with my eating though I'm not sure if I succeeded at the goal.

2) P90X: Once again, not sure if picking this goal was realistic, in my best interest, or just something to put down as a goal. I've done this program in the past, and thought it was a good, well balanced exercise program. But sometimes I don't have 60 to 90 minutes for exercise a day. So I've seen using P90X as a general blueprint and supplementing with BodyRock (since I always have 12 minutes to exercise) and Crossfit/ Spartan WOD. So I'm getting back on track. I'll call it a success.

3) Journaling and Meditating Daily: Probably the best goal I've set for myself this year. I've gotten as much out of journaling and meditating as I've gotten out of running. And that's saying alot!

4) 4 more books from the bookshelf:  This month, I read The ArHit of Non-Conformity, 168 Hours, Never Good Enough, and The Shadow Effect.  A little heavy on the self-help stuff, but I am living in the healing hut, am I not?

5) Spartan Beast is complete. I am not dead.

6) Jason Mraz concert....check!

7) Wounded Warrior Weekend. It was great!

8) Solidify weekend in October to hang with Isabella. sort of. Kind of hard when your goals depend on somebody else.

9) Go to the beach as much as possible. check.

10) biking as much as possible. well...not so much.

OCTOBER GOALS:

1) High Intensity Training 31 Days.

2) Learn how to use my new computer (more on that later)

3) Continue with the Meditation and Journaling

4) Plan a kick ass Halloween costume.

5) Do the summer to fall clothing exchange

6) ANd take a big load to the thrift store

7) Try out 2 new recipes per week

8) Martha's Vineyard Century Ride without dying (without training?)

9) Go Hiking! It's that time of the year.

10) Stop neglecting this blog!

Home Sweet Home

Today marks one year that I have been in the little yellow apartment by the beach. October 1st, 2011 was the bad move out. Oct 1st, 2011 was the good move in.

It's weird, that I still refer to here as "my new place." I've been here a year. It's not new anymore.

When I moved in, I had this idea that it would be a place of healing. And it was. It's just that healing takes a long time. And it's not always a linear process. It's more of a two steps forward, one step back process. With a few complete meltdowns thrown in for good measure.

But overall, I'm in a much better place than I was a year ago. Both in my home and in my head.

I was walking by the recently closed pool today, thinking about how good this place has been for me. How I wish I just had a few more weekends by the pool here. I don't think I will be here next year when the pool opens.

 I have a couple of possible plans for 2012...plan A and plan B...depending on how things pan out in the last three months of 2012. Whichever scenario plays out, it will mean some big changes, in my job, my home base, and my life pattern. It will mean some big changes in my blog presence, as well.

It'll be fun to determine if A or B makes more sense and then to start crack-a-lackin' on the game plan.

But for now, it's nice to call this place home.

Autumn

Happy Fall, Everyone!

Yes, autumn officially began last weekend and right on cue, the weather turned a little cooler with a snap in the air. I always forget how much I like fall, because I'm usually too busy lamenting the passing of summer. But the warm days and crisp, cool nights are actally quite okay with me.

Fall always makes me want to go school shopping; get nice new accessories and supplies for a brand new year of learning. I no longer go to school, of course, so there is no need to go out and get supplies, but I think there is always a need to learn more.

I've been learning a lot about myself lately.

I've been more or less absent from blog posting for a while, just throwing out a random nugget every now and then, because I've spent quite a bit of time over the last year soul searching. Somewhere along the way, my dreams, like my need for school supplies, just disappeared. It's a bit deflating when your dreams disappear.

The best remedy that is to dream.

So I've been hanging out in my little yellow apartment daydreaming, but not posting. Daydreams are delicate. They often disintegrate, unable to survive the posting process. Better not to post at all.

But tonight, on this crisp autumn night, I decided that a post was in order.

I just thought that I would share that I'm in the market for some new accessories and supplies for a life of learning.

Life is good.

Paralympic Coverage

With all the political hoopla going on, the idea that America does everything better is getting thrown around a lot. And while I do think that there are some things we do better here, there are others for which we miss the mark. Quite a bit.

We do movies very well. Food, not so much. We have wonderful national parks. And the most obese population of any developed country. You get the point.

One thing we don't do well is our broadcasting of the Paralympics (or the Olympics, for that matter. What was with NBC's coverage? But that's a whole other topic) Every other nation in the world gets to see the competitions of our disabled athletes, but for some reason, US networks don't think the American public would be interested in watching.

But this year, for the first time, a small portion of the Paralympics will be broadcast on an NBC affiliate. I urge everyone to check out the Paralympic games this week on TV or on UTube.

September

Happy Labor Day!! After Labor Day, I always feel like I should be going back to school somehow. (Of course, it would be easier if I had a summer vacation, but those are long gone) Starting a big project, reading new books, changing the daily routine. Something.

September has always seemed to me the start of the new year, a much better time fo resolutions than January 1st. I've been on a self improvement kick this summer (though I fully admit that August I kind of fell off the bandwagon in lieu of a little beach and pool time!) which I wish to continue into the fall. I'm thinking of September as fall semester of the school of life!

Goals:

1) Restarting the Clean Eating Challenge (which I totally flopped in August) Barbeques, you know!

2) Exercise: I'm starting P90X.

3) Continuing journaling and meditating daily.

4) 4 more books from the bookshelf (IN the grand goal of downsizing, the books have proven to be the hardest and slowest to get rid of)

5) Complete the Spartan Beast without dying! (12 miles of hills and obstacles)

6) Girl's nite at Jason Mraz concert!

7) Camping, kayaking, running, biking, and fishing....all in one weekend (The Wounded Warrior Weekend)

8) Solidify weekend in October to hang with Isabella

9) Suck up as much beach time as possible before the cold weather sets in!

10) Get on the bike and train for the October century ride.

(maybe getting some Ben Gay and scheduling a massage session should be on this list!)