Holy Crap!

Did anyone else notice that it was JUST October? Dang.

I finished two knitting projects, learned to crochet, and have undergone many trials and tribulations at school. As a teacher. I'm expecting many more, although the time I spend with my students is most of the good stuff, and the t&t is everything else.

There has just been a whole lot of crazy this year so far. And it's only been a little over a month.

Guess we'll see what's in store for the rest of it!

My current goal is to get back to writing a little at a time... see what kind of reflection I can get in putting this stuff out where people can potentially read it.

This one was boring. Just wait until TOMORROW! That one will be AWESOME!

peace.

Frustration

So today was a good day at school... pretty productive (it started at 6:30... yay, jazz band!)... but then I got home.

And made the mistake of laying down. I took a two hour nap, which would've been great, except that I slept right through my yoga class, which made me really sad because it's the first week I had available to go since the beginning of last month. Sadface.

So I got up to eat and feed the creatures, did that, and now I'm back in bed all cozied up with a new ball of yarn and a brand new pair of knitting needles. See?

Unfortunately, the needles I bought are the wrong size for the pattern I was all excited to start.

Urgh.

However, since it is just a really basic pattern, I'm going to knit a swatch for guage anyhow, since I'm just about ready for bed but not quite. Summer was not very productive for knitting, but I'm hoping that fall and winter will pick up and I'll use the yarn that's been sitting around waiting for me... taunting me...

peace out.

Another Post.

So I haven't posted, which is o.k. because no one's really noticed I'm here yet.

I figured I'd just start typing and see if anything brilliant happened to come out... but it's not looking too promising at the moment!!

It's been a while since my visit to Kripalu, and a while since I've even been to a Yoga class. Been sick for the past week and a half, the week before that there were no classes, the week before that there was massive flooding in my area, aaaaaand before that I was just trying to soak up the end of summer and return to school.

Ah, "the norm". Not too excited about it, but lately I've been finding little jump-starts that remind me why I'm in this profession, and why I haven't left yet -- although I've been saying for at LEAST two years that I really want to. While the profession of teaching is rewarding in itself, there is a whole lot of CRAP to deal with all around the actual job of teaching. OOh, and here's what else I learned this weekend: professional musicians are totally underappreciated. Figures I have chosen the two most intrinsically rewarding careers to be my two main sources of income.

Curses.

On the up-side, I went to a concert band rehearsal tonight and was really excited to play again. And I'm even STILL excited to play again! I now have FOUR current outlets for playing... Woodwind Quintet, Community Orchestra, Concert Band, and a Big-Band jazz group. AWESOME!! I'm also currently in a few artistic hobbies... knitting, collage, and photography. I haven't taken many photographs lately because I've been so busy trying everything I can make room for... but it's always on the edge of my brain.

So there's the current update. I should learn to go to bed so that I can get 8 hours of sleep.
It's just not happening. I DON'T WANNA!

Peace, all.

One down...

So I went to Kripalu. 3 nights, and what added up to 3 days (half-day, two full days, half-day).

I loved it. I went thinking I would have a real issue being around all sorts of people (crowds, even) that I'd never met... I'm not always good at making friends or being social, at least not on my own. I usually find a person to latch onto, and they sort of create a barrier for me - well, maybe not a barrier, but a buffer.

As it turned out, when I sat down at dinner, it didn't take long before a couple sat down near me and introduced themselves. I thought it was very kind of them. Saw them a few more times over the days I was there, and they always said hello and asked how things were going. I even spoke to my roommates: met a teacher and a massage therapist, one there for R&R (like me), and one there for a workshop that had something to do with hip alignment.

I went in the sauna and the whirlpool (I need one of each...), walked the labyrinth, got myself out of bed EARLY and went to a yoga class (that only happened on day 1), took a short hike (which I almost regret... the weather was probably the hottest week all summer, so it was still 90 degrees in the early evening when I went), and ate a TON of wonderful foods. I learned about Ayurvedic science, had an Ayurvedic oil treatment (massage... it was pretty great), learned a little about Qi-gong, a little about cooking vegetables, a little about kirtan, aaaaaaaaaand came home feeling pretty grounded and kick-started to turn things around.

I've spent my summer so far lazing about, which I deserved, but isn't a habit to dwell in for two months before returning to "real life" (teacher, remember?). So, the goal I came home with was to get up and go to bed at a decent hour. In addition, I'd really like my kitchen table to be clear... you know, so I can eat off of it... it's currently piled high with papers, most of it mail.

Tomorrow will be my first experiment in cooking millet. While I was at Kripalu, it was served for breakfast like a porridge, but I think I'll cook it up so it's more like rice. We'll see what happens!

I also learned some new words, like "jai bhagwan". It's interchangeable with Namaste in some places, and one of the translations is "May the divine in you be victorious." I like it.

Jai bhagwan, everybody!

Kripalu.

I've been thinking about going to Kripalu for about two years.

I'm new to yoga (about a year in), but Buddhism has had a hold of my mind for around 4-5 years, now, and yoga seemed to fit in so nicely... and rather than travel to an Ashram in India a-la-Elizabeth Gilbert, I've decided to stay a little closer to home (and within my financial means!) and travel to Kripalu for a few days of inner-dwelling.

I've started many things I haven't finished... part of my trip is hoping that it can re-focus me  and help me build some energy so I can motivate myself to get things done. I feel like I've been looking for so long for answers outside of myself, and need to learn to trust and rely on my own thoughts, feelings, intuitions...

my self.

So here's hoping I find it -- away from the internet and pressures of my every-day, even though I knew I'll be returning to them in just a few days. I'm looking forward...

Namaste.

Closer

Every day brings you just a bit closer to figuring out what you truly want... don't you think?

I do.

I believe that so much of the time we think we know what we want more than anything else, but the closer we get to that, the more we realize or decide that we want more... or something different.

I'm still not sure what my strongest desire is, but I hope that I learn a little every day, and that that new tidbit will open some new doorway, or push aside a branch that covers the path meant for me. And I hope that I find all the right partners to help me see. To truly see would be a wonder.

I'm going to be a member of a wedding party for the second time tomorrow. I apparently did a very poor job the first time -- I think this time will be better. No, I'm sure it will.

Here's to new beginnings. May they happen every day.
Slainte.

Breathe.

Breathing is something we all take for granted... especially when we don't have asthma or allergies... or when we're not sick... you know, if we happen to be the majority of the population most of the time.

So my words for today are brought on by the massive allergy-attack that has been taking place for the past few weeks. I don't know WHAT is out there in full force, but it's got me again after much time of gratefulness for my allergies leaving me ALONE.

I can't breathe through my nose, and I am reminded how wonderful it is to breathe freely.

I look forward to meeting that day again in the future.

Until then, I plan to sleep.

Namaste.