Monday, July 26, 2004
I'm walkin' yes indeed. And life is good. My recovery has been quick, I think, and I can do all of those things we humans like to do with our bodies. Eat, sit, stand, bathe, roll over....
When I forget I'm injured I tend to yank on something that hurts and my skin still feel nerve damaged, but whatever. I'm good already and getting better every day.
When I am really truly better, I am going to fire dance with my torches lighted again. I have been practicing carefully, but I can't do fun twisty moves with the pesky back muscle and right now I have such bad abrasions on my fingers from the straps that I can't practice for a couple of days. BUt, practicing firedancing got me through the days when I couldn't really do much to make myself feel creative and productive. And it really taught me how to localize my movements to my arms. which is cool.
So, yeah. Fun things are happening and I have to go right now, but yes. THank you all for your beautiful wonderful healing thoughts.
Yum seating.
When I forget I'm injured I tend to yank on something that hurts and my skin still feel nerve damaged, but whatever. I'm good already and getting better every day.
When I am really truly better, I am going to fire dance with my torches lighted again. I have been practicing carefully, but I can't do fun twisty moves with the pesky back muscle and right now I have such bad abrasions on my fingers from the straps that I can't practice for a couple of days. BUt, practicing firedancing got me through the days when I couldn't really do much to make myself feel creative and productive. And it really taught me how to localize my movements to my arms. which is cool.
So, yeah. Fun things are happening and I have to go right now, but yes. THank you all for your beautiful wonderful healing thoughts.
Yum seating.
Saturday, July 17, 2004
My new autobiography is going to be titled Rolling Over in honor of my new state of lamosity.
I thought it would be fun to go tubing on the Boulder Creek the day before school started, the day before the day before selling sunglasses started. And it was fun. It was fun buying the innertubes at the gas station and blowing them up, making dirty jokes with Sal. Trying to fit three people and three innertubes in an old sedan was fun--I sat in the back with two tubes, the window rolled down for the illusion of space. Another tube out the window. Peeing my pants in anticipation of the cold water was fun. no really---that should have been a clue. Trying to float on top of the tube so as not to submerge my most intimate parts in the 40 degree water was fun. I had fun pushing off of boulders with my feet and screaming until my body got used to the water. The waterfall didn't look that big, but I knew I was on the wrong side of it, the side with all the rocks and so little flow. yup. and all the foot pushing I could do would not get me to the other side so I took a breath, pushed up out of my tube as much as possible and took it down.
ouch.
It was almost still fun, except that I couldn't put any weight on my right foot and felt like the jolly green giant had just fisted me in the kidney.
I just stayed in the water for a few minutes because it felt good on my still ungraspable injury and because well, I sure wasn't going anywhere fast. Luckily Sal and Aaron made it down the cascade painlessly and could help me back to the car, which was still very close. I could almost walk after a couple of minutes. The stabbing pain was just a little too much though and after deciding that I should go to the emergency room and not tube anymore, we tried to figure out how I could be carried. When we came to a branch on the path that I had to duck under, the decision was involuntarily made.
The descent was okay, only generally painful, but just as I was almost back to standing on the other side of the branch, the most interesting pain I have ever felt hit me and that's when the screaming came and the images of tiny veinlike red intestinlike things twisting and bobbling in my back came. The image was accompanied by the hottest most electric searing pain I have ever experienced traveling though the nerves in my right lower back and down into my hip and up my erectors. Quite an amazing thing, pain to that degree. Not knowing what to do with my body, trying to twist and run and jump away from a pain that was coming from within myself, I did what anyone would do, I jumped on the first person I saw--Sal. And screamed and screamed. This on a little dirt trail along the Boulder. When my body finally relaxed and I caught my breath, I asked Sal if he could carry me like this, on the front of his belly, like a baby marsupial hanging onto a pouchless papa. And he did. We struggled up the hill, my now suspended back feeling some relief and Sal huffing and puffing at the extra load. He stopped to rest and I stood on my trusty left foot. Luckily there were two guys there, so they could take turns carrying me to safety. When we got to the bridge where our tubing adventure began, Sal got went to the car and drove it down the bike path to get Aaron and me. Sitting down in the car was tricky and painful. The transitions from standing to sitting and from sitting to laying down remain some of the most painful challenges in my days. But, the number one challenge for me right now is rolling over. so, mostly, I don't. The one position wonder. So what if my arm is numb from sleeping on it all night long, at least I don't fet nervous shocks. (negative reinforcement training succeeds again!)
Anyway, they got me to the hospital and I climbed out of the car and had to immediately lay down on the stretcher-"you mean I can't just sit on it?". After holding my pee for hours, getting a pregnancy test and doing the screaming act for the radiologist as I tried to roll onto the X-ray table, I got to urinate standing up into a cup so they could check my urine for blood and kidney damage. Turns out everything is okay and I even found a way to get around---think footloose/moonwalk, toes in, heels in, toes in, heels in. That's how I got around the rest of the night.
Boris came to get me at the ER and the Sal and Aaron went back to the river to get the tubes from the side of the river. I got my hydrocodone, took 2 as per Boris' recommendation, and shuffled to the car. Before we went inside Boris' I peed outside, only there is a lot of splashing on sandstone, so I had to get wiped with a wet t-shirt. Quite humbling.
I called my massage school, due to start in under 7 hours by the time I got not-too-uncomfortable into bed at Boris' studio, and left the message that I would be unable to attend the first day of classes. I called my parents and my mom almost passed out. I later learned that she got sick, then that made my dad sick...wow folks, don't outshine the hostess.
And then, I slept and the alarm went off, hopeful that I would rally for class, and I slept and I slept until almost noon. Boris took care of me really well. Except for when he asked me if I wanted a good kick in the ass, which surprisingly sent me right back into shock and I was shivering and cold and short of breath all over again. yay.
But, no time for lounging, Boris was on his way to Apogaea, a three day festival happening in Peonia, CO this weekend, like a mini-Burning Man, and he stocks me up on food and drugs and is off. Well, he tried his best to get me to come, but that just sounded silly ten ways.
So, here I am at home, sitting down and standing up for a couple of days now, and getting better each day. My standing to laying down time is down from ten minutes and lots of yelping to a short three minutes. Life is good. And this evening I figured out how to order delivery around here and did. I ate Thai food and watched Being John Malchovik (sp?). Then I took Doomba, Carrie's dog for a gimpy walk around the block. He pooped in the only awake neighbor's yard and I didn't have a bag and even if I did, I wouldn't really have been able to pick it up--unless I could have done it with my toes. anyway. I apologized, they obliged me. Lame.
And now, I have told you my story about being lame. Please send me quick healing blessings so I can crawl around with the other kids on Monday in Zen Shiatsu class.
I thought it would be fun to go tubing on the Boulder Creek the day before school started, the day before the day before selling sunglasses started. And it was fun. It was fun buying the innertubes at the gas station and blowing them up, making dirty jokes with Sal. Trying to fit three people and three innertubes in an old sedan was fun--I sat in the back with two tubes, the window rolled down for the illusion of space. Another tube out the window. Peeing my pants in anticipation of the cold water was fun. no really---that should have been a clue. Trying to float on top of the tube so as not to submerge my most intimate parts in the 40 degree water was fun. I had fun pushing off of boulders with my feet and screaming until my body got used to the water. The waterfall didn't look that big, but I knew I was on the wrong side of it, the side with all the rocks and so little flow. yup. and all the foot pushing I could do would not get me to the other side so I took a breath, pushed up out of my tube as much as possible and took it down.
ouch.
It was almost still fun, except that I couldn't put any weight on my right foot and felt like the jolly green giant had just fisted me in the kidney.
I just stayed in the water for a few minutes because it felt good on my still ungraspable injury and because well, I sure wasn't going anywhere fast. Luckily Sal and Aaron made it down the cascade painlessly and could help me back to the car, which was still very close. I could almost walk after a couple of minutes. The stabbing pain was just a little too much though and after deciding that I should go to the emergency room and not tube anymore, we tried to figure out how I could be carried. When we came to a branch on the path that I had to duck under, the decision was involuntarily made.
The descent was okay, only generally painful, but just as I was almost back to standing on the other side of the branch, the most interesting pain I have ever felt hit me and that's when the screaming came and the images of tiny veinlike red intestinlike things twisting and bobbling in my back came. The image was accompanied by the hottest most electric searing pain I have ever experienced traveling though the nerves in my right lower back and down into my hip and up my erectors. Quite an amazing thing, pain to that degree. Not knowing what to do with my body, trying to twist and run and jump away from a pain that was coming from within myself, I did what anyone would do, I jumped on the first person I saw--Sal. And screamed and screamed. This on a little dirt trail along the Boulder. When my body finally relaxed and I caught my breath, I asked Sal if he could carry me like this, on the front of his belly, like a baby marsupial hanging onto a pouchless papa. And he did. We struggled up the hill, my now suspended back feeling some relief and Sal huffing and puffing at the extra load. He stopped to rest and I stood on my trusty left foot. Luckily there were two guys there, so they could take turns carrying me to safety. When we got to the bridge where our tubing adventure began, Sal got went to the car and drove it down the bike path to get Aaron and me. Sitting down in the car was tricky and painful. The transitions from standing to sitting and from sitting to laying down remain some of the most painful challenges in my days. But, the number one challenge for me right now is rolling over. so, mostly, I don't. The one position wonder. So what if my arm is numb from sleeping on it all night long, at least I don't fet nervous shocks. (negative reinforcement training succeeds again!)
Anyway, they got me to the hospital and I climbed out of the car and had to immediately lay down on the stretcher-"you mean I can't just sit on it?". After holding my pee for hours, getting a pregnancy test and doing the screaming act for the radiologist as I tried to roll onto the X-ray table, I got to urinate standing up into a cup so they could check my urine for blood and kidney damage. Turns out everything is okay and I even found a way to get around---think footloose/moonwalk, toes in, heels in, toes in, heels in. That's how I got around the rest of the night.
Boris came to get me at the ER and the Sal and Aaron went back to the river to get the tubes from the side of the river. I got my hydrocodone, took 2 as per Boris' recommendation, and shuffled to the car. Before we went inside Boris' I peed outside, only there is a lot of splashing on sandstone, so I had to get wiped with a wet t-shirt. Quite humbling.
I called my massage school, due to start in under 7 hours by the time I got not-too-uncomfortable into bed at Boris' studio, and left the message that I would be unable to attend the first day of classes. I called my parents and my mom almost passed out. I later learned that she got sick, then that made my dad sick...wow folks, don't outshine the hostess.
And then, I slept and the alarm went off, hopeful that I would rally for class, and I slept and I slept until almost noon. Boris took care of me really well. Except for when he asked me if I wanted a good kick in the ass, which surprisingly sent me right back into shock and I was shivering and cold and short of breath all over again. yay.
But, no time for lounging, Boris was on his way to Apogaea, a three day festival happening in Peonia, CO this weekend, like a mini-Burning Man, and he stocks me up on food and drugs and is off. Well, he tried his best to get me to come, but that just sounded silly ten ways.
So, here I am at home, sitting down and standing up for a couple of days now, and getting better each day. My standing to laying down time is down from ten minutes and lots of yelping to a short three minutes. Life is good. And this evening I figured out how to order delivery around here and did. I ate Thai food and watched Being John Malchovik (sp?). Then I took Doomba, Carrie's dog for a gimpy walk around the block. He pooped in the only awake neighbor's yard and I didn't have a bag and even if I did, I wouldn't really have been able to pick it up--unless I could have done it with my toes. anyway. I apologized, they obliged me. Lame.
And now, I have told you my story about being lame. Please send me quick healing blessings so I can crawl around with the other kids on Monday in Zen Shiatsu class.
Monday, July 12, 2004
saturday.
I woke up late. fruit and chocolates for breakfast in bed with Boris. watched a movie. life is good.
biked my baby spider plants home and planted them in old hamster toys. organic dirt from the general contractor across the street. good for a bucket of topsoil. thanks man.
watered plants.
biked to get a TB test for school. The clinic is illusive the door is locked once I find it I'm sweating and cursing. I meet a fellow BCMT student. nice to meet you, let's go in the back. shoot em up, only 15 bucks. I almost got two tests it was such a good deal.
back at home. in the basement where it's nice and cool. a voice from the top of the stairs: "Do you want a core therapy treatment?" "Yes." and that was that, no names, no nothin', just good energy and on the table and my spinal fluid is cruisin to all those places it has been afraid to go. the kidneys, though, they are having some problems. any suggestions from the folks at home? feeling good, though, spacey nice.
suddenly hungry. bike to an indian buffet downtown. damn i really want to eat more but I think i will be sick if i do. just one more piece of naan. couldn't do it. so good though. love that spice and oil. yuuuumy.
post-fullness bookstore browsing. esoteric old woman giving me advice on astrology books and symbol research. i want to read charts. you give me your date, place, and time of birth and I will use you as a study case. word.
bike back home. now what to do. Aaron comes home with Lara. I am practicing fire dancing, torches unlit. hitting myself in the arms repeatedly, knocking my glasses off. She has been thinking about lighting up. I have never, but am feeling suddenly ready. Aaron will drum for us. There is gasoline in the garage. It's set. I duct tape my fingers because there aren't any bandaids and my fingers are rubbed raw from the leather straps. a little more practice and then. glass jar full of gas, torches dunked in. soaked. spun out and beaten on the pavement to get the extra fuel off. I think of breaking in a new pair of toe shoes. then. the drum is going. african beats and I hold out my torches to Lara. flick on the switch and the flames fly up the chains. THe sight of the fire and the sound of thunder are at first separate. I think suddenly a thunderstorm has hit. It is the sound of the torchfire eating air all around me. I am this sound. And then spinning the torches slowly, the swooping thunder around my body. powerful. magic. wow.
"hey, hey you, will you come spin fire at this wedding party down the street? It's the Hawaiian one, with all the people..." She indicates the lei around her neck. Drunk wedding partiers from across the street, watching from their car. sure, yes, this is my first time, one minute, just let me finish. "It's a wedding party, not this house, just the next one, right over there" Fire is spinnning around my head, this small voice through the thunder. yes, i'll be there. "Are you gonna come over and do this for us, everybody would love it..." oh, the numb insistence of the drunk. Lara intervened I finished my dancing.
wow. I'm hooked. then Lara lit up and Claire (one of my housemates) and Lara again and then a break and yes, let's go to the wedding party.
Into the back yard, the party is mostly quiet at midnight, but we light up the tiki torches and set the stage, drummers over here, fire dancer there. The folks come out wondering who is in their backyard, we are unexpected and nearly unwelcomed. My torches are hanging heavy, filled with fuel. I want to light them on a tiki torch, but have to fight to perform for these people first. we win. I light up. drummers drum. besides burning a little hair and hitting myself in the glasses, it was a good show. they liked it, i liked performing. all people were happy. It turns out the best fire dancer in Hawaii performed at these people's wedding in Hawaii a month ago, so it was fitting that we showed up for them. and after the show, once the torches had cooled off, I helped the little girl there practice with the torches and told her how to make her own practice set. The little boy got to play on the hand drums. and a good night to all.
wash hands, antiseptic on open blisters, cover the left-over fuel and back on the bike to ride downtown with Aaron. Fast jumps over speed bumps. bikers in the dark...head lamp for sure. downtown.
Aaron and I meet up with Noah, future housemate starting August first, and they talk. Aaron decides that he is definitely going to sign the lease with us for this place and it's a deal. they even shake on it. Three good roomates, just looking for a fourth. All of us trek over to Trilogy.
Loud Electronic music and Boris outside, yay! the now four of us make a conga line in the back door and dance the rest of the night away to really good music. awesome. I help Boris pack up, give Aaron the headlamp. and call it a night. "Night!"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Yesterday was spent being nervous about my first day of school, helping Kan'nal set up for their show in Denver, dancing and watching all of their fire dancing (amazing amazing), helping Boris pack up and getting my serious short sleep on. a good way to prep for a first day of school.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
First day of school: Orientation.
What a genki bunch of kids in the full-time day program at Boulder College of Massage Therapy. It's going to be an amazing year. 25% men, which is huge for a massage program, and 54 people total in my class. We are broken down into smaller groups for instruction. Shiatsu first semester. I dropped four thousand dollars today. thud. thank you loan gods.
a lunch time check-in at the clinic it is certain that I don't have TB. whoohoo. lunch at wholefoods, with fellow tb tester Jenny who just moved from Chicago with her boyfriend.
More orientation, so much, and the faculty and administrators are so on it and strong and funny. good entertainers and peaceful at the same time. is this what being a massage therapist is all about? and I nearly cried a couple of times listening to these people's passionate stories about massage. I am in the right place. I think.
I got a locker.
post school day: the gorging of co-op food: tempeh, dal, salad, and kombucha. saw Boris, yay. I can pretty much count on him being there when I am. that's nice.
home to crash out on my bed, face down and the lights on. wow, welcome back to school tired. brain fried. and just think in a couple of days it will be straight to work pushing shades on the denver sidewalk. then homework. then sleep. but, I am going to love it.
and now. blogging. for hours, I think. I had to loan out my cell phone to housemates to make calls. Lauren, I laughed at your blog just right out loud for a long time. yeehaw. Heather, I checked out your documented life at Japanese language camp. a hottie love interest for sure, a neat looking campus, and a gorgeous castle.
I want to make cookies. chocolate chip. traditional. eat raw batter and smell them baking hot in the oven. anyone for a spoonfull and a chat?
Blessings.
Christina
I woke up late. fruit and chocolates for breakfast in bed with Boris. watched a movie. life is good.
biked my baby spider plants home and planted them in old hamster toys. organic dirt from the general contractor across the street. good for a bucket of topsoil. thanks man.
watered plants.
biked to get a TB test for school. The clinic is illusive the door is locked once I find it I'm sweating and cursing. I meet a fellow BCMT student. nice to meet you, let's go in the back. shoot em up, only 15 bucks. I almost got two tests it was such a good deal.
back at home. in the basement where it's nice and cool. a voice from the top of the stairs: "Do you want a core therapy treatment?" "Yes." and that was that, no names, no nothin', just good energy and on the table and my spinal fluid is cruisin to all those places it has been afraid to go. the kidneys, though, they are having some problems. any suggestions from the folks at home? feeling good, though, spacey nice.
suddenly hungry. bike to an indian buffet downtown. damn i really want to eat more but I think i will be sick if i do. just one more piece of naan. couldn't do it. so good though. love that spice and oil. yuuuumy.
post-fullness bookstore browsing. esoteric old woman giving me advice on astrology books and symbol research. i want to read charts. you give me your date, place, and time of birth and I will use you as a study case. word.
bike back home. now what to do. Aaron comes home with Lara. I am practicing fire dancing, torches unlit. hitting myself in the arms repeatedly, knocking my glasses off. She has been thinking about lighting up. I have never, but am feeling suddenly ready. Aaron will drum for us. There is gasoline in the garage. It's set. I duct tape my fingers because there aren't any bandaids and my fingers are rubbed raw from the leather straps. a little more practice and then. glass jar full of gas, torches dunked in. soaked. spun out and beaten on the pavement to get the extra fuel off. I think of breaking in a new pair of toe shoes. then. the drum is going. african beats and I hold out my torches to Lara. flick on the switch and the flames fly up the chains. THe sight of the fire and the sound of thunder are at first separate. I think suddenly a thunderstorm has hit. It is the sound of the torchfire eating air all around me. I am this sound. And then spinning the torches slowly, the swooping thunder around my body. powerful. magic. wow.
"hey, hey you, will you come spin fire at this wedding party down the street? It's the Hawaiian one, with all the people..." She indicates the lei around her neck. Drunk wedding partiers from across the street, watching from their car. sure, yes, this is my first time, one minute, just let me finish. "It's a wedding party, not this house, just the next one, right over there" Fire is spinnning around my head, this small voice through the thunder. yes, i'll be there. "Are you gonna come over and do this for us, everybody would love it..." oh, the numb insistence of the drunk. Lara intervened I finished my dancing.
wow. I'm hooked. then Lara lit up and Claire (one of my housemates) and Lara again and then a break and yes, let's go to the wedding party.
Into the back yard, the party is mostly quiet at midnight, but we light up the tiki torches and set the stage, drummers over here, fire dancer there. The folks come out wondering who is in their backyard, we are unexpected and nearly unwelcomed. My torches are hanging heavy, filled with fuel. I want to light them on a tiki torch, but have to fight to perform for these people first. we win. I light up. drummers drum. besides burning a little hair and hitting myself in the glasses, it was a good show. they liked it, i liked performing. all people were happy. It turns out the best fire dancer in Hawaii performed at these people's wedding in Hawaii a month ago, so it was fitting that we showed up for them. and after the show, once the torches had cooled off, I helped the little girl there practice with the torches and told her how to make her own practice set. The little boy got to play on the hand drums. and a good night to all.
wash hands, antiseptic on open blisters, cover the left-over fuel and back on the bike to ride downtown with Aaron. Fast jumps over speed bumps. bikers in the dark...head lamp for sure. downtown.
Aaron and I meet up with Noah, future housemate starting August first, and they talk. Aaron decides that he is definitely going to sign the lease with us for this place and it's a deal. they even shake on it. Three good roomates, just looking for a fourth. All of us trek over to Trilogy.
Loud Electronic music and Boris outside, yay! the now four of us make a conga line in the back door and dance the rest of the night away to really good music. awesome. I help Boris pack up, give Aaron the headlamp. and call it a night. "Night!"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Yesterday was spent being nervous about my first day of school, helping Kan'nal set up for their show in Denver, dancing and watching all of their fire dancing (amazing amazing), helping Boris pack up and getting my serious short sleep on. a good way to prep for a first day of school.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
First day of school: Orientation.
What a genki bunch of kids in the full-time day program at Boulder College of Massage Therapy. It's going to be an amazing year. 25% men, which is huge for a massage program, and 54 people total in my class. We are broken down into smaller groups for instruction. Shiatsu first semester. I dropped four thousand dollars today. thud. thank you loan gods.
a lunch time check-in at the clinic it is certain that I don't have TB. whoohoo. lunch at wholefoods, with fellow tb tester Jenny who just moved from Chicago with her boyfriend.
More orientation, so much, and the faculty and administrators are so on it and strong and funny. good entertainers and peaceful at the same time. is this what being a massage therapist is all about? and I nearly cried a couple of times listening to these people's passionate stories about massage. I am in the right place. I think.
I got a locker.
post school day: the gorging of co-op food: tempeh, dal, salad, and kombucha. saw Boris, yay. I can pretty much count on him being there when I am. that's nice.
home to crash out on my bed, face down and the lights on. wow, welcome back to school tired. brain fried. and just think in a couple of days it will be straight to work pushing shades on the denver sidewalk. then homework. then sleep. but, I am going to love it.
and now. blogging. for hours, I think. I had to loan out my cell phone to housemates to make calls. Lauren, I laughed at your blog just right out loud for a long time. yeehaw. Heather, I checked out your documented life at Japanese language camp. a hottie love interest for sure, a neat looking campus, and a gorgeous castle.
I want to make cookies. chocolate chip. traditional. eat raw batter and smell them baking hot in the oven. anyone for a spoonfull and a chat?
Blessings.
Christina
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Lawn gnomes, fairies, crystals as big as your torso. rolling out before me green carpet lawn, shading trees, flowering plants and bushes. Lilies, irises, oop--I forgot to water the impatients today, mulberry tree, herbs, raspberry bush, strawberrylings. This is Virginia's property, my main client in working with Essentials biodynamic landscaping. She has a beautiful property just east of Boulder, an older woman who practices homoeopathy and captures flower essences. Mostly I get to work there alone, planting and weeding and feeding. I couldn't think of a better way to employ my self and my time than getting my hands in the dirt and helping things grow. (Well, except maybe big cat massage).
I also signed up to sell sunglasses. The other day I went with Josh, the proprietor of the business to help encourage sales by constantly trying on sunglasses. When customers weren't around, he taught me many of his sunglasses peddling techniques. Very exciting. Tomorrow I have to go to Denver to get my license and then I officially start selling from my own rack of shades next Thursday at an evening Rockies (that's the Denver baseball team) Game. I have my hesitations about the job, such as the inconsistent character of my employer, but I think the money is going to be very good. If it isn't, I'm outta there, as they say on the clay diamond. "Get your Oakley replicas, ten dollars and up."
Two days ago I finally surrendered to the cold that has been battling with me for over a week. With all of the phlegm clogging my head and disrupting my sleep, I thought it would be the perfect time to take up Boris' Mom's offer to send us both to the Hot Springs for a little get away. So, Monday afternoon, when I finished at Virginia's Boris and I began preparing for the mini-sojourn. He picked the place: Valley View, a clothing optional Hot Springs four hours south of Boulder, and I drove (due to Boris' dual wrist injury resulting from a flying frog leap over his mountain bike handle bars). We arrived just after 9pm, set up our tent, and hiked up (and up and up and up--I thought I was going to die out of my sore sick body) to the topmost pool, positioned in the middle of a flowing creek. The campers went to bed very early, so we had the place to ourselves to blow bubbles to our hearts' content and imagine what the stars looked like if we had our glasses on, to watch bats swoop overhead, and feel quiet and warm and peaceful. We stayed up there for probably four hours. The water was the temperature of a warm bath, so we could stay in continuously. What a great night. By the time we hiked back downhill the moon had risen. Small town lights looked up from the valley. We took our time getting back to the tent, ate a piece of fruit and tried to stay warm as we fell asleep.
I woke up surprised by the miracle of nasal breathing. Yay. The Springs were as healing as I had hoped they would be. Feeling refreshed, and ready for more soaking, we headed down to the hottest pool and chatted with other morning dippers. All naked, very nice. The day was spent between the pool, the hot pool, the cooler (for lunch) and the hiking trails. Later on we tried to do some drawing, but Boris remembered that his wrists were sprained and I realized that my eyeballs were so sunburned that it hurt to focus on the paper. We ate cookies, almond butter, and banana, and did tarot in the shade instead. Having met my tolerance of sun and heat, we took off towards Boulder before sunset.
Somehow I took a left onto a county road and we talked ourselves an hour off-course. But, the turns in the road were steep and sharp and there was a lot of good learning there for me (I've discovered how scared I am of sharp turns at high speeds, and have been trying to work on it). Once we got back on course we stopped at a diner for a late night meal. Interestingly, the term diner in this part of the country seems to go hand in hand with Mexican food. This worked well for me last night, when I wanted eggs with cheese and grits rolled up in a tortilla and a side of pancakes. Good eats. I slept the rest of the way home and Boris took over the wheel as best he could.
The trip was a wonderful gift to us, we had so many good talks and good playing time. And the Springs were exactly what I needed. Today I was back at Virginia's planting and transplanting and forgetting to water the impatients...if they'd only hold on a minute. And I got a checking account in Boulder, so I can turn checks into money in a jiffy now. There are still a couple of things I need to do to settle into this place, and I think in a couple of months a routine will have been established that includes school, selling shades, working with Essentials, and dance/making stuff. There are still a lot of shifts coming up: school starts in 5 days, next monday. The first baseball game I sell at is next Thursday. Then I move into the new house on August 1st. So, after a year of playing, I am going to be slammed with a work routine that although I invited into my life and co-created, is going to ruthlessly demand my time and energy and I will have to find life in and around its structures. For other folks a demanding routine has already become their way of life, on the other hand, I feel like a routine-virgin all over again. But hey, I think it will be good for me and fun and maybe even energizing, trying to juggle ten things at once, once again.
Cheers and loving energy to you.
I also signed up to sell sunglasses. The other day I went with Josh, the proprietor of the business to help encourage sales by constantly trying on sunglasses. When customers weren't around, he taught me many of his sunglasses peddling techniques. Very exciting. Tomorrow I have to go to Denver to get my license and then I officially start selling from my own rack of shades next Thursday at an evening Rockies (that's the Denver baseball team) Game. I have my hesitations about the job, such as the inconsistent character of my employer, but I think the money is going to be very good. If it isn't, I'm outta there, as they say on the clay diamond. "Get your Oakley replicas, ten dollars and up."
Two days ago I finally surrendered to the cold that has been battling with me for over a week. With all of the phlegm clogging my head and disrupting my sleep, I thought it would be the perfect time to take up Boris' Mom's offer to send us both to the Hot Springs for a little get away. So, Monday afternoon, when I finished at Virginia's Boris and I began preparing for the mini-sojourn. He picked the place: Valley View, a clothing optional Hot Springs four hours south of Boulder, and I drove (due to Boris' dual wrist injury resulting from a flying frog leap over his mountain bike handle bars). We arrived just after 9pm, set up our tent, and hiked up (and up and up and up--I thought I was going to die out of my sore sick body) to the topmost pool, positioned in the middle of a flowing creek. The campers went to bed very early, so we had the place to ourselves to blow bubbles to our hearts' content and imagine what the stars looked like if we had our glasses on, to watch bats swoop overhead, and feel quiet and warm and peaceful. We stayed up there for probably four hours. The water was the temperature of a warm bath, so we could stay in continuously. What a great night. By the time we hiked back downhill the moon had risen. Small town lights looked up from the valley. We took our time getting back to the tent, ate a piece of fruit and tried to stay warm as we fell asleep.
I woke up surprised by the miracle of nasal breathing. Yay. The Springs were as healing as I had hoped they would be. Feeling refreshed, and ready for more soaking, we headed down to the hottest pool and chatted with other morning dippers. All naked, very nice. The day was spent between the pool, the hot pool, the cooler (for lunch) and the hiking trails. Later on we tried to do some drawing, but Boris remembered that his wrists were sprained and I realized that my eyeballs were so sunburned that it hurt to focus on the paper. We ate cookies, almond butter, and banana, and did tarot in the shade instead. Having met my tolerance of sun and heat, we took off towards Boulder before sunset.
Somehow I took a left onto a county road and we talked ourselves an hour off-course. But, the turns in the road were steep and sharp and there was a lot of good learning there for me (I've discovered how scared I am of sharp turns at high speeds, and have been trying to work on it). Once we got back on course we stopped at a diner for a late night meal. Interestingly, the term diner in this part of the country seems to go hand in hand with Mexican food. This worked well for me last night, when I wanted eggs with cheese and grits rolled up in a tortilla and a side of pancakes. Good eats. I slept the rest of the way home and Boris took over the wheel as best he could.
The trip was a wonderful gift to us, we had so many good talks and good playing time. And the Springs were exactly what I needed. Today I was back at Virginia's planting and transplanting and forgetting to water the impatients...if they'd only hold on a minute. And I got a checking account in Boulder, so I can turn checks into money in a jiffy now. There are still a couple of things I need to do to settle into this place, and I think in a couple of months a routine will have been established that includes school, selling shades, working with Essentials, and dance/making stuff. There are still a lot of shifts coming up: school starts in 5 days, next monday. The first baseball game I sell at is next Thursday. Then I move into the new house on August 1st. So, after a year of playing, I am going to be slammed with a work routine that although I invited into my life and co-created, is going to ruthlessly demand my time and energy and I will have to find life in and around its structures. For other folks a demanding routine has already become their way of life, on the other hand, I feel like a routine-virgin all over again. But hey, I think it will be good for me and fun and maybe even energizing, trying to juggle ten things at once, once again.
Cheers and loving energy to you.
