I have a feeling that when this writing starts, it will pour out and never stop. I'm going to work on this blog for a long time today, in small stitches between work.
I had forgotten, maybe even taken forgranted, how great it is to have friends who leave voicemails on your phone like this:
"Misty, I'm calling to pick your brain about grantwriting for nonprofits, because I have a really cool idea and I think I've finally figured out the true vision of the greater good."
I owe this to having the opportunity to attend an amazingly progressive college all those years ago (even in the middle of a conservative area), to having friends who are truly passionate about making the world a better place, and to Verizon cellphone voicemail (important to mention since I spent so many years denouncing cellphones). Granted, who knows if her idea will work or not? Not me. But the idealism of friends is refreshing...and it reminds me--I'm in that category, too!
Here's a surprise: I'm really excited to be a bride! Not just a wife or daughter-in-law or sister-in-law---for I've been excited about that from the beginning of all this---but a BRIDE! This comes as a surprise to me, although maybe it shouldn't. It is only fair that after all the thoughts I've had in my head so many times about how anti-wedding I would be when I got married; how many times, despite my best efforts, I secretly felt bewildered and confused at old friends who wrote with talk of dresses and flowers and bridesmaids and etc., that I find that it is an effort for me to remember to talk about anything else!
There are two reasons for that. One is, planning a wedding in 3 months means that I have to eat, sleep, and breathe it in order to get all of it done. The other is that I'm so incredibly excited! I have been excited for the marriage since before it was even a possibility...and not just any marriage, but a true marriage of heart, minds, and souls. This is a person I can join all parts of myself with. That is nothing short of miraculous.
So being excited about marrying my husband-to-be is not new. Being excited to be a bride is. I find myself looking forward to the actual wedding itself...the flowers, the music, the family. Somehow things changed when I finally found a dress (see a subsequent blog for that adventure). I actually looked at myself and thought, "I look like a bride." It seems so stupid that something as simple as a dress could do that, but truthfully, I suddenly remembered how much I love my husband-to-be, how excited I am to start a life with him, AND how excited I am about the actual ceremony itself. Somehow, everything will be perfect, even in all the snaffoos and awkwardness that are sure to happen on the day itself.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Adventure
Let me tell you what's been going on.
Hiked Angel's Landing in Zion. Life changed.
Abe's visit to California. Midnight walks to the beach, sitting together in silence. Dinner, bike rides, frisbee on the beach. No sleep. Who needs it? Drives up the coast, watching the stars come out at Waddell Beach under a wooden lean-to, my head against his chest. Silence.
Trip to Belize in June. Took water taxi from Belize City to Caye Caulker. Dove off cement docks into water repeatedly---forgot what warm ocean water felt like! First night: ran through absolute downpour from restaurant back to hostel. Felt alive. Left Caye Caulker and headed for Xunantunich--Mayan ruins in the Rainforest near the Guatemala border. Hit by a car. Everything changed. Hiked the ruins anyway. Headed south to Hopkins...spent days in a hostel 50 feet from the water. Endured hurricane. Swam in warm water under full moon. Snorkeled with a nurse shark. Watched natives drum. All magic. Long bus rides criss-crossing the country sharing headphones, being quiet, and feeling love. Wow.
Trip to Portland. Biked 35 miles...Sauvie's Island trip. Stopped at roadside market to sample fruit. Jumped in river...freezing and reviving. I knew I was alive.
Triathalon in Pleasanton. Abe's first. He was waiting for me at the finish line. Smiles. Satsang together.
Backpacking in Santa Cruz Mountains. No tent; forgot flashlight. Thank God for cell phone flash camera. Encountered mountain lion and bear. Abe's wallet stolen by wild animal. Footprints left on my journal.
Birthday weekend. His, here. Engaged by the end. No surprises, though.
East Coast Trip. I finish my first competitve triathalon--in spite of flooding and downpours during bike ride--with a smile on my face. He meets my family. Wedding planning begins. Cave trips, hiking. Drive to Virginia. The trees are beautiful. I see my new home. New family. Retreat preparations. Meditation dates, and cooking dinner with vegetables from the garden.
We feel love. More everyday.
So many more adventures to come....
Hiked Angel's Landing in Zion. Life changed.
Abe's visit to California. Midnight walks to the beach, sitting together in silence. Dinner, bike rides, frisbee on the beach. No sleep. Who needs it? Drives up the coast, watching the stars come out at Waddell Beach under a wooden lean-to, my head against his chest. Silence.
Trip to Belize in June. Took water taxi from Belize City to Caye Caulker. Dove off cement docks into water repeatedly---forgot what warm ocean water felt like! First night: ran through absolute downpour from restaurant back to hostel. Felt alive. Left Caye Caulker and headed for Xunantunich--Mayan ruins in the Rainforest near the Guatemala border. Hit by a car. Everything changed. Hiked the ruins anyway. Headed south to Hopkins...spent days in a hostel 50 feet from the water. Endured hurricane. Swam in warm water under full moon. Snorkeled with a nurse shark. Watched natives drum. All magic. Long bus rides criss-crossing the country sharing headphones, being quiet, and feeling love. Wow.
Trip to Portland. Biked 35 miles...Sauvie's Island trip. Stopped at roadside market to sample fruit. Jumped in river...freezing and reviving. I knew I was alive.
Triathalon in Pleasanton. Abe's first. He was waiting for me at the finish line. Smiles. Satsang together.
Backpacking in Santa Cruz Mountains. No tent; forgot flashlight. Thank God for cell phone flash camera. Encountered mountain lion and bear. Abe's wallet stolen by wild animal. Footprints left on my journal.
Birthday weekend. His, here. Engaged by the end. No surprises, though.
East Coast Trip. I finish my first competitve triathalon--in spite of flooding and downpours during bike ride--with a smile on my face. He meets my family. Wedding planning begins. Cave trips, hiking. Drive to Virginia. The trees are beautiful. I see my new home. New family. Retreat preparations. Meditation dates, and cooking dinner with vegetables from the garden.
We feel love. More everyday.
So many more adventures to come....
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Monday, October 16, 2006
Muy Interesante
From CBS News, January 2006:
(AP) Roman Catholic priests in a Colombian town are furious over a councilman's proposal that people 14 and older must carry a condom at all times to reduce unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.William Pena, a councilman in Tulua, said Wednesday he will present a formal proposal requiring all men and women _ even those just on a visit to the town _ to carry at least one condom. Those caught empty-pocketed could be fined $180 or ordered to take a safe sex course, he said."Sexual relations are going on constantly," Pena told The Associated Press in an interview. "If you carry a condom, chances are you'll use it during the day. It's not going to be there forever."Tulua has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in Colombia, he said. The proposal will be debated by other town leaders and could go into effect by March.Roman Catholic priests in the Cauca Valley town, 150 miles southwest of Bogota, were fuming over the plan.The Rev. Jesus Velasquez said it would only encourage sexual relations and ridiculed it as absurd. "I would have to have a condom even though I'm a member of the clergy," he was quoted as saying in the newspaper El Tiempo.Another town priest, the Rev. Roberto Sarmiento, said improved sex education would be a better solution."Nobody can force someone to carry a condom in their pocket," he said. "They should instead carry the responsibility of what sexual relations mean."Ramiro Cano, a 19-year-old laborer in Tulua, said Wednesday the proposal was the talk of the town and most young people he talked to support it."I try to always carry a condom on me, especially if I go to a discotheque, in case I can pick someone up," Cano said.The proposal is perhaps the most radical in a series of pro-condom efforts across Colombia, where 190,000 people are infected with the HIV virus, a figure only surpassed in Latin America by Brazil, according to the World Health Organization.The capital city of Bogota handed out more than 2 million free condoms last year as part of a campaign titled "Use it instinctively _ make yourself sexy."In the city of Tunja, where 17 percent of all pregnancies last year were to women under 18 years of age, condom dispensers will be installed in bars and movie theaters starting in February.MMV The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
(AP) Roman Catholic priests in a Colombian town are furious over a councilman's proposal that people 14 and older must carry a condom at all times to reduce unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.William Pena, a councilman in Tulua, said Wednesday he will present a formal proposal requiring all men and women _ even those just on a visit to the town _ to carry at least one condom. Those caught empty-pocketed could be fined $180 or ordered to take a safe sex course, he said."Sexual relations are going on constantly," Pena told The Associated Press in an interview. "If you carry a condom, chances are you'll use it during the day. It's not going to be there forever."Tulua has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in Colombia, he said. The proposal will be debated by other town leaders and could go into effect by March.Roman Catholic priests in the Cauca Valley town, 150 miles southwest of Bogota, were fuming over the plan.The Rev. Jesus Velasquez said it would only encourage sexual relations and ridiculed it as absurd. "I would have to have a condom even though I'm a member of the clergy," he was quoted as saying in the newspaper El Tiempo.Another town priest, the Rev. Roberto Sarmiento, said improved sex education would be a better solution."Nobody can force someone to carry a condom in their pocket," he said. "They should instead carry the responsibility of what sexual relations mean."Ramiro Cano, a 19-year-old laborer in Tulua, said Wednesday the proposal was the talk of the town and most young people he talked to support it."I try to always carry a condom on me, especially if I go to a discotheque, in case I can pick someone up," Cano said.The proposal is perhaps the most radical in a series of pro-condom efforts across Colombia, where 190,000 people are infected with the HIV virus, a figure only surpassed in Latin America by Brazil, according to the World Health Organization.The capital city of Bogota handed out more than 2 million free condoms last year as part of a campaign titled "Use it instinctively _ make yourself sexy."In the city of Tunja, where 17 percent of all pregnancies last year were to women under 18 years of age, condom dispensers will be installed in bars and movie theaters starting in February.MMV The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Random picture
One of my favorite days from this summer. Beach party with the teens I work with for Mayana's going away celebration. I miss her.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Wedding magazines, at first glance, are hokey, icky, and mostly not helpful when one is planning a small, intimate, non-traditional family wedding. After looking at some of the weddings featured in there, I can understand why the average American wedding costs a whopping $20,000. Geez.
But, to tell you the truth (and I hate to admit it), I have gotten some pretty nifty ideas from looking in there. Some about what I like, and others about what I absolutely don't want.
Luckily, with the date less than 2 months away, there's little time to obsess about details.
But, to tell you the truth (and I hate to admit it), I have gotten some pretty nifty ideas from looking in there. Some about what I like, and others about what I absolutely don't want.
Luckily, with the date less than 2 months away, there's little time to obsess about details.
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