live is good. there are only a few things that i've been sad about-- friends who are sad and friends who leave for 11 months to travel the world. he will be sad until he isn't and she will be gone until she's home.

My position at Well House will be opening this month. I will post more about it later, but for now, here is a description:

Live-in House manager:
Some duties include-- managing household tasks such as meal planning, partnering with residents to complete daily chores, planning workshops/household meetings, meeting regularly with staff and volunteers, helping with grounds work (gardens, etc).

Room and board (meals, wireless internet/phone/computer/phone (long distance) access, use of pottery/art barn, etc) are included with the work.

I was in school for a semester while i lived at Well House. When i finished the term, I continued to work part-time and stay connected to the larger community (my work in Heartside). I would recommend this position if you work part-time or are going to school part or full (maybe not 18 credits full).

This is a great opportunity to learn about living sustainably (Well House composts/recycles and teaches residents how to conserve energy and resources).

Well House is currently an emergency shelter for women and families. We are in the process of transitioning into a permanent supportive community for people experiencing homelessness or who would otherwise be homeless. For more information about Well House in general:
http://www.wellhousegr.org

for more information about the position, email me stephanie (at) wellhousegr (dot) org.

We began by crowning ourselves sea goddesses with seaweed we found on the ocean shore:

We picked up Gloria because we thought she would be safer with us than with some creepy dude. She encouraged us in our exploration:

we claimed the mountains for our own:

we reached the top of the bottom of the tree:

the tree loves us:

we leaned to the right, filling up with all the goodness of ourselves and the universe:

we crowned ourselves with fern feathery goodness:

and our rental car:

I kissed my bear in klamouth:

we stood in the whispering circle, whispering, "she's already in me"

we danced gracefully like the statue:

we extirpated our "minotaurs" (things that bring us down and prevent us from being our ultimate selves):

then we leaned to the left to empty out all those minotuars:

we danced with Sheila, our faithful attendant:

(oh sheila!)

and then the ultimate feminine of all femininity, Jessie gave birth to a beautiful baby Ruby:

(ok she's still super preggers in this picture, but Ruby came very soon after this picture was taken)

Ok so if you haven't tried these on, you probably should. The world looks magical, older, and better.

on the way to Seattle to catch the Empire Builder (our train ride home) BlueBlockers made the HWY 5 look delicious.

a tree through the blueblocker lens. the colors changing even brightly.

blueblocked feathery goodness. blueblockers make performing feminine rituals celebratory.

filling up with all the goodness in the universe. blueblockers help you lean right.

blueblockers make moving manicans just that much more awkward.

mountains and blueblockers go together very well.

leaving Berkeley with one pair of blueblockers to share until the next stop where we found two more pairs.
(find your own source, I'm not telling).

ok more about this amazing vacation to come later.

We ordered:
The Indian Bowl (quinoa (instead of rice) greens, curried vegies, mango chutney-- (linds and steph choice)

The Special--BBQ Tempeh Burrito (with black beans, rice, cilantro, guac, sour creme, and pico degallo) so freakin' good (jen and steph choice)

The Indian Bowl (quinoa, beans, and greans, yum (Carolyn's choice)

I swirled some delicious local wine:

We also we treated with some mouth watering deserts (brownie parfait, LIVE fudge, mocha soft serve, and carrot cake), delicious beer (mother-something wit), and French press coffee. We left delightfully satisfied in every way.

We took a picture with our Fabulous Host (Tim?)

Hey Tim, if i got any of this wrong, please comment with corrections (vacation... left my mind in Michigan)

f suburbia
video
this guy wrote a book called the "geography of nowhere".
"we [america] don't give a fuck"

i was introduced to Jame Howard Kunstler in my Urban Sociology course. he's about sustainable urbanism and how america has done it all wrong since wwii.

we live in ugly cartoon habitats. gross.

things i like lately:
new cds: marissa nadler, nedelle, the dirty projectors, and june madrona
80's night
rocky's open mic
the riley family
sleeping in my attic
delivering the SPOON newsletter on my bike
getting little jose ready for school

magical g-rad
friends, we live in a magical city sometimes.
this was a good night:
pjb played.

we ate bananas and pizza

June Madrona, from Olympia, WA, played lovely music on the banks of our Grand River.

They played as the sun was setting.

George screened Rushmore in Canal park and we drank cups of arbor mist.

Carolyn was there in spirit.

Denielle got me an art journal for my birthday, so i am beginning to tackle my fear of colors.

i may be taking on too much at work (my research job). but it's good money and then i can more easily justify my trips:

I'm going to montreal for an extended weekend. We (chad, eddy, maybe pjb, and i) will be making a short film.

I'm going to get carolyn! everytime i think about it i giggle with dee-light.

rather regularly i'm hosting Stitchy nights @ NEST, my shared studio (613 lyon, next to martha's vineyard) Wednesdays 7:30-?. I'm working on wedding presents for half the world it seems. you're all getting a slightly personalized something. i hope you like them.

oh and i graduated. here's a picture from our picnic:

i feel refreshed, accomplished, proud, awesome, and tired. best way to spend the evening: mountain biking with chad. i feel fortunate to have access to a mountain bike (even though it clicked the whole way, and by the end, the seat was at a 45 degree angle...) and to have a friend that loves mountain biking.

I also made a new me out of duct tape. here's a picture:

i can not make clothes that fit me without the inconvenience of pinning my ribcage...
thanks for everyone who came out! (more pictures on my flickr)

i'm so excited to use the NEST for community-based creative activity. it's so good.

which brings me to another topic. f-ing change.
i'm graduating.
i'm buying a car.
kellie starts a full time job.
my friends are going back to canada.
my daizy (dog) is dying.
my sister is moving away.
my little brother is taller than me.
i just finished my year long internship.

and i can't keep up with it all. i could deal with the fact that "the only thing certain about life is that nothing stays the same" so much better when it wasn't changing so fast.

ok here's the positive (what's staying the same for a while at least)
i'm still going to walk and bike all the time, almost everywhere
greg is still here
kellie still wants to study
spring is coming
i have two other dogs back home
i'm almost completely done with school
i don't have to feel like a second rate citizen for not owning a personal vehicle.
(except i wish that i hadn't felt this way even when i didn't own a car)

these are the things that are going to get me through the next 3 1/2 weeks.