Okay, it's just a numbers game

It's okay. i just need to get on the bike. Today is a 23.4 mile ride through the presidio and golden gate park. it wasn't so bad really... not nearly so bad as the 58 miles i did the other day...

The hardest thing i have ever done, physically, to date

Mikey is leaving today. I'm up early, Mike and Atreyu went out dancing last night so they are both lagging since they came home at 4:30 am and we're supposed to leave for the airport at 6:45. Realizing i was risking missing the ride, i decided to catch the BART from SF to the east bay rather than have Atreyu drop me off on his way back from dropping Mike at the airport. Not the way i wanted to see Mike off... and still, the training had to happen.

getting on the bike, on a cool spring morning at 7:30 am, i rode down to the bart station, excited about the adventure of the day. Definitely nervous. I mean, my longest ride was only 12.2 miles at that point. i barely understood how to shift my gears and i'd dropped my chain just a few days earlier on a hill while riding.

not to worry. i meditated on the train, thinking of Adam C. and all the ways he and his practice have encouraged me in my journey. I thought of the funds people gave me. I thought of the fact that this was the reason i was doing the ride -- for the challenge.

pulling into the pittsburgh/baypoint stop at the end of the line, i got off the train and looked at all the other riders around me. "wow... am i a biker?" clueless and unsure, i found my way to the pack where i was greeted by Dan and his brother in law Paul, two great guys that actually made it easy on me. Dan was the ride leader and his brother-in-law was so friendly and supportive, i immediately felt like i could do it and things would be great.

safety lecture, comments... a quick show of hands about experience and a joking question, "anyone's first training ride?" lots of scoffs from the group and me timidly raising my hand to say, "yeah..." people looking at me funny as if i was joking... me saying, "yeah, i'm serious."

off we go. riding through the streets. it's really different in a pack of 25. we head off... we're zipping along. 17 MPH... 22... OMG,i'm going 27 MPH... holy geez... i'm over 30 MPH. i didn't think that was possible, but with these little rolling hills, suddenly i am in a different place. the pack has definitely separated out. I'm at the end of the front of the pack.

i realize quickly stopping is the enemy and less efficient. i value efficiency -- so i slow down rather than coming to complete halts. uncertain of how long it takes to stop, i slow early and, as a result, find myself losing the lead pack. we're on main roads. What did Dan say about where we were supposed to turn? Hmmm... i have a feeling i just missed the turn. stop, check the cue sheet... yup, i'm a half mile off... turn around, go back, catch up... yeah... nice work. i pull in and everyone's super supportive. Especially Liz. Wow -- another beautiful being on a journey of body discovery. Our stories are similar.

we leave the 18 mile rest stop, i'm feeling good. off we go to the half way point at the dam. up and down... rollers they call them... short little hills that aren't really that steep, but there's lots of them in a row. i realize how important conserving momentum is and shifting. Damn, my thumbs hurt. geez... when will i feel more comfortable on the hills? Make mental note: get brakes on the straight part of the handle bar.

finally make it in to the half way point. lots of conversation, support. talk about electrolytes. What? electrolytes? i just drank a gallon of water, what are you talking about? Oh... salt? sugar? hmmm... okay, if you say so. Wow, i'm so glad they said so. i already clocked 29 miles of riding for the day... my longest ride ever. wow. i feel great. i'm tired. i'm happy. i'm realizing my whole idea about training is absolutely nuts and i need to rethink my strategy. I need more rides and miles than i thought. no problem, i can do it.

we head out, going back to the starbucks. I'm slower than everyone else, but i get there, and still, surprisingly, after 44 miles, feeling pretty good. we start off again. lots of start and stop on the main road. i'm grateful for it. my quads are starting to get super sore. woah. only 48 miles. keep pushing. wow. small hills. only 50 miles? how am i ever going to do this? what am i thinking? 51 miles? stopping. have to breath. my god i didn't know my legs could be this sore from such a simple thing.

5.4 mph riding? what is my problem?

only one rider behind me... except the other ride leader John. I think i can make it... there's only a few more miles to get to the BART station... we take a rest. Dan comes back... saying he'll get his van to pick up the other rider and John. He and I take off. small hill -- i can do it... geez... only 53 miles? I stop at the next hill, realizing i am literally out of energy. oh geez. thanks Liz for those shot blocks (pure carbs)... i had just hit my wall. i walk the bike up the hill. a small hill. i climbed bigger ones that day, but it was really too much for me in that moment. we're only 2 miles from the BART Dan says. he's encouraging me, telling me how good a job i did, reminding me that every thing i ride now is a personal record for me.

renewed will... i get on the bike for the final push... lord, i wonder if i can make it... pumping an average of 6.5 MPH, crying as i do it, i finally make it over the hill... i'm shaking. wow. what did i just do?

Dan gives me carbs... Paul congratulates me... Liz yells to me from the car, let's be tentmates -- yeah! i'm so glad i found her!

I BART home... crying most of the way. text page Mikey, still stuck in DC on his way home... i'm glad he gave me the pep talk he did. i wonder... how am i ever going to do this? absolutely the hardest thing i've ever done physically... so far. I get off the bart, feeling a little better... and get back on the bike to ride it home. so glad that last bit of the miles i put on today are basically downhill. My ass is sore.

so glad to be in Atreyu's arms... holding me as i describe the whole thing, crying, shaking, sunburned, worn, raw... and proud of an unbelievable accomplishment i would never have though i could do 10 years ago... hell, 10 days ago.

Training for the AIDS ride

When I first conceived of doing this ride, apart from the obvious community
service aspects, it was for the following reasons on a personal level:

get in shape, dramatically changing the shape of my body change my relationship to my body get comfortable on a bike so i could use it as a transportation vehicle in SF that was in September when i got back from japan. cross training began. I was pretty dedicated until new year's -- holidays and then the impending launch of PoiGeek as well as the Temple of PoiGeek 2008 Fire Dancing Expo and i found myself not just avoiding the bike, but avoiding training like i had been in the fall. in the fall i had maintained a workout schedule averaging 8 25+ minute aerobic workouts a week for about 12 weeks, then took a dip down to an average of 4-6 a week. come 2008, i was maintaining about 3-6, but as march and then april approached, i simply wasn't working out.

At some point in there, Sean, my business partner, assuaged some of my concerns about the training, suggesting to a naive me that i could train after the launch of the company (April 26) and I'd have a solid month to do it. Well, Atreyu came back from Bali (early March), my birthday happened (march 23), we discussed getting into partnership (end of march/early april), he asked me to hand fast with him and moved in (2nd week of April), Mikey Icon came to stay with us (April 12), we worked on Mikey's DVD for PoiGeek (mid april), did a gig with Mikey that was a complete cluster f%*#k (april 19), prepared for the fire dancing expo and launch (April 26), had a national dance week event (april 27), prepared for the handfasting ceremony which then happened (may 1), went to FireDrums (first weekend of may) and then finally took a day or two off around may 7. Hmmm... with the ride less than a month away, I pretty much freaked out.

Looking over the training rides, i found one that was a category 3 ride (12-15 MPH avg speed) on really easy terrain (level 1 (of 4)) and thought -- this is a good idea. So, there i was, may 8, riding around SF, doing 9 milerides, prepping for the ride on may 10 which was 56 miles.

Decision Making Time

on or about the 9th of may, i realized i had to reach my financial goals by the 16th of may if i didn't want to have to stand in line during orientation. with $770 to raise, the question became, how dedicated to this was I? I realized immediately i was not willing to fund it all out of my own pocket, so i needed to raise money. In just a few short days, friends and family alike poured support into my world and i had reached over $2600 in funds raised by the 16th, exceeding the required $2500 to participate.

Because i raised over $500 in less than 48 hours, i knew going into the weekend i was likely to meet my goals, which gave me hope as i began the 56 mile trek in the east bay.

Nightmare!

I had a horrible dream that i couldn't find a tent mate... then i got stuck with a stranger. the stranger had an air mattress that they used, full queen size thing. it filled most of the tent. so there i was in the tent squished on my side between the air mattress and the side of the tent... then i woke up in a cold sweat. geez... is this going to be my fate? I need to find a tent mate...

I'm doing the AIDS Lifecycle Ride

when i first conceived of doing this ride, apart from the obvious community service aspects, it was for the following reasons on a personal level:

* get in shape, dramatically changing the shape of my body
* change my relationship to my body
* get comfortable on a bike so i could use it as a transportation vehicle in SF

that was in September when i got back from japan. cross training began. i was pretty dedicated until new year's -- holidays and then the impending launch of PoiGeek as well as the Temple of PoiGeek 2008 Fire Dancing Expo and i found myself not just avoiding the bike, but avoiding training like i had been in the fall. in the fall i had maintained a workout schedule averaging 8 25+ minute aerobic workouts a week for about 12 weeks, then took a dip down to an average of 4-6 a week. come 2008, i was maintaining about 3-6, but as march and then april approached, i simply wasn't working out.

At some point in there, Sean, my business partner, assuaged some of my concerns about the training, suggesting to a naive me that i could train after the launch of the company (April 26) and I'd have a solid month to do it. Well, Atreyu came back from Bali (early March), my birthday happened (march 23), we discussed getting into partnership (end of march/early april), he asked me to hand fast with him and moved in (2nd week of April), Mikey Icon came to stay with us (April 12), we worked on Mikey's DVD for PoiGeek (mid april), did a gig with Mikey that was a complete cluster f%*#k (april 19), prepared for the fire dancing expo and launch (April 26), had a national dance week event (april 27), prepared for the handfasting ceremony which then happened (may 1), went to FireDrums (first weekend of may) and then finally took a day or two off around may 7. Hmmm... with the ride less than a month away, I pretty much freaked out.

Looking over the training rides, i found one that was a category 3 ride (12-15 MPH avg speed) on really easy terrain (level 1 (of 4)) and thought -- this is a good idea. So, there i was, may 8, riding around SF, doing 9 mile rides, prepping for the ride on may 10 which was 56 miles.

Cosmic Lovers enjoying the bliss...

I got handfasted on Thursday. Wow! What an amazing experience. My amazing partner, Atreyu, and I wrote a 20 page covenant outlining what we are creating for ourselves and with each other. These are pictures from Fire Drums taken by a wonderfully sensitive photographer and flow artist there.

...and more bliss at Fire Drums

Hole in the Bucket

Benefits of Tea

I was surprised to read all these benefits to drinking tea today in a great
little marketing pamphlet from octavia tea (octaviatea.com) -- so I thought
I'd share in case it was useful to others. The brochure claims,

"According to Scientific Studies, a daily cup of tea:

- Reduces physical signs of aging (time magazine)
- Slow age-related decline in brain function (american journal of clinical
nutrition)
- reduces abdominal fat deposits (nutrition and cancer)
- lowers risk of cancer and kills cancer cells (consumer reports)
- combats arthritis & imrpves bone density (health magazine)
- lowers bad LDL cholesterol by up to 11% (us dept. of agriculture/msnbc)
- aids weight-loss & burns fat (american journal of clinical nutrition)
- improves immune system functioning (prevention)
- reduces the risk of heart attack by 44% (harvard study)
- fights bad breath and allergies (web md)

You are an Island...

A dear friend who is also on a weight loss journey wrote this to me today: "I feel very supported hearing my experiences and feelings echoed. Makes me feel like I'm not an island."

I wrote this in response... I rather enjoyed it and thought it might be inspirational for everyone on their journey of growth.

I was sharing to help you see that while you are an island -- it is your journey and yours alone -- it is more like we're a string of islands really close together rather than with an ocean between us and just a stones throw away rather than a 6 hour plane ride. I can't walk your walk for you... I can't choose your path for you... but I can send up fire works as I understand things to arise that hopefully will lighten the load and brighten your day.

(Change, any change, and in this context especially...) Weight loss isn't about overnight change, but about lifelong change. So it is about how you deal with it through time, not in any one moment. If you graphed your feelings of control v. out of control through time, how did you do overall?

Keep focus on the trend, not any one point in the graph -- any high can be just as disillusioning as any low. They are just moments to be cherished and learned from rather than clung to like a life preserver.

Your committment and certainty will have you return to the path every time you wander off, even if you it take more than a minute, or hour, or day, or week or even month.

You know what you want. Hold fast to that and all else will follow. Of this i am certain.

You have great power within you... and i know you know this. I merely hold up the glass in the moments when you're too tired to pick it up for yourself. ;)

Please support my body transformation through the AIDS Lifecycle ride!

Please support my body transformation while I ride to end AIDS.

When I was 22 years old, I graduated from college. I was a fairly miserable person at the time -- I hated my life, my family and most of all, myself.

As I came home from a shopping excursion to buy clothes to wear for interviews for my new ventures into corporate America, I discovered just how big I was. I was directed by a very helpful sales person to a store for Plus Sizes. Plus Sizes? How the hell did I wake up one day and find I had gained 144 pounds and was nearly 300 pounds? I had gained a person sleeping in my body in 22 months.

I woke up when I walked up the stairs with the bag of clothes and was huffing and puffing at the top of it. As I put my key into the lock, I knew I would be dead by the time I was 30 if I didn't make some massive changes.

I know it sounds unbelievable... I often cry, wondering how it happened and how I can prevent it from happening again. All the same, I've clearly made many changes, and, in total, I am, at my current weight, 130+ pounds lighter than I was at my heaviest.

In 2008 I will be 39 years old. Before I turn 40, I want to do a crazy physical challenge... Something to really prove to myself I have done the work, I have really changed, and I will never be that half asleep fat girl walking around without a clue I am even overweight.

Meanwhile, over the recent years I have been deeply impacted by HIV and AIDS, having known several people who are positive. In 2007, a dear friend was diagnosed positive with AIDS and that experience left me in a state of disbelief of the frailty of life.

Combine these factors together and 2008 has me signed up for the Aids LifeCycle ride. For those who do not know about this event, From June 1-7, 2008, I'm bicycling in AIDS/LifeCycle. It's a 7-day, 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to make a world of difference in the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS. Those who ride in the event are supported by a group of Roadies who set up rest areas, food stops and do all sorts of wonderful things to support the 3,000 riders participating in this event. I first heard about this ride from my dear friend and Director of Poi Instruction for my school, Temple of Poi, Jim Rudoff. He has been on the support team for this ride for years.

My personal goal is to raise $10,000 for the cause -- any donation helps... even $5 or $10. Please consider giving what you can to both support me in my personal transformation as well as helping me support the HIV/AIDS-related services of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.

Fire Dancing In Union Square - I Am Not My Hair

December 11, as part of the San Francisco Food Bank's Canned Food Drive!

I am not my hair... and...

So here I am looking in the mirror. I imagine it is somewhat like waking up from plastic surgery. The face I¹ve known my whole adult life is disappearing before my eyes.

Since July, I've lost nearly 40 pounds and it is starting to show up in my face... Or rather, starting to not show up in my face.

It was one thing when I looked in the mirror and didn't recognize my body --- I mean, that's weird enough. And let me tell you, it is weird. It's especially weird now as I'm moving from a "fat" body to a "chubby" body. One of my girlfriends recently described it more or less saying that now I just look like I'm a chubby normal person rather than a not-so-fat fat girl. It's
definitely a different place to be.

But that's not nearly so challenging as waking up and looking in the mirror and my face just plain looking different. I'm not talking wrinkle lines, grey hair or zits or things like that. They are much more gradual and one seemingly has time to acclimate to them.

I'm talking big chunks of my face are seemingly gone. It looks weird when I write it -- but it looks weirder in the mirror. In the last 3 weeks I've ping ponged around in a 7 pound range which I swear all shows up in my face. At the top end of it I look like a different person than the bottom end of it. I'm massively impacted by it and I feel like I'm going crazy.

Did you know that you have fat on your forehead? I mean, I'm not that surprised my jaw looks different -- no more double chin makes sense. I -am- surprised my chin looks different and I notice a different shape to it. I'm not surprised my cheeks look different -- they were pretty full to begin with. But the sallow in my cheeks is a new look and the fact that I see my nose differently because I have less cheeks is just disturbing. But my forehead? I mean, that's a complete shock. I guess maybe it's just a shocking shock where the rest of them are just shocks I hadn't thought would happen but make logical sense at least.

My whole face looks different to me. So now I'm really struggling with looking at myself in the mirror.

Who is that person looking back at me that I don't recognize? I've never seen her before in my life. Not her body. Not her face. And I'm left with a feeling of, "that's not me."

And while I am not my body or my face or my hair or any of that, I do live in that body that owns that face and that hair and all of that is, at best, unfamiliar and feels wrong/off/weird/strange/just not right

Shifting your perspective

Question:How do you boost your expectations with Vitamin Joy so that you are guided to the Highest Vistas imaginable?

Glitter.

I have often thought of the dark part of the experience of life like a piece of black construction paper. Imagine if you will you are looking at the paper and all you see is a vast blackness. You inspect the paper, you look it over and then you tip it just the right way and out of no where, a tiny spec of glitter appears — that hope in the midst of the darkness that almost made it disappear.

Glitter for me is the metaphor of possibility. It is formless and shapeless, meaningless in fact, except for all the meaning I gift it. When I see a spec of glitter, I see the light — it is shinning upon me even in the smallest of ways. That visual reminder of the light is something I look for wherever I can — so putting it on my eyes (and subsequently, it falling on my eyelashes) often colors my life in such a way that when I move through the world, I get that lens flare effect of the light reflecting off the glitter when I look at simple things.

It is such a simple tool... And as a practice I have been engaging in for nearly 10 years, I have found glitter cheers me up like nothing else.

Other more universal ways to find the way back to the light that might be more approachable include:

Baths. They are gloriously refreshing and they can change your toxicity level if you put Epsom salt in the bath with it. Chemical body change just helps.

Adam’s wisdom about meditation has been 100% of the time spot on for me. Even if I don’t have a “good sit” that I am actually doing the sit always makes me feel like I am more on path.

Doing something with my body (or mind, though less so for me these days) that I was not formerly able to do — reminding me of how far I have come and that this journey includes the dark times.

Crying — the shower for the soul.

Dancing — predictably leads to altered states for me and the increase in endorphins is bound to make you feel better, at least for a period of time after

exercise — I at least get the endorphins even if I don’t get the altered state
eating something nutritious – another form of chemical change

creating a nourishing experience that is inspiring — be it a hike, or a meal that I “shouldn’t have” (wrong food, wrong price, too much time, whatever) -- which often includes an element of indulgence
sleep. This is by far the best cure for my negative states. James and I read an article in the paper a few months ago where they said some really high percentage of people don’t sleep enough (I think it was over 60%) and there is scientific evidence of the negative impact on emotional state/resourcefulness. (more chemical state change)

Alone time. Just getting in touch with what is going on often helps.

Perhaps the most difficult practice though also the one that allows things to shift the quickest for me is to be with the experience as fully as I can. The more fully I allow it to arise, the more quickly and fully it passes away. Acknowledging that I am feeling that way, perhaps even being witnessed in those feelings, often allows me the freedom to get messy and go into it in a way that serves my processing.

Surrender into the feelings rather than feeling like I need to combat them. Whoops! I’m feeling like shit again. Damn, I forgot about that part of the journey. Don’t worry, it will get better.

screaming into a pillow

punching my bed

doing an activity which requires a high degree of concentration in a domain that is not related to the upset — like driving my car skillfully through traffic – so I am 100% focused elsewhere for some period of time and can come back to the situation with fresh eyes/perspective

masturbation — always good for a state change which can provide temporary relief and will change your body chemistry as well.

distraction — movie, music, talk, walk.
working really hard — diving into my work so I feel like I’m making progress even if I’m feeling like shit about the process.

taking a day off — so I don’t have to think about anything in particular.

laughter. (more chemical change in the body)

talking to myself.

singing. Especially in the shower.

oming/toning/playing an instrument -- the vibration moves things through.

massage.
talking to one of the cool people in my life — different friends give different support, so I choose who to talk to based on what kind of support I want (commiseration, an ass kicking, sympathy, advice, perspective, witnessing).

Combining as many of the above as necessary to create change and allowing myself all the space I need to have the experience — even if it means all of these things.

Upekka

A friend sent this on an email list I'm on -- it is a meditation to help stay in the center:

You are the owner/heir to your own karma. Your outcome depends on your actions and not my wishes. No matter how I might wish things to be otherwise, things are as they are. Although I wish only the best for you, I also know that your happiness and unhappiness depends upon your actions, not my wishes for you. Whether I understand it or not, things are unfolding for you according to a lawful nature.

This reminded me of a distinction/saying my friends gave me years ago which really helped me on my path, which is
reworded/augmented by me to remind me of my path:

I am me. You are you.
My feelings are my feelings. Your feelings are your feelings.
My experiences are my experiences. Your experiences are your experience.
Your feelings and experiences are not my feelings and experiences. My feelings and experiences are not your feelings and experiences.
I am fully responsible for me; You are fully responsible for you.
My path is to witness without attachment and aversion, knowing I may witness you doing things that make me uncomfortable and I can not do anything about your choices.
I will choose, regardless of my dis/comfort with your actions, from a place of what serves me best which can include sacrifice only if I choose willingly and freely.
The degree to which I can remain in constancy with this knowing will determine, predictably, the degree of my emotional freedom and upset I create for myself in my life.

Cosmic Kiss

May the best of last year be the worst of this year
and may we all say this to,
bear witness to it being so
and
consciously co-create it with each other...
in truth,
as a tribe,
every moment...
of every lifetime
we experience in this dimension...
and all others...
for all time...
always.

Tribe -> Community -> Tribe

Looking back in time, humans organized themselves toward a common purpose of
survival using a hierarchical model sometimes known as tribes. There was a
leader (a chief for example), a healer, a warrior, a cook -- every one had
their place.

Because of the technological stage of development, the tribe had no
opportunity to move toward a vision that was beyond survival. As technology
advance, survival became easier and time more plentiful, we evolved toward
more global thinking. Thus became community as an evolution because the
focal point was in accomplishing something "for the greater good and
furthering of human kind or the planet" or some other lofty ideal.

Community is (or at least to me has seemed) bound by and pulled together to
work collectively toward a single vision which generally does not honor
individual leadership, but rather consensus thinking that mostly muddles the
ability of the group to actually get anything accomplished because it takes
so long to arrive at consensus.

I say we're moving toward -- and the particular tribe on this list
represents it to me -- a resurgence of the idea of hierarchy within a tribe.
So many of us are visionaries and leaders building communities and tribes of
our own yet coming together as a tribe, living the common vision of
supporting each other as individuals in the creation of our own unique
purpose.

So we have moved from needing hierarchy to make things happen in order to
survive (pre-rational tribe) to choosing to come together in service of a
group vision (rational community) to needing reintegrated leadership while
working for a greater good (trans-rational tribe).

It seems like the trans-rational tribe is coming together - each individual
in service of each other being in service of their own individual goals,
within which leadership is rewarded because in each individual accomplishing
their purpose/vision, they are able to help other's learn by bringing their
learning's back to the tribe for other's to integrate; whereas the rational
community comes together in service of a group vision where individuals
often have to acquiesce their goals to remain in service of the group.

The trans-rational tribes transcends and includes.

Permission

The other day I found myself triggered by a friend's choice to, from my perspective, fart their ideas into my space. I put it that way because it is both humorous and, from where I sit, accurate. Farts often occur without consciousness -- simply happening, kind of like when we know something or think we know something about what is going on and we just blurt it out.

From my perspective, my friend did not have permission to coach me. What that means to me is that before someone offers advice, they would ask if the listener (in this case, me) wants to hear it. There are many reasons for that, including (and not limited to):

the person may not be looking for your opinion or ideas

the person may simply be venting

the person may just be sharing their experience and only want to share without receiving in that moment

the person may be closed, generally speaking

the person may be closed, specifically to the person offering the coaching

the person may simply not want to switch context (ie, sharing/speaking/opening/venting/whatever to listening/receiving)

so the person offering said "advice/coaching" isn't impressing their
values on the other individual. (I take this very seriously, not just with respect to what I say, but also with what is said to me.)

This idea of permission is why I use the phrase, "Can I offer something?" so frequently because I do not want to be coaching someone who is either not prepared for it, not interested in it and/or in some way not open to receiving that which I have to offer.

I understand that in friendships there is a place where we offer ourselves to each other that, in some ways, seems like it should be apart from the idea of asking permission. That may be so for other people and my world generally speaking does not operate that way.

When I'm confused about this sort of thing with other people, I ask the person speaking what they are looking for from me -- to hold space, to offer coaching, to share my own experience, and/or whatever. These days, I'd like to think I don't really offer coaching without permission (though please call me on it if I do) except in the domain of where I am the explicit current "coach" (as in class and as it relates to poi, and at that, only sometimes since I am so sensitive to not wanting to trample on people's own development at their own pace).

Perhaps it is a subtle distinction that I've picked up working with and being friends with coaches in transformational communities for many years on end. What I know is I do not feel honored when someone puts things in my space I'm not interested in having there. For me, it occurs like clutter that I have to move around/through/over/avoid.

20070907: Everybody needs a little Now moment

The night Audree, Sean and I went out to film in July required us to synch up our iPods. We didn't want to drag a boom box around with all the fire gear as well as the camera gear, so instead, we shared the same playlist on our iPods so we could have some shared reality as I was spinning without disrupting the rest of the world.

Of course, then you have to sync up the ipods. Well, we started counting off -- " 3 - 2 - 1 - Now!" and on "Now" everyone would start the track at the beginning.

I'm on Shinkansen train with Sean -- the cool bullet train that runs from Kyoto to Tokyo (same letters, spelled differently. Hmm...) writing the blog entries so I can post them next time I get to an internet connection and I started bouncing around in my seat to one of our favorite tracks, "The Nebbish Route" by Shpongle off Nothing Last... But Nothing is Lost.

Fortunately, Sean had my set list on his iPhone because we filmed yesterday so, well, we got to have a bit of Now together.