Renewal

I spotted some Spotted Dick

These past few weeks have been pretty nuts. I don't really even feel like going into it all, but all sorts of strange things have been happening. Family stuff. Work stuff. The stuff I do when I should be working. The stuff I don't do when I should and the stuff I shouldn't ever try. It's all there in the last few weeks. 

Chaos usually motivates me. Give me calm seas and I settle into complacency. Shake my world up a little bit and I will try to keep the ball rolling, at least for a little while. It's a good thing for the most part. Especially since the last few months have not been worthy of my Tackle 2011 project. I blame the knee in part, but I think I also used that as an excuse longer than I should have and for more than I should have. That said, I decided to throw caution to the wind and go on my first jog since my little MCL issue. Jog went well, though I am totally out of shape and I didn't push it past a mile. I was sore as could be, and so the next day I went on a bike ride with a friend in Charleston, and did some yoga. So, in addition to a sore knee, my thighs, ass, calves, arms, neck, and wrists all hurt as well. I am going to try to run again tomorrow, so I can totally overdo it. 

I am also working on some austerity measures in my day to day life. I am working on refinancing my house at a significantly lower interest rate (cutting the rate more than half, actually) and for 15 years instead of 30. All that and my payment will still be less than it is now, though just barely. Today I worked on my first batch of homemade laundry detergent!!! I found a recipe online for vegan detergent and I modified it just a tad.

1 C Borax, 1 C Washing Soda, 1 bar Dr. Bronner's castile soap, and ta-da! Less than 5 cents per load.

I took the detergent for a spin today and my thoughts so far are pretty positive. Most of my sheets and towels are white and I am always struggling to keep them bright. I hate the idea of using bleach, but I do use it just to get the whites brightened from time to time. However, one wash with this detergent got my sheets whiter and brighter than I can ever remember! It was pretty amazing. The only downside is that the laundry doesn't really have that laundry smell. Not that I like the overly perfumed detergent smell, but even the Seventh Generation detergent leaves a pleasant and light smell. Oh well. Maybe some essential oils will jazz things up?

It's not total austerity over here though...I splurged and bought an iPhone. I almost want to say that additional money spent on the monthly iPhone plan is less than the value added, so it's almost like I got a deal or something.

I ended the day making a brand new recipe! Never before! And it was fucking amazing, if I do say so myself. Roasted butternut squash with sage (from the garden!) and pine nuts over pasta. So freaking amazing. It wasn't too complicated, though it did require planning since I roasted the squash. Definitely one to save for D&C.

Sappy post that makes me sound like a hippie

Inspiration.

I’ve always held out hope for this small city. I have struggled with it and grown tired of it, tried to get away from it only to find myself back in it. It’s a weird and seductive place, and I have lived here longer than I have lived anywhere. It is the city of my home and my hometown.

I have recently fallen in love with it all over again. With Columbia, and with about 19 people.  And it all happened last night. Well, it's been brewing for awhile, but these Occupy Columbia kids have really been tugging the heart strings. Last night was an intense night. Around 4 PM the governor held a press conference and told the Occupiers, who have been protesting at the state house for 24 hours a day for 33 days, that they were being evicted. In an hour and a half. Things moved quickly. Eviction was at 6 PM. I got off work and headed over to the state house to meet with the Occupiers. Certain people wanted to stand their ground and stay there after 6 PM. They knew it was going to end in arrest. As 6 approached, this amazing group of men and women sat around the base of the Confederate Flag (ironic?), linked arms, and waited. 6 PM came and went. The surrounding law enforcement officers didn't move. 6:15 came, and around the side of the state house emerged about 20 more officers. Not in riot gear. No weapons that I could see. They formed a line and announced that it was time to go. No one moved. Not the 19 with arms linked, not the people standing around. Rain started coming down, and then it started pouring down. Wind blowing like mad. Leaves hitting us in the face. The police started to move forward, keeping their line, moving everyone towards the road. After all others were removed from the lawn, the officers went up to the protesters remaining, arms still linked. Asked them one by one to stand to be arrested. They did. One by one the protesters were led away. One by one.

It was one of the most intense things I have witnessed. 

Then things got nuts, and I ended up at the jail at 11 PM for bond hearings with an attorney who drove in from Charleston, another who drove from Anderson, and one who just called and offered to help. Everyone was released on a PR bond. When we came out of the bond hearing around 1AM, the lobby was filled with friends and family who came in support. 

The upshot is that these people, all of them, have humbled me and inspired me and reminded me of something I haven't seen in a while. Hope. Idealism. Showing up when it's time to show up. It's so important.

waiting for something to happen.

this doesn't do it justice

after the bond hearings, those who came to the jail in support of those arrested.

Good, honest, genuine people joining together for a common cause for the common good. It's a beautiful thing.

Picture Blog

No explanation needed.

White Echinacea

She is a nut

Emma killing stuffed ducks

My desk at work

South Carolina State House

If you look closely, you can see the 99%

Commerce

So, I've been trying to help out the Occupy Columbia crowd from time to time. Today I am going to give a Know Your Rights "Teach In" and then do a Legal Observer Training. All this makes me sort of miss being involved with NLG. SC doesn't have a chapter....which gives me ideas of taking on more than I can chew.

But! I really just wanted to blog so I could show everyone this:

Outside the lines

Whew. So, I took a break there not because I was particularly busy (which I was), but more because my brain seems to have been in overdrive over the last month or so, and writing about it all, or even thinking about writing, made everything spin a little bit faster. So, in an effort to spare my reader and myself, I took on hibernation as a renewed hobby. The hibernation isn't over (let's face it, it is here to stay), but the time has come to start posting blogs again somewhat on the regular.

Back when I re-started this blog in December of last year, one of my goals was to use it to force me to be accountable when it comes to actively seeking self-improvement. So, based on an unfortunate series of events over the last month, and because my current job will require it on a regular basis, I have decided my next move it to try to conquer my fear of public speaking. This is what I know right now:

If I find myself addressing City Council unexpectedly, my voice shakes like I am about to cry, my hands shake, and I generally look like an idiot.

If I find myself addressing a group of strangers in my peer group, my voice is better but my legs shake uncontrollably.

If I know I will have to speak in public, I will lose sleep the night before, and in the moments before I am to start speaking, my heart will POUND in my chest and I will want to die.

I realize that public speaking is the #1 fear of most people. My only wish is that the symptoms of my fear/nervousness could be tamed a bit, so they weren't so obvious. The funny thing is, if I can take a break between speaking, I am fine the second time around. For instance, if I am in a panel discussion, the first time I speak it's horrible, but then I am fine assuming there is a break in time between me speaking (when they ask someone else a question, for instance). So, I have hope.

In completely unrelated news: I have an appointment this afternoon with Shannon to add a little color to my arm. Jeremiah is looking lonely flying on my arm all alone. So, I am going to go with color.  It's a first for me. Something I didn't think I would ever do. Here is to growth, and doing things you didn't think you would ever do.

Ugh. So cute.