happiest girl in the world

today i am so happy. it's one of those days (honestly, couple of days now) where you think "is this even possible? isn't there something i should be worrying about?" (surely we're the only culture that worries about having forgotten what they should be worrying about.) yeah, i'm so... excited and i feel FULL, in a wierd, awesome way. like, i read a book in bed today at 3pm until i fell asleep - and i had no guilt about it. this is something i don't recall having been able to do in the past. there was always something nagging me, disrupting my full-on enjoyment and giving-in to the luxury of it. maybe it's just that i'm in a new town, and that i'm completely in love with my new job. this is new for me, folks. i don't believe i've ever uttered the phrase "i love my job" in my life - it honestly feels too good to be true.

sorry, by the way, about my absence, if anyone's been checkin in. i've had a helluva month since i quit bell. wait no - it's only been 3 weeks, is that possible? so much has happened!! holy crap! the day i quit, we had drinks out, it was crazy, i was exhausted from all the crying, etc. the next morning, i had bkfst with some friends (2 of them coworkers) and they got up at 9 to shove off to work and i got freaked out. ran around town getting stuff to bring with me on my roadtrip (a trip which, until that day at 9am, had not had one thing planned about it, by the way) and i got in my car at 2 and headed north. i think the mini freak-out at bkfst when my friends got up to go to Bell and i wasn't joining them- is to be credited for inspiring me to actually get in the car & go. i had to do something, all i felt was loss at that point.

headed up to Portland (spent one night in Mt. Shasta)

and quickly the sense of loss faded and all i felt was possibility, hope, aliveness. my time in portland was incredible. i connected with my dear friend lisa's friend up yonder and usually those things can be kinda awkward - but she is the coolest and it was actually quite a bit like hanging out with lisa directly! every neighborhood in that town was cooler than the next - crafts and cool shops and fun, open people all over the place. PLUS i got to go on 3 runs right in the city ON DIRT TRAILS. not lame paths through mown municipal parks - FULL ON WOODS with TRAILS! i feel like that city was built for me. AND, i haven't even mentioned (though most of you already know, i'm sure) that it's about as progressive as a city can get (with the exception of the Oregonian, i hear). awesome animal rights magazines come out of there and there's free public transport in the city center and two awesome hostels (i recommend the NW one - so amazing!). ANYHOW...

i drove up to Vancouver to see some friends of mine who used to live in santa cruz - awesome couple that lives such an inspiring lifestyle. he's german and she's canadian and the way they live (riding their bikes to work, recycling/reducing/REUSING every possible thing they can, eating sooo healthfully, etc) totally inspired me to lower-my-impact as well. maybe it's a european thing, i dunno - but it kicks ass. so i had two of the best, cheapest (like $5 US!) sushi meals of my life there - very easy to be vegan in that town as well - and i went on what was hands-down the most intense and awesome mtn bike ride of my life up there (Ned's Atomic Dustbin? anybody?) it was the stuff they have in all the CRANKD movies and in the Banff Film Festival - crazy ramps and 10ft drops way deep in the woods and dry creek beds and ROOTS EVERYWHERE. really challenging and so damn fun. i went over the handlebars twice and i think i'll actually have a little scar on one hand to remember the ride by :). thanks amanda! :) these 2 are also incredibly gracious hosts - making you feel not at all like an imposition (which i fear i do to people who visit me) but seeming completely thrilled to be able to show you around. awesome quality - yet another which i hope to acquire.

ok, sorry this is long. AND THEN i drove back down, with one night in portland (and another incredible meal there - there's also awesome food in that town, for real!), and then hauled it in a day down to santa cruz, totally refreshed & stoked on life. i felt so damn free on the road - you know the feeling - just me in my car with some stuff and i can drive anywhere, meet anybody, do anything. life is good.

so my sisters came to town to run the big sur marathon as soon as i got home and they KICKED ASS!!! beat their last year's time by nearly 30 minutes. who does that!? superstrong, superbeautiful awesome women. check em out.




my folks and my niece and her boyfriend were there - and our time together was so killer. i love those people!

alright - my sister stayed in town for a few more days, we ran around, went wine-tasting, tried to celebrate my bday on the beach but got kicked off by the cops (that sucked), went on a few of my favorite runs together, ate yummy food, hung out and chatted - i was so damn sad when she left. i felt like my heart was broken. i've had to call her everyday since. i love that girl.

okay, and finally, alas, forsooth and anon --- here i am in lovely norfolk VA - where the people are even way lovelier than the architecture and the weather, which is sayin somethin, honestly. my job is knocking my socks off. i cannot BELIEVE i can get paid to try to help animals. AND i get to use some fun skills i've gained over the years in these efforts. it is honestly the best job i can imagine, at this point in my life. i wake up smiling (literally). and i walk home after work grinning like a scared chimp [they are actually scared when they grin, i didn't know that until recently.] oh yeah, and i feel myself quickly becoming indoctrinated, i hafta say. i came in going "Now listen up folks, your shock marketing tactics are only losing you credibility and we need some change around here!" and i'm already going "Right on! more naked protests! more lesbian make-outs in times square! whatever it takes to get people interested in the organization and clicking through the website!" AND, to be fair, i'm starting discussions about initiatives that are a little more in line with the attitude i came in with [i'd say more, but this IS a public venue, i just remembered, and i don't want to give anything up to the ENEMIES.] okay, this is a ridiculously long blog. if you made it this far, you must really love me. cuz it wasn't that interesting! thank you! i love you too!