Up where the air is clear.

"I am not an enthusiast of dynastic wealth, particularly when the alternative is six billion people having that much poorer hands in life than we have, having a chance to benefit from the money." - Warren Buffett

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Phoenix averaged 110º while we were there over the weekend. That is hot, let me tell you. We swam in the pool and moved from air conditioned buildings to air conditioned cars. I enjoy the heat, but weather like that makes me want to lie motionless under a fan.

Portland has been having an unusual heat wave, so returning to the Pacific Northwest didn't provide much relief. The temperature was 102º when I looked a the thermometer yesterday afternoon.

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I took a picture of Mt. Hood from the jet as we flew into Portland. You can see Mt. Jefferson in the background. It is breathtaking to be so close to the mountains, to briefly share the sky.

An army of sheep.

Don’t worry. I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth.

I just haven’t had any time to write in the last week. My life has been full with a new job and traveling and spending time with people that I care about. I’ve wanted to post, but I haven’t been at my computer long enough to get it done.

Speaking of absences, I’ve been accused of lacking depth in my posts here lately. I’ll admit I haven’t been forcing myself to write much that requires a great amount of creative thought about the world. I’m working on getting back into that reflective mode, but it takes so much more time and thought than simply letting you know what I’ve been up to. I know that thinking is good for me, so I expect that I’ll get back around to it sometime soon.

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Last week I started a new job with a homeless shelter here in Portland. I am really enjoying it. I love being on staff for a cause that I am fully enthusiastic about, and I like working in the heart of downtown. The work environment is stimulating and diverse. I think my coworkers are cool. What else could a girl ask for?

I’ve been leaving my car at a park-and-ride, and I take the MAX into the central part of the city. There is something really nice about having 10 minutes to stare blankly out the train window first thing in the morning. It’s like having a little moment of Zen before I jump into the workday.

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I took the BBC brain gender test that Nancy linked to on her blog. I scored as a 25% male brain. I still feel pretty female, but my mad spatial relations skillz seem to weight the outcome. It was a fun quiz to take. You know you’re curious- go participate.

And also inspired by Nancy, I just added a Flickr sidebar to Surface Ripple!

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Tomorrow is summer solstice and the Garden of Verses party that Dot and I are hosting! I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll try to take some pictures to share.

And I’m flying to Phoenix right after work on Thursday evening. I’ll be with a whole slew of women relatives for a weekend retreat. I expect a lot of laughing, some good food and many probing questions about my personal life. Woo hoo!

In brief.

It's only day two, but I am loving my new job. The whole work environment is so healthy and functional. I've been putting in some long hours this first week, but things should settle into a normal pace soon. I'll have more time to think and blog this weekend. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

A walk in the park.

 

Today was the last day off before I start my new job. The morning began with a lovely few hours of journaling and introspection in Laurelhurst Park. The green space was all but abandoned at that early hour, so it was just me and the friendly park animals that came over to visit. I felt focused after my time to think, pray and reflect.

This afternoon was not quite so relaxing. I spent about four hours in a bit of an identity crisis about my future and school and the nebulous weight of all that doesn't exist yet but needs to be planned for. Ugh. It was exhausting.

I am so thankful for parents that offer sound advice, friends that call at the right moment, and hugs from the people that really care about me. I haven't finished sorting through that whole mess, but I know that it is okay to be obliviously happy or completely stressed out. They are both normal feelings, and neither will ever completely reflect reality.

Except to pass.

It is humid this evening. The warm air lingers in the energy of the day; the night is full of sounds.

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I took a quick trip to Seattle this weekend with Dan. My former roommate Megan was in town from Denver, so we spent some time with her and the newly married Lauren and Wes. Then we headed a little bit north to stay with my brother and sister-in-law, JR and Jen. It was an action packed 36 hours!

Reach a little further.

I am on day nine in a ten-day stretch of work. Needless to say, I am really ready for some time off. I’ve wanted to write more lately, but I’ve been lacking time, energy and creativity.

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Have plans for the summer solstice? No? Well now you do! If you are going to be in Portland on Wednesday, June 21st, join Dot and me as we host a special literary event to kick off the season. Poetry will be read. Fun will be had. Email me for details.

Thanks to Dot for the lovely invitation design.

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This is fascinating. As if five senses weren’t enough, check out the sixth sense that implanted earth magnets offer. This could create a new breed of I.T. superheroes. Who needs to troubleshoot a hard drive glitch when you can just feel the problem areas?

One trip around the sun.

One year ago today. That’s when I posted on Surface Ripple for the first time.

So much has happened in that one year, and blogging has changed me. I have started to see the everyday things in my life as events worth telling about. I take more digital pictures. I have some new friends that I’ve never met face to face. My ideas have been challenged, and I have put my poetry out there for the world to see. And best of all, I’ve had motivation to actually write down some of the things that swirl around in my head.

Looking back at that original post, I’m happy to see that I may actually be accomplishing some of my goals from the beginning. Writing this blog has stretched me. It has given me concrete space to be creative in, and it has been a social connection for me with those family and friends that I can’t see on a regular basis.

So thanks for reading. Thanks for sharing a bit of the journey. Thanks for sticking around my little soap box. Here’s to another year of overly complicated compound sentences, cryptic bits of poetic posts, and generally stirring the waters!

Beauty in the details.

June. Days stretched by light. The promise of warm evenings. Summer. Ah.

Here are a few of the things that are ahead of me in this new month:

• Starting a new job on the 14th!
• Visiting family and friends in Seattle
• The “Garden of Verses” poetry party that Dot and I are hosting
• A weekend in Arizona with women from my extended family
• Time spent with many important friends

All this with the arrival of nicer weather! My cup runneth over.

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On a related note, I've been really enjoying the scenes for each month from the Très Riches Heures. You can check out the other beautiful pieces from the illuminated manuscript here.