Today’s escapist fantasy: me as a ballerina. Though I studied ballet briefly as a young girl, I never showed any promise as a dancer.
But today I’m living my contradictions.
I’m typically quite practical and utilitarian. I rarely dress ‘girly’ and I’m not ‘fancy.’ But I do have this romantic pretty’streak inside that drives me to hang gauzy curtains on my canopy bed, wear silver bangle bracelets, and occasionally dress up in something that I wouldn’t dare wear out of the house.
Sometimes when I’m feeling angry, sad, depressed or frustrated, I need a bit of comfort. Sometimes that comfort comes in the form of a cuppa of my favorite tea blend. Sometimes it’s some time out for scratching a kitty behind the ears. Sometimes it’s my favorite black sweater. Sometimes it’s a pair of socks so soft and cozy that they are like a hug from the universe.
What do you seek out for comfort?
The writing on my hand is an abstracted map of the racecourse for our meet on Saturday (the directions out of the marina and out on the open ocean). Our boat didn’t get lost during the race, but this steersman couldn’t follow her googlemap (or Thomas Guide) back to the freeway onramp, so we got a nice tour of Culver City as I attempted to get my bearings and find a way home. Hilarious, methinks.
I can just never get enough of that azure blue sky (and the blooming roses frame it just perfectly, in my opinion).
I’ve decided that this year what I really want most for my birthday is for each of you who are able, to make a donation to my favorite charity, HandReach. One reason I care so much about HandReach is that they provide medical services, most specifically prosthetic limbs, to children in China. I want to give the gift of mobility to these young amputees–because I know all-too-personally just how much easier life can be with a good-fitting prosthesis!
My friend Brecken of HandReach sent me the following message after learning of my plan to solicit donations:
Jana, you rock!!! I was offline all day today, only to log in and find a bunch of lovely donations from your friends. Now I feel like it’s HandReach’s birthday, too! :)
I’d like to designate this money to a special cause. We’re going to be providing prostheses this summer for a 12-year-old girl who lost both legs in the Sichuan earthquake last year. We just learned this morning that there was a fire in her temporary camp overnight, and her house and first set of prostheses burned. We’re planning to get her a set of even better prostheses, and plenty of excellent rehab. Her name is Huang Meihua (pronounced “Hwahng May-hwa”), and you can see her photos here [note: link fixed!]
Happy, happy, happy birthday, Jana! I can’t thank you enough for thinking of HandReach! You are giving the gift that will truly keep on giving….
For those of you who would like to join in my birthday wish, you can donate directly via this page. And do feel free to pass the link forward to anyone outside of this blog’s sphere who might also want to contribute to this worthy cause.
And for those of you who have already donated…your generosity amazes me. Thank you so much for making my birthday the best one ever!
This is where I spent my evenings after I finished my work in the State Archives. What a relaxing, beautiful space.
This is the view from the inside, with the evening light filtering in:
I don’t understand why contemporary builders no longer emphasize front porches. Perhaps it’s because people spend more of their time watching TV and less of their time watching the world go by their front door….
As I was showering after returning home from my first-ever outrigger canoeing race and reflecting a bit on how much fun I’m having with this sport…I couldn’t help but think back to where I was a year ago: in the hospital agonizing over an infection in my left leg that just wouldn’t heal.
Many of you probably remember the entry I wrote after that night I spent in fear of losing my leg and the hope I had as I was slowly recovering. Back then I had no idea that my battle with the infection would flare up again while I was visiting Denver, or would last well into August.
So as the hot water poured over my head and back I cried a few tears of joy…they were just about as salty as was the water that I swallowed after falling into the San Diego Bay this morning (boo on that nasty red boat who steered their nose under our ama!). But you know what–it didn’t matter that we tipped. We recovered quickly, got our wits about us, and still ended up passing many other boats to a solid finish in the race (and I tell you, when we came into the home stretch and heard hundreds of people cheering us home, it didn’t matter one bit what place we were in that race). We paddled our best and gave it our all. We had fun. I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else but out there this morning! (note to self: adrenaline is a magical drug–I leapt right back into that boat with nary a thought about my inability to do a pullup).
As a Mother’s Day/birthday gift John bought me a fancy new steering blade(!!!!). What a great partner he is–seeing me through thick and through thin for the past two decades. That man, he is pure magic–I knew if from the moment I first saw him and he proves it true again every day.
When I had my surgery at the end of last summer, my doc told me it would take at least a year before my leg would be healed through and through. But he was wrong. The healing…it’s all done now.
:)
Occasionally and when I think no one’s looking, I’ll take a roll down a hill. There’s such a thrill in letting momentum take over. And then when I’m done, I just lie around for awhile, enjoying the way the world keeps on spinning even when I’m not.
What about you, what do you do when no one’s looking?
PS: Any guesses as to what item is hanging out of my hoodie pocket in the bottom pic?? You can see a larger version here.
A brief request: I’ve been battling gastric reflux issues for months now and OTC meds and lifestyle changes don’t seem to be working (I’m even cutting out my beloved afternoon tea…sigh). And the lack of quality sleep is starting to wear me down.
Can any of you who’ve dealt with this share your best ideas for feeling better? I’ll be heading to the doc soon but I’d love to know if there’s something I should try that I haven’t yet, or just to hear from folks who’ve been successful in dealing with this problem.
It’s such a little thing compared to other health issues that I’ve had, but I’m realizing that it’s not getting better and might not stay such a little thing…For example, last night I had a horrible spell of coughing, asthma, burning throat–all while I was just too tired to hardly be able to deal with it. And now I’m just so so tired. Help!
Had a spontaneous meetup with rockstarAmanda Palmer this afternoon (at an intimate local venue after she twittered an invitation)…
The whole experience echoed my previous experience with Amanda, but this was far more relaxed and unscripted. We stood at her feet as she played and sang, we all sat around and chatted on some couches during and after her interview with the “After Ellen” show (the episode will air in 2 weeks, we were told).
In all, it was a successful social media experience. A rockstar throws out the invitation for a meetup and John & I decided it was worth the adventure so we went.
I had her sign my prosthetic foot, so she’s officially the first artist to take up the call to decorate my leg. She hardly batted an eye when I suggested that she sign my foot and everyone around us thought it an uber-cool idea. The picture didn’t turn out so well, but that’s what happens with spontaneity, I suppose.
:)
PS: Amanda hugged everyone afterwards as if she were our best friend. I was a bit surprised by the familiarity at first and then just enjoyed it. It must be quite a skill to be able to treat your fans as if each one was someone that you care deeply about. Undoubtedly that is her gift–when she sings it’s as if it is just you and her, and that carries through in her post-performance affability.
UPDATE: John’s pic of my foot is so much better than my feeble effort…
A wise friend (yes, I’m talking about you Susan) once reminded me that when things get challenging, it’s important to remember that such times result in greater personal growth. Life’s lessons don’t come without some difficulty and sacrifice.
Today I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by all that I have to do. I’ve got this nervous energy spinning in the pit of my belly telling me that I might not be able to keep all of the balls up in the air this time. I might drop a few. I might even fail.
PS: pic above is of my labyrinth skirt. I love wearing it because it reminds me that so much of life is liking walking the circle. Round and round. Trying to make sense of it all.
