I have returned to Maine.
Hooray!
I guess I felt as though I should wrap this adventure up with one final blog post before I let it be.
Portland, OR, was pretty fantastic. While I didn't actually see *that* much of the city, my experience there was one that was certainly full of "firsts" and of personal growth. Sometimes you just meet people who come in to your life for 3 days and teach you things about yourself. It was sort of like the universe sent me a cram session during my last days out west in order to get a bunch of personal work done that wasn't resolved on the mountain. This cram session was highly educational and a LOT OF FUN. Seems there are some cool people who come out of Arkansas... who would've thunk? ;-)
Without much further ado, I end this blog. I have said all that has needed to be said in the previous entries so I will not rehash everything. I am left feeling happy, hopeful, and healthy, which is more than I can say about how I felt 3 months ago.
This life is so glorious. Thank you for your friendship and love and support everyone.
Namaste.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Hello from Eugene!
The last day on the mountain was very, very bittersweet. I had an early morning breakfast shift and drank a large amount of coffee on an empty stomach which, after hardly consuming caffeine for two months, had a very powerful impact on my system. Oops. I'm glad my tolerance is at a better level though. Anyway, I worked my breakfast shift, directly followed by a dining room shift, directly followed by a dish shift. I was cranking through the day and loving every minute of it. I was saying goodbyes along the way to people who I knew I wouldn't see later on, but my heart wasn't really there yet, as is the norm for me. I tend to not get emotional about goodbyes until the very last minute or even after I've left.
I went from my dish shift down to Ram Sharan's house, where he read my oracle. At least that's what I *think* it's called? I gave him my birth date and year and time and he told me my corresponding "card" (a 2 of diamonds) and then proceeded to look up in books what that meant astrologically and what it meant about me as a person and how I related to other people in my life. It was really, really, really cool. We talked a lot about what the next months are going to bring and how the past year has been as well. Everything he told me I could totally apply to what seems to be happening as of late. It was quite remarkable and some things resonated so true to me that I got teary on several occasions over the hour and a half I spent with him. It's an art I'll definitely look in to more... it's like tarot or astrology but... not. This is one of the books he used.
After my goodbyes with Ram Sharan, I felt quite emotional. Talking about the future so intensely really brought the fact that this future wasn't at Mount Madonna to the forefront of my mind. As I went through my lunchtime and afternoon, I kept tearing up randomly, sometimes during goodbyes and sometimes just being on my own. I surprised myself at being this way, actually. I thought about it and I guessed there were two contributing factors 1) the caffeine, even 6 hours later, was throwing me for a loop, and 2) it hit me that my travels to Oregon were really terrifying and I hadn't actually processed the fact that I was just going out on my own taking transportation I'd never taken before (a train,) staying in a setting I'd never stayed in before (a hostel,) to a place where I didn't know anyone (Oregon.) I guessed that if I were flying straight home I would have been much much less emotional overall.
My Megpie drove me to Gilroy to catch the bus, and she talked me down quite a bit about the travels and I felt a LOT better after that. I'll miss that lady so much...
The bus ride from Gilroy to San Jose was pretty uneventful though mildly interesting to a girl from Maine; there were a couple of guys who boarded the bus who were all cut up and I overheard them that they got jumped by their opposing gangs a few days before... scary shit. One of them had stitches all over his face in these long lines like a quilt. Oh Greyhound...
From San Jose I got on an Amtrak and from there I felt much more relaxed knowing that I would at least end up in Eugene. It was a very, very nice train with two stories and a nice dining and lounge car. I was seated next to a woman named Ruth who was from England and headed to Portland. I didn't sleep much that night because the man behind me insisted on making phone calls frequently throughout the night and humming loudly the rest of the time. Oh well. The sunrise brought lovely views of northern California and Oregon and I spent most of the morning in the lounge car. I spent most of the time chatting with two ladies in their 80's and really had some great conversations.
I landed in Eugene about 1pm on Monday and lugged myself and my stuff to the hostel which wasn't too too far away. I checked in, and went for a nice walk around downtown and up to Skinner's Butte which overlooks the whole city and took some lovely photos of the colored trees. Downtown is pretty cute, but I definitely miss the New England architecture. I intended to go out and play bingo at the local bar that night, but I was so exhausted that I went to bed at 8pm and slept a full 12 hours.
Yesterday involved a lot of walking. I went to the farmers market and to a clock museum, and just walked and walked and walked. I got a HUGE burrito from "El Pinche Taco" around the corner and only ate half of it for dinner it was so large. I intended to save it for today but evidently someone at the hostel accidentally ate it! I saw her just this morning and she apologized profusely... she thought it was hers. But we're staying at the same hostel in Portland so when I get there she'll still be there and she promised to buy me one there. Ha.
I spent last evening at the bar around the corner (Sam Bond's) and listened to some bluegrass music. It's a very, very cool bar... probably one of the best I've been to as far as atmosphere goes. I went the whole night talking with a guy from Australia who's been traveling the west coast and was just in Eugene for the night. I'm loving meeting all of these people from all over the world.
And, as I put on my facebook, I accidently reformatted my memory card when I was reviewing my pictures on my camera and deleted all of them. Poo. I actually didn't freak out as much as I thought I would. And Meg has maybe 75% of them on her computer. And perhaps I can get some fancy software to restore them... inconvenient to say the least. An opportunity to practice surrender and nonattachment???
It's raining in Eugene this morning... let's see where this day takes me.
Love to all.
I went from my dish shift down to Ram Sharan's house, where he read my oracle. At least that's what I *think* it's called? I gave him my birth date and year and time and he told me my corresponding "card" (a 2 of diamonds) and then proceeded to look up in books what that meant astrologically and what it meant about me as a person and how I related to other people in my life. It was really, really, really cool. We talked a lot about what the next months are going to bring and how the past year has been as well. Everything he told me I could totally apply to what seems to be happening as of late. It was quite remarkable and some things resonated so true to me that I got teary on several occasions over the hour and a half I spent with him. It's an art I'll definitely look in to more... it's like tarot or astrology but... not. This is one of the books he used.
After my goodbyes with Ram Sharan, I felt quite emotional. Talking about the future so intensely really brought the fact that this future wasn't at Mount Madonna to the forefront of my mind. As I went through my lunchtime and afternoon, I kept tearing up randomly, sometimes during goodbyes and sometimes just being on my own. I surprised myself at being this way, actually. I thought about it and I guessed there were two contributing factors 1) the caffeine, even 6 hours later, was throwing me for a loop, and 2) it hit me that my travels to Oregon were really terrifying and I hadn't actually processed the fact that I was just going out on my own taking transportation I'd never taken before (a train,) staying in a setting I'd never stayed in before (a hostel,) to a place where I didn't know anyone (Oregon.) I guessed that if I were flying straight home I would have been much much less emotional overall.
My Megpie drove me to Gilroy to catch the bus, and she talked me down quite a bit about the travels and I felt a LOT better after that. I'll miss that lady so much...
The bus ride from Gilroy to San Jose was pretty uneventful though mildly interesting to a girl from Maine; there were a couple of guys who boarded the bus who were all cut up and I overheard them that they got jumped by their opposing gangs a few days before... scary shit. One of them had stitches all over his face in these long lines like a quilt. Oh Greyhound...
From San Jose I got on an Amtrak and from there I felt much more relaxed knowing that I would at least end up in Eugene. It was a very, very nice train with two stories and a nice dining and lounge car. I was seated next to a woman named Ruth who was from England and headed to Portland. I didn't sleep much that night because the man behind me insisted on making phone calls frequently throughout the night and humming loudly the rest of the time. Oh well. The sunrise brought lovely views of northern California and Oregon and I spent most of the morning in the lounge car. I spent most of the time chatting with two ladies in their 80's and really had some great conversations.
I landed in Eugene about 1pm on Monday and lugged myself and my stuff to the hostel which wasn't too too far away. I checked in, and went for a nice walk around downtown and up to Skinner's Butte which overlooks the whole city and took some lovely photos of the colored trees. Downtown is pretty cute, but I definitely miss the New England architecture. I intended to go out and play bingo at the local bar that night, but I was so exhausted that I went to bed at 8pm and slept a full 12 hours.
Yesterday involved a lot of walking. I went to the farmers market and to a clock museum, and just walked and walked and walked. I got a HUGE burrito from "El Pinche Taco" around the corner and only ate half of it for dinner it was so large. I intended to save it for today but evidently someone at the hostel accidentally ate it! I saw her just this morning and she apologized profusely... she thought it was hers. But we're staying at the same hostel in Portland so when I get there she'll still be there and she promised to buy me one there. Ha.
I spent last evening at the bar around the corner (Sam Bond's) and listened to some bluegrass music. It's a very, very cool bar... probably one of the best I've been to as far as atmosphere goes. I went the whole night talking with a guy from Australia who's been traveling the west coast and was just in Eugene for the night. I'm loving meeting all of these people from all over the world.
And, as I put on my facebook, I accidently reformatted my memory card when I was reviewing my pictures on my camera and deleted all of them. Poo. I actually didn't freak out as much as I thought I would. And Meg has maybe 75% of them on her computer. And perhaps I can get some fancy software to restore them... inconvenient to say the least. An opportunity to practice surrender and nonattachment???
It's raining in Eugene this morning... let's see where this day takes me.
Love to all.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The next El Nino is here!!!
So a couple of days ago, a sign got put up on the Community Building doors warning of a "severe storm" coming our way. I got all excited because truth be told, the days of endless blue skies and sunshine was starting to get boring. Plus, I LOVE storms. I figured it MUST be a big deal if they took the time to write something up about it and post it in the central community area. It warned of very high winds and heavy rainfall up to 7 inches. The fact that I had no umbrella or waterproof footwear, let alone a jacket, couldn't dampen my anticipation for this great event.
Last night, as I lay in bed, unable to sleep (per usual unfortunately) I could hear little sprinkles of rain outside. Ooooh! The storm was rolling in!!!
I wake up this morning and it's full-on raining. Nice. The storm must be starting. Meg and I go up to the Community Building for breakfast. Everyone was in a tussel "Wow! This storm!" "Isn't this crazy!?!?!" "It's another El Nino!" The rain fell peacefully.
...wait
...what?
*THIS* is the storm? How disappointing. People are all bundled up like it's SNOWING or something and terrified to drive. Amusing to say the least.
Thank God I'm from Maine.
Last night, as I lay in bed, unable to sleep (per usual unfortunately) I could hear little sprinkles of rain outside. Ooooh! The storm was rolling in!!!
I wake up this morning and it's full-on raining. Nice. The storm must be starting. Meg and I go up to the Community Building for breakfast. Everyone was in a tussel "Wow! This storm!" "Isn't this crazy!?!?!" "It's another El Nino!" The rain fell peacefully.
...wait
...what?
*THIS* is the storm? How disappointing. People are all bundled up like it's SNOWING or something and terrified to drive. Amusing to say the least.
Thank God I'm from Maine.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Post-mountain plans
It's finally cooling down here on the mountain. I went for a lovely walk today and barely broke a sweat, as opposed to nearly drowning as was usual before. As I sit here and look out the window, the fog is engulfing the mountain, which promises a cool night. Hopefully it'll be in the 50's or 60's from here on out. I AM DONE WITH CALIFORNIA HEAT!!!
It's been a bit since I've updated this blog... things are still really grand. I've stopped attending asana classes pretty much completely, and I'm not sure if that is necessarily a blatantly bad thing. As most of the classes here are at 6:30am and I tend to sleep extremely poorly here, I started becoming really run down and needing to nap during the day, which didn't help the sleeping at night. So I decided to gift myself mornings with no alarm clocks on most days. I figure I deserve it after all of those opening shifts at Starbucks anyway! So I'm feeling overall better than when I was waking up at 6am, but at the same time I really miss asana. And I guess my patience ran out with the evening classes as I continued to be uninspired by them. I miss my practice at home... I really do.
I've been reading SO much and writing in my journal daily as well. Meg and I always spend plenty of time checking in with one another and being leisurely. Last night we watched "Once" which was a darling little movie filled with horrible acting which almost added to it's charm. The music of course was great, and it didn't occur to me until it was mentioned in the DVD extras (and after having listened to the soundtrack regularly for the last year) that Glen Hasard is the singer for The Frames, who I've actually seen perform live back in 2004 when they opened for Damien Rice at the State Theatre. I even have their album... ha. Great music anyway :-)
I spent a bit of time in San Francisco with Charles about a week ago and had a lovely time. It had been a few years since we'd spent any significant time together and I can't recall enjoying his company more. We stayed at Hotel Kabuki in Japantown which was super duper nice. The room had it's own sauna!
We ate at Herbavore for dinner. Fantastic. The next day we went down to Monterey and went to the aquarium! SO cool. Absolutely a highlight of my time here. The jellyfish and the leafy sea dragons were my favorite. Here are some pictures (not ones I took, but from their website.)
It's been a bit since I've updated this blog... things are still really grand. I've stopped attending asana classes pretty much completely, and I'm not sure if that is necessarily a blatantly bad thing. As most of the classes here are at 6:30am and I tend to sleep extremely poorly here, I started becoming really run down and needing to nap during the day, which didn't help the sleeping at night. So I decided to gift myself mornings with no alarm clocks on most days. I figure I deserve it after all of those opening shifts at Starbucks anyway! So I'm feeling overall better than when I was waking up at 6am, but at the same time I really miss asana. And I guess my patience ran out with the evening classes as I continued to be uninspired by them. I miss my practice at home... I really do.
I've been reading SO much and writing in my journal daily as well. Meg and I always spend plenty of time checking in with one another and being leisurely. Last night we watched "Once" which was a darling little movie filled with horrible acting which almost added to it's charm. The music of course was great, and it didn't occur to me until it was mentioned in the DVD extras (and after having listened to the soundtrack regularly for the last year) that Glen Hasard is the singer for The Frames, who I've actually seen perform live back in 2004 when they opened for Damien Rice at the State Theatre. I even have their album... ha. Great music anyway :-)
I spent a bit of time in San Francisco with Charles about a week ago and had a lovely time. It had been a few years since we'd spent any significant time together and I can't recall enjoying his company more. We stayed at Hotel Kabuki in Japantown which was super duper nice. The room had it's own sauna!
We ate at Herbavore for dinner. Fantastic. The next day we went down to Monterey and went to the aquarium! SO cool. Absolutely a highlight of my time here. The jellyfish and the leafy sea dragons were my favorite. Here are some pictures (not ones I took, but from their website.)
I'm starting to formulate plans for life post Mount Madonna, which is very exciting and a little scary. At the end of my session here, my plan is to catch a bus up to Humbolt for a couple of days to see Charles's place, then fly up to Eugene, Oregon. I'll stay in a hostel for a couple of nights and spend my days checking out the city. Then I'll catch a bus to Portland, OR, and do the same there before flying home to Portland, ME!!!! I'll be staying with the 'rents in Gardiner for a bit while I get back on my feet and procure a job and such.
I'm so very excited about my life going forward. I can't wait to get back to school... yes, that's right, school. Well, sort of. Not going into it right now. But yeah. I have plans. And I'm psyched.
Love to you all.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Beach with Megpie/Armpit Update
As you can see, my armpits reaaaallly aren't that hairy, even though it's been like a month since shaving.
Also demonstrated in these photos is just how glorious it is at the beach, and how much I adore my MegPie.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Not a lot to say
I'm still here at MMC... loving it.
Not much exciting news at the moment, but I wanted y'all to know that life is rockin' and I'm reading lots of books and spending lots of great time with wonderful people, as well as lots of great time by myself.
I miss Portland.
I am excited for the future. Very very excited.
I love you all.
Not much exciting news at the moment, but I wanted y'all to know that life is rockin' and I'm reading lots of books and spending lots of great time with wonderful people, as well as lots of great time by myself.
I miss Portland.
I am excited for the future. Very very excited.
I love you all.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Ending Silence and not ever wanting to go back
I lasted about 32 hours in silence before I accidently slipped up in asana class when I had a question. Oops.
It was ROUGH. Not being able to chime in and respond to all of the conversations around was frustrating. And even more frustrating was when I needed to communicate something of importance and writing it down on a little piece of paper wasn't do-able (like while hiking.) I decided I'd go for a second day though... I thought it'd be easier than the first since I kind of knew what I'd be dealing with. As aforementioned, the second day was not completed. I do intend to try again sometime even though I was pretty grouchy by the end of day one. Perhaps on Thursday?
Things have been good. The newness of the place has worn off, so I find myself being prone to more times of feeling like "old Michelle" but at the same time, maintaining the awareness that I've gained since coming here. Most days however, I'm still in bliss:-)
On another note, back a couple of weeks ago I had been driving Meg's car (her name is Ginger) and hit a garbage can that had been semi-in the road and taken off her side view mirror. Oops. I felt horribly, of course, worse than if it had been my own car. We'd gone to Napa Auto, where they assured us that the epoxy that they sold us would do the trick. Nope. So I bought a new mirror online and had it shipped to us. I asked Vishwanath if he'd be able to install it for me. He smiled, and wrote on his chalk board (he's been silent for 30-some YEARS!!!) that he'd take a look at it with me and set me up with some tools. He insisted that ladies should learn how to do this sort of thing :-) So I did! It took me a while, but I took door panel off, unscrewed all the screws, only lost one nut down the inside of the door, disconnected the wires, etc. etc. But I did it! I haven't been this proud of something in a long time. Ginger looks great.
Additionally, I think I have a plan formulating regarding what I'd like to do post-Mount Madonna. I'm not going to write it out here because nothing is set in stone as of yet... but I will say that I'm pretty psyched, and that it involves going to school. There are a lot of little pieces that need to come together, but my vision is getting clearer every day. VERY EXCITED.
Love you all.
Namaste.
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