Displacement

One Thanksgiving, I found myself explaining to my young niece the scientific concept of displacement using a bowl of floating cranberries and candles as an example. If you take something out, the other things will do their best to fill that space. It can maintain the appearance of "fullness" for a long time even without replacing the removed items with anything new. This is happening in my life this week. I started a fasting challenge on Sunday where I remove something from my routine temporarily with the intention of making room for something else. I am fasting the use of swear words, which is more attitudinal than time-making, and also "extra" social things. I am usually very, very good at filling up every moment of my week with things. So, this week, I'm not adding anything in beyond my volunteer commitments and work so that I have time to prepare for the small group Gary and I are leading beginning next week. Well, so far, I've filled my time up with work (I stayed at the office until 9 tonight) and doing stuff at home. Displacement at its finest. Today is Day 4. Hopefully, I have a very different report by Day 7.

I should really get a list or something

Tonight I went to this reception for CN8, the regional comcast tv station. The setting was gorgeous -- up on the rooftop, just across the street from the Capitol. I didn't decide that I was actually going to go until yesterday. So, as a result I didn't do my homework. I went to do a little networking, which I did. But, I fear I looked a little foolish in the process. I didn't recognize the head of Arena Stage nor a personality from the tv station we were there "celebrating", both of whom I had decent conversations with. I read in a book once that you should always ask for a list of attendees at conferences and events so that you can go prepared to meet and converse with certain people. Otherwise, you may not even know that I great contact for you is standing in the same room. Anyways, that was kind of embarrassing. Oh well. I will email everyone I talked to in the morning and hope they forget that I had schmo-like attributes at the reception.

Standby

Update: I am now on standby for another flight into DCA. If that doesn't work, I think I'll be rerouted into BWI at midnight. I'll keep you updated. (cuz I know you're all waiting with bated breath)

Vacation chronicle

Ok, so I intended to write most days of my vacation, but that effort got thwarted somehow. So, now I will give the abridged version. After I left Arizona, I spent two days in San Diego, enjoyed a little sunshine and reconnected with a high school classmate on a rooftop. The weather there is really awesome this time of year. And, I was surprised at the urban downtown area. Very walkable and livable.
Then, Tara and I drove up the coast, mostly on Pacific Coast Highway. It was sooo gorgeous. I am so glad we decided to drive! Our first stop was a quick lunch on the beach in Malibu. We sat and ate some hummus and pretzels and watched dolphins jump along the waves. Yes, dolphins!! I had never seen dolphins before. I love firsts!!! Just when I feel like there's nothing new for me, I have an unforgettable first. We also some other sea animal that we haven't yet identified.
The drive through the national park was also breathtakingly gorgeous....very windy (with a long i) and awesome.
Then we drove up to the Wine Country and spent one day in Napa, one in Sonoma. We did several winery tours and tastings. It was really fun.... and, we had one of the best winery tours I've ever done... Ravenswood... awesome. We got to ask how they keep the birds from eating the grapes. It was just killing us!
Anyways, then, we headed back to San Francisco Saturday evening and had some yummy sushi down by the embarcadero. I LOVE THAT CITY. It just feels like home. For no good reason, really.... I didn't live there that long and I know other cities better. But, then again, Philly kind of felt like home, too. Regardless, it was good to be back.
And, now I am stuck at Midway. Wondrous. I got bumped off my flight and over an hour later I still haven't been rerouted.
Lovely.

Vacation Check-in #1

Hello from pleasantly warm and sunny Phoenix! Ok, fine... technically, Maricopa, AZ. I stopped here for a few days to see my brother and sister-in-law and my incredibly adorable nephew. (See exhibit A)
Tomorrow, I'm headed to San Diego. Yay! Yay for sunshine and oceans!
More soon....

Anyone else?

If you got engaged in the last week and haven't told me yet, you should do so now. Today I found out that two of my friends got engaged. Ok, scratch that two separate couples I know got engaged in the last few days. So, congrats to Jonathan, Stacy, Kristine and whatever his name is (sorry- never met him) and if anyone else is hiding out, you should come forward now.
Seriously, though, congrats! Apparently, 29 is another one of those years where everyone you know gets married. Why didn't anyone warn me? I need a big sister to tell me these things.

Opposite Effects

Tonight, I had one of those evenings that makes you think things so deeply that you can't even bring everything back up to the verbal level. Some of my thoughts aren't in words. I tend to be very conceptual and tonight those concepts aren't all in English (or any other language, for that matter). I've recently made some pretty major decisions about what I want out of life and what direction my life will take in the next few years and for some reason, the peripheral implications of those decisions just became apparent to me tonight. Well, apparent makes it seem like I understand them, which I don't. So, I guess not apparent, but at least, existent. The point is that I thought I was eliminating some problems by the decisions I made, but it is very possible that I actually heightened them.
Life is tough. It's difficult to navigate situations based on only what we know at any given time. I just feel like I could live my life much more efficiently if I knew the future. But, I don't. Anyways, lots of deep stuff flying around tonight. Maybe I'll "unpack" some of that another time.