running

ok people . i need help.

it seems everywhere people are running. marshall in how i met your mother, mary in scotland, tina in portland, julia in mass, i feel like i'm seriously missing something; and I want in.

I know this is silly, but I've been sick so I've been watching a lot of TV. One show I've been getting into is "How I met your mother" which I am really really enjoying and recommend all my friends to watch. It has allyson hannigan in it (my first ever girl crush! and i still love her she's so freaking funny) but yeah. This show is not only funny but it makes me feel good about dating/love etc etc because of the way they show these relationships and people my age and a bit older mucking through it all. kind of the opposite of "The Notebook" for me (which made me want to give up on love completely. ) I digress...

Yesterday I watched an episode where Marshall decides to run the NY marathon. Now this is season 2 and up until this point Marshall's character has pretty much enjoyed being cute with his girlfriend/fiance of 10 years, drinking and watching tv. but this episode he's like "my pants are tight" then decides he wants to run the ny marathon. Now in terms of body, this guy would kind of be a tall male equivalent of me, kind of, if you don't think about it too hard.

so. here begs the question. HOW DO I LEARN TO RUN!!!!!!??????????!!!

someone teach me, I want in on this solitary nirvana where you put in your music and just go. Someone help me. I do love exercising (once I get started, it's the getting started that's hard) I just don't know how to love running.

anyone have any hints/clues/ideas/directions to point me in. because I really need something- and I really want to learn how to run. (and like it. )

paridice? paradise?

So tonight we are booked up in the par-a-dice casino hotel. The casino itself is a boat which is pretty cool. I put in 20 came out with 20. I think i'm done with gambling though. One of my co-workers won 100 bucks, which is pretty cool. But I don't know how I feel. I think i value my money more than that. I feel like I'd rather put that money I could have (would have) lost and put it towards something worthwhile. Yes, there is a possibility that I could have made more money , but there's a greater chance that it will disappear into the pockets of someone who has more money now then I will make for the next 20 years. Whatever. I don't think it's worth it. I think casino's are so much of an exaggeration of how much we waste in america. We will waste literally everything, including our own money. I hate money. Money screws everything up. It keeps stupid things in place (government wise ie power) and will inevitably be one of the root causes of our destruction.

On a tangent of that subject my co-worker told me the other day about the fact that Oprah is going vegan for a week. How convenient. It's cool, and I'm currently browsing the Oprah page about her going vegan. I hope maybe, that if someone so high profile as Oprah does it maybe people won't be such douches about veganism. I'm so sick of people giving me crap. I haven't been vegan on this tour and it's a point of conflict for me. I feel very very very very very hypocritical- like doing something I know is wrong and going ahead and doing it, knowing making the wrong choices. I just don't know what to do about it.

My whole reasons for being vegan seem moot while I'm on the road. Major reasons I was/am vegan is because of the environmental impact the meat and dairy industry has on our world, the mistreatment of animals, the fact that I love cows so much, I like living with doing as little harm as I can in the world (and I believe causing animals harm is part of this equation as well as the environment), and while cheese is delicious drinking milk and milk products are kind of weird (if you think about it you're eating something comes from a pregnant mom boob- just a cow boob. I wouldn't consume human boob juice meant for human babies so why use cows?) . Those are the broad points. but yeah. On the road I feel like a lot of those things don't carry over and it turns into me standing there with my arms crossed "mehr, i need my dairy free foods blah blah blah, i'm going to eat crap this iceberg salad and a baked potato instead". I don't feel like I'm making much of an impact. Most of the restaurants I go to will not have any interest in making things more vegan friendly, and when there's only one vehicle getting to a vegan friendly restaurant isn't always possible. All I feel I achieve most of the time is the biggest check at the table, a confused waitress and a pissed off chef. I feel like my efforts are futile. If you couldn't tell I'm having conflict with this right now. but anyways. It's few and far between, my dairy consumption that is- i look forward to being more solidly vegan again soon.

so back to the whole oprah thing I decided to pull off some key points that I liked, mostly because it's things people give me most crap about when i tell them I'm a vegan.

Blah blah blah vegan what about calcium. duh calcium comes from milk. lies.

"for the most part, and absorption is typically better from these sources than from dairy products."

do vegans need to take vitamins:

"Actually, vegans generally have better overall vitamin intake, compared with meat eaters. "

another thing that people contest me with- freaking protein

< charset="utf-8">"A plant-based diet easily provides all the protein the body needs. There is no need for meat, dairy products or eggs for protein, and you are better off without them. Vegetables, grains and beans give you plenty of protein, even if you are active and athletic"

From oprah's freaking website. I hate people who made me feel like I'm spewing bs or that I am idiotic when I tell people these things. Honestly, I did my research, I'm not an idiot, though I think being vegan puts you in a lot of people's 'dumb ass' category (bc my food choices are so threatening to your mcdonalds hamburgers and 14oz steaks). But I geuss when Oprah says it it's true and not only true but legit; coming from a dreadlocked fat hippie it must be some liberal propaganda. I shouldn't be getting mad about this. But part of me feels so alone in so many of the things I feel and believe in when it comes to food. Frankly I believe we are messing shit up and our food consumption in this country is gross. We waste so much, and our food gets further and further from Food each year. We need to radically shift the way we look at food, consume food and keep our bodies healthy. I'm right up there with everyone else shoving french fries in my face from this place or the other, and I do love me some processed food here and there, but really, thats not the way to stay healthy or sustain our planet. Going back to the moeny thing earlier we waste so much. We waste fuel from transporting the foods we need -the way we "need" banana's in december or squash in July. We throw so much food away. Today I ate at the casino buffet and it saddened me to think of all the food that must get thrown away every night. Revolting really when people don't have enough to eat day to day in our own country. The biggest issue with all of this is my professions mean I don't always have a choice but to buy into this wasteful lifestyle. Or at least walk along the stream of the rest of the masses, even if it is on the outside.

Unfortunately my lifestyle makes it as such that I can't live (foodwise) the way I'd like. Some day I'd like to live eating locally, get a grease car and a house that's completely off the grid. (especially a tiny house on a trailer! ) but right now that's not feasible. I'd have to change my job/career path and I don't even know what that is, but I do know to afford a lot of the things I want to do I'd have to settle for something that doesn't make me happy. So I have to choose the short term or long term, which is a shitty decision to make.

so. .. there is my rant. honestly this is not what I had intended this blog post to be. but evidently I wanted to get that out there. So there it is interwebs. Mich's short opinion on food and oprah making veganism seem more legit.

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ames, IA

so . here i am in ames iowa.

Because of the snow-pocalypse we got re-routed from Indianapolis (maybe a bit alarmist 6 days ahead of time, but better safe then sorry i guess) so now, once again, i have many days off. I'm sure later in this tour schedule i'll be begging for the amount of time to do nothing I have now, but for the time being it's almost tiring. I finished the hunger games trilogy today (as a book on tape- perfect for working on a cross stitch) SUCH GOOD BOOKS. I really really enjoyed them, and I enjoy the more enriching entertainment (in lieu of TV or movies) while I stitch away at my cross stitch. I'm making good progress on it too!

With another day off tomorrow, there's a good chance i'll have this whole section done and i can get to work on the other page of directions (the print out of the stitches is so large that it fills 2 separate pieces of paper, i decided to start on one piece and conquer it section by section) The pink circle goes all the way around then there's some cool (but pretty simple) stuff on the outside, that promises many more hours of work. By the end of this tour it would be super cool if I had the whole circle totally complete. I'm optimistic. It'd be even more promising if I felt like I could work on it in the truck. But kids, let me tell you.... most trucks (26' rental box trucks (think ryder or penske moving trucks) ) the shocks, are not so hot- this is not a luxury vehicle made to glide smoothly over bumps and dents. A lot of the roads out this way are slab concrete, which make sort of a pleasant clicking sound under most vehicles, however the effect is much different in the cab of these trucks. It's effect is more this sort of constant back and forth jerking motion for the passengers while driving at highway speeds. (My first tour I discovered this and found that a sports bra was a necessity while driving, it's like jogging , and ladies, you don't want to be ill equipped the lady bits do not appreciate it). so yeah, it's kind of difficult to get a needle into a tiny hole in a piece of fabric with any sort of precision, let alone just trying to easily read the directions with everything being trounced back and forth. So instead I just do puzzles in drunken handwriting, listen to music, talk to my co-pilot, read or just look out the window. I like driving, especially in the truck. It's like the difference between a small camera and a panoramic view. You're so high up and the windows are so big. So many parts of america are boring (for lack of a better term) especially near highways, but the snow makes a lot of things much prettier and it's cool to see all the different sorts of things this huge ass country holds. So many of us travel abroad and barely graze our own soil. It's part of the reason I love touring so much.

other than that the tour is going pretty well. my co workers are pretty cool. the hotels have been nice. can't blame the exciting nature of the places we've been- but frankly there are a lot of places in the US that are just either cookie cutter or drab if you don't have friends there or know what to look for. if it weren't so cold out i might be interested in going on hikes, but there isn't much around and frankly i hate being cold. not good winter hiking combinations. never mind the fact that i didn't really pack appropriately for good warmth out of doors for prolonged period of times in the winter.

oh well. well. so far so good. more to come later.

omaha #2

i'm so ready to leave this city. this week we had a 'lay off' so in an attempt to spend as little money as possible (and bore myself to death) i've spent the majority of this week hanging around my house working on my cross stitch, watching a variety of things online and listening to the hunger games on my iphone.
I have re-affirmed my love for the office. I have also disappointed myself as I continue to watch pretty little liars against my better judgement ( i just need to know what happens! I need to see things all the way through otherwise it actually bugs me more then i'd care to admit. this fact is one of the reasons I steer clear of horror/gore movies; my first instinct is always to close my eyes, but when i inevitably do my brain pounces on the possibilities like a hungry animal and generally my brain is way better at coming up with scary shit then most directors- so i pretty much don't watch things that scare me)
The things worth watching (besides the office) that I watched were 2 documentaries, one called "Tapped"

It was really good. Really interesting and added to my resolution to be plastic water bottle free for the whole of 2011. If you're one of those people that buy bottled water (1 you're an idiot) and (2) you should definitely watch this. I really disliked plastic water bottles before, but now my hatred has grown substantially. And i know I'm a big ass hippie who believes in things like recycling and all that other hippie nonsense, but really I think even the biggest skeptic and uptight anti-hippie could find truth in what they say here. I guess if you don't believe in things like making sure our oceans don't die out or that certain chemicals are carcinogens then maybe i stand corrected. but in all honesty. WATCH THIS MOVIE.

the second documentary I watched is a little more up the "yeah right hippie nonsense grumble grumble conspiracy theorist liberal propaganda grumble grumble" road. It's called "Collapse" It's pretty much a long ass interview with this guy Michael Ruppert and it deals with the concept of peak oil. It kind of depressed me because I feel kind of at a loss as to what to do in order to prevent our world from just plain old going to shit. I wish I had an interest in being a politician or a spokesperson or someone who can really make some change- but I'm bad at that sort of thing. I just with people with money and power would wake up and realize that being alive involves more then themselves and think about the health and welfare of the people and planet around them instead of pursuing self- serving interests. It also tied into some of the things mentioned in "Tapped". It doesn't help that I've been listening to "The Hunger Games" trilogy that describes an America that I think could be a reality (which i'm finding difficult to describe here for some reason, but the books are really really really good and I highly recommend them)

so. long story short, I'm excited to finally be getting out on the road. I'm nervous, but I'm sure it will be great. so far it seems that there is a gym at every hotel at least for the first week- so that's a nice thing. hopefully it isn't too crowded with the other people on my tour all the time. Who knows. maybe i'll become a morning work out sort of a person (yeah freaking right - i wish)

Now that i've effectively procrastinated a little bit more of compiling an address list (ie my job) I hope you enjoyed this little rant of a post and I should go do work now.

omaha

So. one of my new years resolutions is to write more, and I think that includes this blog. I want to blog more. whatever that means. I'm also hoping to resume my 365 day picture project (i've kind of already started) so yeah. My iphone makes the picture project easier, also because I love the way things look in the hipstamatic app. I'm such a hipster faker, but I'm ok with it. I like the way the pictures come out. I can't believe the quality either, it's crazy.

I am currently working at The Rose Theater Omaha, Nebraska. I'm working on a production called "There's An Alligator Under My Bed" Based on books by Mercer Mayer. You may have read it as a child (or a teacher) . We are currently in rehearsals and they are going really well. We go into tech next week.

I've also been taking Bikram Yoga classes while stationed here in Omaha. It's been really nice. Hot hot hot yoga done (theoretically) in the same way no matter where you are or what studio you go to. It's a yoga style that was designed to cleanse the modern person. It's a little choppy in terms of the flow of the poses, but man is it challenging. The studio we're going to is great. I really enjoy the teachers and how welcome they've made me and my co-worker feel. I've had a negative experience with Bikram in the past. I'm not very flexible, so the last time I went (different city, different studio) the teacher just discounted me as a participant, which is totally unfair. Yoga is about doing the best for yourself, not being the best; at least in my opinion.

Well. That's my first tour update. Hopefully more to come. Today our director is doing what he calls 'drama club' - where he brings in drinks and food for the whole cast from starbucks. Seeing as I gave up coffee when I came to Omaha, I have been desperate for that aromatic goodness for 2 weeks. Don't worry I got decaf, but you have no idea how excited I am for a pumpkin spice latte and even a scone! I feel very spoiled.

Hope you are all well.

k im a whore. i don't update enough. i've been taking pictures almost every day. but not putting them up here. i've been a little apprehensive about caring because of how quickly my computer died last month. but i bought a 1tb hard drive ( to supplement my full 250 external and my comp itself) so hopefully that will help and i'll clear most of my computer and all of my stuff will be all nice and backed up.

i leave seattle in a week. i'm glad to be leaving- because I'm really excited about camp- and the current weather isn't making it any harder- but i'm still bummed. I don't really know what to think of my time here yet. A lot of emotional stuff surfaced while I was here and in a way that's good and in another I think i need to tend to those things more, which is tiring and daunting. i like seattle as a city alot, but if i moved back here i would do things very differently. I love saving the environment by using public transit all the time and all but I think i need a vehicle- especially if i move back to seattle. (unless i worked closer to home, but even then, a vehicle of some sort would be nice). so yeah. leaving seattle also means that im even closer to having no idea what i'm doing with my life. also daunting.

a week from today I will be getting on an amtrak train and cruise along the top of the us all the way to the other coast. crazy. then I'm spending a week getting rid of all of my stuff then I go to camp for the summer. I am very excited. between leaving and today I'm also going to get to see a good friend from college and hopefully hang out with my friends here. we will see.

so here's some of my favorite pictures from the last few weeks or so. i hope you enjoy them.

mount rainier. from the water.

bo climbing a tree on our trip to blake island

every time we go to the park clover likes to put here hand on these little hands that have been mounted on the wall at the far edge of the playground.

ki swear i think i saw the sun maybe 50 times living here. the other day was one of them. we all sat outside and did stuff. angel joined.

self portrait in shadow at the bus stop. laden with bags as per usual.

angel wearing her shades.

k. that's it for now.

picture-less update.

ok. so small update. i've been pretty good about taking pictures every day, though my computer keeps crashing. I brought my computer in april 2nd and by april 20th it had shit our again. ( i swear I have magnetic energy that keeps destroying my hard drives) so i've been annoyed about the fact that my pictures keep disappearing (partially bc who would think that you need to back up 18 days worth of stuff on a brand new hard drive?). so I had all of these great pictures of this awesome trip to the tacoma zoo with rachael and matt but no dice. grrr...

things are well here in seattle. it's still not warm out. it hasn't breached 70 degrees and to be honest I'm going to be sad if I leave seattle before I get to go outside without some kind of warm item on. at least the flowers are blooming. and while I shouldn't really be complaining bc of the snow in new england, but really. how has it gotten to almost 90 degrees in vermont and it's still 55 here every day. sad times.

I have a little under 30 days here before I go back to mass then up to maine for camp. It's weird how the time went. I can't believe how close it is. I'm glad to be leaving, but I'm also sad. I've been a hot mess while living here, so I hope it'll be good for me to leave, but I do really like this city and I am going to miss bo and everyone else (and the dogs!) and the baby. oh dear i will miss that baby. if i come back to seattle it will be very different. first off i would need a job that pays all of my bills. that would be nice. even two jobs that would pay all of my bills. sometimes I wonder why I work because I would make more money on unemployment and then I could afford all of my bills. sad days we live in people. I could see myself coming back here it's just hard being so far away from everyone I know in a city where everyone else has someone or a group of someone's. I haven't encountered the "seattle freeze" that is supposedly famous, people are really friendly with me wherever I go but I haven't really made any friends except rachael. if wasn't stuck in the dish pit all day i might know my cafe co workers better, but it's hard when im stuck in the corner. surrounded by a sea of dishes. oh well. it was a good stint here. no regrets.

I'm looking forward to camp this summer. it's going to freaking kick some serious ass!

so expect pictures soon!