Monday, January 08, 2007
The Downwards-Facing-Dog Yoga Promise of 2007
Holding your arms outstretched in a New Year’s day (or any day) yoga class for 11 minutes is painful. But the arm pain was supposed to symbolize toxins and anger that you were purging from your body and that you wouldn't take with you to the next year. I was definitely more relaxed after yoga, but we’ll see if it’s an anger and toxin-free year... I remain guardedly optimistic rather than flat out skeptical.
The Best Vacation Ever
I’m back in Paris now where the classes haven’t yet started again, so this means museum time and tourism, both activities to be well documented in the blogosphere. (Hopefully, no more about libraries and final exams as I try to balance student life and actual life better this semester and to resist the obsessive time suck of misguided attempts to making my thesis perfect).
Highlights of winter vacation were, in no particular order:
1. Seeing snow in Boston.
2. Seeing a local indie band called The Snowleopards in Boston. They are possibly the only band in America to be influenced by Heart, so of course they rock.
3. Despite the snowiness in Boston, daffodils were blooming in Delaware to illustrate global warming, drastic climate changes and how only Al Gore can help us now. I saw An Inconvenient Truth and it was amazing-- Al shares his passion, charisma (yes, really) and the most awesome powerpoint presentation ever.
4. Seeing the Longwood Gardens Christmas display. This is just a magically beautiful garden bedecked in Christmas lights for the holidays that is a regional-national-international-intergalactic treasure. If you don’t find yourself near South Eastern PA, here’s a link to their website for pretty photos/ http://www.longwoodgardens.org/.
5. Seeing my parents’ Christmas tree, which was very Longwood Gardens itself.
6. Seeing my whole family, in general, and spending a lot of time with them. My dad was on break between semesters (ah, the life of a teacher) and always down for a trip to the coffee shop (see number 9) and my mom reduced her crazy busy schedule and even cancelled a meeting! (To put this in perspective, she’s the director and sole employee of a non-profit social justice organization, so she really does it all, since there’s no one else, and she has her hands full with all the injustices of the current administration. Bush is really putting peace activist groups to work).
7. Seeing my cat again, although he is now in love with my dad—guess who feeds him now? What am I, Cecil, something chopped and vegetarian, since chopped liver would probably be appealing to cats? Since they are so easily won over by food.
8. The new ICA in Boston. Modern art that’s playful, makes you think about it and…actually artistic. No bricks or wads of chewing gum as objects of found art to ask ‘what is art’ or anything.
9. Drinking coffee at Brew Ha Ha in Delaware. And they have Peet’s (best California coffee ever) on the east coast now.
10. Eating lotus cakes in Chinatown in Philly.
11. Talking to my bay area best friend who is all kinds of fabulous.
12. The prospect of having visitors next semester!
Lowlights were:
1. Being sick, but to prevent it from being too low, it was nice that was that it was at my parents’ house where they were very sympathetic and medically equipped with the vitamin C and the robitussin.
2. Flying Paris-Philly and back via Chicago-- which is not actually on the way.
3. Realizing when we were practically at the airport on the way to Chicago/Paris that I left my iPod charging in my parents’ kitchen. How to endure public transit and attempts to go jogging now?
Highlights of winter vacation were, in no particular order:
1. Seeing snow in Boston.
2. Seeing a local indie band called The Snowleopards in Boston. They are possibly the only band in America to be influenced by Heart, so of course they rock.
3. Despite the snowiness in Boston, daffodils were blooming in Delaware to illustrate global warming, drastic climate changes and how only Al Gore can help us now. I saw An Inconvenient Truth and it was amazing-- Al shares his passion, charisma (yes, really) and the most awesome powerpoint presentation ever.
4. Seeing the Longwood Gardens Christmas display. This is just a magically beautiful garden bedecked in Christmas lights for the holidays that is a regional-national-international-intergalactic treasure. If you don’t find yourself near South Eastern PA, here’s a link to their website for pretty photos/ http://www.longwoodgardens.org/.
5. Seeing my parents’ Christmas tree, which was very Longwood Gardens itself.
6. Seeing my whole family, in general, and spending a lot of time with them. My dad was on break between semesters (ah, the life of a teacher) and always down for a trip to the coffee shop (see number 9) and my mom reduced her crazy busy schedule and even cancelled a meeting! (To put this in perspective, she’s the director and sole employee of a non-profit social justice organization, so she really does it all, since there’s no one else, and she has her hands full with all the injustices of the current administration. Bush is really putting peace activist groups to work).
7. Seeing my cat again, although he is now in love with my dad—guess who feeds him now? What am I, Cecil, something chopped and vegetarian, since chopped liver would probably be appealing to cats? Since they are so easily won over by food.
8. The new ICA in Boston. Modern art that’s playful, makes you think about it and…actually artistic. No bricks or wads of chewing gum as objects of found art to ask ‘what is art’ or anything.
9. Drinking coffee at Brew Ha Ha in Delaware. And they have Peet’s (best California coffee ever) on the east coast now.
10. Eating lotus cakes in Chinatown in Philly.
11. Talking to my bay area best friend who is all kinds of fabulous.
12. The prospect of having visitors next semester!
Lowlights were:
1. Being sick, but to prevent it from being too low, it was nice that was that it was at my parents’ house where they were very sympathetic and medically equipped with the vitamin C and the robitussin.
2. Flying Paris-Philly and back via Chicago-- which is not actually on the way.
3. Realizing when we were practically at the airport on the way to Chicago/Paris that I left my iPod charging in my parents’ kitchen. How to endure public transit and attempts to go jogging now?
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