Eddie vedder is my hero

Today, after -w- got on the tv to tell us how well the "surge" was working, I decided to blast Eddie Vedder's anti-bush-cheney-war music. It's good, you should listen. Also, it's on the "Into the Wild" soundtrack -- the deluxe version. His songs for the movie are great too. One in particular always makes me teary-eyed.

And one more thing.............

Umm................... to all the people standing and waiting for hours and days to get the new Iphone... I have one thing to say to you:

You are wasting your life!

Seriously.

Yoga revolution!

Yep! I joined the yoga revolution. I've been going the last couple of weeks, and I decided to make a commitment to it. I'm one for diving in and sticking to something, so I decided that this might be a good thing for me. There's not dilly-dallying around it. I'm going for it.

I hope that it'll help me learn to slow down my mind. I'm also hoping it will help with a whole bunch of other ailments that have cropped up this year (shoulder injury, back issues, tight muscles, lack of sleep). It's time. I've always done such jarring exercises, and my joints hate me for it now. So it's time to concentrate on building strength, flexibility, breathe slowly, and kind of treat myself.

No, it's not cheap, but it's something I can go to when the school year gets tough. And it will.

So-------------

Namaste and good luck. (haha, any idea where that line comes from?)

Oh summer....

I can't believe how fast it's been going. I just started to feel relaxed. If I were in a normal school I'd have one more month completely off. But I'm not here to complain. I am only wishing. Anyway, one good thing I've done since being off this month, is pick up yoga again. I wish I had been taking it all year long. But that's the good thing about it, you can pick it up at anytime. So I plan on sticking with it from now on. Om.................................................

This weekend J and I will fight the traffic and go down to Charlottesville, via Richmond. Since we leave today, I'm not really looking forward to driving. We won't be able to leave until after 3 or 4 pm.... which is a bad idea. Hopefully we'll decide to eat dinner first and leave afterwards. But who knows. Richmond isn't that far away (1 hour and 1/2 without traffic), but on a summer Friday afternoon, I am almost 100% positive that it will be double.

I'm looking forward to getting away. As much as I love where I live, I like seeing less traffic, being around nature, and seeing more nice faces. People around here are much more harsh, I feel. Not like NYC harsh (obviously), but sometimes people can be extremely rude (except in yoga...hahahahah). I sometimes long for the day that I can move out of this area for a much more low-key kind of place. Like-------------Charlottesville. I love it there. It's beautiful, but there's everything I could want... You could easily go for a hike during the day, and then end it with a gourmet-vegetarian meal at an amazing restaurant. Homes--- affordable. DC, only about 2 1/2 hours away (on a good day). There aren't that many places I would like to live. I can easily think of far off places, but when it comes down to near by areas, or in the country, I draw a blank.

OH the summer. Only about a week and a couple of days more. And I intend to make the most of it. I'm off to yoga in a few, and need to run some errands, but I may just make it too the pool too! Ahhh the summer. Everyone should have one.

Craziness

More than a few things have been going on in the last week.

One being, I decided to try to have a green thumb. I'm actually growing some lovely veggies to enjoy. I've planted basil, rosemary, thyme, lavender, lettuce, jalapenos, and green onions! YUMMY! I can't wait to see these things grow. We've used some of the herbs already, and I can seem green onions beginning to sprout (from seeds-- wow). So it's really rewarding. I know I'm picking some things that are a sure thing (lettuce is like the easiest thing, and most satisfying thing to grow). Maybe next year I'll be up to things like tomatoes, and cucumbers. I just need some more space. Everything I'm currently growing is all in containers on J's porch.... Don't worry he gets to reap the benefits too!

The other thing that was crazy this week, was Wimbledon. Holy Mackerel, I can't believe I watched the Gentleman's final... The WHOLE thing. I was indeed rooting for Federer, and of course Nadal took it. Which is fine, because I saw some historical play. Federer was looking to win his sixth straight win, but that didn't stop him from making history. He and Nadal played the longest championship grand slam match in the history of tennis. Imagine playing for almost 5 hours. Now, I must tell you, there were 2 rain delays. But they played all 5 sets. 3 to a tiebreak. There was a chance for 4 championship points, many many deuces, and I can't even tell you how exciting it was to watch. The match (in play) lasted almost 5 hours. The coverage almost as much as nine hours (don't worry I did leave for the first rain delay).

Phew, that will probably never happen again. One, I just can't watch that much tv, especially when it concerns sporting events, and there will be no more rain delays in Wimbledon because they're going to have a roof!

What else? Just awaiting more fun in the weeks to come. A friend of mine is coming to visit this weekend, the next weekend we head down to C-ville, the next -- Tilly and the Wall! Yippee!

It's going fast, and I just started making a round of paintings. One complete. A drawing --ummm, don't know what to make of it. So now I'm doing another painting... I'd like to make a little series by the end of the summer, but who knows what will happen.

Here's to summer, hope you're enjoying yours!!

Internet and Buddhism

I'm not sure what to make of the Internet anymore. It's just growing and growing. It goes into the unknown, and known.

Recently I have just been re-introduced to friends from high school. It's so strange. You hear nothing from these people for years, and years. Then all of a sudden they're right there, almost just around the corner. It's a good, yet scaring thing.

In these times, when you barely know your neighbors, people are reaching out more and more to their past, their forgotten, their memories. The Internet is made up of 4 things . The past (search for people, reconnecting, people finder), the future (ordering goods on-line, match making services, etc..), fantasy (people pretending, chatting, etc..), and the present (news stuff, and maybe even blogs). I don't think it's a bad thing to experience these things, but I do believe the Internet has created a new culture (one that I'm a part of). While it does open up a world of information, it also takes information. In a sense, whatever you put out there, you really are going to get back. The Internet is karmic.

With that being said, it's important to remain in the present. One should be here and now. Although the world wide web offers us a chance to reconnect, live out fantasies, and attach us to a variety of information, we must be where we're at. Live now.

I love the Internet, I love checking my e-mail, and downloading music, but I also know that I don't want to get stuck just being a person that is "electronic". To me it's important to have real relationships with the people around us, know our own community, and build it up. I love not having to order my pizza by phone. But guess what? I still have to tip the driver and get it directly from his hands.

Just a thought. I'm getting out of my apartment for the rest of the day...time to enjoy the natural things on this earth....