*1337 - tie dye butterfly

Starting to embrace the hippie way of life, which includes spinning flags in the middle of the woods.  I have not been happier in quite a while.

*1336 - strength

Today was a turbaned-lady-warrior-in-the-office sort of day.

(Many thanks to childhood bestie K who introduced me to the gloriousness of turbans.)

*1335 - poka and i are staring at you

My strangest cat-fie to date.

*1334 - as Willy Wonka said:

“You’ll never get anywhere if you go about what-iffing like that.”

*1333 - ?

Que se passe-t-il

*1332 - then she fell

It is a good night for ghosts. The Rabbit in the Moon is full and waiting to take souls to far shores as it crosses the sky.

I dreamt a dream that I was with you tonight. I awoke and my lips were numb from saying your name.

I dreamt that we were dreaming a dream together you and I, and we were trapped in a house, big as memory. Countless doors.

You were there. I could hear you laughing, but I only caught glimpses of you in the glass. Eventually I gave in, and found myself staring at myself, reflected. Looking at myself looking back at me. Both of us trying to decipher the face that was in front of us. My eyes seeing me in mine and countless.

I have retreated into twos because of you.

I wonder, when you look in the mirror, who stares you down at night?

But, it is late, and my mind is running away with itself.

Sleep well, wherever you are. 

It is a good night for ghosts. And between us, we have a pocketful.

(Then She Fell)

*1331 - zouk

Utterly strange to see myself dancing. This is nothing fancy, very basic, we didn't even get to the more standard zouk head/hair whip movements, but is excitingly the one clip I have of myself doing zouk :)

Sis called it "sinuous" which I thought was a nasty mix of sinuses and sinewy until I looked it up.  It is indeed a sinuous dance!

*1330 - a year in review

It has been about a year since the last big milestone in my life. Has it really been a year? This last 12 months has been a constant flow of adventure, of balance, of rediscovering self-love, of establishing myself, of allowing myself, of being myself. I'm so far from being the person I aspire to be, but I am so me, and being me with the goal of being a constant improvement of me, is a fantastic place to be. I feel unbridled, free, excitement, adventure, sparkles, yes, I feel sparkles.

Is indulging in yourself, looking your insecurities square in the eyes, working on some flaws and embracing others, striving, pushing, fighting for you, your peace, your confidence, is all that selfish? In some senses, yes, it is an indulgent me-focused activity, but fix yourself and that strength and energy and love will flow, and then it's no longer about you, it's about everyone else that matters.

I'm thankful, blessed, happy, and I hope you are too.

*1329 - hair

March 20th marked the anniversary of a year's worth of colored hair.  The last color was fantastic: it started off peacock four months ago, and has now faded to unicorn: two of my favorite colors (ultimate favorite being sparkles).

(Last week)

Upon reflection of this wonderful journey, and the realization that it's going to be a while before I have natural-colored hair again, today's biggest epiphany was: I've spent over a thousand bucks on my hair color in the past year.  Blimey.

*1328 - freezing

This is in Fahrenheit, folks, i.e., below freezing for the most part.  I'm thrilled for a quick getaway back to Cornell, but, look at that, holy moly!!  This now-California girl is not prepared.

*1327 - snow(board) angels

Y

Y

*1326 - just over a month

Sometimes, time flies.  For some reason, the past month has felt incredibly long ... in a good way.  I don't know how I packed in so many things in just 4-5 short weeks.  

- An incredible amount of work, and drama at work

- At least three ridiculous 5 am party nights that were mostly spent watching (1) Back to the Future, (2) R Kelly's Trapped In The Closet, (3) Britney Spears/Backstreet Boys/Christina Aguilera/llamas and the like

- A couple of ridiculously long chats that lasted through 6 am perhaps

- A couple of dinner parties hosted

- A couple of parties attended

- A couple of social dances attended

- An almost-finished six-week dance course

- Many lunches and dinners with many people

- An entire week somehow spent in Arkansas working and playing/dancing hard with old buddies

- A long weekend in Tahoe ... an epic story for another day

That doesn't make sense at all.  I can't mathematically fit it all into the days that have passed.  Very confused, but very pleased at how this year is going so far.

Now, I just need to fit this thing called "sleep" into the equation ...

*1325 - wish upon a star

My first ever shooting star, and I forgot to make a wish.  

This picture is grainy but it's representative of our view of the first meteor shower of 2015: minimal.  Cloud cover + bright moon + alluring SF city lights (when you are at the top of a hill overlooking the city at night, it's hard to resist the urge to take a peek at the expense of blinding yourself for the next ten minutes) + various intoxications + did I mention the clouds?  But what devastating conditions that made for such a brilliant time under the barely-stars!

-

Sunday, Jan 4, after a weird 7 hour nap post 7 am bedtime: a milestone, a first, a surprisingly comfortable and therefore terrifying reveal of some things I keep so close to my heart.  But with clarity comes confusion.  With confidence comes doubt. With openness comes shielding.  With joy comes restraint.  But that's ok, that's human, we're human.  We are all on a spectrum of opposites.

*1324 - 2015

I don't usually make resolutions but this year shall be a year of glitz and glitter and starbursts and sunbeams and rainbows and roses and moonlight and magic and I resolve to be a unicorn in ALL senses of the word.  Yes, because there are SO many senses of the word, clearly!

*1323 - what gets you really upset?

Many things, but a big one is a sweeping generalization.  People say stereotypes exist for a reason but that doesn't give you the right to assert your assumptions.  Even the well-intentioned sometimes rile me up: an earnest attempt to prove your acceptance of homosexuality to me, for instance, by bragging about your token "gay friend" only goes to annoy me because a friend is a friend is a friend so keep your friend's sexuality and your embarrassing shallow-mindedness to yourself.  It's not that I actively reject knowing about your friends' sexuality; the point is that you don't need to wave a label over their heads when it's irrelevant to the situation.

*1322 - siesta

In the past month and a half, I have:
- Traveled to Hawaii for a week
- Hosted a lovely guest in SF
- Traveled to Japan for two weeks
- Hosted another lovely guest in SF
- Traveled to Boston for almost a week

While I wholeheartedly enjoyed all of the above, I'm exhausted.

And hyper-stressed at work, unfortunately.  The straw that broke me on Thursday night was discovering a data error in an already-delivered report, which saw me sobbing at my computer with a pit in my stomach and then calling up my manager's personal cell at 9 PM to freak out.  No, my reaction was not warranted, one typically does not call up a VP of a company at 9 PM on their personal cell, but I was on edge.

And sick.

But so glad to be back in SF.

Today was, perhaps oddly to the outsider, the perfect day that the introvert in me was craving badly.  Thanks to being germy, therefore unfit for human interaction, today was the first day I recall spending in solitude in ... months.  It involved an intense amount of nose-blowing, a great deal of ginger/lemon/honey/tea-making, some porridge-creation, waking and napping cuddles with Poka, online shopping, looking at pretty girls in pretty clothes, a bit of laundry, and watching of a documentary and a movie.  I don't believe I've curled up and watched anything by myself in my apartment in ... more than just months.  I've certainly never done it in this apartment, since I moved in March.  It's just not something I ever have the time to do.

I realize the above sounds pretty miserable, but to me, that was the perfect day of emotional recovery that I needed.  Off to bed now, coughing and unable to breathe normally, but feeling much more at peace.

*1321 - too happy

Does it scare you to be too happy?

Do you worry that your capacity for happiness is going to expand in the same way your stomach stretches when you overeat, so that when you're below that max volume of happiness, even if it was perfectly satiating in the past, you may now hunger more?

That doesn't scare me as much as the thought of being happy because of someone else.

*1320 - Maui

I was trying to figure out which photo, out of the trillions that I took, would be the most representative of my trip to Maui.  These were two close contenders.

Intensely beautiful landscapes, which look uncannily like fake paintings.  Dorkily enough, this picture became all six of our phone screens throughout the trip.

And then there was this.  Intensely focused synchronized hula dancing.  

Yes, it was one of those trips.

*1319 - growing old

I recognize all the huge changes in myself over the years and am thankful.  I can guess at what could be happening in a couple of parallel universes--it could be more awesome, it could be devastatingly worse.  But where I am right now.  I am just thankful.

A younger me would have once thought crossing the line into "late 20's" would reflect a very different lifestyle than "early 20's".  Sure, materially, things have changed.  I work, I pay all my own bills, I subsist completely on my own, I don't depend on anyone.  I can afford tiny luxuries like trips to Hawaii and the occasional Michelin-rated restaurant and more shoes than I objectively require.  Sure, maturity has grown, thank God.  I understand myself and have learnt to accept myself or accept my process to accepting myself.  Sure, I have discovered new hobbies, have a different mix of friends, do different things to entertain or improve myself, have different goals and objectives.  Sure, I have new worries and new priorities that occupy my mind that didn't use to.

But one thing that would probably have surprises me, because it surprises me today and makes me giggle, is all that talk about getting jaded?  Tapering off?  Mellowing?  Settling?  Not having as much fun?  That is so far from the truth!  I look at my older friends in their 30's and 40's and I only hope I can be as cool and fun-loving as them when I am there.  (Everyone in San Franciso has a slight streak of crazy, though, so perhaps my perceptions are skewed.)

What I'm saying, I guess, is that a passion, a passion for passion, a wonder for life, and active pursuit of adventure and newness and excitement--I don't think this has to wane.  Sometimes, I catch myself laughing at myself, because I realise (happily) that some things don't change and don't have to change.

*1318 - sheeps and poles: a compilation

Sheep jamming out on poles.  Awesome Halloween!

This was Part 2 of 3 of the major Halloween events this year.  Part 3 was undocumented in pictures but involved bachata/kizomba dancing in above DIY sheep costume--which was handmade from 200 cotton balls glued to a top and a headband.  At the end of the night, I was a half-shorn sheep, leaving unravelled cotton balls strewn across the dance floor ... hilarious.

By the way, do note that cotton balls are extremely heat retentive, so prepare to be sweaty if you're ever covered in hundreds of cotton balls and dancing vigorously.