Vox

Saw Vox Feminista this evening with mostly Planned Parenthood folks I met while volunteering (which I no longer do because I have a full-time job that's a handful for the moment).

It's the second of their shows I've seen and, as it was last year, seeing the show is exhausting, but also energizing and empowering.

With the tag line that reads, "To comfort the disturbed and to disturb the comfortable" this is definitely worth a look-see if you're in the Denver, Boulder or Fort Collins areas in the next week.

Passion (maybe a redux?)

I was recently asked about my experience in Nepal by a complete stranger. Specifically 'What was my experience like in Nepal?' I came up with a disjointed summary of some of the Nepal realizations I continue to mull over whilst participating in this American life...

In response to 'What was my experience like in Nepal?':

Amazing. Unsettling, in a good way. Refreshing.

Comfortable (I had never met so many people [Americans & foreigners doing mostly aid work] so passionate about their work before!) I don't like that so many people do (or have to do) jobs they don't feel passionate about. For some it's a choice (that I don't understand) for others it's necessity, which I do understand. But it was so comfortable and encouraging to hang out with crowds of folks who all *want* to be doing the work they're doing. The same can't be said for the locals, but the foreigners are a passionate bunch.

Also Nepal + meditation course = heightened self-awareness. I returned to the States feeling more independent and self-reliant than when I left. I think it was partially discovering that I was able to negotiate life in a completely foreign country by myself, but also that I don't *need* another person or any of the stuff I have accumulated.

I then purged 3/4 of the possessions that I paid to store for 4 months, packed the UHaul, and moved to Colorado. I still have stuff and I still like and want friends, but I feel more comfortable going my own way more often than not. Not 'needing' to stay up late because others are. Not 'needing' someone to accompany me in new experiences.

I was happier than I had been in a year, and happier than I have since been, while living in that developing country with dreadful water sanitation, blackouts for 17 hours per day, and no creature comforts.

A bit of a fanatic

I come from a short line of crossword puzzlers and, though it was not solely my grandparents who inspired my becoming a crossword fanatic, I'll give credit (or blame, depending upon how you view this hobby) where credit is due.

In addition to, or perhaps because of, the grand 'rent's influence, I enjoy word games - Scrabble, crossword puzzles, Apples to Apples, etc. But since Michael and I started getting together to do the Denver Posts' daily crossword puzzle offerings - NEA and New York Times - I have become a fanatic. But I do try to tread lightly on the reading material of others.

One of my first days at the county health department I had noticed the newspaper on the lunch room table, but didn't take the crossword puzzle page until 4:30pm, long after anyone cared about the paper. This led me to believe that, of those who read the paper, none were crossword puzzlers. And I've been snatching the crossword puzzle page(s) out of the paper at lunch ever since.

Perhaps this behavior doesn't smack of fanaticism, but when I tell you that I work the puzzle while sitting (in the driver's seat) at red lights on my commute home and then save the week's puzzles in order to work on them a bit before falling asleep, you might be more convinced of the appropriateness of the adjective I've assigned myself.

I tell this tale not only to share yet another aspect of my personality with you, but also to brag that today, November 2, 2009, I completed the New York Times Crossword ALL BY MYSELF (and only looked at the answers four times. Four times out of 136 clues! I only looked up 2.9% of the answers!) In the words of Julie, I'm darn tootin' proud of myself. And now to conquer Tuesday - Sunday.