it's almost here. august. tomorrow will actually be the first day of the last month of summer. i know, many of you are probably starting to get sad... but oh my god am i ready for fall! fall is my favorite season of the year and, to be frank, it's too damn hot. it's bad.
i haven't been blogging lately about what we have been up to, because as previously mentioned (multiples times) we aren't doing much. but here's a few pics of our city park jazz picnic last weekend with special guest: BREWSTER!
hi again, all. i know, i know, it's been another 10 days. i could sit here and tell you that i've been so busy, working so hard and doing so many awesome projects, but, well, that's not really the truth. and let's be honest, you don't really care about what i do every moment :) so i won't write another little post with excuses. what can i say, it's been a bit of a lame summer for me.
but what i will tell you is that i have been doing a lot of thinking. running in the mornings and yoga in the evenings is really clearing my head and making me think about certain things going on in my life. but today was especially cool for me. i was driving to work this morning, listening to npr (what can i say, philip is rubbing off on me), when i caught this week's story corps. it wasn't the most riveting story, it was about a man who booked entertainment acts in the catskills, as told by his children. but listening to the way they spoke about their father, i just fell in love with them. it's the fact that every day, no matter what is going on in your life, every person you pass by or bump on the street is dealing with issues of their own. of course everyone knows that. but imagine if you knew what those things were - if you knew their struggles, their triumphs, their worries... would it change the way we would deal with each other? or would it be so important for us to see eye-to-eyes, as i am struggling with in my own life right now?
and then i stumbled on this. now i realize i might be about nine months late on this, but that doesn't make it any less amazing to me. this is the coolest thing i ever heard of, and to me speaks volumes about what i was just saying. that no matter what is happening to you at this very moment, no matter what you are feeling, that everyone else on earth is going through something of probably the same magnitude in their own lives. if you kept that in mind all the time - would you treat those around you differently?
just wanted to share my thoughts with you all tonight rather than talking about what i didn't do this past week :) since i have decided to go back to school for public policy, i've been trying to get more involved. volunteering for a few different causes and trying to make a conscious effort to be better person - if i'm going to work in non-profits, i need to keep my judgements and stereotypes in check. and this video (i haven't seen the whole movie yet but i can't wait - and want to participate in 11/11/11!) just helped me remember what is important in life - but not just my life, in all people's lives.
but on a less serious note - i'm doing a bunch of fun things this weekend, including going to the dragon boat festival, so good pictures should be up in a few days!
ok, so it's been a slow month blogging wise. you definitely got me there. but i'll do a quick update and tell you why :)
i'm kind of past that whole "i'm enjoying doing nothing until i start school" thing and i have decided to try and do as much as i can before i start school. yeah, a bit of a change in philosophy. but i just happened to get involved in a few things lately that have been hard to turn down. first of all, i'm doing lots more volunteering with olive branch - be sure to sign up for their mailing lists, as i'm going to be helping out with the newsletters! i'm volunteering every friday before i head off to work, in addition to whatever i can help out with via my laptop at home. i'm really excited to be doing something more meaningful with my spare time and utilizing my "talents" in some way.
and then... well, it's campaign season. don't worry, i won't get all political in the blog. but during obama's 2008 run for president, i did some volunteering - just phone bank kind of stuff. but we were living in brooklyn, where the whole state was going blue, and there wasn't much of a challenge. i figured since i am going back to school for public policy anyway i should get a bit more involved in the political scene around denver. colorado is going to be a major swing state in next year's election and i feel like i can really help make a difference around here. last weekend i dragged two of my girlfriends door-to-door canvassing with me and had an awesome time! i had one of the local campaign organizers call me today and we are getting together saturday to come up with more ideas for visibility in our neighborhood - so that will be yet another thing to spend my time on. but i'm getting excited! the political discussions are getting me geared up for school and ready for whatever debates may come my way in classes this fall. i'll need to be prepared, after all... once i'm in class i can't end debates the way i do with philip (us telling each other to shut up or kissing to make the other one stop talking).
we've also had some series of events in the last week that have prevented anything productive from taking place - a trip to the ER, a car break in and a few emergencies at work that have made longer days a necessary reality.
and, to be honest, i'm trying to not spend too much time at home. it's so damn hot here most of my evenings are spent in the yoga room on my mat in front of the fan. i can't even bring myself to do too much weeding in the front yard, which desperately needs done BTW. any takers? ;)
another big morning meeting for me - but stay tuned for more updates! and sign up for that newsletter!
