End of 2010 Ramblings

End of 2010 Ramblings                                                                  December 29, 2010

A collection of thoughts, things I’ve learned, favorite quotes etc.

I do not like exclamation marks.

“Beauty is a feeling, not an appearance.” Unknown

Putting on a wedding is hard work.

Starting a business is also hard work.

Winter in Bend is pretty. I am finally falling in love with the quiet snowy nights, crisp sunny days, the sparkle of ice crystals in the sun.

I’m pretty burnt out on politics and news and the messed up things people do. I don’t really know what to do so I’m mostly ignoring it. I’m open to some sage advice in this area.

“It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our Deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?” Marianne Williamson

I first read the above quote while changing for yoga. I had had a rough summer and this fed me and continues to do so. I later learned, in a sermon at City Church, that the author is not Nelson Mandela as I first read but Marianne Williamson, a Christian writer. I like our church and I’m agnostic!

I’m pretty into Kesha.

I have awesome friends and family.

I still miss home. Point Lobos, oaks and lupines, the crickets at night *sigh*

I think I am nesting (no, I am not pregnant!!).

This year I am learning the guitar. When I am old I want to play in a community orchestra.

I can usually tell from the first 30 seconds of a song whether I am going to delete it or not. I know, might miss some things, but life is short!

New favorite movies-

            The Kids Are Alright

            Despicable Me (“It’s so furry I’m gonna die!!”)

I am sifting through my favorite songs of the year, trying to make some sense of them. The past few years I have been able to sort them into slow, med, and fast mixes. I am not sure how they will fall together this year. I have been told I need to express my throat chakra, so watch out! Regardless, this has become a nice tradition and has incited some fun reflection. Thanks!

Really??

If you have not heard, Sarah Palin is blaming environmentalist for the oil spill.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/03/sarah-palin-blames-enviro_n_598977.html

This alone is not at all shocking to me. Yes, it is somehow comical and overwhelmingly depressing all at the same time, but not surprising. The hard part for me is all the otherwise intelligent people who do not see any problem with her absurd conclusion.

I guess maybe, if you do not actually stop and think, and you squint your eyes, you could draw a link between the environmental movement and deep water oil drilling. But really? Really?? I am not sure how this could get so confused but environmentalists have not been pushing for oil drilling in places that are dangerous to drill. In fact, environmentalists would hope for little to no oil drilling at all! Is this really news?

The enviro movement officially started with the first Earth Day after the oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara California in 1969. This, in combination with the first oil crisis and signs of climate change in the early 1970s, established a strong anti-oil sentiment in the group. Enviros have since pushed for clean power, reducing our footprint by consuming less and drilling less oil and and and. Well, here's the Daily Kos : "Sarah, maybe you missed the memo, but us ‘extreme greenies’ are opposed to ALL drilling. We are opposed to any energy that ruins our lands and soils our waters. We are for alternative energy, and funding new technologies to replace oil in America.

We all (yes, I am one of them...an environmentalist!) dream that people had actually listened when signs of trouble first started showing up...40 YEARS AGO!!!! Imagine where we could be, the technologies that could have been in place NOW! What happened instead was law suits. Oil companies pushed back when their source of income was threatened and thus...more oil mess!

To end on a positive note: I believe things can be better than this. Humans are smart and we can do things differently and so so so much better! We do not need oil. Yes, our infrastructure was built around it (*sigh*...again, oh how nice if we'd actually started changing 40 years ago) but that doesn't mean we are stuck. There is no doubt that oil is a finite resource. It is messy and creates so many problems from so many points in it's production and usage, why do we continue to be so reliant on it? Please let this latest oil catastrophe be a catalyst for change!!

Day 15!

So far so good! We have officially been married for 15 whole days now! We are very proud of ourselves :D But really, after one huge party and a week of vacation in Arizona followed by a "quiet" week hiding now that we've been home...this whole marriage thing is awesome!



Considering the wacky El Nino weather, all I asked for for my wedding day was "please don't rain, please don't rain!" Well, the day was as all we could have hoped for! Crazy, of course, just like everyone warned, but beautiful weather and everything ran mostly as planned :D

For everyone who was there, thank you so much for coming to celebrate our love. For everyone who helped out, we could NOT have done it with out you! This thing was very much a group project and wow are we blessed with amazing friends and family!! Aside from the obvious things this experience has really truly showed me how many wonderful people I am surrounded by. There are too many of you even to list who came to the rescue during various parts of all of this!

So thank you to everyone we know! We love you all and we are very happily settled in back in Bend!!


P.S. Soooo many more pictures coming soon!

This Must Be the Place

There is a song by the Talking heads, "This Must be the Place". I first heard it as a junior in Santa Barbara. It was a great year. I had met some great new people and was going on a lot of road trips. Anza Borego desert for the spring blooms (you could smell the flowers on a warm breeze). Havasu Falls, Hawaii, paddling around Ana Capa Island...Listening to this song, of course.

At one point I had an insight that not only is home a specific geographic spot (which to me is also very important as well) but home can be a feeling where you know you are with the right people in the right place for that moment.

It is only appropriate that I am reconnecting with this song again...I have been in Bend for almost 2 years now and have started to make some seriously good friends. It has been both a bumpy and a beautiful period for Troy and I (well, when has it not been??) but we continue to fall in love. And I am also falling in love with the Cascades in the summer, can you say canoe plus incredible lakes plus mountain views?.

But of course, at the same time I seriously miss California. So being down here prepping for my wedding, laughing at my parents, and seeing old friends - it all comes together and now "this must REALLY be the place" :p

Cali Moto Tour 2009 - A Note About Uncle Ron

One thing that was only briefly discussed before, and that I think deserves a little more time, is our encounter with “uncle” Ron, the gentleman in Truckee who took us in.

We ran into Ron in a bar in Truckee and he was excited to chat with us about the BMW Owners Anonymous listing and almost immediately offered us his spare room. Ron was pretty drunk and kept saying Meryl instead of Burl. He was also repeating himself a lot. He and his friend Rocky (who gave us his card and told us we could stay at his home in the bay area) had been fishing, eating and drinking all day. (EDIT: As I type this in, I realize it could come across as less than flattering. I want to be clear, Ron is a great guy, not some goofy drunk. We just happened to run into him at an endearingly intoxicated moment.)

So Ron was very chatty and told us all about his dancing skills, lady troubles and the woman in Prineville named Sheila who his niece wanted to set him up with, and whom was part of the motivation for his planned trip to Bend.

Ron gave us food, road advice, let us shower and dry our clothes and even washed the windshield on my motorcycle for me. He gave us some plastic bags to keep our gear dry and was hospitable in every way. It was great to run into such a person when we were wet and tired!

It will be fun to repay his generosity when he comes to stay in Bend.

(EDIT: Ron never did make it up to Bend that summer. Or at least we never heard about it if he did. We did make an attempt or two to get in touch with him and make sure he knew he was welcome. Maybe he’ll make it up this summer.)

Moto Tour Cali 2009 - Day 8

June 8, 2009 – Apple Pie Ridge, Big Sur – Troy:

We are at Rachel and Derrick’s place in Big Sur. It’s a really neat house, kind of what I call hippy/natural/beach-style for lack of better terms. There is lots of wood paneling and exposed beam, or just painted board walls. Also lots of tile. I don’t think there’s any sheetrock anywhere. Somewhat hodge-podge construction, probably multiple additions and/or remodels. Also a huge yard and gardens and fruit tree groves! There are limes, lemons, oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, AVOCADO, etc. trees. And of course, all kinds of veggies in the gardens. There is a pretty large pool (not yet filled).

Perhaps best of all, the whole property is about 1,000 feet above the highway and the ocean, with a view of each. This morning I took a bag down to the grove and picked oranges that we squeezed into fresh juice that we had with breakfast at a large table in the all-wood dining room. We hung out at the beach for a while after that. Now we’re relaxing at the house. Tonight plans include a BBQ and a full-moon hike to the top of the mountain. Not bad.

-Troy

Derrick is a great guy and great musician

Our campsite in their yard.

He's a good cook too!

Cassie is so classy! What a cool chick!

Rachel, she and Derrick are our gracious hosts in this little slice of heaven.

Cali Moto Tour 2009 - Day 6

Winding roads toward Yosemite

June 6, 2009 - Carmel Valley - Troy:
We're warm and dry now at Burl's folks' beautiful home in CV. I'm sitting in the sunshine in my flip flops, just uploaded a batch of photos. Since the last entry we went through Yosemite, camped another night and rode to Carmel.
Yosemite, of course, was incredible. There were huge cliffs and beautiful meadows, we saw 3 bears and numerous waterfalls. We hiked to Vernal Falls, an amazingly beautiful short (but steep) hike. The trail is called the Mist Trail and you can probably guess why. The mist felt quite good though and we dried out quickly. I’m not really sure how to describe the scenery, terrain and features of Yosemite Park. I don’t think I have the vocabulary for it, so I’ll leave that to the pictures. Suffice it to say that it’s amazing and everyone should go there at least once.

In the Valley

Apparently, a lot of people do! It was early season but there was still thousands and thousands of people (I’d Guess) in the park. Mostly in the valley. The camps are enormous and there are many of them. It’s a bit strange for me because usually, when I encounter natural wonders like these in Yosemite, I am in a relatively remote place and there generally are not many people around. Yosemite Valley, in contrast, felt a little bit like Disneyland or something. There were thousands of people, lodges, stores, trollies, busses, giant parking lots, etc. On the way to the picturesque Vernal Falls we passed a snack vending shack, and the “hiking trail” to the falls was mostly paved and/or had hand rails. You don’t exactly get that “explorer” attitude or experience.

That said, the park was still a wonderful experience and one that I’m grateful to have. I’d love to get back again and spend several days there.

In my last entry I left off with the pattering of rain and thunder strikes. Well, there was some more thunder, but all fairly distant and the rain never really materialized into much.

However, the next night was a different story! We left Yosemite late and rode into Mariposa in the dark with the bikes headlight pointing into the sky due to the heavy load of gear on the rear suspension. We were tired and out of food so we hit a Burger King for a quick dinner, then headed out to camp on some property owned by a friend of Burl’s dad.

There was a partially built house on the property, but it was al locked up. So we slept on the front deck. The skies were clear, it was warm enough and the bugs weren’t bad, so we decided to sleep under the stars—no tent. That was great until about 2:30AM when I woke up to cloudy skies and light rain. (EDIT: Wow, these journals are great! It really brings me back there and I can relive this moment. I remember how warm it was, and that at this point the rain was very light, almost pleasant. Also, the moon was so bright that you could see clearly and there were hard shadows, almost like daylight.) I woke Burl up and she suggested maybe just pulling the tent’s rain-fly over us like a blanket. That way we wouldn’t have to pitch the tent. While we sat there trying to decide what to do, the lightning lit and the thunder thundered and we decided that was a clear sign that we had better just get up and make the tent. It was a good thing we did, because soon the lightning intensified and the rain poured down and it didn’t quit.

In the morning we slept in, waiting for the rain to stop so that we could get out of the tent and pack up. Finally, at 8:50 I decided we were just going to have to deal with it and we packed up all our wet gear in the rain. As we were pulling out and heading up the long driveway, the rain stopped.

From there it was a quick 3 hour blast to Carmel Valley. I rode fast (well, sort of fast, 70-75) which kind of sucks with my dual-sport helmet because the wind catches it and jerks my head around. Also, there was quite a bit of traffic so it was kind of stressful. Finally we pulled into Carmel Valley and are very happy to be here and to have a sunny and warm (if not hot, at least warm!) forecast.

-Troy

There are, naturally, about 1,000 pictures from the one-full-day in Yosemite. Here are a handful of the best or most fun/interesting. There's a bunch, but seriously! It's friggin Yosemite!

Bear!

The rocks were pretty warm, felt good.

Helmet hair! And Half Dome (the mtn, not Burl's head!)

Half Dome again.

So close to 10,000'!

I love shooting wide-angle... makes people look funny

Yup, the Mist Trail

Pretty wet and cold under these falls