Days 403-405: Different kinds of journeys

Day II.38 (403) - Monday, July 23, 2012
Oh, the joy of being at home after a busy weekend away! 
 
Day II.39 (404) - Tuesday, July 24, 2012
I read a great article today about how every woman should travel alone. I found much of it inspiring, and the author echoed a lot of sentiments I felt about traveling alone in Tunisia, Vietnam and Syria.

She closed with this:
"The greatest trip of my life came because I did not get the things I wanted."
    - Sarah Hepola

That's what this year has been -  what a lovely and fulfilling journey I've been on, because I didn't get what I wanted. I got exactly what I was afraid of. And I am unmistakably, profoundly grateful for it.

Day II.40 (405) - Wednesday, July 25, 2012



that secret that we know, that we don't know how to tell, 
i'm in love with your honor
i'm in love with your cheeks


How delightful, delicious and scary the anticipation...I go on an adventure tomorrow, of a completely different kind, that tests the emotional distance I have come this year and the person I am becoming. I remind myself that everything changes and evolves, to accept the beauty of things as they are - and to dive in to the glory of whatever life puts in front of me.

Day 399: Best friends

Day II.34 (399) - Thursday, July 19, 2012

Getting to spend a night out on the town with your best friend. Bonus: flaming margaritas!

Day 400 - 402: Palm Springs, Part II & Joshua Tree

Day II.35 (400) - Friday, July 20 // Day II.36 (401) - Saturday, July 21 // Day II.37 (402) - Sunday, July 22

What a lovely weekend with my friends Shane, Amy & Nathan at Palm Springs & Joshua Tree. This was another thing on my LA Bucket List, and I am so profoundly grateful for an incredible trip with great friends.

 at Key's View: Nathan, Amy, me & Shane

 at Jumbo Rocks!

 Dinner at Lulu's

 Pool to myself, first thing in the am, under a mountain. Blessed.

View from the top!

Day 396-398: All the tiny beautiful wondrous details

Day II.31 (396) - Monday, July 16, 2012

“...the true secret of happiness lies in the taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life...”
-William Morris

 

Day II.32 (397) - Tuesday, July 17, 2012

“Anything one does every day is important and imposing and anywhere one lives is interesting and beautiful.”
-Gertrude Stein

 

Day II.33 (398) - Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Check this view out! Culver City Stairs (x4): this is your reward.

 

Days 390 - 395: Purity through fire

Day II.25 (390) - Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Things are moving forward. I'm so happy. I'm so grateful for my life. I am so alive.

Day II.26 (391) - Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Sometimes you have to make some bad decisions to realize what's really important. And if you're lucky, you figure it out before you've screwed up a good thing beyond salvation.


Day II.27 (392) - Thursday, July 12, 2012
I'm grateful today for the realization that I've changed and transformed so positively in the past year. I'm in such a better place. I'm grateful for everything that happened, especially the travails - like a purifying fire, they burned so much weakness out of me. I will never accept less again.


Day II.28 (393) - Friday, July 13, 2012
I gave notice at USC today, and I'm so grateful for the validation and kindness which with I was met. I am grateful that my whole life is out in the open now. No secrets. (Well, almost....)

Day II.29 (394) - Saturday, July 14, 2012
The last free weekend in LA. This time around. Massively productive. Thankful for that, and physical safety.

Day II.30 (395) - Sunday, July 15, 2012
Culver City Stairs - 4 times. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Day 389: The journey & the search

Day II.24 (389) - Monday, July 9, 2012

Always searching. Always finding. Always discovering. 

So grateful for the journey. Not the destination - but the journey.

I found this beautiful quotation today.

On travel: "But we will need to reclaim some notion of the heroic: a quest for communion and, ultimately, self-knowledge. Our wandering is meant to lead back toward ourselves. This is the paradox: we set out on adventures to gain deeper access to ourselves; we travel to transcend our own limitations. Travel should be an art through which our restlessness finds expression. We must bring back the idea of travel as a search." - Ilan Stavans & Joshua Ellison

Days 386-388: Blue skies and blue oceans

Day II.21 (386) - Friday July 6, 2012

Thank God for riding my bike to work and getting up endorphins to survive work on a summer Friday!

Day II.22 (387) - Saturday July 7, 2012

My friend Noor was in town this weekend, and it was great to catch up with her. We went to a lovely rooftop bar in Venice Beach, recommended by my dear friend Shane.

I also got a completely sweet compliment from a stranger. Mark Twain once wrote, "I can last a whole year on a good compliment." I know the feeling.

Then Noor and I went to the beach.

What a lovely day, full of simple pleasures, here in paradise!

Day II.23 (388) - Sunday July 8, 2012
View from the top of the Culver City stairs! Check out this panorama.

Day 382-385: New Horizons

Day II.17 (382) - Monday July 2, 2012
I just flipped back through my posts - I am going to cheat, and share something I'm grateful for and didn't post (I can't believe it slipped my mind, but hey).

I got invited to present my master's research at a conference at NYU Abu Dhabi this coming December. All expenses paid. I can't believe it. I get accepted to present at conferences fairly frequently so that part is fine, but to have an institution pay to fly me internationally to a conference? To the place I've been writing about for three years now but have yet to visit?

Indescribably exciting.

Also, you know when you start going down the right path, it can be tough at first but then so many things line up and open up and just burst into blossom and you are so validated and your heart is full of joy and contentment and satisfaction? Yes, that.


Day II.18 (383) - Tuesday, July 3, 2012
I did three circuits of the Culver City stairs. At the end of two (my normal count), I was tired. But then I saw a girl who had already done two as well (we had crossed paths), and she was going for a third. So I went too. Because if that girl can do it, so can I.

Competitiveness is not very Buddhist, or in line with the values of generosity, gratitude, and holding oneself to one's own rubric. But for me, I am grateful and encouraged by seeing the tremendous acts of power, strength, or freedom of others. In doing great things, others liberate me - give me permission - to push myself farther, to grow, to try something new.

So I did three circuits. My legs were shaking when I got to the bottom on the third go. But I did it. My body did it. I love being strong. I love challenging myself. So thank you, redheaded girl in the pink shirt, for stretching my horizon of the possible.


Day II.19 (384) - Wednesday, July 4, 2012

I'm grateful to be a citizen of this country. Yes, she has her flaws, but she's a great nation. And we have the power, the voice, to hold her accountable to be better, more inclusive, to be more fair, more just. Happy birthday, America!

Day II.20 (385) - Thursday, July 5, 2012


I have just discovered Ellie Goulding (LOVE), and this song has just struck a chord with me and my experience, my place right now. I am excited for what the future brings. As Emily Dickinson wrote, "I dwell in possibility." And, "Hope is the thing with feathers / That perches in the soul." Right now, there are feathers in my soul.

Day 380-381: Each step is clarity

Day II.15 (380): Saturday, June 30, 2012
Last hurrah at 1945! Much-needed relaxation time in the hot tub after a long day of packing with my best friend and her delightful family.

Day II.16 (381): Sunday, July 1, 2012

It's a slog, but the view from the top is worth it, and you'll never regret it.

I think I like this hike because it reminds me somewhat of Wat Phou in Laos. This is about 1/5 of it: the design is such that each step is meant to remind the worshipper to be mindful of his or her journey toward the temple. With each step there is more clarity.

Day 376 - 379: Chicago Part One

Day II.11 (376): Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Today I am in Chicago for work. I rode the Metra in from Oak Brook. I got lost in reading David Sedaris' When You Are Engulfed in Flames that I missed my transfer, so I asked the conductor for help. He had one of his regulars walk me to a secondary route. WALK ME. People are so nice here. And how grateful I am for this rescue, in an unfamiliar city as my phone was about to die!

Day II.12 (377): Wednesday, June 27, 2012
If I have to be away from home on a work trip, at least I can swim a mile before work in here.

Day II.13 (378): Thursday, June 28, 2012
If you have to be sick, be sick at a hotel where the shuttle driver will take you to the Walgreen's for free and chat you up about health stuff all the way. People are so nice here. This will take some getting used to.

Day II.14 (379): Friday, June 29, 2012
I am grateful for safe travels home! Even if they are delayed.

California weekends

 Day II.6 (371): Thursday, June 21, 2012
Today I finally got some much needed dental surgery thanks to some serious periodontal generosity. To be able to eat without pain! Such a small thing seemingly that affects so much, but something for which I'm profoundly grateful!


Day II.7 (372): Friday, June 22, 2012
Culver City stairs again - no multi-day pain afterwards. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

Day II.8 (373): Saturday, June 23, 2012
Another bucket list item checked off today: the Gamble House in Pasadena.

 There is literally beauty everywhere you look here. No detail has been left unattended; everything is beautiful and functional and completely coherent.

Day II.9 (374): Sunday, June 24, 2012

I love this sentiment.


Day II.10 (375): Monday, June 25, 2012 

“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”
-Buddha

 

How lovely to just let go.