October 1, 2007 - Website Overhaul

I have been wanting to make some changes to both my websites and all this free time has allowed me to completely overhaul both sites. For my cruxmoves site, I wanted to create a template that included navigation on each of the pages. For my worldtrip site, I wanted to create a logo and add some things in the nav panel.

Some of it turned out to be a bit tricky, but I learned a lot about creating images and general site development in the process. It was actually a lot of fun for me and I'm so pleased with the final product for both sites.

Crux Moves

World Trip

October 2, 2007 - Studio 60

There is an appalling lack of good television available. TV has been atrocious for long time and the recent trend towards reality television has made it much, much worse. The shows we have to chose from are either "real" contests to determine who is brave enough to eat worms or jump off buildings, who can be most like Donald Trump, or who can sing like a pop star.

The other option we are given are dramatic shows that show people in unrealistic relationships and going through an entire year of emotions in one episode. The point of these shows is unclear to me. I just don't find it interesting to watch shows like Grey's Anatomy where each character is more emotionally immature than the next and someone's either dying or crying in every scene.

Okay, so I am the first to admit that these shows can be entertaining. But my problem is that they aren't offering much in the way of intellectual stimulation. And this is all we have. There is nothing smart on television any more.

One of the reasons I'm feeling fired up about this is because I recently downloaded the rest of season 1 of Studio 60, a dramatic comedy written by Aaron Sorkin (who wrote West Wing). This is smart television. The actors (Matthew Perry, Bradley Whitford, Amanda Peet, and so much more) are phenomenal with excellent delivery and timing and amazing chemistry.

The show is about a late-night comedy show and follows all the people involved in running the show including the actors, writers, producers and network executives. The most interesting thing about the show is that it is constantly making social and political commentary about situations going on in the world right now. It is timely and relevant and really makes you think about some of the issues (religion, foreign policy, the war, patriotism, democracy, freedom of speech... just a few of the issues they deal with). Aaron Sorkin's fast-paced style and snappy dialogue are invigorating and often require rewinding to catch everything. I like that. I like working to keep up with a show. It's fun and opens the door for some interesting conversations.

So the sad news... this show has been canceled after just one season. Apparently no one wants to watch a show that's smart and funny as well as realistic and relevant. It makes me sad that there are so few people out there who appreciated this show because it makes me feel alone in a way that I don't like. It also makes me doubt that they people who make decisions about what goes on tv will keep trying to bring us these kinds of shows. Why would they if no one is going to watch them. Perhaps only smart tv shows can live on the pay channels like HBO and Showtime. I wonder why that is.

Studio 60

Great chemistry

October 4, 2007 - Northanger Abbey (book)

by Jane Austen

This book is so much like Austen's other books (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility) that I hardly have anything to say about it. In this book, Catherine, the main character, is a young woman who is very practical and honest and innocent and slightly naive. She is from the middle class but has connections with the upper class, including neighboring friends who take her to Bath for a few weeks during the season. It is here that she meets a charming and intelligent upper class man who falls in love with her but does not show it. Sound familiar?

I like Jane Austen but do feel that she makes the same comments over and over. Her writing focuses on the social issues of her time - marriage, financial concerns, societal expectations. She is good at character development and brings it about through values, shortcomings and relationships of the characters. Things are not always as they appear and Austen often throws in a twist to turn seemingly bad people into good and vice versa. All in all, I thought the book fine, but not that interesting.

Typical Jane

October 9, 2007 - Yoga Downloads

I've been wanting to do a lot of yoga lately but am miserable with self-directed practice. So I went searching for downloads of yoga classes. I found a couple of really good ones that I can recommend to others looking for something similar.

On Yoga Download, you can choose from several types of yoga, different difficulty levels and different time lengths. The ones I downloaded are Power Yoga 1 (45 minutes) and Detox Yoga (30 minutes). Both of the instructors are great and the poses are exactly what I like to do (pigeon, triangle, warriors, eagle, dancer, camel, etc). They go through the sun salutations to warm up and through savasana to finish up. Each mp3 download includes a pdf showing each pose, in case you don't remember. I found that helpful.

Don't forget to breathe

October 9, 2007 - Into the Wild (book)

When Amy was here, she brought along the latest copy of Outside Magazine and it had an article in about the new movie they are making of Jon Krakauer's book Into the Wild. Reading the article made me want to read the book. Luckily, Sarah knew this and brought back a copy of the book when she went home for her brother's wedding.

It's a short book but is absolutely captivating. The story is about wanderlust - the desire to leave the confines of a more traditional and expected lifestyle and seek out the unknown. Chris McCandless takes it to the outer limits and ends up paying the ultimate price, but after reading the book, I can understand what drove him. Actually, after doing this trip, I know what drove him. Although this trip has been much, much different than the journey Chris undertook, there are definitely parallels.

One of my favorite passages from the book is as follows:

"I think you should make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things you may previously never have thought of doing or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservativism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences."

I think this is a wonderful passage that brings me full circle from when I started thinking about the trip. At that time, it was a quote from an unlikely source (Helen Keller) who said "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature."

This trip has been a leap of faith into the unknown. I've left the safety and confines of a secure life and gone out to seek adventure. Now that I've been to so many new parts of the world and had so many amazing experiences, I'm ready to come home and settle back into a more stable life... for a while any way.

Captivating story telling

October 9, 2007 - So Clever

As mentioned above, I really loved Jon Krakauer's book Into the Wild. At one point, JK describes climbing as follows:

"By and by your attention becomes so intensely focused that you no longer notice the raw knuckles, the cramping thighs, the strain of maintaining nonstop concentration. A trancelike state settles over your efforts; the climb becomes a clear-eyed dream. Hours slide by like minutes. The accumulated clutter of day-to-day existence - the lapses in conscience, the unpaid bills, the bungled opportunities, the dust under the couch, the inescapable prison of your genes - all of it is temporarily forgotten, crowded from your thoughts by an overpowering clarity of purpose and by the seriousness of the task at hand."

I sent this along to a fellow climber because it's such a brilliant description of what happens when you're in the climbing moment and he sent the following back in retort/correction:

"By and by, you no longer notice that your belayer has fallen confidently asleep with the grigri loaded backwards. An odd warmth spreads over the lower hemisphere of your efforts; you realize you may have just peed. The accumulated clutter of the past five months shifts uncomfortably against your harness, and the hangnail you've been working on all morning finally sends a freshet of blood onto the lonely knob you've been fondling for maybe an hour. The reason you used to think this was a good idea--in fact, reason at all--is temporarily crowded from your thoughts as you realize that the only thing left on your harness are nuts, that you never really learned to place nuts, that an offwidth probably doesn't take nuts anyway, that the euphoria you felt swelling in your stomach when you started this route is actually a burrito, that is is probably true what they say about ledge-falls, that you've lost the feeling in your index fingers, that the topo may actually have been a little vague, and that what you just heard was, in fact, thunder. Everything fades in that clear, brilliant moment except you, and your slightly snug, heavy, and definitely trembling, mortal coil."

What a delight when language is used to such an advantage! So clever.

October 12, 2007 - Trip Planning - Last Time

Sarah and I have officially planned the remainder of our trip. We fly out of London to SF on October 30 and we wanted to see a few things before doing that. So we made plans to go to Sevilla and Madrid (in Spain) and then to spend a few days trolling around London before heading home. We think it's a nice progression to get us geared up for busy city life in SF.

We've traveled so much this year that I can't say I'm excited to be traveling again, but I am excited to be doing something again. These last few weeks have been almost too relaxing. Ha! Never satisfied are we?! Anyway, we made all our reservations and took care of all the planning ahead of time so we can just show up and walk around and experience each of these places. It's going to be fun. :)

October 13, 2007 - Howard's End (book)

by E.M. Forster

I had never read this book nor seen the movie version of it. It was recommended to me as a must-read and I went in not knowing what to expect. I was pleased that I enjoyed the book quite a bit, not only because of the social commentary and fantastic characterizations, but also because it is set in the guise of a wholly interesting story.

First and foremost, I see this book as a commentary on the differences between the classes in turn of the century (20th) England. The main characters are the Schlegel sisters who are members of the intellectual bourgeoisie, the Wilcox family who are members of the capitalist upper class and the Basts who are struggling members of the lower middle class. The book does a phenomenal job of showing the thought patterns and values of each of these groups. It gets even more interesting when the groups mix together.

Forster does an excellent job of setting up the story so that you a series of seemingly unrelated events unfolds only to come together piece by piece, culminating in an unexpected union of all the characters and each prior event. The book provides an insightful look at the importance of family and the frailty of connectedness.

Social commentary

October 14, 2007 - Kirsten's Family

Most of you know that Kirsten is my best friend. What you might not know is that we've known each other since we were 16 years old. We went to high school together and remained good friends. Along the way, throughout my turbulent life, I have been lucky enough to be taken in by her family. I've lived with them for over 2 years, off and on. So suffice it to say, Kirsten and her family mean the world to me.

I was recently included on a family email because I'm going home for Thanksgiving and am playing in the now-annual Walsh family canasta tournament. I loved being part of this email thread (which ended after 32 comments) because her family is so close and clearly love and respect one another so much. Not only that, but they are really funny people. I felt the warm glow of family that I long for so much. How lucky I am to get to be part of theirs. :)

October 14, 2007 - Heroes

Sarah and I were told that Heroes was one of the best shows on television. Since we have some free time right now and enjoy watching a bit of tv from time to time, we decided to download season 1 and see what we thought. We really enjoyed it! It's exciting and intriguing and gives one pause for considering some interesting social issues. It could definitely be more, but given that it has to win over the American public, it's doing a pretty good job of being smart and interesting.

Good show

Big cast

October 15, 2007 - Map of Love (book)

by Ahdaf Soueif

write-up coming soon

Educational but unrealistic

October 17, 2007 - Potential Job Opportunity

I've been doing research on companies that I would want to work for when I get home. I want one that's located in SF so I can take public transportation and not have to buy a car. I want to work for a large corporation that will be able to pay me well and offer the full suite of benefits. And I want to work for a company that is an industry leader and has been listed on great places to work for the past several years.

So I've found a couple that fit my needs and I've checked their sites for marketing jobs. I have applied to a couple and was thrilled to get a call from my number one choice. We did a telephone interview and I passed the first stage of the surely long, drawn-out process. The job sounds great and I think I'd enjoy the work. I've got my fingers crossed that I get this job so wish for luck!

October 18, 2007 - Kirsten and Karl are Engaged!!

Kirsten and Karl called me today and told me the fabulous news that they are engaged to be married. Woohoo!! I think the world of them as individuals and think that they are a wonderful couple. They bring each other so much happiness and they share it with everyone else in their lives. It's a very special kind of love that knows no boundaries.

I am also proud to announce that they've asked me to officiate the wedding. Hee hee!! How cool is that! I'm really looking forward to doing this. This wedding is going to be so, so fun! :)

Officially a couple

In Mallorca

Always laughing!

Good team

Looking good