First Night...

I'm in my new apartment!! It was really sad when L & B finished helping me move my fourteen boxes to my room and then turned to walk out the door! You would have thought we'd never see each other again the way we acted! :) It was so great staying with them and I know that having my own room and them regaining control of their living room are good things, but we had so much fun. I haven't laughed so continuously in a long time....the laughter felt good.

So tonight I barely did anything to make the room feel like "home." I have major purchases to make in the upcoming week (like a bed, a dresser, etc) and can't wait to search through the Scandanavian Designs (which are really smart solutions for small spaces!) next weekend. I have a lot to do, but don't feel the need to have it "perfect" by tomorrow.

I'm quite exhausted, so I think I am going to hit the hay. Tomorrow is a private yoga practice with Elizabeth which I am quite excited about. I'm anxious to enrich and deepen my practice in every way possible. I think it will be a good afternoon.

Well, I am off to bed!

Can I Get a WHOOP WHOOP

So things are starting to turn for the better here in good ol' Beantown. Not that they were ever bad or that I once thought about leaving...but I am very happy to report that I found a job and also a fantastic, fabulous, awesome apartment! I will be working with a hotel chain that I hope will be a little more welcoming and a better fit than the last one--but I can't imagine to be any worse!
So I will be living with two people and they are both so awesome--one guy and one girl. (Don't worry, I've already had this "approved" by HD!) The apartment is in the Back Bay area of town and about four blocks away from the Public Gardens and Boston Common. It's an incredibly cute brownstone with a rooftop terrace boasting splendid views of downtown Boston. It's a three-block walk from work, three blocks from the T, and about a five minute walk from pubs and restaurants. On the train, it's about 25 minutes to Cambridge, not bad at all!
In addition to those two wonderful pieces of the puzzle, I am settling in quite nicely at a yoga studio in Cambridge, Karma, which offers an Anusara class seven times a week. The minute I stepped onto my mat I felt at home. And this is a TRUE Anusara class complete with chanting the invocation at the beginning! Simply incredible.
Not once did I feel this sort of peace in DC. Even in the few weeks I've been here, I've never felt alone in spite of knowing fewer people. Walking around this city I feel as if I am a part of it and this is where I am truly meant to be.
And I must say that is the BEST THING ON EARTH to be back with the best girlfriend a girl could ever ask for. Staying with her it's been like the summer after our sophomore year all over again, minus the South Americans, the too-strong margaritas and the Tuna Helper! While our time together hasn't been as ridiculous and crazy as before (or as detrimental to our waistlines), it's been better than I ever could have imagined. I am so grateful for her friendship, as well as that of her beau, and I love them both so very much. Being back in the same city is AWESOME!
Tomorrow is FRIII-DAAAY (thank you M!) and I'm ready for the weekend. I'm thinking it's going to be one helluva time.
(OH! AND the best part of my day was finding out that one of my favorite people on the planet is coming to visit in just three weeks!! YAY!!!!!)

Yogis Unite!

This is a message from one of my new yoga instructors:
**
I am offering all the proceeds of ALL of my yoga classes for the rest of September to the Obama Campaign. As lovers of Peace in Action, and as workers for Social Justice, we must rock this vote and elect Obama. There is, simply, no time to waste. Please come to class, (see website address with schedule below) talk to your friends and neighbors, campaign in your communities and in other regions, go to Move On.org gatherings, make phone calls, spread the truth about Sarah Palin...we cannot be silent, thinking our words and actions don't matter. They do, more than ever.
In Peace, for Justice, for Obama,
Elizabeth
-- for Wisdom, the Earth, Peace & POSSIBILITY, vote OBAMA!
http://www.steepedingrace.com/

STRESSED OUT!!!!!!

Enough said......

Welcome to the North!

Got up this morning and it's 57 degrees...

That may not sound cold to you, but for me that is a wee bit chilly. I think it's safe to say once I find a place to live I can safely put away those shorts and t-shirts for quite awhile. Ugh...now to find an apartment! Wish me luck!!

R.I.P

I came to Lexington, KY on Friday afternoon for a friend's wedding only to get a panicked phone call from my mom while I was waiting in the airport. My step-father has been ill for awhile and his condition worsened over the past week without him or my mom really knowing. Friday morning he was seriously ill and had to be taken to the hospital.

His heart failed and he slipped into a deep coma early Friday morning and he continued to rapidly deteriorate thereafter. My mom called me yesterday afternoon to tell me that Jim had passed at 2:15 p.m.

It's been one of the hardest weekends of my life--trying to balance the happiness of a friend's wedding and the pain of losing someone. Although Jim and I certainly had our differences, I never hated him as a person and it makes me sad to know that my mom is hurting so deeply. She's the strongest person I know and I have confidence she will get through all of this with so much grace. Right now she's okay--but what can you really expect?

So I ask for prayers of strength and peace for my mom, mainly. Thank God for my grandfather who has been here through it all and is the rock of the family. Without him, we'd all be a little more lost. We've made arrangements for a small service and gathering of friends and family for Tuesday night here in Lexington, which is what mom wanted--nothing fancy, nothing formal--just friends getting together to celebrate Jim's life.

I pray for the repose of Jim's soul and that he may be in heaven free from pain.

R.I.P. I love you.

Visting for a Bit

I'm back in Columbia for a short time visiting some friends and finalizing my moving arrangements. I'm happy to be spending time with friends and relaxing before things really take off and I hardly have time to sleep. I'm really excited about next week and am ready for a sense of putting roots down and feeling a bit more grounded. With my vata dosha, being so transitory isn't beneficial to my well-being. In attempt to reconcile my doshic imbalance, I am headed to yoga tomorrow morning with my wonderful, beautiful instructor who I cannot wait to see!

I thought I would have a larger sense of "home" when I arrived in town last night, but having no apartment and no job here really dispelled that feeling immediately. There are parts of this town that I do miss significantly, but I've woken up today to the fact that this is just not the place for me anymore. And the friendships that are the most precious to me will survive the distance and perhaps even flourish because of it--I've had it happen before, so who knows.

My soul is very conflicted, confused, restless now. All I can do is breathe and pray and utter that small but powerful mantra, "Jesus, I trust You."