I would think this image of Bryce Canyon was doctored if I hadn't seen it myself (10 years ago! Wow.) I spent 12 hours there one fall day, from sun up to sun down, watching the rocks change colors with every shift in the light. Amazing place.

Image: source.

I applied to a scholarship to attend the NLADA Annual Conference in November and my fingers are seriously crossed (my job doesn't have the money to send me otherwise). Please cross yours as well!

More from Regine on her time in Haiti.

Insane craft closet. Wow.

Fascinating photos of "human landscapes" in Florida.

Precious materials, mundane objects.

More beautiful, colorful embroidery.

On happiness: "...happiness is not crafted. Happiness emerges."

Birds and dogs, what's not to like?

"All revolutions are the sheerest fantasy until they happen; then they become historical inevitabilities" - David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas)

Happy National Coming Out Day everyone. I'm proud to be queer, and am grateful today (and every day) to have such supportive friends and family. Today I'm thinking with sadness of all those who are silenced and unsupported, and trying to have compassion for those filled with hate and intolerance.

Labour and Wait

LLove the pic, the green tiles, and, mainly, the name: Labour & Wait.

Mmmm, a beautiful combo of color, typography, and embroidery, three of my interests/loves.

Something about this sculpture grabbed me right away.

Disappointing news in the fight against felon disenfranchisement.

Image: source.

A new blog I'm enjoying, by a young woman with a positive and sassy take on life, living healthily, etc. And this blog is a new highlight as far as beautiful interiors and other pretty things to drool over.

Book update! I've been reading a lot of mysteries recently - they are sort of my touchstone for reading. When I'm feeling in a reading slump, or generally need something comforting in my life, I turn to mysteries. I don't know if it's the knowledge that a mystery will be solved, or the fun of getting involved in a puzzle, but I love everything from Sherlock Holmes to the Steigg Larson books (more suspense than mystery, but similar). I just finished In The Woods, and enjoyed it (it even kept me up reading past my bedtime a few nights). I'm changing pace a little now and reading a trashy legal thriller (another comfort) called The Jury Master, and also just got Elizabeth Gilbert's (of Eat, Pray, Love fame, a book which I got very sick of after about 30 pages) Committed (subtitled "A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage").

(I swear this isn't going to become an "all running" blog....) I appreciated and identified with this list of the Top 10 Reasons to Start Running. My budding relationship with running has been one of the highlights of this past year - I'm grateful for the attitude, support, and physical health that has allowed me to explore running.

Right now, with running, I think my immediate need is to find ways to keep my body in good health surrounding all this physical activity (bootcamp three days a week (which strengthens my core, and builds my cardio endurance), running three days a week, swimming three days a week, occasional walks and hikes). Basically, what do I do to take care of it when I'm not running? I'm definitely prone to not stretching, something which I know I need to change. Today being a post-race day, I knew I was supposed to take it easy. But excercize is how I maintain my mental health, so I couldn't just sit on the couch. Instead, I went for a 4-mile leisurely walk, and 20 leisurely laps in the pool. Generally I think swimming is a good break for my body from running and bootcamp, but it also can annoy my (left) knee a little bit. So I'm still figuring out how to balance all the physical exertion with keeping my body free from injury. Tips appreciated.

ps - Tales from today's Portland Marathon, including a wedding. I look forward to the day I'm among the runners!

Image: source.

Well, I did it - I ran my first 10K! It was definitely a challenge (especially mile 4, uphill) and there were some technological difficulties (my iPhone somehow erased all my playlists, and my Nike + program that I use to track my pace (highly recommended for $2) didn't work correctly because my phone wasn't getting GPS), but I trusted the pace that felt right to me and ended up finishing in my goal time. I was aiming to do it in an hour and when I rounded the corner and saw the numbers at about 58 minutes I started grinning. My final time was exactly 59:00 and I felt great. Adding to the joy, my friend Jill was waiting for me at the finish line (and snapped this pic) - it makes such a difference to have someone there when you finish a race. Overall, it was a great race! Looking forward to my next one already.

The wonderful Megan Weintraub on "Why social media matters": "If we are truly committed to helping people find ways to get involved, whether they have five minutes or five years to give, then we must value contributions (what Gladwell termed “sacrifice”) all along the spectrum." Yeah, my friends are awesome.

Image: source.

Tomorrow I'm running my first 10K (the Stagecoach Run)! I can't believe I'm this excited. All day at work yesterday I thought about getting home to go for a run, and today I'm having a hard time convincing myself to take it easy in anticipation of the race. Wow, what a change. It's the perfect fall weather here, with lots of crunchy leaves to step on, and the race through Jacksonville should be great. I have a new pair of warm running tights, thanks to my encouraging Mom, and lots of support, thanks to my bootcamp ladies, various friends, and my amazing girlfriend. I'm so excited to meet this next challenge! My goal time is 1 hour, which is ambitious, but really my only goal is to finish. And then go sit in the hot tub, outside on the deck, and enjoy my success.

Awesome: Operation Window Seat.

Beautiful typographic maps - of course, I especially love the one of Boston.

Years ago I tore this quote out of the Times Magazine and framed it. I'm not even familiar with the artist, but something about it just resonated with me: "I think I do my work for some sadder version of myself, a woman who would be sitting in Row K. I am trying to make her laugh." In some way I feel that way about my life - that I'm always living it in honor of the saddest part of me, the years of my life when I was unhappy, trying to make that person laugh.

“Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.” - Basho

Image: source.

"....Doctor,

if only you could see

how heaven pulls earth into its arms

and how infinitely the heart expands

to claim this world, blue vapor without end."

- Lisel Mueller

NYTimes Editorial: Confusion Over Secure Communities: "Fighting and preventing crime are unrelated to detaining and deporting immigrants and should stay that way . . . Secure Communities should not allow overzealous local police officers to use arbitrary stops as way to ensnare illegal immigrants in the deportation web. Nor should the administration let its zeal for immigration enforcement complicate the jobs of local law enforcement, or impose new layers of fear and isolation on immigrants."

Tim Gunn contributes a moving video to the growing library of "It Gets Better."

Image: source.

Beautiful mini San Francisco. Love that city.

Really interesting: Blogger Kicks Off A Month Without Processed Foods. I'm definitely someone who eats a lot of processed foods and am in the process of trying to cut down on that - especially when it comes to processed sugar. It's not easy though, and I definitely still have a lot of processed foods in my diet.

"True Strength Is Delicate" (for my girl ELM)

Graffiti, immigration, deportations: "Italy's Unseen and Unheard Use Spray Paint to Change the Conversation"

This weekend is Southern Oregon Pride! There was definitely not a SO Pride when I was growing up here, but I'm excited to go check it out. If you're in the area, come show your pride and support!

Left: Little Drifters.

A helpful and fairly straight-forward discussion of The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010.

“No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.” -Alan Watts From TinyBuddha: "Tomorrow isn’t something you race towards in avoidance of today; it’s something you actively create by engaging in today. Choose to be where you are. Be part of the group; get in the conversation; find joy where you can; and fully experience your hours. Only by embracing what is can you visualize what could be. Only by learning to value the moment can you appreciate the future when it’s here."

The Never-Thought-I'd-Be-A-Runner Runner

So, this weekend I did my first 5K (The 2nd Annual Rotary Run)! (Well, technically I've done two previous 5Ks as part of sprint triathlons, but this was my first on it's own). The long and short of it: I have spent almost 30 years actively hating running. I've had shin splints, was the last runner in during one of my few high school track meets, and also just look ridiculous running. I never understood people who enjoyed it, never understood how it could be considered anything other than torture. Sure, I ran for soccer, but that was for a "purpose," and it still felt like hell.

Well, for the first time in my life, I'm starting to see why people are into running. After three months of intense bootcamp (my Medford YMCA bootcamp ladies are the best!) and swimming, I decided I was in good enough shape to begin a new life as a maybe-runner. I think because I'm in decent shape right now, and eating pretty well (never easy for me), running is feeling slightly less daunting. But mainly I think it's because I have a different mindset. I'm at a point in my life where I really want to challenge myself more than ever, and have a lot of faith in my ability to achieve difficult goals (taking the Bar twice will either destroy you or make you stronger, I guess).

The thing that has had the biggest effect on me, I think, was a comment by a co-worker (who, in addition to being an attorney also happens to be a marathoner and an IronMan - overachiever!). He was talking about running at a somewhat relaxed training pace v. a more intense race pace, and he said something about how racing is about staying in a place of discomfort. This comment really resonated with me on a Buddhist and spiritual level, and caused me to reconsider my relationship with pain and with running. I thought "Huh, I always looked at it as such a negative thing that running was hard for me, but maybe now I need to look at it as a chance to be ok with discomfort and trust that my body will support me." This has made a huge difference for me psychologically! Now I am able to push through more of the pain and discomfort of physical challenge, and see it as something to work with and not against. I don't always enjoy it, but I have learned to fight it less. If only I can learn to embrace this very Buddhist approach with all discomfort and discord in my life!

So as you can tell, I'm hooked. Or at least getting there. This coming weekend will be my first 10K. Since I've never run more than 5K in my life, I'm pretty nervous, to say the least. But I'm also excited about getting the chance to push through that initial discomfort of the first few miles and hopefully, maybe find that pacing and that enjoyable running that people are always talking about.

A friend from law school is working in Haiti (she's Haitian-American) as an attorney with the non-profit LAMP. Check out her blog.

Really blown away by so many of the images on Grass Doe. Don't remember how I stumbled upon the site, but glad I did.

Image: source.

When I moved home I was surprised the find out that my mom and stepdad had become big fans of Project Runway - especially unexpected from my stepdad. While my mom is both crafty and fashion-forward, my step dad is a pretty manly hunter type who, as far as I know, has no interest in fashion or design. However, they both appreciate ingenuity, hard work, and competition (and also Tim Gunn - who doesn't!?), so I guess it makes sense. Because of their enthusiasm, I've gotten back into the show too, after a few seasons away, and last night's episode made me cry like a baby - Mondo, perhaps the most endearing contestant, revealed that he has been HIV positive for 10 years. Something none of the contestants, or any of his family, knew. Powerful stuff.

Also, on the living with parents front, I was glad to see this article about the positives of moving back in with family as an adult. Granted, I'm in a lucky position because I moved back home in order to take a great job, so it wasn't due to a lack of options. However, I have chosen to continue living there longer than initially expected, both due to financial restraints as well as being pleasantly surprised by how well it's worked out. It's been great to spend time with mom and stepdad (especially since I've lived on the East Coast for the last 10 years), I appreciate the beautiful house more than ever, and luxuries like a washer and drier, a dishwasher, and the occasional hot meal really mean a lot more after some of the dives I've lived in! I've also been surprised by peoples responses - I thought people would think I was a loser for living at home, but most of my peers seem jealous!

"We can't let intolerance and ignorance take another kid's life."

This is powerful, and I love Ellen.

One note: this isn't just about "bullying," as the title represents (and I have very mixed feelings about the increase in criminal prosecution of kids for bullying). This is about homophobia. It's not just about the kids that harassed the victims of hate, it's about the parents of those kids who raised them to be homophobic, to judge others, to be close-minded. Kids don't learn this on their own. They learn homophobic behavior from a society that condones it, from families who model that behavior, and, sometimes, from religions that preach hate. Change starts not (only) with making laws and prosecuting cases, but from changing our own attitudes, behavior, language and comments. Change comes from being open with our friends and family, from supporting the youth around us, from being positive and supportive models to the youth in our communities.