twenty-5ive

1. The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation is David Wolfe's non-profit, which is dedicated to planting fruit trees in several communities. I am proud to say I am going to be working on a few projects with them in 2009, and am really excited. I know times are tight, but if anyone is looking for a good cause to donate some year end funds, they are definitely a worth cause.

2. Reservation reperations. When I was in college, I really wanted to spend some time on a Native American reservation doing something good to repair a tiny bit of the damage we, the collective American culture, have done. The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation has a program set up to do just that and through volunteering with them, it sounds like I will have the opportunity to finally do something I've always felt I needed to do.

3. Hike to Tennessee Valley. Found a new hiking spot in Marin, that was suggested by Cem Akin. It was quiet, and beautiful, and exactly what I needed to experience today. Lush green everywhere, birds galore and then the ocean and its healing sounds. It was perfect.

4. Mountain lions always make me happy when I get the opportunity to see them on my hikes.

5. Getting treated to both lunch & dinner in the same day is fantastic, especially when you're low on funds. Thanks to Cem and Noel for fascilitating my meals today.

6. The sun setting later in the day then it did yesterday. Soon it will be 7pm sunsets. Yay!

7. Rafael Casal did an awesome slam poetry piece on ADD. It's awesome.


8. Taylor Mali. While we are on the subject of slam poetry, I'd love to share some pieces by a few of the extremely talented people who have inspired me the most in this realm. This piece is called "What Teachers Make."


9. Beau Sia cracks me up. I first saw him in Slam when I was in college, and quickly sought out more of his work. He's just got such great energy and is so hilarious while bluntly and cleverly making his points.


10. Buddy Wakefield is another spoken word genius. Here's some slideshow someone made to go with one of my favorite pieces of his, entitled "Convenience Stores."


11. Saul Williams is one of the men who started it all for me...Watching him in Slam when I was 18 or 19 led to me immersing myself in the scene in NY and going to poetry slams in Brooklyn and at Nuyorican whenever I could. How do I pick one piece to contain a man who cannot be contained? I'm not sure it's possible, so I'll share the early work that got me hooked, in hopes of turning someone else into a poetry slam junkie. He makes my heart soar.


12. The Ecology Center in Berkeley has some amazing classes, events and programs from green building to permaculture to speakers about conservation photography. You can check their EcoCalendar for the most up to date event listings.

13. WWOOF Bulgaria I just got a 6 month paid sponsorship to study permaculture and biodynamic farming in Bulgaria. I'd prefer South America or New Zealand, but this sort of fell in my lap through some synchronicities, so I feel inclined to do it. The program is exactly what I am looking for, and is full of so many wonderful opportunities. So exciting! It's summer of 2009.

14. Intentional community talks with Adelaide have been abundant lately. We both really want to start a community somewhere, live off the land and be sustainable both environmentally and economically. Our visions are very much in line and I am excited to have a friend who has similar values and is equally motivated to actually do things instead of just talking. It's so exciting.

15. People's Grocery & the Mobile Market is changing the way the food system works. Frustrated by the lack of access to healthy food in lower-income neighborhoods, these folks created a community-based organization to address the quality of life issues. They worked on a few community outreach programs, and then created the Mobile Market, a grocery store on wheels that rolls through Oakland making fresh produce and bulk goods available to folks in overlooked areas of Oakland. Another great example of community in action!

16. Pacific Wildcraft Seaweed in Mendocino is a great seaweed company. Andrew, the owner, has been kind enough to allow me to go harvesting with him in April or May this year. I'm so excited to learn more about harvesting my own food.

17. Amyitis Gardens is another local gardening project I've emailed about volunteering. Started by David Stockhausen, Amyitis Gardens has started a neighborhood-based farming system that works a bit like sharecropping, providing local restaurants with produce grown in neighbors’ backyards in exchange for a discount at the restaurant. Update: You can read a great interview with Peter here.

18. California School of Herbal Studies is an herbal school in Sonoma where I am thinking of studying. Their program sounds really amazing, and will lay a good foundation for the medicinal chocolate company I want to start. I'm mostly self-taught when it comes to herbs, and really like the idea of being immersed in the study for a few months. They also have a lot of really great one day & weekend workshops for people looking to learn how to make medicinal beer from fermented herbs (as it originally was made) or how to grow their own herbs.

19. Alemany Farm is an incredible volunteer-run farm in San Francisco, where I applied for the year long Ecological Horticulture program mentioned in a previous post. This living example of community empowerment is a great place to volunteer. You can attend their regular community workdays on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of every month and the 2nd and 4th Saturdays and learn a lot about growing your own food, and often take home some delicious organic produce in exchange for your labor.

20. Tonic is positively good. I've been enjoying some really interesting green articles on their site.

21. Top Docs has enabled me to watch tons of amazing documentaries for free.

vingt-quatre...

1. Homegrown Revolution. This video is incredibly inspiring:



For more info, visit Path to Freedom or their online journal.

2. Yerba Maté lattes. I've been making some maté lattes at home with almond milk, and it's the perfect remedy for a rainy Sunday. Hello, productivity boost!

3. Completed sustainability applications. I just submitted my application for a year-long Ecological Horticulture Training Program here in Northern California. If I get accepted (which I really, really hope I do!), I will spend a year going through the changing seasons at the farm and learn about permaculture, medicinal herbs, and urban beekeeping! I haven't wanted something this bad in awhile, and hitting the send button on that email was so satisfying. I love anticipation.

4. Tea parties are loads of fun. My friend Tanya hosted a lovely gathering, and it was so great seeing 15-20 people sitting on the floor drinking chai, essences of jasmine, Yerba Maté, and various green teas. Cynthia and I decided to plan an outing to The Numi Tea Garden in Oakland after the holidays.

5. Earthlings. My friend Adelaide sent me this really great documentary that you can watch free online and while some parts of it were harsh, they were done that way with reason, it really makes me feel more responsible than ever to do the right thing. Humanity has the strength to choose differently, and to create a more sustainable way of living, and if we are not part of the solution, than we are part of the problem.

6. Rethinking Homelessness. Good, short article by Shannon Moriarty about removing judgment and looking at the real causes. Living in SF, which has a huge houseless/transient population, this is definitely an issue that I see day to day and it concerns me. We're all in this together.

7. Winter solstice is a magical day. I celebrate it every year and give thanks for all the change that I am able to experience, and for the natural systems that exist in our world. The wikipedia entry actually has a pretty thorough list of all the different cultural manifestations from Celtic to Kurdish, for those of you who seek more knowledge. The Candlegrove Ancient Origins solstice page is pretty informative too.

8. The best green juice combo ever is spinach, celery, apple, parsley, mint, ginger, lime & chlorella. It makes me feel like I'm mainlining serotonin! And it tastes amazing.

9. Fresh from the Earth Spring Water. I'm getting ready to go to some local springs and check out the water so I can give myself the highest quality water, with minimal negative impact on the earth.

10. Daniel Vitalis has much knowledge! I love it. He's been one of the greatest teachers I've had, and has been a really large inspiration in my own spring water quests. His knowledge of herbs and mushrooms is also really impressive, and I just love how connected to everything he is, and how assimilates information into the bigger picture. There are some great videos here and on youtube.

11. FindASpring.com was put together by Dhrumil Purohitfrom We Like It Raw and Daniel Vitalis. It is going to become an amazing resource for those who want to trek out and get their own good water, so if you know any local sources near you, please add them to the site and help reclaim our water.

12. Other people's kids especially when they are little, good smelling babies, and you can give them back after a few hours!

13. Amazing friends. I cannot say often enough how lucky I am to have such amazing people in my life these days. I had to trim the fat a bit the last 3 years and get rid of some outgrown, unhealthy friendships, and be more clear about the kinds of people I want to surround myself with (mainly people who deal with their issues and strive to be better people, who are generous and kind and doing things that inspire me), and man, has it paid off more than I ever imagined. I have been blessed with an abundance of amazing people in my life, and this past year I have forged some really amazing friendships.

14. Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an amazing experience: she observed her brain functions (motion, speech, self-awareness) while she was suffering from a stroke and has become a powerful voice for brain recovery. Her TED talk below is truly inspiring.



15. Sprouted grain salads. Made a delicious salad with sprouted quinoa, fennel, shallots, orange pieces, lemon & orange juice, lemon & orange rind, ginger, mint and olive oil. I'm not a huge fan of sprouted quinoa, but it was delicious.

16. This American Life has been a long-term favorite thing of mine. You can listen to it free. Yay, public radio!

17. Green Responsibility makes me feel good. I'm now the 'Sustainability Manager' for a HUGE annual North American campout, happening in June. Someday I am going to get paid to do these things...I am building the steps towards that each day.

18. Aussies. I just love them. Why are they always so awesome?

19. Kiwis. I love them too. I just need to go to New Zealand & Australia one of these days.

20. Oil pulling has become part of my daily routine the past few weeks. My teeth definitely feel cleaner, but I am not sure if it's doing anything else, since I am already pretty low in the toxicity department.

21. Laughter really is the best medicine.

23

1. Roni was one of the greatest couchsurfers I've had yet! I had just gotten back in my place, so I wasn't going to host anyone because I needed to unpack and clean, but something in my gut told me I should open my home to her anyway and it was fantastic. She's a raw foodist too, so we had lots of great talks and it was nice to have someone take full advantage of my blender, juicer and dehydrator all in the same day. She shared her tales of juice feasts and water fasts and was so inspiring. She also gave me a handy piece of information that might prove to be very useful come May. We shall see.

2. Adyashanti was yet another thing Roni & I synched up on, and I remembered seeing something about satsang in Oakland, so last minute I decided to check his schedule and we went to hear him speak. It was humourous, as always, and I felt enlivened by his presence. He just has a way of putting human thought patterns and feelings into such a simple, laughable format that pushes you to expand your consciousness, and I really love that.

3. Community. Dhrumil from We Like It Raw organized a really great lunch at Cafe Gratitude and I got to meet some really amazing locals. The sense of community was very inspiring.

4. How To Make Lots of Money During a Recession is one of the best Steve Pavlina pieces I have read so far. He talks about present day jobs as modern slavery, and abundance mentality versus scarcity mentality. It's a long read, but totally worth the time it takes.

5. Winterfest is the SFBC's annual fundraiser and it was amazing. I was changemaker, so I did money drops to all the posts all night, but I still got to enjoy myself in the process. There were beautiful bikes being auctioned off, as well as some amazing bike crafts like belts made out of old tires and a wind chime made out of gears and spokes. Gotta love creative reuse!

6. Picnics in December. I just love that I live somewhere where that is possible! My friend Sue-Li from New Zealand had her friend Mythily contact me because she was visiting SF, so we had a nice picnic at Alamo Square. She was a total sweetheart.

7. Radish juice is so good. And amazing for you. It's good for thyroid, so I am trying to incorporate as much into my diet as possible right now to see if it helps.

8. Raw Autumn granola is one of the best recipes I have concocted so far. It's dangerous!

9. Geico cuz the people who work there are always sooooo nice. Anytime I have a problem, they get right on making it better.

10. Chef auditions are exciting. I auditioned to be the chef at CS Base Camp in Berkeley for a few months. It was loads of fun, and it would be great if it worked out. It would be weird cooking for people since I've only been preparing raw foods for the last 6 months or so, but it would still be fun. I like to daydream about being a raw personal chef in Hawaii. Someday. :)

11. Raw Pesto rocks my world. Wes is back to visit again (I told you Cali was addicting, Wes!) and I was delighted when he said he wanted to help me make raw zucchini noodles again. We made a pesto with garlic, sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil, pine nuts and fresh lemon juice. It took a whole 10 minutes to make!

12. The generosity of friends. My car got towed and 2 of my dear friends loaned me the money to get Betty out of the impound because I have no steady job and would owe the system additional money each day she sat there. Thank you, guys.

13. Tabbed browsing is one of the best things to happen to someone like me, who views 30 web pages at once. How did I function before that feature?

14. King Corn was a pretty funny documentary that I watched today about how insane America's food industry is. It was funny because they did all this research on how bad this stuff is for you and how manipulated the system is, yet they kept eating burgers and crappy food anyway. It's almost like they missed the point of their own movie somehow.

15. Selling stuff feels good. I try to go through my books and dvds a few times a year and trim the fat.

16. Bike Co-ops. My friend Jelani showed me his garage, which he is turning into a space for people to come work on their bikes, build their own from donations, and just hang out. It's going to be amazing.

17. Gingerbread house parties. Totally fun to see everyone having such a great time building their own houses. Having so many stylish creations all made from food packed into one room was pretty insane.

18. Hellos from old friends. I have recently had a lot of old friends get in contact with me, which has been really wonderful. Seems like everyone is crawling out of the woodwork. It's been great seeing how lives have changes and people have grown and how we all relate. It makes me very grateful for the people who have been with me through the various stages of my life thus far.

19. Opportunity is infinite. There are always endless possibilities if you open yourself up to them, and I am very blessed for all the opportunities in my life.

20. Yoga Tree connections are helping me get my raw food skills out there. Will hopefully be working on some retreats in 2009.

21. Diversity. This week I have looked all the many things I am interested in, and the diverse groups of people those interests have brought into my life, and it's really amazing. I can't believe I know so many amazing people who are so active and doing so many things with their lives. It's wonderful.

2wenty-2.

1. Tips for clueless people who got mugged. This is hilarious. Thanks, Wes!

2. Hyper real sculpture is amazing. It just blows my mind.

3. Mike, Justin, Leanne & the Haight house made the last 2 weeks of my life pretty awesome. I love living alone, but having temporary roommates like them made me almost want to live with other people again.

4. Marching Bands being hip. I've seen bands like Mucca Pazza, Extra Action Marching Band, and a whole slew of others completely rock out and make marching bands cool. What I love about this trend is that it's not something being cool again, like the 80s or converse sneakers - it's something that was always looked at as more on the geeky side being reclaimed for how cool it actually is. A friend of a friend said that marching bands are the new punk rock. I like that statement a lot. Rock on, marching bands!

5. Free museum days at the SF MoMA & Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Lots of really great things to make me and my empty wallet smile.

6. Making friends out of strangers is always fun. Thank you, random people I met last Tuesday.

7. Being back in my apartment! I can't even begin to explain how amazing this feels. The first 2 weeks of sharing my place with my subletter panned out far worse than I thought it would, and after a very through saging cleanse of my apartment, I am glad to be back in my own space full of good energy. I feel much less stressed, calmer, and heading back to clarity.

8. My sister is awesome. When we were younger, 8 years made a huge difference and we didn't have a great relationship, but as we've gotten older, we've really developed a great friendship. And she's growing so much lately, it's been beautiful to watch her start to come into her own. She's been a total lifesaver this month by helping me revamp my resume and cover letters, as it looks like I might need to find another office job for a few months to tide me over until my other business stuff picks up.

9. My landlord is being amazingly cool about everything. I never would have thought that would happen, but it is. Thanks, Joel.

10. Cashew spreads with rosemary, lemon and cayenne. Yummy.

11. Twitter is so silly, and I totally love it.

12. Red pears taste gorgeous. I love fall.

13. Closure. Sometimes it takes years, and you've already put the past behind you, but it allows you to let go of that last lingering piece. It's nice.

14. My trail shoes are super comfortable, and I have been walking everywhere in them.

15. Cooking opportunities. I have a dinner "audition" this month to be a live in chef for a short period of time. It's not raw and it's in Berkeley but it could be a really amazing opportunity for a brief stint.

16. My Sigg comes with me everywhere. And I am always noticing how many places there are to fill it up that aren't public fountains. It's pretty impressive.

17. Old school DJ Shadow still soothes my soul.

18. Meditation without which I would be feeling totally overwhelmed by all that I am trying to do right now. It's a lot, but when you take the time out of business to fall still, you actually get so much more done because your head is clear and you're present. "I don't have time" is an excuse we all overuse, and making time for what is important pays off in the long term.

19. Weird high school connections. I sort of steered away from that stuff on Myspace a few years ago when a lot of old faces started appearing, but different people have been popping up on Facebook and it's been really great connecting with them and seeing where people's lives are. A lot of them are doing really inspiring things. It makes me smile.

20. Dr. Bronner's has proven to make a good temporary shampoo until I can make it to Rainbow to pick up my regular stuff. It really can be used for everything.

21. Planning a trip to LA for a weekend next month. I'm really looking forward to seeing my friends down there.

(21) blessings

1. Taking a break from work. Even though I don't technically have a "job", I still took "black Friday" as a day off from blogging, job hunting, promoting, editing ads, designing new flyers, and all that stuff.

2. Amma. Instead of working, I slept a bit late to recover from the best Thanksgiving ever, and then went to San Ramon to see Amma. I've never seen someone so full of love. She is so giving, and her teachings make me smile.

3. Forage SF is a great new project I am getting involved with. I sat down with Iso, who forages wild mushrooms and sells them to SF restaurants, this week to discuss his new fantastic venture and how I might fit in. I was delighted to find that we were easily able to brainstorm about a million and one different things, which I will surely post about here as they come to fruition. I am really excited about his project and the vast potential it holds.

4. Hiking in the dark and meditating by trees on the lit up trails at the ashram. What beautiful moments I shared with others.

5. New connections. A few people with lots of potential to be important forces in my life appeared this week. We shall see how the unfolding events play out with each of them. I am really excited and thankful for all that is happening in my life right now.

6. Cloud Cult is an old band, but I am thoroughly addicted to them now. Check out 'Take Your Medicine' and 'When Water Comes to Life' on their music page.

7. Raw Indian Feasts. Tanya and I made a feast of raw Indian dishes. They were all pretty amazing, and I was high on my food for hours after.

8. Raw Chocolate Mousse is so addicting and good for you too! I love guiltless desserts. I just got all my temporary roommates addicted to it to. Gotta spread the love...

9. Half Moon Bay was beautiful, warm and sunny today. We stared at the ocean for a long time, and talked a lot. I was out of it today, so this was exactly the kind of Saturday I needed.

10. Wonderfalls is a really, really, really good show. I am not much for TV, so when I find a show I like, I get really into it. It's bizarre, hilarious, and the bartender is really cute. Definitely an added plus.

11. Betty. Even though I walk all over town, and am an avid bike person, my car gets mad love. Betty has driven across the country and over an abundance of mountain passes from NY to SF, been to Burning Man and 95% of the National Parks in California, as well as a million drives up and down the coast. I heart her.

12. Chipotle Olives from Rainbow. Yum yum yum.

13. Justin's 14 cup Food Processor rocked my world this weekend. I made some tasty raw Thanksgiving treats for Will's potluck. I need one so I can make everything at once instead of in smaller batches like at my house. Time to check freecycle.

14. Freecycle just deserves its own post. In a world full of waste, it's so inspiring seeing so many people implement all these little changes that add up to a big huge change on a planetary level. Yay, freecycle.

15. Blessed water that I am adding to my larger container of water to make it last longer. Something about taking home blessed water in cheap plastic containers just cracks me up, yet does not dilute the significance of the water itself. Life makes me smile so often.

16. Getting to know dysfunction is great. I love having chats with people about their families and the craziness that ensues and being able to understand that special kind of chaos that helps make you who you are and bonds you to one another.

17. Weird dreams of which I have had plenty this week. I emailed one to Kirsten for this dream collaboration art project we have been talking about for a long time now. It seems the time is finally right. Her illustrations are simply amazing.

18. Packing jobs via Jon. Thanks, Jon. That will help with my rent.

19. Travel daydreams are causing me to want to get another office job, at least for a little while to pay off the rest of my debts and save for a ticket somewhere.

20. Lessons learned from human relationships and having 2 people really understand each other enough to communicate well. I am eternally grateful for these kind of friendships I have in my life now.

21. Anticipation of getting my place back.

2wenty. giving thanks

21 words to describe the most perfect Thanksgiving in SF:

...Human chickens dancing to the beat of tribal drums and the sound of Puerto Rican bomba vocals calling for wild generosity...

I couldn't have made that sort of thing up. It truly was a beautiful day. Thank you, everyone.

9teen

1. Having a home base for the next 2 weeks has taken so much stress out of my life. It's only been a day and I've already gotten so much more done and feel so much more steady and focused. The past few weeks were a bit intense. Thanks to Liah for letting me stay at her place while she is in Wisconsin.

2. Sleeping in a real bed for the first time in 2 weeks. I've thought about sleeping on a platform with a thin cushion because I know I feel great when I sleep on the earth during camping trips, but the past 2 weeks has been various kinds of floors with my sleeping bag and it's just not the same as the soft giving earth. Last night I slept so amazingly well.

3. The Haight on a daily basis. It's always been one of my favorite parts of town, so it's cool seeing it from the new perspective of living here for a few weeks.

4. Cliff from Adventure Out. Tanya and I had a conference call with him today to get advice on the sustainable adventure travel company she and I are starting. It was unbelievably helpful and saved us hours of work and investigation. It's always best to just ask someone who is already doing something similar to what you're doing. They can also help you avoid mistakes. Thanks, Cliff!

5. Haight Organic Market is super duper cheap! I bought a whole bag full of delicious produce for only $19.

6. Winter in SF isn't really about death like winter back east was. Here it's a sort of rebirth - everything goes from brown and dry to lush and green. I am hopelessly in love with this city. Cala lillies start blooming everywhere. It only gets 10 degrees colder than in the summer. I can go hiking all the time and be super active.

7. Guacamole is one of my favorite foods. I can make it a million different ways and never tire of it. Lately, I've been really into putting some mango in it.

8. The view from Tanya's office is pretty killer. If I were her, I'd stare out the window all day.

9. Raw chocolate at the mall it was not the most amazing chocolate, but it was decent and the fact that I found it in the mall when I was going crazy for chocolate was great!

10. Traveling with a blender. It makes me laugh how I have been carrying it with me from house to house as I stay in all these different places while I sublet my apartment.

11. Stacey's Books is someplace I have to go in every time I pass by it. It's such a great indie book store, of which there are tons in SF, but not many near Market Street. I love curling up in a corner and checking out some things. I have always loved libraries and bookstores, since I was a child. My mother is to thank for that.

12. Re-reading books. I actually sat and read a book I had read their before, a year or 2 ago. I loved it but didn't want to buy it, and it was funny how I went in and thought of it right away. Maybe it's telling me what I need to do. :)

13. Jalapeno fingers. I've got a slight heated tingle in my fingers from chopping. It's nice added warmth for the 55 degree weather.

14. The sneaker art piece on Liah's wall. She and/or her boyfriend sliced a sneaker in half to see how it was constructed and framed it. It makes me smile.

15. Shiterature in other people's homes. This is what I call the literature tucked in the bathroom for people to read when they poo. The bathroom of the current house I am staying in has an odd assortment of a book called "Gay Science", an issue of playboy, a few copies of Nat Geo, a Kama Sutra book, and some political mags.

16. Big old Victorians with a million rooms are so special. Definitely one of my favorite features of this city. It's all about attention to details and beauty. As a visual artist, this makes sense to me. Form and function, not one compromised for the other. It's smart.

17. Writing for friends makes me feel good. Zach asked me to write one of his recommendations for this 10 Year Gongfu program he wants to do somewhere in NorCal and I really enjoyed writing about his character and positive energy and traits. When you create room in your life for amazing people like that and refuse to accept less, you attract more of them. I am very grateful for the loving, positive, productive group of friends I have in this city.

18. Carol Alt at 47 is great publicity for the raw food lifestyle. I can't believe how amazing she looks for her age!

19. Making up is a good feeling.

20. Minimalist rooms are great for focus. I have gotten so much more work done staying in Liah's space. Definitely will be using this inspiration to reconfigure my work area when I am back in my own apartment.

21. Space for myself to just sit and be alone and meditate and focus on all the beauty in my life. Space to work on the things I need to do now. Space to step back from the chaos of the time and be really present.

eighteen - the Green edition

1. SF Green Fest occupied all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It's the largest sustainability event in the world and brought together a ton of amazing speakers, vendors, and people into one place. There were so many amazing things I encountered, I am not sure I will be able to mention them all here.

2. Adelaide is an amazing person and I am extremely grateful to have her in my life. I could not have imagined going there all weekend with anyone else. She appreciates food, the environment, and politics all as much as I do, so we had the greatest time discussing ideas and getting psyched listening to some of the speakers.

3. Free acupuncture from the lovely folks at the ACTCM, which is where I used to go weekly, before I went raw. It was nice to get some free needling in my ears and sit and relax for 20 minutes. When work becomes more steady and I can afford to go back to their clinic, I definitely will. It's super affordable for people with low funds, the way all health care should be.

4. Body Bliss was the name of one of the booths, and among the people giving massages, I noticed one Thai-looking like guy who was kneeing his client in the back and pulling her arms behind her and twisting deeply. I said to my friend,"That right there is exactly what I need!!!" So I got a nice 15-20 minute massage for fairly cheap. It helped relieve a lot of the tension I have been feeling from being 'houseless' and running around like crazy.

5. CSAs are just fantastic. Supporting your local farmers is very important. Voting with your dollars daily is the best way to voice yourself in this capitalist society. I signed up for a Wednesday box from Farm Fresh to You to tide me over each week. It seems by Tuesday night, I am pretty much done with everything I bought at the farmer's market on Saturday, so this worked out perfectly.

6. Free schwag. I got tons of free samples of stuff I will actually use, and loads of really great free magazines and tons of free food samples all 3 days. I was concerned about the commercial aspect of the festival, but they had compost, recycling and trash bins and said 98% of their waste gets recycled or composted, so that was nice. In the dining area, all the plates, utensils, and packaging were all compostable and made of corn and veggie substances. Yay!

7. Raw chocolate is heaven. There were several different vendors giving out samples of their various makes and flavors and I was definitely riding a cacao high through all 3 days. My favorite was the raw lavender-blueberry truffles from Lulu's Chocolate Alchemy up in Oregon.

8. Chuck D dropped so much knowledge, it was amazing. I loved hearing him talk about taking over the radio and using hip-hop as a tool for social change. It seems to have gotten off course in the commercial world.

9. Reverend Yearwood of the hip-hop caucus also dropped crazy knowledge. Brother was intense and inspiring!

10. Winona LaDuke was another amazing speaker. I blogged about her a bit here.

11. Van Jones who made the crowd laugh so hard they almost cried when he put the truth in such simple works as he spoke about the green collar economy. It is so logical and sustainable.

12. Dr. Cornel West who dropped so much knowledge, it blew my mind. I will be posting his talk on here when the video is available.

13. Kevin Danaher of Global Exchange. He wants to do some really amazing things in San Fracisco and world-wide.

14. Rickie Byars Beckwith whose "In The Land of I Am" is still stuck in my head. This woman is all love. It was beautiful.

15. Food politics and the people who fight for what's right. I saw a great talk about Agroecology and Food Sovereignty by Miguel Altieri, Eric Holt-Giménez, and Raj Patel that was really inspiring.

16. Cabbage salad which is so simple and easy to make and fed me all weekend for super cheap.

17. Volunteering always makes me feel good. I love doing bike valet and meeting amazing people.

18. Free chai. Volunteering comes with lots of perks.

19. Promoting something you feel good about is nice. It's been a really wonderful shift doing raw food consulting and I definitely put a lot of time in this weekend to promoting, so a new client or two should come into my life very soon.

20. Maggie O who I ran into at the festival. She is just always such a bright, positive person to spend time with.

21. The World that we live in. This weekend touched on a lot of the problems we are having in these modern times and it was so great to see people address the issues and talk about positive solutions and taking matters into our own hands. Action is the only way we can change things. It's going to be lovely these next few years.

dix-sept.

1. Potential jobs that appear when you really need them. Though it turned out that they needed a full-time nanny instead, it was really great to get paid to cook dinner for someone in their home and make enough to buy groceries for a few days.

2. Helping friends in need. I hope Caitanya heals her broken ribs and collarbone soon, but for now, I'm glad I can be of some assistance and lend her a hand, quite literally. Poor thing. She's in so much pain. Everyone direct any excess energy you have towards her for a moment, please.

3. Peter Greenaway is one of my favorite directors. No matter how many times I watch The Pillow Book, it's still always fascinating.

4. Dragon Fruit fresh from the farmers market. Dragon fruit (pitaya plant) pollination occurs only at night, when its huge white flowers bloom, so the fruit is only harvested a few times a year. I had one for breakfast this morning to celebrate a gig. I love the strange texture and taste, but what I love most about it is how beautiful it is to look at, especially when sliced open.


5. Jon's Ginormous idiot box allowed me to catch up on my netflix this weekend in big, flat screen grandeur.

6. Moving to the right place. For the past few days, I have been staying with great friends across the street from the first apartment I lived in when I first moved to San Francisco. It's made me ever so grateful for having moved out of there and into Hayes Valley. While the Mission District has a great energy to it on certain accounts, and I love the murals and many other little things about it, I would much rather live somewhere cleaner where people don't throw their trash on the street all the time, and pee all over everything or leer at me when I walk by, which is why being there made me appreciate what I have so much more.

7. Korean food. Caitanya's mom loaded her up with some goodies which she was kind enough to share. Yum.

8. Early darkness. Most days I am weirded out by it, but today I feel good about it getting dark so early, and the changes it signifies. It's also had me reminiscing about some of my winters during my decade in NYC, which were fun in a lot of ways.

9. Fingerless gloves make it easier to do things while keeping warm. Especially for photographing while hiking!

10. Chaos. I am just trying to love chaos these days because it happens for a reason, to make you see the things you need to see.

11. Talks with my mom who has been super supportive of all that I am doing and has really been an anchor during this career transitional period.

12. Tea Houses. I love staying in a house where everyone in it is constantly making or drinking tea. Yay, herbs!

13. Twitter just makes me happy when I read all my friends updates.

14. The smell of soup has been wafting into this room all day.

15. The color red has a womb-like effect on me today. Comfortable and warm.

16. Self-massage to get rid of that stiff neck I woke up with.

17. Blue kitchens. I love the way some of these old Victorian homes are painted.

18. Being The Smoothie Fairy. I have been making smoothies for everyone in the house whenever they are around. I love spreading the goodness!

19. Not knowing what is going on is sometimes the greatest of blessings.

20. Speaking the truth even though it can be painful. Sometimes people just need to hear it to remember who they really are, which is a truly amazing creature.

21. Purple has been reminding me of a lot of tastes and smells today.

sweet sixteen...

It's been a really interesting few weeks. I had to sublet my apartment for the time being, and am staying with various friends through the month of November. Interesting times in my life as I work hard to try and transform my career helping others. So with that, let me express my gratitude for...

1. Amazingly generous friends. A big set of thank yous to Tanya & Zach, Rachel, Caitanya & Jon & Jenn, Victoria and anyone else who puts me up for a few days this month to help while I'm going through a stressful, but oh-so important phase of my life. I appreciate all your help.

2. Obama winning and changing the course of history. A huge weight has been lifted knowing that 8 years of having one of the most incompetent political leaders in all of history is drawing to a close and being replaced with someone who has sought to do good in their life and will help get America back on track. I am honored to be a part of this history in the making.

3. Learning better discipline is vital to me getting through the next few weeks and I am thankful for this opportunity to approach that area of my life. I've always been extremely disciplined with jobs when working for others, but I am realizing that I am not that great at staying focused when it's just for me. Without a home, I'm a bit scattered, so it's a great challenge to figure out how to retain mental clarity under financial stress and uncertainty, and I'm learning to go even deeper into my trust in the universe that it will all work out however it is supposed to.

4. Challenging my views of money has been a long time coming. I know that my views of money have long been responsible for my lack of it, but trying to change that has been really difficult. Negotiating with my last job because of the mere pittance their initial offer was for was the first big step in sticking up for myself and acknowledging that I too deserve wealth. Better that it is put in the hands of someone ethical who will do good things with it than the giant corporations who only serve to harm the people and make big profits while doing it. Reading Mike Adams' "7 Principles of Mindful Wealth" was extremely helpful in helping me acknowledge the things I had been trying to put into words the last few years on this topic.

5. The gigs section on craiglist has been my primary source for odds and ends these days. It definitely beats going back to another office job for right now.

6. Ethiopian spices have been rocking my world even more than normal.

7. Borrowing Caitanya's laptop has allowed me to fit in some blogging and get a ton of other things done. Thanks for making the sacrifice, Cai. I really appreciate it.

8. Raw eggplant pizzas. Made some in the dehydrator this week by slicing up a big fat eggplant into mini-pie crusts, coating with olive oil, and topping with fresh basil, tomato, garlic, mushrooms and nutritional yeast. Delicious.

9. Breath. My energy has been very scattered the past week with the lack of stability in my life right now, so I've been trying to hold onto the things that keep me grounded - breath, yoga, meditation, presence. I noticed that as soon as I didn't have my own space, I lost sight of those principles for a few days and my energy started to slowly scatter. I think it's absolutely possible and necessary to do all those things without a home base - if anything, it's even more necessary now than ever before.

10. Girls night at Kendra's was nice and mellow. Her house is amazing, and there was some amazing spontaneous live music that completely made my night. Kendra herself is an amazing person and I'm glad I got to talk to her more about life and the AIDS risk work she does. It's pretty amazing. We spoke a lot about how great it is to be helping people who want help. I have a lot of people in my life who don't even help themselves, and it can be really frustrating at times, so I'm extremely grateful to be working with people who actually want to change their lives instead of conceptualizing about it.

11.Sanity. I am extremely thankful for possessing all my faculties, when clearly there are so many people out there who do not. When I was in college, my biggest fear was ending up in an insane asylum or ending up just like some of the crazy, rambling homeless people I would pass on the straight. Every time I see someone like that, I pause and give thanks for having found raw foods and finally healing my mental anguish. I no longer have that fear of ending up like that, because for the first time I am certain I will never end up that way.

12. My pillow. I slept the past few nights without it, but last night finally remembered to bring it with me and slept so much better. Flannel=comfort.

13. The Edge of Heaven was amazing. It's a Turkish-German film written and directed by Fatih Akın. Here's the trailer. It doesn't really give you the gist of the movie, but it touches on a fair amount of it.I highly recommend renting the whole thing.



14. Rap sessions with a few friends trying to work out the best way to handle a situation that's been affecting us all.

15. Frank totally hyped me up about all the things I'm doing and helped waver off the stress I had been holding onto simply by reminding me who I am. Thanks, Frank!

16. Communal dinners at Tanya and Zach's apartment are a recurring event and always full of love and laughter.

17. Medjool dates from the Alemany Farmer's market. There's one guy there with the freshest, juiciest, most delicious dates. I buy like 2 pounds a week. Medjools are the 'king of dates' because they were once reserved for Moroccan royalty and their guests. They definitely make me feel like royalty. Yum.

18. Learning about cancer from my friends' experiences with it has really been usefully in guiding me towards understand new ways to help people. Thanks Jim & Frank for sharing your memories of those you lost. May you find comfort in the fact that their stories will help others.

19. Breaks. Jenn was playing some amazing beats while she was unpacking. I think I need to give her a spindle of blank CDs.

20. CIIS Public Programs. For anyone who is in San Francisco, CIIS had some really amazing programs worth checking out. When I had steady income, I frequented them.

21. CIIS deserves it's own listing. The California Institute of Integral Studies is a huge blessing. It's so amazing to be able to stud the things they offer. If I could go to one school continuously for the rest of my life, this would probably be it. Any place that agrees with me about the merits of bass therapy is a winner!

(15) The New York shortlist...

Spent a lovely autumn week in New York...here it is comprised in one post that can't possibly encompass all its grandeur...

1. Autumn in New York in general, is my favorite time to be there. The crisp, cool smell in the air, the colours setting the landscape on fire, the backdrop of skyscrapers peeking out over the tops of the trees, cider, pumpkins...it's all just wonderful.

2. Amanda is one of the most unique and beautiful people I've ever known. It's funny how time goes by, and so much changes but the core of who you are remains the same and you're able to come back together at different places in your life.

3. The Museum of Natural History was lovely. I hadn't been there in years, so it was really great to look at all the natural wonders on display again. When I was in college, it was one of my favorite places in the city (I think it still is) so I used to go there a lot and spend hours just looking at creatures.

4. Seeing a wild turkey in Central Park and walking The Ramble. It's funny that I lived there for almost a decade and never imagined there was a turkey there.

5. Ponds covered in duckweed look so lovely. I sat watching the water blanketed in green as turtles (I really love them. They're such special animals.) poppped out to sun themselves on drifting logs. I had never taken the time to sit here before and it was great to explore a new part of the park and meditate.

6. Elyssa & Paul's wedding was one of the most beautifully orchestrated events I have ever been to. It was up in The Catskills and the mountains were mesmerizing in vibrant burning reds, glowing oranges and blinding yellows. The ceremony was outside, in front of this amazing natural occurance and was truly amazing. There were also so many unique touches to the day that made it really special - a poloroid guestbook where you photographed yourself for them, tree saplings and seeds as take home gifts, and a photobooth set up outside where my friends and I took all these great pictures of us jumping in the air together. Fun times! And let's not forget about the food..

7. Eating raw at the wedding was pretty easy, since Elyssa is environmentally conscious and all the food was local, organic, and sustainable. There was tons of strawberries, olives and various cut veggies to pick at during cocktail hour. For dinner the maid of honor gave me an extra salad so I had two, and then I asked one of the lovely women in the kitchen for anything raw that was left in the kitchen, so she whipped me up a giant plate of sliced up buttery pears, apples, red and orange peppers, nuts, and more olives. Yum! I ignored the big stack of crackers she shoved on the end. I'm amazed at how often people think that eating unprocessed, natural foods is simply not enough and they always try to add something cooked or processed.

8. Elliott is one of the best people a girl could ask to be friends with. He's such a kind, generous friend, and we've known each other for so ages now. We've traveled together in Europe, driven across the country together, and I have to say, he's just always such a consistent and solid person to be around. Good hearted and tons of fun. Yay, Elliott - and thanks for putting me up while I was in NY!

9. The help of friends during my post-jobless visit to NY was immeasurable. Thank you Elliott, Luke, Ayelet and Alysia for making sure I was taken care of and feeding me well!

10. Westerly Natural Market was where I used to do most of my shopping when I worked in Hell's Kitchen. It's one of the best health food stores in all of NYC, and it used to be really cheap. I'm not sure how the prices compare with everything else in NY these days though...I wasn't there long enough to make a comparison. I was really pleased to notice their raw foods section had expanded. When I was leaving NY to move to SF, they only had a few raw desserts and some snacks, but now there is an entire aisle in the back with raw goodies of all kinds.

11. Raw improv with Wes. I went to Brooklyn to hang out with Wes and brought just a few ingredients from the market. We improvised and made a yummy curry carrot salad and a beat and kale salad. Delicious! It was really great watching him get involved in preparing food and enjoy it, as I know he's been talking about his desire to eat healthy and enjoying it is what keeps you going.

12. We Like It Raw Podcasts are perfect for plane rides! It was so much better than watching the movie I had already seen on my flight there a second time. I subscribe via iTunes, but you can also listen to them on the site. I listened to a few where Dhrumil interviewed Nature Love, and it was really wonderful. I loved hearing them talk about dreams and spirituality in addition to raw foods. We're deffinitely on the same page with that. They're both such positive, soulful people. I also listened to the Steve Pavlina podcast again because its just that good. Thanks, guys!

13. Having a window seat while flying over the west is one of my favorite things about flying from coast to coast.

14. A lovely weekend in upstate NY with friends was just what I needed to maintain the balance of my trip. Driving along the Hudson River was especially beautiful.

15. Talking to Ben & Jenny about holistic health was great. Jenny is a nutritionist and Ben is studying to be a doctor and they're one of the sweetest married couples I know. I've known Ben for over a decade now and seen his transformations from art school to medical school, from single to married, from crazy long hair and piercings to clean cut and it's been a wonderful journey. Jenny is super sweet, gentle and intelligent and they balance each other well. We had a lot of really great conversations about holistic health and healing the whole body, and talked about healing centers. It was really great.

16. Loving NY again. My first trip back to NYC since I divorced it was only this past July, over 2 years after I left. And I had a good time seeing my friends, I just didn't really enjoy being in the city or have any desire or excitement to be there. So it was quite a relief to have this visit be beautiful and amazing, and to fall back in love with NY again. I wouldn't move back, but it was nice to have closure. It was difficult to have negative feelings for a place I had loved and lived in for such a long time, so I'm glad to have moved into a balanced place where I love it for what it is, and be ok with not belonging there anymore.

17. Lunch with Ayelet and Hannah was short, but sweet. I'm so thankful they were both so willing to work around their work schedules to spend some time with me. I adore them both. I stayed with Hannah when I visited in July, but had not seen Ayelet since I moved to SF, so that was extra super special.

18. The longest dinner ever with Alysia was great. We went to Hell's Kitchen and I had an amazing salad and we sat and talked for several hours catching up on life. It's so amazing seeing her belly housing a tiny life inside it. I'm so excited for her and Jeff. We got to catch up on a ton of life stuff. She's truly amazing - warm, but tough as nails, no nonsense, no BS at the same time, and always full of laughter.

19. Jim et Jules drove from Mahopac to Cold Spring to meet me for a cup of tea. I hadn't seen them since I left NY either, so there was lots of catching up to do, even though we've kept in contact and we know what's been happening in each others lives. It's just not the same as good old face to face conversation. I love these guys and they are one of couples that give me the most hope of the kind of loving, supportive relationship I hope to someday have.

20. A few days in Cold Spring visiting my cousin Biljana, her husband and their beautiful 15 year old twin girls. When I lived in the city, going to see them was a frequent weekend getaway/mini vacation. Biljana is so full of love in everything she does, and Matthew balances her so well - they are amazing together and have raised such amazing girls.

21. The Rawkathon started while I was in Cold Spring so I watched the first few days there, and the rest upon returning home to San Francisco. There were a lot of really amazing speakers, but I think Gabriel Cousens was the best. He's been a great inspiration, and each time I see him speaking or read something knew that he's written, I learn so much more and it pushes me to reach new depths with my health.

updates...

Things have been really great, but really hectic lately and I've had to use most of my time and energy on building my business, working on my website, visiting one of my dearest friends who landed in the hospital after a nasty bike accident, finding someone to sublet my apartment for the month, dealing with my old job fighting my unemployment insurance claim and figuring out how to approach the verbal abuse I encountered there with the federal labor commission, so I haven't found much time to write on here, but I will soon. I've had so many wonderful things to be grateful for these past few weeks, and feel they are worthy of a summary list.

14...

1. The smell of cilantro lingering on my fingertips for hours.

2. Raw ceviche is one of my favorite quick fix meals. Cube some portabella mushrooms, avocado & tomato, marinate in lots of fresh squeezed lime juice, a bit of garlic and tons of freshly chopped cilantro. I usually make it in a jar so I can keep shaking it or turning it over to let the juices coat everything evenly and let it sit for a few hours for fullest flavor.

3. Liah is awesome. She was kind enough to let me come over and pick her brain for an hour or so and discuss SEO stuff for my site, affiliate programs and some general blogging stuff. Definitely a very helpful information session.

4. Walking the Haight is oh so fun. I love all the crazy, funky shops, the cafes, the variety of humans, and the old spirit of the 60s lurking in the corners.

5. The Love of Ganesha is one of my favorite shops on the Haight. They have such beautiful skirts and jewelry, all of which are affordable, and the people are so sweet and always offer me a cup of tea.

6. Braindrops is another of my favorite shops on the Haight. It's a tattoo and piercing shop, and though I don't know how good their tattoo artists are, I am in love with their piercing staff and jewelry selection. They have some gorgeous pieces made of glass, wood, stone, and other mineralized & fossilized items, as well as some beautiful earrings made from antlers. I remember seeing a sign above their vintage pieces that said everything was made from old, found bone and animal items so nothing was hunted to create the jewelry, but am unsure if that applies to some of the newer pieces. I'll have to ask next time I'm in.

7. Watching the Muppet Movie in Dolores Park was tons of fun. I didn't remember all those Hare Krshna jokes from when I was a kid. Hilarious. Dolores Park Movie Night is one of my favorite free things to do here in the summer.

8. Cheb i Sabbah is one of my absolute favorite local DJs. He's from Algeria, but blends all sorts of global sounds, with a heavy influence on one of my personal favorites, classical Indian music. He does a Thursday night weekly party at Bollyhood Cafe that is always an interesting experience, whether packed or empty. I had a really great time there tonight, dancing, laughing and meeting new people.

9. New Friends. I just need to give a big thanks to all the new people who have come into my life recently. It's amazing what you can attract into your life when you make a conscious effort to cut ties with certain kinds of people and surround yourself with only those that push you to be your highest self and express your true nature. We're all on different paths, and my life would certainly not be the same if I was not surrounded by such amazing people who always challenge me and push me to be the best me.

10. Purging. In preperation for my raw foods blog and site, I have been spending a fair amount of time writing my personal story about my healing journey from the age of 15 to the present. It's been really cathartic to put the whole thing into words from start to finish. I am sure it will need tons of editing before I have a final draft ready, and I thank the friends who help me with that in advance. The outside perspective will be a big help.

11. Marble composition books are my favorite thing to write in. I like to keep it old school. There's just something about them.

12. Bic pens are for some reason my favorite. I have no idea why, but they're such a basic design, and whenever I use them my handwriting is always so much neater, and somehow the words flow much easier. Perhaps that last big is just psychological, or maybe the fact that it looks neater provides clarity of mind which allows the thoughts to flow more freely. Who knows, really? And does it even matter? I just like them.

13. Lemons smell so amazing. And they're used to flavor lots of raw foodie dishes, so I'm getting lots of vitamin C. And dare I mention the fresh strawberry lemonade I've been making? Mmmmm.

14. Planning for NY is exciting. I made my first trip back in over 2 years a few months ago, and it was weird because it had been a long time and I am so different, and so was it, yet eerily the same. First trips back to old homes are always a bit odd. I'm really excited to go this time though, for a whole myriad of reasons.

15. Autumn in New England is probably my favorite time of year back east, so the anticipation of walking through Central Park amongst the bright crimson, glowing oranges and blinding yellows has me going to bed smiling. I can't wait!

16. Agreements to be seen. Picking up the past and trying to find a place for it that is more current and in the present is always interesting when time has lapsed. I am not worried, as it feels right, but I am a bit curious about how things will play out.

17. Raw red pepper flax crackers are responsible for the delicious smells coming out of my kitchen. I can't wait until they're done dehydrating and I can eat one.

18. Making your own food is one of the best feelings. I've always cooked, even when I was a kid. But this new realm of making my own crackers, breads, granolas and everything is something else entirely. I'm making things that normally come in packages and are made in factories with tons of added chemicals, but not these - they're straight from my kitchen made of only the freshest, most beautiful ingredients I can find. I'm all about homesteading. Now if only I could afford some land!

19. Sticking to a normal sleep schedule even though I don't have a normal job anymore and am working from home on my own, much more meaningful projects is a wonderful and strange feeling. I'm learning to be more disciplined about this, and though years ago I would have frowned upon rising before 9am when I didn't have to be somewhere, I now really enjoy it. It helps that since going raw, I am no longer groggy and exhausted in the mornings and wake up happy and smiling.

20. Helping people plan trips is fun. I've gotten so much valuable experience from driving across America so many times, and it's great to share that information with travelers.

21. Heavy eyelids mean it's time to go to bed. I haven't been this tired in awhile. I got an exceptional amount of work done today.

13 is lucky...

1. Wear Sunscreen video. I had read the essay many years ago, but today my friend showed me the video version, and it's really amazing. These are definitely things we need to be reminded of more often, so I'm glad I got to see this today. Thanks, Caitanya!



2. SFBC Volunteer Night rocks my world. I love all the volunteer work I do for the Bike Coalition, but volunteer night is definitely something special and I've met a lot of great folks who always come out.

3. Super productive days. I got a lot done today, and it was nice to just plow through a bunch of things without taking a break like I had been doing the last few days.

4. To-do lists are so much fun to make. I really enjoy them. And today came the ultimate satisfaction of crossing out a bunch of items, instead of just a few. Fun fun fun.

5. Business planning in phases is something I never really did before. I used to just list out the things I needed to do, but now I've worked out different phases to be more organized and move swiftly through the process.

6. Having the house to myself felt great. My friend is visiting, and it's been lots of fun, but i need a balance of alone time to be productive and stay feeling good, plus I am used to living alone, so today was absolutely wonderful.

7. The SFBC days without bike lanes widget is awesome, and I've now added it to my blog and my facebook page. You can get your own here.

8. Travel Journal Contests. I love that Flavorpill keeps doing these amazing contests. I hope one day I will be selected to take photos and blog on their travel journal, so I can be one step closer to attaining my travel photographer goals.

9. Walking around like you have a secret produces this awesome Mona Lisa smile that causes everyone on the street to be drawn to you. Try it. I swear it works.

10. Domain name hunting allows you to see some really weird websites. For example, I checked to see if purehealing.com was available, and it's sitting vacant while someone is trying to make a fortune selling it, so I got a good laugh and then checked pure-healing.com which was all about herpes and genital warts. Totally not what I was expecting.

11. Going to bed early. It's the first night all week that I'm going to make a conscious effort to get to bed near my old time, just like when I had a job. I just feel way more productive if I start working at 9am instead of 10 or 11.

12. Handmade dolls are awesome. Now I'll have enough free time to finish mine. I looked at what I had started a year or 2 ago, and it made me happy to finally take it out of the box.

13. Glittery thread adds a little special touch.

14. Black sequins walk the fine line of classy/trashy. I love walking the line.

15. A good knife makes all the difference in the world when it comes to whipping up quick, delicious raw meals.

16. Things made out of wood. It's so much nicer than plastic, and those natural anti-bacterial aspects & not polluting the planet through chemical manufacturing are huge added bonuses.

17. Free notebooks are helping me keep track of things these days.

18. Free dinner has filled my tummy and kept me from opening my wallet.

19. A sense of community is one of my favorite things about San Francisco. And community here comes in so many forms - it can be music, your local neighborhood, people on bikes, the art scene, raw foodists, DIY fashionistas...whatever you seek, we've got. In a city of outcasts, can we still be considered that?

20. Anita is one of many lovely people I've met through volunteering with the SFBC. She's just super warm, friendly and her eyes and smile always light up the room. I'm always glad when our paths cross.

21. A quiet apartment makes it easier to clear the head and focus on what really counts.

the 12th day...

1. Waking up on a Monday and not having to dread going to work! I'm really loving this whole getting fired thing. I used to wake up every morning filled with dread and anxiety, and stress about how bad it would be at work, especially on Mondays. Now that is all over with, and I wake up smiling and feeling free. If this had happened to me a year ago, I would have had extreme anxiety, stress and probably would have fallen into a depression, but those days are gone.

2. Having time to focus on what really matters is wonderful. Being given the opportunity to devote yourself to following your soul purpose is such an amazing feeling. My last job taught me a lot about time management & scheduling, which is helping me schedule myself and hold strongly to disciplined work habits so that I can stay on track. This is something I struggled with in previous undertakings, and this time I feel able to practically apply it.

3. Synchronicity multiplying. I swear, it totally multiplies when you go raw, and when you focus more on staying on the right path. I think eating raw provides you with the clarity and awareness to be able to pay closer attention. Upon getting fired, everything else started to synch up so effortlessly, and all the pieces started falling into place immediately, and it's growing more and more each day. It's truly amazing.

4. My Saladacco is one of the greatest raw kitchen tools I own. A Saladacco is simply a spiral slicer for fruits and veggies. I use it to make pasta noodles out of zucchini, pad Thai noodles out of carrots or squash, and ravioli casings out of beets. Last night I made zucchini with a pasta sauce of fresh garlic, basil & tomatoes, and a sprinkling of nutritional yeast as a Parmesan cheese substitute. The flavors are even richer than "real" pasta and sauce that's been simmered for hours, and the whole meal only took 10 minutes to make. Awesome.

5. Hiking in the dark is fun, especially with good conversation, and a full day of watching elk.

6. Work-trades. My yoga studio has been kind enough to let me trade them work for yoga classes. Every Tuesday afternoon, I'll be straightening up the yoga props and sweeping the floor in exchange for lovely anasura classes, so I can hold steady to my practice without spending money. Thank you, Yoga Tree.

7. iCal is keeping me on top of my game and helping me allot time for everything.

8. Free Museum days. Went to the SF MoMa and Yerba Buena Galleries for free first Tuesdays and saw a few intriguing projects that stimulated my mind and soul. A lot of art at Yerba Buena that invited the audience to participate and remove art from the "do no touch" modalities of most museums. Active participation is always a good thing.

9. Living where you can see the stars is a constant reminder of how small we are, and the infinite nature in the universe. I love the lack of light pollution and smog here that allow me to stay connected to one of my favorite things.

10. Extra Action Marching Band. Walking home last night, we heard the sounds of Extra Action from a block or 2 away, and I recognized the sounds and thought it must be them, and surely it was. I love them! They essentially marched in and took over my local watering hole, Place Pigalle and got a swarm of people to follow them in and dance on the furniture. It was fantastic - band girls in sparkly costumes dancing on the pool table, sweaty half-naked trumpet players, and a giant mob dancing along with them.

11. Watching the fog roll in from afar is one of my favorite magical things about this city, and after all this time, I still never get tired of it. It dances over the city, hovering over homes and blanketing them with purplish mystery.

12. Sushi Zone is home of a true master chef. It's a wonderful tiny hole in the wall, long wait for a table but totally worth every second sort of places full of character and kindness. From the twig hands on the clock, to the drawn on fish tale above a print hanging on the wall, to the subtle bit of dill gently tucked underneath the salmon sashimi, the true marks of human beings' attention to detail make this place one of my favorite sushi restaurants in the city. And my god, does it taste amazing!

13. Madrone is another amazing local watering hole. The art on the walls is always amazing, there is always a great DJ and tons of fun events, and they play the weirdest videos in the background. But most importantly, the atmosphere is just so chill, laid back and full of character, so I always feel at home.

14. San Francisco Hills because there's always a view and it feels great climbing them!

15. Good listeners are wonderful. Never underestimate the value of lending someone your ear. Often times people need to be heard more than they need actual advice. It's catharsis, and by listening, you can allow them to sort out their own problems and find their own strengths.

16. October Peaches. I love living somewhere where I can still get locally grown, organic, juicy peaches from the farmer's market when it's almost the middle of October. Fantastic.

17. Pumpkins are everywhere! The rows outside the market reminded me how much I love driving through the farmlands outside the city and seeing these huge pumpkin patches, so hopefully this weekend on my way up to Ft. Bragg I will see plenty. They make me smile and reminisce about Charlie Brown.

18. Smiles from strangers are a daily occurrence in San Francisco and you don't have to be the one to initiate. It's nice.

19. Loud crazy people walking down my block entertain me while I work on my computer.

20. Pomegranates for only $1 from the farmer's market. I'm going to experiment with some new raw desserts.

21. Walking everywhere. Now that I don't have to be at work, I can walk all around town instead of being stuck on the bus. I love being outside all day, and enjoying the rest of our Indian summer.

elevensies...

1. The arrival of Wes, one of my old friends from NY. It'll be his first visit to the West Coast, which is going to be amazing. I'm excited to show him all the Bay Area has to offer...not really possible in a week, but it'll give him a small taste. And I just really like picking people up at the airport. I guess it's because I get to welcome them from the get-go and set the proper tone for their adventure.

2. Fig Cashew Smoothies my favorite breakfast these days. I know I mentioned this in my ode to figs, but it's truly worthy of it's own blessing. I love the way the fig taste lingers on. I love that I live somewhere where fig season last from May until December.

3. Love Fest. I probably won't get to blog this weekend because of this & a day trip to Pt. Reyes, so I'll give thanks for this now. It's one of my favorite annual SF events and I always have a great time dancing in the streets in front of city hall, meeting great people, and listening to breaks, dubstep and old school jungle. There's something for everyone there. It's basically like the Berlin Love Parade, but a tad smaller, and they had to change the name. Fun fun! Here are some photos from last year's debauchery.

4. Less of a need for sleep. The more raw I become, the more energy I have and the less sleep I need. Those that know me well, know that I love the peaceful solitude mornings, but unfortunately have a really rough time getting up to enjoy them and am usually slow and bogged down early in the morning. This has been a problem since high school and I used to need to sleep anywhere between 8-12 hours (12 only during the darkest depressions), except for when I would go through manic phases, during which I only needed 4-5 hours a night for a few months straight and would be frantically running around high as a kite, so it wasn't really a good stable and rested feeling. Right now I'm at about 6.5 hours most nights and feeling really good, stable, alert, calm and energetic. I've heard some people who are raw awhile only need 4 hours. Imagine all the things I could get done and all the extra lounging around I could do outside.

5. The VP debate was hilarious. As was the Palin flow chart I saw this morning. Pretty spot on.

6. The energy I get from plants. I know I always felt this energetic connection to nature, but ever since I've gone raw, it has grown exponentially, just when I thought it couldn't get any deeper. That's true abundance. It's fascinating - now when I sit around a lot of trees and meditate, I can feel the individual molecules, and sometimes see them moving around. It's hard to explain without sounding crazy, but it's true. I just sat at my little island during lunch, and what I experienced was amazing.

7. BhangraFest. Dholrhythms, the people responsible for my favorite monthly Bhangra party, are throwing their first annual Bhangra Festival. It will consist of a series of free classes, workshops and performances, along with other events. I heart Bhangra. It's one of the most energetic forms of music ever.

8. Getting Fired is priceless. I know it seems odd to be grateful for losing something, but I had a huge ear to ear grin when they told me. Any time I have lost something in the past, what I gained from that loss in growth was so much more valuable. I am so glad I will not have to deal with my boss and his negativity & verbal abuse anymore. Work was so draining, stressful, emotionally taxing, degrading and getting out of bed every day was becoming a huge struggle, which left me with little energy to pursue the things that really matter. They basically granted me my freedom. I am extremely thankful, and know that this is for the best because now I don't have to tolerate being treated that way. And most importantly, now I can focus my time and energy on feeling good about being alive, doing healing work, and pursuing my raw foods business and art, which is what I am meant to be doing anyway. It's true - there is no way to not end up exactly where you need to be. Life will keep presenting you with the gifts you need until you learn how to stop viewing them as disasters and accept them for the blessings they are.

9. My sister. I know I counted family on here before, but this one is specific. I just feel incredibly blessed to see how her life has been transforming these past few months. She's been wanting change for awhile now, and she knew she needed it, even though it took a little longer for things to come together. When they finally did, it allowed her to blossom more into herself and who she is becoming right now is so wonderful and I'm really enjoying seeing who she becomes each day.

10. Supportive networks are so important! Thank you to everyone who is lending their support and positive energy to help me manifest this next chapter in my life as I forge forward with my own business plans. And thank you to everyone who was there for me every time I had a huge issue at work with my boss and was hysterically sobbing about it and needed to vent so I wouldn't explode. I wouldn't have lasted as long as I did without all of you. Your words gave me strength to keep pushing and fighting for what is right.

11. Broken glass looks pretty. Especially if it's mirrored. Even as a child, I was fascinated by it, and loved the sound of it shattering.

12. Laughter is really amazing and beautiful. I've spent the last 5 hours laughing, giggling, and marveling out how life presents us with exactly what we need, when we need it.

13. Time. As I look at the list of things I've been feeling the need to do this past week, I remember several times where I thought how easy it is to do all those things - all I need is more time. Time to read more raw books, time to blog more, time to market my abilities, time to do anything but waste time doing something I don't love. And then today I was granted my wish. So here's to the blessing of having time to do all the things I need to do to make what happens next happen now.

14. A simpler life is what I was seeking, and now it is what I am creating. Looking back at my life in NYC 3 years ago, and how much has changed for the better. I am in control now. Fate really is elastic - you just have to really believe it to find the strength to stretch it in the right direction.

15. Herbivore's Green Juice is a mix of celery, apple, spinach, parsley, mint, ginger, lime, and spirulina made fresh with the perfect balance of each ingredient to totally satisfy me. It's about to be my late and refreshing dinner.

16. Ana & Eva who are growing up to be such amazing, intelligent, beautiful young women. I still remember them being 4 years old in the Metropolitan Museum of Art asking me about God and now they're in High School talking to me about boys. Ha ha. I love it. I will see them again soon.

17. Biljana for being the most marvelous cousin a girl could ask for. She's so full of love. Just pure love. All the time. She's always there for me and lends support, wisdom and patience. She's so beautiful, inside and out, so talented. She's raised Ana & Eva to be such amazing creatures, and seeing her relationship with Matthew is one of my prime examples of why I believe in soul mates and finding the one. They give me such hope for what is to come in my life.

18. Lists. I have just written a very productive one for this next week and each little piece plays a part in something bigger. Once I have crossed off each item, I will be left with something incredible.

19. harman/kardon for making the beautifully designed SoundSticks I purchased in 2000. Not only are they absolutely gorgeous to look at, but they still sound amazing (even with one speaker) and that subwoofer...it's mind blowing. I honestly would not be as productive as I am without them.

20. High Fidelity for being one of the most quotable movies ever.

21. Today is the best day ever.