LoriLoo

Galapagos. Day 1. San Cristobal.

September 11, 2014

Travel

Nothing.

That’s what I hear when I’m underwater. I love the all encompassing silence while snorkeling. I gracefully move through the water, my arms close to my sides, kicking only intermittently to propel myself forward. I breathe in slowly, I breathe out slowly. Life has slowed down. I’m so happy.

I watch schools of fish swim under me, coming closer, and closer. I’m tempted to reach out and touch them, but I don’t want to disturb them, their perfect formation. I love being the observer, just watching, drifting, and slowly moving closer to the observed.

The sunbeams highlight the matter in the water, the murkiness is cut by the piercing beam of light. It’s a world in which everything is not crystal clear, a world in which more and more things are revealed the longer you wait. Patience and stillness are rewarded.

A marble ray materializes. As it gently glides below me, I hover above it, watching and wondering, “How quickly can it move? Does it generally attack any body part? Or does it go for the face?”

A sea lion pops up. Others swim towards it, gradually encircling it. I worry. Is it scared that it is surrounded by people? Does it feel trapped? It responds by simply diving under and around them, as though in a game of tag. I want to see it, but I don’t want to get too close (could it bite my arm off?). I stay back. I watch it swim, flip, and dive. I lose sight of it.

I’m floating, happily, lazily, and feel a presence beside me. I turn my head and see the sea lion right beside me. I’m still. I turn on my back and slowly swim away, watching it; it follows. It swims around me, nipping at my fins. I back away some more, very slowly, concerned that it is bigger than me, wondering if sea lions like to nibble at humans, wondering how thick my wetsuit is and if it could bite through it. I turn over, laying in a dead man’s float, quiet and still, watching it out of the corner of my eye. It spins, dives, swims, tumbles through the water, claps its fins, and swims directly towards me at high speeds then turns at the last possible moment. Oh. It’s playing. It’s not going to hurt me. I imitate its moves, until it targets a new playmate and swims away.

We’re called back to the boat. Already? I don’t want to leave the water. I do, reluctantly, and am greeted by the ever friendly crew and hot cheesy empanadas. This is going to be a great trip.

Playing with the sea lion

3 comments on Galapagos. Day 1. San Cristobal.
Join Us in the Fight For Net Neutrality

September 10, 2014

Uncategorized

I am so fortunate to work with the author of this post, Automattic’s general counsel Paul Sieminski, who always fights the good fight. Net Neutrality is important, and it’s under attack. Read on for more info…

WordPress.com News

“Net Neutrality” is the simple but powerful principle that cable and broadband providers must treat all internet traffic equally. Whether you’re loading a blog post on WordPress.com, streaming House of Cards on Netflix, or browsing handcrafted tea cozies on Etsy, your internet provider can’t degrade your connection speed, block sites, or charge a toll based on the content that you’re viewing.

Net neutrality has defined the internet since its inception, and it’s hard to argue with the results: the internet is the most powerful engine of economic growth and free expression in history. Most importantly, the open internet is characterized by companies, products, and ideas that survive or fail depending on their own merit — not on whether they have preferred deals in place with a broadband service provider. Unfortunately, the principle of net neutrality, and the open internet that we know and love, is under attack.

Net Neutrality under…

View original post 417 more words

No comments on Join Us in the Fight For Net Neutrality
Ultimate Closet Challenge – Week 1 Recap

September 9, 2014

Uncategorized

It’s been fun searching in my closet each morning and bypassing the three or four “go-to” dresses that I seem to always wear. It’s like a treasure hunt. I ask myself, “What haven’t I worn in a really long time? What could I pair it with today?” and see what I can find. Unexpectedly, I wore a lot of navies and blues (I usually default to black). Criteria for keeping – 1 – It fits. 2 – I love how I look in it. 3 – I’ll have occasion to wear it. This week saw 6 keepers (but if I don’t wear them again in the next six months, they’re in the donate pile) and 1 donate (mainly because of fit).

3 comments on Ultimate Closet Challenge – Week 1 Recap
The Power of the Cookie

September 3, 2014

Travel

I was in Quito because of a bag of these. Arguably, the best cookies ever.

Years ago, 2000? 2001? my friend Emily and I traveled to Lyons, Colorado, for the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival. We planned to camp and on the way from the airport to our campground, we stopped at a Safeway to load up on provisions. Emily always chooses healthy snacks; I often opt for the not-as-healthy ones. She had filled our basket with apples and carrots and hummus and bananas and other utterly healthy food items. I detoured down the snacks aisle and noticed Mother’s Circus Animal Cookies (pink and white frosting! and sprinkles!) were on sale two for one. I picked up two bags, held them up, and with a wide grin said, “Pleeaaaasssse?” She rolled her eyes, which I took as an exasperated “yes” and I dropped them in our basket.

The first day of the festival we joined hundreds of others already in line, waiting to enter the festival grounds. We were ready to go in, spread our blankets, and enjoy a day of lazing in the sun enjoying great music and snacks. Before we could enter, though, our coolers had to be inspected (no alcohol or glass allowed!). The volunteer inspector seemed like a friendly enough guy, bantering with festival goers as he looked into coolers. He opened our cooler, spotted the Mother’s Circus Animal Cookies on top, picked them up and said, “I love these things!” I grinned, “I know! Aren’t they the best?” Introductions followed, and we headed inside the festival grounds.

Later that day when we opened the bag of cookies, we found him and offered to share. We discovered he lived in San Francisco (just like us). After enjoying a weekend of great music, we exchanged information and promised to get in touch once we got back to the Bay Area. And, the strange thing was, we did. The next several years saw more adventures – music concerts, trips to Tahoe, nights out on the town, abalone diving trips up the coast.

Then he moved to Sacramento, and we saw each other less. On a vacation to the Galapagos several years ago he met a lovely woman, moved to Quito, and is now married with two beautiful children. When we told him we were coming to the Galapagos, he immediately invited us to stay with him while we were in Quito. We said yes right away then wondered if five plus years of not really keeping in touch would have changed our relationship.

As he answered his door at 1 am the night of our arrival, we realized nothing had changed. We lapsed back into conversation as if we were back at Lyons so many years ago. All because of a bag of Mother’s.

3 comments on The Power of the Cookie
KAYLA AND LORI’S ULTIMATE CLOSET CHALLENGE

September 2, 2014

Uncategorized

Kayla and Lori’s Ultimate Closet Challenge: Will you join us?

For every day of September, Kayla Cagan and I have challenged each other to wear at least one thing we haven’t worn (old shoes, new jewelry, retired yoga pants, crazy hat etc…) in a while.

Why?

A) To remind us that we can never complain that we don’t have a stitch to wear

B) To look at our items in a new way and recognize why we don’t need more

and

C) to weed out what we actually don’t use or need anymore – and then to DONATE accordingly. If we have wonderful items we’re not using, we’re giving them to a charity like Dress for Success Worldwide – West.

If you join us, the rules are simple:

1) On each day of September, wear a different item – especially the stuff you haven’t worn in months or years. (Purses count. Accessories count.)

2) Photograph yourself in it or the item itself. Post it on your own Facebook, Twitter or blog feeds with a description of why you’re posting the photo! If the item has a particularly great background or funny story, share it with us. Hashtag it #UCC.

3) Donate at least two items to the charity of your choice at the end of the month.

4) HAVE FUN and Spread the word!

Ready to join us? GO!

2 comments on KAYLA AND LORI’S ULTIMATE CLOSET CHALLENGE
Disconnecting

August 14, 2014

Travel

We’re off.

I’m sitting in the Houston airport , waiting for our flight to Quito, from where we’ll continue on to the Galapagos. This will be the last time that I have cell or wifi service for eleven days. After the initial “OMG” and hundreds of “what if” scenarios running through my head, spiraling into more and more unrealistic versions of reality (?), I realized this is exactly what I need. A forced vacation from always being connected.

I think it’s okay to check work email before going to bed at night (I’ll just answer that one email… And then two hours later I’m shutting off my computer…) and then find myself wondering why I wake up from anxiety ridden dreams about something I may or may not have forgotten to do.

I think it’s okay to set aside just an hour on a weekend morning to catch up on loose ends at work, and find myself wondering why I’m so hungry. Oh. It’s 4 in the afternoon.

Basically, I don’t have the self control to not check email or read up in work events (something for another post) if the technology is available to me.

This eleven day break will be good. I’ve downloaded 14 books to read (okay, maybe that’s a little ambitious) and look forward to being in nature, napping, and just hanging out with one of my dearest friends. Offline.

6 comments on Disconnecting
Tracks of My Tears

June 29, 2014

Tales of San Francisco
There are three events where, without fail, I will cry:
1. Weddings
2. Graduations (particularly high school graduations, but I’ve been known to shed a tear or two at college ones as well)
3. Pride
At each of these events, at some point, I’m overwhelmed by the hope and joy the occasion represents, and am so overcome by emotion that I burst into tears. I’m not a very pretty crier, either. More of a gasping for breath, red-nosed, blurry eyed crier. It usually doesn’t last very long, just a few minutes, and tends to surprise those who haven’t experienced it before.

Today was the Pride Parade in San Francisco. I met two dear long-time friends, and we sat on steps on Market Street which gave us a great view of not only the parade passing by, but also a tremendous vantage point for people watching. We watched floats from businesses (Safeway, Google), churches (Mission Bay Community Church, Episcopalians, Catholics (with a Santa Claus?)), causes (cage free animals, right to bear arms), and community groups (adoption agencies, alliances of LGBT groups from around the world). We observed young ones in rainbow tutus and beads walking by, as well as old ones in leather getups or naked. We relished the sunshine beating down on our bare shoulders (a rare occasion here in the city), clapping for and waving at parade participants. At one point we stood up, dancing to the music of Sylvester, Queen of Disco, and that’s when the tears started to flow. My companions immediately hugged me with reassurances that it would be okay, and all I could murmur through the sobs was, “I’m just so happy…”
5 comments on Tracks of My Tears
Feeling Accomplished

May 28, 2014

Uncategorized

Do you ever have one of those moments when things just seem to fall into place? Tonight has been one of those nights for me.

Tomorrow I leave for North Carolina for a week. I’ll be participating in the Ramblin’ Rose triathlon on Sunday with a roommate from my UNC days. I’ve never participated in a triathlon before and I’m both excited and nervous. I’ve trained when I’ve been in town and viewed my travel time as my “rest weeks” (they just came really early, and perhaps a little often, in the process).

Generally speaking, before I leave on a trip, I’m slightly frantic. Which you wouldn’t think would be the case, because I travel a lot. You’d think I’d have it down by now.

Tonight feels different. My bag is packed, and it’s not even midnight (or 1 am or 2 am, as is normal). Everything fits nicely (with extra room, even!) into my carry on, including my bicycle helmet, running shoes, and swim gear. The house is clean and laundry is done. I made a salad for dinner and used all of the vegetables in the refrigerator (no food to throw away so it won’t spoil while I’m gone – one of the things I hate most about traveling for long periods of time). I completed my absentee voter ballot and mailed it. I’ve made my list of things to work on during the flight tomorrow.

This feels great.

4 comments on Feeling Accomplished
Bonjour, Paris!

May 9, 2014

Travel

I landed in Paris this morning and the first order of business was to walk to the local cafe and order a decaf cappuccino. This arrived, and I smiled – such beauty, such art, and with a tiny heart on top. Je t’aime!

The Most Perfect Cappuccino

Next stop, the bakery. Sara would order a pastry, and I would immediately say to the clerk, “Deux, s’il vous plait!” which made her smile. Right before paying, Sara ordered a baguette. The clerk waited for a moment, then said with a smile, “Deux?” We laughed and shook our head no. One baguette is plenty!

2 comments on Bonjour, Paris!
Challenge Accepted

April 30, 2014

Uncategorized
One of my co-workers, Justin, issued a challenge in March. Blog every day (including weekends) for the month of April. I accepted, excited to have that extra nudge to encourage me to write again. Today’s the last day of the challenge (though not the last day of my writing) so I wanted to take the time to reflect on the challenge.
- Writing every day takes effort. There were a couple of nights that I was almost in bed (and one night when I was almost asleep) when I remembered that I had not posted for the day. I went to my computer, thought for a few minutes about what to write, then made the post. Had I skipped one day, it would have been easier to skip many days. Making sure that I wrote every day, no matter what, actually made it easier to stick with the challenge. (There’s probably a life lesson in there…)
- Some days I either couldn’t think of a topic to write about. What I found helpful was to check out the Daily Post to see if that was something I was interested in writing about. If it was, voila! Post completed. If not, I read other blogs in my WordPress.com Reader and was often inspired by others’ posts.
- I procrastinate. Almost all of my posts were published between 11 pm and midnight. I wanted for the entire day to unfold so that I could have a full day’s worth of memories to choose from to write about. If I started a post mid-day, I felt like I was cheating myself out of that choice.
I’ve really enjoyed the challenge of not only writing every day, but also reading my colleague’s posts as well. Here’s a roundup of who participated – enjoy!
6 comments on Challenge Accepted

Net Neutrality under…