Hip Hop

I have a confession. Since sometime
in early spring, I have been going to hip hop classes. Each week, Lia
and I leave work right on time, head downtown and spend an hour dancing
to loud hip hop music in an historic library building. We don't have a
ton of rhythm and while we're getting better, I still usually only get
all the steps once in a class even though we repeat the routine at
least 25 times each class. Two weeks ago, the instructor told us we
don't suck (not exactly in those words, but that was the message) and
we were so excited.

But, in spite of a slight lack of natural hip hop talent and my strong instinct to point my toes and dance like a ballerina
instead (damn childhood ballet lessons) the highlight of my week is
dance class. We have so much fun that when we get to work on Friday,
we're still smiling. I love it. I love dancing. It is one of the most
life-affirming joy-filled activities I can do.

So there it is. Now you know. Whew, it's nice to have that off my chest.

Shame by Hello Kitty

Check out this article! This is so completely bizarre that it's hilarious. The Thai police definitly get the award for "most interesting use of Hello Kitty."

My favorite pull quote: "(Hello) Kitty is a cute icon for young girls. It's not something macho police officers want covering their biceps," Pongpat said.

Amazing.

New Mexico

There's a fantastic article on Santa Fe in the New York Times and Neil saw a billboard in Minneapolis that sends you to a website suggesting New Mexico is the best place in the universe. I always tell people I meet that I am from Santa Fe. Then they say, "Santa Fe?" and I say, "Yep, it's the best place on earth." Maybe I will upgrade that to "It's the best place in the universe."

Anyway, all of this New Mexico talk has me longing to be back there instead of the swampy inferno that is D.C.

Next time on j.g.s. "Why I love living in D.C."

Really?
So, apparently, I hate the world?

(Thanks to Britty and Amy for capturing this Seattle poster on film and sending it my way.)

You can check this band out here. They are actually kind of good...

More Potter Please

Highlight of the week: Seeing dozens of normal-looking people reading Harry Potter 7 on the metro.

Low point of the week: Running out of Harry Potter 7 to read.

On Monday, the metro had a few people here and there who were reading Harry Potter, but by Tuesday, people were no longer ashamed and every third person had a copy of the book tucked under his or her arm. I have said it before and I'll say it again, but it's a rare cultural phenomenon that can get adults and children alike around the world to read a nearly 800-page book. There really was something magical about reading my Harry Potter with a bunch of other suit-wearing business people on my way home from work Monday. Thank you J.K. Rowling for making me believe in the good in the world and bringing good old imagination to millions.

Odale!

Neil and I spent a week in Santa Fe attending two weddings, rafting, hiking, relaxing and seeing friends and family. Being at Nancy and Justin and Britten and Brooke's weddings was fantastic. There is not much better than seeing your friends happy and celebrating happiness. I do a lot of complaining about going to weddings (we sure do have a lot of them this summer) but really, what better way to spend a day or evening than basking in the joy that surrounds weddings?

Being back in the southwest was fantastic. We slept with the window open every night and I woke up early every morning and always in a good mood. There's nothing like breathing crisp mountain air all night long - it was amazing. If I were to sleep with my window open in DC I would a) choke on humidity and b) breathe the aroma of chinese food all night long.

We got to see my brother who came in the second weekend we were in town and we spent time with my grandma and my parents and cousin Pam. We even got to see some old friends from our time living in Albuquerque. Of course, there were people we didn't get to see as well... but we will be back in NM for Labor Day!

Other than the weddings, the highlight had to be rafting in the Rio Grande. It was so much fun and it was so fantastic to spend time with Britty, Brooke, Rachel, Brian and Neil - five of my favorite people. Neil fell out of the raft which was both terrifying and then when he was ok, hilarious. The boys went to Dairy Queen and made a pact to never admit it. Britty posed for photos while the rest of us paddled. It was a blast. Thank you to Britten and Nancy for scheduling your weddings a week apart and forcing me to take summer vacation. It was much needed.

Inspiration

Inspiration comes from all kinds of places. A beautiful girl on the metro, a reformed pimp selling newspapers, a man who danced around the world, a beautful voice, a glance from a stranger, a smile from my husband, an elevator conversation, an early summer breeze. There are moments in every day that make me feel alive, make me want to do more, be a better person, fulfill my potential, be inspiring. Today, I had quite a few of those moments, when I remembered how beautiful life can be. Last weekend in Los Angeles, I also felt inspired by the ocean, the sunshine, the love between Bella and Maurice, the tenuous joy of adolescence, the bonds of family... Sometimes, all I need to do is take a minute and remember all of the inspiration, all the little moments of joy that lead to renewed hope.

Travel makes me lonely

Traveling alone is a very isolating experience. As I bustle through train stations and airports with too much luggage, I feel very very alone. Even though people are everywhere, nobody is a part of my journey and nobody knows me.

I have been traveling a lot the last couple of weeks and I'm exhausted.

The first trip was to NYC with Miriam for a work meeting. The meeting was great and then the night with Miriam's family was even better. They are so incredibly nice and all very interesting and intelligent, the kind of people I like to surround myself with. The next morning, after another good meeting, I was on a train back to DC by myself. I made it just in time to go home, switch suitcases and head to the airport for a weekend in Chicago.

Seeing Northwestern for the first time in seven years was awesome and hanging out with amazing friends was even better. Yay girl's weekend!

And now, I am off to LA for a wedding weekend. When I return, one more train ride to NYC and then, I will hopefully get to stay put for a few days. Sometimes I need some stillness to process life's events and get ready for the next adventure.

Also, I am saying a special prayer for Robin's dad. May he speedily recover from heart surgery.

Where Have I Been?

So many things to blog about.
Let's
begin with Jury Duty. On Monday, I spent five hours of my life sitting
in a crowded jurors' lounge waiting for my number (211) to be called.
It was called for two panels, which meant I got to stand up, leave my
seat in the jurors' lounge and wait in a hall outside a courtroom until
I was told that I wasn't needed. Then I got to go home. It wasmind numbing
and felt a bit like I was in jail for the day (or how I imagine jail
would be) because we couldn't leave the lounge for more than 10 minutes
and if someone did, and their number was called - trouble! They would
call the name of themiscreant over the loudspeaker VERY loudly and demand whoever it was report to the jurors' office immediately. All of this would have been fine if I hadn't been robbed of my leatherman on my way into the courthouse.

I have (had) a small pink Leatherman Squirt that I carried with me in my purse at all times. It had such dangerous tools as scissors,
tweezers, a nail file, a screwdriver and a teeny tiny knife that would
be effective at slicing a very tiny block of cheese and that's about
it. I forgot it was in my purse and put it through the scanner. The
guard said i needed to take it out, I did and said, "Oh my goodness, I
forgot to leave this at home. I'm early, so I'll take it home and come
back." To which the guard said, "Once you enter the building with it,
it's mine."

What the???

Even at the airport, they allow
you to mail that stuff to yourself. How can he justify not letting me
leave the building to take myleatherman home? At the end of the day, I
returned to the scene of the crime and tried to talk them into giving
it back to me. It was still there, shiny and pink, in a cardboard box.
They actually handed it to me (I should have sprinted out the door) and
told me to put my name on it, come back to the court on another Monday
morning and ask the chief judge to give it back. I am pissed. I took
time out of my (busy) life to be a good citizen and do my civic duty,
they stole myleatherman , stuffed me into a dirty and uncomfortable
Juror's lounge, treated me as a number and then refused to return my
stolen property.Aaaahhhhhh!

America's Mayor

Last weekend was beautiful. The sun was out, it was warm enough to forgo a coat and spring was in the air. To take advantage, Neil and I went on long walks on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, we were on our way home when Neil said, "There's Giuliani, I'm going to talk to him." And before I could process the sentence, I was whisked across the street and found myself standing in front of Rudy Giuliani who was stylishly dressed in a powder blue v-neck sweater with a collared shirt underneath. As soon as I thought, "What is Neil going to say?" Neil opened his mouth and very enthusiastically said, "It's America's Mayor!" Rudy smiled, and shook Neil's hand as Neil asked, "What are you doing in Washington." The reply: "Just enjoying the beautiful day." And then, Rudy and his advisor and security guard began crossing the street as oncoming traffic barreled toward them. Rudy jumped back to the curb before getting hit by an SUV and said something like, "I just can't get used to not being in New York. In New York, you walk out and they stop."

I was struck by how, in person, Rudy looked like a charicture of himself. His wrinkles were deeper and his features seemed exaggerated compared to the magazine and television images I have seen. He was very friendly and was obviously flattered by Neil's characterization of him as America's Mayor. Did Neil make that up? Neither of us are sure...

Once the light changed, Neil and I walked quickly and were a couple blocks ahead of the Giuliani three and so Neil began telling people walking by, "Giuliani two blocks ahead!" or "Giuliani straight ahead!" Which had me in stitches.

Sure, I'd probably rather run into movie stars on the street, but Washington is really cool in that way. As one student on a summer program through my work said, "Washington has the stars of Reality and LA has the stars of entertainment." It's cool to run into Rudy Giuliani on the street a few blocks from my condo. Next time maybe I will open my mouth and say something, too.

Face Plant

Sometimes you have to fall flat on your face in order to begin again. Maybe the unfortunate slip on black ice this morning that landed me face-down in a parking lot was just a way of helping me to really get back on my feet?

And now I am ready to stand up for myself and be strong.

Or maybe it was just falling on my face, smashing my apple and getting some bruises.

Either way, I suspect I am stronger for the experience.

Now I hope to go for at least a month without falling.

Aah New Mexico

Two news stories about my home state have cropped up over the past week that have had me in stitches. Basically, they typify New Mexico in so many ways and show a little bit of what I love and hate about the Land of Enchantment.

First there were the talking urinal cakes that were deemed so interesting they showed up in the Washington Post's free daily newspaper given out at Metro stations all over DC (Of course, Turtle Mountain was one of our favorite Albuquerque establishments.):

By Tim Korte, Associated Press Writer | February 17, 2007

RIO RANCHO, N.M. --New Mexico is hoping to keep drunks off the road by lecturing them at the last place they usually stop before getting behind the wheel: the urinal.

The state recently paid $21 each for about 500 talking urinal-deodorizer cakes and has put them in men's rooms in bars and restaurants across the state.

When a man steps up, the motion-sensitive plastic device says, in a woman's voice that is flirty, then stern: "Hey, big guy. Having a few drinks? Think you had one too many? Then it's time to call a cab or call a sober friend for a ride home."

The recorded message ends: "Remember, your future is in your hand."

The talking urinal represents just the latest effort to fight drunken driving in New Mexico, which has long had one of the highest rates of alcohol-related traffic deaths in the nation. (The new tactic is aimed only at men, since they account for 78 percent of all driving-under-the-influence-related convictions in New Mexico.)

"It startled me the first time I heard it, but it sure got my attention," said Ben Miller, a patron at the Turtle Mountain Brewing Co. bar and restaurant. "It's a fantastic idea."

Jim Swatek, who was drinking a beer nearby, said: "You think, `Maybe I should call the wife to come get me.'"

Turtle Mountain Brewing owner Niko Ortiz commended the New Mexico Transportation Department for "thinking way outside the box."

Department spokesman S.U. Mahesh said the bathroom is a perfect place to get the message across. In the restroom, "guys don't chitchat with other guys," he said. "It's all business. We've got their total attention for 10 to 15 seconds"

Similar urinal cakes have been used for anti-drug campaigns in Colorado, Pennsylvania and Australia, and for anti-DWI efforts on New York's Long Island, said Richard Deutsch of New York-based Healthquest Technologies Inc., which manufactures the devices.

But Deutsch said he believes New Mexico is the only state to buy the devices.

New Mexico had 143 alcohol-related deaths in 2005, for the nation's eighth-highest rate per miles driven. The problem is blamed in part on the wide-open spaces that make it necessary to drive to get anywhere, and the poverty and isolation that can lead people to drink to relieve their boredom or misery.

Also, some have complained that the state has only recently begun to emerge from years of lax enforcement.

Gov. Bill Richardson led a successful push two years ago to require ignition locking devices for anyone convicted of DWI -- a first in the nation -- and each year the Legislature has agreed on tougher penalties for repeat offenders.

New Mexico also has started a toll-free "drunk buster" hot line, boosted DWI enforcement in problem areas and increased police checkpoints. The state also has a DWI czar.

In November, a wrong-way drunken driver slammed into a car near Santa Fe, killing five family members, authorities said. The governor has since directed state regulators to issue cease-and-desist orders against three airlines to stop serving alcohol on flights to and from New Mexico. The culprit in the fatal wreck had been seen drinking on a flight into Albuquerque hours before the accident.

At the Turtle Mountain, the urinal cakes have proved so intriguing that three have been swiped already.

"I'm mystified why someone would stick their hand into one of our urinals," Ortiz said. "But I'm sure we'll see them on eBay. Hopefully, the seller will advertise it as, `Stolen from Turtle Mountain.'"

And then there were the foul-mouthed CD players that got detonated in front of the cathedral in my home town:

SANTA FE, New Mexico (AP) -- Three CD players hidden under a cathedral's pews blared sexually explicit language in the middle of an Ash Wednesday Mass, leading a bomb squad to detonate two of the devices.

Authorities determined the music players were not dangerous and kept the third one to check it for clues, said police Capt. Gary Johnson.

The CD players, duct-taped to the bottoms of the pews, were set to turn on in the middle of noon Mass on Wednesday at the Roman Catholic Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

The recordings, made on store-bought blank discs, featured people using foul language and "pornographic messages," Johnson said. He would not elaborate because of the ongoing investigation.

Church staff members took the CD players to the basement and called police, who sent the bomb squad, Johnson said.

The bomb squad blew up two players outside and kept the third one to test for fingerprints or DNA and trace its components, he said.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, which marks a 40-day period of fasting and penitence before Easter.


Aaah New Mexico. Amazing climate, incredible culture, beautiful scenery, thriving art scene AND a source of endless entertainment.

Hope

Sometimes, when you don't know what else you can do and you've tried everything you can think of and you finally realize that no matter how much you love someone, no matter how convinced you are of their potential to be amazing and to be happy, you don't have the power to make them happy...sometimes a miracle happens that has absolutely nothing to do with you.

In November, when I called my brother to say hello, nine times out of ten, he was too depressed to even pick up the phone. Flash forward to February when he picks up after the first ring and sounds happy and...imagine this... actually talks to me about real things, even about feelings. I can hear his smile in the way he talks and every time I hang up with him, it's all I can do to keep from tearing up with this powerful feeling that is hovering between happiness and relief.

And so, I have hope again. (thank you)

Obsessions and Creativity

I have a new obsession. That obsession is Veronica Mars. In the past two weeks, I have watched all of seasons 1 and 2 and the approximately 10 hours of season three that have already aired. Last week, as a way out of my mopey shoulder-pain, Neil's Grandma slump I ate breathed and slept Veronica Mars.. or, more accurately, did not sleep. I was up at 3 am on a weeknight watching episode after episode. I've never tried crack, but I imagine the level of addiction was right up there.

So, now us thinking people must ask: Why Jodi, why do you love Veronica Mars? I'm not sure, exactly. The characters are awesome. They are attractive and intelligent. And, there's something very appealing about a small girl being the heroine. I like the father-daughter relationship, and I love the way the show reflects the human condition in a way that is so right on. Watching it lets me escape from myself while I am simultaneously learning something about being human. And that might be the crux of it... the reflection of the human condition. And so, my obsession with "mindless" television has led me to feel like I need to begin creating things again. I know that's why I am here, why I'm alive. I feel the most alive and complete when I am writing, or taking photos, or creating art of any kind and when I am using my body in a creative way to dance or ski or do something else that is somehow beautiful. So why have I not found a way to do that every day. Can't I make money while reflecting the human condition and telling people something they didn't already know about themselves? Sure, it's a tall order, but there has to be a way. Should I be making TV shows? Writing a novel? Working in Journalism (again)? Opening my own design business? Starting a dance studio? Will the answer come to me at some point? Neil said that last week when he saw his grandma's body at the funeral home, he knew it was empty - his grandma was gone, but her body remained - and he thought about how our bodies are like rentals. We inhabit them for a while and then - poof - we'r gone. And this was just another reminder along the way that I need to live as hard as I can. So I will mull this over and come up with my next move...in the meantime, only one more week until a new episode of Veronica Mars and I have an appointment with my couch.

Hmm

This has not been the best week. It began with a very cranky Monday. For no apparent reason, I felt like the world was coming to an end all day Monday. Then, at around 7 p.m. I discovered the reason for all crankiness as I slipped on the wet escalator in the Metro and proceeded to fall down about five stairs, dropping my groceries and, more importantly, pulling my shoulder out of the socket and smashing my shin into an escalator step (I have the lined bruise to prove it.) What followed for the rest of the week were trips to doctors and MRI specialists. On Tuesday I get to find out what's wrong with my shoulder.

To add to my misfortune, Neil got sent to Utah for work the night I fell and then, his grandmother got very sick and he flew to Portland to be with her. She died last night and in spite of three hours on the phone to airlines and on the internet with bargain airfare sites, I couldn't find a ticket under $1,500 and even those wouldn't get me to Oregon in time for the funeral. And so, here I sit, on a Friday night, with a wounded shoulder and a grieving husband and husband's family who are all on the other side of the country.

Awesome.

It has been a rough week, but I am finally feeling a little bit at peace with all of it. As today wound to a close, I felt this great sense of relief. Part of it is probably because Neil is coming home soon and his grandma is in a better place and didn't suffer long and my shoulder hurts a little less, but I think the main part of it was that the week was ending. Funny that an artifical construct like a week can so completely form my frame of reference that the end of a week makes me feel like I have a fresh start, a new beginning. But so it is...So here's to new beginnings and to a much improved set of seven days...starting now...

Things I am not proud of

1) While walking
to the metro on Monday a rude woman passed me going the other direction
and coughed RIGHT in my face. Right before I held my breath and turned
away, my brain entertained the following brief thought: "I should
breathe in really deep and maybe I will get sick and not have to go to
work."

2) The U.S. is playing against Mexico in soccer right now. I am rooting for Mexico. (But I won't be sad if we win either.)

3)
This morning, I was running really really late to work. I can only take
every other train because I go almost to the end of the line and not
all trains go that far. When the third train came (only the second that
would actually get me to work) and I made it to the front of the crowd
and the door chime sounded, I actually shoved some nice people in order
to make it on the train. It's not like they wouldn't have shoved me if
I hadn't acted first. It's not like I haven't actually come home with
bruises from metro shoves. But, still, I pushed some nice people while
trying to get on the metro.

4) Sometimes when I am feeling very unhappy, I resort to online shopping.

Things that I feel good about

1) I have been to the gym every day for the last five days and I feel amazing.

2)
Tonight, when I rolled out a yoga mat at the gym and then went to grab
some free weights and a man sat on my mat and started doingsit ups, I just smiled and got a new mat.

3) My supervisee at work is doing an amazing job and I think that sometimes, I really help her and I think she looks up to me.

4) My little brother is doing awesome in San Francisco.

5) I have amazing friends and I have been getting back in touch with lots of them recently.

Interesting and/or disturbing things

1)
The prehistoric skeletons found near Verona, Italy locked in an embrace
are completely amazing to me and reading about them made me feel, in
some very basic way, that humans are good.

2) I also read today
that the KKK is increasing their membership by hating Mexicans. This
information literally made me nauseous and nearly canceled out the
goodness the Verona fossils imparted.

3) It is absolutely
freezing in Washington, D.C. and I keep dreaming of a beach vacation.
Bath and Body Works sells this amazing body scrub called Island Hot
Spot. If you are longing for summer vacation this winter, run, don't
walk, to the mall nearest you, buy the small tube of the scrub for a
slightly outrageous $13.50 and use it in the shower each morning. It's
completely worth it and will get rid of dead and dry winter skin while
cheering you with it's vacation scent. (Sadly, no, I do not get a
kickback for every tube they sell - I just really like the stuff.)

A quote

Some people of course expect
to be rewarded for stumbling
and rising from the floor
and stumbling again, but we give
no credit for living. We favor vitality
over goodness, even over effort;
we love a great belly laugh
more than anything.

-Stephen Dunn (from “The Soul’s Agents”)

A Good Start

I am trying to get a good start on the year and that means blogging!
So here I am. New Years was both awesome and terrible. Terrible because I was feeling ill all of the next day, awesome, because we had a lot of fun.

And now it's 2007. Of course, it doesn't really feel all that different, it's just another day. But I like the idea of fresh starts, of the possibility to make this year whatever I want it to be... and I'm going to set out doing that.

I am sure I will have more to report soon.

Newness

I am about to go out for one last time in 2006. For me, this has been a really good year. A year of new friends, of renewed youth, of busy weeks, of many visitors, of traveling and experiencing.
I think it's funny, how we mark things by years. What is a year? A collection of days, really... And yet, to me, something has always seemed so final about New Years Eve. No turning back, another year gone. The upside is that tomorrow will be filled with newness and with the sense of possibility that I am so in love with.

Here's to more living in 2007!

Blog Gone?

I am so bad at this blogging thing. Maybe it is because I have been blogging for so long? Or perhaps I am less inclined to share my innermost thoughts lately? I am not sure what is going on, but I am taking another stab at it. Since I last posted, I had an awesome trip to New York with Neil, my brother and my grandma. We saw the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall, The Lion King and The Drowsy Chaperone. We rode a carriage through central park, we shopped at Uniqlo, watched my grandma buy diamond earrings at Tiffany's and had an awesome time. Then Dustin (my brother) visited us in DC through Thanksgiving which was awesome. We had amazing weather and it was really refreshing to spend so much time with him.

I also went to New Mexico twice in three weeks which was both wonderful and exhausting. Neil's documentary on the governor was shown at the NM Film Expo the first weekend of December and I was home last weekend for the whole Christmas Eve walk.

All of the intense craziness has been fun, but I am really ready for some nights in. It's introspection time again. 2006 is ending. I have been in DC for more than a year and it's time to think about what is next... or at least to really examine my life and make sure I am really living. So that's what I am up to these days - trying to live more, to love better, to be less selfish, to listen to more music (new favorite album: Rabbit Fur Coat - Jenny Lewis), move more (dance classes anyone?) and just be present in the moment. I think I have been on autopilot again for a while and it's time to be awake.

Good morning.