Another fun-filled, and dare I say, extroverted weekend. Probably one of the most social few days I've had since I've been here.
My first rugby experience took place on Thursday night. My muscles are still sore a few days later, not so much from the tackling, but from the conditioning and running involved. If I keep playing, they say I will play FLANKER, whatever that means. It sounds kind of dirty. I hear there's a lot of wrestling involved in the position, which means I'll have to stop laughing and smiling when I go in for the tackle. We eased our pain with a few beverages at a pub afterwards, before retiring slumber party style.
Friday morning, I began babysitting for a little extra cash for a new family who works here. The three rascals are very cute and smart. I always find having kids around to liven things up and to provide for a real-er atmosphere. I took the kids on a walk to pick carrots from the garden and to see one of the new baby lambs. Adorable.
An Arkansas theme, going-away party for Meghan took place that evening. It was nice for us to teach everybody a few things about Arkansas, like the "Pig Soooie, Razorbacks" cheer. I'm going to miss having that woman around here, but she's off to travel Europe.
Saturday involved another hike and lots of eating and some napping and some movie watching (TOUCHING THE VOID). But I'll spare you all the details, as I need to go clean my room on this very rainy day before starting work.
Oh yeah, and we burned a giant Christmas tree last night in this grassy bowl of land (don't worry, we had a fire ring set up for the occassion), which caused for a super-duper gigantic flame. It was awesome. I highly recommend doing it, if you still have a tree lying around.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Not happening.
Well, I had a busy three days off. And by busy I mean very balanced and enjoyable. Finished reading Million Little Pieces. I would put it in the same genre as Running With Scissors, whatever genre that is...most generically the story where the author writes about how messed up he was and then tells the story of his maturation/recovery.
Then I went hiking with Meghan on Green River Cove, Turkey Gut, and Stairstep Falls trails. Great names for trails. The first trail was rated strenuous. Being as it was a mile straight uphill, I agree.
We were about to play bingo at the VFW or try rugby practice in Asheville, but the thought of both ideas required too much energy, so we went to the library instead and checked out books and movies. I'm going to give Annie Dillard another shot. I know Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is all the rage and got a Pulitzer or something, but I just couldn't get into it. Maybe American Childhood will float my boat.
My cultural experience for the weekend included the Amnesty International Film Festival. Watched two documentaries: 1) about silver mining in Bolivia 2) about amateur olympics held in Sudan in attempts to stop war and unite neighbors. Of course both make me rethink my life. They were depressing and made me feel every range of motion on the awful continuum. Hopefully, I'll do something instead of just feeling awful about it. I did sign 2 petitions, but that's kind of measly in retrospect.
Also listened to This American Life (it was a good one) and some of Prairie Home Companion.
First day back on my shift started out good. Took a group to see Dreamer at the dollar movie. Everyone got too much food and drink in strict violation of our healthy, organic high fiber and protein diet. But when the movies only a dollar, what else to do with the extra cash?
Oh yeah, send it to the kids in them Bolivian mines. Oooppps.
Come 11:00 tonight when things and people should be winding down, things start to get interesting, which is why I'm still up and agitated out of sleepiness and posting this in attempts to soothe myself into some sweet dreaming.
I don't think it's happened.
Then I went hiking with Meghan on Green River Cove, Turkey Gut, and Stairstep Falls trails. Great names for trails. The first trail was rated strenuous. Being as it was a mile straight uphill, I agree.
We were about to play bingo at the VFW or try rugby practice in Asheville, but the thought of both ideas required too much energy, so we went to the library instead and checked out books and movies. I'm going to give Annie Dillard another shot. I know Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is all the rage and got a Pulitzer or something, but I just couldn't get into it. Maybe American Childhood will float my boat.
My cultural experience for the weekend included the Amnesty International Film Festival. Watched two documentaries: 1) about silver mining in Bolivia 2) about amateur olympics held in Sudan in attempts to stop war and unite neighbors. Of course both make me rethink my life. They were depressing and made me feel every range of motion on the awful continuum. Hopefully, I'll do something instead of just feeling awful about it. I did sign 2 petitions, but that's kind of measly in retrospect.
Also listened to This American Life (it was a good one) and some of Prairie Home Companion.
First day back on my shift started out good. Took a group to see Dreamer at the dollar movie. Everyone got too much food and drink in strict violation of our healthy, organic high fiber and protein diet. But when the movies only a dollar, what else to do with the extra cash?
Oh yeah, send it to the kids in them Bolivian mines. Oooppps.
Come 11:00 tonight when things and people should be winding down, things start to get interesting, which is why I'm still up and agitated out of sleepiness and posting this in attempts to soothe myself into some sweet dreaming.
I don't think it's happened.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Stand still...
It was nice talking to Cale last night on the phone, and then to Anna Kate the morning before, and then to Ashley a few nights before...etc, etc. Catching up with far-away friends has really done wonders for my spirit.
My spirit, by the way, has been all over the place, especially after celebrating MLK yesterday. We went to a Peace March (really more of a 5 minute stroll) that was followed by a rally.
The impact and power of congregation stunned me. Usually I try to avoid congregation, unless food and/or liquid spirits are involved (and these things don't always fulfill their appealing promise). There was stepping and singing and praising. And as I was thinking of the Civil Rights Movement and the timeline of it all (wasn't it 1865 that African Americans obtained the right to vote) and how it wasn't that long ago, and how there are still huge remnants and leftovers of prejudice and discrimination. The disguise of it all. To what degree am I being racist, or age-ist, or sexist? What prejudices have I inherited? What prejudices have I dispelled like an empty rumor?
The difficulty of naming things--it can be both necessary and unnecessary. To name or not to name.
There's still just so much marginalization and injustice. So many people getting ignored. People with mental illness weigh especially heavily on my mind lately, as I see a struggle amongst these people as they strive to rid people at large of taboos and stereotypes against them with little success and little representation and little help from the government.
When I was in Arkansas over Thanksgiving I saw this one episode of Dr. Phil (stay with me here) that was trying to dispel the rumor of mental illness by interviewing a woman with Schizophrenia, but the show kept marketing her as a "schizophrenic," which ironically reduces her to her mental illness, instead of showing the whole complexity of her person and humanity that the show was supposed to be showing.
Language alone is so powerful and dynamic--limiting and freeing. I hope people don't take Dr. Phil too literally, as he's just perpetuating what I believe to be a misunderstanding in this case; although I see that he was trying to put a face to society's fear in order to dispel it. I do recommend facing our fears (so to speak), but do it in real life, not via talk shows.
The complexity of things is just really as energizing as it is paralyzing; I just don't feel like I'm doing much of anything besides being at a stand still, which is no good.
My spirit, by the way, has been all over the place, especially after celebrating MLK yesterday. We went to a Peace March (really more of a 5 minute stroll) that was followed by a rally.
The impact and power of congregation stunned me. Usually I try to avoid congregation, unless food and/or liquid spirits are involved (and these things don't always fulfill their appealing promise). There was stepping and singing and praising. And as I was thinking of the Civil Rights Movement and the timeline of it all (wasn't it 1865 that African Americans obtained the right to vote) and how it wasn't that long ago, and how there are still huge remnants and leftovers of prejudice and discrimination. The disguise of it all. To what degree am I being racist, or age-ist, or sexist? What prejudices have I inherited? What prejudices have I dispelled like an empty rumor?
The difficulty of naming things--it can be both necessary and unnecessary. To name or not to name.
There's still just so much marginalization and injustice. So many people getting ignored. People with mental illness weigh especially heavily on my mind lately, as I see a struggle amongst these people as they strive to rid people at large of taboos and stereotypes against them with little success and little representation and little help from the government.
When I was in Arkansas over Thanksgiving I saw this one episode of Dr. Phil (stay with me here) that was trying to dispel the rumor of mental illness by interviewing a woman with Schizophrenia, but the show kept marketing her as a "schizophrenic," which ironically reduces her to her mental illness, instead of showing the whole complexity of her person and humanity that the show was supposed to be showing.
Language alone is so powerful and dynamic--limiting and freeing. I hope people don't take Dr. Phil too literally, as he's just perpetuating what I believe to be a misunderstanding in this case; although I see that he was trying to put a face to society's fear in order to dispel it. I do recommend facing our fears (so to speak), but do it in real life, not via talk shows.
The complexity of things is just really as energizing as it is paralyzing; I just don't feel like I'm doing much of anything besides being at a stand still, which is no good.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Mooning
We have this movie club here. We've been trying to watch some classics: Citizen Kane, Double Indemnity, It's A Wonderful Life, Casablanca, etc. Well, I came upon my new favorite movie today: MOONSTRUCK. Cher is just really amazing. I loved her in MASK, but that movie provoked tears; this one just provoked good humor. And Nicolas Cage didn't even get on my nerves in this movie (although I didn't mind him the movie about orchids and writing)--maybe because he was 20 years younger and hadn't yet learned arrogance.
I also happened to come across a movie called Grizzly Man over the weekend. It is quite a trip and I recommend that the rest of you take the trip. Pretty footage; wacky man; and grizzly bears, of course. If the man hadn't been eaten by the bear at the end, his mental health could have greatly benefited from the services here at CooperRiis.
Read two issues of THE SUN. Wrote some poems. Taking a break from knitting. Going on a Peace Walk in Asheville tomorrow to celebrate Martin Luther King and to think about my dreams (dangerous territory, lately--luckily, I have psychotherapists in my circle of acquaintances now). And maybe I'll play a little softball and be bored by the Golden Globes.
I also happened to come across a movie called Grizzly Man over the weekend. It is quite a trip and I recommend that the rest of you take the trip. Pretty footage; wacky man; and grizzly bears, of course. If the man hadn't been eaten by the bear at the end, his mental health could have greatly benefited from the services here at CooperRiis.
Read two issues of THE SUN. Wrote some poems. Taking a break from knitting. Going on a Peace Walk in Asheville tomorrow to celebrate Martin Luther King and to think about my dreams (dangerous territory, lately--luckily, I have psychotherapists in my circle of acquaintances now). And maybe I'll play a little softball and be bored by the Golden Globes.
Friday, January 13, 2006
One flew over...
Well, considering I've been here 6 months now, I figure it's due time to begin a new blog. Feeling disconnected from all my faraway friends/family members and with the price of stamps going up and sometimes too lazy to do it the old-fashioned way, this is the best bet.
In case you forgot, where I am: Mill Spring, North Carolina. Population: unknown (really just too small to count). Working in the delicate foothills and all that at a therapeutic healing farm. If you haven't checked out the website already: www.cooperriis.org. (my picture is even on the website. Umhum. I've hit the big time.
Due to confidentiality, I can't write about all the interesting going-ons that I would love to be at liberty to write about and share, as I'm learning more about myself and others everyday. And at the same time, I do want to respect the people I work with and for by allowing them deserved privacy. Maybe that's part of the reason I'm feeling disconnected: when I do talk to some of y'all back home, I just can't get into the details, so the conversation is reduced to, "I'm doing well; same old, same old." Okay, sometimes I say more than that. But not much. You feel my frustration.
In some ways this is going to be a lousy attempt; a failure from the beginning at connection, as my writings will also be reduced to the half-stories and superficialities and descriptions of nature I encounter. It will also probably be free of profanity and stories involving vices (which, mom, you probably prefer--sorry to my more cras friends).
Like: the geese are in full force, flying v-shaped overhead and landing on the fields and lake, here. Meghan (a friend and volunteer here from Fort Smith) and I also landed in the lake yesterday, as we decided to go for a polar bear swim in January. Okay, it was 70 degrees outside, which doesn't make us as tough as say if it was 30 below. But the water was more than chilly. It was piercing.
Last night, we went to the Avett Brothers concert. Living in a bubble community makes going out a little awkward at times. I have next to no friends or acquaintances outside of Cooperriis. I'm the kind of person who easily forgets how to be sociable and outgoing outside of my comfort zone. It's not as easy for me to forget what attractive members of the opposite sex look like, especially when he's singing soulfully with his eyes held shut. The show was really good. I'd put them in the category of Old Crow Medicine show.
I even bought one of their CD's, which I never do. Usually, a burned CD is just fine for my cheap tastes. Being on salary and making some dough makes a difference in these matters. Plus, I just really need some new music in my collection. Luckily, there's a great public radio station here, WNCW, that keeps me updated somewhat on new voices. But sometimes, the station gets too much on a bluesgrass kick, which leaves me wanting what I'm not getting. Are you noticing the themes: want, deprivation, satisfaction, dissatisfaction. Getting paid really splits a person. Or maybe being around mental illness is splitting me. A combination of the two, probably.
Well, that's all the superficialities I can handle for the moment.
(Don't forget to post, or I'll feel like no one cares, and that will only add to my insatiable want to be connected. Thanks for listening; It's not always easy.)
In case you forgot, where I am: Mill Spring, North Carolina. Population: unknown (really just too small to count). Working in the delicate foothills and all that at a therapeutic healing farm. If you haven't checked out the website already: www.cooperriis.org. (my picture is even on the website. Umhum. I've hit the big time.
Due to confidentiality, I can't write about all the interesting going-ons that I would love to be at liberty to write about and share, as I'm learning more about myself and others everyday. And at the same time, I do want to respect the people I work with and for by allowing them deserved privacy. Maybe that's part of the reason I'm feeling disconnected: when I do talk to some of y'all back home, I just can't get into the details, so the conversation is reduced to, "I'm doing well; same old, same old." Okay, sometimes I say more than that. But not much. You feel my frustration.
In some ways this is going to be a lousy attempt; a failure from the beginning at connection, as my writings will also be reduced to the half-stories and superficialities and descriptions of nature I encounter. It will also probably be free of profanity and stories involving vices (which, mom, you probably prefer--sorry to my more cras friends).
Like: the geese are in full force, flying v-shaped overhead and landing on the fields and lake, here. Meghan (a friend and volunteer here from Fort Smith) and I also landed in the lake yesterday, as we decided to go for a polar bear swim in January. Okay, it was 70 degrees outside, which doesn't make us as tough as say if it was 30 below. But the water was more than chilly. It was piercing.
Last night, we went to the Avett Brothers concert. Living in a bubble community makes going out a little awkward at times. I have next to no friends or acquaintances outside of Cooperriis. I'm the kind of person who easily forgets how to be sociable and outgoing outside of my comfort zone. It's not as easy for me to forget what attractive members of the opposite sex look like, especially when he's singing soulfully with his eyes held shut. The show was really good. I'd put them in the category of Old Crow Medicine show.
I even bought one of their CD's, which I never do. Usually, a burned CD is just fine for my cheap tastes. Being on salary and making some dough makes a difference in these matters. Plus, I just really need some new music in my collection. Luckily, there's a great public radio station here, WNCW, that keeps me updated somewhat on new voices. But sometimes, the station gets too much on a bluesgrass kick, which leaves me wanting what I'm not getting. Are you noticing the themes: want, deprivation, satisfaction, dissatisfaction. Getting paid really splits a person. Or maybe being around mental illness is splitting me. A combination of the two, probably.
Well, that's all the superficialities I can handle for the moment.
(Don't forget to post, or I'll feel like no one cares, and that will only add to my insatiable want to be connected. Thanks for listening; It's not always easy.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)