Ringing in the New Year
My long, dark tea-time of the soul. That’s how I have been thinking of 2007. I have never wanted a year to be over so badly.
2007 has been, without question, the most difficult year of my life so far. In fact, the last five years have been challenging. As I was telling a friend, my life since moving to Seattle has been largely defined by the themes of death and dying. But to lose my dear sister — not just my sister, but my baby girl, one of my closest and dearest friends, and my most fierce and loyal supporter — was more than I was prepared to deal with.
As I move into 2008, it is with a heavy heart and an eye toward introspection, reflection, transformation, and healing. So perhaps that long, dark tea-time of the soul isn’t quite over. But I have a dream of coming through this with greater self awareness, deeper connections, and a new vision of my life moving forward. That is my wish and my hope as I start this new year.
On Boxing
Men and women with no personal or class reason for feeling anger are inclined to dismiss the emotion, if not piously condemn it, in others. Why such discontent? why such unrest? why so strident? Yet this world is conceived in anger — and in hatred, and in hunger — no less than it is conceived in love: that is one of the things that boxing is about. It is so simple a thing it might be overlooked.
— Joyce Carol Oates, On Boxing
Whitewater in Leavenworth
Never one to pass up the opportunity to experience something new, I went white water rafting for the first time ever a few weeks ago. We drove to the Wenatchee River in Leavenworth, Washington, a lovely Bavarian-themed town (let me reiterate–an American-based Bavarian-themed town complete with mountain goats on the golf course) in the midst of the Cascade mountains. As odd as it may be to find a Bavarian town in Washington state, the area is really quite beautiful, with snow-fed rivers in the midst of alpine forests and soaring mountains.
And for those of you who can’t quite picture me cutting through the rushing white water, here’s the evidence. Yep, that’s me front and center. And yes, I got very wet.
The Transgender Experience
Interesting articles about one transgender woman’s experience:
El Chupacabra
Anyone who knows me knows I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit a restaurant/bar/lounge named after the most infamous of all goat-sucking alien vampires. Last Saturday I made my way to Seattle’s El Chupacabra Lounge to see what there was to see (and eat!).
Dedicated to bringing San Francisco Mission District style burritos, El Chupacabra also brings some tasty cocktails, including a pomegranate kamikazi and a pomegranate margarita. By some accounts (mine and Cynthia’s in particular) both could use more pomegranante, but both were mighty tasty as well.
So if you’re looking for tacos, burritos, or quesadillas, you might want to check ’em out (67th and Greenwood Ave., for those of you on the prowl). If you’re looking for goats and their vital fluids, however, you’ll have to look somewhere else….
Musings & Meditations 
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