i fixed the comments. i need to mess with my template a little for the formatting, but they're there. (their? ;) ) comment away!

wow.

wow.

wow.

what a great weekend...the shows were awesome. first, john butler trio again. i didn't think it would be so soon after the gorge that i'd catch them again. great music, with a great message.

also caught umphrey's mcgee, leftover salmon, and keller williams. (wanted to see karl denson, but i was too damn tired after getting up at 5am to do the drive!)

if he's playing anywhere near you, go see keller williams. i think we are going to winston salem to see him again on wednesday. amazing. truly a 'one man band'...

more later...i have actually spent over an hour on the computer today! (haha. after spending 6+ hours on the computer everyday, it's a big adjustment to only get minutes at a time - on a dialup at that!)

but, wow. what a great weekend. wow. :) (and no bonarroo 17 hour traffic jam!! NO traffic whatsoever! woo!)

hmm. i know the comment count isn't working, i will update the code asap. :( hopefully i will be able to soon....but you can still comment. :)

woo! dmb tour dates this wednesday...now i only hope there are east coast dates before i am supposed to go back to ca! please, dave, play here before the middle of december, k?

going to the harvest festival in atlanta this weekend...check out the lineup...gonna be sweet! just hope this rain stops...been pouring all night. now we get to entertain kids inside all day. hmm. joy.

i'm here! well, now i have been here for two days (it's funny, it seems like so much longer!) it's awesome. hard work, but awesome. yesterday i was canoe girl, helping out the kids and hauling the boats to shore (fuck, those things are heavy!), and today i was an all-day 'belay slave' at the climbing wall - i loved it. soon i will have my own group of kids, but for now i am trying to get up to speed on all the activities/workshops/lessons. it's beautiful here! so green! so HUMID! (but we have air conditioning in the staff house - woo!)

last night i went out with some people i work with to see kristen hersh, grant lee phillips and john doe (the exile follies) in chapel hill. on the way there, we listened to john mayer and jack johnson. :) it's sweet to be living with people who are into the same type of music i am. we're going to see jack johnson in raleigh in october, and i might try to catch trey anastasio in asheville on halloween. so many good shows - so close by!! and great people to go with!

the rest of the drive was a little more trying than the first part...the truckers in west virginia are terrible! one came up behind me so fast...i have never been so worried i would be hit. then he followed me down the west virigina turnpike, which, to those from northern californina (hi julie!), is just like hwy 17...curvy twisty mountainous hell. in the dark. going 80, afraid of the mad truck driver. needless to say, i was happy to be off that road.

whew. so much more to say....so little time...hopefully more soon. hope everyone is doing well! i have some ben and jerry's half baked in the freezer calling my name. (well, i had a coupon that expired sunday, so i *had to buy some, ya know?)

hi!!!! i made it to kentucky. nebraska and wyoming are BIG states to cross...but i have been having a blast. it's fun. not boring, suprisingly. there's something really empowering about traveling alone. i love it. eating a lot of vanilla ice cream cones, french fries and salads. (what happens when you don't really eat fast food but have a weakness for ice cream). in lexington, at a kinko's. which was a pain in the ass to find, but i needed to check my mail.

it's odd...everyone in the midwest drives american cars. my subaru with music and outdoor gear and a 'be green' stickers certainly stands out! not to mention the california plates. all those suvs with american flags probably were cursing me. and the cops followed me in nebraska. three times. thank god i didn't get pulled over!! and, in CA it's easier to tell cop cars - ford crown victoria in your rearview mirror? almost certain it's a cop. but, here it's likely grandma and grandpa out for a drive. just differenet. :)

paying by the minute, so i'm off...hope to be there tonight or tomorrow.

i'm off...i think i've quoted this before, but..two roads converged in a wood and I, I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference

celebrate we will
because life is short but
sweet for certain
we're climbing two by two
to be sure these days continue

happy friday the 13th! it's a lucky day for me. born on the 13th. for some reason always thought it lucky. interesting that i leave today on such an adventure. appropriate, i hope. off in a few hours. i am bringing my laptop, and have some sort of internet access, and i will try to post here as much as i can.

i'll be on the road for the next few days, and welcome phone calls. :) i need something to keep me awake through nebraska!! 916.802.9220. even got a new calling plan so i don't have roaming and can talk in the middle of nowhere and not have it be 69¢ a minute.

i feel the same sort of odd feeling i did in the gila wilderness. when we stepped into the forest and the beginning of the trip, i felt as if i were stepping across an invisible barrier into a different world. a strange and exciting one. and when the trip was complete 28 days later, and we stepped out of the forest greeted by the vans and breakfast (they even had soymilk!), i felt as if i were stepping off the edge of an island that i had just marched across. there is a piece of my life encapsulated on that island. an important part. i am crossing a much bigger island now...when i hold my hand to my forehead to shade my eyes, i can't see to the other side. but i trust that there is a beautiful place there.

i finally put a link to my wyoming pictures on the pictures page, if ya missed 'em the first time around. :)

i am driving to north carolina tomorrow. i don't think i fully comprehend that yet...

hmm.

i am basically packed. (woo!) a plastic bin full of clothing, one of bedding/towels, one for bath-y kinda stuff, one for random personal stuff, a box of books, my camping/food bin...i think that's it. i know i will forget something. oh well. just hope it's not something important!

my mother-in-law called last night. to express her worry. 'don't they have jobs like that in california?' yes, they do. this opportunity came up and i decided to take it. 'why again are you going to north carolina? are you sure this is a good idea? it's not very safe to drive there...'

then my father...'did you call the school and make sure it's a 'real' job?' dad, i have a stack of paperwork on letterhead, brochures from the programs, they have a website, and the website is at a UNC address. i don't think that is neccessary.' he did not like that. finally, i told him that i feel like he's implying that i am irresponsible, and that i don't think that i am. then i got the lecture from my stepmother.

gee, thanks for the support.

really made me question myself - am i being totally impractical? is this just a stupid idea? am i totally crazy to drive across the country alone? is it so dangerous i shouldn't do it?

what happens when you grow up trying to please your family. i feel awful about doing something they don't really support. my dad would never tell me 'not' to do something, but his tone of voice and comments signal his disapproval.

it's really frustrating.

thoughts on driving across the country alone? am i insane? is it a stupid thing to try to do? what do y'all think? now i am really worried about it. :(

one year later...so much has changed, but i must say i am suprised at how 'normal' life feels - because i know in the days soon following 9.11, i felt as if things would never feel normal again. yet, at the same time, everything has changed. it will never be the same...i don't really have anything profound to say, there is more than enough news coverage. i think each person will deal with this day in their own personal way - i am caught in the chaos of life today, so busy. my mind is all over the place. perhaps that is a good thing. no tv for me today. not that i normally watch it, but it's definately not being turned on today. i didn't even want to read the paper.

my thoughts, last year, about this time

looks like a plane just crashed into the world trade center...no details, but that just does not sound like a good thing... --

alissa's mind at 6:24 AM

i'm back!

and dmb didn't fucking play say goodbye. :(

but, the shows were awesome. the gorge was awesome. everyone from nancies were awesome. had a fantastic time. now i need to pack *gulp* for north carolina. whew.

at least, though, with no say goodbye i have an excuse to keep going to more dmb shows. :) (hey, gotta look on the bright side)

oh, so mcdonald's is now using 'healthier' oil to fry its french fries. i'm sure now all americans will become thin and healthy. i'm sorry, mcdonald's, that's not going to make a hell of a lot of difference. you still produce many products that are high calorie, high fat, and low in nutrients. trying to act as if you want to be 'healthy' is bullshit. nice try.

i'd rant more, but i'm off to the gorge to see dmb. woo! please please please play say goodbye. ok, dave? ;) three shows...if they don't play it...

hope everyone has a safe happy fun enjoyable weekend. back tuesday!

ok. car has oil change. new brakes. needs new belts. and tires. i was gone all day at a first aid/cpr class, and everest left doggie messes all over the house. what am i thinking leaving?? how the hell is dan going to take care of the dogs?? i feel so bad. i'm so worried about them. then dad calls 'are you sure this is a REAL job? are you going to call the school/4H and make sure?' gee, dad, thanks for your vote of confidence.

ARGH! now i am all stressed/freaked out. :(

happy blogbirthday to me...happy blogbirthday to me...happy blogbirthday dear meee-eee...happy blogbirthday to me....

woo. made it a year...and what a year it was. (god, that's a terrible cliche. my humor sure hasn't come very far)...and i feel like i am on the eve of some big changes, so i am sure the next will be better...

i did notice i am not nearly as introspective as i once was. not sure why. maybe because i feel so uncertain in so many ways now. i have used the analogy (i think analogy is the right term. duh. yes, mrs. henderson, i know i should know that.) before that i feel like i am walking on the edge of a cliff she walks along the line where the ocean meets the sand like she's walking on a wire in a circus and not sure if i jump i will land in the crystal clear waters under a sunny sky, or into a murky pool punctured by raindrops. walking the cliff is frustrating, not fun, sucks all of your energy, yet it seems so much easier than the risk of jumping.

i feel like i'm just jumping off the low dive now, testing. it will be an interesting, exciting, challanging and .

'hang on to your hats and glasses, this is the wildest ride in the wilderness' (damn, i went to disneyland wayyyy too many times in high school).

kersplat. :)

5 minutes later...

i just went back and read that page that i linked to. i referenced my second grade english teacher there, and my 7th grade english teacher here. weird. i also don't sound like i've come too far. i can't believe how much i used to ramble. less is more. less is more.

hi! remember me? :) happy labor-less (hopefully) day!

i'm moving to north carolina!

i have a job at a ropes course/environmental education center...i'm excited. (and nervous. but stuff like this makes everyone nervous, doesn't it?) it's going to be a LONG drive cross country after seeing dmb at the gorge. i think i'm slightly crazy for doing this, but it's only til december. and the good news? they *do* have internet access. :) so i won't disappear. but the next two weeks are going to be crazy...whew.