on the road again

Here I am in Anchorage, AK, again. Last spring I came to proctor the national certification exam and train some local interpreters at the same time, so they are able to do it themselves. (There is a new test which has been out a couple years, but Alaska didn't have anyone trained in the new test, yet - same as some other areas. The old test runs out in a couple months, so will no longer even be available. So they flew me up to give the test and train others.)

This time I'm here for work at their state affiliate chapter conference. It is beautiful up here, with some snow already on the ground. And cold. And I'm sick. I was knocked down with an illness very late Tuesday night and ended up canceling all my appointments and even found a sub for my volunteer writing group on Wednesday. Today, I feel like I will get over this; yesterday on the plane to Anchorage, I felt like I was going to be sick forever. Flying and sinus stuffiness do not mix!

All in all, though, it is being a good experience. The people putting on the conference are very nice, well organized, and I feel comfortable with them. And the bed in the hotel is comfortable; I actually slept almost 9 hours last night!

Not getting much done in terms of writing ... but am getting a lot done in terms of resting. In the long run, that will be beneficial, as I will go into NaNoWriMo replenished, I hope.

Here is a picture of downtown Anchorage today from a webcam. Last spring it felt like early evening at 10:00 at night; today it felt like approaching dawn at 10 am. It's fun getting to see another side of the light/dark seasons. (Don't know if I need to see the dark nearly all day -- who knows!)

prompt: photography as a window to writing

Here is an image to play with, by one of my favorite photographers, Serena Davidson.

If you like word prompts, try one of these:
- - "When our eyes met..."
- - "He looked up as I entered the room..."
- - "I overheard her say..."

Or, look at the photograph and write about:
What most catches your eye?
What makes you curious?
Are you struck by the whiteness of everything and what feeling does that evoke?
Are they indoors or outdoors?
What is the uniting factor for this gathering?
Is there a relationship between the two people in the foreground? If yes, what?

Thank you, Serena D, for another intriguing and alive photograph!

Light Bar 2007 Opening Night
by Serena Davidson

so now is tomorrow ... or...

Actually it is the day after tomorrow, when I said I would be posting more about... Something!

I think that "something" was the activity on NaNoWriMo forums. There are over 20,000 participants so far and still adding more. People of all ages and from around the globe. Locally, there is a kick-off party planned a week before the midnight start on November 1st (which, boo hoo, I have to miss). Then there is the midnight write-in to get us primed and on our way - which I will be attending. I'm hoping to get in several hours of writing under the adrenaline of starting a big new project; from my count, I think there are about 25-30 people who've said they will be there, so far.

Even around the city of Portland, there are more localized write-ins scheduled. Various days and coffee shops and times will find NaNo writers huddled over laptops and even a few on paper and pen/pencil putting word to paper to reach that goal of 50,000 words by midnight on November 31st.

The forums are exciting. What a way to get everyone revved up, address concerns and questions, meeting others in your regions, get hints and tricks and guidance and even find a mentor. I have been doing some posting there, too. For me, it helps me keep the connection and the reason why I'm attempting this crazy feat, without my usual oh-why-did-I-say-I'd-do-this-thing fear-based self-doubt. It makes it seem possible again and there are people there to help.

I also learned that ML is "municiple leader" -- so the person or people who keep events going, energy high, and are the gate to and from the headquarters, especially during the actual month, I suspect.

I'm having a blast and I still don't know what or who I'm going to write about. I suspect that will remain until I sit down at 12:01 am on November 1st and start typing. And I am okay with that!

whoa!

I pulled up my blog to post an entry about ... well, you'll see what about tomorrow. I was sidetracked by the date of my last post. Where did the week go? Geesh - I can't believe it's Friday already and I haven't posted since Monday.

It has certainly been one of Those Weeks. So I'm forgiving myself - but I didn't realize that I really hadn't posted in four days.

This week was filled with quite a bit of work, which began with 12 hours in two different jobs on Monday. I'm really not complaining. I feel fortunate to have the work coming my way right now, what with the economic situation and some people being unable to get an income source.

I also interpreted "Guys and Dolls" at Portland Center Stage last night. That was probably the major reason I didn't get to any posting until now. Translating the script, practicing with and without the other interpreters ... all of that is time consuming and takes a lot of brain power.

I've also been spending some time getting pumped up for NaNoWriMo. The forums are buzzing with plans and ideas and introductions. I will be participating in the first midnight write-in - and I will have to miss the kick-off party the week prior due to work.

I'm also trying to do some preparation and planning for next week's jaunt. I will be going to Alaska, where I learned it is already snowing. Cold. Since it is a conference, I need to have my best clothes. The up side of getting in shape is that I can wear some of my clothes from before, so my wardrobe is expanding without added expense - and a couple of them are nice business outfits - woo!. The down side - which is very minor - is that some of my favorite clothes don't fit right - still good for kicking around the house or working in the yard.

found: plaster excavation

Sometimes I run across a photograph or a piece of art or a performance piece which inspires me. I probably "run across" more of them than I notice, if I'm honest with myself. I do get lost in getting to my next assignment or trying to figure out when - or where - I will squeeze in lunch or dinner into my schedule as I'm navigating traffic and looking ahead on the road to see if I can continue as I am or need to find an alternate route.

That reads like an excuse for not being present in my life. For my moments - which may span days - of not practicing mindfulness. And it is what happens. I do get into a fog of what I have to do and ignore what is new and unexpected and even inspirational. The good thing is that those time periods are shorter and I notice that I've sunk into that pit of scarity thinking.

So, as I am crawling out of another of those holes, I found the above picture of the plaster excavation piece, Vessel, by Serena Barton. And, you see, I had already seen that piece before. I admired it, told her "good job" and then it went out of my mind. Completely. Until I saw it on her blog (you can read more about its creation and the process at Serena Barton's blog).

This is a very alive and rich piece of art. I see in it the inspiration for stories and poems, dense with landscape, character, and the mystery of storytelling which threads through language and holds it all together into a cohesive piece into which we can sink and drift and dream.

Where does this piece of art take you and your writing?
What kind of place is it?
Who (or what) exists there and what do they do?

Prompt: As I stood at the threshold ...

Vessel by Serena Barton
plaster excavation
c. 2008

10k walk: update

The weather forecast was wrong. Which is not unusual for this part of the country at this time of the year; well, from now until February, or March. The meteorologists make their best guess with all of the radar, satellites, and other technology at their disposal - and then we see what happens. It did rain, pretty steadily, although not a downpour like the east side of Portland experienced. Which was good.

So now my workout buddy and I have experienced our first outdoor walk in the rain since we started this expedition to healthier lives. We got wet, we were a little cold in the beginning, and we didn't melt. Lessons learned: gloves would have been a good idea; I should have either worn my contacts (I was giving my eyes a breathing break and wore my glasses) or I should have remembered my hat with a bill which would have kept off most of the rain (it's hard to see with rain-splotted and foggy glasses); truly don't trust the weather report (my gut told me it would rain but all reports said no); do trust the trainer when she says to not wear cotton clothing when it will be raining (it holds in the moisture and dries very slowly). Oh, and don't go home and just put on a sweatshirt over the damp shirt because you're cold; it only makes you colder and the shirt (mostly cotton) will never dry!

I should have put this item first. And, because this is my blog and I can move things around before anyone sees them, I could do that right now and anyone who wanders here would never know. But, I'll leave it as is because that was my thought process.

The most important thing was that We Did It. And not only did we "did it" - we set a new record for ourselves, I believe. We walked the 10k in exactly to the minute: two hours! (Yes, there was someone who walked the entire marathon route in something like three and a half hours - but today WE did our best so far and, even with a potty pause, completed 10k in two hours.)

Yay for us!

And, no, I don't have a picture. I wish I did. When the marathon photographers get their pictures uploaded, I will see if we were lucky enough to be in any of them and add one on.

Yay me! Yay Brenda!

10k mayor's walk

We did it in two hours to the minute! (Calculating to the minute is close enough for us. We don't need to know the seconds -- which I understand is important to the runners.) It rained for most of it - despite the many weather predictions which said it would not rain and would merely be overcast. But it was good to get the first "wet" walk out of the way. Now I know what I need to do differently and I have a response to "what will I do when it rains?" Which is: walk. Or maybe opt for the gym if it is really wet / cold / windy. And buy a better jacket for walking - one that repels rain a little better and is not cotton so it will wicke away the moisture and dry out quicker -- my trainer told me that but I didn't expect it to rain today. Also make sure to keep a hat with a bill in the car. I wore my glasses today (instead of contacts; letting my eyes breathe for a day), which became wet and fogged up from my body heat. A visor would have keep my glasses drier and prevented fogging. Get a pair of lightweight, wicking gloves - it was cold when we started out this morning; and it will surely be colder when we do the Jingle Bell Run on December 7th.

Portland Marathon/Mayor's Walk

Here is the scenic tour video of the Portland Marathon route. My friend and I are not doing the entire Marathon on Sunday, but we will be doing the associated 10k Mayor's Walk. We're excited and ready to walk! And I must (not so) secretly confess that I am holding out hope it won't be pouring rain. Maybe we will walk the entire Marathon at some point in the future - but we're just happy we've made it to this point where we can do the 10k.

This month the physical stamina challenge; next month, the writing stamina challenge (NaNoWriMo)!

Portland Marathon preview

found: please don't vote

I heard that my stepson has decided to not vote. He doesn't believe in the system. So he is not going to vote. He believes something major has to happen for things to change. Could be; but that something major would be, well, major - like Everyone Not Voting. That is not going to happen in my lifetime; probably not in his. But I don't believe that not voting is the answer. I think that not voting is giving two to the other side - the person who sits next to you on the bus/subway/sushi belt/steakhouse who will vote against you and the vote you're not doing. I can point out four people from my family of origin, six if I add spouses, and more than I want to know right now if I add in spouses of nieces and nephews - who will be voting against everything I believe and my stepson believes. His vote would offset one more of their votes.

To get the video'a message, it is important to watch it all the way through.

the message