Krystal Mae: December 2007

So I'm in Utah- still!

The snow is beautiful, the roads are slippery, my friends and family are nice and fun.
I'm glad to be alive. I'm glad to have a break.

I have been having a nice time- look how beautiful it is here!

Sundial Peak and Lake Blanche, Big Cottonwood Canyon,
Wasatch Mountains, SLC, UT

Went snowshoing up this trail today with Jen, Mark, Lisa, and Cheryl:) So snowy!
(We didn't quite make it to the lake....)

Made some jewelry with mom.

I saw a great movie tonight with my aunt Janet- Into the Wild.

You should see it- I think you can rent it even.

You've probably heard of the book by Jon Krakauer

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(same guy that wrote Into thin air about Mt. Everest)

I haven't read it yet, but the movie was excellent as is the soundtrack
(songs by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam).

This is Chris Candless, the real guy who lived in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan Wilderness...

His story reminded me a little bit of Glenn and my adventure this summer- it's great when you have nothing but you, your walkin feet, your pack and the kindness of strangers to keep you goin...

The message I got out of it is: we need to live our lives to the fullest with confidence and courage, overcoming fear and doubt by challenging ourselves to go out of our comfort zones, be spontaneous, and go on adventures!

I'm working on that.

As this year comes to a close, I am looking for a new job, a real one even- full-time with benefits. Scary thought I know. What about adventure?

It's hard to find the balance between having flexible work hours, having time to travel and adventure while having no dental insurance (current situation), and working 40 hours a week with benefits, but working five days a week, 8 hours a day and not having time to travel very much (full-time job reality).
Trading sponteneity and adventure for security and predictability.
hmmmmm...

Those loans, those teeth, those eyes, that rent and that food...I'd like to take care of those things.

There is a potential job here in SLC that I am considering, but not sure yet.
Tempting wilderness...plus cool friends and lots of family.

Am secretly hoping to find something in CA- I really like Oakland a lot! I've applied a few places.
On verra...
I think it would be good for me to work full-time for a year or two and take care of all those things, then save money for traveling and apply for some scholarships to do cool community building/art/environmental projects abroad. Maybe get a Master's eventually?

How's that for a plan? I'll work and then travel. Maybe I can just keep switching off?...

I want to write a New Year's post in a day or two with some of my goals and dreams and hopes for this next year.

In the meantime, here are some beautiful photos of Utah's mountains by David Whitten.

Big Cottonwood Creek, Wasatch Mountains, SLC, UT

Ridgeline between Little Cottonwood and Big Cottonwood Canyons,
Wasatch Mountains, SLC, UT

Twin Peaks and Dromedary, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Wasatch Mtns.

Big Cottonwood Canyon, Mt. Raymond and Gobbler's Knob

It's December already! I miss the snow.

(Save a Snowman!- "a fun, positive approach to solving the climate crisis. " Check em out.)

So Here's a little peek into my life:

I have 8 housemates. We need to find one more. We had a birthday party for Kat this weekend-and had lot of fun together. also lots of cleaning and cooking and eating and dancing:)

Kat is 24- happy birthday!

I live in a big beautiful, cold, drafty, un-insulated house.
I have a sink in my room, it doesn't work.
The air is getting colder outside and crisper. This comforts me somehow.

I guess I feel comforted that we still can distinguish between seasons with all this global warming and climate change happening. I admit that I love sunshine! And warm weather in October and November can be pretty nice...but it just doesn't feel right.

I've been working a lot. Good and bad. One of my jobs is working for an environmental non-profit called Earth Team, helping expand their Green News Online magazine- all for youth (middle school/high school). Really cool program.

My other job is helping do market research for my other boss (Allison's) husband for a little while to make some extra money and to bide time till we find funding for a cool experiential art exhibit we want to do about global warming and climate change...

I can finally pay off some of my bills, or taxes, as the case may be, but have not been exercising as much as I should. There's something wrong with this picture...our bodies are sacred and need to be taken care of, yet so often I deprive it and my mental well-being for "work."

I need to resolve this. It's important to take care of our bodies and souls- that's all we've really got when it comes down to it, isn't it sad that we neglect ourselves?
I think this might be a bigger society-wide problem...don't you think? Why do we work so much?

They don't work as long in Europe, and have longer vacations than us Americans in the U.S. ...Why?

I heard world-renowned singer Youssou N'Dour sing this weekend! for free! His voice is amazing! He's on Time's top 100 most influential people of the year, doing great things to help children, to fight aids and malaria through music. check out his webiste and hear some music.
(Let me know what you think, he's so popular in Senegal- people listen to him all the time on their stereos!)

Anyways, the concert started with everyone sitting in their chairs and ended with everyone out of their chairs and dancing- aisles full, dancers showing off their stuff on stage: dancing in provokative response to the drummer's beats. Very Senegal, so good. Then, we got to meet him back stage! A bit intimidating, but he was so laid back- we even got our picture with him!
And I got to speak Wolof and french with some of the band members which was really fun:)

I am inspired by the dancing- I want to take more West African dancing-so high energy and fun and free!....

On friday Glenn and his friend Brady finally left to sail to Mexico!! They went past the golden gate into open ocean for the first time and made it to Monteray Bay yesterday! They are hanging out there for a few days to wait out a storm before they continue...smart guys...Hopefully he'll get his own blog together soon, then you can read updates from him:)

I feel sad he's gone,

but so excited and happy and content all at the same time!

( I miss you Ella!)

He's traveling out of the country- that is an adventure that everyone needs to take- to find out more about themselves and the world. This makes me happy and excited for him. Tinge of jealousy, but way more happiness and excitement for him. I love traveling, and I'm glad to have had time to travel on my own....now it's Glenn's turn.

I'm going to have more Krystal time, which I'm excited about and need. I'm also excited to have more time to hang out with new friends, get some more work experience, do more art, more dance and find new things to do in the Bay.

This will be a good time for both of us.

The night before Glenn and Brady left, Caroline (Glenn's mama) treated us to Cirque de Soleil!
watch the video, so cool! It's a circus, but French Canadian style- can't get much better than that.

unicycle dancing duo

wheel of death- these guys are pumped with adreneline, lots of ego and lots of guts!

fastest moving hands I've ever seen, juggling 12 rings while bouncing a ball on his head and wearing a sliver suit! is he for real?

tight rope balancing act on bicycles!?- with a guy chillin in a chair on top...no problem!

balance balls- and people, and more balance balls, and more people- they just keep on stackin'

- watching this show made me awe at all the potential we humans have. it showcased a myriad of life's issues in a very physical way: humor, fear, love, passion, risk, balance, training, concentration, illusion, flexibility, passion, expression, creativity ...amazing. All with a live band and singer, amazing lights, crazy clowns all inside a big huge tent!