early rising
steps to nowhere, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl. This morning I awakened spontaneously, at about 6am. Perhaps it was the soft light filtering through the windows that woke me, perhaps it was the noises of Friends around me stretching and shifting in their bunks. In any case, I figured that as long as I was up so early, I would attend th

on (not) wearing a costume
I had the perfect Halloween costume all figured out for this year. It's actually a running joke that I should dress up as the heroine from Planet Terror (because of the amputee-thing) and I finally decided that I would take the time to pull the costume together (oh, except that I wasn't going to wear a bikini-top, because that would be truly scary)...

short shameful confession #10
As soon as I get my paddling gear together and start heading out the front door, I begin salivating like Pavlov's dogs. The reason why? As I drive down to the outrigger launch site in Newport Beach I munch on sport blocks, gels or goo. It's one of the only times I eat refined sugar and my body loves it (craves it, is addicted to it) so much.See previous short shameful confessions

to loosen my heart...
"I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise. I choose to risk my significance; to live so that which comes to me as seed goes to the next as blossom and that which comes to me as blossom, goes on as fruit."~Dawna MarkovaI love this quote from the comments on a recent news article about a teammat

Mary Monday: I want to write with quiet hands....
farmers market flower seller, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl. Yesterday I started "NaNoWriMo," along with numerous other friends and every member of my family (yay!). I won't be writing a traditional novel--I'll mostly be writing on my dissertation with some essays and blogposts along