bikes, bridges and new phones

Can I just say real quick that today is the most beautiful and perfect of fall days in Portland.

So sunny and crisp and chilled.

I went running after work last night (I'll pause for a gasp because I rarely run, ever).

Then, I rode my bike to work today (allow for second pause...). I decided to ride my bike after I looked at the weather last night and felt the beginning pains of sore legs. It's best if I keep them in motion so as not to feel the pain of working out once every four months.

The run and the bike ride were perfect.

I might even do it again.

Back to the reason I am writing this post anyway. I got a new phone, a fancy phone with all the frills. The best thing about it is that I am paying less per month than I was before because I am now on a family plan with some friends, score.

One of the main reasons I wanted a fancy phone was navigation, but I'll write about that another time.

More so, I wanted a fancy phone for the fun camera apps and mobile upload.

I am all about it. I'll probably be an over-poster, but I can't help it. It's just that so many times during the day, I think, "this is so cool/pretty/awkward/strange, somebody needs to see this." and now it's possible. I can share those moments with people. YES.

A couple shots from my ride to and from work over the Broadway Bridge.

Such a pretty ride. I am lucky to live where I do.

big city perspective

It's October and beautiful in Portland. The leaves are changing. The sun is shining and the rains haven't really arrived. As beautiful as the weather is, which is usually enough to keep me or any other Northwesterner content and smiling, I can't deny that my heart feels heavy. When my heart feels heavy I always have to get outside. Heavy thoughts need air to breathe. I just went for a bike ride this afternoon out to St. Johns, mostly because the roads are flat with the exception of one big hill under the bridge (which i made it up-score!). Anyhoo, the ride goes right along the most amazing bluff that overlooks the city and river.

Right now I'm sitting by the guard rail with cars whizzing by behind me (not so relaxing, but the view, it's unbelievable). Mt. Hood is to my left enveloped in clouds at the base, but standing tall atop them. Directly in front of me is the Fremont Bridge in all its glory as it leads into the heart of the city. It's getting to be that perfect time of day. Everything is beginning to take on that heavenly golden hue. From here, with this view of the city, I feel lighter. I can see everything. I have that big picture perspective. And with everything going on right now that hurts to think about, I'm reminded that there is a larger story here. If I could zoom out and look around at past and future I would probably breathe a giant sigh of relief in the knowledge that everything fits into the story in its own perfect way and I would probably say, "Oh, of course that's how things unfolded. I get it now."

be here now

Sometimes you know you need to get away, and last week I really needed that breath of ocean air. To be away from the city, away from school, from work, away from my noisy neighbor…it was such a gift.

And to be with such good company made it that much better. The weekend was full of good conversation, good food, good music, hiking sand dunes, walking on beaches, playing with the cutest puppy, naps, mini-road trips and just all around goodness.

I feel I have a community growing in Portland, and I don’t think I could have said that before last weekend. I mean, to an extent, yes I have community. Maybe now I am just ready to invest in a community here. I’m still torn about whether to set my heart on Seattle or Portland or another city in terms of where a job may open up, but I’ve decided to just “be here now” as Ray LaMontagne sings.

I can be present now, even when everything in me is just jumping towards thoughts of the future and worries etc. Life is about the here and now, the not knowing.

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity."
-Gilda Radner

I’m okay with the not knowing and with the here and now. That's what it's all about anyway.

Especially when it looks like this…

I think I will forever and always live near the water. I need oceans, rivers, sounds, and lakes.
It will be like an investment in mental health.

where i would rather be right now.

a couple of my favorites in Chiwengo Village, Malawi

Children of the Nations child, Malawi

Fisherman in Lake Malawi

Rainbow Glacier

Cove in Haines

The Cannery in Haines

if only...