AfricanKelli

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Have you ever wondered what 450 plastic Easter eggs look like? Well, there you go. Why are these heaped on my living room floor? Because I am organizing the egg hunt this Sunday at church for the kids. So, off to Coscto and the dollar store I went and a couple hours of craziness later…

they were each filled. Eventually I started finding a sick pleasure in color coordinating each candy to the color of the egg. I moved quickly, while listening to NPR, contemplating a few new challenges and wondering if it was wrong to scratch such an unhealthy itch. Like many, when something suddenly spins out of control, I find a sincere pleasure in being hyper-controlling of other things. So, while I can’t do anything to change Arizona’s state budget, I can bleach my floors. I can place watermelon candy in pink eggs. I can pull out the toothbrush and Comet.

Let me explain.

Yesterday I came into work, high from my great trip to San Francisco and excited about the day ahead, when my boss called a quick meeting. State funding cuts in Arizona led to the cancelation of my program and job over the weekend. I’ve got a few more months here, thankfully, to figure out the next move.  Phoenix, the fifth largest city in America, will still be without a strong public health graduate program. Our health will suffer as  result. And the short-sighted Phoenician status quo drags its statistically obese, skin cancer-prone, Type II diabetes-laden self forward to an early death.

But hey, something had to be cut — right?

I’ve got no clue what I’m going to do next, but there is certain to be an adventure around the next corner. In the meantime, I’m making the most of the sudden free time I have by cleaning (see above: bleach, Comet, toothbrush) and making sure my life is otherwise as tidy as possible. This is the only way I know how to cope with sudden change: pick up the pieces where they are and make the best of it for the time being. And Magic Eraser the baseboards, logically.

~K

My recent and quick trip to the Bay area was so worthwhile; not only did I get to dust off a jacket and the trusty suitcase, but the conference was fascinating. Say it with me — Praise GOD for the interesting conference! How many have you been to where you itch for your desk because the material is so dry? In contrast, these few days provided folk so knowledgeable and passionate about public health, I wanted to soak up as much as I could get.

The icing on the cake was the time I had to spend with friends between sessions.

Finny and her hubby “Bubba” are two of my favorite people. We have the sweet sort of friendship that we pick up just where we left off, checking up on families, jobs, hobbies and there not being an ounce of guilt that there were missed milestones between. Bubba, Fin and I worked together in college running the school newspaper. We spent more hours together than apart during those few years, and seeing each other in moments of sheer exhaustion and on brief waves of AP Style highs has left us forever bound (punctuated?). There are others in this group, scattered across the United States, running photo companies, working for small town papers and giant city rags. I am so very glad by happenstance I ended up in the newsroom one day, working for Bubba and splitting countless tamale combo platters with Finny.

Our dinner last week was too short. In a blink we were headed opposite directions once again but I felt more fulfilled. It’s a hard feeling to describe — that sense of contentment after spending time so appropriately, knowing you’re richer for having these wonderful people in your life and that your friendship is truly something as rare as a correctly spelled Lumberjack headline.

(Also, the way we are posed, it looks like their new foreign exchange student just arrived and they are posing with her for the family photo to be sent home. Si?)

This was as close as I got to the queen of the city, the Golden Gate. Look closely, Waldo, and you’ll find her.

And Union Square, oh, how I dream of you. Not for the shopping — although let’s be honest, being there while Macy’s was having their flower show was a true delight — but for the people, culture and oddity that is San Francisco. So many happy people were draped across the sunlight like house cats enjoying their lunch hours and purring at the enchanting spring weather. The cherry trees were in full bloom too, with bursts of white and the softest of pink.

The fashion in this city is lovely too. I forget how strange Arizona is when it comes to the fashion “norm” until I travel to a larger city. It was fun to see such individuality expressed.

And one last gratuitous food photo — this bison blue cheese burger from Burger Bar was split with the very sweet Ms. Katy. Yet another charming blogger meet up among girls who’ve chatted online for years. (Katy reminds me a lot of Zarah, who I had the pleasure of meeting last year.) Kind, quiet, triathlete, incredibly creative, seamstress, an eye for color and fashion — I’d be begging her for sewing lessons if we lived in the same city. Again, their friendships are another affirmation there are folks that love X, Y, and Z just like me!

It was a wonderful, while all too brief, getaway and a great reminder of the value of friendship — new and old.

~K

I’m in SF for a few days for a conference and plan on spending every free moment wandering with my camera and appetite. This city is nothing if not full of strange sights and great food.

The pollo asada super burrito at Pancho Villa was B+. That carrot-based orange salsa? A++. And the agua de jamaica was out of this world. Lovely first meal in the windy city.

~K

I’m terribly shiny, but also very happy (cue REM song) in this photo: taken before my 60th bikram class. Yesterday I completed that challenge and it was worth every sweaty drop of frustration. A note of gratitude:

Thank you to my friends and family who’ve listened to me work yoga into just about every conversation I’ve had for the last two months. For your patience and kindness, I am very grateful. Thank you especially to Lisa, Kim, Juliann and the African for coming out for the final class.

Also, to Bikram Tempe — owned by two of the sweetest people — Elaina and Ben. The married pair have a staff that made showing up for class each day something to look forward to. Depending on the teacher, the class was to be relaxing, screamingly difficult or a happy medium. Thank you to the entire staff. You have my admiration.

I’d love to say I feel enlightened. Or just lightened. I’m a few pounds down and definitely more in touch with my spirit — but I’m far from either zenith. Instead what I feel for the first time in my life is a sense of balance. I’m happy. I’m not ecstatic and I’m not depressed. I’m in this great gray zone that is unprecedented. I’m also far more confident in my body’s prowess. It’s more than likely just a change in perspective, but now I look at my form with a sincere respect for what it is capable of accomplishing. I’m far more flexible and wonder if I’m even a bit taller from all that stretching. I certainly carry myself with more confidence.

I’m stronger in body and mind; that alone is worth continuing Bikram.

I’ve found myself recommending Bikram to friends and anyone who will listen. Can’t sleep? Take yoga. Feeling blue? Yoga. Angry, lack of purpose, unhealthy, antsy? Bikram. Simple as that. It isn’t about 90 minutes, or the heat or wearing Spandex in public (although all are painfully part of the package). It’s about surrendering. You check your ego, body image, social status and importance at the door and enter into a healing atmosphere where everyone and every body is of equal importance. It is more than fulfilling — it is life changing.

Namaste friends,

Kelli

Remember how I mentioned I wanted tomato teepees, thanks to Organic Gardening?

Voila. Yet another project the African successfully took on. These plants have responded to a little TLC with fury. They have grown so much since this photo, taken just a few days ago.

And there is a bit of landscaping prep happening for the upcoming garden party. I love marigolds — the way they smell and that they keep bugs away. I also admire their bright, unapologetic brashness. (And on a practical note, if I keep these watered, they’ll thrive in the Arizona heat.)

Also, by chance anyone from Organic Gardening happens to catch wind of this post — your magazine is fabulous. I truly enjoy it and cut out pages and pages of idea from the latest and then gave the skeleton to a friend to enjoy. However, poly-bagging your magazine? YOU ARE CALLED ORGANIC GARDENING! Really, a ridiculous disappointment.

~K