Over the years, I have participated in many collective working and living projects.  Several years ago, I was recruited by a group called the Matchbook Learning Project. We sponsored classes for adults in the anarchist community.  The vision was a way to keep people in community in times of life that it is harder to […]

When my father was in a coma in the emergency room a few weeks ago, I initially didn’t know what to do. I knew that I wanted to go down there, but I wasn’t sure why. I hadn’t been close to my father in over 10 years. He had done things to my […]

My dad died. Twice, actually. The first time that he died was very suddenly. He suffered from a pulmonary embolism on the morning of February 23rd, 2008. His wife heard him breathing heavily as he left the bathroom and grabbed something from his closet. Shortly after, he collapsed.
She called 911 immediately and they […]

I took a class on postural analysis yesterday.  I have done some of this work throughout my massage studies, but this was 6 hours devoted to it, which combined is more than I have had before.  In practice, I do incorporate a visual assessment into my work, but the practice of actual hands on assessment […]

My friend A- is always doing studies. If she is considering making any kind of change in her life, she researches it from every angle. She reads about it, she interviews her friends or acquaintances about it. I love seeing her go through this process and getting asked questions that make me think deeply […]

J- and I took CPR and First Aid today. I was surprised to know that he had never taken CPR before.  I took it when I was a kid. I also had to take it a few years ago for my sports massage certification.  Also a couple of years ago, I took a wilderness first […]

I am currently reading a book about cancer, Living Downstream by Sandra Steingraber. It includes both the author’s personal and emotional experience in dealing with it as well as scientific data and political commentary on the environmental causes of cancer in the US.  Jeff gave it to me a while ago, when I started volunteering […]

It was the first birthday party of my “adopted niece”, Z- today. I was there for her mom’s labor and her delivery, as well. It was nice to see everything going so well after a year. I regret not being able to make it to S- more to see her, mostly because […]

“Addiction can show us what is deeply suspect about nostalgia.  The drive to return to the past isn’t an innocent one.  It’s about stopping your passage to the future, it’s a symptom of fear of death, and the love of predictable experience.
And the love  of predictable experience, not the drug itself, is the major damage […]

My Sister died from clogged arteries at the age of 40 about 6 years ago.  She weighed over 500 lbs.  She couldn’t walk more than a block without resting, had really bad knee problems and ate all the time.
My father is diabetic.  He gives himself insulin shots like 5 times per day and he still […]