My President was speaking to me, keeping it in perspective and days off

When he thanked all of those people who took a pay cut so someone else wouldn't lose a job. Tomorrow I am off for the day. I took a 5% pay cut which turns out to be 12ish days a year that I don't work (since it will be difficult to take off 30 minutes each day a month or whatever I am just taking off one whole day.) I'm rather looking forward to it because it's the day before a bout and I want to run around and get things done (never mind I have a dentist appointment, need to pay some attention to my car, etc.) I am not a martyr taking the day off - nor for taking the pay cut. It needed to be done. We needed to balance the budget. We didn't want to fire staff - I couldn't imagine being able to do my work without them. I'd gladly take a pay cut to keep my staff. I would gladly pay more in taxes if it meant that everyone could have access to health care too.

And that being said, more jobs got cut in the Puget Sound area today. Starbucks and Boeing both are laying people off. My friend at Expedia just got laid off - they're laying off people in all the departments. However the Lilly Ledbetter Pay Equity law was signed today - meaning that you can't pay me $.78 per $1.00 you pay a man for the same work. It's a huge step for this country and I am super proud and thrilled to see it moving foward. There's even going to be a rally at the same place we have our bout on Saturday with WA Senator Maria Cantwell. There is going to be some powerful stuff going on for women on Saturday - this month already - this year.

Tomorrow I hope to fix my computer (so I can put pictures on my blog), go to the dentist, do some stuff with my car (I think it's an e-check year), take a nap, make food for our team dinner. It's going to be a nice day off. And I really don't mind that I'm not being paid.

Kombucha, Agreements and those really nice things in life

Tonight I raced home from a event committee meeting for work. Peeled off my work clothes, threw on derby sweats and skirts and grabbed my skates heading right out the door again. I managed to grab a peanutbutter bar (I call them "Fat Bars" because all of the calories are from fat) and a banana. I was a head of schedule by about 3 minutes - just enough time to swing by the store and grab a kombucha. I love kombucha - especailly the "ginger aide" favored one. Kombucha is a fungus that is brewed like a tea. I'm convinced that it is that secret ingredient to a healthy life. I always feel better after I drink one. It's slight spicy, fizzing (from fermentation) and just full of good stuff. And I needed one. I grabbed two and headed to the check out. Then I started that paniced look for my walet - which I had just had because I had bought gas on the way home. Not in my purse, not in my jacket - oh it was in my other coat - the one I hung up - but forgot my wallet when rushing out the door.

I looked up at the check-out person, Qui, who is a super friendly guy and often asks about practice (when I show up at midnight to grab some groceries after practice) and other things in my life. I pushed the drinks back and told him I couldn't buy them because I forgot my wallet. He said he would pay for them. I insisted that he not. He pulled out his wallet, gave me a ten, when I then gave back to him. He gave me change. I said, I'm off to practice when can I get it to you? He said not to worry, that he would see me around.

Going a million miles an hour, missing the details, he buys my kombucha. And it's a really not a big dealt. But I really appreciated it. It was really nice. It's a nice reminder to just slow down a little bit.

Oy! Monday

Today was a Monday every way you can think of it. It was a tedious long day at work. I had a million things to do and crimp in my neck that just made the day generally miserable. I had the finance manager come into my office multiple times to tell me how this week is the week where we're going to be able to tell how bad the year is going to be. I felt like I was fighting a cold. I only managed to scratch three things off my to-do list.

The work day ran smack into a CAB meeting (though that actually managed to go very well) where I was elected Co-Chair for 2009. I zoomed home so I could catch Heidi for a swim. Friday, Lara's cat, has been missing for a week wasn't home when I got there and the perons who likely has him - hasn't let me go. My computer went into perpetual "reboot" mode (um, that's a problem) - and I won't have a chance to fix it until tomorrow at the earliest - if I can even fix it. I was at my wits end when I went for a swim with Pygmy and Olga (yes, that's her nickname she calls herself) and forgot my goggles and cap and had to walk back home to get them. *sigh*

But then I when I got back and finally jumped in the pool, it was such a wonderful welcome. I just swam and swam until the knot in my neck simmered down and the stress of the deminished with each pull of the water, the bubbles of air coming out of my nose. Breast stroke down. Back stroke back. I took breaks when I wanted to - swam as long as I wanted - spent 5 minutes in the hot tub. And came home - feeling better.

And tomorrow will be Tuesday.

I'll give it another shot.

Footloose and fancy free...

Is what I feel like saying after the first week with our new president. It just feels a little more relaxed and a little more like we can breath a collective sigh of relief as opposed to waiting on pins and needles for the next dumb thing to happen. The mania of Tuesday carried me through the rest of the week - a rather intense week - which was wearing me down. And then I started to realize that I could be fighting the plague that seemed to be going around - which will cause you to slow way down. Who wants to be sick if you can prevent it.

Tonight I went to the Seattle Derby Brats & Tootsie Roller's awards ceremony (like our prom). It was at a super swanky studio in the neighborhood right next door to mine - Fremont. Lara was spinning, my friend Audrey was there (as her daughter is a brat) and a few other Jet City Skaters. It was really quite fun. They had an award for every skater. And they are just young girls. The Tootsie Rollers ranging from 6-10 and the Brats 10ish - 16 (which is a huge difference in age and development.) But it was awesome to be at a sport for a women's sport that is not man's sport that women do but truly a sport being created, crafted and regulated by women. It was awesome to see the mentorship of older skaters (from both Rat City & Jet City) and the younger skaters - even the Brats as mentors to the Tootsies - on the rink - on the dance floor.

I was talking to one of the Brat's grandfather (whose daughter is on my league and we sit together on the same bus.) He was talking about how great this sport is and how all these young women have stories and they all stick together. Once in derby, always in derby. He couldn't be more proud to be a part of it (and with three grown kids, he's been a part of many things.) He said when people ask him why men's derby (merby) hasn't taken off yet, he tells people it's because men aren't interested in learning the rules but just want to knock the crap out each other (and you need the rules to win.) I told him Merby hadn't taken off people really, men just aren't as cute in short skirts.

Kitties for Obama and Tears of Joy

Last night I think the kitties must have been just as excited as we all were about the election because they would NOT stop running around. I woke up at 3:30 a.m. when I heard Lara get up because of kitty friends running around. They finally quit chasing a bag or running like crazy monkeys down the hall but my brain was completely turned on. I finally go my mind to quiet down and then they decided to play hide-and-seek behind the closet door. Oh my gosh! Kitties couldn't wait for the new president... and wanted the rest of us to know!

Exhausted, I headed down to the Paramount, with Lara, and met a bunch of other friends there. At 7:15 a.m. there were a thousand people trying to get into the Paramount (much like the Playhouse in Cleveland). I parked the car and hopped in line with everyone else. It was so thrilling! It was 7:15 a.m. and chilly (not nearly as cold as it was in DC), pitch black with frosty breaths. We climbed to the second balcony and after claiming my seat, I skipped around to 2 or 3 coffee shops that didn't have lines to grab some coffees for my friends. I raced back and settled down for the inauguration.

It was wonderful and overwhelming. The older black man sitting next to me couldn't stop crying. He would wipe his eyes, wipe his nose and take a deep breath. And then someone would say something, Aretha would sing, Biden would take his oath, Obama would be sworn in, and the gentleman next to me would start sobbing all over again. My whole row was teary eyed but this man was sobbing - I wanted to pat his back - I wanted to say "thank god!" or "who knew this would ever happen" but he mumbled his own disbelief under his breath and then tears would roll down his cheeks again. And my humble experienced was humbled even more. The couple in front of me hugged each other often. We, as a group of thousand, would often laugh, sigh, or cheer collectively. I got text messages from Seattle, Cleveland, DC, Chicago wrapped in honest disbelief. It was an awesome experience.

I left to head to work (right upstairs - in the Paramount building) stopping by my car (in a piad lot) first to grab my bag that I left in the trunk. I got to an intersection and at a coffee shop a musician was playing the saxophone and people on the street burst into "America the Beautiful". Cars started beeping. A bus driver, seeing all of us flooding out of the Paramount, asked at the stop light, "How was it?! How was the inauguration?" We shouted a collective, "Awesome!" sad that he couldn't make it. What a truly beautiful morning.

We can change the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghSJsEVf0pU&feature=related

Otterpop becomes a Derby Queens

Tonight, Mona, Maude, Bess and I were on our way back from the Oly bout in Olympia - when Maude asked Bess to turn down the heater (which Mona and I love) to which Bess asked, "Are you all warm enough?" to which Maude replied, "The Otterpops are just fine" - cracking us all up. I am an otterpop - I am cold like a Popsicle. Always slightly chilled.

Derby Queen is what the sash said that was slipped over my sailor costume - as 6 of us went as the Village People to our "famous people" themed Prom - last night. But the award for derby queen was really the award for 2008 League MVP. (wow!) How awesome is that!?!? I am flattered and thrilled. As my brother Mike would say, "It's pretty f*&#ing sweet." I'm, of course,completely in love my league,. And it's not because of the award but because of the direction we're going; the great strides we're making to help grow derby; better relationship building and playing a better game. It's a good time to be a roller girl. And Prom was a celebration of that.

The Otterpop wins MVP. Yeah!

Photos from Prom below

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67749380@N00/sets/72157612721045312/

Brrrrrr....

The chill in Seattle isn't nearly as bitter as the chill in Cleveland, Detroit or New Year but it's definitely cold. The thing is I remember the deep freeze in Iowa in January of 1994. The governor declared a "state of emergency" - though we still had classes (it has something to do with having to pay nurses time-and-a-half - god forbid.) We were told NOT to be outside for more than 5 minutes, avoid bridges and rivers (where the wind comes whipping down with no barriers to stop it.) I made the mistake of getting off the bus a mile from my dormitory by the Iowa River. My eyelashes froze to my scarf and it felt like my core temperature took a slight dive.

That cold snap killed some people in Chicago and in other parts of the Midwest. The negative 20 with a negative 50 windchill took leave and the thermometer broke zero. You would have thought it was spring! People put on shorts and pulled out their Birkenstock - that's the difference between negative 20 and zero - shorts.

Zero felt balmy.

Thankfully it's been over a decade since I've said that.

What would you do?

I was watching a blurry ABC last night when I show came on, "What would you do?" They put actors through various scenarios where, for example, people see a guy drop a perceived date rape drug into a woman's drink. And they tape various examples of what people do. More often than not, people respond some way - by offering to buy her another drink or even confronting the guy. (Thankfully, I've never been in a situation like that before.) But I would totally do something - because I have and I've been yelled at while doing.

Walking down the street in Chicago with my friend Denise one summer night a woman and man were arguing on the street and he pushed her violently as we walked by. I turned on a dime and asked the woman if she was OK? and she started yelling at me to "mind my own fucking business". walked away and right into a cop and told him about the situation. I've called the cops on domestic situations and when I've heard people screaming at 3 a.m. in the park. Like the people on TV though, I've been stopped by friends who didn't want me to interfere. I saw a homeless man being harassed by police (or that's what I thought) and as I pulled up, my friend grabbed my arm and told me not to interfere.

It was an interesting show but goes back to that point that we need to keep an eye on each other... it does take a village. But it doesn't stop when we become adults.

Boundaries...

On my way to work this morning, I passed a man who was saying, "Well then I'm not going to work on the weekends if they're not going to let me work at home. Screw them. I already put in 20 hours on the weekend and they won't let me work a few days a week at home? Don't expect me to answer your email after 5 p.m. I'm off the clock." I could understand. My brother Mike hasn't taken a long (read: more than 4 days) vacation in 3 + years because of his business. My other brother has always worked a gazillion hours. My boss works on the weekends, I have friends that take work home. And I've been thinking of my work life balance and the boundaries you need to keep to keep work from flooding into life, or derby from flooding into work, spreading past its banks and mucking things up (much like the cows from this Seattle Times article who were flooded in on this piece of land last week.)

So creating boundaries... I'm doing better with some of them. Mondays are my nights to swim with Pygmy at the Ballard Pool a block away (in the "easy" lane, relaxing) and have a beer at the Tin Hat down the street. We get caught up on each other's lives, our common friends, some friends we only know from each other, hopes, dreams, ambitions... and then we head back to our homes keeping in mind all of these things. Monday nights are a great time to relax and control the floods of work, derby, volunteering, life...

With drawl...

Here I am on a Saturday night, sitting at home, watching last seasons Flight of the Concord, cleaning my skates, cleaning the apartment. I'm sitting at home because I don't want to go out (I did last night to Purr in support of the GLBT friendly bars who were threatened by some nut) and honestly I need the "holidays" to end. I need a break from so much food, tasty beverages, being out all of the time, snacking on left overs, going to happy hour, going out after happy hour, eating left over candy, drinking beer you got as a gift, staying up until all hours of the morning...sleeping in.

But it's hard.

I am craving something with a bit of chocolate or a tasty beverage. And not because I actually want it but because I've been doing it for the last 3 - well maybe 6 weeks. It's hard to come off of your high of gluttony and "resume normal life" which looks like working all day, skating, swimming, going to committee meetings, writing in my blog, going to board meetings, making your own meals again, going to an occasional happy hour. . .getting little sleep. Yeah.

*photo of random art on the street

Bleh, it's windy...

It took most of the day to get home, smashed between people who had very little regard for my personal space and an extra 40 minutes in the air - but I'm back home in Seattle - ready to face, accept, jump into the new year - woot! (It was like the flight home brought a transition from fun times with the family to work and the rest of my winter.)

Tonight, with two happy cats on my lap, the wind is blowing trucks off the road - the rain is forcing people out of their homes with fears of flooding. It's back to winter. It's the start of the derby season.

Here are some photos from my suprise visit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67749380@N00/sets/72157612309413206/

The longest holidays continues, bald like a dolphin, salt


I got thru the security line at the airport tonight with ease. (Today had been a pretty chill day as many friends were back at work and a few of my plans got canceled - I just ended up hanging out at Mike's house.) I bought a People Magazine and Vanity Fair for the plane ride and curled up in a chair just to hear that my flight hadn't left Chicago yet and there was no way I was going to make my connecting flight in Denver to Seattle. I got in line after a couple minutes and after being given a couple options: I could fly to Denver and sleep in the airport - flying out first thing in the morning, fly to DC at 6 a.m. then direct to Seattle and be there by noon, fly to Chicago at 6 a.m. and take a 3 p.m. flight to Seattle. Having slept in enough airports, I suggested flying to Chicago at noon and then taking a flight to Seattle. She agreed and booked me for tomorrow. So I hoped on the RTA and headed back into the city where it had begun to rain - freezing rain.

Mike picked me up at the RTA stop. I had already gotten a hold of Jill and she was seeing "Milk" at the Cedar Lee so I agreed to meet with her and Jeff for a tasty beverage. Mike drove his truck to the end of his street before handing it over to me - I'm not afraid to drive on black ice - but in someone elses truck I am slightly nervous. I pulled out onto the main road and passed three salt trucks along the way - that made me happy - salt trucks. I had passed like 8 police cars on the way home last night from hanging out with Kathy where we caught up on a million things and made plans for 2010. Those are two things I rarely see in Seattle - salt and police. Both are necessary - sometimes.

So one more night on the super comfy sofa in the basement. I found some pieces to toys when I was cleaning up this morning. The twins got Barbies for Christmas and they got ones that were scuba Barbie complete with dolphins. Alexandre was combing her smooth plastic dolphin with the brush meant for Barbies hair when she looked up and said to no one in particular, "This dolphin is bald like Uncle Mike." Hilarious. Even if you step on that plastic dolphin 8 times and find other pieces parts after they've left.

The holidays that never end...

So I arrived on the red eye in Cleveland on Friday morning - slightly exhausted though not as horrible as some of my red eye flights have been in the past. I came home to surprise my parents for the "Johnson Christmas" gathering at my younger brother's (Mike) house. Mike and I ran around all day on Friday buying a few last things. I took a nap and then we headed out to see one of Mike's high school friends while we waited for Mark, Margie and all the girls to show up. Of course, in Johnson family tradition, we ended the night at 3 a.m. playing drunkin' Wii and falling asleep on the futon in the basement (which is really, really nicely redone). Saturday morning wasn't as nice to me as I expected but after a few hours of playing with the twins and an hour nap (at one point the girls yelling loudly in my ears "Aunt Michelle are you dead?!"and laughing hysterically), I was good to go for the rest of the day.

With my brothers out getting some late lunch and Margie in the shower, me and the girls were the only ones around to answer the door when my parents and family friend arrived. My father did a double take and said "You're not suppose to be here." And my mother was thrilled. It was a nice surprise and no one had a clue though Mark had suggested it back in October. It was a nice surprise. And after many promises to the girls about opening presents (when Grammy gets here, after lunch, after your naps) we opened up some gifts, ate some homemade-ish pizzas, and got back to Wii (minus the drunkin' part for me.) It was again good times as the girls wanted to play and Mike, Mark or Margie would try to do Wii skiing or hula hooping holding a 40 lbs 3 year old twin - making it even funnier. They also entertained us plenty with their pink and purple boas and tiarras and microphones - singing songs that only they knew in rock star fashion.

Getting to bed at a much more reasonable hour (like 1:30 a.m.), the parents came back for bunch and lunch, some movie watching and hanging out with the little baby (who looks JUST LIKE her sisters did at that age.) Eventually everyone trickled out of the house and I was dropped off at Rebecca's house to hang out with her, her twins and 8 year-old son. They are just like Energizer Bunnies - also singing and running around (what is it with twin girls!?) without the slightest care that they don't know me from a random stranger on the street, in pink and white tutus like little forest fairies or wood nymphs (and they kind of look like them with their little noses and unruly hair). I followed them upstairs to look at some gifts they got for the holidays and Gabriel went on to tell me that they sleep in the hallway. I verified it with Rebecca and yes, her twin girls sleep in the hallway between her parents room and Gabriel's room. I think that's hilarious. Rebecca decided it was a battle she couldn't win - and what was the problem - at least they slept, with pillows and blankets on the floor.

And now with only a day and a half left of this very short trip, I'm trying to catch the other people on my short list: one of whom I didn't see the last time I was here, one with a new baby, and another who I spend a very short amount of time with. But without a car and less than 48 hours left in Cleveland, I'm going to do the best I can... until I can come back out again.

Happy New Year!

Last night I celebrated the end of 2008 at Highway 99 in Seattle with a bunch of friends. There were burlesque shows (two of the performers had fakes and caused quit a stir!), Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers (who are moving to Austin) and plenty of fun dancing and tasty beverages. Today I did next to nothing - lounged most of the day and then finally pulled out the Wii fit. WHAT FUN! Holy cow, I can see why people would like it so much. Of course, in my wii fit years it says I'm 46 years old because my balance (to the back and the right) and weight (average). Of course of some that is holiday sloth which will trim up and off when I "resume my regularly scheduled life". It's fun though. I'm really enjoying it.

In the midst of all the chatter last night, people were talking about their resolutions. JoJo wants to write more. Someone else wanted to dance. There was the "I'm giving up xxxx" or "I am going to do more yyyy." What I know about resolutions it that they have to be attainable or you're just setting yourself up to fail... I don't know what my resolution is going to be this year. Unfortunately, I am giving up the P-Patch this year. I LOVE doing it in the spring but it finds itself neglected come mid-late summer. Plus, I just feel like work is going to take it out of me this year - not that I'm not going to try and keep balance but it's going to be a tough one (I've had like 4 meetings on the budget and will most likely be getting a pay cut - which is ok if it means we don't have to lay anyone off.) In giving up the P-Patch, I'm going to make myself promise more summer camping and hiking. That will be one of the best things I can do for work-life balance - get off the grid as much as I can. I'm sure I'll come up with more solid resolutions as soon as the holidays wear off.

Happy New Year!