Mountain fire.

John Singer Sargent Calendar - Mountain Fire (1903-8)

The Rim Fire is still burning in Yosemite, and containment is expected in the next two weeks. Fires have been a part of my life for my whole life. I grew up in Central California. The Sierras are always burning. It's a part of life, the destruction.

I read over the summer that in other states, people burn their dry grass in their lawns and then the grass grows back better. We don't do that on the West Coast. We have bad air, and we're constantly trying to make it better, ride bikes! get a hybrid! commute! These are important things. These things help our children's asthma not be so bad. It's a mess.

Fire is important. It clears up overgrowth. It gets rid of stuff that's in the way. Now I'm thinking metaphorically, not like the crazy boss lady from 30 Rock who kills all of her employees in a "cleansing fire" (sorry, couldn't find a clip). Anyhoo, sometimes it's good to clean up the overgrowth.

Please take a moment to read the most recent news about Syria, and consider making a donation to MCC, currently providing direct aid to Syrian refugees.

My weekend :)

1. The restaurant Lyfe, with a veggie burger and vegan chocolate chip cookie
2. So many pregnant women in form-fitting stretchy dresses
3. My brother taught me how to breathe for a didgeridoo
4. I ate a lot of green vegetables
5. I walked all over the Stanford campus and felt inferior
6. A lot of antibacterial handwashing, and then some more
7. Hours of good thinking time in my car
8. Twelve hours of sleep last night on a friend's lovely hide-a-bed
9. Canada Day :)
10. A crazy evening of Magic Mike (at least I didn't cry this time) and a new-found personal commitment to support Matthew McConaughey for the supporting actor Academy Award (the Academy is typically very welcoming of my many educated and varied opinions)

I want to learn Spanish.

About a week ago, I decided that I would like to take the summer (or possibly the next year) to learn Spanish. It will change my marketability, career-wise, and help me to communicate better within my profession. Thus, the summer idea was born. Here are my current ideas.

1. Bogata, Columbia
2. Somewhere in Mexico where I know people
3. Venezuela to be a political radical
4. Argentina to find Slovenians
5. And the old favorite, your single brother/uncle/cousin's abode in Chile where I can walk around topless care-free?

I am scared to leave for a long time. The last time I left the country, my whole life changed, and I like my life right now. I don't want my life to be drastically different. I know that regardless of whether I travel abroad, completing school will be a drastic change, and I'm not sure if I'm ready for much more than that.

A trip to the dark side

The Black Swan :)

I just read a crazy story (Note: It's about serial killers and mass graves, so go away if you're not in a good place to handle this). It takes place in my area of the world, so it appeals to me. These days, I am rarely able to handle this kind of crazy. The work I do makes it very difficult for me to cope with bad stuff that is in no way connected to me and my life. But this story gave me hope.

I have lived my whole life in the great state of California (minus a few months here and there). One becomes accustomed to the billboards on the side of I-5 advertising missing persons, some for ten years and more. These signs are so sad. There are whole families behind those signs, waiting and hoping for answers. Parents ask, "What happened to our daughter?" They grieve without end, because there is no end to the mystery. And then some crazy guy in San Quentin decides to open his mouth, and spill his guts. It may be manipulation. It may be for money. It may be honest guilt. I don't know, but no matter why it's happening, it's good.

Families are getting answers. Think of all the suffering that is going to end in this search. They will never stop grieving, but the suffering that comes with not knowing will end. It makes me so happy. It makes my eyes well up. It makes my heart feel full. Some of the fog may be lifted (oh, I hope they'll test all the remains ASAP), after decades of not knowing what happened.