my beautiful friends

i meet the most extraordinary people

in the most mundane and unexpected places.

 *

thank you kind stranger in sausalito

for letting us use your lighter to

make our cupcakes glow. 

when on the verge of losing my mind,

i always think of the time i successfully

memorized a samoan poem (in samoan),

survived and passed edTPA,

recovered from a collapsed lung,

and remember that i can do anything

~ ~ ~

“For me, I am driven by two main philosophies:

know more today about the world than I knew yesterday

and lessen the suffering of others.

You'd be surprised how far that gets you.” 

― Neil deGrasse Tyson

"linda, with your gratitude"

is what dave eggers wrote inside the title page.

i've waited for years for the right time

to read this, and today in a cozy cafe in Oakland,
with a rainy drizzle, is the day!

melissa and i spent all day experimenting with

screen printing to prepare for rolling out

the new workshop.

~isthisevenwork?

~now i have some new room decor :D

YEAR II:

THE SEARCH FOR THE PERFECT TREE.
~*~*~*~*~

bridges have become a big part of my life.

now that i can be a human being again

(aka not work weekends),

i can go to the farmer's market and

drink all the floral frescas i want.

first time i've picked up my camera in over a year!

~ ~ ~

this camera has trekked across a volcano,

navigated through venetian canals,

and frolicked through the tea hills of tanah rata.

picking the neighbor's flowers

to garnish our rainy day cake!

when your roommate desperately wants to go see her

favorite band, but the tickets are $$$

then your ex-coworker says her cousin's band is in

town & wants to know if you want to go with her to their show.

and the band is the same band your roommate worships.

then you all go to together and

have a jolly good time

today, a stranger thanked me for the work I do.

CELEBRATORY NOODLES

i took some giant steps,
and landed my next new job!

~*~*~*~*~*~

wandered around a forest for 10 miles

and spotted some first signs of autumn

 foggy sunsets and rolling hills

taking giant steps in oakland

#postfinalinterview

some late night waterdoodles~

Lina and I embarked on a museum + garden day.

And overdid it.

 Then we made lasagna.

 "the water at your house is so good,

it tastes like Pakistan!"

-Maryam

"build a life so uniquely yours that no one can imagine anyone but you living it. Make your choices so intentionally and specifically tailored to your personality and your goals that it is impossible to conceive of anyone but you living the one specific life that you live."

[out on the open road]

it's been the best of times,

it's been the worst of times.

one year ago, i put flowers in my hair,

and moved to this glorious fog city:

we deal with hysterical tots (and grown-ups),

dead birds, ambulance calls, and other people's

offspring's biological spills..

and that's why we sometimes consume alcohol.

happy belated 27th birthday Marie~

instead of going to work,

i went to a castle.

an update on my newest hobby...
it's been one of those blood, sweat and tears

experiences (mostly blood and some tears),

but i have learned an adequate level of
glass techniques and skills
to create this artichoke window:

in the midst of madness,

i was asked to design + create an outfit

last minute for this mannequin.

i dug through boxes of fabric, feathers, trim

and with needles in my teeth and thread in my hand,
came up with this:

it made me realize that i love

high pressure time-crunched situations where i am

pressured/encouraged to be my most
creative resourceful self.

i was excited to bring it home

but it was already taken by someone;

now some little girl somewhere

is running around wearing my

deconstructed poncho dress.

"you look like helen of troy"

- j

*in reference to the time i wore a

thrifted pink grecian gown to work

exactly 1 year ago today, i drafted & submitted the CV

for my current job. 365 days later, here i am again.

drafting a new one, for a brand new adventure
where i continue exploring my role and potential
in shaping lives as an educator.  

~*~*~*~

the girl who was part of my skype interview is now

one of my favorite people. our destinies/lives are

reoccurringly and eerily intertwined.

this is the henna i did at her house during

open mic night where people

sang their hearts and vocal cords out.

giant ravens and white butterflies circled above,

thank you ggm.

"real community is forged out of struggle."

into the caves we went

sea rocks

 spent the evening with my coworkers

climbing rocks, identifying coastal crabs,

and soaking up the beach breezes and sunshine

~*~*~*~*~*~

who knew a windowless basement of a

cafe/apothecary could be so pleasant to drink tea in.

falling cloudberries

is a wonderfully warm and dreamy cookbook

by Tessa Kiros

i made the italian baked tomato + bean recipe, and
my go-to lemon dill salmon & kale w/ quinoa for dinner.

these beans were labor intensive, but letting the
flavors marinate for extra long is so worth it!
i put the rest in a weck jar and now i can

be happy for the rest of the week.

she is one strange strange cat.

after catsitting, i wandered around looking

for lululemon and instead,

walked into an Easter parade/fair:

walking along streets of giant bunnies and funnel cake,

i got a free copy of the SF Chronicle + a pin!

then i sat in the sun waiting for my henna

to dry and read about tiny-home "dignity villages"

for the homeless, and our obsession with donuts~

i think this is the first time i have ever
owned/read a newspaper. i liked it/need to do this more.  

what a good day; san francisco

is always full of pleasant and strange surprises.

~*~*~catsitting in the city~*~*~

i read thea's gourmet cookbooks, admired her closet

& watched Salem run around the apartment,

wildly.

golden gate breezes &

 crème brûlée

seine

strawberry donuts, italian cafes

& the cliff house

alas, we threw our rainbow party. 

at one point, i just sat back and felt this

extreme happiness seeping inside me as i thought of how

lucky i am to have stumbled upon this eclectic 
collection  of wonderful, genuine, and kind people to

work and play with. we played the most

insane/animated/epic charades circle game
i have ever partook in.

the only non-work person there said to cami:
"you work with all these people? wow, they are
all SO nice."

this is the recovery brunch marie and i ate:

"you're fancy. can we play together

again next time i come back?"
~
moments of intense open-ended learning,
nurtured curiosity, and human connection
make my day.

rainbowin' it up for tomorrow night
:D

i'm healthy