castles made of sand...

}~ Don’t Believe Everything You Think ~{

Gypsy M. — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 01:07:24 +0000

forget {almost} everything i wrote last time.

and enjoy this photo from my new workplace, on Flagstaff Hill:

It wasn’t until I had completely given up on the idea of moving to the Northwest that the opportunity I had been seeking for several years finally presented itself. So, as of five days ago, I have moved 700 miles north, found an adorable home, will be skiing “the best powder in Oregon,” and have changed up {almost} everything in my life except my email address and cell phone number. We’ll see how it works out…

I’ve located my other self, in a parallel universe.

Gypsy M. — Fri, 27 May 2011 06:11:37 +0000

Literally. I have just stumbled upon my other self, the one living a life that I might have lived, if only I’d just done that one thing different. Or if I didn’t do it. Either way, I’m thinking that there might be some depth to the concept of parallel universes… I know it could be true, because I read it on NPR.

The best part about this discovery, is that my counterpart is living in Missoula, Montana, and running a non-profit human services organization.

I’ve had a bit of an obsession with moving to Montana since I first skied Big Mountain in Whitefish two years ago. Last fall, I went to visit family near Missoula, and had been seriously contemplating a move there this fall (only to realize this winter that my roots are grounded in Tuolumne County, CA). However, I found myself visiting that branch of the family again, just last weekend, and came across a gem in the local paper:

“Over the past couple of months, we’ve literally been reminded that when it rains, it pours,” said Gypsy Ray, executive director of Mountain Home Montana. “We have some exciting stuff going on, but at the same time, some crises going on.”

For those of you who know that my middle name is Mae, you might get a kick out of the rhyme. For anyone whom I’ve had a conversation with about the challenges I felt my name presented when I was working in fundraising, you may hear some additional resonance. And now that I’m back in Pacific Time, I recalled a book review from a few months back, about a woman who knew how to locate a portal to travel between her two life courses… so I’m thinking I might start reading The Other Life soon.

Spring Tour 2011: vacation from vacation

Gypsy M. — Tue, 17 May 2011 04:26:54 +0000

(updated: 5/30/11; 11:47pm)

“Whatever you say… We print!”

Gypsy M. — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 03:06:20 +0000

(this has been completely plagiarized. with permission.)

three years later: still a bit traumateyezed

Gypsy M. — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:33:15 +0000

it’s not just the continued dry eyes that make me wish i’d thought a bit longer on scheduling the epi-lasik. its all the other random things that have happened to my eyes since then. oh, how i sometimes miss those contacts and lenses that used to protect my cornea.

so, for anyone who finds themselves reading this because they want to know more about lasek recovery, here is my brief update on the past year:

jan-june: dry eye status quo (daily genteal moderate drops, genteal severe dry eye gel at nighttime, and warm compresses a few times a week)
july: vision test shows slight astigmatism in left eye: ~ .25
august: broken blood vessel in left eye, two weeks with a blood-shot eye
november: comment received on this blog suggests this method for opening dry eyes in the morning: sit up, tilt head back wards, and eyes can open immediately. It actually works, and I am happy for exactly one month.
december: stringing christmas lights for a work event, a small bulb pokes me in the left eye (there was a little tension in the line from the person with the other end). i go to the mirror and can see the scratch in the cornea, but its not nearly as bad as the snowball incident, so i just had a few days of rest. but because it happened at work, i decided to use the insurance to get an exam, just to be sure things were okay, b/c things seemed a bit blurrier than normal. vision test now shows astigmatism in left eye at ~.75

And so the year ends, with me typing away on a new computer, the LCD source of my suffering, wearing a new pair of glasses that help my tired eyes read the shapes of the words in front of me, wishing I had been able to find these words three years ago, and wondering if it would have done anything to change my decision back then.

meditating on MUNI

Gypsy M. — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 03:35:39 +0000

I’ve been riding the 38 Geary almost daily for a little over a year now, and I’m still awed at how quiet it can be inside a bus packed with so many people. But it’s a great place for contemplation, at least on those 25% of rides that I manage to snag a seat, and can more easily ignore the occasional cellphone talkers or random mumblers. Its especially easy to block out the rest of the commuters when I’ve got the ipod on, but on the days it stays home I am even more cognizant of the oddities of commuting by public transit.

I’m also consistently amused by the the fabulous people-watching opportunities that abound on public transit. I think its the women who can manage their entire makeup regimen on the bus that amaze me the most. Seriously, how many people can curl their eyelashes on a moving platform?

I Heart San Francisco

Gypsy M. — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:33:14 +0000

just a quick comment from a night out in North Beach this weekend… I think bouncers should have the right to refuse entry to tourist who wear matching “I heart SF” t-shirts, especially if said t-shirts are paired with shorts that fall above mid-thigh, and/or fanny packs worn in front. This goes double if the person wearing shorts is male. Not that I don’t love the funny-looking tourists, since they’re a valid part of the craziness that makes up this town, but really, this is not what I want to see when I’m out at a bar.

Epi-Lasik, two years out

Gypsy M. — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:03:48 +0000

not much has changed since six months ago. I still have very tender eyeballs – you know how you rub your eyes a bit whenever you wash your face? that can cause pain for me. I”m also still not wearing eye makeup, as it’s not worth the pain my eyelids feel when putting on eyeliner. At least I’m enjoying being out of the mascara habit. I imagine this might become an issue as my career develops, since most of the women I encounter on a daily basis have some degree of makeup on, but I’ll push it as long as I can…

I’m also still using the talking alarm clock, and still have an array of eye drops and ointments on the nightstand. At least I’ve finally trained myself not to open my eyes when I can feel the stickiness. I would love for that to go away someday, but the acupuncture has not cured it Ilike I had wistfully hoped. It does help a bit though, so I’ll keep getting needles stuck in my forehead for now…

I have at least graduated to larger bottles of eye drops (Genteal makes preservative-free 10 ml & 25ml bottles) so I feel better about not using so many of those sterile plastic tubes from Allergan. They also seem to have taken the Endura drops off the market, and those were my favorite anyway.

Acceptance is my theme for this half of the year, so when I mark the 2nd anniversary of the surgery in two days, I will hopefully also mark the point at which I accept that I made this decision and I have to live with it. And I’ll hope that things continue to improve with time.

The Yosemite, 2008

Gypsy M. — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 18:43:27 +0000

it’s been two months since my vacation, and I’m just now getting around to posting this. I had a nice week, went to Emeric Lake on a four day, solo backpack. It was wonderful to spend some time in the mountains.

Emeric Lake, YNP

side note: avocados taste even better at high altitudes

Still Life With Avocado

San Francisco’s version of Mardi Gras

Gypsy M. — Tue, 20 May 2008 04:38:52 +0000