These past few weeks have been revelators. I'd been doing what I'd already done, and thus feeling like I'd always felt...and I began to feel just so beyond where I've been. That previous sentence either says a whole lot of something or a can full of nothing, I'm not sure which. For some time, despite welcoming some changes, I haven't welcomed certain changes that upset the comfort, freedom and predictability in my life because those things, frankly, have become really addictive. Anymore, though, these stabilizers don't feel right; with my daily paid work, I feel wasteful with my energies and inhibited in my creativity. Surely I can be putting myself to even better use for the greater good!!! I'm worn out from the laziness and disconnectedness that this corporate American life promotes, and even sets as an ideal. I've learned that the best way to get myself out of ruts is to innundate myself with fresh people and environments. So, I started volunteering after school with a group of kids on Fridays in West Oakland in their garden as part of OBUGS; I signed up for a class in Urban Agroecology at Merritt College, the curriculum of which includes developing a sustainable campus in the Oakland hills; I did a little volunteering with Revolution Foods, a group that provides healthy school lunches to several elementary and high schools in the East Bay; I took my first banjo lesson and have been practicing every night since; I contacted old friends who I've been wanting to talk to for a long time, and most importantly I started making plans for an *epic* affordable summer adventure.

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So far, my plan is working pretty well...I've redirected myself and that I'm gaining speed in the right direction :) I'm sure there will be speed bumps along the way, but I'm ready and willing to deal with them!

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On Friday, the OBUGS kids and I harvested collard greens out of their school garden and cooked them up for an afterschool snack, and we concurrently potted some flowers from the garden so that the kids could transplant them into their soil at home. We did a little investigation around the garden and found, in a dark corner, a whithering Lemon Verbena tree. After I taught them how to crush the leaves between their fingers to get a more intense smell, they were amazed and immediately demanded that we water the tree and bring it back to life! My garden coordinator and I are going to plan an Herb Walk for one of the days where we go through the garden and introduce the kids to all the scents and sights and textures of the various herbs we have growing there.

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As for the epic summer adventure, I'm still planning the details...but I divulge that it *will* at least include a banjo, lots of soil and shovels and working with my hands, plenty of farmer's markets, time spent in the northern reaches of California and possibly on some rivers in Colorado, a long-overdue visit to my grandma out in her old steel-mill town in PA, a whole lot of working with things that light my fire...and a whole lot of meeting other people who are similarly passionate...at last!