all I did was post a few fliers and send some emails, i swear!

BEEEEEEEEEP "message 1, left at 8:13 AM..."

"hi, I'm calling for Kassia. My name is sara ross from CBS 19 News and i'd like to hear more about this 'critical mass' ride that you're organizing."

me: !??!?!?!

here's the story that aired on the morning news, including a brief snippet from our interview (live at Woodfolk!)

flaky hippie is better than agro anarchist, right?

they showed up at the ride, too, and wrote the following story:

Critical Mass Bikers Spread Awareness
Friday, February 27, 2009

The people were biking for what's called Critical Mass. For many of these people, biking is their main form of transportation and they want to make sure other drivers are aware of their presence.

Charlottesville is home to a large community of bicyclists. Many of them rolled up Friday evening to show support for Critical Mass, an event to raise awareness of bikers.

"Charlottesville is a very bike-able community. We have a lot of room for improvement. But, were actually designated on a bronze level as a bicycle friendly community by the League of American Bicyclists," said Caroline Heins, a bicyclist.

David Nelson was watching as the bikers went by. He said, "I think bikes and cars can get along and its a wonderful thing to have bikes. They use light power and no gas that's wonderful."

Not everyone is out to prove a particular point. Some joined in simply because biking is fun.

"I'm always up for a group bike ride and today is a perfect day for a ride its not a torrential down pour," said Ruby Holler, another bicyclist.

The bicyclists started heading East on Main Street and rode all around the city. They hope their ride will remind drivers to share the road with bikers.

"I think the more we see people on the streets, the greater the awareness to every body who uses the roadways that it really is a shared space," Holler said.

"People will learn as things like this raise their awareness," said Nelson.

The cyclists said the more people are aware, the more biker friendly Charlottesville will be.

Critical Mass has been known to cause traffic problems in other cities. Friday we followed them for part of their ride and they did not cause many problems. There were a few honks from drivers, but other than that it looked like a smooth ride.

Critical mass takes place in cities worldwide. The event is always held on the last Friday of the month starting at 5 PM.

(gotta love the friendly cville press..........)

seeking balance

my last 2 posts sum things up pretty well--higher-than-ever highs, extreme life satisfaction, and then total overwhelm, all-consuming anxiety, debilitating doubts.

the former generally applies to my "work" life--organizing projects, events, community activities. the overwhelm and anxiety creep in when the swell of accumulated responsibilities rises to a peak. and the doubt plays out in my relationship; juggling the giving of and taking space, being supportive, backing off, taking responsibility--probably i'm pmsing right now, but at the moment i just wish he would do something huge and unmistakable to show his appreciation and support for me.

ok, here's a brief list of the goods and bads:

i'm supremely psyched about:
--raw organic apricot kernels and fermented green papaya
--neighborhood garden work party, kids playing in the yard, women digging rocks out of the garden bed and laughing
--the spinach and garlic sprouting in our garden
--malt sweetened chocolate chips
--parking spot takeover, converting innocent bystanders into space-reclaimers
--the look on the face of the woman at the veteran office when i told her we'd be having tea and cookies in her parking spot
--quaker meeting
--my social skills seem to be improving with heavy use!

I'm bummed about:
--attempting to arrange impossible logistics
--laptop addiction
--lack of spiritual grounding in my life
--being cold
--endless digging
--people who don't call back
--waves of anxiety
--never catching up
--feeling obliged to nag

generally, my life is f$%&ing amazing and i feel pretty blown away by it. and, i'm learning (the hard way) about the joys and sorrows of becoming an activist martyr, super-organizer as sky calls it. since i'm not employed in the traditional sense, i feel this obligation to expend 150% of my energy working on the projects that i believe in. and, frankly, i'm still a bit surprised and shocked at my new-found effectiveness. certainly, sky is a huge help in pushing my beyond my self-perceived limits (and helping pick up the pieces when i fall of the cliff instead of leap gracefully across the abyss).

stage 2: make this life sustainable and spiritually nourishing. without that, there's no point to any of this.