springing forward for real

this was a tough week. for a few days straight, i felt paralyzed by stress and depression which is pretty unusual for me. things got better yesterday though. i spent the day with lv as she criss-crossed the city from appointment to appointment. then she provided me with support and focus before my event at the wooden shoe, a discussion about "radical change in the age of obama." the event went really well and i felt so much better and connected to the world afterwards.

and today actually felt like spring! i had the pleasure of meeting tyrone who does the really amazing website enough and our conversations inspired me to write about my experiences in philly...here. things are turning around and i'm excited for my favorite month, just around the corner!

the gaps in between my aspirations and my apathy

the line in that song really speaks to where i'm at right now. over the past 6 years i've been struggling with that balance of working hard on projects and the lures of complacency. as the gorilla biscuits once sung, "i like hanging out but who doesn't," but it's time to start truly living our lives and realizing our dreams instead of just sitting on our asses: "let's start today."

maybe sometimes i'm too hard on myself, but i really wish that i had worked harder and had more to show for it now. but i know it's not too late and that i am the only thing that is holding me back from making it all happen.

propagandhi show/prometheus update

"so...anything new?" i was asked recently by a friend; beyond my previous response of things being pretty good in philly. well, last weekend i had a chance to see one of my favorite bands (and biggest political/life influences) from high school play live. propagandhi are a punk band from winnipeg, manitoba that have been playing since the late 80's and made a stop in philly, accompanied by their fantastic new album supporting caste. it wasn't quite as much of a mind-blowing experience as the first time i got to see them back in 2000 in new york, but it was fun and important nonetheless. it was great just to be able to bond with some of my new friends here over this band that has meant so much to all of us; a thread connecting our collective experience as punks and activists.

the other thing, of course, was getting interviewed for the internship with prometheus. the update on that is that they decided to go with someone else for the position which, as evidenced by my previous post, was not a tragic blow to my life. they had tons of applicants for the position and even though i was one of the top 3 candidates, there was someone else that had a lot more fundraising and development experience. it seems like the organization is going through a lot of upheaval right now so i wish that person the best and hope that it's a fulfilling experience. i'm mostly pscyched that i can still come back to northampton for the entire week of my birthday, as i had planned, before the anarchist book fair in nyc!

that's it for now. more updates later...

internship dilemma

yesterday i had an interview at the prometheus radio project for a paid internship that would go through september. they're a rad organization that works with community radio stations all over the country and their main office happens to be 3 blocks from my house. the internship wouldn't pay much, but enough to for me to live on and definitely more than i'm making now. i have mixed feelings though because i wouldn't be able to dedicate as much time to my aid & abet work. jen angel pointed out, though, that the summer is a slow time for booking tours (at least on college campuses) so maybe it would be fine if i got it. we'll see!

i'm trying to be better about structuring my time and being productive as a self-educator/employer, but it's still a challenge. i have a lot of ideas and projects and time i just need to be more motivated and focused. but this is nothing new.

i will be going back to massachusetts around my birthday next month which i'm really psyched about! of course, if i get this internship it will cut into my spring break time since it starts that week. hmmm...

daylight savings nyc

i woke up in brooklyn sunday. we sprung forward an hour overnight which was appropriate. my brief trip to nyc was definitely worth it. i got to spend the afternoon with my dad who had been on vacation there since wednesday night. we walked around times square and central park, enjoying the warm weather. i got to meet up with jesse for dinner in the east village after she got out of work. afterwards i took the subway to brooklyn where i met up with jon after an unfortunately pretentious panel discussion on photography he had just been on. we walked back to his apartment in greenpoint, where i crashed.

sunday morning we walked around the neighborhood and jon took portraits of me with his new camera. i had to catch a 1:30 bus back to philly but i had just enough time to meet cristy road for breakfast. she just joined the aid and abet roster and i'm psyched to work with her and set up some sucessful for tours later in the year.

during the bus ride i cleared my head and felt good about the trip. arriving right near philly's 30th street station i bumped into dave end who was taking a train up to nyc to rehearse for a big performance he's doing with kimya dawson at carnegie hall soon. he also informed me that kimya will be playing at the unitarian church in philly the next day and he might join her for a song or two.

i jumped on the subway toward 5th st. and made it with enough time to get a snack before the wooden shoe collective meeting which i was facillitating at 5:00. the meeting went well as we approved the restructuring of the collective's bylaws which we passed at a daylong retreat two weeks ago. it's the beginning of a new era for this radical institution and i'm excited to be part of it right now.

discovering the end of the rainbow!

i woke up this morning exclaiming "today is gonna be a good day!" it's been a good week. sort of unbelievable that today could be any better than the last couple but i have a feeling in my gut.

yesterday saw a pre-sunrise bike ride with lv to the upenn dental school. she put her name down to be seen later in the morning and we walked around a bit as the sun slowly emerged into our day. i got home around 9:30 am after they finally called her number. my housemate adam greeted me from the kitchen as i walked in the front door, reminding me that it was rent day and that i should put my check up on the fridge with the others. i nervously confirmed my awareness of this fact as i headed upstairs to check my bank balance online.

the day before, after a little research, i figured out how to find the status of my tax refund on the irs website. my refund was due to be directly deposited on march 5th! with that knowledge, i took a deep breath and closed my eyes as the page displaying my balance loaded. this has become a routine over the past couple weeks, an act i have performed many times each day with the hope of newfound riches at my disposal. but this time i was more optimistic. i opened my eyes and gleeful discovered two additional digits in my checking account! enough to cover this month's rent and maybe even next month's too!

i wrote out my check to the landlord and posted it on the fridge with the others. everything is going to be okay. spring is almost here.

marching ahead

march is always a wild card. the snow that arrived in the middle of the night during the final hours of february, and the initial hours of this new month, began to melt in today's bright sun. something shifted today. i busted out my review of the new thermals album for jesse's website sadie, and finally figured out how i will cover my rent this month. what a relief! inhale. exhale.

now i have returned to my new favorite cafe on 43rd and locust where you get two free refills, the sun shining through the big windows facing the street. i am determined and focused now to finally finish this article i've been working on about our new president and the challenge of social movements to develop strategies to navigate this new political climate. things are starting to fall into place. i think spring is afoot...