That's the headline of today's Yoga Journal Newsletter Daily Insight that I get delivered to my e-mail inbox every morning.

It's a mantra that I've taken to heart.

The e-mail includes this pearl of wisdom:

"A dry spell can be connected with stress at work, emotional issues, or relationship difficulties—wherever your energy is tied up. My best advice: Don't get caught in negative self-talk."

Recognizing my own negative self-talk and stopping it in its tracks is the very thing that has sustained me through what could be a very difficult time. Can you imagine where I'd be or what I'd be doing if I hadn't taken up yoga?

Yes, I realize that "get over it" is not good advice in all situations. My point is that not everything bad that happens means the world has to come crashing down. Your joy is your sorrow unmasked, remember?

Instead, I trusted that the universe would provide, and it has. I started this week in an interim Development Director position for a local DV agency. The pay is excellent, the time is flexible and it's a great resume builder.

And now I have the freedom to explore and pursue any career opportunities that come along.

And I get to continue my yoga practice.

Labels: career, jobs, personal, yoga

The Women's Commission has hired a new Executive Director. And it's not me. I don't recognize the name of the woman they hired, either.

I'm going to just focus on my new interim job for the time being and continue to keep my feelers out there. I'm also going to remain a Commissioner. It would be pretty petty of me to resign at this point, right?

Please continue keeping those eyes and ears open about other opportunities in Tucson. This just means that the Commission wasn't the right one for me

This news will actually please one of my references and mentors greatly. She didn't want me to take this position if offered because she doesn't believe "mom and pop operations" like the Commission are going to survive.

I disagree, but now I don't have to worry about that twinge of doubt!

All things considered, there's worse news I could have received this morning. I'll find my next big thing soon enough!

Labels: jobs, personal

The Grease sing-along at the Loft last night was a lot of fun. I don't actually sing along at these things because I don't sing in groups; I will only perform if I'm in the spotlight. My friends Emily and Maggie and I got our picture taken with Annette Charles, the actress/dancer who played Cha Cha DiGregorio in the movie. She still looks fab 29 years later!

Labels: musicals, personal

We're still working out some of the minor details, but it looks like I will start next week as the interim Development Director at The Brewster Center, one of Tucson's two largest domestic violence organizations. My hourly rate will be roughly the same as that which I made at Planned Parenthood. I'll be working up to 35 hours a week, and I can do as much of that as I need to do from home.

I'm telling you, getting laid off has been the best thing to happen to me in a long time!

I'm a little cautious about going to work for another anti-violence organization (did I ever really leave the field?!), knowing the strain that vicarious trauma can have. That said, I'll be in a mostly administrative role with no direct service and I have my yoga practice to keep me centered and stress-free.

And don't forget, Grease sing-along tomorrow night at The Loft!

All things considered, this weekend is getting off to a pretty good start.

Labels: career, jobs, musicals, personal, yoga

My former assistant sent this to me. It's the most perfect musical number ever!


In other Jew news, I didn't get the JCC job, but I'm pretty OK with it. I have a meeting in the morning to discuss one of several new and very sudden opportunities at The Brewster Center with their interim ED. When one door closes, another door leads to singing puppet Jews. Or something like that.

Labels: career, INAPPROPRIATE, jobs, musicals, personal

In case you haven't heard, a new poll released a few days ago showed that Janet Napolitano leads John McCain by 11 percentage points in a hypothetical matchup for his Senate seat in 2010.

I've been saying for the past year and a half that she's been preparing to run for that seat when she's term-limited out as Governor in 2010. She was a cautious moderate during her first term, never really going out on a limb for any major progressive causes. Indeed, thanks to a Neanderthal Legislature, all she had to do was veto the clearly batshit insane garbage that they sent her in order to build credibility and support among Arizona's voters.

Her caution made sense when she was preparing to run for re-election. But now that she's been re-elected by a pretty impressive margin and can't run for the same office again, one would think that she would temper some of her caution by throwing some red meat to her base that has been the core of her support through her terms as AG and Gov.

Not so much, apparently, as she signed a fairly draconian employer sanction bill and decided to accept more abstinence-only funding for another fiscal year instead of following the lead of other Governors around the country. There are plenty of other examples to be found, but her moderate-to-conservative policies in the first year of her second term are starting to turn off her core supporters.

Why would she be doing taking toward the right if she theoretically had the freedom to be true to her (presumed) progressive populist roots? Clearly, Governor is not the pinnacle of her political career.

A lobbyist friend of mine in Phoenix told me the buzz up there is that she's gunning for Attorney General in the next Presidential administration, which will almost certainly be headed by a Democrat. That may be her hope, but I think it's highly unlikely that she'd be selected for that role.

In Arizona's Constitutional offices, the Secretary of State is the equivalent of Lieutenant Governor. Our current SOS, Jan Brewer, is a Republican former state legislator. There is no way that a Democratic President would hand over the Governorship of a purple state to the GOP two years before the next Governor is scheduled to be elected, especially with a Republican-controlled legislature.

Her chances of landing the AG post might improve if Democrats could pick up at least one house of the legislature next year. It's possible, I suppose, but I'm not yet convinced it's likely. We need a Democratic Governor to be our firewall against the truly crazy, regressive, dangerous legislation that emanates from 'neath the copper dome.

This also calls to mind for me the reason I doubt she's a serious candidate for the VP slot on the Democratic ticket. I complained on this here blog a couple of times about her lack of campaigning for legislative candidates. It seemed that she had no interest in accruing or spending any political capital (I loathe that term, but it's apt here) from or for legislative candidates from her party.

If I was the chief executive of a state and the legislature was controlled by the fringe of the opposing party, I'd want to do everything in my power to help increase the number of my allies in the legislature so we could actually pass some positive legislation.

My theory is that the fringe legislature makes for a useful foil for the Governor as she positions herself for the Senate race against Grampa McCrazy. Why mess with a formula that yielded several successful statewide campaigns? The base be damned!

"Senator Napolitano" may very well be something we hear by December 2010, but at what cost to the Democratic brand in Arizona?

P.S. I believe that Arizona's resign-to-run law applies to Constitutional officers, which means she can't formally declare her intention to run for the U.S. Senate until the final year of her current term starts or she would have to resign. So expect to hear a lot of coy remarks about and deft dancing around those questions for the next three years.

Labels: AZ-Sen, Democratic brand, Janet Napolitano, John McCain, Pres-08

I still don't know what to make of this conversation.

I was on the phone with my mom a little while ago. She was asking me how my interview went yesterday (not so great, I think). I appreciate her concern, but it doesn't stop with concern with her.

She's in full-on, up-all-night-agonizing mode. No matter how many times I tell her I'm fine both emotionally and financially, she tells me she's still worried.

After I reassured her for the 32nd time during our phone conversation, she finally said, "OK, unless you have a sugar daddy we don't know about."

I was taken a little by surprise and immediately responded, "I most certainly do not have a sugar daddy."

"Well if you did, we wouldn't have to worry about your bills being paid."

Wait, did my mother just suggest I ought to find me a sugar daddy?

Not knowing what else to say, I repeated the protest I made a moment earlier. My mother again repeated her insane troll logic.

When I told her I didn't want a sugar daddy, she continued to press me. Finally I said, "you clearly haven't seen the sugar daddies in Tucson." She laughed, I laughed awkwardly, and we moved on after she once again reminded me about my bills.

I think she may have actually been a little serious. I have no issues with the concept, but I'm too shallow to ever put it into practice with the crop of creepy old men that are found in Tucson.

Anyway, it's back to monster.com for me tonight.

Labels: INAPPROPRIATE, jobs, personal

You don't want to have Edwards' balls hurled at you, now do you?

Labels: INAPPROPRIATE, Pres-08

I've had this post brewing for some time, but only felt inspired to write it after watching some of the Logo/HRC debate and reading some of the coverage of it.

This starts with same-sex marriage. Those who know me or who have been faithful readers for a few years know that I don't think much of this issue. It's not a make or break issue for me in a candidate, and it's really not a very pressing issue to me in general, except in fighting back attempts to make same-sex marriage illegal because that's a dangerous slippery slope that could become a gateway to limiting other rights.

And I'm not at all saying that marriage is a basic right or a basic need. That would be silly. Basic needs are food, shelter and safety. Basic rights are those found in the Constitution and its amendments. Same-sex marriage should be legal, but it's not exactly life or death.

So this brings me to my point. Most of the Democratic candidates who participated in the Logo/HRC 'debate' said they did not support marriage equality and used the excuse that "the country just isn't ready yet" or "we're just not there yet" as justification.

Poppycock.

How can you know if you're not ready for something unless you try it and see? And why does 'the country' (code for heterosexual moderates) have to be ready for something that has absolutely no impact on their individual lives anyway?

If my yoga practice has taught me anything, it's that we are capable of doing so much that we might not have otherwise thought possible until we tried. Massachusetts has not fallen into the Atlantic, people aren't dying in the streets in Boston and Amherst and Waltham (shout out to my Brandeis reader!). How were Massachusett-ians(?) any more or less 'ready' for same-sex marriage than anyone else in this country?

It's not that 'we're not there yet' or that 'the country isn't ready'. There may be a lot of people, perhaps even a clear majority, of American voters who are still a little uncomfortable with marriage equality. But is it really fair to use their mild discomfort (and it really is mostly mild according to polling) as an easy out to restrict some rights from one group of citizens?

If you're personally uncomfortable with something, own up to it. Don't hide behind some amorphous nonsense excuse about how other people may or may not feel about the issue. And once you've done that, get over yourself. Seriously. Whatever happened to the greater good?

There were a lot of timid politicians who said that the country wasn't ready for women to vote prior to 1920, or that we just weren't there yet in 1963, a year before Congress passed and President Johnson signed sweeping Civil Rights reforms into law.

You know what? It turns out the United States populace was actually ready for those and other major advances. We just didn't know it till we tried it.

The U.S. democracy has always been a great experiment. There have been lots of rocky points along the way, especially at those times when the oppressed aggressively sought fairness and justice. But the Union endured, just as it will when some politicians with backbones finally grow a pair, pass sweeping pro-equality laws, and the country once again realizes that same-sex marriage, much like interracial marriage before it, is really no big deal.

And on that note, I'll also encourage you, my faithful reader, to try something - anything - you never thought you could do. Stepping out of your comfort zone can be a wonderfully freeing and enlightening experience.

And you don't even need to attend a yoga class with me to prove it.

Open to grace.

Labels: challenge, change, civil rights, equality, fear, history, human rights, LGBT, opening to grace, Pres-08, social justice, yoga

Three cheers to Hillary for joining me for yoga tonight. Let's do it again sometime!

In other news, my former roommates Jason and Brandon just bought a shiny new Prius hybrid. I got a ride in it today and I totally want one! Congrats to the boys on the new car.

Labels: friendship, not really newsworthy, personal, yoga

I have a final (I think) interview scheduled with the Tucson JCC on Thursday late afternoon.

I'm told my references said glowing things about me (I've thanked them already) and that the JCC's major concern about me right now is whether or not I'd be happy in an apolitical, non-advocacy job.

I think it would be a nice break, and I can still engage in plenty of advocacy, politicking and campaigning in my volunteer and community service work.

So it looks like my job search is moving along nicely (I haven't heard anything further from the Women's Commission, so I'm thinking I may be out of the running, which is definitely their loss).

I kept telling you all that I'm not concerned and it looks like I was right. To paraphrase Joseph Campbell, the universe opens doors where there once were walls.

Labels: career, jobs, personal

I no longer support Bill Richardson for President.

Despite his lengthy resume and respectable public service, the man is not fit to be President of the United States.

My faith in his candidacy faltered during an early debate, when he cited Byron White as his model Supreme Court Justice. Justice White wrote a dissent in Roe v. Wade and was joined by eventual Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

One major faux pas was perhaps excusable, but tonight Bill Richardson swallowed his foot up to the knee when he repeatedly insisted on his belief that sexual orientation is a "lifestyle choice" in the Human Rights Campaign/Logo Democratic debate.

I know it's rather anathema for me to say this on a progressive blog, but domestic issues are far more important to me than ending the Iraq war. Don't misunderstand, the war has been a perilous, unwarranted folly that I believe must be brought to a swift conclusion. It's just not the issue on which I'm going to base my vote.

Healthcare, education, jobs and civil rights are all far more important to me because they impact my everyday life. I don't have friends or family members currently serving, and I don't begrudge one bit those who do and for whom the war is the #1 issue. For them, Bill Richardson might still be a viable candidate based on his UN experience and his promise to end the war the day he is inaugurated.

But for me, if you don't get issues as simple as reproductive justice or full equality, you can never have my full support. Hell, even Giuliani is better on these issues than Richardson (well, OK, not quite).

So I hereby rescind and renounce my previous endorsement of Bill Richardson for President and move myself firmly back into the Undecided column.

John Edwards is saying many of the right things (except for an awkward performance tonight), and I was willing to give Chris Dodd a closer look until he didn't show for tonight's debate.

Rest assured I will update this space with additional thoughts or an endorsement as the process moves forward, especially now that it's looking more likely that the caucuses and primaries could start as early as this December. Yikes!

Labels: Bill Richardson, civil rights, equality, LGBT, Pres-08, Roe, social justice

I met with three more people from the JCC today in the latest phase of their hiring process. I think it went well. I guess I'll find out soon enough!

Labels: career, jobs, personal

I just received notice that I've been accepted into this year's Center for Progressive Leadership Arizona Political Leaders Fellowship.

More than 200 individuals were nominated for the fellowship from all over Arizona, and I was one of 55 selected. Apparently, there's already a waiting list in case any of the 55 of us do not or cannot accept.

Needless to say, I'm thrilled and so appreciative of my three recommendation-writers. Or, as I like to call them, my guardian angels.

I'm very excited about this opportunity. Lack of supervisory experience be damned! I have to confirm by August 20. When I confirm, I can also apply for a scholarship, which, under current circumstances, would be the only way I'd be able to afford to participate.

Labels: CPL, fellowship, leadership, personal

My interview at the JCC went well last week. So well in fact that they just invited me back to meet individually with the CEO, CFO, and Development Director this Wednesday.

This is an added intermediate step in the process that was described to me last week. At that point, I was told that last week's interview was an initial screening interview and then there would be a search committee formed that would meet with a narrowed-down list of candidates.

I'm a little grumpy about the additional step. This is like the very first professional job I interviewed for, education director at a rape crisis center. They kept adding more steps for me than for any other candidates. Apparently I was the only man to apply and the board was uncomfortable with a man as a full time staff person (this was a pretty old-school, second-wave board at the time).

I finally said no to all the additional hoops they made me jump through. I was taken out of consideration at that point, but ended up working at the same organization in a different capacity nine months later. I'm not at a point yet where I'm even considering not jumping through hoops for the JCC, so fear not.

The woman who interviewed me last week also apparently called one of my references, which was an odd thing to do after a screening interview. I can't tell if they really like me or if they're really nervous about me.

Anyway, the search is moving along pretty well but please continue to pass leads along to me.

If worse comes to worst, I could always enroll in the yoga teacher training program...

Labels: career, jobs, personal, yoga

Yoga and anything INAPPROPRIATE!

Don't forget to eat your goji berries!

Labels: INAPPROPRIATE, yoga

I was invited to submit a bid today to do some contract grant-writing work for an organization with which I'm quite familiar. It's not so hard to guess which one, but I'll leave an air of mystery for right now.

I also was hired for an hour this morning to take pictures at the Tucson Birthday Month kickoff event.

I have to say I really appreciate folks throwing me odd jobs now. It almost makes me think that I could, perhaps someday, afford to really make this business a full-time (or really part-time but paying full-time) gig.

I also just signed a new lease this afternoon at my current place of residence, so I won't be thinking about moving again for another 7 months. So much for that idea, but I did need to cut costs, and this will save me $135 a month compared with the month-to-month rate I had been paying.

All things considered, I'm actually enjoying my unemployment so far. I give it another week or so before I'm totally bored out of my mind. Of course, by then I expect to have found a new full-time job. Yes, it's hubris, but I tend to aim for the stars!

Labels: career, jobs, personal