My flight arrived about a half hour earlier than scheduled. Jason and Brandon came to pick me up. I'm home now with a very appreciative and affectionate cat. That helps me be less sad about being back in Tucson.

I have to extend thanks yet again to Miriam for her hospitality throughout the last week, to Damon and Tamara for traveling from Philly to spend time with me, to Marla for helping me ring in my 30's just the way I wanted to, to Debra for the wonderful birthday massage, to Mell for dinner and the great conversation, to Teddi and Jack and David for being so pleasantly surprised to see me, to Mitch for being Mitch, to Hillary for taking care of Leif and taking me to the airport - I literally couldn't have taken my vacation without her, and to Jason and Brandon for being the friendly faces I needed to see when I got back to Tucson.

On the flight home, I kept getting a little teary. Not out of sadness at returning, mind you, though I would rather still be in New York. No, I'm misty even now at the realization at just how lucky I am to have people like these in my life, even if I rarely get to see them. I'm fortunate to have the means to take a trip like this. I'm truly blessed in so many ways, and I'm so fucking grateful for all of it. Cat included (he's sitting next to me purring as I type this).

When I was in JFK waiting to board and searching desperately for New York anything-edible to bring in for my client, I realized why New York's siren song calls to me. There's just an sense there that anything is possible, which, coincidentally, has become my mantra over the past year. It's a hard feeling to hold onto in a place like Tucson, where the options tend to be limited. I'm trying to stay positive here, because I've certainly managed to create wonderful opportunities for myself out here. But am I truly living up to my full potential? Or is there more for me?

My 30's are going to be the best decade yet for me. To make that happen, I have to be positioned appropriately. It's like Tucson is missionary and I like more kink out of life. There's nothing inherently bad about the missionary position - it gets the job done. It's just not always the most fun way to do it, and it's certainly not very imaginative.

I've said it before on this blog, that I moved to Tucson for the wrong reasons. But moving to New York feels so right to me. I'd be moving for me. Now all I need is a job when I get there and at least $5,000 in the bank. How hard can that be?

I should probably just go to bed. I'll upload pictures in the morning. Pinky swear.

Labels: celebration, challenge, change, friendship, hope, Jason, Miriam, moving, New York, sex, strength, success, Tucson

I'm about to go out and vote. I forgot to remind my faithful readers that today is election day in many parts of the country, and there are a couple of contested races here in the Old Pueblo. If you live in the City of Tucson, be sure to make it to your polling location before it closes (7 PM, I believe).

In the City Council races, I'm voting for Romero, Glassman, and Scott. No surprises there. I know all three and believe they're the best candidates in each of their respective races. And even though I'm voting FOR all three Dems, I'm almost equally voting AGAINST their respective challengers. Baker (running against Romero) and Spahr (opposing Scott) seem hopelessly out of touch with reality.

Oien (Rodney's opponent) seems not to have much substance to run on by how often she's attacked him and his family. Rodney's a smart, decent guy who's tried to focus on issues during the campaign. It's a shame Lori Oien had nothing better to talk about than the success of the Glassman family and environmental issues that had little to do with Rodney or Tucson. Also, she sent out that misleading mailer a couple of weeks ago that falsely implied that she had been endorsed by the Gov.

I can't vote for either candidate in the Mayoral race. How can Bob Walkup, developers' best friend, have made so little headway in Rio Nuevo during his already 8-year tenure? And Dave Croteau means well, but I just can't picture him leading a marching band, much less a city of more than one million residents. So without a viable candidate to vote for, I'll do what I always do in this situation: write in Sam Schwartz.

Finally, Proposition 200. I like the intent of the proposition to try and limit growth and ensure a healthy water supply. The problem is that it is so poorly written there are several easily-conceivable unintended consequences that could come about if it were to pass. Rather than working with a diverse cross-section of the community (not to mention even a single lawyer versed in writing law), the people pushing this proposition seem to have cobbled it together with words that made them feel good about themselves, with little to no consideration of those unintended consequences.

Every now and then I cover a class for a friend who teaches a social policy class at the ASU School of Social Work and the number one point I try to instill in those students is to beware the unintended consequences of any policy, to anticipate how the words can be misread or misinterpreted if they're not crystal clear with their language. It's a lesson we all could benefit from if the authors of Proposition 200 would only learn it.

There's also another proposition on the ballot which has received virtually no attention, to raise the annual salaries of Mayor and Council. Vote yes on that one. You get what you pay for. We have a pretty good Council right now (Mayor notwithstanding), but they won't all last forever.

So go vote: Romero, Glassman, Scott, write-in Schwartz, yes on salary increases for Mayor and Council, no on Prop 200.

Labels: 2007 City Elections, City Council, Mayor, Tucson

Today is the fifth anniversary of the day my dad and I drove into Tucson from our last stop in Las Cruces, NM in the big yellow truck that carried all my earthly belongings.

I'm having a little bit of a hard time believing that I've stayed in Tucson this long. That day five years ago was filled with such hope and excitement and that nauseating sense of, "oh fuck, what have I just done?!"

For a variety of reasons, I've never particularly loved this place. I just don't find the desert beautiful, as so many transplants do. To me, it's just barren, boring dirt. And the sunsets don't wow me either. They're nice, sure, but they're no better than sunsets in Hawaii or Ithaca.

I don't relish being so down on Tucson. I'm trying to look for the good (it's part of the "flowing with grace" part of my yoga practice), and for the most part, the good is in the people I've met here. They're the reason I've made it through five years here. I'm grateful, even blessed, to count some truly wonderful people as my friends (even if some of them moved away and left me here - you know who you are!).

I'd like to not be here in another five years, but who knows what the future holds? If I'm to make another major move, I intend to do it differently, to have a job lined up, and to do it for concrete and valid reasons.

My life is pretty good. But it could be and deserves to be great. I've taken lemons and made lemonade in the five years I've been here, but I can't help but remind myself that I'm not following my own advice by staying here:

When the world gives you lemons, don't make lemonade; take those lemons back and demand the apples you wanted in the first place.

The time may be ripe for me to start making some apple cider.

Labels: change, contentment, fear, friendship, jobs, moving, not really newsworthy, opening to grace, personal, relationships, self-awareness, self-care, success, Tucson

First, Merry Christmas to my many goyim friends.

Yoga Oasis was offering a free class this morning, so I figured I'd go. When I got there (only a couple of minutes before the class was about to start), the parking lot was packed. Busier than I'd ever seen it, though my frame of reference is admittedly small. Rather than staying, I decided to practice at home, which I ought to be doing anyway.

On my way home, I stopped by Casa Video to see if there was anything there I wanted to rent. For my four-year anniversary at the Center Against Sexual Assault, some of my colleagues chipped in and bought me, among other things, a Casa gift certificate. I've only used it once, so today I figured I might as well take advantage of my credit.

I rented Oh! Calcutta! and the second season of Little Britain. I was going to rent this other movie with Elijah Wood (who I've had a little crush on for years, Lord of the Rings nonsense notwithstanding). But the cover said it had extreme violence in it, and I'm not in the mood for that right now.

Side note: Hair is often credited as being the first Broadway musical with nudity, but it was actually Oh! Calcutta!. My high school chorus teacher frequently pointed that out for some reason. Also noteworthy, Oh! Calcutta! counts among its authors John Lennon and Sam Shepard.

So I came home (after nearly an hour of wandering around Casa), laid out my yoga mat, and proceeded to practice as best I could. I did all right. In fact, I did better than all right: I did a backbend rather effortlessly! Backbends are supposed to be good for stimulating the thyroid and pituitary glands and for heightening mood. Given how I feel right now, I'm inclined to believe it.

As I was typing this, Miriam called me to ask for a ride home from the airport later tonight. I'm so excited to have her back (for however long it lasts till she moves to NYC for good). She's usually my birthday buddy - what else would two Jews do on Christmas Eve but spend it together going to a movie?

This year I went to see The History Boys at the Loft by myself. I did enjoy the movie. I especially appreciated the reminder of the future subjunctive tense - that which may or may not happen. Seemed rather a fitting concept for me to think about on my birthday.

I also want to thank Hillary for spending so much time with me this weekend. She had an extra ticket to see the Arizona Theatre Company production of Ella on Thursday, came to my party on Friday, and went to yoga class with me on Saturday, after which she treated me to brunch at the Blue Willow for my birthday. And then she sent me a happy birthday text message yesterday.

I feel really blessed - as blessed as an atheist can feel - to have such light and love in my life. In the year ahead, I commit to remaining open to grace.

Labels: birthday, British comedy, celebration, Hillary, Miriam, musicals, New York, personal, relationships, Tucson, yoga

In the comments to my post below about the City Council election, Tedski helpfully points out that Ted Downing lives in and votes in Ward 3, that City Council election eligibility requirements are more rigid than for the state legislature, and that Ted is ineligible to run in Ward 2.

So this begs the question, are there any other well-known Democrats with some experience running for office that actually do live in Ward 2? Am I being a little silly asking this question so early in the game? Is the big prize really the Mayor's race? And does any Democrat have a chance of beating Bumbling Bob?

Labels: 2007 City Elections, City Council, Mayor, Tucson

I meant to add this question to the end of last week's post about Ted Downing's testimony before the City Council on vote-by-mail.

With Carol West not seeking another term next year, is it possible Ted may be considering running for her seat on the Council? They're temperamentally similar, but Ted is certainly more progressive. There's enough of an overlap between Ward 2 and Legislative District 28 that, even if Ted doesn't live in the Ward, he could justify representing it.

This is certainly not an endorsement of a prospective candidacy, just idle speculation. I'd like to see the Dems reclaim the seat (Carol, as you recall, declared herself an independent more than a year ago). The Dems would need to run a strong candidate, preferably one with some name ID and experience running for office. I know Clarence Boykins' name has also been floated as a possible contender.

Maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but it's fun to speculate.

Labels: 2007 City Elections, City Council, Tucson