*omega*
so now i'm really leaving, on sunday afternoon...
i'm fucking leaving this place that i knew existed before, but didn't know i could live and work here, and develop this sense of family over such a short period of time.
yes, omega feels like home now. every time i just walk around campus, i feel an uplifting sense of love for everything and everyone here. it's such a wonderful, unique, rare, magical place! where else can you walk around your job and see your coworkers standing in the middle of the floor, hugging for five fucking minutes? or you can lounge around in the sauna with male and female, old and young, naked as the day you were born, talking about work issues and bodywork and politics and travel destinations (mmmm, the sauna...).
or... [list time, baby :)]
*watching house of psychotic women with elizabeth, her commentary reminding me of joel and clementine at the drive-in
*"i'm eating too much wheat!" (ha)
*head massages
*cuddle puddles and steam rolls
*andrew's goodbye party
*all the fucking amazing dancing from everyone
*randypants!
*finding new serendipitous quotes on the chalkboard
*spontaneous kitchen food fights
*"say hello to the mighty hudson!"
*pre-dawn silliness and unexpected divulging with mel the night of ecstatic chant
*the hammocks
*absorbing my self-induced alone time and then recognizing the switch to knowing that i had friends
*catching the omega plague the second week i was here, puking more than i've ever puked and feeling too weak to move, being attended to by dani and adene
*blissfully falling asleep in the library
*singing peace songs on the dc metro over and over, and eventually having people join in
*representing omega in dc, bringing our energy with us to the protest and to the police, posing for pictures with them and thanking them the next day for their kind treatment
*late nights in longhouse
*the science of sleep: PARALLEL SYNCHRONIZED RANDOMNESS!!
*dani and i rubbing our shaved heads together
*"hey, biking girl" (ahh, first impressions)
*dancing alone with my headphones in the middle of the gorgeous woods
*thursday night women's discussion group
*a flock of wild turkeys coming up behind me while on the phone with becky
*brett's uproarious laughter
*the brilliant oranges, reds and yellows of the trees, some still stubbornly green
*switching hats
*wednesday lunch: crispy noodles and panang curry sauce!!
*mmmm, vegan brownies
*game night in the cafe: boggle with anna, genna, daniel and mark
*yoga for women (yay, empowerment)
*alix teaching me chess, me finally having the patience to follow through and play a whole game lasting FOUR HOURS, holy jesus
*the coyotes howling at night
*finding people from my intended destinations, only gaining more free places to stay, friends to welcome me in unfamiliar towns
*alex grey everywhere
*michelle, first and greatest meditation teacher: "look at the light, isn't it beautiful?" (GAAAAHHH she had no idea how perfect that line, that moment was...)
*the philosophical hamster
*the free bin
*random participant during dinner: "where's the meat?"
*discussions about lsd and enlightenment, nonviolence and trying to reach a common ground, aliens and psuedo consciousness
*professor peacenik!
*andrew's insane guitar picking and singing = hypnosis
*ben & jerry's run with abigail, eric and keisha turning into talk of ideal "home" and relationships
*drum circles galore
*"christy has the most gorgeous lips in all of dining hall!"
*what do you call a lesbian dinosaur?
*the first staff meeting, feeling that sense of comfort and protection (you are safe, you are home...)
*handstands and cartwheels with lily and co before family meal
*witnessing the participants during and after their workshops
*dc trip food: belgian chocolate, chex mix, and pb&j sandwiches for three days
*palmistry class, when i was still so fragile and afraid
*having an omega contingent gathered in woodstock to hear the dalai lama speak
*"the last unicorn" in the cafe!!, having moments with twenty different people, free desserts, so much laughter, being open
*water sports
*thumb wrestling, slaps, "you gonna fight back?"
*leaf crowns
*julie and fernando turning into cute old marrieds
*sake and red wine, oh my
*lost articles of clothing turning up weeks later
*randy, e.b., mel, dani and schirin seeing me at my worst and it being okay
*stealing cookies and brownies from the bakery
*kathryn's smile, her warmth and singing and beautiful spirit, all of our sharing
*feeling scared right away in "how to love and be loved class" because the first thing we had to do was dance
*squealing, giggling, screaming, shrieking and general hyperactivity after certain exchanges (oh, the ache)
*the colony cafe in woodstock: bonnie's spoken word poetry, admiring the art upstairs, subsequent multiple shots and spontaneous piano playing, drumming and dancing, smoking clove cigarettes with katie and feeling more than a little loopy
*moonlight shadows
*not just hearing things said to me, but believing them (what a concept!)
*randy's designs all over the dining hall schedules
*beautiful people everywhere!
*groundhogs and skunks lurking under the compost and the cabins, rarely people-shy
*blessing the food before every meal
*andrew's soliloquies
*passing the talking stick/capo/remote control
*stand-out huggers: mamabear e.b., liz, alix
*all the letting go and *allowing*
[to be continued...]
i'm fucking leaving this place that i knew existed before, but didn't know i could live and work here, and develop this sense of family over such a short period of time.
yes, omega feels like home now. every time i just walk around campus, i feel an uplifting sense of love for everything and everyone here. it's such a wonderful, unique, rare, magical place! where else can you walk around your job and see your coworkers standing in the middle of the floor, hugging for five fucking minutes? or you can lounge around in the sauna with male and female, old and young, naked as the day you were born, talking about work issues and bodywork and politics and travel destinations (mmmm, the sauna...).
or... [list time, baby :)]
*watching house of psychotic women with elizabeth, her commentary reminding me of joel and clementine at the drive-in
*"i'm eating too much wheat!" (ha)
*head massages
*cuddle puddles and steam rolls
*andrew's goodbye party
*all the fucking amazing dancing from everyone
*randypants!
*finding new serendipitous quotes on the chalkboard
*spontaneous kitchen food fights
*"say hello to the mighty hudson!"
*pre-dawn silliness and unexpected divulging with mel the night of ecstatic chant
*the hammocks
*absorbing my self-induced alone time and then recognizing the switch to knowing that i had friends
*catching the omega plague the second week i was here, puking more than i've ever puked and feeling too weak to move, being attended to by dani and adene
*blissfully falling asleep in the library
*singing peace songs on the dc metro over and over, and eventually having people join in
*representing omega in dc, bringing our energy with us to the protest and to the police, posing for pictures with them and thanking them the next day for their kind treatment
*late nights in longhouse
*the science of sleep: PARALLEL SYNCHRONIZED RANDOMNESS!!
*dani and i rubbing our shaved heads together
*"hey, biking girl" (ahh, first impressions)
*dancing alone with my headphones in the middle of the gorgeous woods
*thursday night women's discussion group
*a flock of wild turkeys coming up behind me while on the phone with becky
*brett's uproarious laughter
*the brilliant oranges, reds and yellows of the trees, some still stubbornly green
*switching hats
*wednesday lunch: crispy noodles and panang curry sauce!!
*mmmm, vegan brownies
*game night in the cafe: boggle with anna, genna, daniel and mark
*yoga for women (yay, empowerment)
*alix teaching me chess, me finally having the patience to follow through and play a whole game lasting FOUR HOURS, holy jesus
*the coyotes howling at night
*finding people from my intended destinations, only gaining more free places to stay, friends to welcome me in unfamiliar towns
*alex grey everywhere
*michelle, first and greatest meditation teacher: "look at the light, isn't it beautiful?" (GAAAAHHH she had no idea how perfect that line, that moment was...)
*the philosophical hamster
*the free bin
*random participant during dinner: "where's the meat?"
*discussions about lsd and enlightenment, nonviolence and trying to reach a common ground, aliens and psuedo consciousness
*professor peacenik!
*andrew's insane guitar picking and singing = hypnosis
*ben & jerry's run with abigail, eric and keisha turning into talk of ideal "home" and relationships
*drum circles galore
*"christy has the most gorgeous lips in all of dining hall!"
*what do you call a lesbian dinosaur?
*the first staff meeting, feeling that sense of comfort and protection (you are safe, you are home...)
*handstands and cartwheels with lily and co before family meal
*witnessing the participants during and after their workshops
*dc trip food: belgian chocolate, chex mix, and pb&j sandwiches for three days
*palmistry class, when i was still so fragile and afraid
*having an omega contingent gathered in woodstock to hear the dalai lama speak
*"the last unicorn" in the cafe!!, having moments with twenty different people, free desserts, so much laughter, being open
*water sports
*thumb wrestling, slaps, "you gonna fight back?"
*leaf crowns
*julie and fernando turning into cute old marrieds
*sake and red wine, oh my
*lost articles of clothing turning up weeks later
*randy, e.b., mel, dani and schirin seeing me at my worst and it being okay
*stealing cookies and brownies from the bakery
*kathryn's smile, her warmth and singing and beautiful spirit, all of our sharing
*feeling scared right away in "how to love and be loved class" because the first thing we had to do was dance
*squealing, giggling, screaming, shrieking and general hyperactivity after certain exchanges (oh, the ache)
*the colony cafe in woodstock: bonnie's spoken word poetry, admiring the art upstairs, subsequent multiple shots and spontaneous piano playing, drumming and dancing, smoking clove cigarettes with katie and feeling more than a little loopy
*moonlight shadows
*not just hearing things said to me, but believing them (what a concept!)
*randy's designs all over the dining hall schedules
*beautiful people everywhere!
*groundhogs and skunks lurking under the compost and the cabins, rarely people-shy
*blessing the food before every meal
*andrew's soliloquies
*passing the talking stick/capo/remote control
*stand-out huggers: mamabear e.b., liz, alix
*all the letting go and *allowing*
[to be continued...]