To rest or not to rest

I caught the crud last week and am just now getting over it. I stayed home on Thursday and slept all day, which is something I never do. I suppose I needed it. Practicing yoga with sinus pressure and a head cold proves to be difficult. It's hard to breathe out of your nose, which you are supposed to do in yoga. But I think in the long run, it can be good to practice when you're not feeling 100%. Why? Well, I think it teaches you that you can't always do everything "full out" and that you can take breaks when your body needs them. I think that's hard to do for most yogis, especially those who haven't been practicing for very long. I've learned that having an advanced practice doesn't necessarily mean that you do a one-legged krane pose and make it look easy. Having an advanced practice means that you know when your body needs to rest and take child's pose as opposed to a headstand. I'm not saying that I'm advanced or anything--it's a learning process.

jumbled talk

I don't really have much to say. I'm very excited that Senator Obama finally announced his candidacy for President. I hope to work on his campaign here in Austin. We had two friends over on Saturday night and the four of us managed to consume seven bottles of wine (well, six and a bottle of champagne). Cody and Michael finished off a bottle of port that we've had for a long time. We were hurting on Sunday, but it was fun. We watched part of the Grammys last night and I love that the Dixie Chicks won every single category they were nominated for. Not just because of the way that they had been treated, but because the album kicked major ass. They're great musicians. Ummm...I think that's it.

Happy Birthday, Joanna!

On Friday morning-at 6:40 I might add-I left on a flight to Atlanta to surprise my friend Joanna for her 30th birthday. Her husband Scott worked so hard to arrange this very big surprise. He had her family in from Baton Rouge, Austin, and New York. Her friends came in from Austin, Asheville, Slidell, and San Deigo. The family stayed at hotels, while the friends met at their friends Dana and Bill's house, which is literally about two blocks from Scott and Joanna's. Joanna thought that Scott was in Chicago on business but no, he was just a hop, skip, and a jump away. We all hung out over there then we went to Fritti, a really cool and trendy Italian place, for dinner. Angie brought Joanna up to the restaurant and lo and behold! There we all were-about 25 of us-waiting to yell surprise. And she was surprised, for sure! We hung out all weekend and celebrated the birth of Joanna, who is not only a good friend, but also an amazing woman.

I flew back yesterday and today I am sad. I always get sad after I've spent time with the greatest group of friends I've ever had. Not everyone in our group could be there, but everyone was there in spirit. Why can't we all live in the same city? It's a fantasy of mine that will never come to life but I can dream, right? My older and wiser coworker told me that I need to make new "buds" here and I have, but it's not the same. I think that the older you get, the harder it is to form a really close, tight-knit group, the way that ours is. That's been my experience anyway. I don't have a single group of friends here. Instead, I have friends scattered about here and there, all of whom I've met during different periods of the five years that I've lived here. I miss the camaraderie and the dynamics of a group, ya know?

We all take an annual trip, and this year we're going to Florida in May. We've rented a really plush, super cool beach house with a private pool (there's a bunch of us so we can afford it!) Half the fun is planning and anticipating, but I can't help but wish it were coming sooner. I have to say that even though my group isn't all in one location, I wouldn't trade groups for the world.

Head elsewhere

Tried to go running today. Legs felt like jelly. Run turned into a full-blown walk. Heading out of town tomorrow. My body is here, but my mind is already gone. Can't talk about it now but will when I get back.