ROAD BLOG AHEAD

I had a dream last night that left me both amused and bemused. The setting was a fancy dinner party in a New York townhouse (guess that’s what comes of reading Nora Ephron to put myself to sleep!) My hair was pinned up and I was wearing a beaded black gown and feeling quite elegant and very fine - the rest of the guests (all women) were equally dressed up. They were quite an assortment from old to young, all sorts and colours and all of them had an air of assurance and poise of the sort that comes with either success or social status or both. I felt a sense of satisfaction to be included in such erstwhile company. The key point in this dream was when our (invisible - voice only) hostess went around and introduced each person. She gave their first name and their occupation. I know that there was a doctor, an actor and a photographer in the lot, others I don’t recall. The only name I recall offhand was Alice. Then the hostess came to me and the voice said, “This is Joy. She’s a blogger.” I was so surprised by being introduced thus, that I woke right up!

Of the many things I do and have done and which identify my life, I thought it was quite funny that my subconscious chose to have me introduced as a blogger. Why not a traveler, a writer, a Buddhist shaman and yogini? Why not a mother, a political activist or even a knitter? Any of those would be quite apt. So why, in my dream, was I introduced to the world as a blogger rather than some other defining noun? I’ve been mulling it over most of today and have come to the conclusion that it’s because it is in my blog that all of those elements come together in one place. Here is where I write about my travels. Here is where I describe the revolution in Nepal, the trauma of displaced Tibetan refugees, the power of a blessing ceremony. In my blog I get to brag about my family and post pictures of my latest knitting project. This is the place where I get to be ALL of the many things I am and have a place to celebrate them. So okay, yes, I AM a blogger and proud of it!

I think it was also some kind of subconscious message that I really need to get off my butt and write an update before people think I went down somewhere over the Pacific or jumped ship during the layover in Hong Kong.

The truth is far less exciting, though a good bit safer: We landed in the U.S. on Monday, were wisked by the wise and beautiful Winna H.out to the hidden town of Bolinas in West Marin County (it really is hidden and the residents work hard to keep it that way) and proceeded to collapse with the worst case of jet lag I’ve ever experienced. For 3 days, Lama Wangdor, Lena and I staggered around the house in a stupor, nodding off over our meals, rising at odd hours of the night to the sound of the Pacific Ocean crashing below our windows, tripping over the dog and making absolutely no sense whatsoever. The internet connection here is only marginally better than it was in India - there IS electricity and, when there’s a signal to be had, the connection is much much faster than my cell phone modem. However the wi fi setup was done by someone who knew next to nothing about computers and the whole DSL thing has just come to Bolinas so it’s not exactly stable. I’m writing this offline for instance in the hopes that I’ll eventually be able to send it. The whole process has continued to put a crimp in my progress at getting everything done. I won’t even bother with the rant which would just be tedious. Much as I love it here, I am looking forward to getting up to my daughter Veronica’s place in Oregon next week where there is a reliable wi fi setup. If you’re waiting to hear from me about anything that’s not utterly urgent, please be patient - I’m still so far behind that I can see myself in the distance.

The sense of still being behind is compounded by the fact that, after I took Lena and Lama to the airport on Thursday morning to fly off to Hawaii to teach, I came back to Winna’s, collapsed into a stupor and woke up hours later with the realization that, yes indeedy, I’m sick. My throat is raw, my ears are stopped up and my chest hurts. I’ve been running a fever so alternately sweating and feeling chilled and very very thirsty and tired. I’d planned to go into the city this weekend and see a bunch of clients. Instead I’m languishing at Winna’s, taking massive doses of vitamins and whatever preventatives I have handy. Hopefully I’ll feel better by tomorrow evening when I MUST go into the East Bay and spend the night so I can be nearby to pick up the lamas when they get into SFO at 5:45 AM on Tuesday morning. Since I booked that flight, I have nobody to bitch at but myself! Still, it’s a truly unholy hour to have to run out to the airport and I’d rather not do it, but neither would anyone else, so I’m pretty well stuck with the job.

They’ll have 2 days to rest here in Bolinas before flying out to Toronto on Thursday morning. I’ll get a ride to the airport at the same time only I’ll catch a different flight up to Portland where I get to see Veronica and the grandkids. I am thrilled and I absolutely have to be feeling better. A sick and cranky grammy is not what I want to imprint on the little ones. So any and all healing vibes are appreciated. It’s going to be such a rollercoaster ride for the next four months. I still don’t know where I’ll
be when since I’m not going to be going to all of the teachings with them. It doesn’t make sense to have me following them around on all of it when we have experienced people at many of the locations who can handle logistics. But we have to work out exactly where and when I WILL be needed and then also work out the finances of those parts of the travel so that no one person or center bears too much of the cost burden. Once my head clears a bit more I’ll be able to juggle all the factors and make it happen. I’ve been doing this for years and can generally anticipate what’s needed and what’s important in the big scheme. Right now my clarity is being stifled by a head full of mucus. Though even that is better than it was yesterday. It’s one of the liabilities of travel - you get exposed to all sorts of stuff when you’re cooped up in a large flying tin can with hundreds of other people. Inevitably one of us gets a cold or flu the first week of a teaching tour. This year it’s my turn!

I bought another inexpensive Kodak digital camera on e-bay today which ought to meet up with me in Oregon later in the week. WIth Lena and I going in different directions for much of the next months, we actually need two cameras. We use them all the time - taking a photographic record of where we’ve been and what we’re doing is second nature by now and fun to look back on. I discovered this morning when I went to take pics of the quail in the yard and the baby deer next door that being without a camera feels wrong. Lena took the good Olympus with her to Hawaii and, because she knows that camera and its settings and hasn’t time to learn new technology, will be taking it with her on her ramblings. So I’ll get this new one and have it to take shots of the kids, my friends, all the baby critters and other stuff around me. Blog pictures should resume in a few days. All text and no images make Joy a dull blogger.

More stories about our adventures in transit when the viral fog lifts a bit more…