Last night I rode my bike on the track!

It was crazy scary fun! It had just rained about an hour earlier, and we weren't sure if we'd be able to ride, but the track dried out and pretty soon I was out in the infield practicing riding a fixed gear track bike. I really had to retrain my brain and body to learn this new skill. It was very awkward at first. But once I got going, I got the hang of it, and pretty soon I was ready to ride on the track. It was a daunting proposition, since, as seen in this picture, it is quite banked. The idea is that the faster you go, the further up the track you can ride. I only got up to the red line, which was plenty high for my first time. And it required such intense concentration, that I didn't even notice I was doing any work until I realized that I had to stop because my engine wouldn't go anymore.

It was quite the experience, and I hope to do it again one day. But I am now even more amazed that people actually race on there!

Designing T-shirts

I started making t-shirt designs just to keep my Adobe Illustrator skillz well-honed. You can see them at:

www.cafepress.com/yoga_chakra
www.cafepress.com/atha_yoga
(atha yoganusasanam is the first yoga sutra, which means, roughly "now we begin our practice of yoga")

and this one just for my friends:
www.cafepress.com/brownchicken

It's quite addicting, sitting here playing with Illustrator when I should be doing my InDesign homework.

My Happy Place

I went on a retreat last weekend and unexpectedly discovered the place that from now on my mind will go when I need to be happy and relaxed.

It's called the Christine Center.

If I could live there, I would. And maybe I'll figure out a way to do that one day.

I wanted to find a quiet place where I could go to be in nature and work on editing my book. I found the Christine Center on the web, and thought that a nice big room for yoga would be a good addition to my solo writing retreat, so I sort of spur-of-the-moment emailed to ask if they had any accommodations for the next weekend, and the answer was basically, yes, what type of lodging would you like? I chose the rustic cabin since it was only 38 bucks a night and I could use the showers in the main building.

I wrote back and said I was interested in a rustic cabin and three meals a day and I got an email back saying "you are registered for this weekend." Three nights of lodging and three vegetarian meals a day was going to set me back $190. I was sort of surprised that it was that easy and then I started to have regrets. I hadn't been on a completely solo vacation for years. I don't know what it was, but I was a little nervous. But I didn't have much time to ruminate, since I only had two days to get ready to go.

I brought my computer, my pillow, some clothes and a backpack full of books that I thought might help me with editing or at least good bedside reading.

I had no idea what to expect.

After work on Thursday I headed to Wisconsin. I had never been off the freeway between Chippewa Falls and Abbotsford, so I got to see some countryside that was all new to me. There are mounds that rise up out of nowhere disrupting the miles of farmland. I could't have seen them from the freeway, so I was glad to have this as part of my journey.

I arrived at the center at about 7:30 p.m., when the sky was starting to get orange. I pulled up in front of the main building and all I could hear was the gravel beneath the tires and a cacophony of crickets.

I looked for the main entrance, and it was a bell tower in the shape of a silo. A wooden carving above the door said "Welcome. We are one." And there was an old blue bike, just like my little blue, sitting right outside the door. It was a very good sign.

I entered the building and the silence continued. I found the front desk and talked to Marie, who said "we're so glad you're here." And I believe she meant it. She showed me around the main building, including the meditation/yoga/gathering room, which is a big circle with windows on all sides. There were a circle of meditation cushions on the floor in the middle of the room and it smelled like a church candle had recently been burned.

Then she showed me the dining room, with the complimentary coffee and tea and fruit available 24 hours a day.

Finally, she gave me directions to my cabin. "You'll be staying in Love" she said, and pointed to it on a map.

I already knew coming here was the right decision, and things only got better. The night sky was clear and dark and the Milky Way was as distinct as the big dipper. There were two little ponds with goldfish, frogs and turtles. Deer and red-headed woodpeckers roamed the woods all day. The daily schedule consisted of yoga and meditation in the morning, communal breakfast (organic yogurt and granola, fruit, and the best pancakes I've ever had), lunch, meditation at 5:00, and then dinner. They rang the bell for each meditation session and each meal. Otherwise it was pristine in its silence. For three days I heard crickets and hummingbirds and that's about all.

I used the woodfired sauna one night, had a hot stone massage in a building adjacent to the center, participated in a conversation series on global consciousness transformation, and went for a run on the wooded trail system. All in all, a perfect weekend. The Franciscan nuns who run the center are very progressive and nurturing. The other guests and volunteers made for interesting conversations at the meals, and the location was so removed from everyday life, that I actually got a chance to meditate for half hour stretches in addition to getting about 8 chapters of my book edited.

It is my vision of Nirvana. In fact, if Nirvana is better than this, I honestly cannot imagine it.

Namaste,
Kate