Moving on...

So, it's been a week and change since we lost Boodah. It's still much harder than I ever would have imagined. But, alas, life goes on and with each day, there's more of that sad memory of great times than there is uncontrollable emptiness.

And just one more day now before I start the next phase of my professional life. Thursday is my first day as Associate Director for VPIRG. I've spent much of the past two and half weeks reading up on all the issues that VPIRG works on. I am by no means an expert, but I'm getting a good feel for things. I'm looking forward to starting so I can take on these new tasks and challenges and see what I have inside that PH wasn't able to tap.

There are many things I could babble on about ... planted the gardens yesterday and today. Here, that is. Now we have 2 times that space still to plant over at John and Wendy's! I have a sunburned back from bending over in this morning's early sun to plant. Feels good. Softball starts in a week. That's great. I gues we should get the mits out and practice a bit first. Nah, drinking a bit more is the only practice we need!

Enough babble. Time to finish this bottle of wine and walk the dogs.

I miss my baby

Goodbye, Boodah

I wanted to share with friends the sad news of the passing of one of our pack today, my baby, Boodah. Many of you knew him, and his story -- my first foster dog (yeah, only supposed to be mine for a month...), the many hardships and pain he indured in life, the two legged miracle dog with no knees who, in the end, was just a big black goobery ball of love, and three-time undisputed howling champion of the Stephen Huneck dog parties. He taught me so much in so many ways. He was my baby. He was the one of our pack that was truly both mine and Seth's. He was a friend, a brother, and a strong, wise soul. He finally got too tired to fight the body that didn't work for him, and just went to sleep quietly this morning at home. While the surprise of this has shocked us, at least we didn't have to make decisions for him. He went on his own terms. We pray, and know that he has finally found peace and freedom from a life too short, too painful and too filled with love to ever forget. We buried him here at home, Seth and I, Stoli and Lucy, john and Wendy there to say goodbye. For now he keeps company with my dad, Brin, Friend, Tele, Maizy, and other friends. We love you Boodah.


For those of you who wish to remember Boodah, please consider making a donation in memory of him to the place that helped bring him into our lives:

Central Vermont Humane Society
504 Mekkelson Rd.
Barre, VT 05641
http://www.cvhumane.com/donations/donations.html

Goodbye PH, Farewell

So today, after nearly a decade of work, I officially ended my tenure with Project Harmony. It's not without some sadness, and a lot of good memories and deep reflection that I close this chapter of my life -- a chapter that was not only professional, but very personally defining for me.

When I joined PH on September 9, 1996, I had just spend the past two months of my life sitting on the beach in New Jersey, recuperating from the 6 months in Rostov-on-Don, Russia that was one of the most challenging experiences one could expect for a first job out of graduate school. After the "Murphy's Law / Worst Case Scenario Experience" that was my time in Rostov, I had mentally and emotionally recovered (and gotten the best tan I had in years!) that summer. I came to PH not quite sure what to expect, still uncertain that I even wanted to remain involved in work dealing with Russia. But I thought, heck, I'll take a year, see what this is like, and get a lot of snowboarding in while doing it!

And that's just what I did. I was the Director of the Internet School Linkage Program, Project Harmony's first technology-related program. That year, I traveled over to Russia several times, confirmed for myself that I had too much invested in this whole Russian thing to give it up, and learned that life in Vermont was pretty good. Soon I fell in love with this place I now call home, and it made it so much easier to see a future for myself here in the Valley and with PH. Luckily, PH had the same kind of growth and development in mind for me. My writing background was quickly put to use on writing grants and, well, from there the rest is history. $45+ million in grants history...something I'm damn proud of.

Through all the ups and downs, hard times and successes, PH was and is a family. People matter at PH, and that's why so many people have called this organization home. Like any family, it's got its "issues". Did I want to leave? Probably not. But there comes a time in any relationship where you realize that for both parties, it's best to separate. For me, on a personal level, I needed professional and emotional space from PH in order to let all the lessons I've learned turn into wisdom to guide me forward. For PH, some fresh blood and new perspective is well-timed and needed. And so I think we part on good terms, wishing each other the best and not ruling out that our paths will cross again.

On a personal level, I am looking forward to letting go, no matter how hard that actually is. I have others parts of me I need to develop and new challenges I need to tackle. My dogs, my husband, my writing...all stand to get more of me now. Their generosity in past years has been so understanding and giving. It's time I gave more of myself to them now. In not doing grant writing for a while, perhaps my creative, non-fiction writing skills will actually come back! (Yes, a little know fact is that when you do grant writing for a living, the "grant-speak" is such a prolific part of your language that it's hard to let more creative language flow freely).

I have new horizons before me. And although I have some fears and hesitancy about the unknown, I am once again excited about the "what might be". That part of the story is yet to be written.

Save the Internet!

Do you buy books online, use Google, or download to an iPod? Everything we do online will be hurt if Congress passes a radical law next week that gives giant corporations more control over what we do and see on the Internet.

Internet providers like AT&T are lobbying Congress hard to gut Network Neutrality--the Internet's First Amendment and the key to Internet freedom. Net Neutrality prevents AT&T from choosing which websites open most easily for you based on which site pays AT&T more.

If Net Neutrality is gutted, many sites--including Google, eBay, and iTunes--must either pay protection money to companies like AT&T or risk having their websites process slowly. That why these high-tech pioneers, plus diverse groups ranging from MoveOn to Gun Owners of America, are opposing Congress' effort to gut Internet freedom.

You can do your part today--can you sign this petition telling your member of Congress to preserve Internet freedom? Click here:

http://www.civic.moveon.org/save_the_internet

I signed this petition, along with 250,000 others so far. This petiton will be delivered to Congress before the House of Representatives votes next week. When you sign, you'll be kept informed of the next steps we can take to keep the heat on Congress.

Snopes.com, which monitors various causes that circulate on the Internet, explained:

Simply put, network neutrality means that no web site's traffic has precedence over any other's...Whether a user searches for recipes using Google, reads an article on snopes.com, or looks at a friend's MySpace profile, all of that data is treated equally and delivered from the originating web site to the user's web browser with the same priority. In recent months, however, some of the telephone and cable companies that control the telecommunications networks over which Internet data flows have floated the idea of creating the electronic equivalent of a paid carpool lane.

If companies like AT&T have their way, Web sites ranging from Google to eBay to iTunes either pay protection money to get into the "fast lane" or risk opening slowly on your computer. We can't let the Internet--this incredible medium which has been such a revolutionary force for democratic participation, economic innovation, and free speech--become captive to large corporations.

Politicians don't think we are paying attention to this issue. Together, we do care about preserving the free and open Internet.

Please sign this petition letting your member of Congress know you support preserving Internet freedom.

A few good quotes for today

"We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor."
Henry David Thoreau, Walden

"Learning is finding out what you already know. Doing is demonstrating that you know it. Teaching is reminding others that they know just as well as you."
Richard Bach

"Argue for your limitations and sure enough they are yours."
Richard Bach

"Here's to the future! The only limits are the limits of our imagination. Dream up the kind of world you want to live in, dream out loud, at high volume."
Bono 1/1/90

A Rite of Spring

Well, on the last day of April, we put in our last few hours of skiing and riding this season. Although much of the season simply sucked, at least we went out on a good note! The skies were blue, the snow slushy, bodies tanning, the band played and we offered our last toast to the snow season. Seth and I had a blast. I have a good pink sun tan. It's all good. Now to put the gear away until the snow falls again.