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"One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture and, if it were possible, speak a few reasonable words." -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
up until a month ago, i didn't know taxes existed. well, ofcourse they existed, but not in my world. my lovely little world of chai, bicycles, writing, and yoga class - all of which i'm sure you're sick of hearing about. so when my mom said, have you filed your taxes yet, the little bubble over my head popped and i began to panic. shit, i thought. this will require responsibility, perhaps even some extra money.
and it was true. very true.
yesterday i spent 2 hours and 45 minutes at h&r block with a lovely arkansasian woman named elnora doos-boos. she graciously helped me with my taxes telling me there was nothing to be scared of and comforting me through the entire process. then she asked me to write her a check for $331.
er, what? $331?
i'm poor, i wanted to say. i've just graduated from college. i'm at my first job. i'm living in a very expensive city. and not only does the government want more money from me, but so does elnora.
so i wrote the check and then called up my brother who met me for a very large and very expensive martini (which i made him buy because he's the cheapest person alive) and got very buzzed.
not only am i allowed to pay taxes now that i'm adult, but i'm also allowed to get drunk on work nights.
The Stolen Branch, by Pablo Neruda
after lying in bed feeling sick for a week, i made this my weekend of rejuvenation. the jury's still out on whether i feel completely better or not, but hell, at least i tried. yoga thursday, friday, saturday, sunday. a bike ride in flip flops on saturday morning to dos gringos for a delicious bagel and chai. a run to adams morgan last night.
saturday night i went to a hot yoga class at the inspired studio on u street. kyra, who led the retreat in jamaica, taught and it was wonderful to to be led by her voice again. with my eyes closed and the room at one-hundred degrees, it was easy to imagine that i was still in the caribbean, eventhough i was sliding all over my mat and thought that i might crack my chin open.
i think i go to yoga to stand still, and i don't mean that literally. almost the entire time i'm there i'm moving, but i'm able to step away from my daily life of habitual email checking, doodling, and my bouncing mind. on my run last night (the first run since christmas eve) i remembered that this is why i run too. i started running in high school because of a desperate need to get away, and though that need isn't so desperate anymore, it is why i run. it's why i write. it's why i meditate. stepping away from my life and then stepping back into it gives me the chance to refresh and take in what is around me a little more clearly.
it's a melancholy sunday - despite the blue skies and crisp air. i needed a slow day like this, a day of solitude and quiet to feel a little sad on purpose because i kind of like to feel that way.
i used to be obsessed with having a guinea pig. when i was seven, i would walk to the glenwood public library once a week and check out a book about caring for your pet guinea pig. though i'd failed miserably at taking care of my turtle toto and hamster (also named toto; i liked wizard of oz) i thought that having a guinea pig would cure all of life's shortcomings.
today after a long bike ride with my brother i came home to an envelope from my parents. it was filled with photographs and notes, one being this plea to my parents for a guinea pig that i wrote at age seven.
Guinea Pig
I want a guinea pig because they are fun to have. From what I have read, it says guinea pigs are very clean and not smelly. I will clean the cage every 3 days. I am paying for him and what it needs. I have a cage and a top. I will crush it's hair and if it gets a teensy bit smelly, which it won't, I will clean it. I will also exercise it. I have people to watch it when we go on vacation. One reason I want it is becaues it will be fun to play with when I'm bored, but even when I'm not bored I'll still do everything I'm supposed to. I didn't like my old hamster, ToTo, because he was too small and active. The turtle had claws and you couldn't cuddle him. I know I'll like a guinea pig because they are very quiet, tame, and the perfect size. I will feed it every day at the right time. I will take care of it all by myself. I will have wood for it to gnaw on so his teeth don't get long. Please let me get a guinea pig.
-Mary Beth LaRue, age 7
i am the poet of the Body, i am the poet of the Soul,
amanda and my feet celebrating cinco de mayo on the iowa river
