Scent Memory

Everyone has those moment when a certain smell sweeps under their nose and they are suddenly taken back to a specific memory.  On certain fall days, like today, the air will have a specific, crisp, pre-winter, slightly salty quality that picks me up and plunks me right back to Edinburgh, Scotland in 2001.  The memories are so sharp and clear that it’s like I got hit in the gut.  Or maybe that’s just how much I miss the city.

Seriously?!

Back in September, Random House dropped publication of The Jewel of Medina, by Sherry Jones, a fictional account of the Prophet Muhammad and his bride Aisha, due to concerns for the safety of the author and those connected with the book.

I can’t believe this actually happened:

Early Saturday morning, Mr. Rynja’s house in North London, which doubles as Gibson Square’s headquarters, was set on fire. Three men were arrested on suspicion “of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism,” the police said.

No one was injured in the arson, in which a small fire bomb was apparently pushed through the house’s mail slot. The police were already on the scene as the result of what they described as “a preplanned intelligence-led operation,” and, helped by firefighters, broke down the door and put out the fire.

Holy frak people!  WTF?!?!

Full story in New York Times here.

(Bonus link: Book review from SBTB here.)

What I Read – September

Again, I’m co-opting this idea from Spinstah. 

Here’s what I read in the month of September.  The links go to my reviews on GoodReads.com.  (There will be occasions when I’ll cross-review books between GoodReads and P&P.  They’re the same review, just appearing in different places.  I plan to do this mostly with the yoga books, as we have been asked to journal our responses to then (HA!) and this seems like as good a venue as any for some journaling.)

So, without further ado, September’s reads:

Charm School, by Susan Wiggs

The Sandman, Volume 1: Preludes & Nocturnes, by Neil Gaiman

Rebus’s Scotland, by Ian Rankin

Travels With Herodotus, by Ryszard Kapuscinski

Deception, by Amanda Quick

Home: A Memoir of My Early Years, by Julie Andrews

Beyond Innocence, by Emma Holly

Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires, by Esther and Jerry Hicks, and “Abraham”

Book Review: “Ask and it is Given”

Today marked the beginning of the reading list for the 200-hour yoga certification.  I started with the first book to come in from the library, figuring that one had a deadline so better get it read first.

What the Heck Just Happened?

I tend not to follow current news.  It’s shameful, but I’m more likely to remember who won the last challenge in Project Runway than know what’s happening on Wall Street.  But after this past Monday, with the failure of Lehman Bros, even I am starting to tune in more.

If you’re at all curious about what’s going on financially, there’s a great explanation of what happened with Fannie, Freddie, Bear Stearns, Lehman and so much more up at the New York Times opinion section.  Freakanomics author Steven Levitt rounded up two economists to explain to the populace just what the heck happened.

In related news, if you’re wondering what you can do to be safe, the brilliant people over at The Consumerist posted a great article on What to do in These Uncertain Financial Times.

I’ll be taking their advice and will be very, very thankful that I have a good and stable job.

Are you doing anything to feel more secure?

Save Bitch

Spinstah and the Smart Bitches at SBTB pointed out that Bitch Magazine is going to fold if they don’t raise $40,000 by next month.  As an independent publisher, they rely on donations and subscriptions to keep going.  I’ve been a Bitch reader for a long time now, though I usually steal my issues from the Ob-Gyn office.  However, I fully intend on getting a subscription now that I know they are facing a possible end.  I many not always agree with everything in the magazine, but more often then not I find information that I never would have found anywhere else.  I respect what they do and their integrity and humor.

So – please help save Bitch.  Donations and subscriptions can be had here: http://www.bitchmagazine.org

Accepted!

Today I received one of the most exciting emails ever — an acceptance letter into the Winter 2009 Teacher Training program at Prana Power Yoga.  I am so excited!  This is something I have been thinking about and working on for about a year and it is so exciting to finally, really, truly be on that path.

Coming to a decision about what type of yoga I wanted to learn to teach, where I wanted to get my certification, and how this was going to fit in with the rest of my life were questions that kept me puzzling about it all for a long time.  Cost was also an issue – a big issue.

The first step was talking to everyone I knew about yoga: my landlady (former yoga teacher), my current yoga teachers, other people who practice yoga, and reading everything I could about studios and teacher training programs.  Come to find out, the classes I liked the best and the practice I most enjoyed and felt most challenged by were the classes taught by people who had come from the Prana Power Yoga program.

Serendipitously, Prana has a studio a block from my apartment and the most competitive pricing around.  Also, the program is seven weekends, back to back, from February to April.  Oh, and let’s not forget, the fact that Harvard’s tuition assistance program now partially covers non-academic, non-Harvard certificate progams.

The planets aligned, all I had to do was apply and hope for the best.

… and what do you know, the best just happened.

What I am Eating, September 14th

Started by EKW, picked up by Spinstah, and now co-opted by me, here’s “What I am Eating, Part 1″. 

Quinoa with zucchini, summer squash, onion, tomato, a little garlic, cumin, salt and pepper, topped with tofu.  Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.  Hopefully my skills at food photography will improve because I promise, this tastes a LOT better than it looks.

Quinoa, veggies and tofu dinner

Adventures on the Commuter Rail

Normally, the commuter rail is a pretty laid back experience, which is why I like it (and trains) in general.  You arrive at the station, get on your train, and a little while later, arrive at your destination.  I love it!  No hassles with traffic or other drivers or your own car or weather.  Simple. Easy.  Painless.

Until last night.

Off the Mat and Into the World

I’ve been practicing yoga for roughly 5 years now.  At first, it was pretty sporadic.  A couple classes here or there in Brooklyn, NY when I thought, foolishly, that I could afford a gym membership.  When I moved to Boston for grad school, they offered an 8-10 week group yoga class.  It got me going again so when I started at HBS full-time, the first thing I did was sign up at the gym and get into their yoga classes.  Since deciding that I want to make a bigger commitment to yoga about a year ago, (a blog post for another day) I’ve been tapping into the larger yoga community to see what others are doing.  There are a ton of great yoga blogs out there and there’s a lot of awesome community work happening.

One of the things I love about these yoga blogs is how people find ways to bring their yoga practice off the mat and into their daily lives.  Now, I haven’t completely bought into all the “hippie speak” that comes with yoga.  And there are those who are much more into the “Mother Earth-loving, tree-hugging, Whole Foods-buying, Vegan-eating, I-Love-My-Juicer, ‘my spine is a flower growing to the light’” type of mentality.  In all honestly, that stuff makes me giggle inappropriately or throw my nasty, sweaty towel at them.  Not very yogic of me, I know.

ANYWAYS, Everything Yoga has an awesome post about bringing yoga to the world, inspired by one of my other favorite blogs, Leo’s Zen Habits.   Diane provides a list of upcoming events that bring yoga to the larger comminity for the benefit of various charities.  Here in Boston, the big one coming up is the Global Mala.  (Fair warning: clicking on the link will bring you to a place of almost overwhelming “hippie speak”.)  Despite my issues with the language, it looks like an amazing event and the 108 sun salutations looks like a ton of fun.  Call me crazy, but it does!      [One of the teachers for Global Mala is Taylor Wells, co-owner of Prana Power Yoga studios, where I practice once or twice and week and hope to get my 200-hour certification.]

There’s a lot to be learned from yoga and yoga practice, and I think taking those practices, principles and lessons to the wider world can only do good.

So I don’t close this post out on the same note as everyone else (meaning no disrespect to Diane, Leo or Ghandi himself) :

“Although the connections are not always obvious, personal change is inseparable from social and political change.” — Harriet Lerner.