do your part

I got an email from "NOW" the National Organization for Women that is calling for the removal of a Montana Judge. Here is what it said:

September 25, 2013

"The National Organization for Women is proud of the work Montana NOW has undertaken to remove Judge G. Todd Baugh from the bench by filing an official complaint with the Montana Judicial Standards Commission. Baugh has come under intense scrutiny after sentencing a middle-aged teacher to only 30 days in jail for the rape of his 14 year old student, Cherice Moralez; Moralez later committed suicide.

Montana NOW, along with allied organizations UltraViolet and MoveOn.org, have collected 140,000 signatures on a petition demanding Judge Baugh be removed. A separate letter written by Montana NOW President Marian Bradley – and co-signed by survivors of sexual assault -- has received 346 signatures. 

Members of the National Organization for Women from all over the country stand in solidarity with the women and men fighting for justice for Cherice Moralez and all victims of sexual violence."

I not only find this whole situation disturbing but I am shocked that this is the first time I am hearing about it. Not that I regularly watch the news but I do look for updates on my igoogle during the day and have also been trying to listen to NPR regularly. I'm not sure if the links will show up in this post but I will also add them below. Please sign them. It literally takes a moment. 

Here is an article about it. 

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/03/painful-lesson-cherice-moralez-rape

Link to the formal complaint:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.weareultraviolet.org/images/Montana_complaint.pdf

Link to the Petition: 

http://act.weareultraviolet.org/cms/sign/montana_judge_sp/

Link to the Letter:

http://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/montana_judge_survivor_letter/

supremely happy

I read a really inspiring article today about happy people that I must share. I have always been a bit on the pessimistic side of life, although I prefer to call it being a realist. Lately, I have been actively trying to change this. One of the best things my analyst has suggested, is to make a list of three things every evening that you are grateful for, or that made you happy that day. The key is that you can't use the same thing and some days it's really hard to come up with anything. But it makes you look outside of the norm and see the good. I already have one of mine ready... The rain. I am happy that it's raining. Check out the article below.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/16/happiness-habits-of-exuberant-human-beings_n_3909772.html

the gray days ahead

I love the fall and it has pretty much arrived. I love pumpkin beer, lattes and brisk walks requiring cozy sweaters. This time of year is when I also get back into running. I'm not a very early riser so running after work is only an option when the cooler air arrives. I'm also going to try and get into bourbon. Over the Summer I infused vodka with blueberries and strawberries which was so delicious. I'm thinking cinnamon (shut it Allen) or vanilla infused bourbon for hot toddies. I also love piling on the blankets and staying in bed all day with my sweet animal. Mulling wine. Baking bread. Fireplaces and fire pits.Can't wait.

deep thoughts...

"Most of the trouble in this world has been caused by folks who can't mind their own business, because they have no business of their own to mind, any more than a smallpox virus has." William Burroughs

"In the middle of life it happens that death comes and measures man. The visit is forgotten but life continues. But the suit is made, quietly." Tomas Transtromer

Can you tell I've been in a dark place?

"And it came to me then, that every plan is a tiny prayer to father time." DCFC

I can be a bit of an obsessive planner/thinker. No, I'm not the person that makes an itinerary for a trip but if it makes me uncomfortable or I am unsure about a situation (and that's almost always), I try and plan it out in my head. I have been known to toss and turn into the wee hours of the morning, trying to see all angles of a situation. As you can imagine, this has a very low success rate. I find the more I try to anticipate the unexpected, the worse the outcome tends to be. So I have been obsessing over timing lately. We have all heard that timing is everything. But I hate to think that there is so much out of my control. I would like to think that you make the right timing. Ideally, if an opportunity came about, like say, a great new job in a new city, wouldn't you force yourself to do it? Even if the timing might be wrong? Perhaps your mom is ill and you don't want to leave her (hopefully this would never happen) but wouldn't you at least try and explain to the company the situation and get something figured out? Or maybe move your mom with you? Of course this is situation based but come on, if you want something bad enough, wouldn't you do your damnedest to make it work? But that's just it, you have to really want it and until you pull out all of the stops, you really don't.
But timing can be such an important thing. I have witnessed this in my life recently. It's very humbling and disheartening to think that a day or a month can have such an impact on your growth as a human being. I feel like I have aged ten years in a few short months. The realizations about the people I have always put first are just alarming. I used to think that loyalty to the people that you care about was the most important thing. That sounds noble but when those people aren't doing the same, it ends horribly. Friends can be a wonderful addition to your life but you have to be very careful about how you categorize them and treat them accordingly. I considered people that I partied with to be my friends, and the truth is, they were just people that I partied with. They should never have been number one on my list of priorities but too many times I placed them there. It's only when the booze stops flowing and real life happens that you find out they were never your friend. And here we get back to timing. If I would have figured this out months ago, I maybe wouldn't have made some poor decisions. But sadly that's just how it goes, no matter how much planning or thinking you do, some things truly are out of your control.

Cabo

My friend Danielle and I went on a much needed vacation to Cabo San Lucas last week. I wish I could say that I had an amazing time and it was all sun and sand but I was plagued with thoughts of my honeymoon. My ex and I went to Puerto Vallarta almost three years ago and I couldn't escape the familiar sights and sounds. Perhaps I am being too dramatic... I really did have a good time and the ocean was spectacularly beautiful I just wish I could have been in a better state of mind. Here are some pics.
A storm was moving in and the rain was just starting.

 We ventured out to a club called "Red" and met some interesting people. Poor Danielle was getting groped.