what do NC, MI and TN have in common?

they've all recently seen the likes of Hope Deifell (aka, The Hope Deifell (THD), H2D (Hope Holliday Deifell), Ms. High Definition, Hope-alicious or Hoperino).

just before memorial day weekend, I Seconded for another project manager's playground build in Charlotte, NC. then, my old friend Felica came through (from Durham) to pick me up on her way up to camp in the Western North Carolina mountains. we hadn't seen each other in 2 years, so it was really awesome to reconnect and catch up with her.

while up in black mountain and asheville, i hung out with my sister, brother, sister-in-law, baby niece and several friends. we went to the Asheville Tourist's thirsty-Thursday baseball game. we hosted a clothes-swap with 17 women & clothes from 21 women, we went to a wedding, and we hosted a 6-hour-long cook-out up at our mountain house. it was an awesome long memorial weekend, and it was so great to be with so many friends and family!




then Felica dropped me back off at the CLT airport, and I flew back to SF for only 2 nights before heading to Flint, MI, for a playground Design Day meeting... finally, i have a new project, but I have mixed feelings about the whole thing... suffice it to say, I'm excited about working in Flint, but I still don't feel good about being left out of the game for so long.

after my short trip to Flint, I came back to SF for what ended up being an amazing weekend with my Alaskan friend named Ra... then, just last week, I Seconded for another project manager's playground build just outside of Memphis, TN. the weather was great, i got my sweet-tea fix, i drove by Graceland & through downtown Memphis, and the playground build went really well... but I suffered from a cold and a urinary tract infection all week. once I finally got home to SF, I went to the UCSF urgent care clinic to get a prescription for antibiotics... now, i'm much better but my back still hurts a bit. regardless, i have to go into work tomorrow... ughh. monday

st. louis

this week in st. louis has been great! we celebrated Erica's birthday on wednesday with some great Lebanese food. we had a perfect (but cold!) prep day 1 today. we've been enjoying the comforts of this nice little bed and breakfast. we visited an amazing glass exhibit by Chihuly in the Missouri Botantical Gardens. we went out for my first "bubble tea" experience. and we don't have really any work to do today (before the playground build on Saturday)... it's been a nice break from the normal, that's for sure.

... then, after our build, we went to this kick-ass (displaced) Brazilian restaurant there. go check it out!

how weird

in true san francisco spirit, my new roommate eileen and i went to the How Weird Street Faire last Sunday in full costume... or, well, at least I was pimpin' it with good style; eileen wasn't too sure about the wig that she wore into the festival, so she abandoned it.

time flies

wow. i'm such a slacker when it comes to blogging. i've just been busy with other things, i guess... what? well, let me see.

right after my birthday, i went back to NC for a quick visit with family and friends (in Boone and Asheville) before heading to a staff retreat in Lewisburg, PA (at Playworld Systems, Inc). my trip home was great, especially seeing my adorable baby niece...

the week after that, though, was only okay. i wasn't fully present at our staff retreat because i was too distracted by my past trials and my current ambiguity within the organization... suffice it to say that i went through an emotional rollercoaster last winter and then i was mandated a break from what i was hired to do -- manage projects. after that i began questioning my role and my ability to stay with the organization... since this last mental/emotional relapse, i've had other work-related problems: my computer died 2 wks ago and i've been completely distracted by trying to set up a new system... the whole ordeal has helped me put things into perspective, though. in the end, none of this really matters. so what if i've lost 13 GB of music, 30+ hours worth of work, and 2 years worth of old emails, email addresses and pictures. it's not the end of the world, right?

well anyway, besides all those major distractions, i've had the pleasure of doing Pilates with Hahva Neff, traveling to the Mississippi gulf coast and to the Florida west coast to build playgrounds, hosting Corey Belt for a few days in SF, seeing some free bluegrass at Amnesia, and... i can't remember what else. this week, i'm throwing a housewarming party for my 2 new roommates (Eileen and David), going to the How Weird Street Festival in SF, and traveling to St. Louis, MO, to build a playground.

birthday

Thanks to all my die-hard fans for making it out to my B-day party last Sunday (March 19). (Thanks especially to my roommate for making a delicious ghirardelli cake!)... I didn't feel like it was "my day" until everyone was there standing around me, wishing me well and warming my heart... I guess I was sort of in denial that I'd turned a year older. ugh. 27.

plus, I'd just gotten back from building another great playground in Tucson, AZ, the day before. so I was a little exhausted from that, too.

paradise

i just got back from 7 days in paradise: West Coast, Jamaica. it was so wonderful to relax on the cliffs, drink Blue Mountain coffee, smoke spliffs and take it easy mon... and so glorious to swim in the clear streams of the YS (above) and the crystal clear ocean waters of Negril, to cruise up the "cliffs road" on a scooter, to stop in humble bars, amazing little restaurants, artisan/tourist shops and an organic rasta-food shack (for veggie/pumpkin soup, festival, beans & rice), to bathe in the mineral springs of Roaring River, to hear reggae everywhere in the air, to take music (guitar, shaker, harmonica & flute) with us everywhere we went (thanks to Honza), to attend the Sheffield Church of the Brethren (for the culture of it), and to watch the sunset and the moonset every night we were there.

time slows down there. i took deeper breaths, caught a mellow mood and felt irie, mon. i miss it -- i miss the air, the water, the sun, the people, the food & drink, the music and the new friends. my heart goes out to you, Greg, Valrie, Janet, Rusty, Honza, Ashley, Jakub, Kiersa and Bob. thank you for the journey and the love.

dave chappelle, mos def and erykah badu

... were amazing (especially front row and center at SF's Warfield). nuff said.

can't wait to check out his Block Party movie.

geez

i can't believe it's been so long. i've been so distracted... and less interested in blogging lately, i guess. but this worth sharing. we hit a fire water main while auguring holes for a playground in Tucson last Friday, and then this. nearly 3 hours later, the city successfully turned it off. within 3 days, the pipe was fixed, the ground recompacted and graded, and the playground build postponed for 2 weeks.

work has been quite the rollercoaster lately. i've not been traveling as much as i've been served up, challenged and delivered from a couple very difficult projects. i'm on the up swing, though... in fact, after my annual performance review a few weeks ago, i've been able to investigate doing drama therapy and taking a few message therapy classes. more on that later.

in general, though, i haven't been the most balanced. after my ankle injury on 11/22, i was on crutches for 5 weeks, then started doing physical therapy and riding my bike to work again. :) i'm getting back on by feet again, in more ways than one.

here are just a few things i've been up to since last time:

-remotely building a playground in SF's western addition in mid-december (while on crutches, i couldn't lead the build, so i prepared everything for another project manager to lead it for me during build week.)
-home in NC for the week between Christmas and New Years
-physical therapy
-seconding at an athelic field build in phoenix
-leading a playground design day meeting in tucson
-doing site prep (only) for the playground build in tucson (see picture above)
-mad professor at dub mission
-board game nights
-syriana, munich, hong kong,... life and debt (2001), charlie and the chocolate factory (2005), spellbound (2002), the aviator (2004), being julia (2004), kinsey (2004), tarnation (2004), capturing the friedmans (2003), meet the fockers (2004), mad hot ballroom (2005), rize (2005), born into brothels (2004), house of flying daggers (2004), the bourne supremacy (2004), the weather underground (2002), and all of Mos Def’s feature films... :)
-nights up late working (... this job has turned me into a workaholic w/ insomnia)

cirque du soliel

about 2 weeks ago, i had the absolute pleasure of going to see Cirque du Soliel for the first time with my sister-in-law, mardie. (tony was out of town.) it was as wonderful and magical as i ever could have imagined. the show was called Corteo. it was so creatively artistic and diverse. it's amazing what the human body (and human mind) is capable of.

raw

over the past week or so, my heart has been as raw as my severely sprained ankle is raw, and i've been on a rollercoaster of emotion... i'm on the up-swing, for sure, but it's been a challenge, especially after 4.5 weeks on crutches. i'm tired and frustrated that i can't really get around. i can't wait to be able to bike, to go out, to go grocery shopping, to see music, to go on adventures, to travel, to build playgrounds, and to be free to do what i need to on my own... it's crazy what we -- the temporarily-abled -- take for granted, and it's even more crazy to see what other folks are really made of... as in, to see whether or not random people have any compassion, sensitivity, selflessness or heart in them to help a sister out in a time of need... would you believe that a co-worker, that you think you know & trust as a potential friend, would selfishly (and rather consciously) not choose to give you a ride to work when you really needed it?! (otherwise it would take you an hour and a half, over 2 bus rides, a train ride and a cab ride (each way), and cost you about $15 more than usual to commute to work.) man, that threw me off for a whole week. now, i can hardly look at her, let alone have to communicate and work with her... this holiday break couldn't have come at a better time. i need space and time to heal every dimension of my being... western north carolina, here i come.

the sound of music

written by my sister-in-law mardie:

We just had a fabulous time at a Sound of Music Sing-Along at the Castro Theatre in SF. I wore my mom's plaid dress with the pleated skirt, white collar and blue ribbon. Hope wore a white wig with a white boa, to be a Swiss Alp (or maybe a snowflake on an eyelash). Bryan wore a lederhosen (an old sock, suspenders and some ric-rac), and Tony was Robin from Batman and Robin - apparently Robin helped fight the Nazis. Richard wore a brown box tied up with string, and Jen wore my pink rose hat and pink coat, green pants with paper raindrops taped on. Much fun.

Surprisingly the movie really holds up – only a couple of lines seem outdated. Such great songs and it was fun to have the lyrics on the screen so we could sing extra loud.

my right ankle

I guess one excuse for my slack correspondence is that work has kept me rather busy. thank goodness for breaks like a holiday to give thanks. the days off gave me the moment to breathe, but my stillness is accidental… I sprained my right ankle on Tuesday while hiking down a steep slope from a natural hot spring in new mexico (n of albuquerque). i was alone, but someone had also just left the spring, so i called ahead to him. he helped me to my friend's car. i had to drive home with my left foot and my right ankle propped up on the glove compartment door, my backpack, a sweatershirt and eventually some ice. thank goodness it was automatic. during an hour and a half of driving, i had spoken with my insurance, work, family and my friend in albuquerque, while watching the sun set over a beautiful backdrop... so, i survived and doing well b/c I chilled at home (SF), hung with my brother and his wife, and went to see harry potter and then rent, the next day... unfortunately, I still have to go to Miami next week for work, but it’s really not all that bad b/c I’m just seconding for another project manager. hopefully, i'll be able to be still, learn to better delegate, and heal a bit.


mardie wrote to my folks:

"I hope you all have had a relaxing weekend. We have had several wonderful meals at home – including a yummy brisket from the best BBQ place in Texas. (www.saltlickbbq.com) Bryan and Hope are both in town. She is being very patient with her ankle - much more so than I would be. It is no easy thing to get around on crutches. Many stairs to hop in this town. And her ankle is a dozen shades of blue. Keep sending her healing love!!!"

on the go

i just finished 2 very challenging playground builds of my own: in Detroit on 10/20 and in Dallas on 10/27. then, i flew back to SF just in time to give a workshop on "Engaging Youth in your Community-build Playspace project" at the KaBOOM! University of Play conference on 10/28. then, i seconded for the U Play! playground build in Oakland on 10/29... finally, i flew to austin (where I am now) to second for Tabitha's last project (a field refurbishment) before she leaves KaBOOM!.

amidst all this travel, i managed...
-to go to LA for their Burning Man Decompression Party on 10/15;
-to host a pre-halloween accessories party with my roommates on 10/22;
-to visit with my cousins John and Louise (and their spouses) while in Dallas;
-to see MOS DEF & TALIB KWELI (!) in concert at the Mezzanine on 10/30;
-to go out on 6th street in Austin with my co-workers for halloween.

whew! will i ever give it a rest? maybe, but i won't even have time to think about it until veteran's day weekend and/or thanksgiving.

but first i go to tucson, az, for a design day meeting next wednesday, and after that, i head to NM to second for another project manager's playground build.

SF decom & will smith movie

SF decom was fun. it was great to go in costume, to run into good folks, to dance and to explore the pseudo-Playa... oh, i already can't wait until next year's BM. nothing beats the real thing.

so, yesterday, my brother and his wife had some people over for a dinner gathering over-looking the filming of the Will Smith movie at 24th & York. it was cool to see all the hype and to watch everyone get so excited about the entire production. it was also cool to see Will run up and down the street... finally, everyone called it a night, so I decided to head home. on the way, i noticed Will signing autographs while on his way off the set. i walked ahead and then turned to ask him for a hug. he said, "sure thing, girl," and gave me a nice big hug... there's nothing like a nice firm hug from a tall, dark and handsome famous man... that was my first and only brush with fame, and i have to admit, it got me all gitty inside.

been a while

... since i've had time and stillness to write 'bout myself online. it's not that i'm too busy; it's just that i'm usually too distracted. there's so much happening for me to stop and tell about it all. (not that i have to, but) i want to describe everything i've seen, done and heard, but i also want to be relatively quick about it. so, just to save the time, i'll attempt a somewhat brief list of everything since i last wrote something of substance... plus, i want to catch up so i can start keeping better track of all my random and wonderful life experiences.

okay, let's see...

-after a little stop in western NC to see my fam & friends for july 4th, i lead a playground build project in buffalo, ny. this build was the first time i TRUEly felt really awesome about the work i do for community groups. it was a real, grass-roots build done without the support of any umbrella organization. our community partner was a struggling neighborhood association that merely recognized how desperately they needed a safe playground for their kids. it was very challenging yet rewarding project... also, while up there, my second and i got to visit niagara falls for the first time ever! july 5-9

jen and i at niagara falls, canada

-i helped (or seconded) another project manager's playground build in minneapolis. july 11-14

-i stayed over a day in minneapolis to lead a design day meeting for a new project there (to be built in 2 months time). july 15

-i got handed off another project, and i traveled to lead a design day meeting for a build (to happen take place 2 months later) in chicago. july 18-19

-i lead a playground build in wasilla, ALASKA!, and my second & I had an incredible time sightseeing, fishing & flying in south-central Alaska. july 22-31

wet on build day in wasilla

whitney & i on a glacier lake

watch out, whitney's flyin'

the glacier lake we landed on

fishin' in AK

caught

-i finally took a day off to run errands and enjoyed some of downtown san francisco (like the ferry building, City Car Share, Museum of Modern Art, shopping). august 2

-i lead another design day meeting for a new playground project (to be built 2 months later) in detroit. august 15-16

[recap: i had 3 projects on my plate, and i just finished 2 of my own projects.]

-mardie oakes and my brother, tony deifell, (aka MoTo) got married at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Marin County, CA. the wedding camp weekend* was extraordinary in so many ways, including a house concert with The Weepies, a taco truck for the rehearsal dinner, kite flying, massage, a beautiful wedding ceremony, vintage wear, home-style dinner, an interactive reception, a really cute photographer that they hired, a Polaroid guest book, a make-your-own-cupcake wedding cake, a surprize roller-disco party with black-lights and booze, and a pristine location with so many amazing family and friends. august 18-21
*this special event and time with family is the first of a series of recent random fun moments that have reminded me how much i love living in SF.

mother and son

mom & dad dancing, as always

on the way to the surprise wedding roller-disco

-i traveled to miami to second for another project manager's attempted* playground build in miami. august 22-24
*this build was cancelled due to threats of hurricane katrina, which grazed fort lauderdale the night before the day we would have lead the build.

-i flew back to SF (& to where my sister heather had been hanging out on her own after our brother's wedding the weekend before)... and immediately started packing for Burning Man. august 25-28

-i planned, organized and managed a community of 21 burners in camp wdydwyd?. august 29-september 5
*our event: to take portraits of folks answering the question, why do you do what you do?, and a 4x8 live-painting project, open to any passers-by
*our location this year: ego x 7:20
*our members' origins: san francisco, los angeles, asheville, durham, atlanta, new york -> all of which made for a really awesome intentional community of people
*my highlights: all the diversity of EXTREME and AMAZING art there, an INCREDIBLE time with my sister heather, the freedom, my borrowed beach cruiser, the expanse of black rock city this year, and our portrait project... among SO much else.

siblings

siblings & the man

the last crew to leave our plot of BRC land

[recap: i've just returned from a whirlwind of wedding events, work travel, and a week of Burning Man paradise... but i still have those same 3 projects on my plate... yet, i love it all and i especially love living in SF.]

-i just got handed off another playground project, and i went to lead a design day meeting for a build (to be done in 2 months time) in dallas. while there, i stayed with my cousin louise and her husband justin. september 7-8

-i helped pack our office to move up to san mateo from redwood city, ca... and later, that next weekend, i go to the Power to the Peaceful festival (w/ Michael Franti) in golden gate park with my friend kirsten. september 10

-i lead my build (and closed the project) in south chicago. september 12-16

chicago kick-off

-i returned to our new office space and enjoyed it (& being home in SF) for a whole week. my boss (the director of project management) and our administrative assistant (Laura) fly out from DC to help settle us in, and thanks to their help, it looks great! well, laura had never spent any time in SF, so i showed her around town, we had sushi at Central Station (mission x 17-18), we ended up in north beach, and we drove to work the next morning together. september 19-21

-i got all dressed up in my brown-n-black zebra, fly-girl outfit, and i went down to the SF civic center plaza to dance, people-watch and enjoy the 2nd annual Love Parade (originating in Berlin after the wall fell.) i love SF. september 24

photo shoot after love parade (w/ borrowed tina turner wig)

-i lead my own playground build (and closed the project) in minneapolis. september 25-29

wet on build day

-i came back to a weekend full of bluegrass in golden gate park with my friends, whitney (from work) and kirsten (from corey). we heard gillian welch, tony rice & peter rowan, dolly parton, doc watson, earl scruggs, steve earle, the be good tanyas, emmylou harris, stiff dead cat, and guy clark. september 30-october 1

-finally, i'm home for a bit... AND i lead my own design day for a new playground project (to be built 2 months later) HERE -- in san francisco! october 6

design day meeting in SF

-today, mardie & i went over to their friend jim's place to watch the blue angel's fleet-week show over the bay. (it was such a beautiful and perfect san francisco day, too.) then, we went out to dinner with mardie's friends richard and jen to betelnut (on union st). finally, after tony finally got home from a 9-day business trip, i left MoTo to very randomly (and independently) stop by an art opening event at the Galeria de la Raza. i admired the art, had a couple drinks and went on my way back home again... ah, i love san francisco.

now, coming soon:
-Burning Man decompression parties in SF (tomorrow) and LA (next weekend)
-filming dinner party at MoTo's on monday.(there's a film with will smith (The Pursuit of Happiness) being filmed right outside mardie & tony's, oct 9-13.)
-my playground build in detroit (oct. 17-21)
-my playground build (with eye-candy as my second for the week) in dallas (oct. 24-28)
-halloween and day of the dead in san francisco
-seconding for another project manager's playground build in southern new mexico (Nov. 14-18)
-home (nc? or ct?) for thanksgiving
...