Summer comes to campus after finals week and graduation, though it’s chilly on this particular morning. No faculty, no students, only staff keeping the engine of the school running from behind the scenes, always behind the scenes. In the new found quiet on a summer Sac State campus day, all of the wildlife feels more comfortable stepping out of the shadows. I’ve already seen many turkeys, including a turkey mom with her many fuzzy baby chicks, bunnies, squirrels, lizards, but

The freedom of waking up early to drive somewhere for the day. Daytripper. This time, it’s Santa Cruz. I hadn’t been in awhile, but I planned a day around an evening event and everything fell in to place. 4:20am: I wake up before the 5am alarm and prep everything I had meant to prep the night before. 6:30am: It’s time to hit the road to be able to make a 10:30am Yoga class in Ben Lomond, a friend’s lovely new Yoga studio. I stop once to add gas, get a chai and baked treat to

“The struggle itself toward the highest is enough to fill a person’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” Albert Camus, “Myth of Sisyphus” It was Tuesday night Happy Hour at a lovely hotel bar. Three stair flights up to the third floor to arrive at an elegant, dimly-lit dining space with refined eats and drinks, and soul-soothing live music. After the first few steps up from the hotel lobby, I got out of breath. Before the third set of stairs, I had to stop and catch my b

“Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along.” ~Rumi Love. One syllable. A simple word with the most complex, layered, nuanced meaning. The deepest of human emotions, love. It’s the feeling we all want, need, crave. We all want to be loved. Love hurts. It really does. It’s painful to feel true romantic love. It’s painful to have love and lose it. Unrequited love is one of the most painful human emotional experiences. Love twists up the core of me, an