2014 has been… a year. I managed to do some things that I’m really happy about:
- Started (and finished) a series of hikes that covered all 80+ miles of trails in Forest Park.
- An epic tree burn at Kelley Point State Park. I rented a U-Haul truck and brought approximately 30 trees to the event. It was most excellent!
- A trip to Todos Santos, to celebrate my birthday. A massage conducted poolside, rolling in the surf, and lazy days rocking in the hammock.
- A road trip to central Oregon to explore the mundanely named Hole-in-the-Ground, Crack-in-the-Ground and Fort Rock.
- Attended my first “Brides of March”, which involved buying and hacking a wedding dress to fit me.
- Attended the Rang Barse festival in Beaverton.
- Started seeing a personal trainer once a week.
- Went to Breitenbush with Manda for her Spring Break.
- Went to Cirque du Soleil when they came through town.
- Hiked Smith Rock again.
- Volunteered with the World Naked Bike Ride. Did some site setup and cleanup, and started running the web site for selling WNBR swag.
- Hosted a “Rang Barse Ride of Colors” during Pedalpalooza.
- Assisted with building the Portland Souk project (the Cascadia Trading Post) for Burning Man 2014.
- Attended SOAK 2014, volunteering with the Greeters.
- Went mountain biking in central Oregon with our friends Chris and Lori.
- Explored Oneonta Gorge for the first time, and loved it so much I went three more times.
- Started dating someone wonderful.
- Attended Burning Man 2014, volunteering with the Portland Souk project, the Retrofrolic Camp and with Arctica.
- Started practicing massage more regularly again.
- Taught a class on making your own floggers (using upcycled bicycle innertubes)
- Started attending personal training twice a week.
- Volunteered with Sepia for Placement for the Burnout event.
- Resumed a relationship I thought was dead and gone.
- Started doing “Couch to 5K”.
- Spent Xmas at the coast with Dan, Melody, Anita, Owen and Ed. So good for my heart, and so hard at the same time.
- Was stunned to discover new depths and previously unexplored places in a relationship that I thought was settled and defined. Positively revelatory!
- Maintained the weight lost in 2013, and even lost a bit more.
- And last but not least, I maintained and deepened my relationship with Bobo. Over eight years now, and my love and appreciation for her only continues to grow!
And several things that sucked:
- Ended a relationship.
- Ended another relationship.
- And then ended the biggest, most significant relationship of my life, 18 years long. Excruciating, devastating.
How do you summarize a year like that? Lots of new events and growth, and then lots of “another fucking opportunity for growth.” In the grand scheme of things, way more pain than joy, way more heartache than I’m built to take. And that comes on the heels of a 2013 that was almost as bad. Over all, 2015 can only be better. It fucking well better be.