an attractive, adventurous option

summer of 2007 is drawing to a close.
i've had one of the best summers of my life, i think.

in june:
-i was in a play. rabbit hole reminded me that i have a wealth of emotional reserves inside that are very strong and readily available;
-i joined a gym, and to my surprise actually enjoyed working out, for the first time in my life;
-i finished my sketchbook of altai drawings, self-published them at kinkos, and distributed them accordingly;
-i went to a bitchen pool party and played water volleyball with jockish aplomb;
-i visited friend beth and new friend von in austin, and my brother and sis-in-law in waco;
-i cleaned my apartment for the first time in months (whew).
in july:
-i went to france (did i mention?);
-i started rehearsals on another play. the pillowman is reminding me that i have something in common with everyone in the world;
-i took another healing trip to austin;
-i slept as much as i wanted to;
-i spent fun times with friend marc.
in august:
-i watched the rain create a makeshift swimming pool in the grass-patch outside my window while i sipped coffee in my cozy cave;
-i started on a new set of drawings, inspired by some affirmations i put together for myself, aided by a cool person named mary;
-i house-sat and dog-sat at my parents' place, watching old dick cavett interviews with famous comedians;
-i had a great healing visit with von, during which we went to the mcnay and to a rock shop, and made a good dinner using one of jean-jean's recipes;
-i saw a good movie called golden door;
-i enjoyed a clean-up day at school with some of the advanced theatre students;
-i started paying more attention to my diet, eating healthier food;
-i finally read dave eggers's a heartbreaking work of staggering genius.

and of course i met quite a few wonderful people this summer: thad, asia, forrest, michele, von, mary, rick & odile...
but i think mostly what i learned, and am learning, in addition to continually discovering my personal power, is the way to make each day last longer. now this might sound like a dubious ability, because many people on our earth don't want their days to be longer; after all, the phrase "it's been a long day" generally connotes a feeling of strife and exhaustion. but i'm learning that a long day is one where you're awake for it, engaged in it, actually living it and not coasting on auto-pilot. i haven't always wanted this, and sometimes i still don't-- sometimes i just want to disappear into my couch with the tv on and let the day go by like so much annoying pageantry... i'm learning, however, that being awake and engaged is an attractive, adventurous option, if i'm willing to go there.