In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle

So, OK I've been back from Costa Rica for almost a week.  Unfortunately, I returned to the pressure of not one, but two freelance deadlines stacked on top of each other.   Still, I have so much to tell you.

In four words, the trip was: Exactly What I Needed.

This was the view from my mat for two hours each morning and afternoon.

The yoga retreat was held in a small, rural surfing village on the Pacific Coast.  It was hot and humid, and my body loved it.  My skin cleared and softened, shedding years off my apparent age. My joints started moving again after a year and a half in a cold, dank climate.  I sweat quite a lot of toxins out of my pores and received the best massages in my life.  I connected with wonderful people, started the long road to getting back in shape and gave my life a lot of thought.  In the end, I came to one very clear conclusion:

I do not want to work in an office ever again.

Not ever.  Never.

In Costa Rica, I was inspired by the power of yoga to heal, something I knew academically as a yoga teacher but not experientially. I arrived a broken and disgruntled person after a rough year and a half in Holland.  The stress has manifested in my body the kinds of aches and pains usually reserved for people at least 10-15 years older than me including:  digestive issues and heart burn, a near constant pain in my left hip, a weird knot under my left shoulder blade, and lower back pain that surfaces after shockingly short amounts of time walking around in decent shoes.

After just one day in Costa Rica I was literally glowing.  Everyone said so.  I was naturally smiling, not forcing it.  When I saw myself in the mirror that first night, I didn't recognize myself.  Seriously.  I looked at least 5 years younger and happy.  I was happy.  I was doing what I really wanted to do.  I was particularly inspired by the massage therapist, an older Japanese American guy named Kenny.  After a session with Kenny, people were so blissed out that we took to saying that someone had been Kenneyed.  I would do anything to help someone feel even half as good as I did.  Get your mind out of the gutter!

I want to make a difference, but by now I know I'm not going to be one of those people that changes the world in a grandiose way.  But I can help one person at a time feel better.  When we return to DC later this year, I've decided to have a go at teaching yoga as my primary profession. 

I'm changing course.  No more DC rat race.  No more fighting to be taken seriously as a woman in a predominantly male profession.  This is good.   

About the Socks

Man, I knit my little heart out, and the darn things still aren't finished!  So much for finishing three pair in a week.  I can't believe I traveled half-way around the world with enough yarn for three whole pairs of socks.  I'm so delusional.  Here's where I'm at so far:

Astute readers will notice that I now have two socks on one circular needle as opposed to the single sock I was originally working on.  The night before I left, I misunderstood a set of directions detailing the short-row heel technique, and I knit myself an irreparable mess.  My stitch count was way off.  When I studied the sock it became clear that my problems started well before the heel. 

So I ripped it all out and started over on the plane, much to the astonishment of the man sitting next to me.  He marveled through the whole flight about how impossibly small my yarn and needles are.  At least I got to cast on both socks and fix the funky toe. 

Things went OK at first.  I knit by the pool, hopping from deck chair to deck chair to keep from frying in the sun.  I knit in shade of the open-air restaurant.  I knit in bed at night while I caught up on American TV piped in over satellite.  I was a hit with my fellow yogis, who wondered about a person who knits wool socks in the tropics.

Funny thing about knitting two socks at once.  If you find a problem and you have to unknit, you have to unknit twice as much as you really need to.  It was a devastating blow to sock progress when I realized that I'd dropped a stitch a while back, far enough back that I couldn't fix it.  I might have been able to figure out a way to pull one sock off the needles if I had stitch holders.  Note to self:  carry stitch holders wherever you go.

It took a surprisingly long time to unknit back to my error, sucking away about two days worth of time that I could have been making progress.  I thought for sure I'd finish on the 15 hour journey back to Holland, but unfortunately I fell asleep on the long haul.  I managed to finish the heel on the flight, but the cuff is being worked on borrowed time as I finish my freelance projects.

Lucky for me, my feet are small and my legs are short.  I'm almost finished.  They're turning out OK, though a bit wonky.  I wasn't planning on blocking my socks, but the uneven stitching is bugging me and the short rows are holey.  Next I'll be ironing my pajamas. 

I'm so weird.

Comments

[Jennie]

Wow! What a great trip. Oh, I bet it was truly amazing and relaxing to be surround by such a beautiful atmosphere. The view from your mat, oooohhhh how wonderful.

Don't beat yourself down, as long as you were able to enjoy the knitting, it's all that matters. :) I do love the color of that yarn. So bright and cheery. It puts a smile on my face.

[Heather]

I read the description of your journey with great interest. So glad to hear that your body and spirit have been restored and that you're feeling well.

I have done similarly delusional yarn calculations on trips as well, when you look back, you wonder what you were actually thinking!!

[My Merino Mantra]

What a divine trip! Such beauty, and peace. You relaxed, had great massages, and you came to some realizations, too. Wow, that's great. Your previous post inspired me to tackle socks once again. I am on the home stretch to sock #2. It was pitiful and painful, going it alone. I haven't blogged about it yet, but I will soon have a finished pair. Congratulations to both of us!
Trish

[Jen]

Lovely to hear from you, ladies. The trip was indeed fantastic. Retreats = getting away from it all. Getting away from it all is good. I'm still feeling pretty upbeat, even though it's gone cold again here.

Jennie: The yarn is indeed peppy, and keeps me motivated. I'll blog more about this when I actually finish them up, but I think sock yarn is an unforgiving mistress. I usually knit with at least DK, usually chunky. That stuff really hides stitch inperfections. I also wonder if the sliding the stitches on and off the needles takes a toll on them. Either way, I'm reserving judgement until after I block them. And anyway, this is my first pair so I won't be too hard on myself. I have plenty of other bits lurking around to raise an eyebrow at though.

Heather: You should see what I took to Australia with me a couple of years ago. This wasn't too long after I started to knit and was still sufficiently challenged by hats and scarves. I ended up not having any time on that trip at all to knit. I should have learned then.

Mantra: Wow - I'm so touched that I inspired anyone! I can't wait to see your socks - I'm sure they'll be great. *High Five*

[jennsquared]

What a view! I have the same thoughts as you - "Never work in the office again". I currently still works in the office, but I started my own business doing Financial Consulting on helping people to get on the right financial track. I travel to people's home instead of having them come see me and the great feeling just wouldn't stop - I helped another family. I say - Go for it girl!