I've been enjoying the heat, but I was glad when it started cooling off this evening.
My office has been very warm. No, it's been hot. My poor clients have had to sweat while they tap. Sort of like that Bikram yoga! I could start a whole new 'hot therapy' trend!
Actually, business has been picking up. I've got lots of new clients and it feels great. Especially since the EFT really works.
I mean, it would be so depressing, sitting in a (hot) room listening to people's terrible problems--if I couldn't help them. The thing I used to love about giving massage was the instant gratification. My clients were always very happy. They knew they'd been helped and were just glad.
It's much the same with my EFT practice. Only with grief and loss and anger and fear and cancer and divorce and so on. And without having to change all those sheets. Not so much laundry.
***
Last night Krista, Eden and I went to see The Taming of the Shrew--an outdoor performance at Ive's Park in Sebastopol. We went early and got pizza and the best seats (er, blanket spot) in the house (uh, park).
The play had been adapted to have a pirate theme. The set was a big pirate ship, in fact. And the acting was incredible.
I hadn't been to a real play, with real adult actors, for way too long. Not that I hate kids or anything. It's just nice when the actors actually remember their lines say them with appropriate feeling and don't sing off key.
Anyhow, it was great. Except for the horrible misogynistic message of the play. Jeezus. What was Shakespeare thinking anyway?
***
Yesterday we also hung four of Krista's originals in Milk & Honey, a super groovy store/gallery in Sebastopol. They look great and totally fit there. It's a very witchy goddessy womany kind of place.
I think we're actually going to hang a few more on Monday. If you're in town check 'em out.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Summer Days
Katie and Sean Came to Visit
The day after India left, my niece Katie and her husband came to visit. We had a fun visit full of laughter. Katie had only recently found out she was 5 months pregnant. She skipped all that first trimester nausea and such. Woo hoo!
They're both just so happy and excited to be expecting. I remember that feeling.
They were on a road trip--Boise to Redding to Livermore to pick up Sean's sons and bring them back to Boise. They drove way the hell out of their way too, which was so nice of them.
We got to spend some awesome weeks in New Zealand with Katie three years back. It was so good to see her, and Sean, again.
The Couple
Krista's folks kindly hosted their niece Angela's baby shower. Here she is, with the daddy, Spencer. She was wearing an adorable skull and crossbones top and a crystal necklace she got from her late grandmother.
I've always really liked Angela. She's been a dare devil and has suffered many an accident. She's facing child birth just as fearlessly as jumping off a cliff into the Eel River. But hopefully she'll chill out a bit once the kid arrives.
She's only 17 and when we heard she was pregnant I was dismayed. It's hard work raising kids and it takes a lot of responsibility to do it well. But then again, Angela has lots of energy and enthusiasm (maybe more energy than I had at 30 when India was born?).
And I was pleased to meet Spencer. Notice he's holding a water bottle? Not a beer.
I think they've got a shot at it. Happiness I mean.
Good luck kids!
Lightening Up
Last Thursday was the final night of music at the Plaza in Sebastopol. A band called Free People played and they were really good. We're lucky to have lots of friends to hang with there. It's a nice scene, with all the kids running every which way, people dancing, having picnic dinners.
The weather has been unusually warm too. Often Sebastopol gets cold air coming in off the ocean.
I cherish these warm nights.
This Was The Only Table Open
Zoe and Eden came with me to Real Goods, up in Hopland, where I got some biodiesel. We fed the fish and fed the ducks and ran around their cool grounds. Actually it was over 100 degrees that day.
I took them to the Bluebird Cafe to get a milkshake and fries. This was where we sat, much to their horror!
The food was great.
My Old Pal Frank
We ran into Frank the other night at the Plaza in Sebastopol. I seem to bump into him every 6 to 12 years or so.
Frank was my best friend in 4th grade. We were very close. His mom was a divorcee--sort of a swinger back then (was that 1969?). She went on to marry a millionaire and Frank moved up to Lake Tahoe and we lost touch.
I saw him again my sophomore year in college at UCSD. Must have been 1979? He moved into my little dorm mid term! What a surprise that was, and not altogether good. Frank seemed a little unhinged. He never bathed and finally a bunch of guys dragged him out on the lawn, stripped him down and hosed him off, because he smelled so bad. I stayed away. After a few months he dropped out, telling us that he was on his way to Israel. I heard that he got turned back at customs and had to fly home.
Fast forward to 1993 or 1994. India was pretty little and we had been living up in Eugene for a few years. One day I was walking in the park and someone called my name, in a questioning sort way. Rob Nelson??
Frank came to visit us two or three times. He was a self described hobo. A hobo with an ATM card--his mom was still married to that billionaire. But Frank lived out in the parks and wilds around Eugene. He had his sleeping roll stashed and two changes of clothes (so he could always have a clean set).
We had some interesting visits, but then one day he opened up about his belief system. He talked about the anti-christ and Armageddon and Israel and the mark of the beast being a bar code and lots and lots more. He talked and talked and talked and we were pretty much taken aback.
Our reality was mostly centered around our precious little baby girl and his scary nut job diatribe sort of hit me the wrong way. I asked him (kindly I thought) to please refrain from mentioning all that again.
We didn't see him again in Eugene.
Our next face to face was here in the park. I guess he's probably still a hobo. He's still mixed up in some sort of dark fundamentalist mental illness (he alluded to it anyway), but it was still great to see him. Good old Frank.
I guess I'll probably run into him again in 2020.
At The Station
It's been almost two weeks since we drove India down to the Amtrak station in Martinez. She headed up to Eugene to join 99 other unschoolers from across the US and Canada for Not Back To School Camp.
This year she's not only doing two sessions, she's also staying at camp between sessions. Almost three full weeks! This was also the first year she took the train. It's a long trip--about 14 hours or more. I don't think she slept much, even though it left Martinez at 11:30pm. There were a bunch of campers on board already and I think they all stayed up. Ah youth.
We miss our girl, but she always comes home super charged from the experience. She'll be back September 5th.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Wellness Fair
Just a reminder...tomorrow I'll be offering free EFT mini-sessions at the Sebastopol Masonic Lodge from 11 to 4, as part of a community Wellness Fair.
Actually, I just checked and it's called the Alternative Healing Day. Oops.
"an exciting mix of cutting edge, new holistic modalities and caring practitioners". The address is 373 N. Main Street, Sebastopol, across from the Safeway. Free Admission!!! Woo hoo!
Last time I did this I worked almost non-stop giving at least 23 sessions. It was intense! I'm hoping to have another great turn out.
I'll let you know how it goes.
rob
Saturday, August 09, 2008
850 Third Street
My new office is in this building, on the second floor. After six months of subletting I decided I needed my own space. Today Eden helped me bring 5 new plants over and it really feels ready to go (although I've been seeing clients already).
I've had a lot of help getting this place together and it feels wonderful being in the room. I think it already has a good healing vibe and it will just keep getting better.
I'm also excited because I plan to re-open my massage practice. I just have to pull the table out of my closet and I'm ready to go. For the past four years I haven't taken on any new clients, since I was seeing them in our living room! I've actually turned away business. Now I need to print up some business cards again and get going, though I want my main gig to be EFT.
Thanks for all the help everybody.
My New Office
That's my chair. I'm going to be doing a lot of tapping in that seat. And my new plants and Krista's painting "As A River Like A Snake" on the wall.
Love Seats
My friend Steve helped me lug the mission style sofa up the horrible flight of stairs. It was heavy! We had to partially disassemble the thing just to get it around the corners. But it feels great to sit in.
The solid blue sofa is astonishingly light weight! I think it only weighs about 30 pounds. India and I were laughing when we carried it up yesterday. We also brought up the carpet, which looks a lot busier than it actually seems in the room. I got it for $10 at a yard sale down the street. The people I bought it from are moving to Tasmania!
I'm very happy my little Chinese acupuncture doll has a good home. I've been lugging her around office to office. The sarong is one Krista and I bought in Bali. And the little aloe plant I got today and potted in a sweet clay pot we got at the Oregon Country Fair from our friend Charlie.
Lots of stories in the room already.
The Desk and Eden
Krista's folks just gave me this fabulous antique desk that's been in the family for 30 years! It was coming apart a bit (especially after we lugged it up the crazy stairs) so I borrowed a pipe clamp from Danny and I'm gluing it back together.
You can see one of Krista's paintings hanging over it. A very 'energetic' painting for my energy psychology office.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
On the South Yuba
This weekend we headed up into the Sierra Nevada's to camp out with our playgroup. The camp site was gorgeous, right on the river and all ours. The only downside was that Interstate 80 was about 150 feet away up a hill. There were thousands of cars and even more 18 wheelers roaring by--all day and all night. It took some getting used to.
In fact, that first night was pretty bad. It was sort of a hobo experience, camping out next to the ol' freeway. Ugh.
But we made the best of it and really had a good time. There are lots and lots more photos over on my flickr page, or you can see them bigger and on a black background here.
Gallery
Considering the godawful traffic noise, we look fairly happy. Check out Krista's new bloomers!Gallery, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.
The End
Our wonderful little biodiesel car. Doesn't hold as much as those SUVs, but it got us there and back.