stuff i'm excited about

all kinds of shenanigans going on as we head into the new year...

1. 1/3-1/11 Road-tripping to Seattle, WA
We're going to pile into Crystal's car and head up to Seattle to visit the lovely Cecilia. (At least I assume she's lovely, we've never actually met in person). I do not envy them their long-distance relationship but I'm glad they'll get to see each other. Asher and I are excited to meet Cecilia and then go exploring in Seattle.

2. 1/12-1/20 Visiting Utah
Asher and I are flying out to visit the fam, see a couple of film festival screenings, and hopefully get a chance to chill out before we go back to school. Let me know if you'll be around SLC or Sundance during that week and we'll try to organize a meet-up.

3. 1/22 Going back to school!
I'm starting school at San Jose State University this semester. I'm really antsy and excited to go back to school. I think I'm in a much healthier place than I have been before, so hopefully the nerd in me can come out and play. The terrified self-critical perfectionist in me should remain in exile... we'll see. It will be fun to go to school with Asher instead of being in a relationship where only one person is in school, which is mostly what I've done in my life so far.

4. 1/23 Starting Rainbow Connections mentor training
Asher and I have both been selected to be part of a group of peer mentors. This is the first year of the program at SJSU. A group of 10 mentors will receive comprehensive training this spring semester and then begin to mentor incoming LGBTIQA students in the fall. We're training on all kinds of topics from internalized oppression and dealing with homophobia to general student skills like time and money management. I'm so excited to be a part of this program and learn these skills. It will also be a great way to connect with people on a campus that is mostly for commuter students. I think all campuses could use something like this program and it's amazing that Angela and Bonnie are putting it together.

5. 20Somethings at the Billy DeFrank Center
I hope to continue facilitating for the 20 Somethings Women and Trans group in San Jose. It was hard to keep everything going over the holidays, but there is a pretty solid group of queer women and transgender folks who show up from week to week. I have so much fun at the meetings hanging out and getting to know people. I hope we can get it up and going strong for 2009.

...that's all for now i think. it's been fun to get emails from people i haven't talked to in a long time and update my address book. thanks for saying hi!

learning to blog all over again

time to practice uploading photos, because i'll probably be doing a fair amount of photo-posting.

Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays) from Asher and Elaine!

an update

i looked back and the last time i posted in a blog was christmas 2005. i won't be giving a detailed description of the last three years, but i'll just write about where i am now and what i've been up to in general.

most of you know that i transferred to UC Berkeley in fall 2006 and moved to berkeley in january 2007. not all of you know that i left berkeley this past spring and will not be finishing my degree there.

i transferred to UCB as a biochemistry major and a premed student. i had wonderful professors and amazing friends and i still love berkeley campus and berkeley city. while i was there, i discovered my passion for public health and access to healthcare for socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. i volunteered like a crazy person, filling all my spare time with groups and activism and panels and and and... i fell in love with berkeley and non-profits and an activist lifestyle.

in the midst of all these discoveries, i began to get overwhelmed and miss more and more classes. then i started missing groups. then i stopped getting out of bed or eating or really doing anything that mattered. finally, i went to the health center and started seeing a therapist and a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with clinical depression. not shocking now considering our family history, but it seemed to come out of nowhere.

2+ years (and a lot of therapy and support and hard work) later i'm getting myself and my life back to where i want to be. depression is something i never understood until it crashed into my life and took away all the things i cared about. it's not something i would wish on anyone, but in fighting my own depression i have grown and learned things about myself i would otherwise have missed. i have adjusted my priorities and learned to take care of myself and the people i love. i have discovered that even though i struggle a little (or a lot) every day, i can still live my life and fall in love and do meaningful things. i can still love myself.

i may have learned a lot of things the hard way, but i'm so glad i learned them.

that's sort of the general update. more specific updates to come. i recently moved from san jose to santa cruz and i'll be going back to school in january at san jose state university. i'll be finishing my biochemistry degree and getting a minor in public health. after that... we'll see!

i'm very much in love with my amazing partner, Asher. i'm happy with him in a way i never thought possible. and our relationship is healthy. how kick-ass is that? if you've seen us together you probably want to hug us. or punch us. or throw up. regardless, i'm so grateful to have him in my life.

i spent this christmas with Asher's family and i'm happy to be a part of their lives and to have the Moody family in my life. also, i may have to kidnap our nephew, Shaun. he's just that cute. i'll post photos. you'll understand.

love to everyone this holiday. thank you for being in my life.

blog envy

hello all!

i was reading holiday blog updates and i realized i missed having a blog. call it blog envy, but i've decided to start a new one. maybe it will encourage me to take more photos and keep track of my life. or not. we'll see when i start to post.

happy holidays everyone. i hope everyone is home and safe and not stranded in an airport somewhere. congratulations to my family for finally making it home to utah.

love,
elaine