Our Diabolical Plan. Mission: Earth.

The die has been cast, my friends!

Notice has been given to our landlord, passports are ready, temporary jobs have been found til March, tax returns are in our bank accounts, cheap tickets have been found, and all wheels are set in motion for what is bound to be a life-changing adventure. It begins next month, when we will road trip across the states to see Kurt's family in New York. From there we will depart into the great, mysterious, unexplored realms of - you guessed it - Europe! We will boldly go into this uncharted territory, and put into motion (starts 'Jaws' theme) 'Kurt and Dayna's Diabolical Plan.' We are quitting our habit of cigarettes using Quit for Life over the next few weeks, eliminating that expense and health risk as well.

We want to start in Europe, working our way across the continent in an easterly direction toward Greece and ultimately Turkey. A flight to Southeast Asia may be in order from there, depending on many factors including who we meet along the way. We plan on a low-maintenence, no-frills experience on a mission to enrich our lives meeting as many beautiful people as possible, soaking in the local cultures and languages as we go. We will use Couchsurfing while in the cities, working on organic farms and homestays for room and board in the countryside along our way. We plan on visiting many of you that have graced our couches and lives over the last year and a half, and are so excited to see you again.

With Kurt's site-building expertise, we will soon have an amazing and aesthetically-pleasing travel weblog up and running, including photos and videos of our travels, stories from the road, photos of our hosts and host families and a map that shows where we have been and are planning to go. You can subscribe to the feed, comment using your Facebook account, see our beaming faces, or donate as little as $1 at a time to buy us our daily cup of joe if you so desire. Expect titles of my blogs to be interesting things you will enjoy and laugh at, like: 'Learning to Milk a Cow in Croatia,' 'Hooping in Hungary,' or 'Failing to Speak a Local Language While in Search of a Bathroom.'

We are excited. Stay tuned for more updates and ways we can keep you involved!
Much love.
Dayna and Kurt

ALSO, apparently diabolical means evil or relating to the devil. I thought it meant spectacularly clever. Apparently I was misinformed. This should read 'Our Spectacularly Clever and In No Way Related to Evil Plan'. Just throwing that out there.

on 2011

That time of year has rolled around yet again for me to make a conscious effort to dwell on the coming twelve months. Though I am seven days late, I am sure it is better to write this late than not at all! Aspirations, goals, and hopes for my life in 2011 (in no order whatsoever):

Begin to connect all the things the past few years has taught me and put them into action.

I have learned that when I teach myself a new skill, I essentially become smarter, as my brain grows new neural pathways. I want to do my best to learn new skills, even if others think they are silly, like poi and hoop dance.

Stop smoking... self explanatory!

Write some damn good music and enjoy every minute of it! Preferably one song per month minimum.

Grow a bit closer to my own spirit, peer inwards a little more often, and consiously praise all the great qualities I have.

Live on an organic farm and learn how to homestead; get my hands dirty. If I get grossed out, I will tell myself that I will thank myself after peak oil hits! Learn to make cheese, soap, wine, or whatever else strikes my fancy (like planting kale that doesn't die).

Take the plunge: sell what I can, buy a one way ticket, and start living out my dreams one country (and ridiculous visa fee) at a time. When money runs low - busk with guitar or ukelele... or fire hooping. Which brings me to:

Fire hooping!! Shortly therafter start spinning fire with my poi.

Continue the trend I started this year of reading as often as possible!

Meet and encourage as many people as possible, whether on the 358 bus headed toward downtown Seattle or the person in line next to me.

Soak in the great and epic moments and friendships, and be present when they are happening.

Happy New Year of 2011 to all, I love you.

on spinning the other direction

Today I tried something a bit different... for me, anyway.

I woke up to the most beautiful, mystical morning. The air felt crisp and smelled of autumn and the sky was clear. I stuck my head out the window like a little kid, excited to see if it would be nice enough for me to hoopdance outside on my day off of work. It was. I was elated.

I have been having a bit of trouble with my lower back, just aches and dull pain since I began to hoopdance two months ago. I decided it was my lack of stretching, so I began to stretch before, during and after my hoop sessions. This failed to solve the problem, so I went to the online community of hoopers to ask for help. It turned out that what I really needed was fairly simple. To spin the hoop the other way.

This will mean absolutely nothing to most people (which is understandable), but everyone who dances with a hoop has a favored direction, their 'hoop direction.' I hoop to the right. What my back needed was for me to hoop to the left sometimes. Caroleeena, an esteemed hoopdance teacher, put it this way:

"Hooping in both directions not only develops both sides of your abdominals (and who wants a three pack, am I right?) and both sides of your back muscles, it supports your spine, increases your balance, helps you find your Center, allows you to move freely in all directions and to learn new movements faster as it re-wires the neural pathways in your brain, effectively making you smarter. It enhances your ability to do every pattern-related thing in your life, including but not limited to music, dancing, drumming, mathematics, planning and organizing."

So I picked up my hoop and spun it to the left.

At first it was awkward, uncomfortable, and difficult. I felt taken back to my first day hooping, when I spent an entire day locked in my room, bound and determined to be a part of this 'hooping thing.' Every step was filled with flailing arms, falling hoops and broken wall decor. I was dripping in sweat, exhausted, but I told myself that I wouldn't take 'no I can't do this' for an answer.

By the end of two or three songs, I could literally feel my back muscles thanking me for finally figuring it out. It felt almost refreshing. Suddenly I didn't have to worry about dropping anymore, and my muscles got comfortable doing something new and weird. I did it! I changed my direction! Shortly thereafter I ran out into the patch of sunshine in my yard and attacked the practice with my mini hoops that had me so discouraged yesterday.

I was inspired by today. I was inspired by myself, by my perseverance in doing what feels impossible right now, but will yield unbelievable results down the road.

Dear Me-Next-Time-You-Even-Think-About-Quitting:

Always seize the opportunity to try something a different, something a little uncomfortable. Put yourself out there and decide that you will get it down. Maybe not today, and maybe not this week. But you will. You can always lean on the many things you already know as encouragement to keep going. Besides, you thought you would never be able to hoop at the shoulders or do the vortex, and now you rock them. Love, Me

on hooping, day 45

I have nailed it!

No, I am not talking about hooping in the general sense. More importantly, I have reached the point in my hooping where it feels meditative, beautiful, personal and calming. I feel refreshed when I hoop. I am comfortable enough now that I don't have to pay attention always, and I can use it as a way to wind down and be with myself. Even after a twelve hour shift waiting tables and walking all day, nothing settles my senses and spirit like hooping.

I have to say: I started hooping to do beautiful things with a hoop, not necessarily to make my body more beautiful. But HOLY COW. Now I understand why people passionate about sports have so much fun while doing them, it just never really applied to me or my spirit. I left sports the very moment it started to matter whether we won or lost, I just don't have the competition appetite.

Weight isn't of huge important to me, whether in myself or others. But feeling wonderful and having the energy and health to love life matters. I started hooping to hoop. That being said, I fit in a pair of jeans I haven't worn in over a year because they felt too tight. Not only that, but they are pretty baggy. Epic win.

Benefits of hooping go far beyond the ability to do some mind-boggling tricks and dances.

It is empowering in so many ways. I have stamina. I can see muscles I didn't know existed. I have confidence. I have a skill I wasn't capable of before. I am learning what it's like to get to know yourself, spend time with your own spirit and be happy with who you find at the end of the day... really happy. There is also the added benefit of the huge community of encouraging hoopers, experienced and novice alike to inspire you on your journey. Not only that, but people get excited with you when you inspire them in return.

When I explain hooping to others, they do not usually understand. When I show hooping to others, they must get a hoop of their own. It is that simple and it is that addicting.

I never thought spinning and dancing with irrigation tubing would be so enlightening, empowering and free.

Thank you to my body! Thank you to my hoop!

-----
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you should visit:
http://www.hooping.org/

on the first amendment and liberty

Over two hundred years ago in December of 1791 the first amendment was born.

Most citizens of the United States know this, but most of us forget how essential and influential this date is in our stories and our lives. This is our liberty. Because of this date, we are free to worship or not worship. Because of this date, I was able to grow up in a loving home that was involved in a local church family. Because of this date, we have the security and freedom to worship whatever or whomever we please. We are who we are and have lived our lives according to this simple premise:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

These words are part of each of our stories, whether we reflect on them often or not at all.

What example and legacy, then, are we setting for our children and our world when we hear the words ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ and vehemently oppose something that we know nothing about? To clear up confusion among those who may not have researched this issue or have only seen clips from the mainstream media, this is not a mosque, nor is it at Ground Zero. Clyde Haberman of the New York Times had a great comment about the significant difference:

“There's that "at." For a two-letter word, it packs quite a wallop. It has been tossed around in a manner both cavalier and disingenuous, with an intention by some to inflame passions. Nobody, regardless of political leanings, would tolerate a mosque at ground zero. "Near" is not the same, as anyone who paid attention back in the fourth grade should know.”

I have seen protesters. I have seen signs written in ignorance and hate. Things like, ‘this is NOT your country,’ and ‘to embrace Islam is to embrace terrorism.’

Do I think it’s the greatest idea to place an Islamic community center in that location? Not necessarily, and that is not my point (nor should it be yours, if I may say so in the most endearing and loving way possible). The point is this. This issue as it is should not even be up for debate. I planned on a lengthy explanation before realizing that unless people are simply daft, all I need to explain is the following:

The moment we can tell a religious group that they can’t build a community center on private property, our freedom is at stake; all of our collective liberties and things our forefathers fought and died for will be in vain.

Your freedom and mine will be forever changed.

If we are to be true patriots, we are to behave as Jefferson said we must and defend and uphold the Constitution. He did not say that we ‘should.’ He said that we must.

Some of the signs of protesters I have seen say things like ‘Build Christian Churches in the Middle East.’ If we are to be the United States of America, a nation that has center stage in the global theater, then we must act accordingly. I vaguely recall something called The Golden Rule, something about ‘doing unto others’… but that must not apply to this particular situation.

I also wanted to somehow incorporate that we have massacred over one million Islamic people for their oil and as punishment for the actions of 9/11. I just couldn’t find a way include it nicely, because it is what it is; the antithesis of nice. Is that not enough ‘justice’ for some? If not, what will be?

Just give me liberty, okay?

While you’re at it, give it to my fellow countrymen who choose a different faith.

I digress.

“They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty nor security.” –Benjamin Franklin.



“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.



on making differences

When we entitled and blessed ones finally meet the Needy, I hope there are no more big screens or sweatshops. I hope we learn to think.

When Love wins, I hope there is no 'us' and 'them' anymore, just people who need one another, who need community.

I hope we learn to love more than just our money and our shopping malls. I hope 'success' is not equated with 'excess.'

I hope we find our conscience dictating what we buy and who and where it comes from.

Can we learn that nothing is every really 'thrown away?' Can we learn to be responsible consumers in a world dictated by mass production?

I hope we learn endless love and compassion for those outside ourselves... and I hope it makes a difference.


Things you and I can do today to be more awesome:

-Read the tags on the clothes and shoes you buy. If it's made outside of the U.S. or doesn't have a Fair Trade label, don't take the chance it was made by someone compensated unfairly.

-Visit a thrift store instead of a mall.

-Shop local, support local farmers.

-Buy coffee that is grown fairly and sustainably... Starbucks is actually making incredible strides to better their corporation and make a difference.

-Plant your own vegetables and watch them grow.

-Recycle. It seems trivial, but it adds up.

-Walk around your neighborhood (or even just outside on your own street) and pick up garbage.

-Find friends and come up with $25 to fund a microfinance loan and change a woman's life in the developing world. Watch their progress as they pay it back and make a difference locally.
http://www.opportunity.org/Page.aspx?pid=193

-Ride a bike or take the bus. Turn off lights. Hang your clothes to dry. Start to care about energy and where it comes from.

-Get inspired by watching this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_6iTCo5Ci8

Take victories in the small differences we all make. Be proud of what you can do.

on seattle

I love Seattle. I am falling in love with my life here.

I love our crazy, creaky, cobwebbed house filled with a myriad of ten interesting characters. I love that my front yard is like a rain forest with colors that are rich and dense. I even love the tacky, waist-high lawn ornament set of plastic penguins. They are more than slightly reminiscent of trailer trash, but all of the members in our household constantly move them to locations that are meant to stir up laughs in whoever sees them. Previous locations include the roof, up in a tree, in the front seat of someone's car, and in a hammock. This changes hourly. I love trying to explain our roommates to other people (Normal Steve, Pregnant Kendra, Adopted Woody, Crazy Don, Absent Terry, etc). I love most of my roommates and they have become friends.

I love my flower and vegetable garden. It took less than a day to turn the flower beds into something beautiful, earthy and fresh. I didn't wear gloves. I thought the naked earth would bother me, but I found everything interesting. Moving a rock and seeing what life is living under it; ripping up weeds and planting flowers with my bare hands.

I love driving home south on I-5 on a clear day to see Mount Rainier, majestic and sexy and alone on the horizon. This brings me to loving trees, and mountains, and saltwater scented air, and all of the above dancing with the skyscrapers and civilization. I love my job, and feeling appreciated, and getting paid for working hard.

I love neighborhoods that have character and individuality like Fremont, Capitol Hill, and Belltown. I love walking down Broadway and people-watching. I love Metsker's Maps in Pike Place. I love that in one month I can attend free art festivals, block parties, Iranian Film Festivals, a Pride Parade and dozens of Couchsurfing events. I love that we are in a place where we can open up our humble place to travelers and seekers. I love the sustainability and the mentality, the beautiful bohemians, the beats, the poets, the artists.

I love that I am 10 minutes from the beach at Golden Gardens, where we can build a fire and watch it grow; dip our toes in the waves and watch the sun fall behind the Olympic Mountains that are jagged, ancient, and real. This has been and will be my summer - inviting those wandering without a fire to come and join our own. Sharing music, stories, fire spinning and laughter with strangers that become part of our story.

I am starting to fall in love with my story again, and that is a good and lovely thing.