Below are the 7 most recent journal entries recorded in Gina's LiveJournal:

Tuesday, September 16th, 2003
11:14 am	Hmmm... the link I had tried for in my last entry didn't show up. I was trying for http://www.dhamma.org as my meditation link. We'll see if it'll work this time. And for those of you that want to reach me post-Oct. 1, you can catch me at the farm: 5167 Jeffersonton Rd. Jeffersonton, VA 22724 or my cell: (419) 560-2041 To check ou tthe farm I worked at last fall and will be returning to this fall, check out Wollam Gardens. K. Bye again. Gina (1 Comment |Comment on this)
10:50 am	Hello, Everyone. I'm sure "Everyone" is not too many folks at this point because I cannot manage to keep up with this journal. I swear I'll improve. Really I will. Lots has happened, as I'm sure you might have guessed. I believed I last left you all in Tucson. Well, I hauled out of there in May heading up to the east coast. Got a job in New Jersey with the parks service. I was working as a ridgerunner on the 73-miles of Appalachian Trail that runs through NJ. The job is sort of like a back-country ranger, minus the law enforcement and gun toting. I hiked up and down the stretch of trail and checked on hikers, did maintenance reports, occasional search and rescue, etc. The job was all and all pretty cool. Some ridiculous tensions arose with the Department of Environmental Protection folks that were managing things. Just a total inability to communicate with one another and/or us resulting in insurmountable confusion and annoyance on both sides. But this was all really peripheral. The job itself was pretty decent. That ended Sept. 1, Labor Day. Just the end of the season. Pat (who actually ended up working as a ridgerunner as well because someone quit early on in the season) and I left NJ and headed out on a 2 week car trip to visit some people in the midwestern region. First to Bowling Green/Toledo to see folks we knew from college. Then, Pat's friends from Columbus picked him up and took him to Columbus where he grew up. I went on to Chicago to visit and then Indianapolis. On Saturday, I swung through Columbus to spend the night and intercept Pat again. Now we're in Philly visiting my friend Tonya. Tomorrow we head out to go to another one of those meditation sits. This one's in Massachusetts. Sept. 17-Sept. 28. It'll be Pat's 1st, my 3rd + a couple I volunteered for. Again, in answer to any questions you might have [Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<br /www.dhamma.org>') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.] Hello, Everyone. I'm sure "Everyone" is not too many folks at this point because I cannot manage to keep up with this journal. I swear I'll improve. Really I will. Lots has happened, as I'm sure you might have guessed. I believed I last left you all in Tucson. Well, I hauled out of there in May heading up to the east coast. Got a job in New Jersey with the parks service. I was working as a ridgerunner on the 73-miles of Appalachian Trail that runs through NJ. The job is sort of like a back-country ranger, minus the law enforcement and gun toting. I hiked up and down the stretch of trail and checked on hikers, did maintenance reports, occasional search and rescue, etc. The job was all and all pretty cool. Some ridiculous tensions arose with the Department of Environmental Protection folks that were managing things. Just a total inability to communicate with one another and/or us resulting in insurmountable confusion and annoyance on both sides. But this was all really peripheral. The job itself was pretty decent. That ended Sept. 1, Labor Day. Just the end of the season. Pat (who actually ended up working as a ridgerunner as well because someone quit early on in the season) and I left NJ and headed out on a 2 week car trip to visit some people in the midwestern region. First to Bowling Green/Toledo to see folks we knew from college. Then, Pat's friends from Columbus picked him up and took him to Columbus where he grew up. I went on to Chicago to visit and then Indianapolis. On Saturday, I swung through Columbus to spend the night and intercept Pat again. Now we're in Philly visiting my friend Tonya. Tomorrow we head out to go to another one of those meditation sits. This one's in Massachusetts. Sept. 17-Sept. 28. It'll be Pat's 1st, my 3rd + a couple I volunteered for. Again, in answer to any questions you might have <br /www.dhamma.org>. Right. So some bigger news for those of you keeping tabs on my world. Made a little discovery while out in NJ. The info.'s not very old, but trust me... it's confirmed. Gina's pregnant. Yup. Let me type it again for those of you in the cheap seats. Gina's pregnant. 'Bout 2 mos. "Whoops" is certainly appropriate, but 'tis the case I assure you. So what now? We're looking at the possibility of open adoption, which is an adoption that ditches this whole notion of anonymity and allows for varying levels of involvement from the birth parents. But we also haven't ruled out keeping this little kiddo and raising it ourselves. I know... a mini-Gina. Frightening. So keep in mind - the next time I see you TX folks, I'll be a little tubby. Maybe. So there's a little update for all y'all that have been waiting for it. (Sorry, Jame!) I'm sure that those of you that read this will have lots to say. Feel free to respond. It'll email it to me. Do remember I will be out of touch for the next couple weeks with the sit though. Bye now. Gina (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, May 8th, 2003
3:56 pm	I'm always behind here. So here it is - I've been in Tucson for 6 weeks now. I leave on Saturday for PA where I train for my new job in NJ (the ridgerunner thing). I go from there out to NJ where I will be until Sept. Excited, scared, happy, sad... depends when you ask me. I am sure all will be well and that it will be a phenomenal experience. Anyway, this will have to stay short. I'll post some updates from the woods, I swear it. Gina (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, March 23rd, 2003
9:45 am	Oops. I just deleted my entry. Let's give this another shot. Still in Austin. After Tucson, I came back here and applied for a few more jobs. I had an interview with the Appalachian Trail Conference for a ridgerunner position (which I think I explained earlier as being a ranger that hikes up and down a stretch of trail). I heard back from them this past Tuesday and it seems I got the job! Too cool. It's only a short post. My training begins May 14 and the post ends on Labor Day. I've got NJ. In the interim, I found a place in Tucson and am looking to get a temporary job there. Hopefully I'll hear from folks on Mon. so that I can get started on my trek and make a little dough. There is a war on, for those of you that didn't know. Pretty much anyone who talks to me for more than a minute knows my feelings on the subject... suffering, anger, violence... I was in a protest last Saturday in Austin. Heard there were about 7000. Happy to participate. It was a pretty political weekend overall. On Sunday, I went to a rally at the capital sponsored by LGRL . The next day I was part of LGRL's lobby group at the capital lobbying for and against various bills up for committee, focusing largely on the DOMA (Defense of Marriages Act) bill. After the lobbying, I participated in a public hearing on DOMA, as did thousands of other folks. A group comprised of many varied conservative organizations from all over TX was established specifically to lobby and testify in support of this bill - Texans for Traditional Marriage. They were interesting. There were so many folks and we started late as it was; my testimony was taken just after 1:30am. Ugh. I am not real reassured that it won't make the floor. And there is no doubt that if it gets to the floor, it'll pass. Helped with a meditation course ( 1-day) for teens at a local high school. That was great. My brother Craig helped out as well. Other than that, I am just waiting out the weekend until I can talk to some possible employers on Monday. I'll keep you all posted! Gina (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 6th, 2003
8:35 am	Guess I ought to update this again, eh? Last I left you, I believe I was aimlessly in Austin after attending a meditation sit. Well, as of yesterday, I am again aimlessly in Austin. This is the most time I've spent here in a long time. I'm getting a little antsy. For the last 8 days I have been in Tucson, AZ visiting my friend Pat and some other folks I know there. Tucson's a pretty cool town... My opinion gets higher each time I go, but this may be in large part because I keep discovering people I know there. Who knows. I'm basically allowing employment to dictate where I'm going. I have an interview with the Appalachian Trail Conference, New Jersey NFS, and some other similar folks on Monday for a post as a ridgerunner on the 72 mile stretch of Appalachian Trail through NJ. NJ wouldn't be my 1st choice along the AT, but that's who's pursuing, so I'll check things out. A ridgerunner, by the way, is basically a ranger that hikes the trail. I backpack out for several days and then off for a couple. More specifics after Monday. The folks for teaching English in Taiwan are also in hot pursuit, but I may delay until next year because of my friend Stacy's wedding and so I won't have to miss Xmas. Other than that, not a lot of bites yet. I need to decide in the next week though. Might go work on a farm the next 2 months to get some cash flow while I wait for one of these seasonal jobs to get going. And I think that's all as far as location and employment go. Otherwise, not much going on. My buddy Oscar's been in the hospital and I'm picking him up today. Probably hang out on his couch this afternoon and vegetate. I'll update again soon. Gina (Comment on this)
Sunday, February 16th, 2003
9:27 pm	Alright, alright. Proficient I'm not. So, I sent most of you a "What's Up With Gina?" update a month or two ago, so I'm going to work on the assumption that you are all up to speed until around about the 1st of the year. Well, I came to Austin, as tradition holds, to celebrate my birthday, Xmas, and New Year's with my family and friends here. My brother and I planned to attend a 10-day meditation sit (like the two I've attended previously) in January, so I decided to stay in Austin until then. I was working on financial stuff for Rainmaker - the Costa Rican rainforest post I'd mentioned before - so it seemed a good opportunity to get some work done. Anyway, the sit got canceled and Craig and I decided to attend the following one in February (Feb 5-16). I took a trip out to Tucson for a little bit, which was fun and got me out of the 'burbs for a bit. Then back to my ma's in Austin. To start summing this up, I got back here and did some more work, but the gig with Rainmaker unfortunately fell through. 'Tis life, yes? Then the creative quest began to figure out - What Now? I've sent out applications to a variety of random and largely seasonal or contract jobs all over the place - Global Exchange, Appalachian Trail Conference, Footprints (teach English in Taiwan), Nantahalla Outdoor Center, and more. I just sort of sent out resumes to whatever popped into my mind as interesting, but who knows what I'll actually pursue. I've had only a couple bites - predominantly the folks for Taiwan - but I'm making no decisions quite yet. I am also contemplating going "long term" at one of the meditation centers around the world in the tradition of what I have been practicing. I inquired a bit this weekend and it seems I am welcome at at least on facility, but again, I still have my feelers out. I would like to decide something in the near future instead of perpetually occupying my mother's guest room while I think it over. I would imagine I'll know in the next couple weeks. Or at least have made some move. I think I'm waiting for something to hit my as ideal. Who knows... Maybe I just need to create my own ideal. Keep you posted. Right. So Craig and I headed to visit my father in Dallas Feb 1 and were gone until this afternoon, having headed straight from my father's to the meditation sit. It ended today and we've now arrived back in Austin. So now what? Keep poking around to figure out where to next; make some important decisions I've been hesitant to; maybe a little trip... Some thing will happen soon. It always does. I have been keeping a schedule of 4:30am-9:30pm the last couple weeks, so it is a bit past my bedtime. I am going to drift on to other things before I fall unconscious. Good night. May you all be happy. Gina (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, January 25th, 2003
1:34 pm	I opened the recommended Live Journal account. I find it sincerely doubtful that this will be kept with any kind of regularity, but I plan to make it my goal to drop a little somethin' somethin' here every couple of weeks. (Or, you know, when I think of it...) Thanks, Jame! Gina (Comment on this)