It’s official. I start at AdventureSmith Explorations today as their new content & office manager! I’m excited to be back on a team, especially one that has such an exciting expertise: adventure travel. Maintaining and refreshing the AdventureSmith website is one of my primary tasks, so I’ll be deep in the SEO/web copy trenches again. While this is going to mean way less freelance work, I’ll still keep this blog updated with my side contract work, life, travel, crafting, and accomplishments at AdventureSmith. I’ve got quite a few editing gigs still in the queue this month, so it’s going to be a busy yet fun one!

Last month I participated in a poetry slam at Bona Fide Books, for the opening of Benjamin Arnold’s exhibit “Breathing Rusted Rivets.” Us volunteer poets had to get up before an audience and judging panel, spouting out poems we created from words pulled from a hat in mere minutes.

Here are the words and the poems I created from them. Vernon Lee, whose back is pictured in the photo at left, crushed the competition to take first, but I ended up landing second place, just a point or two above two other fierce poets, Heather Kenison (pictured at right) and Janet Smith (pictured at left).

SOUL

(An ode to Erin Bechtol, Bona Fide’s editorial assistant who is leaving later this month for Seoul, Korea)

Seoul, Soul

Erin’s moving to Seoul,

the goddess of book fairs,

the queen of the Bona Fide knoll,

the heart, the

soul, soul,

Erin’s leaving for Seoul

for a canoli with kimchi,

for an adventure, for a new way to roll

with soul, soul,

Erin’s really leaving for Seoul

Erin, we’ll miss your soul!

SEX

(My rendition on this word is inspired by someone once telling me that pollen in the air was like watching flower sex. I might work on this poem to convey that more, but here it is as written/performed.)

Spring opens up her dewey arms

petals say yes to the light

my nostrils tingle

a stinging tear in my eye

a-a-a-choo!

The air’s thick with…

FLOWER SEX.

KNUCKLE

When my pen’s lazy

it snuggles with my knuckle.

Right on in there

between the bony joints

like a slothful cigarette

biding its time for the burn.

Oh how I try to coerce it

into that prolific

threesome with the thumb,

but it just wants to snuggle,

with the knuckle.

I never thought I’d say this, but I’m a poet laureate. Of Wildflour Baking Company in Squaw Valley. Oh yes, it’s quite the honor, and I have the credentials to prove it (photo evidence above). Not sure what sorts of poems I’ll be required to write for the bakery, but I’m happy to do so! I won the Wildflour Favorite (adult) category in their annual Valentine’s poetry competition—not the grand prize (of a full season’s cookie pass), but somehow they deemed me worthy of poet laureate status.

Without further ado, I present to you my winning poem:

I am not a runner. Or at least that’s what I always told myself. I can sprint all day on an ultimate field, but get me on a trail and 3 miles was always my max. I once ran 6 miles. That was a big day.

But something bit me this fall. Ultimate frisbee season was over, I had a few months of down time before skate skiing, and Tahoe’s snow was on a serious vacation (still is). So I started running. I downloaded the Runner’s World half marathon training guide, and began a 9-week process to turn me into a runner. I admit my half marathon goal may seem very small (especially when you compare it to all the people out there doing really big things—the Lolë president’s journey up Kilimanjaro, for one). But you’ve got to start somewhere and this was an attainable goal that I decided to do as much for the training as for the race itself.

Week one of training had me at 20 miles, and I worked my way up to 31 miles/week. I primarily ran trails, and they ranged from right outside my door up to Paige Meadows to horse trails in Woodside, California, to ridgeline paths in Reno above the Patagonia outlet. This was one of my favorite things about running—exploring new trails. Reno has some amazing spots… those hills always call to me and I finally explored some of that high dessert terrain. Here are a few of my favorite vistas (and most memorable ones—wet meadow crossings, ugh!) from my training:

The other thing that amazed me in the process is that I enjoy running. Sometimes I’d dread heading outside, especially with Tahoe’s icy roads and trails, cold rain and frigid air as obstacles, but as soon as my feet starting hitting the ground I’d feel this sense of relief. Running became my relaxation, a place that I could meditate and let my mind stop churning.

Things went great, except when I ran a faster-than-usual 5 miles on pavement in week 8 and some serious knee pain set in. I’m not sure if I’m cut out for this long-distance running thing, but perhaps I’ll just train longer and slower next time. Knee pain and all, I finished the race though: the 2011 ZombieRunner Bay Trail Run. Mile 9 was the toughest for me. And next time I’ll avoid the Clif Shot, which did a number on my belly. But I’m happy to say that I finished in good form. My time was 2:10 so I ended up right in the middle of the pack: 24th in my age group of 47 women, and 106th out of 199 total runners. My pace was a 9:58-minute mile.

the official finish line photo

the spoils from my accomplishment: a tech t-shirt, sopping wet hair, and a medal!

Special thanks to the iMapMyRUN iPhone app, which helped me log all my miles, and to Lolë for outfitting me for the journey. Couldn’t have done it without your leggings!! I’ll be blogging about my favorite running gear on the Tahoe Mountain Sports blog soon. See photos of the Bay Trail half marathon course here.

I’ve been crushing on ombre hair (that subtle fade from dark at the roots to lighter at the tips) for some time now. And lucky me… Lucie at Shine Hair Studio in Tahoe City wanted to experiment with the technique. After some 7 years without dying my hair I was surprisingly ready to handle some bleach.

Excuse the dumb (half-smile) look on my face in the “after” shot at right, but this picture shows the ombre best I think. Lucie did a great job of still keeping my look natural I must say. Many of my friends noticed the cut before the color. Except when I’m wearing a hat and only the uber-blonde shows!

Lucie and Shine are at 2695 Lake Forest Rd, Carnelian Bay, (530) 583-3193. Look her up… she is a master at cut and color, and just plain fun to spend an hour or two with.

For my birthday this year my mom gifted me this wooden perpetual calendar, which she’s flipped over the numbers of daily since before I was born. Such an amazing gift, and a daily ritual I’ll keep for the rest of my life. Happy birthday to you, mom! 11/28/11

I never met Steve Jobs, but after modeling in 4 projects for Apple, I like to think that he liked me—or at least my face.

What an honor to be so close (if only in image) to such a genius. Here are a few shots I found of my face at Apple keynote addresses. Thanks for the opportunity Steve. And thanks for all you’ve done for technology. My life is surely better for it.

Last day in Perdido Key, Florida, then it’s back to California for work, Wanderlust, and my birthday. You sure are fun, July 2011.

My favorite quote from the latest Moonshine Ink edition (on stands today!): “I don’t hang out with any chickens, but my sister Olive acts like one.” –Flip Speckleman of Flip’s Friends (he’s a canine columnist, if you’re not a regular Moonshine reader)

And while you’re reading, be sure to check out my DiStill Life column on Detours: Tahoe City, an installation art exhibit coming to town in August and September. Just look for my face and the image above in the back of the paper!

UPDATE Or read it here: Art Less Traveled

I’ve had the Instagram app for about a year on my iPhone, but the sign-up start screen always scared me away… I’m not too big on apps anyways. But then one day I signed in, and started using it, and using it, and using it… and now I can’t stop!! Here are some of my favorites so far. Follow me on Twitter or Instagram (lis_k) to see them all.