Natasha's blog - A boring title for a not boring blogger

Orthodoxy, Jane Bennet, Triathlons, moving to Seattle I prefer to attend Orthodox church. After the service (which is beautiful, and healing, and you can sit on the floor and smell the incense), the lunch hour begins. The congregation of 60-80 people primarily over the age of 60, drifts around the room and settles into their chosen seats around large circular tables. I like to root first. I have found that when I root first, others tend to root more quickly. I suppose it might be a game of elimination -- when 1 chair is no longer an option, I work to claim my own so as to avoid disappointment. Since kindergarten, I am disappointed when I don't get the chair I want. This is a theory; let's will move on. I always claim my spot first, primarily so that my mentor can come find me when she is ready. We will call her E. I sit and sip my tea and watch the regular members try to recall whether or not they have seen me before. Sunday mornings demand that everyone feel welcome. ...

#331 If you aren't familiar with Ironman, this is an endurance triathlon  Swim 2.4 miles Bike 112 miles Run 26.2 miles  Natasha's Race Info Race number: 331 Sunday August 21st  Swim starts at 6 am. I will enter the water I think around 6:25 am.  Transitions are around Independence Point. Finish Line is on Sherman, I believe at 1st Street. Might be 3rd street.  Estimated finish time : 9 pm There are Cut Off times through out the race. So if I disappear at some point unexpectedly I am either hurt or disqualified.  ------------------------------ --------------- Spectator Tips Swim: The swim is boring once all the racers are in the water, which will be by 7 am.  Bike: The course runs 2 loops. Starts at Independence Point, runs up to Higgins Point, then back down onto 95, up 95 about 20 miles past Mica Grange. Turn around at Setters Rd. *This is where I was recently stung by a bee.*  I think I should be on my bike...

Poverty, cups, and education -- they all matter Being that Visiting Voluntourist I obsessively read articles on voluntourism . If you aren't familiar with this term: volunteer + tourism = voluntourism. My family (please read: 2 parents, 2 high school siblings and 2 adult siblings) returned from voluntouring in Uganda 1 week ago.  All of the articles I have read up to this point criticize voluntourism. Why do rich Westerners spend thousands of dollars for a feel-good experience and then wave goodbye to an economically dependent, famished community? That money should be spent on established programs built to sustain the community and provide long-term SUCCESS. Any millennial can sip her imported coffee, admire her Afriheart tattoo and know she doesn't need to voluntour to impact the world. We visited Uganda for 2 weeks, focused our volunteering efforts on a rehabilitation program for trafficked minors, and focused our tourism efforts on thousands of photos with ...

Death, Spiders, Tumblr, and Uncertainty Writing a blog post after my brother dies feels dumb. As though I am pretending the right words can bring him back. Or at the very least, make me feel like I can control my environment by writing about it.  The day after his funeral, my family and I flew to Africa for a 2 week trip.  So this post will have two parts: My Brother Died  and  All the Layers of Uganda [with the Cheeley vibes]  My Brother Died Zach was 29. As I write this, tomorrow is his birthday. I never thought he would turn 30... 2 weeks ago, I high-fived him and told him I was proud of him for making it this far. He chuckled, drank some wine and said, "Me too! Thank you!" He liked wine. I went to bed a few minutes later, after a brief conversation about his road trip with our grandparents and how much he freaking loved Sasquatch - Music Festival. He lived for music festivals. Especially Sasquatch.  That conversation...

Significant mentions of Tina Fey and a full recap of the boys in my past This isn’t relationship advice. Just because I am dating someone, I don’t assume I know what I am doing. Presently I am dating Trevor. Trevor works as a paid volunteer firefighter. He loves to play disc golf, is obsessed with organic food, aims to buy and support local, his wardrobe is 95% WSU apparel + some underwear, and he loves to listen to the same song for days. I call those types of people Repeat Listeners -- which I am. Pastly I almost dated a wind turbine engineer, I dated a car-sales marketing rep slash triathlete, I thought I was dating a Music Teacher (turns out, we never dated), I summer-flinged a broken-hearted alcoholic (my diagnosis), I liked a guy who later decided he was gay, I dated a brilliant philosopher with no ambition, I dated a musician where I broke my own heart, I dated a really nice guy, and I dated The First Kiss… who I wish I was still friends with. Welcome to my ...

Multi-tasking is a lie & Don't be a stripper. Coach Mike swims with me on Tuesday mornings. I should probably say that I swim with Coach Mike on Tuesday mornings, but I invited him first. So he swims with me. One recent Tuesday morning, I arrived late and Mike had been swimming for 23 minutes without me. I apologized for being late, and hopped into the shallow end to begin my warm up. Mike kept swimming. I spent a nice solid 100 yards slamming my hand into the water, attempting to create the perfect explanation of my busy life, my new responsibility as a mentor, the struggles I am having (creating) with my boyfriend, resulting in a final perfect excuse for not attending Monday’s practice, and rationalizing my late arrival to Tuesday’s practice. There is a lot of thinking time when you swim. We simultaneously reached the deep end, and paused. I started on my eloquent Excuse Providing Speech. Mike quickly interrupted. “Cheeley, just get here. You can’t work if ...

I Got Labeled Cave Day, Crash Day, 9 hours of sleep ... all part of my lifestyle On Friday mornings, I teach water aerobics. This primarily consists of me standing on the pool deck, playing my favorite music, yelling at my elders about burning it out. I don't expect them to know what "it" is, but they better make it burn. One protein shake, 3 water bottles, and four hours -- it's basically a party and a half. Thus yet again, I have been dubbed "The Energizer Bunny." This happened in highschool volleyball, happened at camp (both summers), in college working in student government, and now as a Fitness Fanatic. There's a Secret Formula Once per week, someone asks me if they can have some of what I am taking. Well, here is my formula for an energetic lifestyle: 1. Sleep A LOT - Back in high school, I laid awake for about 2 hours before falling asleep. That was a draining lifestyle. Here are my current sleep needs: 3-5 mg of melatonin   e...