Tell me your thoughts on fracking

On my way into Starbucks a guy walking across the parking lot wearing a jester hat and a large golden ankk around his neck flips his dreds and says, "Morning, yo..."  Somehow the two words are condensed into one syllable.
#morninghi(gh)

"You really don't like kombucha?"
"No, it tastes like flavored beer.  Mixed with dirt."

Posted to my page:
"I have to share my experience at Friendly Joe's on the Sebastopol Plaza this morning with you! The next woman in line, after I got my delicious locally roasted coffee drink, brought her own mug (as I did also of course!) but it was already full - the barista turned to her coworker and said, 'she brought her own sheep milk, we can use this, right?'!  I thought to myself only in Sebastopol..."

I ran into someone who lives elsewhere in the county.  Within four minutes of conversation he had talked about a yoga workshop, restorative yoga, vinyasa flow and a meditation CD. 
Me:  "How is it you don't live in Sebastopol?"

Shopping at Community Market When You Are Not From Here
"There are no normal drinks here!  I think that there is no Coke or soft drinks in all of Sebastopol."

Putting away props after yoga, the woman next to me says, "How are you moving so fast?  I just want to sit here."
"I'm moving quickly because I'm trying to get to Whole Foods before it closes.  You should take your time!"
She looks at me solemnly.  "Don't let Whole Foods kill your yoga buzz."

Bumper sticker:
KEEP CALM AND GET IN THE VORTEX

Rental interviews in West County ...
So, you looking to put down roots for awhile?  We're a pretty mellow household, wanting the same in a renter along with some stability.  Do you wear perfume?  Do you cook beef?  Do you use only organic cleaning products?  Tell me your thoughts on fracking.  Are you willing to wear a pussy hat to stay warm because we don't use the heater on account of fracking, naturally.  How do you feel about kombucha enemas?  Would you be open to communal kombucha enemas as a way to solidify our connection as co-creators in housing?  Oh, by the way, think you can not be here most of the time?  That would be great...
(status update of the week, by Shannon)


License plates:
WEST CO
INTUITED
DHARMA
DBL HAPI

Natural stimulants

Me:  "There is more chocolate than normal right now because of Valentine's day.  Chocolate is a big thing in west county!" 
My sister:  "Well, apparently.  There are ceremonies about it."

Discussing HailMerry chocolate tarts: 
"I am a good source for addictive vegan chocolate."

A woman and I in line at Whole Foods noticed we both had the same Rebbl chocolate drink.  She explained she just got out of a yoga class and needed something to jack her up a bit so she could get some things done.  "If I don't have one of these after yoga I go home and I'm just a blob."  She also likes to drink them when she does the treadmill.
(And I've written many a blog post after a Rebbl mocha nightcap.)

A worker at Starbucks disclosed that one morning she walked up to work listening to a guy delivering a diatribe to his friend regarding the "Support Organic Farms" bumper sticker on a truck.  "How can someone with this sticker be coming to Starbucks?!"  He listed multiple reasons why this was not okay.
His friend:  "Maybe they aren't here for Starbucks.  Maybe they are going to the physical therapy place or the Kefiry." 
Pause.  "That could be true."
(#needlesstirades)

From one of my community moles:
"I will shop at CVS.  Already have.  Probably have my hood up so I don't get tarred and feathered by the progressives.  I'd hate to get run out of town by people who haven't lived here as long as I have."

On a t-shirt: 
"got radiance?"

Chatting with someone at Milk and Honey, he told me a visitor of his roommate's asked where a mall was.  He directed her to The Barlow.  "No, a real mall," she emphasized.
"I was like, 'Honey, you're in Sebastopol.  We don't have a McDonald's, a Chili's or even a Trader Joe's.  The closest you'll get to a mall is standing in line for the bathroom at Whole Foods during farmers market."

"If I hear one more person who drives a nice Prius tell me they're broke I'm going to lose it."

I did want to clarify from my previous post that the "Minds of Serial Killers" was not a joke.  It has come up on the side of my Sebastoblog Facebook page several times as "People who like Sebastoblog also like..." 
(I'm not saying I understand it.  Explanations welcome.)







www.facebook.com/sebastoblog/

Rain, fog and cleanses

Although this did not take place in Sebastopol it very well could have.  My sister's close friend, who resides locally, was invited by her landlord to do a vision board.  She told my sister, "I don't really want to but I'm afraid I'm going to offend her if I say no!"  My sister thought, only in Sonoma County does someone have to worry about offending their landlord for lack of wanting to do a vision board!

"Cleansing is hard and can be taxing on the body and take a lot out of you.  People around here talk about cleanses like they are talking about the weather."

My sister has been letting others store items in her garage, and with the housing shortage storage has become a bigger issue.  Someone suggested to her she could rent out her garage to people who don't have enough storage space at home.  "And it's Sebastopol," I pointed out.  "You could say you will store their things and also smudge their boxes periodically."
My sister also mused, "If you're storing crystals rest assured they will be moved to the nearest window once a month during the full moon for direct moonbeam cleansing."

From a reader:  "It was kind of late and I was tired.  I was texting outside Starbucks trying to meet up w/my son and it was cold and this flashing light was sooo annoying.  I thought it was a flashing open sign.  When I finished the texting back and forth and looked up I saw it was a flashing 'yoga' sign.   I lol'd.  Where else would you see a neon flashing yoga sign?!"

A Milk and Honey worker was telling me about a woman who got offended by a Lakshmi card when she walked in.  The cards are literally right next to the door.  "She couldn't even make it past the cards?" I noted.
"I thought, our whole store is probably going to be a big problem if that offended you!"

Someone I used to work with was chatting with me about wilderness tours.  At one point he mentioned, "I used to live in South Lake Tahoe.  When people talked about guides they usually meant of the wilderness type.  I'm finally used to around here - when people are referring to guides they usually mean spirit."

A friend visiting from out of state, who used to live in this area, exclaimed: "Oh, my god!" then changed it to, "Oh, my goddess!  I forgot what jurisdiction I was in."

It came up on my Facebook page that people who like Sebastoblog also like:
Sonoma Land Trust
 (makes sense)
Noreen Evans for Supervisor
 (makes sense)
Psychotic Minds of Serial Killers
 (um....?)


License plates:
GRNDEUR
ARTZ GRL
ZINNED

Yin yawn

At a coffee shop:
"I hate spell checking things."
"I use google for spell check now.  Just type in a word and see if I'm spelling it right."
Third person:  "I just intuit if something is spelled right.  I feel it in my body."

In addition to the tension on the world stage, in Sebastopol there has also been the opening of the new (controversial) CVS.  I mentioned to someone in a text I had to swing by there on my way to meet her.  She responded, ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO CVS??
Me:  I'm just exchanging something.
Her:  You can't go there!!
Me:  I bought something from there a month ago and it doesn't work.  I'm EXCHANGING it. 
Her:  Ok.  But you can't shop there.
Me:  No money will be involved.
Her:  Ok. But tell other shoppers they should boycott it.
Me:  I highly doubt I'm going to do that.

And with a group and the subject of CVS came up:
"Don't go to the new CVS."
"Yeah, buy things somewhere else."
"Anywhere else!"
(jokingly:) "Don't even look at it when you drive by!"

"Perhaps at a soul level she has called this person into her life and it will be a learning opportunity for her.  Maybe it's for her long-term growth or her inner healing.  Or maybe totally not."

At the Ma Muse concert where there were quite a few women in the audience:
"This is a very yin crowd."
"Yeah, that's shocking in Sebastopol."

Words of the week:
Sebastospiritual
local-n-organic (one word)

"You know her," I told my friend.  "She's the one who dresses like...  How do I describe it?  Like she's in a made-for-tv movie that takes place on a seventies commune."
"Oh, I know who you are talking about now."

My community mole overheard a customer:  "I'm sorry I'm yawning so much, I just got out of yoga.  It chilled me out so much I just want to lie down and take a nap in the middle of Whole Foods."


License plates:
AOHMM
NR JYZR
BIZ DIVA
WE CHILN

Wine tasting and nice people

From a friend regarding the previous post and west county phrases:
"We used to use that term [over-meditated] when we'd gone to one-too-many retreats.  I didn't know other people used it too."
And a few more:
 paleo-vedic diet
 too incensey
 quasi-vegan
 chocolove
 zin zen

Years ago I worked in the addictions field and heard many arguments between people who were usually coming off of meth.  Recently I was at the library and two people sitting near me starting arguing in a similar manner.  While I've heard tweakers verbally attack each other, I had never heard it laced with new age sentiments.
"I'm not going to talk about this any more!"
"I choose not to expose myself to this toxicity."
"I'm not toxic - you're toxic!  I don't want all this negative thinking."
"Live one day at a time and if you can't then don't complain to me."
{expletives}
"I'm leaving, you're exposing me to negative energy and I don't need this."
{they are practically yelling now}
"It's not my fault you don't know how to be at peace."
"I need to go somewhere to calm down and breathe.  This stress is not good.  I'm better than this!"  {slams things into his backpack and takes off}
"You are judging me!  It's not good for your recovery!"

I spoke with someone who used to work at a shop in the Barlow.  She told me things people used to lament about:  "'The music is too loud.'  'The music makes me not want to shop.'  So we put on relaxing music, then folks complained it sounded like a massage parlor.  'Is this candy bar filled with milk chocolate and caramel sugar-free?'  'Why are there so many yoga studios/wineries/ hipsters?'  'People here are too nice.'"

"That crystal does not bring me good luck.  I'd need my purple one for that."

"In this town you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Prius or wine-tasting room."

I mentioned to my sister I was getting together with some women to do vision boards for the new year.  She left a message, "I can't believe you are making vision boards.  That is so 2007."


License plates:
OFF EDGE
SOY BOY
ZEN DOG
BEACHIN

Excuse me while I tincturize

Waldorf rebellion in Sebastopol - 8th graders dressing up in their adult onesies at school even though teachers had not granted approval. 

Me:  "Happy New Year's, if you celebrate that."
Dude:  "There are people who don't celebrate New Year's?!"
Me:  "I never know around here.  Some holiday wish can seem very benign and still you get, 'I don't celebrate that.  Every day is a celebration to me.'"
"Yeah, that's kind of true."

"Sebastopol - where a lot of shallow people are doing a lot of deep work."

My friend overheard a woman asking about different yoga classes offered.
"We have yoga and chanting, yoga and sound, yoga and meditation, yoga welcoming the new year."
"Is it possible to do a generic yoga class?" the potential student asked.
"I'll have to check - we must have a normal yoga class.  I think we do anyway."

Directions to a holiday party:
"Make a sharp left at the large tree.  Look for several mailboxes in a row and turn into the second driveway.  On the left you'll see an area where at any given time there are at least 3 Priuses.  That is where you park..." 

After my supplementizing neighbor, I kept my ears open for west county phrases (and asked a few locals):
tincturizing
over-meditated
elixir date
tahini-ish
post yoga haze
macanate
gluten crash

My young niece, dancing into the room while brushing her teeth:  "I'm using toothpaste with chemicals in it.... I'm using toothpaste with chemicals in it..."

A friend was rearranging her desk and computer area in her office.  She made a few remarks about feng shui.  Her boyfriend sighed.  "I'm not following you."
I interjected, "I think when you're not in Sebastopol it's called ergonomics."


License plates:
CUDL FSH
HEC YEH
SAGE FEM
LUV WNS







www.facebook.com/sebastoblog/

Chakra shoppers

A woman announced to her co-workers it was a "venti" day.  Everyone chuckled in agreement, holding their mochas, espresso and coffee drinks.  My friend laughed extra hard later when she realized the venti woman was talking about her large cup of herbal tea.

A Whole Foods shopper on her cell phone discussing Christmas dinner:
"Go ahead and tell me.  Dietary restrictions don't scare me.  At home I've got a vegan, someone avoiding wheat and my son who's just an extremely picky eater."

I had retrieved a bottle of ginger tablets I left somewhere and was carrying them with me while shopping downtown.  In Copperfield's I commented to an employee about it.  Looking at them, she shook her head and noted, "That's not anything.  You should see the weird and bizarre bottles of I-don't-know-what that have been left here.  At least I've heard of ginger."

A teacher's aide in an elementary school told me about a boy in her classroom who informed his teacher he was not allowed to say the name Trump.  The teacher inquired, "What do you call our President-elect at home?"
"We're allowed to say 'the man who lost the popular vote.'"

Woman exiting Whole Body a few days ago:  "Happy whatever!"

"I thought with your beard and your guitar you ate really healthy."
"No... I pretty much will eat anything."
"This stuff is full of sugar."
"That's not a problem."

Facebook post of the week:  "Sitting in a chair named 'Lavender' eating an ice cream called 'Witchcraft' at Screamin' Mimi's..."

My neighbor:  "I didn't get as sick as them.  I supplementized well."

A few years ago when I was holiday shopping at a crystal store the owner showed me some jewelry pieces.  One had seven colors, each corresponding to a chakra.  As she was explaining this to me I asked what she said to people who don't know about chakras.  "Well, if they are gay then I say, 'Gay pride!'  If they aren't gay and don't know what chakras are, then I just say, 'Look, it's a pretty rainbow.'"



License plates:
DOOMS DAY
OM GURUU
SSSTEAM
WINE *




(* and your point would be...?)