Little by Little

Goodbye, Seattle

2009-11-13T19:04:00.000-08:00

It is a process
extricating myself from this city
like boiling tears to find salt
or uprooting a reluctant tree
I suck on each memory patiently
savoring how the textures have changed in my mouth
resisting the urge to bite, to pack my bags and leave tomorrow
My gnarled roots go too deep to tether
so let's pull and pull together
this process is goodbye

In Seattle, in autumn, the boulevards become cathedrals
the stained glass windows are chestnut trees
(they tithe by throwing down glossy artillery)
and the pew (PEW PEW) is my motorcycle
I bomb through the streets hymning nonsense songs I make up for the sheer joy of living
Blessed art thou? Nah, Blessed art I, motherfuckers.
Blessed art I to be here, right now.

In Seattle, in Autumn, I hold court with two toddlers.
Beautiful, they greet me in french
hold their arms in the air like little white flags
surrendering to their need to be held.
Which is, more honestly, my need to be held
by sticky little fingers and soft noses in my neck.
All of the small wonders that stop me mid-step:
the first time she said my name
the way his hands so delicately pluck apple slices off of the tabletop
In Autumn, they learned to speak.
They learned to run from tree to tree in the park
chanting "rough rough rough!" into the bark
In Autumn, they kissed me goodbye
leaving Cheerios on my cheeks for the last time.

In Seattle, in Autumn, we built a gym
a gym, and JIM we called him
hewn by our hands as a fellowship of monkeys
I sanded the edges for you
We matted, painted, carpeted and filled him
with joy and community
success, sweat, and weights
Moar bars in moar places we chanted
as they went up one by one
"we need one here, so people can lache"
"and one over here for pullups and play"
So, hammers and nails and buckets of varnish
reused plywood and rails rusty tarnished
in Autumn, we built a JIM.

And in Autumn, I'll say "Goodbye" to him.
He who runs so deep in me.
There's hardly been a day in the past five years
when I haven't woken him with eggs and tea
(he takes two sugars, not three, and cream)
We don't talk much anymore,
but I know he knows
That I will miss him most of all.
It's him I'll call, when my pride falls.
When I wish I hadn't left.
and the "Hey girl" he uses to say hello
will fill my heart, bereft.
Him, my champion of peaceful silence and headstands in awkward places.
In Autumn, I'll pack my heart up too, and leave him in Her ample graces.

New places? New places.
I'll tie up my laces and go belong somewhere else
I'm sure the sun shines on the East Coast too
and oak trees throw down artillery shells
And there's good work to be worked, and tears to be jerked
and the hobos play jazz with soul
And there's a new Him with arms like oceans
vast, capable, and true
with eyes like storms, and hands deeply worn
and a voice that says "I love you"
And means it. And all that makes it worth it.
Worth tying up loose ends on traveling sacks
and Goodwilling most of my clothes
worth stopping this life right dead in it's tracks
and trying this new, larger path I've chose.

I will be back, often, and loudly.
Love you all,
Janine

Hands

2009-09-30T22:34:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody. I'm back in school. This will mean many writings will be thrown upon this website. Here's the first.

My teacher asked us to bring in something from home that symbolized who we are, and write about it. This is what happened:

My symbolic object isn't, precisely, an object. The very word "object" implies inanimation, whereas my subject is very warmly alive, adaptive, and thoughtful. The best representation of myself I can bring to you are my hands.

My hands are the only things I've ever had that have been mine to own, to control, and to trust never to be taken from me. I've made them into something I can be really proud of. They are small, seemingly fragile looking, with short, tattered nails. They are swarthy, becalloused by gymnastics rings, bars, and hot coffee pitchers. My fingers are capped with the influence of my steel-stringed guitar, the backs of my hands spattered with well-earned scars. My bones are laced with the evidence of many days spent pulling down hard on bouldering walls, juggling, twirling fire, and building decks. They are ink-stained, palm-ripped, scar-covered, veined like young ivy, and remarkably adept. These are hands that know how to catch a back handspring, scrub up a park playground, play moonlight sonata on a baby grand, build a house, birth a foal, knit a sweater, throw a punch, hold a sword, and gently rock a baby to sleep. They are not an aspiration of what I hope to be, but evidence of what I've done, a scrapbook of my time here so far.

What I adorn my wrists with changes as old strings fray away and new threads replace them, but etched permanently into my skin is a french proverb that's not going anywhere. It says "Etre fort pour etre utile." "Be strong to be useful." The font is from a messy typewriter with a crooked "l", ink spatters abounding unapologetically. That phrase, evidenced by the visual aids that are my hands, is the best introduction I can give you to who I am, what is important to me, and what I will always work to aspire to.

Updates!

2009-02-23T16:21:00.001-08:00

It's been a little while since I've posted, so I figured I'd catch you all up on what's been happening.

First of all, I've been chatting for the past few months with various members of the Latin American community about flying down, training, and setting up some femme jams this summer in various locations. Super exciting stuff! I'll keep you all posted as more information gets set in stone.

Secondly, I discovered a really awesome and affordable gymnastics gym just outside of Seattle that I'm now haunting as a gym rat. The community in this gym are just the sort of people I love hanging out with; happy, driven, and excited to see others succeed. The mat burns are completely worth it. :)

Thirdly, I'm heading back to Texas on Thursday to meet up and train with some good old friends from around the nation that I haven't seen in a while. Should be a fun and exhausting week.

Yep, I'm a lucky girl.

Video!

2009-02-13T19:07:00.000-08:00

A new twist on some things you might have seen other places. Creativity drills at Gasworks Park.

Miami

2009-02-11T19:26:00.000-08:00

Out this double paned, be-snowflaked airplane window, Miami is shrinking all too fast into a sea of highway cobwebs. My grubby, torn-up hands in sharp contrast with the manicured nails of the stewardess as she hands me my drink. This has been one hell of a week.

The goal for this trip was to head down to lovely Miami and partake in the filming of an action flick filmed by some really dedicated friends of ours. All of the characters are based off of super heroes/villians, and Tyson and I were brought on to play baddies. Sounds like fun, eh? Oh yes.

The crew:
Steve, playing the role of Parker (spiderman). A very sweet, very capable, and very tired fella who should sleep for a week.
Austin, playing Logan (wolverine). A quiet, badass kind of hero who just took a huge beating on set this week.
Adrian, playing Castle (the punisher). Incredible stuntman, incredible friend, incredible traceur.
Jaime, playing Selina (catwoman). Rocking awesome chick, perfect for the part.
Tyson, playing Brock (venom). I never knew he was that good at stunt falls and combat scenes.
Eddie, Eric, Rick, and Jared, awesome Miami PK traceurs brought to set to kick ass. Mission accomplished.
Pete, Natalie, Karin, Adam, Andy, etc etc etc..these folks are as dedicated to their art as we are to ours.
Aaaand me. I played Lynn, the "lady punisher". As ruthless as she is loyal. As bruised as she is happy, which is very.

I'm not going to spoil the film by writing a synopsis here, but I'll let you know that there are only a few pages of dialogue, and masses of action scenes. Just a few of the b.t.s. highlights: New to stunt-fights, I accidentally really smacked Austin quite a few times, in quite a few places. Tyson was hit with multiple flying tables, thrown like frizbees behind his back. Jaime did the fastest muscle-up ever... and I'm not telling how. And Adrian got so in to his character he started to smash pretty things. SMASH!

In between the 5pm to 5/6am call times, we found time to hit up a local gymnastics facility called Octaviano's (highly recommended if you're in the area), eat at a Brazilian Steakhouse (Dios Mio.. so good), climb coconut trees and bash open the findings, tase ourselves (zappity zap zap), chase kittens, create a new sideshow act centered around a newspaper box, and turn 21. Whee!

I can't wait to go back! Next on the itinerary is Vancouver Canada, and then off to Texas at the end of February. The tricky bit is that I've lost all interest from "normal" employers because of my crazy schedule. Wish me luck on finding work that understands my need to be able to leave at the drop of a hat, be consistently a little bruised up, and unable to work weekends and nights due to parkour classes and workshops. ; )

Texas, Round 2

2009-01-20T18:17:00.000-08:00

Let's have a chat about Texas, shall we?

I landed at the airport and nearly walked past the man in the shiny hat holding a sign with my name on it. He had a limo waiting. WHA?! That was a first. I actually had to tell him thanks but no thanks. I'd rather ride with Devin. Headed with Matthew to Austin where solid training, solid learning, and awesome little kids proceeded to rock my socks in a box for most of the week. Matthew has a gift for coaching, and it was great to learn some tips from him.

Then it was off to San Antonio to train with other good friends of mine on the streets and in the gymnastics gym they should call a second home. Devin, Mike, Jereme, Rebecca, and crew were all really fun to watch and train with. Very inspiring in their attitude towards training, and how they conquer fear. Rebecca and I even tried some acro-balancing and got close to sticking some poses. Wonder Twin powers activate! Late nights washed into early mornings faded into a sleepless night spent dressed up like a zombie and drooling fake blood over gorgeous girls. Nice.

There was also a photoshoot in Houstin with a man named Micheal Shulz who takes the most epic shots. I mean.. this guy takes a picture of you standing (just standing) and, magically, you look like a BAMF. I'll be posting up his pics as I get them, so stay tuned for that.

The main reason I was in Texas was a performance for an Ortho-Nutrogena corporate conference. Performing/training with Devin and Matthew is a really cool experience. Super humble and supportive fellas, those two. They seem to have a way of getting me to go 100% and accomplish things I wouldn't have thought I could beforehand. Can't wait till the next time.

The actual performance was really nerve wracking at first. We only got about an hour to set up, choreograph, and practice our gig before we had to give the stage back to the speakers to practice on. I was so nervous that I couldn't keep any food down that morning, and by the time I was waiting in the wings to run into the spotlights, my heart was beating hard enough I could feel it in the tips of my fingers. When I started running though, it was just like training by myself. Everyone else in the room but Matthew and Devin faded to grey and my mind was totally calm. The boys were just awesome in their stunts, fluidity, and timing.. and I surprised myself with what I pulled off too. Apart from the actual movements, I actually skipped, danced, giggled, and got the crowd to clap to the beat for us during the show. :) Next time I won't waste time puking.

We got to stay at the Hyatt that night with free reign of the hotel.. heck yes. If that's where parkour and movement will get me, I'm going to dive harder and jump higher every day. That makes all the sore muscles and cat rashes even more worth it.

Texas is a crazy little vortex of ambition and foul jokes (Tomato, Tomaaahto Matthew). They've got great big hearts, great big goals, and a great big heap of hard work ahead of them. So do I though, but this trip will help me with that. Seems like every time I head down, I end up growing exponentially as a traceuse. Fear just becomes less important. So yes, I did puke three times out of nerves before that performance, but I performed flawlessly when it got down to it. And yes, I did stay up ALL NIGHT dressed up in silicone and fake blood for that zombie movie, but when it came time for me to get thrown into a wall at 7 in the morning, I was still totally down for it. And yeah.. I guess I was asked to take my shirt off in the middle of Houstin for a photo shoot.. but I stood tall then too. Whatevs. You live, you learn, you find better ways of removing fake blood (rubbing alcohol and two hours in a hot tub does the trick). So Texas, some people think you're too hot to go to.. but I just want to jump on you a little. Say hi to your mother for me.

Off to Texas again!

2009-01-12T20:18:00.000-08:00

Just as the title implies, I'm off to the lonestar state once more for fun, training, and work. Just a few of the things I plan to achieve this go round include: 1) become a zombie. 2) teach lil kiddos gymnastics basics. 3) get chased by secret agents. 4) train! 5) performance time. Wish me luck!

Back from Texas

2008-12-12T08:12:00.000-08:00

I boarded the plane to Texas with mixed emotions. People in Seattle tend to talk about Texas in hushed tones, like an evil that they pushed into the corner of the US. People use "the south" as a synecdoche for racism, bigotry, and small-mindedness. I was scared. What I found in Texas though, was completely unexpected. I was welcomed whole-heartedly, treated with respect, and taught a lesson in grace. Turns out you can't really know someone (or someones) until you go meet them on their turf.

The days were filled with filming, training, dancing, giggling, and bananas. The nights were packed with more training, a gymnastic gym, great conversations, and more bananas. A few spectacular biffs were sprinkled in among graceful movements, and at the end of it all I got to vault to a cat hang on a bridge, and drop to a boat. No complaints there. :)

Parkour in a suit is a new experience for me. Never have I been so obsessive about tucking in my shirt, even now I find myself reaching around to tuck in tails that are no longer worn. Commitment to movement on the first go is also new for me. I've always wanted to be able to work like that, but haven't really done it. When the cameras are rolling though, some kind of intense zen washes over and blam, commitment. I hope I can get that to carry over into my everyday training.

So, it's interesting. I'm home now, and very contemplative. I made a little mistake while filming , and consequently am working on a tender ankle. So instead of training full-force, I'm conditioning and doing a lot of thinking. Here's what I have so far: Pre-judgment is a waste of time, stereotypes are bullshit, sometimes those labeled "open-minded" are guilty of the opposite, and even at your best you can walk backwards into a cactus at any time.

Explore

2008-11-18T13:51:00.000-08:00

Old training spots are like really good friends. You meet them one day, and something in them makes you keep coming back, and over time you discover new facets and nuances that renew your intrigue. So far as I know, that process never ends, but then I've only got three short years of experience in this. What I do know though, is that it's too easy to get caught up in facing and conquering the challenges at these beloved training grounds that we can miss out on discovering new places. Last Sunday I took my bike and just kinda toured around Seattle and Ballard, sometimes with friends, sometimes alone, and completely without a destination in mind. Instead of noting that an area looked interesting and putting it in the mental list of places to come back to, I fully physically explored all of the areas of intrigue I found. Strangely, I think the best places found that day were the most unassuming, quiet, simple. I only came across them because they were close to something else that looked interesting.

With that, I'll leave you with a video Tim Kahn from Portland whipped together in record time. I really like his editing style.

Oh, and I'm aware that the drop off of the run in the beginning is lame. Eh, Even simple things need practice to remain smooth.

501(c)3 and More!

2008-11-10T13:58:00.000-08:00

Let me just begin by saying that the Pacific Northwest Parkour Association now officially has 501(c)3 status with the IRS. Meaning that we can accept donations and really get some big projects working for the community. Wow. This is a huge step towards achieving some big goals for us. Where do we go from here? Well, we'd really love to get into schools and make parkour part of the curriculum for some lucky students. We also want to be able to offer up more opportunities for students to be able to fulfill their required community service hours with us. We have dreams of working with the parks to have "parkour days", and efforts to build more obstacles to accommodate different training needs. Our classes are steadily growing, but we need to be able to pay our coaches. Speaking of coaches, we've actually gotten one step closer to having a certification system. Whew. That's just the beginning. For more information on any of this, or to share interest, please check out pnwpa.com .

Part of spiffing up the pnwpa site is going to include adding more videos. This last weekend, we had Tim up from Portland to visit and film some footage for all kinds of projects (thanks Tim!!). I'm really excited to see what he comes up with. We spent most of the weekend out at Gasworks Park, re-exploring the familiar surroundings and coming up with new and creative ways to use it all. I found a great new run that deals with a blackberry bush precision problem... ouch?

Oh, and between this post and the last one I've officially become a Crossfit Gym Rat. A few short weeks of regular, quick torture, and I'm seeing huge results in my training capabilities. Not only in endurance, but also just raw power. Can I plug Crossfit here? Yes? Do it. Meet Pukey.

#1

2008-10-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

Man, I really bomb at making videos. As soon as I start to edit, I begin nit-picking. I always feel like if I'm going to edit something together, it should be my best work.. like a showcase of how much parkour has taught me over the years. But looking over the footy, I know I could have done better, so I erase everything and start over again.

So I'm forgetting that mindset. I'm just going to film when I have a camera on me, and make videos that depict what I happen to be working on at that point in time. Not videos that center on distance, or "bigness" of a technique.

So here's #1. Cowen Park October.

Media shortage!

2008-10-01T18:09:00.001-07:00

So, looks like the media I promised from the Soiree is actually non-existent. We were so busy doing stuff, that none of it really got filmed. I actually prefer it that way, but next time I'm roping in someone specifically to film. Hopefully, with this future footy I'm anticipating, and the bits and pieces of conditioning we got on tape, I can compile something awesome in the next month or so.

Until then, I guess I'll start working on my own vidstuffs. :)

The Soiree, and in other news...

2008-09-24T14:46:00.000-07:00

So the Soiree went pretty well. If by pretty well you mean AWESOME. Aside from Brandee, Chris, and me there were two other girls (Deirdre and Faith), which made for a cozy five. Medicine-ball name-games, conditioning with Brandee and Janine at the helm, vaulting, climbing, QM, jumping, rolling, a dinner break that may or may not have had anything to do with a superhot tricycle, scaffolding, and general festivities took up the first day/night. After a restful night of sleep (>.>oh God! My pants! They seem to be on fire! <.< ) we cleaned up the gym and headed out for breakfast. The training that day was supposed to cover Greenlake and Ravenna parks, but we got so creative at Greenlake that we only had a half hour to spare at Ravenna before we had to pack up and head home. Will post more when I get pics and video up. In other news, there have been adventures at work. For those of you who didn't know, I run dogs for a living right now while putting myself through the EMT certification process. It's quite exciting. A few days ago, Moose, a sweetheart of a Vizsla (see picture) spotted an adorable service dog and pulled me off the road to say hello. Moose doesn't seem to notice how big he's gotten... I'd better start doing some more strength training. Back to the story. Moose runs up to this service dog, the service dog abandons it's duty and runs up to Moose, the lady who requires the dog's services is sprawled across the sidewalk and mayhem ensues. Argh. That could have been better.

PNWPA Soiree des Traceuses

2008-09-17T14:58:00.001-07:00

We're gearing up for the first ever Seattle Lady's Night at NWCrossfit. This is going to be AWESOME. The plan is to meet up at the gym around 6pm on Saturday, condition, work touch, and then start in on basic technique till 8 or 9. Break for food, then explore around Greenlake. We're conking out in the gym after watching some parkour vids and talking philosophy of parkour. We'll wake up early next morning to hit the streets and put into practice what we trained the night before! Should wrap up around noon on Sunday. Charge is 15$. Half goes to renting out the gym, half directly to the PNWPA. I'll be instructing, along with my good friends and training buddies Brandee Brougham (MonkEE), and Chris Moore (hundr).

Split-Foot Launch

2008-09-12T18:41:00.000-07:00

Something I've had a lot of trouble with. I've gotten used to double foot punch take offs because I find they give me the height I need to kong with, but honestly, they're a waste of effort. You put all that oomph into going up, just to come back down without really moving forward any. Split-foots, on the other hand, are like the holy grail of the vaulting world to me. Smooth, controlled take-offs that slip right into the cadence of your run. Bam. Distance.

I was waiting for students to show up to the Crossfit parkour class last Wednesday, when I noticed the stairway into the building was the perfect height for a kong to doorway precesion. After about a half hour of practicing these, I noticed that I was actually split-footing the take offs, something I've never done without thought before. I was focusing on distance, not on my punch, so I guess my feet just did the most helpful thing they could! I'm going to make it a point to fit in some quality time with those stairs before every class, and hopefully train in some muscle memory.

Little beats big when little is smart, first with the head and then with the heart. - Bryce Courtney

2008-09-11T18:24:00.000-07:00

Makes sense. Little, in this circumstance, can mean stature. It can also mean small gestures, small steps, components of a whole. Big, to me, means a large obstacle. Social injustice, global warming, and a twelve foot wall are all good examples of a big that can only be overcome by lots of small gestures and commitments.

With parkour, I feel like the only way to progress is to commit to lots of little gestures every day. I want explosive kongs, so I begin my day with ten explosive push-ups. Little gestures = big improvement.

I like the second part of that line too, "First with the head, and then with the heart." I try to always think through my options and routes when training, minimize steps, and find the most effecient path. But after all of that, you really do just have to focus and throw down. I need to work on that part...