My Magical Mystery Birthday Trip Through Massachusetts

On 2 July, I turned 29, entering the last year of this crazy decade I've called my twenties. This wasn't as depressing as it could have been, entirely because my amazing and wonderful bff Sarah who arranged a week-long trip to Boston and Salem, two cities in Massachusetts that I've wanted to visit my entire life. (Okay, technically I had been to Boston once already, as a very small child, but I remembered nothing of this trip. Parents, take your kids on vacations after they develop long-term memory.) Sarah did such an amazing job planning - every day brought new wonders!

But the fun started before we reached Boston. You see, this was no ordinary vacation. While we were on the Amtrak train up through scenic New England, the conductor dropped off a package. In it was a puzzle box, and in the puzzle box once I'd solved it was a cryptic note:

"The quest for your birthday present begins here and now!
It may begin common, but go through valleys to hills.
Come morning, follow the trail of clues and wow!
Free the mystery from obscurity for an abundance of thrills.
And since these puzzles do get greater,
Here's something you might need later..."

Attached to the note was a polybius square. And yes, the italics were present on the note. (It was printed out from a computer, so no handwriting to clue me in to the writer's identity.) Sarah and I quickly determined it was referring to the Freedom Trail, which starts at Boston Common and ends at Bunker Hill, and so decided to walk it on our first day in Boston.

This set off a scavenger hunt/mystery that wove itself throughout our entire trip. We did not know who this mysterious person - who we dubbed "the Watcher" - was, we did not know what they wanted, but they remained two or three steps ahead of us, leaving cryptic clues throughout Boston for me to find and solve, with no idea what would be at the end of the mystery.

Read on to discover what we did in Boston, and just how the Watcher's mystery unfolded! A minor warning - this entry is going to be A) long as hell, and B) VERY full of photos because I took SO many.

NYC Heathens Present: The Lay of Thrym!

I have not posted much as of late, as to be honest with you all I just do not have the mental or emotional energy lately to do much at all. My continued lack of a purpose and feeling of being trapped has not ebbed, and it's getting me way down. Also I've been working on a secret project, and also also I just got back from vacationing in Boston (hopefully I'll be able to find enough motivation to write that trip up sooner rather than later)

I have certainly been busy since getting back. I've been working long hours (since I have my regular shifts and I'm covering someone who is also on vacation) and I've also done a few things with the other NYC Heathens. And one of the fun things we did recently?

A group of us got together and did a performance in Battery Park of the Lay of Thrym, aka the best of all the Norse myths. It was a little bit religious drama, a little bit comedic improv, a little bit fantasy LARPing, and a whole lotta fun! (This is, after all, one of the more comedic myths.)

Naturally, I played the genderbending trickster god Loki (if any of you are at all surprised by that please read the rest of this blog's archives). Other players were Heimdall (who, as a god who sees all, was also the narrator), the beautiful and desirable Freyja, the king of the frost giants Thrym, and of course the mighty Thor.

The myth begins when Thor loses his hammer.

Searching for Purpose and Cleaning Our Ocean

Rockaway Beach

"Purpose, It's that little flame That lights a fire Under your ass. Purpose, It keeps you going strong Like a car with a full Tank of gas. Everyone else has A purpose So what's mine?" ~ "Avenue Q"

Okay I think I'm ready to go public with this on the blog now. I've been public with my friends and family about it for about a month now, so I think it's an appropriate time. I did not get into grad school. And for awhile, it crushed me. On my personal facebook, I wrote an explanation as thus:

"Some of you know this already. Most of you don’t but I think I’m ready to go public. I did not get into the doctorate program that I applied to. The initial blow was very hard on me and caused me to become depressed. I’m still grieving it - it’s hard to come to terms with being rejected from something I wanted so bad. I do not want to talk about it. I do not want to plan next steps. I do appreciate everyone’s concern - I know I haven’t been the most fun person to be around lately because of this - but I’m simply not ready to talk about it. I’m only informing people because I’m tired of people asking me about it individually."

Part of the reason it crushed me so deeply is because, well, it seemed like the logical next step in my adult life. You know, that's what archaeologists/anthropologists do. In this field you pretty much get a doctorate or you don't work as anything other than doing the grunt work for the people with doctorates.

I'd spent so long assuming I wanted this that I never once considered if I actually did or not. And - can I be real with you guys for a second here? - I'm still not sure. I have no idea if this is what I really want or if it's just what I think that I should want. Do you see the difference? Because I'm still trying to figure it out.

I know what I don't want. I don't want to be stuck working as a secretary my whole life. I don't want to wake up at 40 and realize I got stuck in a passionless life.

Right now it still hurts too much to think about any passion I may have for archaeology and the like, so I am trying to turn to other things I am passionate about:

• I was at my happiest when I gave tours at the Winchester Mystery House and, later, Hamilton Grange, so I may try to get a NYC tour guide license at some point. I am still undecided about that. I don't have a lot of free time as it is.
• I do want to write a novel. I've written for NaNoWriMo of course, but I want to write one that I actually manage to get published. I don't need it to be a Harry Potter-level bestseller. If just one person counts it as among their favourite books, that would be enough for me. I just... need to stick with an idea beyond a few chapters. (I have so many stories abandoned around chapter three.)
• I am getting deeper into my own religion. I'm considering The Troth's Lore Program and - if I complete that - their Clergy Program. One of my kinsmen will be finishing the Clergy Program soon so I may pick his brain once he does so to see if this feels right for me. 
• And, if nothing else, I am passionate about cleaning up the SERIOUS plastic waste problem that is plaguing our oceans, as you all know from past entries.

And last weekend, in honour of World Ocean's Day, the nonprofit group 4Ocean (I've really believed in their work for awhile, and I have one of their bracelets) hosted a beach clean-up on Rockaway Beach. Well, cleaning up a beach is certainly a good purpose for at least one day, isn't it? So I signed up and went.

I wasn't alone. Thousands of people showed up. Even on the shuttle over from the A-Train, the train was completely filled with people who were just as passionate about this cause! I met people from organisations such as...

Billion Oyster Project -- New York harbour used to have the most oysters out of anywhere in the world, but between New Amsterdam and the turn of the 20th century, New Yorkers had severely depleted the local supply, and in the process had also severely polluted the waterways that surround our islands. The Hudson River and the East River are still recovering. But the thing about oysters, you see, is that they're excellent natural filters. One oyster can filter 5 gallons of water in one hour. So they can naturally help clean up the water. What the Billion Oyster Project does is take oyster shells from restaurants willing to donate them and uses them to create oyster reefs around Governor's Island, Brooklyn, and lower Manhattan, then gets live oysters ti those reefs. Live oysters thrive on the shells of their fallen brethren - who knew?! (There's a metaphor for ancestor work in there somewhere.) Isn't that neat?!

Coastal Steward Long Island -- Like the Billion Oyster Project, this organisation is also creating oyster reefs with recycled oyster shells, just further out on Long Island. (If you eat oysters at local restaurants who donate, you're helping the cause too, congratulations!) They also host education programs at the Marine Environmental Stewardship Centre at Cedar Beach to educate people about local marine ecosystems, and they work with local businesses and schools on preservation and restoration events.

Oceanic Global -- This is a nonprofit currently working with the United Nations to not just raise awareness of the plastic problem, but to broaden the conversation about it into other areas of interest in order to get more people on board towards the solution. I'm making it all sound rather cerebral, I know, but they partner with a lot of great organisations (including Plastic Oceans, the organisation my facebook charity event was for last year) and their website explains so much more.

Lonely Whale -- Lonely Whale is interesting in that I'm really not sure how to describe them other than that they're not like other organisations here. They raise awareness, sure, but do so in modern ways to connect with The Youth. They organise social media campaigns, guerrilla art campaigns, and even recently hosted a pop-up experience right here in NYC called the Museum of Plastic - which I DID go to. (Did you know that single-use plastic water bottles didn't come into wide use until the early 90s? They're younger than I am!) Their #StopSucking campaign was also instrumental in getting cities like NYC to consider plastic straw alternatives, and they really REALLY pushed for policy change surrounding that. While I realise the straw issue isn't simply black and white (some disabled people do need to use plastic straws for example, and inflexible metal or bamboo ones don't work as an alternative for them), those of us who are able to go without, should. 

From Lonely Whale's "Museum of Plastic" pop-up

The Riverhead Foundation -- Another Long Island organisation, they do a lot of marine research, but they also do wildlife rehabilitation and release, so they've seen firsthand a lot of the tragedy that plastic waste can cause. Also, one of the things they help with is local SEAL RESCUES, which is definitely something I can get behind. Eventually I'm gonna make it out to one of their seal releases, and when I do I'll post about it here.

Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy -- As a partner of the National Parks Service, this conservancy helps with things such as restoring natural habitats around the Jamaica Bay region and, yes, helping to organise shoreline cleanups such as the event I was at. They are dedicated to preserving the long-term sustainability of these parklands so that generations of New Yorkers to come can still enjoy it.

And thousands of ordinary people, just like me - not just a bunch of extraordinary geniuses with doctorates (though there could well have been some people like that in the crowd), but also regular New Yorkers from all walks of life - got together and did something extraordinary. Look at how much trash we picked up all together:

4Ocean supplied hemp bags.

All that trash which may have gone into some poor seabird or whale's stomach, or which may have strangled some defenseless seal or turtle, is now going to be recycled, some of it into the bracelets 4Ocean makes for various ocean-related causes. 

Look, I may not know what I want to do with my life right now. I may have no idea what's next for me. I may not be 100% okay with that. But I am happy with the work I did last weekend. For the first time in months, I'm proud of myself. Oh, and I am starting to plan that novel. I'm not saying much about it yet except that some of my favourite Norse myths will be woven into the plot, though the main plot is all original, all me. I'll keep you guys posted if I actually manage to complete more than just an introduction.

-Nym

It's Hot as Hell! In Phila-del-phia! (My Recent Vacation to Philly)

Sometimes you need an escape. Desperately.

I recently received some very bad news that I'm still not quite ready to go public with on this blog. (I will make it its own separate post once I've fully grieved and processed.) My mother, my therapist, Sarah, my kindred, and my friend Eliza are so far the only ones who know. (I have two other friends I also want to tell before I go public, but I want to tell them in person, and haven't gotten an opportunity to do so yet.)

The point is that I just couldn't be in my day-to-day life in New York for a little bit. So it worked out great that Sarah had planned a vacation to Philadelphia, a city I had long wanted to visit. And with Philly so close to New York (only 2 hours by bus, about the same amount of time it'd take me to get from my apartment to the Bronx) it worked out surprisingly well.

And you guys. You guys.

Philadelphia is wonderful.

THIS STREET DOES NOT EVEN LOOK REAL DOES IT?

Between all the Revolutionary History (I'M ALWAYS A SLUT FOR THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION), delicious food, getting to cross an item off my bucket list that's been there since 2003, and way too many "1776" references (sing it with me now - "someone better oooooopen up a window!") Sarah and I had a much-needed wonderful time. I was able to decompress away from home and have a lot of fun, too.

Now this is going to be one of those "look at all this cool stuff I did!" travel posts. If that's not your jam, I will not be at all offended if you skip this one. (My viewcounts have been low since facebook censored me - yeah that's still not fixed - so I've made my peace with the fact that not everyone will read every post.) But if you wanna see what Sarah and I did, read on!

The Serpent Man, A Cryptid Nobody Asked For

Did you know that in the Pacific Northwest, dockworkers and boat owners use those inflatable air dancer things (you know, the ones you usually see at used car dealerships) to scare seals and sea lions away from the docks?

The poor pinnipeds stay away from these giant wiggling creatures, but the catch is that they need to be kept turned on, because if they leave them turned off for long, the intelligent sea lions might figure out they're not actually alive. That they're fakes.

But what if they were real? What if the seals and sea lions know something we don't?

Lokablót

Yesterday was April Fool's Day, a day that some modern Lokeans (I stress this is modern; this is definitely not an ancient Viking belief!!!) devote to Loki because, well, Loki loves fun and trickery, and it's a whole holiday for fun and trickery!

So I took my little toy seal/representation of my fylgja into Prospect Park this morning to go do a blót to Loki! (For my muggle friends, a blót is the most common ritual within Heathenry. In the old days this was done by feasting on an animal consecrated to the Gods and then slaughtered. As we are no longer farmers and our needs are simpler today, the most common blót is an offering of mead or other alcoholic beverage to the deities. In my case, it was some pumpkin cider because in my experience, Loki likes sweet flavoured beverages.)

Hello, Spring!

I love Spring! Can you believe it's already that time of year again? The birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, and baby Jessamyne is starting to crawl! It's made me feel so wonderfully #blessed to see the wonder in her eyes as she crawls through the grass in the local park, staring up at the blossoms as they rain down on her.

What's that? I've never posted photos of beautiful baby Jessamyne to this blog? Oh, let me show you all - gosh, you'll just wanna eat up her tiny baby face!

Her daddy's mama had this photo taken in a sweater she knit for Jessamyne (or crocheted? I confess I don't know the difference) and I just DIE every time I see it. Thank God Jessie got her daddy's eyes, right? All the boys at church will be knocking down our door to ask for her hand once she grows up!

What's that? Oh, gosh, you're right, I suppose I have been rather bad at keeping this blog updated. Surprise! I'm married now! And I bagged a man five years younger than me - guess us older ladies still got it, am I right ladies? #Cougar!!!

After the oh-so-cute Mormon missionary showed up at my door last fall, I didn't want to believe it at first, but now I cannot believe I ever denied it. Everything he said to me made so much sense - and when I looked into his eyes, he made sense too. I had thought I would always go on as I was. Living life as a lesbian in New York City had seemed so exciting on paper.

But God had other plans for me, and within two weeks Braeden's mission was over and we were flying to Utah to get married as soon as possible. And, well, the church has forgiven me for living my sinful lifestyle. ;) Luckily, Jessamyne will be raised to believe in our family values. She won't know about mommy's shameful past until she's at least 20.

And of course, I won't have to worry about getting a job. The real estate market here is so much better than New York's! No more slaving away in some job I hate to barely scrape by enough to live in a tiny apartment. Is that what feminism gets us? Borderline slave labour? Braeden says yes, and Braeden says we'll raise our daughter to know that true feminine fulfillment comes from living in a loving home with a daddy who works at his father's company and a mommy who stays home with the children. I want to be present in my baby's life the way my working parents weren't for me. Besides, with all the babies Braeden plans to put in me - I'm gonna be 28 this year, we gotta get as many buns in the oven as possible before the bakery closes, if you catch my drift - I'm not gonna have time for silly stuff like museum work. Though, maybe once Jessamyne is old enough to start babysitting her siblings I can volunteer and give tours of downtown.

I am happy that it's spring again. I'm going to bake rosy pink cupcakes with fondant blossoms on them for next Sunday. (That'll show Lynda who the best new mommy on the block is! Ha!) I'll let Jessamyne "help" by licking the frosting spoon. Show her early on that she can find fulfillment in the kitchen.

Oh, and this is of utmost importance - please, I beg of you my friends, do not tell my family I am here in Utah. They didn't approve of Braeden when they met him over skype, and they definitely didn't approve of how we got Jessamyne, saying "the math didn't add up" and "Her real parents are going to be looking for her" and other godless nonsense like that. So they can't know where I am. Okay? Okay!

Love and kisses,
~the eternally #blessed Nym~















P.S. April Fools, ya filthy animals, of course I'm not a hetero Mormon mommy who kidnapped some poor child. (Nor do I think most Mormons would ever do so - I just think most Mormons have a sense of humour enough not to get too offended by this.)