the luke alphabet

ambition: i’d like to either get published by the new yorker or lampooned by trey parker and matt stone in some shape or form
bad habit: book buying
city: asheville

drink: 12oz of creamy london foggery from my friends at the daily grind
education: i’m doing a double major in history and chinese with a minor in fiction writing
food: anything my mum makes
guilty pleasure: backgammon

hometown: fairview, north carolina
ice cream: ultimate ice cream’s maple bacon ice cream
jonesing for: an eggs benedict at the sugar beet cafe
kryptonite: editing papers (as in i’ll stop in the middle of ANYTHING to edit someone else’s work( it can be a disastrous way to procrastinate))

look-a-like: tyler fitch
movies: the film crash changed my life
nicknames: luke “the balls” wander, luker, buker, ruke, LJ, and pavel bronkovic (or just pavel)
obsession: the fiction of tobias wolff
perfume: au naturale

quirk: miley cyrus’ “party in the USA” is one of my favorite songs. figure that one out.
regrets: leaving the kingdom of carrboro
starbucks: is for squares
talents: I am a trained jazz dancer, i have four nipples, i can speak decent faux-french, and i’m one of the top two faux-tennis players in the world (to my knowledge there are two faux-tennis players in the world)

university: the university of north carolina at chapel hill
vacation: ideal vacation? i’d like to go to eastern europe sometime. or algiers.
wine: the smell of wine harkens me back to my days in the golden halls of the hinton james dormitory, thus i do not drink wine

x: is one of the more challenging syllables to utter in chinese. it’s like a combination of ‘s’ and ‘sh.’ try it sometime
years: i have twenty-one of them
zen: the period of time between five to eight minutes after defacation brings me into a medidative state every time without fail

christmas time with the family

i adore my family.

+ + +

i love that:

– we laugh constantly

– we are creative

– we know how to cook

– we like reveal what the present is on the wrapping paper

– we have some incredible traditions

– we play new games every time we get together

– we freeze presents in a block of ice {in a cooler wrapped with rope, paper, and duck tape too}

– we have mm + dd’s house on the lake to escape to every christmas

– we have a really hard time getting one good photo

– we love and support each other fully

+ + +

hope you had a wonderful christmas too!

beirut concert

thursday night changed my life.

this was my favorite of the night.

thanks beirut for making magic.

keep up the good work.

+ + +

oh, and zach . . .  i did see a wedding band, but if things don’t work out, i’ll go to the ends of the earth with you.

yoga in kathmandu

“you cannot do yoga.  yoga is your natural state.  what you can do are yoga exercises, which may reveal to you where you are resisting your natural state.” 

– sharon gannon

{i love crazy sharon gannon and her crazy spin on yoga in the states. i have only ever tried jivamukti twice, but i did love how thorough and thoughtful it was}

. . .

yoga in kathmandu was brilliant.

the rooftop pictured here was the place i practiced most frequently while abroad. almost every morning i would wake up, climb the stairs and practice for a while. after my yoga, i would read, and my friend ram would bring me a steaming glass mug of chai {nepali chai, of course}. i think that ending my 5 poses from my time abroad series with kathmandu is appropriate . . . all things considered.

the hotel red planet in wonderful, wild thamel, kathmandu was my home away from home for so long. not a day goes by where i don’t think about it and miss it.

. . .

1.) bakasana, crane pose {i will never forget the first time i saw this pose. i was convinced it was impossible. now it is a favorite of mine. best pose for a confidence boost. *shakti = the word for power in nepali. also my favorite nepali word}

2.) utkatasana, chair pose {my pose. during yoga training, all the teachers were assigned a pose for the entirety of our training. mine was utkatasana. it was a pose i had to do every day for 9 months. i still am learning, but i have come to love the way it makes my legs burn. great for toning up the thighs and butt as well as strengthening the core}

3.) salamba sarvangasana, shoulder stand {most yogi’s “desert island” pose. you know, the pose you’d bring with you if you only could bring one. . . for good reasons too. one of the greatest inversions of all time. if you cannot, or don’t feel comfortable in shoulder stand, at least practice legs up the wall regularly.}

4.) dhanurasana, bow pose {happy, bendy back here! your spine will thank you. start off trying to just grab one leg and then try both at the same time. if you cannot touch, try using a strap or even a tie}

5.) supta pandagustansana, a variation of big toe pose {a fabulous restorative posture! stretches out the hamstrings as well as hips. hold for several long breaths. be comfortable but active}

. . .

+ no. 1 thing people shouldn’t do on the subway: yoga {thx abby for sharing this. it made me laugh. i love where americans have taken yoga and this idea of yoga}

. . .

as i said, this is the last yoga post from my time abroad, but i will continue to post some about my practice in the future.

i am no expert, but i do know some things.

is there anything you would like to see my try and do? answer any questions? share any thoughts on specific topics?

i would love to know!

. . .

“yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory.”

– sri krishna pattabhi jois

. . .

get out there and start practicing! {* currently sitting outside on my travel mat in the quad [the very same mat i was on in these photos!]}

. . . namaste friends have a beautiful day.

remember, you are unstoppable.

national gallery – modern art

when i grow up. . .

i want to live here.

+ je veux te voir

xoxo,

g.

{p.s. first day of classes officially done. all went well, minus the earthquake!!! earthquakes on the east coast? what? seriously felt like i was back in nz for a minute there. i’m not going to lie though, i liked it. . .}

a new chapter

ke$ha the camel *note: real name = dream, but elsie and i thought that didn't suit her well. to us, she was ke$ha and only ke$ha

a new chapter of my life begins tomorrow.

{the photo unfortunately has nothing to do with what tomorrow holds. goodbye riding camels in the desert on the boarder of india and pakistan, hello textbooks!}

excited isn’t the right word, but i feel ready.  i bet that the whole back to school thing is going to be a rough transition, but to be honest, it isn’t nearly as overwhelming as moving across the world. i know there will be internet, phones, and anything i need at a target nearby. packing has certainly been challenging this time around – i know i’ve over packed but i have no motivation to go back and unpack a few shoes, jumpers, or necklaces.

unc life starts tomorrow. . .

unrelated thoughts:

+ stay tuned for some shots of me practicing my asanas while in india and nepal . . . and some of the lessons i learned along the way

+ the girls of d.c. inspired me to chop all my hair off like agyness deyn. . . but i need to think on it more. . . no drastic moves yet. think i could pull if off, oui ou non?

+ a great song and an even greater feather headdress

+ my guest post over on kandyce’s blog {juice sister and jon brother are on their way to start a new life in india!!!}

+ work by wayne white 

i miss. . . new zealand. . . queenstown. . . and . . bungy jumping. . .