Michele Renee and Ravi Logan

Following graduation from SW Texas State, Michele Renee moved to Belize, married a pilot, and spent seven years at aerial photography in North Africa and the Caribbean. "I decided I didn't like to fly," says Renee, who returned for a teaching degree, got a divorce, and hit the road in '93. "I always felt like an alien in Texas." She ran out of cash in Eugene but felt comfy here, got a job at the Friendly Market, and eventually found her teaching niche as a sub at the International High Schools. "I've taught all the courses at all levels," she says. "It's the nicest sub job in Eugene!" She also found Ravi Logan, a UO meditation teacher and a leading international advocate for Progessive Utilization Theory, a model for sustainable development. Their mutual projects include an eight-year-old daughter, Asha, and a two-year-old backyard meeting hall, the Dharmalaya Center for Human Development. See dharmalaya.org for a schedule of yoga and meditation classes, gardening and building workshops, and neighborhood social events. Enjoy music and art at the center's second annual River Road Pear Blossom Culture Fest, at 356 Horn Lane on Saturday, April 2.