Oh what a day, or rather, couple of days. I'll leave it at that. I did, however, get my hair cut, my car washed, my paycheck, and a much needed happy hour with a good friend today (it still classifies as "happy hour" at 3:45 if you're a rebel), all things that had not happened in entirely too long. It almost seems like I couldn't have time for a bad day with all of that, huh? Dead wrong, which also happens to be a song by The Fray, a band who has been in heavy rotation on my ipod recently. Their newest cd is the soundtrack to my life sometimes (minus one or two songs). How did they know? My favorites are "Say When," "Happiness," and the one below, but they all have something meaningful to say.
Lyrics | The Fray lyrics - Never Say Never lyrics
Eh, I'll add some good parts from the other songs I mentioned, too. Music is my poetry:
Say When
Come across you lost and broken
You're coming to but you're slow in waking
You start to shake
You still haven't spoken, what happened
They're coming back and you just dont know when
You want to cry but there's nothing comin'
They're gonna push until you give in, say when
Maybe god can be on both sides
Of the gun never understood why
Some of us never get it so good, so good
Some of this was here before us
All of this will go after us
Never stops until we give in, give in
Happiness
Happiness damn near destroys you
Breaks your faith to pieces on the floor
So you tell yourself, that’s enough for now
Happiness has a violent roar
Happiness is like the old man told me
Look for it, but you’ll never find it all
Let it go, live your life and leave it
Then one day, wake up and she’ll be home
Look! Another distraction! I can attest to this, because that "I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit" crossed my mind today, followed by "Speeding without the threat of getting a ticket is the biggest perk to being a cop."
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Case study
Sometimes I have so much to say that I am rendered speechless. When it comes to talking about my feelings, especially, I wish I could just organize my thoughts in writing and hand it over. I am mostly in touch with my emotions on an abstract and unorganized level, and that does not bode well for verbal expression. I am more comfortable expressing my thoughts than my feelings, too, because thoughts are more easily digestible. I tend to view the world with equal parts logic and emotion, though, and only prefer one over the other when it is absolutely necessary.
My feelings toward people and relationships are often ambivalent, but people themselves are ambivalent, so that seems to be the key element of viewing them objectively. How else would I study them? :) At the same time, I have a driving force to be emotionally connected to them and to take care of their feelings, as well. In a weird way, I am often more comfortable with the feelings of others than I am with my own. I am actually invigorated when I can bring out someone else's most convoluted feelings and offer direction, whereas some people would tense up or would much rather run away from those situations. Many people are so concerned with talking that they forget to listen.
I am very comfortable and careful with the vulnerabilities of other people, but I am not used to sharing my own. I prefer to keep them under wraps, either out of fear that they will fall into the wrong hands and will be used against me, or concern that they could cause (what I deem) an unnecessary burden on someone else. I fall into a counselor role easily and anything else seems unnatural or forced. That would be like if you went to a therapy session and the psychologist started telling you her problems! I think I have a natural tendency to see into someone and bring out whatever needs healing, if that person is open to it. Unfortunately, most people cannot intuit my feelings in the same way, and that can be a point of frustration. The best way I can describe it is that it feels like almost everyone else is an open book and I am hard to read.
I recently found out that my sister is sort of like that, too, which is why she is considering a degree in psychology. As kids, we were always pretty close, I think, but for the past few years, we had not been getting along too well. Something has changed already since she has moved out of the house for college, though, and I would say that we are friends again. We are more alike than we used to admit and I am glad we can relate.
I think acknowledging and defining these things in writing are good starting points for myself. Maybe it offers you some insights, as well. Now I have to figure out where to go from here...
My feelings toward people and relationships are often ambivalent, but people themselves are ambivalent, so that seems to be the key element of viewing them objectively. How else would I study them? :) At the same time, I have a driving force to be emotionally connected to them and to take care of their feelings, as well. In a weird way, I am often more comfortable with the feelings of others than I am with my own. I am actually invigorated when I can bring out someone else's most convoluted feelings and offer direction, whereas some people would tense up or would much rather run away from those situations. Many people are so concerned with talking that they forget to listen.
I am very comfortable and careful with the vulnerabilities of other people, but I am not used to sharing my own. I prefer to keep them under wraps, either out of fear that they will fall into the wrong hands and will be used against me, or concern that they could cause (what I deem) an unnecessary burden on someone else. I fall into a counselor role easily and anything else seems unnatural or forced. That would be like if you went to a therapy session and the psychologist started telling you her problems! I think I have a natural tendency to see into someone and bring out whatever needs healing, if that person is open to it. Unfortunately, most people cannot intuit my feelings in the same way, and that can be a point of frustration. The best way I can describe it is that it feels like almost everyone else is an open book and I am hard to read.
I recently found out that my sister is sort of like that, too, which is why she is considering a degree in psychology. As kids, we were always pretty close, I think, but for the past few years, we had not been getting along too well. Something has changed already since she has moved out of the house for college, though, and I would say that we are friends again. We are more alike than we used to admit and I am glad we can relate.
I think acknowledging and defining these things in writing are good starting points for myself. Maybe it offers you some insights, as well. Now I have to figure out where to go from here...
Monday, September 21, 2009
Presidents and pinheads
Obama is on David Letterman. Cool. I mean...help! I'm being "indoctrinated"...or something, just like our kids. My good friend Sarah Palin told me that Obama wants to have "death panels" as part of his new health care system, too! All this talk of health care reminds me of that Michael Moore movie that I should have seen. By the way, can you believe I have never seen a Michael Moore movie?
Bill Clinton was on The Daily Show earlier. Even on tv, he has an almost inescapable charm. It just caught my attention when he said, "We're putting a real emphasis on women and girls." Ha yes, I bet you are. I like this renewed emphasis on women's rights, though, and I was just reading a little bit about Michelle Obama. You know how they say behind every great man is a great woman? I think that's true (mothers count, too). I'm just sayin.'
I watched too much tv tonight, but sometimes that's okay. "How I Met Your Mother" and "The Big Bang Theory" are among my favorite shows and I don't get to watch them that often. One of my favorite exchanges of the night came from Sheldon of "The Big Bang Theory," when he ran away to Texas (home) after his friends embarrassed him. It went something like this:
Sheldon: I guess I'll just hang around Texas and teach evolution to the creationists.
His mom: Hey, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
Sheldon: Evolution isn't an opinion, it's a fact...(to his friends) I forgive you. Let's go back.
I've read a few things about public opinion on evolution lately and the percentage of people that still don't "believe" it is rather shocking. It's not actually a debate, and I'm pretty sure we are the only developed country that still acts like it is. It's like we've been going backwards, but I hope we are starting to reverse that trend. I just started a book called The Age of American Unreason about the dumbing down of America, so it's been on my mind.
Oh! Friday night was kind of exciting. First, I went to the balloon glow, which is not the exciting part. That's only exciting for like 15 minutes. After that, I met up with some friends at a bar in the Central West End. Along the way, there were some street performers doing fire dancing! That was cool, but also not the exciting part. No, the exciting part happened when I pulled into my driveway at 11:45pm. I opened my car door and fiddled with my ipod for a couple minutes. Then, as I got out of the car and locked the door, a (blond, 20 or 30-something) man came running full speed from the opposite side of the house! He ran a semi-circle around me--cut across the yard, ran down the sidewalk behind my car, and disappeared to the backyard (down the driveway) of the neighbors on the other side of me. In the meantime, I got back in my car, because he was running like someone was chasing him. I'm not sure what he was doing there, but my house was dark and empty--only the living room light was on and no cars were in the driveway or parked in front. People sometimes still use my (aunt's) big backyard as a shortcut, but I don't think that's what this guy was doing. I even sort of remember a truck sitting at the stop sign (facing me) a little longer than normal, but I don't know if that was related in any way. Needless to say, it freaked me out and I didn't sleep well that night. My parents have lived here (directly behind me) 24 years of my life and it has always been a safe neighborhood. The only thing a burglar would want is this computer, anyway, and I like to assume that lightning can't strike twice.
Okay happy thoughts...I'm sort of counting on winning tickets from the Riverfront Times to see Mike Birbiglia, one of my favorite comedians, on Thursday. I just wish that RFT would tell me when I'm going to win, so I don't buy tickets before that happens. I think it's been close to a year since I've won anything, which means I am overdue by something like 6 months. Don't you hate when that happens? ;)
Bill Clinton was on The Daily Show earlier. Even on tv, he has an almost inescapable charm. It just caught my attention when he said, "We're putting a real emphasis on women and girls." Ha yes, I bet you are. I like this renewed emphasis on women's rights, though, and I was just reading a little bit about Michelle Obama. You know how they say behind every great man is a great woman? I think that's true (mothers count, too). I'm just sayin.'
I watched too much tv tonight, but sometimes that's okay. "How I Met Your Mother" and "The Big Bang Theory" are among my favorite shows and I don't get to watch them that often. One of my favorite exchanges of the night came from Sheldon of "The Big Bang Theory," when he ran away to Texas (home) after his friends embarrassed him. It went something like this:
Sheldon: I guess I'll just hang around Texas and teach evolution to the creationists.
His mom: Hey, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
Sheldon: Evolution isn't an opinion, it's a fact...(to his friends) I forgive you. Let's go back.
I've read a few things about public opinion on evolution lately and the percentage of people that still don't "believe" it is rather shocking. It's not actually a debate, and I'm pretty sure we are the only developed country that still acts like it is. It's like we've been going backwards, but I hope we are starting to reverse that trend. I just started a book called The Age of American Unreason about the dumbing down of America, so it's been on my mind.
Oh! Friday night was kind of exciting. First, I went to the balloon glow, which is not the exciting part. That's only exciting for like 15 minutes. After that, I met up with some friends at a bar in the Central West End. Along the way, there were some street performers doing fire dancing! That was cool, but also not the exciting part. No, the exciting part happened when I pulled into my driveway at 11:45pm. I opened my car door and fiddled with my ipod for a couple minutes. Then, as I got out of the car and locked the door, a (blond, 20 or 30-something) man came running full speed from the opposite side of the house! He ran a semi-circle around me--cut across the yard, ran down the sidewalk behind my car, and disappeared to the backyard (down the driveway) of the neighbors on the other side of me. In the meantime, I got back in my car, because he was running like someone was chasing him. I'm not sure what he was doing there, but my house was dark and empty--only the living room light was on and no cars were in the driveway or parked in front. People sometimes still use my (aunt's) big backyard as a shortcut, but I don't think that's what this guy was doing. I even sort of remember a truck sitting at the stop sign (facing me) a little longer than normal, but I don't know if that was related in any way. Needless to say, it freaked me out and I didn't sleep well that night. My parents have lived here (directly behind me) 24 years of my life and it has always been a safe neighborhood. The only thing a burglar would want is this computer, anyway, and I like to assume that lightning can't strike twice.
Okay happy thoughts...I'm sort of counting on winning tickets from the Riverfront Times to see Mike Birbiglia, one of my favorite comedians, on Thursday. I just wish that RFT would tell me when I'm going to win, so I don't buy tickets before that happens. I think it's been close to a year since I've won anything, which means I am overdue by something like 6 months. Don't you hate when that happens? ;)
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The sun and the wind
Oh I'm back! Just for a minute, though, so don't get your hopes up. I just remembered something from yesterday that I wanted to impart to this blog. It's a parable of the sun and the wind, in summary: "The sun and the wind were arguing about who was more powerful. They decided to test their strength on an unsuspecting traveler in a coat, to see which of them could strip him of his coat first. The wind blew furiously in an effort to tear it off of him, but he found that the man only wrapped his coat closer around him. Then the sun beamed down on him gently and the man took off his coat."
I think I've heard that before, but I'm not sure. Someone offered the story after the Theology at the Bottleworks discussion to relate it to a person in the discussion, and I thought it was a nice analogy. There's a regular at the discussions that likes to pontificate on everything, and it was especially bad last night. He talks at everyone without actually listening to them. Last night I agreed with him, mostly, but the fact that he was yelling and forcing his points made me more inclined to shut him out. It was over the top. I might skip next month's discussion on health care simply because of this man.
That man along with two of the other core regulars actually sat down with Joel and I afterward. He's very outspoken and takes some getting used to, but he was nice to us. The other two were cool. They had seen us there before and just wanted to know more about us. One of the guys said Joel and I had "great chemistry." Cute. It turns out that we still aren't sure how to answer the "How long have you been together?" question, though. It's not that important, anyway, but maybe we'll get to the bottom of it this weekend. Oh yeah, back to that whole "being productive" thing.
I think I've heard that before, but I'm not sure. Someone offered the story after the Theology at the Bottleworks discussion to relate it to a person in the discussion, and I thought it was a nice analogy. There's a regular at the discussions that likes to pontificate on everything, and it was especially bad last night. He talks at everyone without actually listening to them. Last night I agreed with him, mostly, but the fact that he was yelling and forcing his points made me more inclined to shut him out. It was over the top. I might skip next month's discussion on health care simply because of this man.
That man along with two of the other core regulars actually sat down with Joel and I afterward. He's very outspoken and takes some getting used to, but he was nice to us. The other two were cool. They had seen us there before and just wanted to know more about us. One of the guys said Joel and I had "great chemistry." Cute. It turns out that we still aren't sure how to answer the "How long have you been together?" question, though. It's not that important, anyway, but maybe we'll get to the bottom of it this weekend. Oh yeah, back to that whole "being productive" thing.
Playing hooky
So taiko practice is going on, and I am at home writing this instead. Yeah, about that....well, you can't blame me. I decided to go with my original plan and take an actual break. Maybe that means I will actually go to the beginner's class, but no promises. Besides, I forgot that tonight was the season premiere of "The Office" and also a surprise half hour special of SNL's Weekend Update (political and current events jokes!). I'm not sure who actually showed up to practice, but I'm pretty sure most of us needed/need a vacation. Hooray for those that are taking one!
Speaking of surprises, I am having lunch outside in The Loop tomorrow because today I discovered that some studio is putting on a free dance performance! How cool is that? Then I don't have any plans until 6, when I meet people practically next door at Forest Park for the balloon glow. Hmm...Ooh! I know! I'll finally make it over to the History Museum for the Katherine Dunham exhibit. Maybe I'll stop by the art museum, too, since I haven't been there in forever. If there's time, I'll buy myself a trench coat at Target or something. I'm not planning on buying too many fall clothes, but I think a tan trench coat is my must-have item for the fall. Wait, who even needs clothes when you have a trench coat, right? I'm obviously buying it to make flashing more convenient.
When did I start getting into fashion, anyway? I'm not really "into" it as much as I am "aware" of it, I guess. I just like to know what's going on. I'll add flashes of trends here and there if I like them, but I keep it subtle. Rock inspired purse? Check. Tights? Check. Trench Coat? I'm working on it. I'm also starting to wear more dresses and skirts because I realized that I miss them. I used to live in those things when I was little, and then I don't know what happened. On second thought, I wore a (loud, plaid) skirt for school everyday from 5-12th grade (jumper k-4), so I wonder if that is part of it. I stayed away from them for the past few years mostly because of work, too. For one thing, jeans were practically the uniform, and for another, I don't like when a dirty old man--or really, any man that I am not attracted to--checks me out. I'm not bragging, if it could somehow be construed that way. It honestly creeps me out. At my new job, though, skirts are safe and actually encouraged (business casual), so I think that's why I want to bring that outside of work, too.
Wow, three hours is such a long time for a practice. I wasted two hours and I still have time to do something productive. I'm not making any promises, though...
Speaking of surprises, I am having lunch outside in The Loop tomorrow because today I discovered that some studio is putting on a free dance performance! How cool is that? Then I don't have any plans until 6, when I meet people practically next door at Forest Park for the balloon glow. Hmm...Ooh! I know! I'll finally make it over to the History Museum for the Katherine Dunham exhibit. Maybe I'll stop by the art museum, too, since I haven't been there in forever. If there's time, I'll buy myself a trench coat at Target or something. I'm not planning on buying too many fall clothes, but I think a tan trench coat is my must-have item for the fall. Wait, who even needs clothes when you have a trench coat, right? I'm obviously buying it to make flashing more convenient.
When did I start getting into fashion, anyway? I'm not really "into" it as much as I am "aware" of it, I guess. I just like to know what's going on. I'll add flashes of trends here and there if I like them, but I keep it subtle. Rock inspired purse? Check. Tights? Check. Trench Coat? I'm working on it. I'm also starting to wear more dresses and skirts because I realized that I miss them. I used to live in those things when I was little, and then I don't know what happened. On second thought, I wore a (loud, plaid) skirt for school everyday from 5-12th grade (jumper k-4), so I wonder if that is part of it. I stayed away from them for the past few years mostly because of work, too. For one thing, jeans were practically the uniform, and for another, I don't like when a dirty old man--or really, any man that I am not attracted to--checks me out. I'm not bragging, if it could somehow be construed that way. It honestly creeps me out. At my new job, though, skirts are safe and actually encouraged (business casual), so I think that's why I want to bring that outside of work, too.
Wow, three hours is such a long time for a practice. I wasted two hours and I still have time to do something productive. I'm not making any promises, though...
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Stuff and things
Okay fine, I'll go back to taiko on Thursday already...but only because a girl that's been playing for 10 years is coming to check us out. Since I can play most songs and I don't know what we're going to demonstrate, it might be helpful for me to be there. And okay, I might also go to the beginner's class on Sunday, but only because it looks like there are some interesting candidates and I want to meet them. We need more dancers in the group and it looks like there are some possibilities. There is never a good time to do 400 jumping jacks and 1600 arm circles, but first thing in the morning is especially bad. Is meeting them worth it? I'm still weighing my options. The class significantly decreases after the first week or so. Wimps. ;)
I've decided I'm going to judge this year, even though I have a certain aversion to it. When I was captain on dance team in high school, I had to decide (with two others) who would make the cut for every dance that we did. A couple times, a girl or two didn't pass and they cried about it. I felt bad, even though we let them dance, anyway, because they promised to try harder. They were still bad, though. Ha. I think I would be a relatively strict taiko judge, but that is not entirely a bad thing. Once you make the group you are in for life if you so choose, so we shouldn't just take anyone.
We don't have room for many more people, anyway. I think if we take more, though, we should start establishing levels like "beginner, intermediate, advanced." It seems like all the other groups have that kind of system and a lot of beginners aren't even allowed to perform at all in the first two years or so. We don't have the resources for that and that's pretty harsh, anyway; however, just knowing a song should not automatically mean you should perform it. I'm still conflicted on whether people that try hard and always come to practice should perform more than people that are naturally talented but don't practice as much. My initial response is no, practice time shouldn't trump skill, but that's not really fair.
At the same time, when I first started dancing I practiced all the time and in high school and college I had to learn a new dance every other week, so I can now pick up on dances, timing, and movement almost effortlessly. Should I still practice as much as the people that haven't trained themselves to that point yet? I pretty much do, anyway, but I wouldn't say that it's necessarily fair, either. If it takes me one practice to learn something that takes someone else ten practices to learn, that holds me back. That's where levels would come in handy. I have a lot of patience, but I can only teach, critique, "re-learn" things and learn different parts for so long until I'm bursting at the seems for a new challenge. I'm sort of at a stalemate. It looks like I'm going to have to create my own challenges, which is why I should really make a song.
Well, at least I made good use of my taiko absence last night. I went to a trivia night at a local bar! Two of the categories involved listening to songs and naming the artist or band, so I wasn't totally clueless. We never came close to winning, but it was still fun. The rest of the week looks promising, too. Tonight is Theology at the Bottleworks, Friday is the hot air balloon glow, and Saturday is my grade school's carnival and possibly a movie!Yay!
I've decided I'm going to judge this year, even though I have a certain aversion to it. When I was captain on dance team in high school, I had to decide (with two others) who would make the cut for every dance that we did. A couple times, a girl or two didn't pass and they cried about it. I felt bad, even though we let them dance, anyway, because they promised to try harder. They were still bad, though. Ha. I think I would be a relatively strict taiko judge, but that is not entirely a bad thing. Once you make the group you are in for life if you so choose, so we shouldn't just take anyone.
We don't have room for many more people, anyway. I think if we take more, though, we should start establishing levels like "beginner, intermediate, advanced." It seems like all the other groups have that kind of system and a lot of beginners aren't even allowed to perform at all in the first two years or so. We don't have the resources for that and that's pretty harsh, anyway; however, just knowing a song should not automatically mean you should perform it. I'm still conflicted on whether people that try hard and always come to practice should perform more than people that are naturally talented but don't practice as much. My initial response is no, practice time shouldn't trump skill, but that's not really fair.
At the same time, when I first started dancing I practiced all the time and in high school and college I had to learn a new dance every other week, so I can now pick up on dances, timing, and movement almost effortlessly. Should I still practice as much as the people that haven't trained themselves to that point yet? I pretty much do, anyway, but I wouldn't say that it's necessarily fair, either. If it takes me one practice to learn something that takes someone else ten practices to learn, that holds me back. That's where levels would come in handy. I have a lot of patience, but I can only teach, critique, "re-learn" things and learn different parts for so long until I'm bursting at the seems for a new challenge. I'm sort of at a stalemate. It looks like I'm going to have to create my own challenges, which is why I should really make a song.
Well, at least I made good use of my taiko absence last night. I went to a trivia night at a local bar! Two of the categories involved listening to songs and naming the artist or band, so I wasn't totally clueless. We never came close to winning, but it was still fun. The rest of the week looks promising, too. Tonight is Theology at the Bottleworks, Friday is the hot air balloon glow, and Saturday is my grade school's carnival and possibly a movie!Yay!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Four Temperaments
I'm making up for last month's lack of posts, I guess. I actually ran several errands and hung out with a good friend today, but this doesn't take much time. I haven't taken a quiz in a while, but I just took a temperament test that sparked my interest.
The result seemed accurate, so of course, I couldn't stop there. I needed to know more about it, and then what all the other temperaments meant, as well--yes, I'm on another psychology kick, and this time it involves the Four Temperaments/Four Humors. They are Melancholy, Phlegmatic, Choleric, and Sanguine. The idea originally came from Hippocrates, who thought that certain bodily fluids controlled aspects of a person's personality (black bile, phlegm, yellow bile, and blood--yum). Of course, those physiological connections do not apply in modern psychology, but the ancient temperaments still stand. Anyway, I'm almost evenly split between these two (the other two only account for about 30% total):
Melancholy
The result seemed accurate, so of course, I couldn't stop there. I needed to know more about it, and then what all the other temperaments meant, as well--yes, I'm on another psychology kick, and this time it involves the Four Temperaments/Four Humors. They are Melancholy, Phlegmatic, Choleric, and Sanguine. The idea originally came from Hippocrates, who thought that certain bodily fluids controlled aspects of a person's personality (black bile, phlegm, yellow bile, and blood--yum). Of course, those physiological connections do not apply in modern psychology, but the ancient temperaments still stand. Anyway, I'm almost evenly split between these two (the other two only account for about 30% total):
Melancholy
- Deep and thoughtful
- Analytical
- Serious and purposeful
- Genius prone
- Talented and creative
- Artistic or musical
- Philosophical and poetic
- appreciative of beauty
- Sensitive to others
- Self-sacrificing
- Conscientious
- Idealistic
- Low-key personality
- Easygoing and relaxed
- Calm, cool and collected
- Patient well balanced
- Consistent life
- Quiet but witty
- Sympathetic and kind
- Keeps emotions hidden
- Happily reconciled to life
- All-purpose person
Oh Ellen
Did I mention how much I love her?! The dance starts around 2:10:
ALSO, I found this video of the "Crazy Dancing Lady" that I see ALL over St. Louis (and even Belleville!). If I go off the deep end one day, I will totally turn into this lady. She does parties, too, apparently. I feel kind of bad for her, but she is doing her thing and it's harmless. That's how you get lost in dance...well, kind of. It makes me smile. This time she has a dance partner!:
ALSO, I found this video of the "Crazy Dancing Lady" that I see ALL over St. Louis (and even Belleville!). If I go off the deep end one day, I will totally turn into this lady. She does parties, too, apparently. I feel kind of bad for her, but she is doing her thing and it's harmless. That's how you get lost in dance...well, kind of. It makes me smile. This time she has a dance partner!:
Top Ten Things I'm Looking Forward To This Fall
Labor Day usually signifies the end of summer, and this summer was especially awesome. I spent most of my time doing fun things outside of work and just outside, in general. The mild summer made it even more enjoyable. Summer is probably my favorite season because of all the activities, but fall comes in a close second. Here's a list of things I'm looking forward to this fall, to cheer me up a little. (In order of how they popped into my head.):
1. Layered clothing. It's jacket and sweater season, and jackets are my favorite article of clothing. Also, I can wear skirts and dresses with tights (or maybe even thigh highs, like in Japan?).
2. Cool, crisp air
3. Colorful leaves
4. Low humidity means that my hair will become manageable again.
5. Halloween and all that comes with it: candy, scary stories, cute kids in costumes, etc...Haunted tour of Alton this year, maybe?
6. Boots and ballet slippers!
7. Official one year anniversary of my job and relationship (unofficial relationship anniversary is indeterminable).
8. Pumpkin flavored coffee and desserts.
9. I get fitted for my dress as Maid of Honor in a spring wedding and I meet the other bridesmaids.
10. Season 5 of "The Office" comes out on DVD.
1. Layered clothing. It's jacket and sweater season, and jackets are my favorite article of clothing. Also, I can wear skirts and dresses with tights (or maybe even thigh highs, like in Japan?).
2. Cool, crisp air
3. Colorful leaves
4. Low humidity means that my hair will become manageable again.
5. Halloween and all that comes with it: candy, scary stories, cute kids in costumes, etc...Haunted tour of Alton this year, maybe?
6. Boots and ballet slippers!
7. Official one year anniversary of my job and relationship (unofficial relationship anniversary is indeterminable).
8. Pumpkin flavored coffee and desserts.
9. I get fitted for my dress as Maid of Honor in a spring wedding and I meet the other bridesmaids.
10. Season 5 of "The Office" comes out on DVD.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Upcoming hobbies
So much for that nap, at least for the moment. I have all the time in the world, though, now that today's taiko performance was cancelled. We weren't supposed to play until 7 and I think it has finished raining for the day (it's 2pm), so I don't know what that's about. The stage is covered, anyway, and I know the group has played there in the rain before. I really hope the weather cooperates tomorrow and Monday because I know a decent amount of people that are thinking of coming, but I would understand if rain scared them away. Maybe I'll do an anti-rain dance for the rain gods or something. Oh, speaking of dancing: I made up a short ballet/modern dance for one of the interludes! I always felt like that song needed a dance, so now it has one. I'm kind of excited.
If I really put my mind to it I could make an entire taiko song, but I keep making excuses. As of this moment, I'm giving myself a deadline of...December 31. You heard it here first. That way, it's after all the craziness of the taiko and holiday season and after the new kids (if any) join the group. Plus, that will give me enough time to rework it a thousand times, too, which is a necessary part of the process. I'm not sure how complicated it will be, but if my "easy" dance choreography is any indication, it might take some time to teach it. This is a new direction for me, though, so I should start out slow...but sometimes I have a different definition of what that means. More challenging=more fun! (Taiko side note: Juugoya is the exception.) Well, I think so, anyway.
Lately I seem to have this crazy habit of essentially thinking things into existence. I'll mention something like, "Hey, I wonder if so-and-so is going on tour and stopping in town" or "My sister has a wallet made of duct tape (from a friend). I wonder if there's a company that makes those." Sure enough, within two or three days, I will look up the artist and find that they are coming to town or I will accidentally come across an article about the topic that answers the question. They aren't extremely popular acts or topics, either.
The latest example is a hula hoop class. I found an article that said it was growing as a popular exercise class yesterday and thought "I used to love doing tricks with the hula hoop when I was little (on my arms, neck, etc). Maybe I should try it again." I mentioned it to Joel last night and by pure coincidence, I found a flyer for "World Hoop Day" (9/9) in his store today. Apparently, St. Louis has a hoop club and they will start offering classes next month. That's a pretty unusual coincidence. Maybe there is something to that "Law of Attraction" thing, huh? Hula hooping at this age is a little unusual, I know, but it also sounds like a blast! As an added bonus, the hula hoops in the videos have LED lights inside of them, which is awesome at any age. I emailed them to sign up today. I am such a hippie.
Anyway, I should get back to...thinking about a nap and uh, eating something before I leave at 7. Yeah, 3 hours from now. Busy day. :-P
If I really put my mind to it I could make an entire taiko song, but I keep making excuses. As of this moment, I'm giving myself a deadline of...December 31. You heard it here first. That way, it's after all the craziness of the taiko and holiday season and after the new kids (if any) join the group. Plus, that will give me enough time to rework it a thousand times, too, which is a necessary part of the process. I'm not sure how complicated it will be, but if my "easy" dance choreography is any indication, it might take some time to teach it. This is a new direction for me, though, so I should start out slow...but sometimes I have a different definition of what that means. More challenging=more fun! (Taiko side note: Juugoya is the exception.) Well, I think so, anyway.
Lately I seem to have this crazy habit of essentially thinking things into existence. I'll mention something like, "Hey, I wonder if so-and-so is going on tour and stopping in town" or "My sister has a wallet made of duct tape (from a friend). I wonder if there's a company that makes those." Sure enough, within two or three days, I will look up the artist and find that they are coming to town or I will accidentally come across an article about the topic that answers the question. They aren't extremely popular acts or topics, either.
The latest example is a hula hoop class. I found an article that said it was growing as a popular exercise class yesterday and thought "I used to love doing tricks with the hula hoop when I was little (on my arms, neck, etc). Maybe I should try it again." I mentioned it to Joel last night and by pure coincidence, I found a flyer for "World Hoop Day" (9/9) in his store today. Apparently, St. Louis has a hoop club and they will start offering classes next month. That's a pretty unusual coincidence. Maybe there is something to that "Law of Attraction" thing, huh? Hula hooping at this age is a little unusual, I know, but it also sounds like a blast! As an added bonus, the hula hoops in the videos have LED lights inside of them, which is awesome at any age. I emailed them to sign up today. I am such a hippie.
Anyway, I should get back to...thinking about a nap and uh, eating something before I leave at 7. Yeah, 3 hours from now. Busy day. :-P
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
This moment in time
No taiko practice tonight, which is nice because I think everyone could use a break already. We just have to get through tomorrow's practice, loading drums and spiking the stage on Friday, and then spending the entire weekend at the Botanical Garden. Oh, and then we have 3 out of town performances the next weekend in Springfield, MO (overnight stay). THEN, if things go as planned, I am going on strike...uh, I mean taking a break. I really should make up a song. For real this time. The other stuff is getting old and I've been cooking up ideas for a while. It won't be as easy as making up a dance, though, since the song isn't already made.
Picking up on incorrect arm movements in taiko seems to be second nature to me. For example, yesterday I noticed in the window reflection that I used the opposite arm of the person behind me on one beat of a rather complicated song. I see tiny things like that all the time, even when I'm playing and not paying as much attention. I think I figured out why, though: multiply the people on the front drums by three, take away the drums, add leg movements and lateral motion, and you have a dance squad. I'm trained to pick up inconsistencies in entire body movements, so arms alone are a breeze. The hardest part is remembering what I see through the course of a song and deciding if I should speak up. Usually, I speak up, and I think people appreciate it. I hate singling someone out in front of the whole group because it seems like I'm undermining them, so I speak to them individually.
I'm not really complaining about the Japanese Festival, by the way, because I am so glad I get to actually perform in it this year. I have just been doing a LOT of taiko in the past month or more, and it won't end for another week or so. Last year I was supposed to be on a lot of good parts and had to be replaced just two weeks before the show. That was definitely the lowest point of the year and possibly my life, as dramatic as that sounds. (Sicknesses and deaths of loved ones trump that, but I'm speaking in regards to myself, personally.) I won't reiterate why, but you probably have an idea.
Oh, that reminds me--I came across an article about "America's Most Stressful Cities," and guess which one has come in first for two years in a row? Chicago! Yes, the place where I almost sold my soul to my job. Looking back, thank God I didn't. Who knows how or when I would have broken out of that cycle of overworking myself, otherwise? I was describing my current job situation to a designer acquaintance that I hadn't seen in a while, and her response was, "That sounds kind of ideal." And you know, as boring as insurance is and as much as I would love to be surrounded by creative types, I have it pretty good. I basically set my own schedule, do my own thing, leave on time, and never take work home with me. I'm still designing (from the ground up, at that) and I have a job. In fact, my boss told me that hiring me full-time is very much in the works right now (budgeting for next year). Well, I have to pass the crazy test before they can hire me, but I should be fine. I bet that's what they all say...
It's funny, because they only expected me to be there for two months as a temp. This happened the same time that Joel and I started realistically sorting through what I would consider major life changes for both of us, too. I really don't know how long I expected us to last and sometimes I wonder what the hell I was thinking back then, but despite a few bumps, it just keeps getting better. I assumed it would all along, but I had very little evidence of that last November. Sometimes I just "know" things for no good reason.
Oh, and my birthday was light years better than last year. It lasted about a week: swanky bar; found and watched Chicago, one of my favorites; did batting cages and mini golf for the first time in like 10 years; got a big group of awesome friends together for the wineries; went to lunch at Houlihan's with some cool taiko people. I'm not quite sure when I collected all these friends I've been keeping up with, either, but I'm lovin' it. There's always something fun going on.
A recent situation among so-called friends still haunts me a little, even though it has nothing to do with me. I had a behind the scenes look at the drama as it played out, more than most other people, and I am shocked at how detached and deceitful people can be. For the record, if you break the "girl code" and turn on a friend/someone with tremendous admiration for you so suddenly and unapologetically (don't forget secretly), you are out of the club in my book. I'm not sticking around to see what you come up with next. I can't even exactly define "girl code," but there are basic guidelines. I'm more surprised at the principles at work than the people, actually, but there I go "knowing" things I have no reason to know again.
That's neither here no there, but it's something that I've been thinking about. All in all, I would say that life is pretty fantastic, and it's about time.
Picking up on incorrect arm movements in taiko seems to be second nature to me. For example, yesterday I noticed in the window reflection that I used the opposite arm of the person behind me on one beat of a rather complicated song. I see tiny things like that all the time, even when I'm playing and not paying as much attention. I think I figured out why, though: multiply the people on the front drums by three, take away the drums, add leg movements and lateral motion, and you have a dance squad. I'm trained to pick up inconsistencies in entire body movements, so arms alone are a breeze. The hardest part is remembering what I see through the course of a song and deciding if I should speak up. Usually, I speak up, and I think people appreciate it. I hate singling someone out in front of the whole group because it seems like I'm undermining them, so I speak to them individually.
I'm not really complaining about the Japanese Festival, by the way, because I am so glad I get to actually perform in it this year. I have just been doing a LOT of taiko in the past month or more, and it won't end for another week or so. Last year I was supposed to be on a lot of good parts and had to be replaced just two weeks before the show. That was definitely the lowest point of the year and possibly my life, as dramatic as that sounds. (Sicknesses and deaths of loved ones trump that, but I'm speaking in regards to myself, personally.) I won't reiterate why, but you probably have an idea.
Oh, that reminds me--I came across an article about "America's Most Stressful Cities," and guess which one has come in first for two years in a row? Chicago! Yes, the place where I almost sold my soul to my job. Looking back, thank God I didn't. Who knows how or when I would have broken out of that cycle of overworking myself, otherwise? I was describing my current job situation to a designer acquaintance that I hadn't seen in a while, and her response was, "That sounds kind of ideal." And you know, as boring as insurance is and as much as I would love to be surrounded by creative types, I have it pretty good. I basically set my own schedule, do my own thing, leave on time, and never take work home with me. I'm still designing (from the ground up, at that) and I have a job. In fact, my boss told me that hiring me full-time is very much in the works right now (budgeting for next year). Well, I have to pass the crazy test before they can hire me, but I should be fine. I bet that's what they all say...
It's funny, because they only expected me to be there for two months as a temp. This happened the same time that Joel and I started realistically sorting through what I would consider major life changes for both of us, too. I really don't know how long I expected us to last and sometimes I wonder what the hell I was thinking back then, but despite a few bumps, it just keeps getting better. I assumed it would all along, but I had very little evidence of that last November. Sometimes I just "know" things for no good reason.
Oh, and my birthday was light years better than last year. It lasted about a week: swanky bar; found and watched Chicago, one of my favorites; did batting cages and mini golf for the first time in like 10 years; got a big group of awesome friends together for the wineries; went to lunch at Houlihan's with some cool taiko people. I'm not quite sure when I collected all these friends I've been keeping up with, either, but I'm lovin' it. There's always something fun going on.
A recent situation among so-called friends still haunts me a little, even though it has nothing to do with me. I had a behind the scenes look at the drama as it played out, more than most other people, and I am shocked at how detached and deceitful people can be. For the record, if you break the "girl code" and turn on a friend/someone with tremendous admiration for you so suddenly and unapologetically (don't forget secretly), you are out of the club in my book. I'm not sticking around to see what you come up with next. I can't even exactly define "girl code," but there are basic guidelines. I'm more surprised at the principles at work than the people, actually, but there I go "knowing" things I have no reason to know again.
That's neither here no there, but it's something that I've been thinking about. All in all, I would say that life is pretty fantastic, and it's about time.
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