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Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
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9:48 am - summer of reconnecting
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I am prioritizing two things this summer:
(1) FUN
(2) Reconnecting with friends
So far I think I'm doing a darned good job of both. Means my house is not quite as clean as I'd like, and maybe I'm not getting to my email and other to-do list stuff as efficiently as usual, but oh well. Just in the last week, I've had quality hang-out time with people I've known for 15-25 years but rarely get to see despite not living very far apart (one local, several in SF). There is just something so easy and gratifying about spending time with people who have known you so long (and still like you!).
So if I've promised you something and it's taking longer than usual, forgive me. I'm out in the world, reconnecting.
current mood: fulfilled
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| Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
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10:00 am - year 45, complete
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Another tour around the sun has completed for me - although the festivities will be continuing through the weekend! My actual bday went something like this:
- Wake up being nuzzled by my furry balls of love. Snuggle with cats for half an hour before getting up.
- Breakfast: banana muffin topped wtih melted chocolate chips, followed by yummy home-grown greens topped with a fried egg to fuel my morning.
- Bike ride to the studio with Julie on a gorgeously sunny day
- Play on my new trap-hoop for an hour
- Teach for 3 hours, enjoying the chocolate offerings brought by my students
- Play for another hour
- Bike ride home
- Shower, change into something purty
- Dinner at Tilth with Shawn and his mom and her partner. That might just be my favorite restaurant in Seattle. OMG so good.
- Curl up in bed with my sweetie and pass out in a slightly drunken haze.
Really the only down side to my day was that the milkshake machine at Red Mill was broken. Millkshake fail!! But I probably did not need more sugar anyway, and I'll just have one at Molly Moon's some other day this week.
All in all, a most excellent day full of love and good wishes from the many fabulous people in my life. Nothing like a birthday to remind you how many people out there love you!
current mood: happy!
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| Thursday, June 11th, 2009
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9:38 am - singing
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I'm finding myself singing a lot these days. Singing along with whatever's playing at the studio, belting it out in the car, humming what's on the ever-playing radio in my head...I'm just in a mood to make some happy noise of late. Maybe it's summertime, maybe it's my upcoming birthday (45!!!), maybe it's seeing my friends more these days, maybe it's cuz my mama is coming to visit in July - I don't know, but I'm loving it.
Life is good.
current mood: musical
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| Thursday, May 14th, 2009
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10:13 pm - day 4 without caffeine
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....and I feel great! Today was the first day when I woke up and felt totally fine, no cravings at all. I still had some ginseng tea, mainly because I like the taste and I need to start the day with a warm beverage of some sort. But my mind is clear and I have a surprising amount of energy, even now at 10 pm after a 9-hour day at the studio. Crazy!
This of course begs the question of whether I should keep going, since I've finally achieved decaffeinated nirvana. I guess the answer is...I'll decide when I get there. Certainly it's nice to have broken the dependence, and I hope from here on out that I will be able to stick to a lower intake in general. But...iced coffee in summer is not something I want to give up!
And so, as usual....I was unenthusiastic about doing this when we set out, but I'm really happy that we did. It's worth the discomfort to feel like I've given my body a bit of a reset.
current mood: perky
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| Monday, May 11th, 2009
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2:30 pm - the annual detox
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Once a year, Shawn and I buckle down and for two weeks we give up all of those delicious toxins that we love so much: coffee, sugar, booze, etc. Last year we stupidly did this in January, which was torture. This year we went back to the more typical plan of a springtime cleanse, since it is SO much easier to do when there is (a) sunlight and (b) warmth. Plus Chinese medicine apparently says spring is the time of the liver, which is what we're giving a break here.
Anyway....we're a week in, and so far my main craving has been caffeine. Shawn went cold-turkey last week, no caffeine at all; I cut back to just one cup of green tea a day, which was surprisingly difficult. Guess my intake had crept up there a bit, especially during my travels. Today I woke up and decided to take the last step, since I'd already done the hard part. It's now 2:30 and I feel remarkably energetic and alert. A bit slow in the noggin but otherwise fine. We'll see how long it lasts! If I make it through the week without caffeine, I'll know that this is the way to go for me - one week of tapering, then one week of none at all. Much easier to deal with than cold turkey.
Sure, it'll be good to have some chocolate and a glass of wine, but far and away, the toxin I miss is that sweet buzz of caffeine. Very illuminating.
Of course, on Saturday morning, we're having mochas with booze in them. :-)
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| Sunday, May 3rd, 2009
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8:59 pm - and just to top it off...
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....I had a whole row to myself on the flight home from Boston. And the flight was on time, and my bag came right out.
I may never travel again - how can I possibly have this kind of luck twice?? The whole trip was stellar, start to finish - the weather was great, the company was superlative, I avoided all rush hours, always had plenty of time to get where I needed to go, and I got some great training done in Vermont.
OK, some of the beds were uncomfortable. That's about the worst thing I can say.
But all good things come to an end, and this one ended with another good thing: being home! And really fired up to get back to teaching. So much new material to share!
current mood: jet-lagged
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| Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
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6:43 pm - at the risk of being a broken record...
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....this trip continues to go swimmingly. I've road-tripped from NYC to CT to MA and finally now to VT, managing to avoid rush hour in all major cities. The weather has been hot but otherwise delightul (although it is supposed to turn to rain soon). I've visited with friends old and new, helped teach an aerial class with ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) frobzwiththingz, found out that klingonlandlady was high school BFFs with my college roommate, and already done some great work with Elsie in Brattleboro. I am already wishing we had more time here, while at the same time starting to be ready to head home to my sweetie and my kitties and my housemate.
Two more days of training, then begins the long trek home.
current mood: happy!
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| Monday, April 27th, 2009
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8:58 am - my trip so far
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- uneventul flight, on-time landing, pickup at Newark at 11:30 pm by friend who totally rocks given that it is over an hour drive back to NYC from there
- Day 1: awesome photo shoot on roof of aforementioned friend's house, involving a lot of olive oil and glitter; then fantastic dinner at a vegan organic restaurant (Pure Food) with two of my favorite ladies
- Day 2: 6ish hours of shopping in the 80+-degree weather, followed by a very fun dance-acrobatic show at Streb in Brooklyn, followed by collapsing with some takeout Thai.
- Day 3: deliciously mellow morning followed by a wee bit more shopping, then BBQ, then awesome cocktails at a membership-only speakeasy.
Today: meet another friend for lunch in Manhattan before picking up a car to drive to CT for the night to visit friends, then on to Boston tomorrow where I will exchange that car for the car that will take me to VT. It's a long story but this turned out to be the most economical way to go - not to mention that I don't have to worry about train and bus schedules.
So far, so great!
current mood: delighted
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| Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
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8:39 am - student shows: check! next up: flying east!
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The student shows this past weekend were a resounding success! We had full houses for all three shows, all of the acts went off spendidly, and more importantly, all of the performers actually had a good time! It was really gratifying to me how many of the first-timers came up to me afterwards and told me how much fun it was to perform. To me, that means I did a good job creating a show atmosphere that was at least relatively relaxed and supportive -not that they weren't all nervous as hell, of course! - but at least they didn't have anything to worry about other than getting through their acts. Of course, knowing that the crowd was entirely made up of friends and family probably helped.
We also raised a ton of money for the studio, which is an awfully nice side-benefit. I decided not to charge admission but rather to ask folks for donations after each show. That way I could talk about what we needed money for (more mats!) and let the guests decide how much to contribute. We easily exceeded what we need for two more crash mats, so now I get to decide what to buy with the rest of the money! Hmm...spotting lines? A swinging trapeze? Stage lighting? Tis a good problem to have. :)
So now I turn my attention to my upcoming trip east, first to NYC to visit friends, then up to New England to do some teacher training at Nimble Arts, stopping over with klingonlandlady and frobzwiththingz on the way. Can't wait!
I suppose I should quit writing and get packing!
current mood: pleased
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| Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
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6:03 pm - the Hobbes report: no cancer in the ultrasound
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Well, I've now seen my cat from the inside! Now I kinda know what expectant parents feel like when they see their child's heartbeat...except of course my child was lying on the table, not in my belly.
Anyway.
The ultasound showed that one of his kidneys is smaller than it should be and has some mineral deposits, and that there is some thickening of his heart walls. Neither of those things points to cancer or weight loss in general. Just things to watch for in the future.
Now i've got a cat with a shaved belly and goo on his fur...but no immediately obvious signs of cancer. So that's good....and he seems to have gained some weight back, with the new free-feeding program. (And Wyatt is becoming a small, grey, furry blimp.) At this point I am going to let him eat and keep an eye on him. If his weight increases and/or stabilizes, I'm going to stop worrying for now.
Thanks again for all the good wishes - Hobbes and I appreciate them!
current mood: relieved
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| Monday, March 30th, 2009
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1:02 am - still waiting
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At my vet's recommendation, we ran one more thyroid test - just to make sure, since his symptoms sure point to that. Other than, you know, lack of elevated thyroid levels. So best to be sure about it. I hope to get that result tomorrow, and have another chat with the vet.
He really seems fine. He's up and about, possibly more energetic than ever. Of course, it might be that the lack of weight makes his arthritis ease up a bit. In any case, he is not acting like a sick cat, which makes it hard to feel an urgency about scheduling further tests. I am tempting to just start feeding him more, give it a week or two, and see if he gains any weight back. Then again, if it is cancer, waiting would be a bad bad idea.
So. Ultrasound it is.
The outpouring of support for him (and me) during the past few days has been really amazing. It's great to have so many friends who understand that pets are members of the family - especially one who's been around for 15 years. It amazes me how many of my friends remember Hobbes - even people I haven't seen in years. Reminds me just how long he's been a part of my life.
current mood: hopeful
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| Thursday, March 26th, 2009
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4:16 pm - Hobbes update
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The vet says the tests for hyperthyroid and diabetes came back negative. The weight loss is too rapid to be parasites. So, most likely cause: cancer.
Now we embark on a series of costly tests to figure out if that's it, and if so, what kind.
*sigh*
I have had better weeks.
current mood: heavy
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| Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
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3:24 pm - if it's not one thing...
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...it's the cat.
My 15-year-old cat, Hobbes, has been losing weight lately despite being hungry all the time. Sounds like a thyroid problem, so I took him to the vet this morning for blood tests. If it's thyroid, it means a radioactive iodine treatment to the tune of about $1000...but then we get to have a mildly radioactive cat for a while! It's also possible that it's diabetes, or...something else. We'll know (I hope) tomorrow when the blood work comes back.
*sigh*
current mood: worried
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| Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
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3:29 pm - you know you're an aerial geek when...
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....a really famous trapeze artist calls you to talk about teaching workshops at your space and after you hang up you run around giggling like a schoolgirl. You'd think that Angelina Jolie just called me by the way I am blushing and grinning.
(For those who know about such things: Helene Turcotte is the trapeziste in question. I'm kinda hyperventilating at the thought of working with her.)
current mood: excited
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| Monday, March 16th, 2009
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8:21 am - home to the land of cold and grey
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Home again. I could see my breath on the jetway as we got off the plane last night. Not happy-making.
current mood: meh
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| Sunday, March 15th, 2009
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4:35 pm - heading home
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We are sitting in the teeny little airport at Melville Hall, Dominica, waiting for our American Eagle flight to San Juan. We spend the night there, then fly back to Seattle via LAX tomorrow.
It's been a really enjoyable trip in almost every way. I did get tired of the van rides, and a bit bored with the menu in the restaurant, and would have liked a teeny bit more down time and a teeny bit more hot in the hot water. Otherwise, it's been pretty darned good.
Our final dives ranged from pleasant to downright excellent. One of them featured several swim-throughs, long coral archways teeming with schools of squirrelfish and tons of other critters. Another, called "Crater's Edge," was a submerged pinnacle starting at about 25' and descending down and outward into the deep blue. Really gorgeous. We saw crabs and lobsters and cleaner shrimps and more turtles and eels and psychedelic flounder and sargeant majors and dozens of other fishies. It will be hard to decide what the next addition to the dive-buddy tattoo should be, although the seahorse is a top contender. Or maybe a spiny black sea urchin. Or a spotted drum.
I learned that 7 am, pre-breakfast yoga is not really for me. The scuba-oriented yoga practice was enjoyable in general, but after I few days I just wanted to do my own practice, at my own preferred time. But man, if you're going to do yoga at the crack of dawn, this is the place to do it!
And now, back to the land of rain and clouds (and hopefully not snow by the time we get there!). As much as I enjoyed it here, it will be good to be home.
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Oops, never managed to send this from DOM. Now we're in LAX, waiting for our 7:40 pm connection home, trying fruitlessly to get onto an earlier filght. I just learned that we are 25th on the standby list for the 5:30 flight. Guess we should settle in and get comfy.
current mood: travel-weary
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| Thursday, March 12th, 2009
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2:52 pm - about Jungle Bay
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Last night we spent an hour with Sam, the owner of Jungle Bay Resort, hearing about the history and philosophy of the place, so i thought I'd write a little about it.
First off...Jungle Bay is not for the faint of heart. I've already mentioned the hair-raising van rides to and from the place; there's also the short but strenuous hikes required to get to and from the cabins, which are built for the views, not for ease of access. The focus on yoga and eco-tourism does tend to select for fit visitors, but even we are finding ourselves huffing and puffing when we get back to our little home away from home. Between that and the daily 7 am yoga and the diving, we are sleeping like the dead. This is not a slacker's vacation!
What's really cool about Jungle Bay is the vision behind it. Sam wanted to help the local economy, which was in crisis after the banana market collapsed (blame "Big Banana" - Dole, Del Monte, etc, for putting the Dominican growers out of business). He wanted to show that you can do something that supports the local community while not destroying the ecology. So he designed an ecologically friendly resort - originally conceived as a campground until he realized nobody would fly here for that - that used almost entirely local resources and labor, even though it meant training most of the laborers from scratch. The cabins and all of the furniture in them, including the bed I am lying on as I type this, were made by his formerly-unskilled workers. The waitstaff in the restaurant had never even eaten in a restaurant before! The local work ethic was not exactly what you would call stringent, so he had to find ways to motivate people to come to work every day, on time, not drunk or stoned. And yet when we arrived here, the first thing we noticed was the quality of the service. This, barely 4 years since they opened the place.
Currently, Jungle bay consists of a main building that houses reception, a computer room for guests to use (and wireless there as well), the gift shop, a game room, and three different yoga studios (one of which is open-air); a small spa with several treatment rooms overlooking the ocean; 35 cabins with private bath, a mini-fridge, and a balcony with hammock; a restaurant overlooking the pool; and an ocean-side cabana. (You can't really swim in the ocean here as the waves are too rough but it's sure nice to listen to!). Plans are to add 10 cabins here and then open a second property on the west side of the island, closer to the diving. I would definitely opt for that one in the future, to save us from that damned van ride.
I am really impressed with what Sam has done here and with his commitment to his principles. I'd love to send more business his way...and I'm even starting to scheme getting him to put up rigging points for aerials in the open-air yoga studio. Aerial retreat, anyone?
current mood: mellow
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| Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
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5:58 am - at last, the diving!
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Yesterday's weather wasn't great - in fact, until today we were wondering when we were actually going to see some consistent warm sunshine after several storny interludes - but it was good enough for diving, so a-diving we went!
( details for the dive geeks )
current mood: exhilerated
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| Monday, March 9th, 2009
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3:41 pm - did we say diving? Oh, we meant hiking
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Today was supposed to be our first day of diving on Dominica, for which we were of course very excited. And then we got the news that the seas on the Caribbean side of the island had been really rough the day before so we would have to wait until this morning to find out whether we could go out or not. After breakfast we got the call: FAIL.
We dealt with our disappointment by sacking out in the hammock with books until it was time for the replacement activity: a hike to neaby Victoria Falls. The group going on this little excursion consisted of 6 of the folks from our group (Shawn and me, three other ladies in their 40s, and divemaster Todd) and about 15 of the Vassar students who arrived last night. The hike itself involved tromping over a muddy path, making 4 somewhat tricky zig-zag creek crossings, and finally scrambling over a sizable boulder field to reach the falls. Turns out that we old farts are in way better shape than the college kids, some of whom had never been on anything resembilng a hike before. It wasn't how we'd hoped to spend the morning, but it was an enjoyable - and physical - way to start the week.
I should also mention that the day started with an hour of fairly vigorous flow-style yoga. At 7 am. I was dubious at best about this plan but I managed to slog my way up to the yoga center and actually rather enjoyed the practice. Looks like that's how we will be starting (and ending) every day here, which should be a nice way to reinvigorate my practice.
The other highhlight of our day was the 90 minute bout of unconsciousness we enjoyed between lunch and afternoon yoga. It went kind of like this: "I think I might read a little beforeZZZZZZZZZ." And then it was time for yoga.
Tomorrow we dive, come hell or high water. We have an experienced and fun group so I feel certain we will make it happen one way or another.
current mood: pleasantly exhausted
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| Sunday, March 8th, 2009
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4:22 pm - our first day of island life
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Very quiet around the resort today - many guests left this morning and the new ones haven't arrived yet. We are enjoying the quiet, as we heard that the incoming crew includes about 30 college students from Vassar as well as the rest of our yoga/scuba group. Let's hope they are here to do yoga and not to parrrrrr-tay!
So far, the day has mostly been around eating and lying about. Breakfast, some reading by the pool, a bit of yoga, lunch, and then a delightful spa treatment (30 min of which is included in our package deal here). The "spa" is just another cabin overlooking the ocean, with individual treatment rooms that all open out toward the water. S and I both came close to falling asleep duing our treatments, what with the sound of the ocean on top of all the massaging and relaxing. I'm drifting off again just thinking about it.
There are a lot of lizards here, some of which puff out their throats to display a large red pouch when they breathe. Also, there was a very large brown spider that I made Shawn remove from the bathroom last night because it exceeded my threshhold for size of thing I am willing to risk having crawling on me. The literature claims that there are no poisonous animals here but it didn't say anything about spiders and I'm not taking any chances.
Soon we meet the others from our trip at the "welcome yoga" event. Then tomorrow: diving!
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