Upside Down

Shankara at Hot Yoga today. Toward the end of the practice, some uncharacteristic (for Shankara) inversions. I was happily doing down dog on the wall with some leg splits (I say happily because I like being upside down and I like feeling all strong in my arms and shoulders). In a fit of my own uncharacteristic "asking for help", I called Shankara over and asked for an assist with a never before attempted headstand.

She's up! It was pretty exciting (and not all that much of a strain, considering I am still coming down from Ana Forrest and a class with Niqqi yesterday, and had just been doing down dog on the wall splits for a minute or so)

I am looking forward to more of this whole being upside down stuff!

The images are most definitely not me, but I found them on the web, at the Betsey Downing website for her Anusara Yoga Teacher Training. For lending me her pics, she gets a link!

Weird Bird

Out my work window this morning

Any idea what this is?

The black bib and the red nape of the neck ought to make this fella easy to ID - but I have never seen one before. The robins have been out and about; this one was a newbie today.

Oh! I found it! It's a Northern Flicker (a Yellow Shafted variety, and I think male)

Nykki at WHY

...her name is Nykki (and not Nicky / Nicki / Nikki / Niki). She gets points for unique name spelling (hearkening from CA and all) as well as fierce tatts. Power class with her this morning, her first class at WHY. I like her style, so far, although I'm still recovering from Tuesday night with the master (ribs, side abs, and triceps have been reminding me that they exist for the past day or so) - so it was a little harder than normal to be there.

One of her first comments to me was related to breath - I draw my breath in quickly and then let it go slowly. An interesting (and welcome) observation. The rest of the class was less flowy - more posture based. Abs were hard (as they were in Ana's workshop on Tuesday) and I am not sure what that is all about - I am usually wiped by abs but I can do 'em. I was literally getting a back of the brain / top of the spinal column headache during abs both Tuesday and today. Odd.

But all in all, I think I am gonna like working with her! Change! Exciting!

In My Ears

The Alberto Gonzales testimony / hearings are all over the local NPR affiliates - I tried to listen but got burned out pretty quickly. So I popped some disks into the CD player at work:

Snatam Kaur - Shanti
Patty Larkin - Angels Running
Namoli Brennet - Chrysanthemum

Should keep me going until Colin hits the airwaves at 3

The Spot Eatery - New Britain Ave, West Hartford

New eatery that just opened on New Britain Avenue. I stopped in for lunch, and got a good look at the menu.

Breakfast: pretty much sandwiches. We'd probably be more likely to visit if they had eggs and stuff. (sandwiches = bread = carbs)

Lunch / Dinner: The house specialty is hot dogs - any way you want 'em. I was intrigued by the Euro Dog (tomato, onion, cucumber sauce) but there were the regulars too: chili, cheese, kraut, relish, etc. Burgers and sandwiches as well, and some grinders. Soup du jour, and some limited sides. Sweet potato fries peeked my interest - the regular fried looked good, and I am not sure if I recall seeing onion rings on the menu. I ended up getting a veggie sandwich on a hard roll which was yummy.

On the plus side: the place is bright, sunny, and clean (loved the paint job inside), its a big step up from the used car parking lot / lawnmower repair business that used to be in the space, and the food is fresh and good, definitely not fast food! If you have been to Frankie's (Waterbury, Bristol, a few other places) you are getting close....

On the down side: No salads (other than macaroni / potato salad, and cole slaw), and limited breakfast options.

The Parts that Hurt

Day Two in post-Forrest recovery, and I find that I continue to feel triceps and my lower and mid ribs. I do not recall working either of those all that much in the practice, but I must have. And it kind of affirms my practice - I felt like (in the moment) that it was a good but not particularly strong practice, and that I was simply not in a good physical place to receive it. My struggles with the practice were more along the lines of energy and attitude. But now, I feel as if perhaps it was a really deep practice, and the places I was ready are OK, and these other spots (triceps and ribs) are the places that do not get enough attention in my normal practice. Gonna talk to some of my teachers about that; find out what postures and techniques might help.....

In any case, I am headed back to the mat this morning - normally a Marcia class. Not sure if Nikki (Nicki? Nicky? Niki?) the new instructor who comes directly from working with Ana Forrest will be starting yet (she is slated to do my regular Tues / Thurs power classes) but I am looking forward to working with her.

I feel a kind of malaise, work wise. I busted through a lot of stuff at the end of March / beginning of April. Then I had taxes. Now I am catching up again. I have a bunch of backlogged reports, a bunch of loose ends from various projects, and a long queue of things to do for my one largest client. Not so worried about them - they tend to get nervous when my billables get too high each month and I've been right on the trigger levels of that nervousness for a while, so I do not feel bad about pushing work back because I know if I were to get it all done this month, I'd get a phone call at the beginning of next month about the invoiced work being too high....

Just waiting for this rain and cold to break - I get the feeling that this weekend will be the official start of nice weather. Hope so, its been a cold and wet month so far. Lot of work needs to be done around the house - cleaning, organizing, yard work. This could be a good "spring cleaning" weekend.

AC will be coming by this evening, post CCH - not sure if I will get there. I have not had dinner with the Zipster all week.

Wrung Out

Wow - three hour class with Ana Forrest last night.

First, I have never been so close to the edge of panic during a class. Mostly, that was my own stuff - I had not practiced since Friday, on Sunday morning I had been too dizzy / woozy for my usual 8:30 class, and I had been out to Chicago and back for work on Monday and Tuesday. So I was not as limber, rested, and ready as I would have wished. A few times I was just kicking myself because I was dying on the mat, and what we were doing was not all that outside of my normal practice.

Ana brought with her a cadre of assistants - and I have never felt so supported and guided. We had nametags (mine ended on my mat, because my clothing was soaked through pretty quickly) and so the assistants would call out directions by name as well as come work with one directly. A lot like Shankara's classes, for me, in that he knows me and will spot my lifted shoulders or rigid neck from across the room, and is not shy to call out "Jude, let your head go"

Ana was a delight. I've heard the teachers in the studio speak of her in hushed / awed tones. She's awesome, no doubt - but not a person to be feared. I felt perfectly safe and comfortable in the class. And it was wonderful to see the line of influence - as I was conscious of postures, phrasing, or overall tone that I recognized in my own teachers - the way one says "And now....." when moving between postures, the way others do ab work. I felt a little like a geneticist, who has been studying a handful of species and finds a progenitor species - suddenly the common traits all make sense, and the individual characteristics are brought into focus for having seen the root material.

It was as if, I could have intuited Ana Forrest from the teaching styles and yoga styles of my teachers, who have worked with and been influenced by her. A good life lesson. I may never know the divine directly, but I can see the common characteristics of the divine in other beings.

I am so lucky to have been able to work with her. Not sure if I will have another opportunity - but I trust that working with her disciples at the studio is like working with her. I get it now.....and regardless of last night's three hour practice, that's worth it.

Off My Stride

I'm usually a pretty competant business traveler. One would not know that from this particular trip:

a) I left my cell phone in the car back at BDL

b) I left my camera (usually mission critical for documenting on-site stuff) at home. This despite the fact that I bought a backup a few months back. I left BOTH cameras back at the office.

c) I accidentally booked (2) rental cars at Dollar. Nonetheless, I booked the cars for 2:30 pm (my scheduled arrival was 1:30 pm, and we got in early). They were oversold when I got in, so no car waiting for me when I got there - I would have had to wait. I ended up bumping over to Alamo where I paid a bit more for the car.

d) I went out and got a prepay phone (just so I could make calls, check voice mail, call the client). I've been so cell phone dependent for so long that I have completely lost the ability to use a pay phone - no calling card, etc. I need to rectify that.

e) The Prepay phone, however, needed to be activated online or at a landline. So it did nothing for me yesterday en route to the customer site. And it did not actually get activated until this morning, at the airport, as I was eating breakfast.

f) I ended up at a Holiday Inn Express near Midway last night - $186 for a night. Sheesh.

Edit: And let's add (g) here, I put my Southwest boarding pass in my bag so safely and securely that I could not handle it when it was time to board, and so there I am digging in my bag as the gate agent is paging me ("Is Judy Russell in the gate area?") and I look up sheepishly to the young man at the gate who laughs and lets me on-board.

So, a lot of travel doofusness this trip. Hoepfully I have gotten it all out of my system. The one big plus - the new GPS was great. And the SWA return flight was pretty empty.

I'll be back in town by noon - time to hit the post office, the bank, let the dogs out, and get some work done. Tonight - three hours with Ana Forrest. EXCITED!

In My Ears

Courtesy of my 40 monthly downloads on eMusic.com, and my MP3 player....

Going Driftless - An Artist's Tribute to Greg Brown
13 Ways to Live - Red House Records compilation
Lucy Kaplansy - Every Single Day

From the Airport

En route to Chicago - Southwest into MDW. From thence on to a hospital on the west side, near ORD. Did not fly into ORD because (a) Southwest was cheaper and (b) Southwest was direct. Bonus (c) Southwest is a heck of a lot less likely to cancel or delay flights, in my experience. Looking forward to exercising my GPS on the road for the first time.

I'm taking advantage of the free WiFi here; which makes me a lot more likely to get to the airport early. Less time wasting, and all. Checking email, checking some blogs, blogging a bit - then some real work.

With any luck, I'll be back in the nutmeg state around noon tomorrow, so I can get to the Ana Forrest workshop tomorrow night. No yoga since Friday, although I brought my mat - at the very least I can get some stretching done in the hotel this evening....

Sunday Morning

Skipped yoga this morning. I woke to a bit of fuzziness and dizziness which I am not sure about. Vino from last night? Mild stomache bug? Flu? Temporary malaise. Dunno, but its best to stay off the mat when I am not all there.

Friday night Kirtan is finally settling down. It was pretty wonderful. We all noted it, and Shankara was wondering why - were we in a good space? was it the audience? and I recalled the last kirtan (less transcendent) and joked "if it's great, its because we were on, but t's flat, it their fault". A JOKE. (got a belly laugh out of Shankara) Seriously, the kirtan vibe is the output of a complex formula of our energy, the audience energy, the time of year, the weather, the world, the stars. A 100 different variables. And when it works, magic.

I did bring my bass, plugged it in, got it tuned and sound checked. And when Tom started "Blessed Am I", a chant where guitar does not really work, I picked up the bass and noodled a bit. And when Shankara followed up with "The Earth is Our Mother" (a chant I have actually not ever practiced or done with the ensemble) I knew it was meant to be and I worked out a simple bass part. So my bass (and my playing thereof) has been initiated into kirtan less than 24 hours after I received it. Next kirtan I will actually have practiced and worked out some parts. There are a few of the more traditional chants that I think could work with bass instead of guitar.

Saturday Night

In which our heroine decides to take a knee, but pulls off a quarterback sneak. (last week's rousing finale of Friday Night Lights continues to infect me)

Specifically, I had pretty much decided on Friday to blow off taxes, file an extension, and take the pressure off. But after an incredibly cathartic (and draining) Kirtan last night, I ended up sleeping in this morning. I blew off the writer's workshop, and Zippy and I spent the morning in consumer mode - we hit Target (tee-shirts and a man bag for Zip, some kitchen stuff for us), then Bed, bath, and Beyond (a breadbox, pepper mill, and some towels). Home Depot wrought some spare house keys and a humane mousetrap. And then Appletree for the usual.

After lunch today (Zippy made a stunningly good seafood salad) I headed off to the office, where, surprise, I ended up finishing off my taxes. Not too bad - I owe the Feds $560 and I owe the state $150 or thereabouts. I'll get the checks ready to go out tomorrow.

Tonight, Zippy took off with AC to Real Art Ways "Real Party" - a little too rich for my blood. I had dinner with a friend from Boston at Angello's at Rockledge - nothing special but not bad.

Waiting for AC and Zippy to get back. Tomorrow - yoga and a mentoring thing with MYA, then try to get some work done and get ready for Chicago on Monday. If the Nor'easter permits.....

Crazy Weekend

Gonna be one, coming up.

Today starts with work (a backlog after taking yesterday off for our trip to Queens). Take the rental car back en route to hot yoga this morning. Home to clean up and nosh, then off to Bristol to pick up MYA. A quick jaunt to Cables and Connectors in Newington (to pick up some velcro and instrument cables - I am fabricating a DIY pedal board). Then off to WHY to play roadie for Kirtan (setting up the sound system and instruments).

MYA and I will then fetch dinner, I will dump her off at home, and then back to the house to get ready for Kirtan. Notice there is no time for bass unwrapping or bass playing - alas, the new bass will remain unexplored. Grumble.

Saturday has three "events" none of which I will make in favor of finishing up my taxes. I got behind this year and things need to be done - so the writers workshop (which I already paid for), a community conference, and the REAL party (not that I can afford to go but a friend invited me) are all off the table in favor of adulthood. I've never had to file for an extension and I really do not want to start.

Sunday, hot yoga, and a mentoring activity with MYA. Sunday night I might spend time with the Zipster if zie has not thrown me out by then.

Next week is still somewhat fuzzy. A client has been talking about getting me over to a site in Chicago next week. I also have a "do not want to miss under any circumstances" yoga workshop with Ana Forrest on Tuesday evening. So the Chicago trip may happen Mon-Tues (getting back in time for yoga) or Wed-Thurs (but Tues-Wed is right out)

The Fall of Imus

Not gonna comment too much - a lot has been said. Just interesting.

Do I think Imus has crossed the line often and flagrantly over the years? Yeah. Whatever boundaries are out there got pushed over and over, mostly by his minions, and yeah, I think Imus was good at playing two sides of the fence - feigning offense, laughing, anger, backing away from the offense, but always winking at the background talk from bernard, sid, et al.

Do I think he is that bad? No. I think he is a complicated case - a border person who makes us deal with stuff like sexism, homophobia, racism. Other people are far more racist than Imus, but other people have learned to cover.

What I *do* find interesting is how far and fast JD Imus has fallen. I've been watching Imus' career over the years, and rememeber how he was on WNBC, how he basically helped found WFAN (all sports except for Imus in the Morning, which was perhaps the only show that was making money at first). His forays into products - Fred and the Auto Body Express....(hell, I think I have a tee shirt somewhere, I need to see if I can Ebay it)

I remember his earliest days as a kingmaker (remember then Governor Clinton coming on his show?) - the way he would talk up serious books on morning shock-jock radio, becoming a sort of "Oprah" for guys. I remember how he used to talk to Fred (who always seemed or played the buffoon) and closed with "I love you, bro" - no idea if Fred even comes on the show anymore.

So, complicated, and sad. Not sure if he will be back - he's pretty old. I think he could come back in some way - less yucks and more thoughtful talk. Dump the team that dragged you down this ugly path. You and Charles do a little two person, one hour talk show - it could work.

And I-man, one more thing. Stay sober. Nothing worth losing that. And you have a young wife and son who need you, even if your wings have melted off.....

Off to Queens

Zipster and I are headed down to the city today. Her siblings from her dad's side* are having a mini reunion, so we get to see Adam from Austin, Jenny from DC, and Jeffrey from Texas. Bonus - we are meeting at her Uncle Dave's house in Queens; which has been described as a museuum of model trains, musical instruments, gadgets. We'll see.

My bass is supposed to show up today (at the office) although I doubt I will have time with it before Kirtan. Ah well, there is always June.... I have been working on music the past week when I can so my fingers are in shape and I have all the chants in more recent parts of my brain.

MP is going to come over to feed and water the dogs today - and finish up some kitchen work - a formica piece over a side counter, maybe some trim on the exposed wall board edges.

Friday - morning yoga. Afternoon hang out with MYA, maybe a movie. And Friday evening Kirtan. Satruday - the writer's workshop. And Sunday, yoga and mentoring.

Oh, and I still am plugging away on taxes. This might be the year I file for an extension......ugh.



* Zippy has a unique family structure - her parents married, had hir, and split up. Each went on to remarry and have families. Mom had three more kids (who Zippy grew up with) and Dad had 4 more kids (who Zippy saw on summers and holidays, and feels more kinship with). And there are lots of peripheral characters - her dad's ex (we visited her recently), her dad's present GF, etc.

Who uses floppy disks?

This article with regard to former astronaut Lisa Nowak is amusing and thought-provoking.

That she likes bondage is kind of fun. However, the fact that these images were stored on a standard floppy disk is kind of retro. I actually have a floppy drive on my desktop, although not sure I have used it. And I bought the USB floppy for my Dell Laptop a few years back and have never actually plugged it in. One wonders how crappy the resolution of the images was to fit 16 of 'em on a floppy.

Then again, NASA was flying the shuttle with the CPU power of a old 8086 for a bunch of years, so perhaps having access to and using nearly obsolete technologies is part of the astronaut training.....

The Grand Tour

An Epiphone Embassy Standard IV 4-String Bass Transparent Black is headed my way.

As of today at noon, here's where it has been:
LENEXA, KS, US 04/09/2007 5:46 P.M. ORIGIN SCAN
LENEXA, KS, US 04/10/2007 1:49 A.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
HODGKINS, IL, US 04/10/2007 10:34 A.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
HODGKINS, IL, US 04/10/2007 12:24 P.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
SECAUCUS, NJ, US 04/11/2007 3:36 A.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
SECAUCUS, NJ, US 04/11/2007 4:46 A.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
WARWICK, RI, US 04/11/2007 8:15 A.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
WARWICK, RI, US 04/11/2007 9:38 A.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
SHREWSBURY, MA, US 04/11/2007 10:44 A.M. ARRIVAL SCAN

To paraphrase Hugh Blumenfeld "...one way or another, the ax of a traveler is bound to travel..."

I suspect it will get here tomorrow (when we are in NYC) - so I will not have time to play with it before Kirtan. Unless I really have 25 year old memory in my fingers and hands with regard to playing this pupply (I last played a bass with regularity in college) I doubt it will be in my hands Friday night. Although, one never knows.....

Thinning the Herd

Guns at home equal higher suicide risk: study

While just 5 percent of all suicide attempts involve a gun, the person succeeds in killing himself or herself 90 percent of the time.

People use drugs to attempt suicide in 75 percent of cases, but actually die less than 3 percent of the time, the researchers said, citing other surveys.

Bodies within Bodies

Yoga tonight - I am taking a special weekly class which is, on one level, a bit fundamental, but affords me the opportunity to work with an instructor who I need to work with. So, tonight was week #1.

Tonight's wisdom - outside of the yoga (which was a bit instructional, its an all levels class with a lot of newcomers). I was aware that I was observing the instructor - watching her work. I admire her greatly, for her magic which I have partaken of, and for the community she has built. So watching her work is a second level of practice.

But, watching her, in her studio, I became aware of a being as an onion - living in the body, as well as in ones space - the studio, the business, the vocation. A lesson for me. I have so freaking far to go....here I am mucking around at the first level of the onion - and I am barely competant at that.

Craftsmanship

Spent most of yesterday as a helper (along with the Zipster) for our friend MP who installed tileboard in our kitchen. We've been talking about tileboard for eons - since we pulled the old stove - and now its completed - two wall sections behind the stove, as well as a backsplash behind the sink and counters. MP is a cabinetmaker by profession, and brings a certain attention to detail and technical proficiency to everything he does. It was wonderful to watch him work. (although we did toss in a few aesthetic suggestions which worked out well)

Yeah, actual tiles would have been nice - but we are a low budget household. (the dominant theme in our home is unfinished pine) And we were aiming for some light green tileboard we found (not available retail) - so we settled for white. Now we need to figure out paint to coordinate the white stove and tileboard, forest green speckled counters, and off white cabinets (we may try to paint the cabinets, but they are metal - so might settle for a thorough cleaning and replacing the hardware.

We are blessed to have a friend like MP - we paid him, but surely his labor was less costly than a contractor and his quality and attention to detail was significantly higher. I got to play electrician - pulling all the outlet covers, and replacing them, and dismounting and remounting the range hood.

Fathers' Daughter

A piece in today's Hartford Courant about children of same-sex couples, by the always GLBT friendly Daniela Altimari.

"Children do best with both a mother and a father," Brian Brown, the married father of five who heads the Family Institute of Connecticut, told the legislature's judiciary committee.

In written testimony submitted prior to the hearing, Brown elaborated: "Same-sex marriage severs the tie between marriage and parenthood; it gives the state stamp of approval on an institution that creates permanent motherless-ness and fatherless-ness."

"It is," he added, "an untested social experiment on our state's children."

Mr. Brown, I'd love to take you to Bristol to meet some kids I know who suffer from permanent fatherless-ness. The problem is not gay and lesbian couples who stay together. The problem is heterosexuals who do not.

If you want to save marriage - toughen up your divorce and remarriage laws. Toughen up your family courts to ensure that kids are effectively parented following divorce. Toughen up your laws regarding child support and parental responsibilities. Crack down on heterosexuals, and leave the GLBT community out of it.

Becca, the teen leading off this story, has two loving parents. That's one more than a lot of kids in this state, and two more than some.

Eostre Weekend

Not that we are celebrating. It's one of those odd holidays - unlike xmas (with its proximity to hannukah, solstice and new years, its secularized santa claus and its pagan symbolism in the form of trees, lights, holly, and yule logs. Unlike strictly secular holidays. No, Easter is a particularly christian holiday, despite the rabbits and eggs and chocolate. One can choose to celebrate the coming of spring, but May Day or Equinox are more apt times for that. So its kind of off the map for us.

Nevertheless, its a busy one. We're headed north twice this weekend - once to Springfield for a birthday party (this evening) and tomorrow to NoHo for a support space for the zipster. Yoga tomorrow morning for me, and kirtan rehearsal tomorrow evening. Today, I was hoping to sneak in Jazzercise (if only to go say hello, work out a bit, and collect my mat and weights since I am not able to get there too often of late). MP is planning to come by - we picked up some tileboard for the kitchen and are embarking on the long planned renovation:

Completed
* Stage 1 - new stove (gas)
* Stage 2 - new countertop

To Be Done
* Stage 3 - Tileboard behind stove and behind counters
* Stage 4 - Painting the walls and trim
* Stage 5 - Painting (?) the cabinets or at least new hardware
* Stage 6 - Linoleum floor (?)

I also have a project I need to finish up before Monday - brought everything home. Not sure when I will make time for it.

Yin Yoga

A workshop last night with Sarah Powers. Yin yoga. Which involves a lot of long, slow postures. In two hours, we never rose from the mat - did perhaps 10 postures, but held them for a long long time. It was interesting, my body feels open this morning. And I think I picked up a lot of wisdom (it was sort of 1/2 yoga, 1/2 lecture as she spoke of the practice throughout the practice). That mirrored what she was saying about the practice - that it was not so much about the postures or the discomfort - but rather about observing the mind dealing with the postures and discomfort. Two levels of work in the practice, and two levels of learning in the workshop.

I really enjoy these national workshops - even though I would just as soon grab a regular hot / power class, or a workshop down at WHY, the exposure to different teachings and styles is interesting. I can see where some of my teachers have picked up things from this style of teaching. And I am excited to have a class with Ana Forrest coming up later this month.....

I'm not slated for Sarah's workshop the rest of the weekend - conflicts with life, a bit too pricey, and I need my regular practice. Shankara on Sunday morning, methinks.....

Scrooge McDuck

I have become aware of a slow-growing obsession with things financial.


Late in the day I check the financial page to see how the Dow and NASDAQ did. Early in the morning I log in to my IRA to see how it fared. I am pleased (and obsessed) with stuffing my new Health Savings Account (HSA) with the full allocation ($2850) this year, to be able to use these tax-free funds for things like dental appointments and eyeglasses, and to squirrel away the extra for future decrepitude or retirement. I strive to pay off an insurance bill immediately (without using the monthly payment option, or to keep a credit card balance at zero.

Perhaps I can be forgiven this; at 46 many of my peers are planning retirement in the short term with large retirement savings. But the past 15 years have not been times of financial health - divorce, self employment, upside down in house for 10+ years, a near forclosure, a gender change, and a bankruptcy that I forestalled for about 5 years too long have all taken a serious toll. I had learned to live without a net, to be blind to the financial monsters and the abyss of looming financial ruin that were my constant companion.

So to have the luxury of health insurance, of some retirement savings, of some extra money ferreted away for the future is luxurious. Like coming home from a 4 day folk fest and enjoying a clean commode and a long hot shower.

Kirtan - Friday, April 13th - 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm

KIRTAN WITH SHANKARA & FRIENDS

Join us for an evening of devotional singing, chanting, and personal expression. Kirtan is part of an ancient form of yoga known as Bhakti, or the Yoga of Devotion. The meditative quality of the music promotes a joyousness of spirit. Shankara leads our group in chants and songs in Sanskrit and English, from ancient Vedic text to traditional American music. Kirtan is for everyone, the experience itself offers possibilities of personal discovery or simply, the joy of raising one's voice in song. Allow yourself the gift of making a joyous noise. It's all about the spirit and the feeling. Bring yours to share! Expect surprises and unannounced musical guests!

$5 suggested donation. No registration required.

at West Hartford Yoga, of course.

Back on the Mat

Two morning hot / power classes this week (Tues / Wed) and I am back. Today is a day off (taking MYA up to Boston) and then tomorrow I have an evening practice with Sarah Powers, coming to town from the west coast. It's hard to explain how good it feels to be back in my body after being sick.

Some work this morning, then off to Boston. Maybe some errands in between - a run to the bank to deposit coinage, the car wash / vacuum, and maybe Jiffy Lube.

More dreams

Dreaming about doing graphics at the CT Sun game, and wandering around the casino afterwards was pretty obvious - I was talking with a client last night about working the games this season. (Right now, I am not booked, but my client is predicting they will be looking to bring me on board after the preseason games, when they realize the in-house people are not getting it done for them).

So that part of the dream has roots. But why was I pushing a tricycle through the casino (which seemed more like a mall) afterwards, trying to get to the parking area. Perhaps I was bringing it home for that three-year old girl.......

A Three Year Old Girl

She came to me in a dream last night.

I was at my old house in Waterbury. My mom and sister were there - mom seemed to be bringing her to me. She was quite precocious - sitting on the floor and attempting to make lists of numbers in a lined notebook. I told her we would go get her some crayons and a coloring book. She liked firetrucks, and looked out the window, fascinated by the garbage truck with the big clamp that grabs the barrels and dumps it into the truck.

Practical things - I worried about her health care (was she a foster kid? was DCF involved? would she be on the Husky health care plan?) I worried about child care. I imagined her sitting at the empty desk in my office, coloring, while I worked. I wondered how caring for this child would impact my yoga practice.

My inner child, returned to me? A harbinger of a young person coming into my life? Am I to be a parent? Not sure. But I awoke with my hands clutching my heart, the way I did during the intensive, as I held a small brown bird protected in the cage of my chest and ribs. I felt filled with love.

I took my armor off during the intensive. Perhaps my inner child is feeling like the adult in her life is finally safe to approach. Funny, its been a long time since I have done inner child work - the late 80's / early 90's. She's changed quite a bit.....

A kitten was involved as well - a fierce grey stripey kitten, running around, attacking, playing. I'm allergic to cats so I worried about that, and I was worried about how the kitten and Nipsy would get along....

Just Like That......

A malaise had overtaken me. Between my post-intensive fog, a head cold, a very busy March, financial straits, work backlogs, and the weather (cool, grey, and wet) - I was feeling down, feeling drained. But all of a sudden - I am resurrected.

I awoke this morning feeling almost back to normal - a small fog from cold medicine, but no serious symptoms. A power yoga class with Marcia today broke an almost week long yoga fast and put me to rights. When I emerged, the sun was out and life felt 100% brighter and lighter. A couple of decent checks came in (one via mail, one via direct deposit) to ease the financial pressure, and I got my end of the month invoicing out this morning. A bunch of reports have been completed - I have one big trip report pending (this afternoon, with luck) and a few small reports backlogged - then a pile of new projects to dive into. I got the bulk of updates for a website put to bed - and a good start on the remainder.

I have a "no travel" rule for the next two weeks. I need to get stuff done for my one long time client by teh end of this week, and then I need to put my stupid taxes to bed. After April 16th - I'm gonna clean this freaking office.

In my internal soundtrack, I need an energizing, inspirational theme song right now....cause I am feeling pumped and ready for the battle.

Shipping News

Another visit to my favorite (not) post office (Shield Street, West Hartford) where there was, as usual, a huge and slow moving line.

Since all I really needed was to send a Priority flat rate envelope, I opted out of the line and came back to the office. Here's a little secret. Paypal (who does not have a Paypal account?) will print you out postage and labels for USPS shipping from their website.

Now, it's not really well advertised. It's more of an add-on to Ebay - your auction ends, prepare your shipment automatically. But there is a little link called MultiOrder Shipping (it's a lie - they will let you ship one thing) that is not linked into Ebay.

So, you can print out postage and ship it, pay for it using Paypal, and NOT HAVE TO STAND IN THE DAMN POST OFFICE LINE and also NOT HAVE TO PAY SOME STUPIDLY HIGH MONTHLY CHARGE TO STAMPS.COM. My only kvetch at the moment is that I have not figure out how to get it formatted for my Brother QL-500 label printer (so I do not have to tape or paste the label on manually), but the hooks are there, I'll figure it out sooner or later.

And that, my friends, is wisdom for the day from your el cheapo geekette. Use it wisely.

Ballast Trains

Must be a railfan thing. I lurk on a mailing list of a local tourist railroad volunteer organization. (I do the railroad website, and I set up the mailing list for them). It's a pretty quiet list - occasional flurries of messages, often related to monthly brush cutting parties.

But this week, they have been chatting up the fact that the railroad has purchased 15 carloads of track ballast, and has been laying this down all week. More message traffic in the past two days than I have seen in two months! People are taking time off work to watch or help or photograph this. I bet in a few days you might find some photos of this operation here. (The NERAIL New England Railroad Photo Archive) - there are 598 photos of this particular railroad posted there - many by the members of this group.

I never caught the railroad bug. But damn, when it bites, you are a goner!

Ready for doggie yoga?

AP Story, as retold by KOMO-TV in Seattle here.

Pretty sure none of our pooches would sit still for it. Maybe Melina (the blind aussie cattle dog) - one of her nicknames is Kundalini, after all, but to be honest she is old and stinky, and who wants to be that close to her on a mat? Ellsworth (aka Elo) is more than happy to be in contact with his humans but I fear a room full of dogs might be a bit too tempting. PLAYTIME!

Calliope (eka Callie) our third dog, would love the attention, but she is completely skittish in enclosed spaces and I fear a downward dog over her would set off her danger danger warning alerts and she would scamper off to a less restricted part of the room.

Sister Aimee

Watching a PBS show - American Experience: Sister Aimee. The story of Aimee Semple McPherson is one of those uniquely American stories - charismatic, show business, fundamentalist, wildly popular. And of course, a scandal to round it all out.

Really interesting. I'm web-surfing the Angelus Temple (still an LA landmark) as I write and watch.

Weekend Update

The Abigail Washburn concert last night was pretty amazing. She's incredibly talented, sweet, and has that knack of being able to grab an audience from the first quiet notes (a capella). Her sideman Ben Sollee was incredibly sweet and creatively talented - playing his cello like a bass, a violin, a guitar, and a bunch of other instruments. They played off each other perfectly.

Bonus, we ran into Susan Forbes Hansen before the show, and surprise, she ended up seated right next to us. So Zippy and she had some words - Zippy wrote a letter to WFCR in protest of Valley Folk being cancelled. Apparently, there is an organized movement to bring some community representation back to public radio / WFCR, located at justiceandpeace.net/WFCRdemocracy. It was an honor to chat with such a local folk legend - I hope she finds a venue for her considerable talent and commitment to the music soon. Makes me want to go out and buy a radio station!

Today, we headed up to MA for birthday dinner (my little sister's birthday) - and it turns out she is an occasional blog reader. So hiya, K! Happy birthday. Won't say which one......

My cold is abating, so I suspect I'll be back on the mat - probably not tomorrow (end of the month billing, catching up, and an appointment) but Tuesday - for sure!

No Caffeine?

Back in October, I kicked caffeine. I had a 4 day retreat to go to that was sans caffeine, I did not want a 4 day headache, and I recognized how addicted I was. So I slowly weaned myself down, and after the weekend, I stayed off.

I've been pretty good since then - I occasionally will have a cup of leaded coffee in the afternoon on a slow day, I drink caffeinated soda, but my morning fix - a 4 cup maker, and maybe a cup from Whole Donut when I went out for the mail at 10:30, has been kicked for good, replaced by Decaf or Herbal Tea. I am guessing I dropped my overall caffeine intake from 500 mG or more per day.

But I've had some reservations - how much caffeine was there in Decaf? And soda? and other beverages? Was I really off the smack?

Thankfully, an October 2006 news report says that although decaf coffee has some caffeine in it, its minimal - maybe 10% of a cup of regular coffee at worst. And a list of caffeine in other beverages points to other beverage choices - diet coke (45 mg), iced tea (40 MG) when I dine out - as being a bigger contributor. I also stopped buying diet coke for the house, preferring a diet sprite or sierra mist (0 mg) and even my caffeinated tea is green(15 mg) - much lower than regular tea (40 mg).

Still Sickish

Friday was a pretty much non-stop sick day. Sniffles, sneezes, mild headache - I got my spring cold. I spent most of the day chopping away at a website for a client - I had a meeting with them early in March and came away with some pretty major layout and design changes - many of those are now put to bed. So being home was not such a bad thing. But I am not a fan of being sick.

Due to illness, I bagged on the Real Art Ways movie / Ralph Nader appearance last evening - AC called up from some social event to report that it was sold out. Pretty cool. I would have gone. As it is I will be marginal for tonights Abigail Washburn concert at Wesleyan. The only good thing was that I actually slept pretty well last night - my nose stopped running, I did not toss and turn, and I did not sneeze nor snore. Much to Zippy's relief. I've been keeping hir up.

In other news - I got a generous gift check from my family for my birthday, which I am spending on a Garmin C330 GPS. I was so enamored of the GPSs that I have encountered over the last few weeks that I decided to treat myself - my family is forever looking for a birthday gift for me. So there you go. I am looking forward to it being useful for business trips, personal trips, and finding stuff (food, shops, etc.) while traveling - and I vow to never get lost on the way to visit my Milford friends. My getting lost en route there is a recurring theme, personal joke and source of relationship angst.

I also got (via mail) a new guitar toy - a Korg AX3G Modelling Signal Processor. Which (from what I can tell) is a pretty amazing programmable effects box. Price was right ($50) and if I can get a few basic effects programmed in (reverb, perhaps a little ethereal phase shift) it will be a nice addition to my Kirtan sound - although to be honest most of the pre-programmed sounds are various electric guitar distortion / cranked up amp effects. So I have some playing around to do. I am gonna hunt around online for some apps notes or something - the manual is pretty spartan.

I have my guitars out - its getting near time for Kirtan (April 13) and I ought to work on my callouses and refamiliarize myself with the chants. I am sure we will have some practice in the coming weeks.

Sick Girl

You know I am legitimately sick when I opt out of yoga. Not much gets in the way of me and the mat. But today - no practice. My week long throat tickle, sniffly nose, and work lethargy has blossomed into a full-blown spring cold. Slight headache, tired, sneezing, coughing. Should have been dosing with Vitamin C and Zinc all week, should have been a bit more proactive. Ah well, good day for a sick day. I have a bunch of work for a web client that I can not do from the office (because my office internet connection has been unable to access the client URL, and so far calls and emails to Cox Communications have not been helpful)

So, I'm home today (although I will probably pop out for mail and to check the office sometime today).

In other news, I found a beautiful video of an ashtanga practice on You Tube:

Which is both incredibly inspiring and incredibly humbling. I mean, just the way these folks jump forward from down dog into forward fold - like finely tuned machines, pivoting on arms, every joint precidely oiled and balanced. I see this stuff and feel like a piker, yoga wise.

Around the Dial

I've been around the dial so many times,
But you're not there.
Somebody tells me that you've been taken off the air.
Well, you were my favorite d.j.,
Since I can't remember when.
You always played the best records,
You never followed any trend.
F.m., a.m. where are you?
You gotta be out there somewhere on the dial.
On the dial.

One of our yogis is missing....and yoga studio drama ensues.

I am of mixed minds about this. The teacher in question (let's call him John) has been one of my faves all along - his teaching style is mischievous, and engaging, his classes are challenging. He has a habit of finding a theme for the week and working up to it such that Fridays were a climax of opening, exertion, ecstacy - if you stuck with his class all week you got a mini workshop and were ready for Friday. If you dropped in Friday you got your ass whipped, yoga style (not always a bad thing).

I always balanced he and the other weekday morning teacher in a sort of "mother / father" way - she is nurturing, encouraging, kind, whereas he has been challenging, engaging, adventurous. I loved having both options open to me. I love them both equally.

On the down side, I've noticed some back tweakiness coming out of his classes over the past few months - to the point where I had backed off and mostly avoided his classes. In one class in fact he kind of worked me down into a forward fold in a way that I paid for later. Not great, and admittedly my own issues with weight around the belly and core strenght are key here. It's been a few weeks since I even went to a class expecting to find him there (until this week) so the drama has been somewhat muted for me; I was aware of it but was not experiencing it directly, in the studio.

And, balancing all of this is my understanding that things change - people move on, people grow, people find new opportunities. Regardless of why he is no longer teaching (I am sure there are lots of rumors which I am trying to ignore / avoid, and the truth is in there somewhere), well, its a natural part of life. He most certainly was one of the rock stars down at the studio, with a following that went just for his classes - so I can imagine all sorts of dramas and intriques. Yogis are (I have found) all too wonderfully human.

In the meantime, when I have gone to what were once his classes, I am getting a balance of familiar faces. All wonderful teachers. So it adds a little bit of life to my practice - an uncertainty of what is ahead, an expectation. I had a really good practice on Monday morning with another man who I enjoy (he of the long and deliberately held postures), my other morning yogi fills in, and I am hopeful to snag an extra class or two with the owner of the studio who has filled in now and then (her style is delightful, although I get the most out of her in 3 hour workshops where she can work slowly and deeply as opposed to 90 minute classes)

Yoga drama.....

Four Fun Things

Just because life is not all work....

This Friday evening, Real Art Ways has a premiere of the bio-pic An Unreasonable Man which will be attended by the protaganist of the film, Mr. Ralph Nader. I am hoping to be there....

On Saturday, Zippy is spearheading a trip to Wesleyan University for a concert by Abigail Washburn, bringing her "...unique blend of Appalachian mountain music and haunting Chinese melodies to Wesleyan for an evening of music, history and crossing cultural boundaries." No idea how the Zipster stumbled across this one, but it sounds interesting, and Zippy's eclectic tastes never fail to broaden my horizons and entertain.

On Sunday, Snatam Kaur is coming to Bryan Memorial Town Hall, Washington Depot, CT. Concert info and tickets here. She is actually up in NoHo on the night before (3/31) but I'm already booked. Not sure if I will make her concert in CT ($25 is a little pricey) but you never know....

And finally, West Hartford Yoga's bimonthly Kirtan is coming up on Friday, April 13th:

Join us for an evening of devotional singing, chanting, and personal expression. Kirtan is part of an ancient form of yoga known as Bhakti, or the Yoga of Devotion. The meditative quality of the music promotes a joyousness of spirit. Shankara leads our group in chants and songs in Sanskrit and English, from ancient Vedic text to traditional American music. Kirtan is for everyone, the experience itself offers possibilities of personal discovery or simply, the joy of raising one's voice in song. Allow yourself the gift of making a joyous noise. It's all about the spirit and the feeling. Bring yours to share! Expect surprises and unannounced musical guests! $5 suggested donation. No registration required.

I'm excited for Kirtan - I am honored to be counted among the "and Friends" as a musician at this celebration / devotion, and to be able to add my talents and energy to the joyous noise that always ensues.

Now, back to work!

Slowly Digging Out

I'm consciously and mindfully avoiding a couple of hot-button net discussions because I (a) have no time for them and (b) that stuff drags me right back into the pain and the left brain logical BS that characterized much of my life.

I am slowly digging out on the work front - got some reports done yesterday and more underway today, but it will be a long slogging week of digging out.

Some appointments today and tomorrow. And I've been fighting off a cold or something - scratchy throat, sneezing, slightly foggy head. I did some hot yoga Sunday and Monday and did not feel bad, but taking today off, tomorrow probably as well (dental appointment in the morning). Hopefully I will shake the sick stuff in the next few days.

So, about those wrap pants.....

I got a lot of "where can I get those?" at the conference so here's the link

They are based in Reading PA, delivery was pretty quick, and the wrap pants range from around $9 to $15 sized to 2X)

For those in the dark, these are sarong style pants, which are sort of half way between a skirt and pants - unworn they look sort of like a misshapen sheet - and putting them on is somewhat complicated (kind of like wearing a diaper) but they are flowy and allow movement and very comfortable. There is sort of an explanation of what they are and how to tie them.

I was wearing a pair at the conference and people kept asking me where I got them - the inquiries came from a diversity of identities - drag performers (I can move in those) and lesbians (I could wear those without feeling like I had a dress on)

Happy shopping!

Work Week

Finally, a week stretches before me with no business travel, no missions of mercy, no personal growth experiences, no conferences or other extracurricular activity. About time - I have some serious catching up to do.

In an ideal world I will have the next three weeks to get myself caught up. Surely this week will be such - with the end of the month looming, and a few projects pending. I have a website client with a serious queue of updates and freshening up. I have reports for another client, along with a few longer term projects. I have a site report for a third client. And at the end of the week - my monthly invoicing.

In addition, I have my taxes to do (so far unstarted, I am late this year and I tend to be a DIY tax person because it takes me about as much work to organize my books for someone else as to do it myself and the tax software is pretty damn good these days). The good news is I have all my quarterlies paid (and have already made my 1Q07 payment) so it should be mostly a matter of paperwork.

On other fronts, I got word regarding my still confusing to me HSA account - I can deposit up to $2850 into the account. A nice little tax avoiding hidey hole, and making me feel better about being able to use the HSA funds for glasses and dental and the like (I thought perhaps I was limited to the $1250 medical deductible). In years past I have had stuff to deduct (mortgage, health insurance premiums, a few years with some one time medical claims) so I would be able to itemize but these days (no mortgage, self employment health insurance fully deductible on Schedule C, no major medical expenses) I am taking the standard deduction. So anything I can do to turn expenses into additional deductions is a good thing.

Bonus - the HSA can roll over into retirement moneys as well - so its some more savings in that arena assuming I do not spend it down. I have a standard IRA fully funded, but have not really had the spare funds to set up something that permits more funding, so this sort of incremental "way to save a little more for retirement" is a good thing.

The Working Life For Me

The True Colors conference is history for 2007. Zippy and I ended up working all afternoon - so no workshops for me. But good - we got to chat with lots of people. I ended up meeting Cris Beam (author of Transparent) and gave her enough info so that she found and chatted with MYA, and signed her copy of the book.

Now, safely ensconced in jammies and catching up with life - some laundry, some television, some bonding. Tomorrow, yoga, and relaxing and getting ready for a full work week.

Not So Other

Home for lunch and to let the dogs out - then back to the conference. I was not planning to work but Zippy and I got cajoled into being building monitors together from 1 - 4, which ought to be interesting.

And I am feeling less outside; spent most of the morning hanging with friends and community folk - connecting, bonding.....feeling more interwoven into the fabric of the conference.

Og, and speaking of weaving. Robyn has given me a new phrase "People Weaver" - yeah - that fits. I like to weave with people - bringing strands and colors together, looking at the whole tapestry. Robyn is wise indeed.

(Not) My People

The True Colors Conference was.....odd. I ended up being building manager for one of the lightly used buildings - two active classrooms on the 3rd floor, only one of them used for sessions 1 and 3, both used for session 2. I pretty much hung out in the halls, and was visible - by the end of the day I was letting the kids hang because the workshop was packed to the gills and I imagined some might have issues with crowds / claustrophobia but wanted to listen, and maybe wait for friends. No hard-ass, I. As long as they were quiet....which they were.

There was a presenters / volunteer dinner last night which I missed - first, I never heard about it / got info. Second, I was unsure about my schedule in terms of taking MYA back home. Third, I did not want to spend more time away from Zippy and the home front. As it was Zippy and MP went to Tinkers for dinner - I tried to call in case we could have met there, but Zippy is not a "leave the cell phone" on kinda person, so I ended up with leftover rice topped with mutter paneer.

I dunno. I feel "other" this weekend. Not really part of the conference "in crowd". Not really part of the kids. Not presenting. Sent into volunteer exile.

Not sure what's up today - I'm gonna dress up a bit and go to some workshops. Zippy may or may not end up working.

True Colors Conference Bullets

* The staff tee shirts are bold lemon yellow. Accessorize accordingly.
* I'm being a building manager (i.e. - adult in charge) today. So no workshops on Friday. Saturday, with any luck....
* Namoli Brennet is the opening act this morning. I can not imagine a better fit (well, Ani maybe) - I hope the kids go wild (good for Namoli, good for the kids)
* Abby Denson is presenting on Saturday, I hope I get the chance to meet her. I've had a bit of a crush on her (in terms of her art and humor and energy) for a ton of years, but have never met her.
* Moonhawk Stone will be there as well. I doubt I will hit his workshop (Professional Track) but I will hopefully get a chance to see him and say hello.
* Chris Beam, author of Transparent, will be there as well. I need to remember to tell MYA to bring along her copy of the book on Saturday, perhaps she can meet Chris and get is signed.
* Robyn Ochs, one of my favorite people on the planet. Need I say more?

Oh, and even though this violates one of the prime directives of this blog, I note that there are two (2) workshops on Trans and Intersex inclusion:

a) Neither presenter (I know both, they are good people, but.....) identifies as trans or intersex
b) Let's just continue to blur the lines between these two very separate (and oft conjoined) identities, shall we?

True Colors Conference

The next few days will be pretty much consumed by this annual juggernaut of youthful queerishness (or queerish youthfulness). Online here. The conference starts today but the big days are Friday and Saturday, over at Central CT State University in New Britain. This year's conference is titled True Colors XIV: Family Matters A - Z

I'm not doing anything this year (in years past my mom/sister and I did workshops) but I am volunteering as usual and am planning to schlep MYA around (she is on a panel and is doing a workshop plus she will be hanging with friends). Today we're going shopping (she got a gift card and has a shop in Hartford scoped out to spend it) and afterwards over to CCSU to help set up for the conference. Tomorrow and Saturday pretty much conference all day with perhaps some latish nights.

So, gonna be pretty much offline for a few days. Going to get some work in this morning, and then yoga (right now its a coin toss between Gentle and Power) - and then the True Colors madness begins.

Not a capitalist, but....

I took advantage of last week's stock market belch to dump the last $1300 of my 2006 IRA contribution into a couple of funds which had tanked - and now each of them is up significantly. (One is up about 7% from when I added the funds) so I am feeling pretty punk about that.

It was none of my doing - I needed to get the money in my tax day and I have not had a spare $1300 lying around until recently (I also got my 2007 quarterly IRS payment in a month early, and pumped up my HSA account a bit)

But its nice to be on the positive cycle of whatever is goin gon in the world of money rather than on the negative cycle, which has heretofore been my wont.

Out my office window

I am visited these days by a stray cat who likes to sit on the warm sill and catch the spring sun reflected off the window. I see kitty crossing the building drive now and then but zie seems pretty skittish. I am hoping to get a picture at some point.

And yesterday I sat and watched a robin hunting for worms. Pretty fascinating to watch - the process of deciding where to poke, the score and cataclysmic struggle as a worm is extracted, and then a complicated ritual of preparation, checking for predators and perhaps competitors, waiting for just the right moment to gobble down the worm.

I think the same robin was out there for a few hours - my personal harbinger of spring.

A Full Day of Work

Sitting at my desk with a full eight hours available for work. No yoga, no appointments, no mentoring, no nothing. It seems luxurious. It will hopefully be a productive day.

CVS and Enteric Aspirin

So, I go to CVS to purchase low dose (enteric) aspirin - my doc has me on a daily pill to prevent blood clots / stroke / heart attack. Pretty minor, all in all.

Except CVS has three kinds of generic enteric aspirin. One targeted at Ecotrin customers, one at Bayer customers, one at St. Joseph's customers. All seem wholly different - different pill size, different color coating, different package size (quantity), different package colors / designs related to the competitive product.

Who knows, maybe the powers that be at CVS have figured out that they sell more of their own products with such targeting. And surely CVS is large enough such that the volume warrants it. It's just odd.

I ended up with the CVS version of Bayer low dose (120 count), which was on sale. But really, do we really need 3 versions of essentially the same thing?

Coming Up for Air

Whew, its been a weird day. I'm sort of in between gears here - some times its business as usual, some times its a shock to the system. Media remains a large shock - with television and radio being particularly grating. And Zippy and I have been in some loud discussions verging on arguments on a couple of topics. Think we are getting caught up - she's getting some pent up energy released. But as a result of not avoiding the media as much as I should, and our energy, I have a low grade headache.

Mostly, its been heightened awareness - colors, details, patterns, etc. A whole lot of life that has been passing below my radar, suddenly visible.

The funniest moment - during yoga, M had us do a lot of work with one leg. As we lay that leg down next to the other leg (as yet unworked) she commented "notice if one leg feels longer than the other". I did, and whether it was a remnent of the intensive itself or the giddiness of the reintegration day, I audibly giggled. Violating yoga etiquette (I imagine) and uncommon for me; I am generally pretty serious about it all. Perhaps my post intensive heightened awareness made the percieved leg difference more pronounced - it felt like one leg was 6 inches longer than the other.

The next few days are pretty much of mish mosh. I had double scheduled some medical stuff (doctor / dentist) for tomorrow, so I rescheduled the dentist, and now the doctor cancelled (family emergency) so I am free tomorrow to simply work - and I have plenty to do. Thursday is morning yoga, then off to start the True Colors weekend - picking up MYA in Bristol, shopping, fetching her friend down in Middletown. Friday and Saturday will be long days (at the conference).

Lest I Forget

Some memories and images from this weekends intensive. One theme of the weekend was forgetting - at one point, deep in a dyad, I came to the realization that I had done this work before, but I had forgotten. So I set down some breadcrumbs here, to help me find my way the next time, to help me remember.

Letting go of the fish. Looking for something large and finding something small. A small brown bird in a cage. Feeling my wings budding. The wisdom of the windchime. Removing my armor. My head on another's shoulder. Feeling old pain in my back and my inner thighs. Nature's practical joke at the doorway. A box of tissue.

Some Poetry and Prose

From the EI reintegration morning. I am transcribing these to email to another and might as well add them to the blogpile....

To see a bird, through eyes clear and bright
To hold a hand with no expectation, no fear
To drop ones head on a shoulder and receive love
To taste the warmth of happiness, with no anticipation of its ending
To feel pain - unnumbed, sharp, true

and

In contemplation, the odd person, I watch this room.
Intending on the feeling of being alone, being left out, being other.
Distraction - the room buzzing with energy, with hurts undone, minds spinning, bodies engaged.
The staff, circling like border collies protecting their flock. Alert. Intense. Bright.
The group ticking like a clock, like the solar system, like the universe.
To hell with enlightenment!
This is so beautiful and so true, that I cannot look away.
And my intending - a failure. I am not alone and left out. I am a part of this.

Dedicated to those others who were part of my experience. Thanks.... I love you all.

Kinda Raw

Three days of Enlightenment Intensive completed. Today was a gentle reintegration and long drive back (with wonderful company, who drove)

Zippy and I went out to dinner at Yanni's to get reacquainted. They had music on, the television on CNN, the clatter of a restaurant with open kitchen, and the conversations of the others in the space. My head pretty much exploded. But Zippy needed some time with and attention from Jude.

Jammies on, gentle soothing music, and doing some mindless tasks to try to gently reintegrate. The only reason I popped online was to grab email and see if there was anything urgent for tomorrow morning....then I am offline for a while until my brain catches up with the world.....

Signing Off....

Got one report done today (that's enough) and a power yoga class (Marcia in a chakra mood, I was pretty zoned through savasana) - now I'm all packed and waiting for my ride to VT.

See ya on Monday night....

Finish Line in Sight

About 16 hours from now, give or take, I will be heading north to Greensboro VT for a 5 day Enlightenment Intensive. My second, and I am looking forward to it, with some small excitement and some small reservation.

I've had such a busy period at work that the downtime will be good. At the same time, the EI is not exactly Club Med - its pretty intense and challenging. I used to describe good therapy as having a rake dragged through my brain, and the EI is pretty much 3 solid days of that. On some levels I think its intended to break a person just a little bit, in order for the divine to slip in through the cracks. I love and respect the leaders, I am excited to work with a slightly different configuration as last time, and I am excited to work with old friends as well as meet new ones. I'm even excited about the ride up; a friend from another workshop and I are carpooling and it will be nice to get to know her better.

I had such a delicious and formative experience last time - I head into this one fearing a sophomore slump, that things will be so different, or that I will try to hard or not try hard enough or having figured out the system I will try to take short cuts or whatever. I'm a type A yogi, and dammit, if I do not emerge on Monday with a slightly better experience than last time or a bit more enlightenment, I'll be disappointed.

Work has been ultra busy and I would be lying to say I was comfortable with what I am leaving undone, what I should have finished up, documented, sent off, prior to tomorrow. Maybe I will get some things done tonight or tomorrow morning (although I am also grabbing one more yoga class). Likewise, I have been so busy that Zippy has gotten the short end of the stick, and I feel bad about that. Sh-h-h-h, I plan to get a card and drop it in the mail tomorrow so she gets it Friday or Saturday. A little "I love you" reminder.

Oh well. Life happens. I have been pondering a thought the last few days "Every breath a gift". And it feels that way.

At the last dyad of my previous intensive, I felt like I was close to another experience - like I was running a quarterback sneak at the goal line. I hit the ground, the clock ran out, the buzzer sounded, and I came up short. I went to be that night kind of drained and empty, but woke refreshed and happy. I need to keep that feeling in mind - my desperate desire for the enlightenment experience, my passion and energy for connection to the divine, my awareness of time ticking by. I have been gifted with three more days of Enlightenment Intensive. It all starts again. I just had a whole body shiver typing this. Wow. Blessed Am I.

OK, I lied. I am excited as hell!

My Vinyasa Life

I'm off to Hackensack NJ this afternoon, with some morning time to reintegrate a little, a few hours in the office, some power yoga, pick up a rental car, pick up some test equipment, and then drive drive drive.

It srrikes me that my life at the moment is like a long vinyasa practice - I am in the flow, I am sweating, I am motion and postures. Tomorrow, home all day, although I may fetch MYA for some shopping. Thursday, another yoga practice and then off to the Enlightenment Intensive through Monday the 19th.

Zippy has been most patient with my shenanigans, although I fear her patience might not last too much longer. I think I made a decision on the plane coming home that April is going to be a travel free month - just so I can catch up and spend time with my life.....

National Writers Workshop - Hartford

Dennis Horgan writes thus:

Signed Up? Tell a friend!
Still considering? Why wait??

Spread The Word

The Hartford Courant's National Writers Workshop in Hartford is back, better than ever - April 14 & 15, 2007

More information here.

SkyHarbor Airport in Phoenix

Free WiFi. Rockin. Just Saying.

P.S. - Also, as I tagged along with my client into the First Class preferred line at check-in as well as for security, I commented "This offends me in so many ways even as I secretly enjoy the benefits"

Truth be told, the regular self-serve check-in migh thave been quicker. And the security line was not all that long.

Home Again

Armed with her trusty laptop, air power supply, and first class ticket on a direct flight, our intrepid heroine faces what will likely be a long travel day, but not as long and uncomfortable as it might be. I actually was hoping for a few reports from a client in this morning's email, just to have something productive to do on the plane. I do have a trip report I can work on, which really should take top priority.

I'm pretty sure I am gonna wrap up the used bar of bath soap and bring it home; it was really good soap (lemony and sharp, I rarely look forward to soap) and it will just get tossed here. And its a healthy sized chunk. I am becoming a grandmother. Hide your sugar and sweetener holders in restaurants.

In other news, I got an email from my Intensive master promising piles of snow (carpool please, not so many places to park) and suggesting snow shoes for walking meditation. Apparently she has not seen me on snow shoes. The only thing I'd be meditating on is not falling on my rear end in the show or twisting a leg.....

Mission Accomplished

Meeting over. The production went well. For the record:

* The schtick was "Deal or More Deals" and the entire thing went pretty well - no obvious goofs or gaffes, maybe 1 or 2 slides that the client skipped the content for. But all in all, we done well.

* One bit of pre-show angst, as the producer (friend) stopped by about an hour before the rehearsal with nada (zero zip zilch) done towards creating a confidence monitor presentation (for the speaker to see / read his script on). I had no problem working on it (heck, I'm getting paid good money to be the powerpoint princess) but the fact that nobody really thought of telling me we needed it, it was just hanging out there. I tossed the scrip text file into PPT. split it into about 65 slides, with appropriate paragraphs and breaks, different color text for stage directions and other speakers. A little over an hour (rehearsal was late).

If I had doubts about earning my keep out here, that little bit of geekery dispelled those. If I were not there, the producer would still be typing in the text. I got a bit cranky during rehearsals (trying to run the screens and the confidence monitors) with some segments needing 2 or 3 slide changes per section.

* The post-meeting entertainment was comedian Darrell Hammond, who had his moments, although he was really pretty right-wing (not sure if those are his politics or if he was playing to the banking crowd). And on a few occasions, he sort of started a joke and then drifted off before getting to the punchline. It was like he had 5 or 6 extended bits he was riffing on, and just kept jumping from one to the other without really fleshing out any of them. We were backstage and did not have a visual, so perhaps we were missing part of it....

But, it went fine. we've got an 11:10 am flight tomorrow (direct flight and first class again), should be wheels up from the hotel at 8:00. Back in CT late tomorrow night. For now, a very comfortable Four Seasons bed awaits.....and a hopefully gentle flight tomorrow....

I'm SO Confused

So I just got a letter dropped off at the door (along with an offer for turn-down service) that apparently Arizona does NOT adjust the clocks for Daylight Savings Time, so at 2:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, my clock will NOT be changed but instead I will be on Pacific Time.

Good - not losing an hour of sleep tonight.
Bad - I think my flight arrives at 7:35 pm instead of 6:35 pm on Friday. Grumble.

Lap of Luxury

OK, a direct flight, JFK to PHX is pretty swanky, in my book. That my client booked up first class seats - rare but not unheard of. My new airpplane power supply meant I could work for a bunch of hours (and watch some DVD). The movie was Casino Royale - not something I'd go see or Netflix, but a reasonable diversion. So, all good.

But getting into Scottsdale, and our intrepid heroine finds her sorry lower middle class rear end ensconced at the Four Seasons. Sheesh. This sort of luxury and opulensce makes me nervous. I have no idea what to tip, etc.

Also sucky, my summer clothes are still in storage so I am kind of overdressed. S'ok, I'll be working 14 hours tomorrow, so no time for fashion tomorrow.

Tonight, allegedly, we will be hitting The Paisley Violin @ El Museo to see Trina Hamlin. It's a long story - Namoli Brennet's former manager Wendy is out here, and insisted we (me, my client) go see Trina, who I had never heard of, but then I find out she was a "Most Wanted New Artist" (2002, so I assume she was in the 2001 showcase) at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, which I have attended and volunteered at 14 out of the past 15 years. So I am pretty sure our paths have crossed.

Anyway. With my proletariat ethos, my fair, sunburn prone skin, and my still winter in New England wardrobe, you can pretty much point your "fish out of water" links here.....but what the heck. I'm breathing. I might even drag my sorry ass out onto the patio to throw down some asanas sometime this visit. It's big enough although I may have to shove the furniture aside.

Happy Birthday to Me

To celebrate, I am leaving the house at 4:30 am and heading to Milford, NYC Kennedy, and onward to Phoenix. For work.

Air Travel Charger

I'm due. I've been laptopping for over a decade and I have never treated myself to one of these. So en route home from Boston, MYA and I are gonna stop by CompUSA in Manchester and pick up one of these for the trip from NY to Phoenix.

Not that I actually end up on airplanes with travel ports all that much, but might as well have one. And I can watch Beautiful Boxer (got the Netflix DVD that I've been sitting on for a while) en route.....

Because I Can

Sitting in the waiting area of the Fenway Community Health System, grabbing some free internets courtesy of an open wireless hub, probably in the apartments across the street. Thank you kind stranger. MYA is in getting her checkup.

Not a bad drive up, and hopefully we cna get back on the road and get home at a reasonable hour. I have to be down in Milford at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Zoom zoom zoom

Still breathing.

I've been in NC for a few days - flew down Tuesday evening, got back Thursday noon. Good day of meetings with a client - some hands-on time with a new power analyzer, some working on long term projects. Nothing mission critical, but all positive. The highlight was a sushi dinner with one of those damn Sushi boats. First time in forever I have had more Sushi than I knew what to do with.....

I tried to catch up on work yesterday, got a bit done. I have trip reports to crank out, expense reports and invoices, and lots of miscellany. Argh! I did manage to sort through the large pile of bills and receipts and statements, and sort through my desk piles (collecting the receipts for the 3 T&E reports I need to assemble) which was a positive. I also snuck out for a pretty gentle yoga practice with Kate. (dinner, art opening, yoga) I need yin yoga; my regular life is way too much like a fast vinyasa class of late.

Today - some work, then taking MYA up to Boston for medical junk. Hopefully it will be a quick trip, although we'll be heading back around rush hour.

Tomorrow, I need to be in Milford around 6:00 am, heading to Kennedy for a direct flight to Phoenix for a production gig. I'm out there Saturday night and Sunday, returning on Monday.

Tuesday down to Hackensack NJ for a quick site visit for a medical clients. And Thursday, off to Vermont for an Enlightenment Intensive; I'm off the grind until Monday.

Oh yeah, and tomorrow is my birthday. 46 in case you are counting. I'm hoping the day passes pretty much under the radar. I love life, I love breath, I am ever so thankful for this body, this world, this opportunity to dance. But on this side of the hill, birthdays just remind me how much precious time has passed, and how few years remain......thankful and sad.

Mandelbrot Set Art - Rees H. Acheson

After diner, Zippy and I bundled over to the Learning Corridor for an art opening in the Black Box Theater lobby at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts. Rees H. Acheson creates art from Mandelbrot Sets. His works are large and beautiful, and he has spent years experimenting with software, computers, and tools to realize these works, that take 10's or 100's of hours of computing time, and special software to create, modify, save, print, and realize.

Mr. Acheson seems to be a modern day Renaissance Man. He invented a bore welding system and founded Bortech Corporation. He got interested in wood framing, and developed a system of Hip and Valley Framing angles. And of course, Mandelbrot Sets.

We spent some time talking with Mr. Acheson, he's really interesting. I know just enough about the various things that go into his work - computer hardware, programming, graphics palattes, etc. to be dangerous. AC and Zippy were impressed and bemused - and I am going to end up showing Zippy some basic programming and color stuff on the puter, I am sure.

Want to see the art for yourself? The Lobby Gallery is open by appointment 12:00 noon to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday until March 16th. Call 757-6172.

Tropical Mist Restaurant

36 Franklin Ave. | Hartford, CT 06114 | 860-296-7088

Zippy has been eyeing this place for a while now (just south of Ipanema), so last night, freshly home from North Carolina and soon to be back in the air, we decided to splurge. We tend to talk more when we eat out, and I've been too busy to actually be a good partner. So we trekked down to Franklin Avenue before hitting an art opening.

Quite a charming little place. Two rooms, clean and bright, with cloth napkins. Our waiter might have been the owner (he apologized at one point for the service, which was not poor at all, indicating that the waitress had called in sick). Never having been exposed to Guyanese-West Indian Cuisine, we found an interesting amalgam - some of the dishes seemed to be chinese inspired, others seemed like mild Indian (Roti, Dahl), but with a subtle caribbean flavor throughout.

I had a vegetarian dinner, with a small bowl of eggplant (very good) and pumpkin (sublime) which came with warm Roti (flat bead, somewhere between a tortilla and a pita). I also got a small salad (which Zippy scarfed), a bowl of delicious soup (mildly sweet and creamy, with plaintain, and a root vegetable that was almost potatoe like and I forget the name but will edit this when I remember it), and a bowl of mild Dahl, almost like a pure split pea soup, puree'd.

Zippy had Hot Pot Pork which was mild and delicious, and came with a large plate of fried rice. Zippy is not usually a biggie for friend rice (too many carbs) but she tasted a bit of this and the next thing you know it was half gone.

Reasonable prices, we got out the door for $25 including tip (no drinks), although the curries get a little pricier for the boneless option. Next time we go (and there will be a next time) we'll tried one of the Curry recipes - chicken, pork, goat, or fish.

A quick web search came up empty on this place, so I imagine I'm gonna have another search engine winner here. Go, enjoy. It's a welcome addition to the Hartford restaurant scene, and a wonderful break from franchised food and dining experiences.

Children will Listen

A few weeks ago, I did something with MYA that involved me actually dressing up, and wearing makeup. She noticed right away, and then went on to tick off my normal makeup (about 11 dabs of concealer, auburn eyeliner, clear lip gloss) and comment on my more elaborate look of the moment.

Lest I thought she was not paying attention :)

Plenty of Space

For the record, I have way too much room and features here at the Homewood Suites in Cary, NC. A bedroom. A living room. I kitchenette. A small dining area. An actual hall. Two televisions. More square footage than most NYC apartments, I imagine.

On the other hand, plenty of room to put down a yoga mat sometime this evening or tomorrow morning....

Sentenced to Microsoft

Alas, the laptop problems I have been noticing for the past week have been fine tuned. Symptoms - when I connect to WiFi, my computer slows down to a crawl and my CPU usage goes up to 100%. I thought it an issue related to my wireless hardware / software or maybe to my virus protection. But last night, I figured it out. Firefox.

Working with Internet Explorer, and all is well. I might try to figure it out anon, but for now, I have too much on my plate and so here I am with Internet Explorer. Grrrrr......

I Don't Like Mondays

....House played the piano intro tonight. We are tres amused!

From Bradley (Again)

Heading southward into what I hope is a bit more warmth - North Carolina. A quickie trip (working all day tomorrow). I opted for two nights away just because the flights were better (direct) and my client wants to do dinner on one night, so I head back on Thursday morning. With any luck I can get some work done tonight and tomorrow night. I have some reports to knock out, along with prepping for the meeting tomorrow.

Get back Thursday, hopefully grab some yoga on Thursday night, and heading up to Boston with MYA on Friday. Then an insane wakeup on Saturday to head down to Milford - we're heading out of JFK en route to Phoenix on Saturday. My life, lived at 30,000 feet.

But for now, another 30 minutes of free bradley wifi and then Southwest en route to RDU. Moo!

March Madness

One things I kind of miss from corporate employment is the frenzy of time wasting brough on by college hoops and March Madness. I was not even a huge basketball fan, but the enthusiasm of coworkers was infectious. I learned soon enough who was out, who was in, who was on the bubble, how many Big East teams got in (and resulting arguments about league dominance and how the Big East was under-rated), seedings, brackets, all that. We'd take a long lunch or sneak out early during the Big East tournament when U-Conn was playing for something; we'd do the same on the first Thursday of the tournament.

Except for the fact that I am so incredibly backlogged and busy right now to actually pay attention to college hoops, I kind of miss that.

Imperial Buffet

Apparently, Sunday evening is prime time for the Imperial Buffet in Plainville. MYA and I are regulars there (sad, I know) but she likes having food options, is addicted to peach buns, and we can take our time and chat. Sad when the sushi guy knows us by sight and knows our orders, however. Almost as sad as being on a first name basis with the folks at Whole Donut (which I am).

So we had our usual fare (I lamented the lack of garlic green beans, my fave) and enjoyed the spectacle of people loading up on crab legs - when a new batch was brought up, they were lining up like fish in a tank when you drop in the food, and walking away with plates piled high. Scary, and sad.

Point to Ponder: If you need to ask to be reseated because you do not fit in a booth, maybe the Imperial Buffet is not the right dining choice.

Bowling!

MYA and I went to a mentoring program activity today - bowling at Highland Bowl in Hartford. What a cute little bowling alley - duckpins, 12 lanes, completely nostalgic. No automated scoring, pin setters one step up from manual, but clean, neat, functional. There were a couple of birthday parties there, plus our mob (probably close to 25 of us, mentors and mentees). Not everyone bowled, but we all had a good time.

We were not keeping score, but I got several strikes. No mean feat with duckpins. I was insufferably self congratulatory, of course.

I also own bowling shoes, believe it or not (remnants of a previous life of social singlehood, when I was actually going bowling on occasion) although the shoes pulled free from the sole midway through (which is what happens when one has 15 year old bowling shoes, that get pulled out of the closet once every 5 years.

I want to go bowling more often.

Mid Weekend

Yesterday was pretty low key. A yoga class with Yom, who is becoming one of my faves - pushing my edges in terms of stamina / endurance without frustration (difficult poses) or risk (I've had a few yoga back tweaks in the past few months). I really respect a lot of her teaching stuff - she does some things, then drops us into child's pose, and then asks if anyone would prefer not to be touched / adjusted (so they can raise their hands in relative anonymity) - totally a respectful thing, and not something I have seen anyone else at the studio do. She also rolls us through three resting postures (down dog, child's pose, and dangle) and mentions that moving into them is a sign of strength, not weakness. Again, wonderful. And yet she pushes during class, with a tempo and energy that is nearly aerobic, and a cadence that is close to drill instructor. I pulled back into child's pose at least once, just to get back my center.

Again, WHY, with its wide selection of classes and instructors, is such a great space. Just when I thought the menu could not get fuller / better, I find Yom.

I also went to a three hour Poetry and Philosophy of Yoga workshop with Dr. Peter Meadows. I have always wondered about him; he is on the staff page and is a founder / owner at the studio, but our paths never crossed. It was a wonderful workshop and I am glad I have finally met him / spent some time with him. I also ran into a blog reader there (waving to K) along with a bunch of my yoga / kirtan friends.

Probably going to grab a class this morning with Shankara (pretty sure) - my yoga strategy is this morning and Tuesday morning, before heading out to North Carolina. MYA and I are connecting this afternoon for bowling (mentoring program) and hanging out.

Spring is in the air. Do you sense it? I have not seen a lot of signs but I can feel the energy.....

Hey, It's March

It's also Friday. Both facts feel somewhat unexpected.

I've been digging out of work piles all week - and enter the weekend with a queue of reports pending, a powerpoint thingee that I will work on once I get some client feedback, a trip report, two site visit invoices & expense reports, some significant web site revisions, and a new power analysis package to install and play with. So, not like there is much chance of catching up any time soon.....

Next week seems like it will not be all that useful in terms of catching up - I am headed to NC on Tuesday afternoon, down there all weekend, flying back on Thursday morning. Then I head out to Scottsdale, AZ on Saturday, returning on Monday.

Tonight, we're headed to Manchester to see our friend Peter Anthony noodling and crooning (as are his wont). Tomorrow, probably some yoga of some sort, and a yoga talk / workshop in the afternoon. Sunday, MYA and I will connect - hopefully some duckpin bowling with the mentoring group.

I'd love to squeeze some catching up for work in there. Probably can bang out a few reports, the trip report is similar to another recent one so I can do some cut-n-paste work. We'll see.....

Timing is Everything

Do not ask me why I am sitting at my desk, downloading a 300MB file via FTP while I time it using a stopwatch. I will also be uploading the same file and timing it as well. I just am.

Oh, and Last Night

Zippy and I swung down to New Haven to pick up friends (OK, it wsa H&B) at the train station, do dinner (Thai Pan Asian on Chapel Street, good and reasonably priced but not stunning), and attend a talk by Helen Boyd at Yale. We had a good night. Yeah!

BlogNation - Hartford Courant Key Issues Forum

I whine about having too much on my plate, but I (at the last moment) turned the car eastward towards downtown Hartford this morning for the Hartford Courant's Key Issues Forum on blogging, entitled BlogNation.

Panelists Genghis Conn, Colin McEnroe, Caffeinated Geek Girl, Matt Stoller, and Tim Tagaris.

Great dialogue. Great cross section. Genghis Conn is the thoughtful center. Colin is the bridge to the main stream media and philosopher. Stoller is the firebrand. Caffeinated Geek Girl is the vox populi. And Tagaris - quiet but powerful, I sense.

Stoller took it to the MSM a few times. Amusing that Genghis Conn's stat on blogger readership (80% male) was mirrored by the panel. The audience seemed heavy on politicos and MSM types, judging by the suits. Fox 61 was there with video, and probably a few others.

A personal highlight for me was seeing my friend and occasional coworker Rich from Event Management (?) who was doing lighting and sound for the event. I run into him at various arts and media events in Hartford. If I had my gloves with me and a few extra minutes I would have helped on the strike.....

A Dog in the Hunt

Yesterday's precipitous drop on Wall Street was unpleasant. In the past, I never really cared much - my work seems to come and go to its own rhythms, without a lot of correlation to the economy. And I have historically not had a lot of extra money for savings, investment, retirement. But the last few years I have been able (and disciplined enough) to fund an IRA and its spread out over a lot of investments. So when I popped into my IRA account this morning, it was down a bit.

Not that I am all that upset - I'm in for the long term and if anything, its a good time to drop the remainder of my 2006 contribution in there; I had been hedging because I had some big checks coming in and the high stock market prices had me thinking a correction was coming. So, all in all, not a bad thing.

But its odd to hear the financial news and actually give a damn.....

Paging my Doppelganger

I'll take care of the yoga, the watching Friday Night Lights. Heck I'll even go get zapped tomorrow and hit the doctor's appointment on Friday. I'll also spend time with the Zipster, feed the dogs, and the like.

You can do the trip report from last week's Indiana trip, the seven site reports that miraculously appeared today, the client meeting on Thursday, the website updates due on the 1st, the significant PowerPoint development, the installation and exploration of a new software package, and the end of the month billing.

We'll do lunch on Friday to discuss who gets to go to North Carolina next week, and Scottsdale a week from Friday.

It's good to be busy. It's good to be busy. It's good to be busy. I keep telling myself that......

Dropkick Murphys

...have been filling my head with angry Irish stomping goodness. I downloaded a couple of disks worth of tunes (2003's Blackout and 2005's The Warrior's Code) from eMusic.com where I

Not my usual fodder, but I am liking the energy. I blame this guy.

Just visiting emusic.com for a link, and I see they have Rickie Lee Jones new one, Sermon on Exposition Boulevard, so I downloaded that one too. New noise for my ears - yeah!

The End of the Month? Already?

Dang. February flew by.

Slow start today - last night's Oscars party at the Emporer was fun - we left around 11 p.m. Nothing super, some friends were there, got some schmoozing in with random media celebs, and drank three Cosmos which is two over my usual / limit. I was not all that invested in the awards, but my favorite animated short won, and one of my two favorite live action shorts won. I kind of wish I had recorded the shwo to watch it tonight, if only to see Ellen's schtick and the Pilobolus performance pieces.

My back has been getting better - I took it easy with yoga, an all levels class with Kate yesterday, a gentle class with Carissa today. My first two teachers, and practicing with them is like going home. Nice and gentle for my back, as I heal and strengthen. And important to continue to proactice even if its not kick my ass hot / power classes.

I intended to crank out some reports today, but I got stuck collecting info, and ended up working on a website. I pretty much got the website done today - adapting a ticket ordering javascript that I have been working with for a few years, but merging two ordering pages together. Plus some graphics. Just a general refresh. Needs a little more testing, and awaiting feedback from my client, but its all pretty much put to bed. The reports will wait til tomorrow.

Tomorrow, Zippy is off for some medical testing that I am driving hir to. And taking my laptop along for company.

Sunday Waiting

Been a fairly quiet weekend. Last night we ended up at Real Art Ways for the OScar Nominated Live Shorts. Afterwards, we visited Cheng Du at the new location (which tells you how often I go there, since its been over on Park for a while now). Food was good - creative and flavorful - although we tend to like a bit more zip.

Today, I slept in (which means after feeding the dogs I crawled back into bed) - skipped my 8:30 a.m. hot class in favor of a 10:15 all levels class with Kate. Exactly what I needed - Kate is gentle and wise and my body needed to float more and strain less. I've been nursing some tweaks - Friday was a sharp stabbing in my left quad (since departed), yesterday and today a sensitive lower back (still an issue). I think my body is telling me I need to lose some weight....

Tonight, CARC's Oscar party. Audrey will be there, as will friend Kim and her friend Kapel (sp?). Also maybe some others. Should be fun - treat myself to a bit of schmoozing, wining, and dining with the Hartford media elite. Or something.

Karen Williams

We went to see Karen Williams at Hartford's Bulkley High School last night. A community response to the Shirley Q Liquor debacle. Ms. Williams was a treat, we both laughed mightily.

No serious weekend plans. I have the CARC Oscar Party tomorrow night, so I probabl;y need to do some primping. I have options - jazzercise this morning, a support space this afternoon, go see the live action Oscar shorts at Real Art Ways this evening, yoga tomorrow morning. I am nursing a twitchy left quadricep, so I might go easy. I would love to walk into work on Monday having completed a few trip reports. We'll see.