Jessica

It's been pretty exciting here in Jessica-land! 

On Tuesday last week, I went to an East Bay Waltz planning meeting at Lanesplitters.  The bad: they don't have the seasonal pomegranate cider anymore!  The good: I got the opportunity to model for Dark Garden at the Folsom Street Fair!  Arielle and I rushed back to her place and by the end of the night we had some poses ready to go, with pictures and props and everything, thanks to our helpful friends :)

I had a more-than-usually good time at Friday Night Waltz, again thanks to my wonderful friends.  Lately I've been thinking about how lucky I am to have so many fabulous people in my life. 

Saturday was a good, if sweltering-hot, Fezziwig rehearsal.  I enjoyed the chance to get up in front of fellow Fezziwiggers and answer some questions about my character.  I love playing Amy, but it's always a struggle to express her in a way that's theatrical and noticeable, while still being true to who she is.  She's just enough of a stretch from who I am that I feel challenged, but not so much that I feel uncomfortable.  One of the ways I try to express her is to play up her curious side.  Despite being a quiet, reserved sort of person, she likes exploring her surroundings and getting to know people - all sorts of people, not just the ones her older sister thinks are "proper".  

Amy is often described as child-like in the novel.  She's physically very small, but also in her emotions.  It's not naivete - she grew up in a seedy debtor's prison, and spends her days gallivanting around, often to unsavoury parts of London.

(Yay, an excuse to go to Mad Sal's, tee hee!)

But there is an innocence about her, despite everything she's seen and experienced.  She knows that bad things can happen in the world, and that people can do bad things, but she still believes that the world, and people, are innately good.  I love that about her.  

On Sunday I got ready for the window and headed in to San Francisco with Kathy.  On the Bay Bridge, we got into an accident.  We were in stop-and-go traffic and got rear-ended by the person behind us.  The car is fine aside from a few dents, and Kathy and I feel okay aside from some achy-ness.  I opted for a cash-out and will have the car inspected on Thursday.  The lady who rear-ended us was very sweet about the whole thing and all in all it could have been a LOT worse!

(Yes, we will see doctors if the achy-ness persists.  Please don't worry about us.)

Not about to let a car accident stop us, we continued on to Folsom.  We managed to see most of Sam and Aaron's window, which was so entertaining!  Then we got in there ourselves and realized it was about 90 degrees inside, with the sun shining in our eyes for the entire hour.  It was definitely an exercise in "extreme modeling". 

I went home afterwards for Yom Kippur with my parents.  I spent all of Sunday night and Monday fasting.  I always look forward to it.  It puts me in a different state of mind - makes it easier to relax, loosen up, feel spiritual.  Without the distraction of food, I can focus on other things.  In this case, repenting for all of my sins from this past year.  

Mom, Dad, and I broke our fast with a very yummy meal at the Macaroni Grill in El Cerrito.  

This week is shaping up pretty well.  Tonight, depending on how I feel, I may go blues dancing in Berkeley.  Thursday it's either sets or 9:20, or both.  Friday is FNW, Saturday is PEERS where I will be making my debut in the chorus, and Sunday a few friends and I are heading down to Casa de Fruta for a day at Faire.  

I'm back from Lark, dirty and smelly and covered in bug bites.  Hurrah!  I had a fabulous time.  See you all at SNW tonight, minus the dirt and smell, but still with the bug bites.

How did I turn into one of those LJ people who only do recaps of their lives?

Last weekend: Stanford Dance Weekend.  Classes were great, time with friends was super, heat exhaustion was not.  Nausea, fatigue, and headache took me out for a big chunk of Saturday.  On the plus side, I acquired a new car.
Monday: Alameda Ceili, fun afters at King of Thai Noodle, which I now totally love 'cause it's in Alameda, open until 1am, cheap, large portions, and makes a good yellow curry. 
Tuesday: Can't Stop the Serenity with mom, brother, Kathy, Bob, Sam, Arielle, etc.  CSTS was super fun, then we went to get burritos at a dodgy Mission taqueria.  My burrito lasted until 12th St BART in Oakland and then came right back up.  Nothing like throwing up on BART at midnight to cap off a fun night with friends! 
Wednesday: Pryanksters.  Third time for me.
Thursday: My first LEVEL II BELLYDANCE CLASS!!  Woot!  I think I did okay and I'm going to be in the Rockridge Out and About Festival in September, performing with Hipline.  You are all welcome to come and see me shake my bootay. 
Friday: A day off.  Saw Public Enemies, then FNW/afters.
Saturday: Alameda 4th of July Parade.  Yes, I marched/danced about 4 miles, on pavement, in the sun, in Fezziwigs clothes.  Then, 4th of July at Shoreline Amphitheater, with the San Francisco Symphony.  Ivan and I went and saw a bunch of other Stanford people there.  The SFS played "Mars" and "Jupiter" from The Planets, and selections from Strauss, Tchaikovsky, etc.  There was a medley of all the Star Trek themes, with live narration by George Takei, and the fireworks themselves were set to Star Wars music.  We had a wonderful time. 
Today: brunch at Venus (croissant French toast, very innovative, and "MMMM...CHAI"), trip to Joanns.  I am making a BIG FLUFFY PINK BALLGOWN for August Gaskells.  I don't care that pink isn't the best color for me, I just want a big pink dress.  I got a pretty rosy-pink taffeta.

Looks like a fairly quiet week coming up.  Baguette Quartette at SNW, Scottish Highland Games on Saturday, but other than that I'm pretty free.

Not a big meme person, but this one from ribbin sounded cool, and like it might jolt me out of my writer's block.

Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you. *edit* Or just five words that I want to see your associations with/thoughts about.


So, somebody give me five words, and I'll write about them.  Oh boy, an excuse to talk about myself!!

Got into Stanford Dance Weekend!  Per Richard's email, there are 14 spots left, I think. 

I'm at home right now, making Cooks Illustrated's French Potato Salad to go with the chicken sausages my dad is grilling up for dinner.  

Didn't even get to finish the update from last weekend - there's much more to tell, mostly about the Hipline Student Recital last Sunday!!  Pix are up on Facebook, thanks to Arielle.

Monday - learned Hallucination Jig at ceili, taught by MacKenzie.  It was awesome!  Also, for some reason, I got a ton of compliments on how I looked.  I had come straight from bellydance and cardio at Hipline, and was wearing yoga pants, new sports bra (from Moving Comfort - brilliant!), and a racerback shirt.  I had brought a skirt and knee socks, but was lazy and just stayed in workout clothes so I could have time to wolf down super spicy chicken makhani while waiting for lesson to start.  I got two people asking me if I'd lost weight, and lots saying that I looked really good.  Bizarre.

Tuesday was a great girls' night at Arielle's.  We had cheese tortellini, red wine, super yummy garlic bread, and mini TJs peanut butter cups, while watching The Age of Innocence.  MacKenzie did her coloring books, Arielle did some pretty needlework, and I browsed Patterns of Fashion for Dickens dress ideas.

Tonight it's Cafe Borrone with Sam and friends, then FNW.  We'll be at Borrone at 7:30, feel free to join us.   

Tomorrow I'm having early breakfast at Crixa, because their chai latte is out of this world, and the pastries are to die for (saffron bun...mmm...walnut slice...mmm).  Then to two hours at Hipline.  After that, time to scout fabrics for new Dickens dress, and do some work on dress to wear to my little brother's high school graduation.  Also have to work on my gift for him: the Laughing Moon waistcoat.  We picked out a nice Italian wool at Discount Fabrics together.  Then, off to PEERS. 

Sunday: pick up my sticky rice and mango, brunch with Sam, then rest of the day with brother. 

On the 16th, I'll be seeing Carmina Burana at the Flint Center with a dear friend who I haven't caught up with in months.  We're going to Amber in Mountain View beforehand, a very good Indian restaurant.  And the next day is the Hipline Recital!  I'm so nervous, but also very excited.  

I've been talking with Kim about my new Dickens dress, and I think we've decided on the 1861 day dress from Patterns of Fashion (picture here).

I just had an IEP that was MADE OF WIN.  45 minutes for an exit/triennial, psych and RCEB showed up, parent was nice and cooperative, student understood what was going on.  And it's my LAST triennial for the year, woot!

Yesterday was also made of win.  I told my staff on Monday that I would be doing this teensy little dance thing in Oakland City Center at noon on Tuesday, totally not a big deal, definitely not a performance.  Anyway, my whole class came out to watch me, as well as what seemed like every other adult special ed class in Oakland - don't know how the word spread so fast.  Band was nice and dancing was super: High Cauled, polka set, four hand, Bronnwyn, a silly Sir Roger.  Had lunch at Le Cheval afterwards, then drove out to Pacifica for an amazing dinner at Nona's.  Started off with biscuits and honey butter, ordered a dark Belgian beer (served in wine glass, classy!) then had bacon wrapped meatloaf with great mashed potatoes.  But the peas and carrots were the real star: remember those awful peas and carrots you ate as a kid, that were frozen then waaay overcooked?  Not these peas and carrots.  Sooo good.  Got the butterscotch pudding for dessert, and washed it down with Petite Syrah dessert wine.  Managed to dance a little when I wasn't stuffing my face.  We had such a great crowd: Auntie Alex, Ammy, Mackenzie/Donald, Joey, Michaela, Madeline, Sam, Jennifer, Chris, Arielle.  Afterwards, I gave Arielle the keys due to beer-induced wooziness, and we all went home.  Ended the night by watching Dr. Horrible at Sam's.  It was funny and sad.

Oo!  Today I pick up my Full Belly veggies.  Full Belly is a CSA project where you can get boxes of produce directly from the farm, delivered to various neighborhood sites in the East Bay once a week.  There's a pickup site about 2 blocks from my house.  You go, take a box, and sign for the box.  The veggies are always super fresh and delicious.  They are $17 per box, and you usually get 6 or 7 different kinds of veggies in each box.  Sometimes you get nuts, herbs, and/or fruit too.  Everything is seasonal and organic.  I usually end up eating about 3/4 of the veggies fresh, and preserving the rest in some way (parboiling and freezing greens, pickling daikon, etc). 

But, before that, lunch with dad in Berkeley.  Then home to Rodeo, hang out with little brother, have dinner and TV time with mom.  

Two unforgettable (for very different reasons) quotes from the January issue of the Sun:

"Your absence has gone through me like thread through a needle.  Everything I do is stitched with its color."

-W.S. Merwin

"I've concluded that no man can compete with a vibrator unless he can rotate his body 360 degrees in midair and have a seizure at the same time."

-Lois Judson, from "I Am Not a Sex Goddess".