beauty, everywhere...

my sister and i underwent an exercise in nostalgia the other day; actually last weekend. we went through all our family photos and such, picking out a first batch to scan and post on the internet. mostly, i want them to be there. if they are on the internet, no matter what happens, they will likely be there if i put them in enough places =) my worst fear is a fire or something where i would lose such things. so much history....even if it's only meaningful to me, it matters. every persons story matters. i might occassionally post snippets from those long days gone by here. it seems to be a decent idea.

last night, a friend from the area who teaches at several fitness clubs around town came and taught our fire group a "zumba" class. it's a latin-fusion type thing...super high energy and much fun. i felt exhilerated from it and was proud that i was able to keep up the entire time. heck, at this rate, i might even try a pole dancing class =) that would be pretty funny, but i also have a friend who has a studio that does that. might be fun, who knows? couldn't hurt, right?

there just isn't a day, lately, where i am not thankful to be alive and be living this life. i love my life, even on the not-so-good days. i have become a marginal facebook addict, which is fun too. it's interesting to keep up with friends throughout the day, and being able to post my day. it's almost like open diary taken to the next level. one could say that it's more superficial than this, perhaps, but there's still the ability. i've noticed something interesting in the last few years...when we first starting being on the internet, it's like the allure was the anonymity of it. like, you could be whoever you wanted and that appealed to so many people! now, it's sort of evolved into being proud of your online identity, or like you can't hide anyway, so you might as well "out with it" and accept the consequences. THAT part of things seems more genuine now, than when i first got on the internet. or, that could just be my perception. some say perception is reality =)

i am trying to stay more politically aware of things. i love many of the things obama has done so far. i love the message he gave to the arab tv station. i love that he said there will be no more waterboarding and guantanmo bay will close within a year, although i can wish it were sooner. i love that he repealed the global gag order in relation to world family planning. i am also reading his book " the audacity of hope". i am encouraged, but still jaded enough by at least the last eight years to be cautious and approach this new hope with trepidation.

i think that's all i have to say for now. trying to get back in the habit and taking the time to write more. we will see =)

peace.

still hanging in there....

i got to talk to my nephew online the other day. he's been back in georgia for just over a week now. he says he's depressed to be back there, but still managing okay in school. the day i talked to him was because he was having some stomach trouble, so had been placed on bed rest.

things are sort of starting to heat up with the fire arts festival, pun somewhat intended =) our guy who we showcased with his metal sculpture last year is coming back, among some other folks. our first grant review is next week, and i am excited and nervous! this would be a big boon to us, if we got this grant!

in other news, i've been doing some web stuff on the side, and have a couple of cool sites to brag about. i helped a friend do his site, which is now operational. his name is david and he operates "west coast juggling". i also do my friend leilani's site, she can be found here. then, i redid the controlled burn website, which can be accessed on the side there, as well as the fire arts festival website. it's been busy, busy but good.

i am trying to get some guest teachers to come and do some different dance types for controlled burn. i hope i am able to make this happen because i think it will be super fun! some folks decided to take january off. we don't have any pending gigs, but time off is time to get out of the habit of doing something, i say =)

in only a short two weeks from tomorrow, bellydancing starts up again. i have a couple of work friends convinced to take it, and i think my daughter wants to take it too, so there will be a whole passel of new bellydancers learning this semester! i didn't get in to the advanced welding class which sort of makes me sad, but i will keep trying. i want to finish my piece, if nothing else. i think it will look cool. maybe i will take a picture of it as it is and post it.

at any rate, that's what's up with me right now. i am looking forward to the inauguration. i am hopeful that a new administration will listen to the people.

peace.

hectic holidays....

the holidays were hectic around here. my nephew returned briefly from the army, he was home for two weeks. i cooked a lot, we showed him a great time, and hopefully he feels loved and like life is good for him =)

i got to perform in the community nutcracker held in fernley this december, and this is something that i am so glad i did. i will definitely do this again. i did initially because i love to dance, but found out after we were there that this was a community performance to raise money for scholarship funds for kids who otherwise would not be able to continue taking fine art classes at the university level without this scholarship help. a worthy cause, and we had those girls shakin' their groove thangs by the time the weekend was over =)

here is a picture of myself and my dance partner with a very flushed looking teenage santa:


hopefully next year we can convince more dance sisters to join us!

on new year's eve, controlled burn performed at our third annual "fire and ice" extravaganza at northstar at tahoe. the village there is a lot more filled out this year and in spite of the chaos that generally accompanies an event like this, it was a good show.

after the show, i went to a friends house, who does safety for the group, and had a quiet and festive new years celebration.

that's about it, for now. will try to post again, soon.

there is less than a month left in the presidency of gwb. although the celebration truly began in november, it seems more real now. i have spent a lot of time on obama's transition website. i am going to make a concerted effort to never be apathetic again, i believe that's how we got where we are now, and our newly elected leader wants to change that. i am in the process of reading "the audacity of hope" and it's quite engaging, so far. now, i just need more hours in the day =)

peace.