i look and can't believe it's been closer to a year than not, since i've posted. oh my...
2009 was an amazing year for me. i realized a dream in getting to travel to europe for the first time, visiting paris, normandy, and versaille in june.
here are pictures, for anyone that happens along to this site:
day one:
day two:
day three:
day four:
day five:
day six:
the france trip culminated in getting to spin fire in front of the eiffel tower. THAT was an amazing experience!
here's the video for that:
that was pretty much the highlight of my year, although i also produced an amazing celebration of fire and performance art, attended burning man, and survived the holidays!
now, as i look forward to 2010, this will not be an international travel year for me. i want to save and pay for a trip to ireland and scotland that's supposed to happen in 2011...so i am thinking perhaps a road trip or two to burning man regional events, perhaps ranger in some different places and see what else i can do...
peace, for now!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
gah!
sheesh, and i thought my last entry was sort of upbeat. not so much with a title like "tis the season…of suck". heh. oh well….
i really am doing pretty amazing, even though i have sad days. today is feeling like a pretty good day for the following reasons:
- it’s friday
- my honey comes home today
- i have a three day weekend
- in 2011, i will go to ireland and scotland
- i am healthy
- i have managed to keep all my weight off and my clothes just keep getting more and more loose.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
tis the season….of suck
this is a really bad time of the year for me.
i can’t believe my mom has been gone for three years. it seems like yesterday, and while at most times of the year the pain is a dull ache it seems to flair around this time of year into a red-hot poker that sears through my heart. i try to keep myself busy and try to stay upbeat, and most of the time i succeed. and then it hits me…
i have been trying to distract myself and that helps somewhat. i just read all four twilight books in about a week or less. that was entertaining. i wish there was more. escapism is an okay form of therapy =) i really am doing fine, but come here, as always, when i need an outlet for things i don’t feel comfortable expressing in other places. does this mean that my life has become so full most of the time that my need for open diary has decreased? that’s an interesting thought to ponder, but i think it’s more a time issue…
a few months ago, i went through a change at work. they decided that i needed to be more visible, so they took my nice, cozy, comfy office away from me and forced me in to a cubicle in the center of the noisiest, busiest office. it’s been quite the adjustment, and not always pleasant.
also, i am on my way to writing the saga of paris. i want to include pictures, and i don’t want to forget any of it! i think i am on day two or three now, in my other diary, the one where i pay for hosting space. or will, once my initial year is up =) this od window is behaving strangely and i wonder if it’s because i am using google chrome? that’s my current theory. now, i will see if the entry saves…..
yep, it saved, so perhaps it’s just a weird display thing in the code. i need to stop thinking about stuff like that =)
anyway, i am still here, and feeling a bit blue today. i did see AVATAR last night, in 3D and it was pretty nifty. seeing it in 3D made me want to see it in IMAX. i think some of the 3D stuff is lost on me because i tend to see and view things very linearly. i don’t even know if that’s a word, but we’ll say for arguments sake that it is.
i can’t think of what else to say, right now. yesterday was the solstice and i am happy to welcome the sun back, it can hurry along now, any time. my town got a huge snowfall this year, almost two feet at my own personal house, and it’s still hanging around, which is rare for the high desert, usually there’s not enough or it gets too warm to stick around. we were supposed to get another storm last night and while we did, it looks like it was mostly rain. there was just a light dusting of snow out this morning, and the roads didn’t seem nearly as frozen as they have in the past.
if any of you like chill-loungy type instrumental-based music, you should check this out, it’s very beautiful:
auditory canvas
that’s all i have for right now, will try to get back sooner than i did last time =)
peace.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Confessions of a bad web mistress...
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| Photo by Caroline |
Above is a shot of me getting zombie-fied for a recent belly dance gig. Good times, that.
I find that I am actually experiencing that which everyone says is true...the mechanics car sucks, the doctor is always sick, the plumbers pipes are always clogged, and the web persons website is kind of crappy =) Actually, it's not crappy, I love the theme, and I love what I've done with it thusfar, what I am NOT apparently good at, is updating it.
I am going to make a concerted effort to change that, though. I am actually working on a project that organizes many of the photos from Paris, and I want to post them here, in a day-to-day sort of way, and write everything down so I don't forget it.
Life is for living. Blogs are for remembering and recording so one doesn't forget. The issue is that I've been so busy living, the recording has been suffering a bit =)
Anyway, just a quick update as we approach this new year for this heathen soul, to say that I am still out here, have LOTS to update on, write about and do. I will update as I can, perhaps make it a larger priority for the immediate future.
Rest assured that I am well, living la vida loca, and looking forward to seeing what comes out of the Senate in the form of health care reform. This is conceivably one of the largest single issues of my lifetime, and I am excited to see what direction it takes.
Peace!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
(This is to preserve my Open Diary entries, that's why it's mentioned here.)
i have sort of come to the conclusion that my open diary is dying. i am not sure what it is. i renewed it. there’s a part of me that cares still about being here. time is the magickal thing that seems to constantly allude me. taking the time to come here. i still think i need to get stuff written down. i can’t believe i haven’t been here since 4/20. heh.
in the time since i have been here, amazing things have happened. i went to france and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. i will post some pictures. the other thing that has sucked all my time is facebook. i love it. i am addicted, i can’t help it. there is an immediacy and an interaction there that doesn’t exist here. i wonder if open diary is a precursor and social networking sites like facebook are the next wave in the evolution of the internet? i kind of think so…there is time and space there for unlimited interaction. i heart facebook =)
in about 17 days, i will be producing the second fire show. it’s an annual thing and a part of artown, which is a month long arts festival in my town. i am still spinning fire, but there’s been much drama involved with that, and i am not sure how involved i will continue to be with that group. i am still bellydancing and that continues to be a joy. i sort of change what i am most fond of with my hobbies, like i go through different phases.
right now, i must get back to work, but just wanted to check in here. i have been a baaaaad diary owner.
peace.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
6-13-09 Paris, Day Three
Oh my. Now it's been almost a year since I went to Paris and I haven't written down everything the way I said I was going to. I really wanted to commit to that, and now, I have to rely on the pictures to remind me of what happened each day. I will do what I can to remember it as it happened....
Sunday was the day that we visited the Centre Pompidou which was a really cool place. They call it the inside out building because all the pipes and stuff that's usually in the walls is on the outside so they can get more uber cool art on the inside. That seemed pretty groovy to me. There's like this large open space in front of the Centre, and it's pretty cool because there are all sorts of street vendors, performers and stuff that setup around there. I am sure to many it all seems very tourist trappy, but I enjoyed it a ton and thought it was charming. We saw magic tricks, dancing, musicians, it was awesome.
Here's the photo set from Day Three:
There was this giant flower pot outside the museum, which was pretty interesting. Inside, it was also very interesting, but it's sort of an odd thing. When you are surrounded by SO MUCH, after awhile, one just seems to get desensitized to things. We did see an angry feminist exhibit that I thought was pretty awesome. I thought of my old women studie's prof's and how much they would have enjoyed it. OH, OH, OH...there was one other thing I wanted to say about Pompidou. There is some rad sculpture there. Last year, I took a "Welding as Art" class at our local community college, and the teacher was awesome. His name is John Septien and he's an amazing artist as well as an amazing teacher. In discussing this class with some of the others that took it with me, we mused at what NOT an easy job John has essentially shoving an Art class and a welding class together, but needing to make sure the students understand concepts of both. Large concepts like negative space, orientation, and having your sculpture look good from all angles are a challenge to someone who's spatially challenged like me. Being in Paris and seeing all the amazing sculpture made me understand these concepts in a way that John could not have shown me with two-dimensional pictures. I am not sure yet that I will ever be a decent welder or metal art sculptor, but I understand better what he meant =)
After the Pompidou, we walked up the empty space and found an adorable little Italian place that was sort of indoor/outdoor seating. Some of the seats faced outside, and it was all open air. We got a table on the inside. We had the first of what would be a series of AWESOME pizzas. I would NEVER have guessed this, but we had a pizza with smoked salmon and lots and lots of cheese on it. It was amazing. I had pasta and a salad, and I don't remember what everyone else had, but I do remember that all the food was amazing.
After that we headed back to our neck of the woods and chilled out for awhile. We had some free time, and no dinner plans with the group, so we looked and decided we were going to have Sushi in Paris. This seemed a very metropolitan thing for us to do, we took advantage!
We walked to the Sushi place, through the streets of Paris. It was very cool. Seeing things that are so old. We found these little kiosks they have along the way that allow you to exchange money like right there, on the street. It's so funny how Americans assume everything revolves around them and Europeans assume the opposite, that others may need to access different stuff. heh. Along the way to the restaurant we saw the Canadian embassy. I pointed it out to Margo, but we were past it by the time she noticed. Heh. The days, in many ways were a complete blur.
When we got to the sushi place, it was totally cool because the whole thing was done like in purple neon. How cool is that?!? Then I brought one of their menu's home because it, too, was cool. I think it's like a city law or something that everything in Paris must be a work of art. Or maybe it's competition, who knows?
Sunday was the day that we visited the Centre Pompidou which was a really cool place. They call it the inside out building because all the pipes and stuff that's usually in the walls is on the outside so they can get more uber cool art on the inside. That seemed pretty groovy to me. There's like this large open space in front of the Centre, and it's pretty cool because there are all sorts of street vendors, performers and stuff that setup around there. I am sure to many it all seems very tourist trappy, but I enjoyed it a ton and thought it was charming. We saw magic tricks, dancing, musicians, it was awesome.
Here's the photo set from Day Three:
There was this giant flower pot outside the museum, which was pretty interesting. Inside, it was also very interesting, but it's sort of an odd thing. When you are surrounded by SO MUCH, after awhile, one just seems to get desensitized to things. We did see an angry feminist exhibit that I thought was pretty awesome. I thought of my old women studie's prof's and how much they would have enjoyed it. OH, OH, OH...there was one other thing I wanted to say about Pompidou. There is some rad sculpture there. Last year, I took a "Welding as Art" class at our local community college, and the teacher was awesome. His name is John Septien and he's an amazing artist as well as an amazing teacher. In discussing this class with some of the others that took it with me, we mused at what NOT an easy job John has essentially shoving an Art class and a welding class together, but needing to make sure the students understand concepts of both. Large concepts like negative space, orientation, and having your sculpture look good from all angles are a challenge to someone who's spatially challenged like me. Being in Paris and seeing all the amazing sculpture made me understand these concepts in a way that John could not have shown me with two-dimensional pictures. I am not sure yet that I will ever be a decent welder or metal art sculptor, but I understand better what he meant =)
After the Pompidou, we walked up the empty space and found an adorable little Italian place that was sort of indoor/outdoor seating. Some of the seats faced outside, and it was all open air. We got a table on the inside. We had the first of what would be a series of AWESOME pizzas. I would NEVER have guessed this, but we had a pizza with smoked salmon and lots and lots of cheese on it. It was amazing. I had pasta and a salad, and I don't remember what everyone else had, but I do remember that all the food was amazing.
After that we headed back to our neck of the woods and chilled out for awhile. We had some free time, and no dinner plans with the group, so we looked and decided we were going to have Sushi in Paris. This seemed a very metropolitan thing for us to do, we took advantage!
We walked to the Sushi place, through the streets of Paris. It was very cool. Seeing things that are so old. We found these little kiosks they have along the way that allow you to exchange money like right there, on the street. It's so funny how Americans assume everything revolves around them and Europeans assume the opposite, that others may need to access different stuff. heh. Along the way to the restaurant we saw the Canadian embassy. I pointed it out to Margo, but we were past it by the time she noticed. Heh. The days, in many ways were a complete blur.
When we got to the sushi place, it was totally cool because the whole thing was done like in purple neon. How cool is that?!? Then I brought one of their menu's home because it, too, was cool. I think it's like a city law or something that everything in Paris must be a work of art. Or maybe it's competition, who knows?
Friday, June 12, 2009
6-12-09 Paris, Day Two...
Day two was sort of like a hangover day, but, like, when in Paris, keep going baby, you can sleep when your dead because you better see all you can see while you are there! As you doubtless will realize, this is a recurring theme of the trip. Sleep? Sleep is for the weak!
We had to get up early, seemingly early, so that we could take a couple of trains to Versailles. The hotel had a really quaint little breakfast room where we were able to eat each day, I will have to see if any of us got a picture in there, it seems odd because it was such a large part of where we gathered each morning, and ate each day, but maybe it's like the kitchen in one's house...you take it for granted that it will always be there...
Breakfast in France, or Paris, is an interesting thing. Mostly portable, I wonder how much of the food they had they had because many Americans stay with them? There was cereal, and yummy brown hard-boiled eggs, that always seemed to be in short supply. Then strong coffee, tea, water, an assortment of juices and OF COURSE, bread, and cheese. Bread and cheese, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways....of course there were croissants there, which were delectable, I think I had two while we were there. I probably COULD have eaten my body weight in them....
We meet in the lobby in time to walk across the street and down the block to get to the Metro station. I heart the Metro. If you miss a train, hang around, there is a good chance another will be by within five minutes. Our fearless leader experienced a moment of panic herding us cats near the Metro station, but we were reasonably quickly sorted and on our way to the RR train, which takes us to Versailles.
The Metro station in Versailles is it's own historical building, very beautiful. We walk across the street and we have a bit of time before we have to walk over to the palace for our appointment to go see it. We decided to head down into the little town and see what we could find. It was really our first opportunity for some SHOPPING! Everything seemed like a specialty shop! Quaint little shops everywhere, each having a specialty. Cheese shops and bread shops and sandwich shops and candy shops and sweet shops separate from candy shops. Dizzying! We went into a small boutique and I found a lovely skirt for my daughter at a decent price, so I bought it.
In an aside here, you have no concept of how important a good travel bag is until you take a trip like this. Nina had gotten a Rick Steve's backpack as a prize for something she did. I coveted this backpack the entire time we were there! I liked it so much, as SOON as I got home, I ordered one. I had a HUGE National Guard backpack that while I was grateful to have had it, it really was much too heavy to carry around all the time. I ended up buying a much smaller purse that I still use for such things, but now, I have THE BACKPACK!
We headed back in time to make the rendezvous, and headed to the Palace. When the palace first came in sight, I seriously thought it was a compound, it was so huge, and it seemed like we were half a mile away JUST walking through the parking lots! Scale takes on a whole new meaning! The closer we got, the shinier the palace got. There was a huge line, which seemed very daunting at first. On the opposite side of the palace, there was another set of double-doors, with no line. "Group Entrance". Score. Gold gilded scroll work around the top of the ENTIRE palace. Really?!? In one of the videos I made from the trip, my first comment was "Today's lesson in excess is the Palace of Versaillies..." Seriously. To think that this was the home of one family is really mind-boggling. That's the first thing I noticed.
Above are the pictures from the day. If I had it to do over again, I would have spent less time in the palace, and more time in the gardens, but the whole thing is an experience, and I am glad I got to experience it. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to live or be entertained during the time this palace was someone's house. Seeing a couple of thousand people in the Hall of Mirrors barely made a dent. The king and queen bed chambers looked very small compared to the grandeur and scale of everything else. It seems like it would be a very COLD existence. The gardens were phenomenal, even the small amount we got to see.
We had to get up early, seemingly early, so that we could take a couple of trains to Versailles. The hotel had a really quaint little breakfast room where we were able to eat each day, I will have to see if any of us got a picture in there, it seems odd because it was such a large part of where we gathered each morning, and ate each day, but maybe it's like the kitchen in one's house...you take it for granted that it will always be there...
Breakfast in France, or Paris, is an interesting thing. Mostly portable, I wonder how much of the food they had they had because many Americans stay with them? There was cereal, and yummy brown hard-boiled eggs, that always seemed to be in short supply. Then strong coffee, tea, water, an assortment of juices and OF COURSE, bread, and cheese. Bread and cheese, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways....of course there were croissants there, which were delectable, I think I had two while we were there. I probably COULD have eaten my body weight in them....
We meet in the lobby in time to walk across the street and down the block to get to the Metro station. I heart the Metro. If you miss a train, hang around, there is a good chance another will be by within five minutes. Our fearless leader experienced a moment of panic herding us cats near the Metro station, but we were reasonably quickly sorted and on our way to the RR train, which takes us to Versailles.
The Metro station in Versailles is it's own historical building, very beautiful. We walk across the street and we have a bit of time before we have to walk over to the palace for our appointment to go see it. We decided to head down into the little town and see what we could find. It was really our first opportunity for some SHOPPING! Everything seemed like a specialty shop! Quaint little shops everywhere, each having a specialty. Cheese shops and bread shops and sandwich shops and candy shops and sweet shops separate from candy shops. Dizzying! We went into a small boutique and I found a lovely skirt for my daughter at a decent price, so I bought it.
In an aside here, you have no concept of how important a good travel bag is until you take a trip like this. Nina had gotten a Rick Steve's backpack as a prize for something she did. I coveted this backpack the entire time we were there! I liked it so much, as SOON as I got home, I ordered one. I had a HUGE National Guard backpack that while I was grateful to have had it, it really was much too heavy to carry around all the time. I ended up buying a much smaller purse that I still use for such things, but now, I have THE BACKPACK!
We headed back in time to make the rendezvous, and headed to the Palace. When the palace first came in sight, I seriously thought it was a compound, it was so huge, and it seemed like we were half a mile away JUST walking through the parking lots! Scale takes on a whole new meaning! The closer we got, the shinier the palace got. There was a huge line, which seemed very daunting at first. On the opposite side of the palace, there was another set of double-doors, with no line. "Group Entrance". Score. Gold gilded scroll work around the top of the ENTIRE palace. Really?!? In one of the videos I made from the trip, my first comment was "Today's lesson in excess is the Palace of Versaillies..." Seriously. To think that this was the home of one family is really mind-boggling. That's the first thing I noticed.
Above are the pictures from the day. If I had it to do over again, I would have spent less time in the palace, and more time in the gardens, but the whole thing is an experience, and I am glad I got to experience it. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to live or be entertained during the time this palace was someone's house. Seeing a couple of thousand people in the Hall of Mirrors barely made a dent. The king and queen bed chambers looked very small compared to the grandeur and scale of everything else. It seems like it would be a very COLD existence. The gardens were phenomenal, even the small amount we got to see.
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