wiped! version 1

up 9:20
10-2:55- work
3-6 cashier at food coop
6:10 on way to museum party
6:30-9 Museum
something until...?
Masaic house near musuem
Dinner at middle eastern restaurant with Belly dancer. The dancer is my Saturday morning instructor
Saturday morning instructor
shopping at a Persian market
11 ish- home

Dance class at 9:30am-11 tomorrow
I hope I can move

Partied

I went last night, had a great time, made it to class okay and am going back tonight with a few more people.

The Italian treats one could buy all contained wheat AND cheese! every single one! I will have to speak to someone about that.

The Iron floral design contest was just flower arranging, amazing arrangements but for some reason I was thinking flowers made of iron, can you tell I don't watch much tv??? So I was a bit disappointed.
The friend I went with has been taking hoop dancing and her instructor was there outside doing a kids activity thing, guying playing with a diablo along with a poi swinger. I used to do diablos, but my elbows have been kind of shot since a freak accident in Vegas a few years ago, even though I have had plenty of pt with them, I still have some problems.
Anyway, I tried hoop dancing, the hoops are weighted and fairly heavy. and you kind of slowly belly dance inside them. It was okay, and I will probably start going to the free open hoop thing.
The poi swinging is SO cool!!! I am going to take that up.

Party

Our local museum has this event called "Art in Bloom" where they place flower arrangements around the museum, hold flower centric events and have docents dressed as figures flower oriented paintings. Years ago, the museum had some wild parties, there is a new director again so maybe the parties are back.

Tonight's is called Flower's After Hours. "Enjoy a taste of 'bella Italia' at this lively complimentary Carnevale, complete with a scavenger hunt and an art-trivia contest (with fabulous prizes!). Watch the 2nd-annual Celebrity Iron Florist Floral Design Contest. Meet our floral artists and discover what inspires them. Head to the MIA for a different kind of happy hour—and experience the Art in Bloom arrangements at their peak!"

Unfortunately I have dance class at 7:30 and have already missed 2 this session so far. The Iron Florist event is from 6-7, so I will go and try to catch that event with a fellow dancer, maybe go a bit early and enter the art trivia event as well. There is another party on Friday night so I might hit that one if I don't see everything tonight.

"Looking at the world, Through the sunset in your eyes

Trying to make the train
Through clear Moroccan skies
Ducks and pigs and chickens call
Animal carpet wall to wall
American ladies five foot tall in blue."

Its 11:30pm and I am singing and dancing...  Someone shared their musical library with me and I am hearing songs I haven't heard in ages.

"four dead in Ohio" does anyone even remember?  just got distracted looking for the AP photo of a protester being carried off by 4 policeman during the gym protest of 1977.  I knew him, rather well in fact. 

I should probably head to bed but there is so much to sing and dance to.  I stayed up too late talking with a friend last night. 

After I got off the phone I was violently ill for a couple more hours, I know better than to eat white chocolate really I do, but dark chocolate never makes me ill...
Fell asleep at 4, work up at 5:30 to discover that I had forgotten to do the Cpap thing, stumbled into the bathroom to fill the humidifier tank on it, only to drop and spilled about a half gallon of distilled water. That woke me up!

old blog/ new blog

I will be posting on both blogs for a few days until everything gets set up. I hope it doesn't drive anyone too nuts.

I just finished watching a PBS American Experience on Jonestown.

I found it just as disturbing almost 30 yrs later. I had always known it was murder suicide at least for the small children, but I never realized that there were so few voluntary suicides among the 900 dead. 250 of them who were children under age 18 were definitely murdered.

Survivors talk about the area being surrounded by armed guards who will kill them if they don't kill themselves. There are recordings of Jim Jones' voice during the mass murder/suicide that are just chilling, offering them this way to die or by a gun.
There were also references to Jim Jones'political power and influence. The transcript of the program will be on the site soon.

I am having an argument with someone regarding whether or not G-d warned the people who died. They are saying God would have warned them that Jones wasn't a man of God, and they should have known and not gone to Guyana if they were listening.
I am having serious problems with this. First I think it is hubris to claim to know the wisdom of G-d and secondly, it blames the victims.

Sadly, the whole Ryan visit that instigated Jonestown was over custody of a little boy whose parents wanted him back.

Jonestown

I just finished watching a PBS American Experience on Jonestown.

I found it just as disturbing almost 30 yrs later. I had always known it was murder/suicide at least for the small children, but I never realized that there were so few voluntary suicides among the 900 dead. 250 of them, who were children under age 18, were definitely murdered.

Survivors talk about the area being surrounded by armed guards who will kill them if they don't kill themselves. There are recordings of Jim Jones' voice during the mass murder/suicide that are just chilling, offering them this way to die or by a gun.
There were also references to Jim Jones'political power and influence. The transcript of the program will be on the site soon.

I am having an argument with someone regarding whether or not G-d warned the people who died. They are saying God would have warned them that Jones wasn't a man of God, and they should have known and not gone to Guyana if they were listening.
I am having serious problems with this. First I think it is hubris to claim to know the wisdom of G-d and secondly, it blames the victims.

Sadly, the whole Ryan visit that instigated Jonestown was over custody of a little boy whose parents wanted him back. He died with the other 249 children.

Back from Texas

where its 27 degrees Fahrenheit and snowing. Wind chill about 12 and I didn't have a coat, mittens or a hat with me. Luckily my ride home had a warm car and a coat I could use.

It took me a LONG time to get back, first Houston to Atlanta was running late due to weather, then I had a long lovely layover in Atlanta with an extra hour thrown in due to weather. Then we went a slightly longer route to avoid weather, but still ended up with some exciting turbulence of the roller coaster variety.

Do you know that there was literally no lunch type food I could get at the Atlanta that didn't have major milk or wheat in it? Good thing I still had some cashews and some cadbury mini eggs that a very swell man gave me before I left.

Things I liked about my trip


Jack
Laurie
the hell hole
the washing machine which I got to witness dumping water on the floor
the weather
the warmth
the moisture
the rain
everything so green
the plants
the weird way houses sit off the ground on stones or bricks or something
the sock
Baby complete with an early am disappearing act (luckily no dog catchers were involved.)
sightseeing with Laurie
stuff with Jack
Due South
cds
Pickle
the very funny mystery I got to read over the two days I was at UH
the food-Luby's, Spindletop, Tokyo, Chaba (thanks Laurie!), Chez Jacque's, Pickle's UH dorm
the peace
relaxing
chocolate
lots of cadbury mini eggs
walking with John
turtles, lizards, strange aquatic birds, big ass aligator
seeing all the stuff I have heard about over the years
feeling comfortable and safe

off kilter

today I went to work, then the conservatory where I finished writing my thank you notes from my Texas trip, and sent pictures of plants via cell phone.  I may have to include translations with my notes as my hand writing is pretty bad. 
A few months ago it was non-existent, but after lots of PT I can get through more than a few sentences now. I started one of them on one of the planes back here and it isn't pretty. I was always taught one should hand write them, like one does condolence cards but what is more important the form or the message? 

The trip back was long and delayed.  Storms from Houston to Atlanta, big stop over the Midwest, ait tran gave me a flying bear which I thought that might be a nice thank gift. 
I started a post the other day about things I liked about my trip, but it was just a long list with links, so I thought maybe I will list a few each day. 

I have belly dance class in about 20 mins and its going to be bad.  I missed the first class last week, and although I practiced some while I was away, I didn't do enough.  Also I ate about 30 mins ago, bad idea, undulations on full stomach is at best painful.  Oh well off I go...

missing Texas

This morning it was in the teens. I put on my wind pants, parka, neck gator, hat with boa, mittens and trudged outside to my car. I brushed the snow off the head lights then found the driver's door was frozen shut, so I got in the passenger's side.  I parked it in the sun and I hope it defrosts by the time I leave work.

I can just feel my skin drying out already...

Back in St. Paul

where its 27 degrees fahrenheit and snowing. Windchill about 12 and I didn't have a coat, mittens or a hat with me. Luckily my ride home had a warm car and a coat I could use.

It took me a LONG time to get back, first Houston to Atlanta was running late due to weather, then I had a long lovely layover in Atlanta with an extra hour thrown in due to weather. Then we went a slightly longer route to avoid weather, but still ended up with some exciting turberlance of the roller coaster variety.

Do you know that there was literally no lunch type food I could get at the Atlanta that didn't have major milk or wheat in it? Good thing I still had some cashews and some cadbury mini eggs that a very swell man gave me before I left.

Things I liked about my trip


Jack
Laurie
the hell hole
the washing machine which I got to witness dumping water on the floor
the weather
the warmth
the moisture
the rain
everything so green
the plants
the weird way houses sit off the ground on stones or bricks or something
the sock
Baby complete with an early am disappearing act (luckily no dog catchers were involved.)
sightseeing with Laurie
stuff with Jack
Due South
cds
Pickle
the very funny mystery I got to read over the two days I was at UH
the food-Luby's, Spindletop, Tokyo, Chaba (thanks Laurie!), Chez Jacque's, Pickle's UH dorm
the peace
relaxing
chocolate
lots of cadbury mini eggs
walking with John
turtles, lizards, strange aquatic birds, big ass aligator
seeing all the stuff I have heard about over the years
feeling comfortable and safe

New Blog!

My current blog is A silly man at blogcity and over the new few months I will be making a general migratory movement here.
I am in Texas in the moment, not on dial-up! so I am using this opportunity to actually begin.
I have had some interesting adventurers here in Texas, some of which you can read about on Laurie's blog here.
Blogger seems much easier to use so far and I hope to be blogging a lot more often. I plan on posting more pictures too, unfortunately I was too interested in moving away to get any of the "big ass" alligator, but I did get some others.