dance lately

Parfait and I visited a friend of his last night whose entire apartment is filled with her art. She even keeps small pieces in her oven. I liked a lot of her work and thought she was exciting as well. She so clearly loves what she does and gets lost in her tiny apartment for days intensely working on some project. I got a little jealous and sad because, though it was nice to see that dedication it reminded me that I don't have much passion in my own life right now. I'm not really sure what I'm interested in artistically and that frustrates me.

I definitely appreciated the performance opportunity I had last April. I was in a dance piece that my friend Anne choreographed. It was part of a self-produced concert that five choreographers put together. I think Anne is pretty talented and wish she would get her act together and start creating more but I'm pretty sure she'd say the same thing about me so who am I to criticize? Anyway, here's the piece. It's starts out black for about 15 seconds so don't worry if you don't see anything. (Anne is the woman behind me to the right.)

nursery rhymes

I went to my old job today (because I teach a Pilates mat class there but the class wasn't for a few hours so I went grocery shopping but I bought perishables and I needed a fridge and a bowl in which to eat recently purchased granola) and we started talking about the old 'liar' rhyme for some reason. Erica offered her version of

Liar liar pants on fire
Went to bed on a telephone wire

No one had ever heard of that one before. I used to say 'hang them on a telephone wire' as in, your firey pants but I came up with a new adult version I'll be using from now on

Liar liar pants on fire
Burn to death on a funeral pyre

It has a certain force that I like.

Just came home with Parfait and his friend from seeing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. A terrible book becomes a terrible movie. I was tempted to leave them and sneak into another movie until that awfulness was over but, you know, I'm not one to be that rude.

attention to details

I just ran (literally) up to Inwood to open a Pilates studio and sub a 10 o'clock class only to discover, after waiting 10 minutes for my seemingly late clients, that the class isn't actually until 11 o'clock. I had to teach a client downtown this morning at 7AM which, in my mind, gave me just enough time to get home, shower, and take off to the Inwood studio. I of course was late getting out the door after my shower but luckily a train was waiting when I went down in the subway. Silly me, to think that a waiting train is a blessing. It kept waiting. And then it waited at the next stop. And then suddenly discontinued service at the next stop, the station right before where I needed to get off. In my semi-haste to leave my apartment I left my phone behind and, having no idea what time it was, ran 15 pavement pounding, chest wrenching blocks to the studio, carrying my bag and my full (of fruit) tiffin. It was awful. Thankfully, I can now sit back and watch some cartoons while I wait for the actual class to begin, which is probably what I would have done at home anyway. And eat my fruit.

a good idea

This is pretty funny, mostly, and clever for a commercial. And look, her frustrating business is knitting! I would go to her store.

goodbye, little molar

Okay, I just tried to write a whole blog entry about my day today but it kept getting more and more boring. Here's the skinny:

the pain of that abscess started to come back (as I would told it probably would)
I'm saving as much money as I can so I can go to Alexander Technique school within the next 3 years
I don't have dental insurance
root canals are expensive
I got my upper right back molar extracted, it was invasive
they wouldn't let me keep the tooth, even though I asked extra nicely
there is now a gaping hole in the back of my mouth
I was told to take ibuprofen, no prescription pain killers offered

Here's a little interaction the surgeon and I had when he first walked in:

Dr. So and So: So what brings you here today?
ipj: I need to get a tooth extracted.
Dr. SaS (looking at my x-rays): Oh, your lower right molar?
ipj: Umm, nooo...my upper right molar.
Dr. SaS: Oh. Really?

He later told me that whoever (my old when-I-had-insurance dentist) did my last two root canals (less than a year ago!) did a very poor job and that I'd have to have one of those molars (the lower right, hence his confusion) extracted as well.

I tried to take a picture of the gaping hole but none of them turned out. Too bad for you, I know you'd like to see my wound.

in my own way

For Gay Pride

I didn't:

go to the parade

wear anything pink or rainbow colored

I did:

drink kombucha

watch My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies

For Independence Day

I didn't:

wave an American flag

go to a barbecue/party

I did:

go to work

I think I caught the basic essence of both days, don't you?

I want to break things

Trying to teach yourself a new knitting technique by following seemingly vague instructions with absolutely no pictures using the smallest needles you've ever held, all at 1 in the morning can be fucking frustrating!

Luckily I found this video that explains the first step of the technique I'm trying to learn. Of course she's using giant aluminum needles and loose knitting so it looks easy. Whereas I'm using teeny bamboo needles with extra tight tension.

not quite grammar but

I've been continuing my thoughts on the body lately, specifically my body and specifically symmetry in the body. In an attempt to sort out possible lopsidedness caused by habits I've started doing things with my left hand, my non-dominant hand.  Things like opening my bag, getting my keys and unlocking my door, zipping my jeans or stirring food and also...taking care of personal hygiene. I've started wiping with my left hand.  One of my instructors even talked about this the other day. If you spend your whole like twisting and bending to one side of your body that certainly going to cause an imbalance even if you're not immediately aware of it. So I've tried to switch things up.  Have you tried this before? It's hard! I've taken to taking one last swipe with my right hand just to make sure because if I learned one thing in school it's the importance of double-checking your work.

things keep changing

I've been trying to go on an ice cream fast lately. I was going to say ice cream diet but now that I've typed both it seems that the same problem exists no matter which way you say it. I don't mean to say I'm eating only ice cream, though how wonderful woud that be? but that I'm not eating any ice cream. It's only been going moderately well but considering that I had been eating practically a pint a night the rate I'm down to now is pretty promising.

I've also decided to give up porn. It's like a battle of addictions within me!  Is this a bad idea to give up two addictions at once? Or will I go crazy and some late night just lube up with a cup of soft serve? Should I phase one addiction out and just give in to the other or try to go cold turkey on both? Maybe I'm just trying to justify eating ice cream. I really really want some!

trial

Parfait and I are going through a trial of no TV for a week.  It started Monday.  I unplugged our TV and put it on top of a bureau, screen turned away.  I felt like we kept coming home and automatically turning on the TV.  We'd usually end up watching Food Network, which I do think is pretty fun but at the same time, not necessary.  As a concession I plug in the TV each night before going to bed so that Parfait can turn on the Today Show in the morning, it's how he starts his morning.  He doesn't ever really watch it that much, it's more to set his time by.  And he's stressed enough at work right now that I didn't push it.  The only other time we can pull the TV back out is if we're going to watch a movie.  Hulu though is still an option but that's harder to pull out and just have on.  We only go to Hulu if, again, we have something specific to watch. I was a little worried that I'm obsessed with creating trials that will test our relationship but maybe that's okay.  If we don't have anything to talk about without TV then I'd rather know that now.  Things have been okay so far. I've turned the radio on a lot more, which still isn't just quiet but at least doesn't have commercials.  And it's reminded me how much to use to listen to NPR and I miss it.  Plus I heard some great music the other night.  We'll see how the rest of the week goes.  I suggested only seven days but I'm hoping that when next Monday comes around I'll be able to push for a month.  Breaking my addictions one at a time.  What's next? My computer?  Ice cream?  Those might be too powerful.

still good

When I was younger my sister and liked to play the Bad Choreography game.  It's pretty simple, just dance around and try to emote through movement as much intense feeling as you can.  It's almost guaranteed to be bad choreography.  That's kind of what it looks like Kate Bush is doing.  And yet, it works wonderfully.  She's going against so many things I learned about choreography in school but she sells it and believes it.  If I had seen all those ballerinas in college dancing with this conviction I probably would have scoffed less.

one month later

And once again I'm blogging during President Obama's speech. I sat listening to it for about 20 minutes but just kept getting more and more jittery and nervous. I've decided to keep listening but relieve some of the tension by remembering there are still great things in life.

Like France in the Winter!



Like a Mobile Haircut Salon!



Like Fixing It Yourself!



Like Cold Stone Apartments!



Like Knitting on New Year's Eve!



Like Family!



All of the above pictures are from a trip Parfait and I took last December to visit my mom in Les Plantiers, France. Les Plantiers is a tiny town in the mountains of southern France.

Here's the bridge into town.



And here's the town.



That street may go in the opposite direction as well but that's about it. Seriously, only 40-50 people live in the entire place and my mom is one of them. That picture above is my mom's younger French boyfriend (ooh la la) fixing his hot water heater. He didn't exactly know what he was doing and ended up with the obligatory extra piece when he finished but when he turned on the hot water in his faucet that thing fired up pretty amazingly.

The view from the bridge.



And another from under the bridge, of the second bridge in town.



Apparently in the summer they dam the river farther down and the water backs up to this point and people go swimming and boating in it. Awesome. If you look on the right you can see someone's laundry hanging out to dry. Even though it was nearly freezing out I saw lots of laundry. It takes more time but saves a lot on running (or buying) a dryer, which is frickin' expensive there.

We barely did anything while we were there but I loved it. It was pretty chilly in my mom's apartment. Most places don't have any insulation, they just have thick stone walls. My mom had only recently put insulation in the attic of her building which helped keep all the heat from escaping out the roof but nevertheless it was still chilly. My mom often used the word "toasty" to describe her apartment while I chose "uncomfortable" and Parfait was heard to exclaim, "it's fucking freezing in here!" I only took off my sweater and scarf combo once (besides going to bed) and that was after I had been sitting in front of a wood stove for like, 2 hours. That was toasty.

Our days mostly consisted of getting up, drinking coffee or hot chocolate while eating lots of good baked products; braving the bathroom (which was not insulated at all); going for short cold walks; beginning the slow process of cooking dinner on the wood stove; then eating dinner, drinking and talking. It was great.

Speaking of drinking, we were introduced to a great liquor called Cartagene. It's 83% first pressed juice from wine grapes and 17% alcohol. It's tasty and sweet but not too. We created a new drink we called New Year's Tradition which consists of 2 parts Champagne to 1 part Cartagene. Many were drunk on New Year's eve. What's particularly great not only about this drink but about lots of wine in this area is that you can buy giant plastic cubes of the stuff then just refill your own bottles. I think this is like a 5 liter cube.



You just take this home, pop on a spout then refill a bottle.



My mom had a empty wine cube the trunk of her car that I think was 10 liters. You take that to the winery and can refill it with a hose. And the wine is pretty good too.

My mom's apartment was awesome and completely French. Every room had a large heavy wood door complete with large metal key. Every door needed to stay shut all the time to help keep in the heat. This is the entrance door into my mom's apartment. I don't know, I was just trying to give a sense of proportion.



So being there was pretty great. It was relaxing and quiet and just what I needed to get away from New York. After about 5 days in Les Plantiers Parfait and I took a train up to Paris. Paris was pretty beautiful too but was totally crowded and super cold as well. Before we left Les Plantiers my mom gave me a giant scarf she knit (and I finished, as seen above) which was lucky because otherwise I would have frozen.

My favorite part of Paris was the Musée d'Orsay. This museum is breathtaking and is housed in an old railway station with a giant glass roof. I saw an amazing painting by Winslow Homer titled Summer Night.



It was stunning. I stood in front of it for at least 7 minutes. Of course an internet jpeg doesn't do it justice. There was just something so amazing about it, I couldn't figure it out. It wasn't that it was so real like a photograph but it was still more than a painting. Parfait had to clarify what I was thinking. The painting was like a dream. Not like a painting of a dream but as if you were directly looking at someone's dream they were having right then. It had a profound effect on me.

My not favorite part of Paris was being vegetarian. French cooking is very meat friendly. There was many a time that Parfait and I ended up walking around for over an hour looking for a place to eat that served something I could eat, other than a green salad. I'll just let you know, I ate a lot of pizzas, a lot of green salads anyway and drank a lot of coffee, because I knew how to order all of that and could be sure I wouldn't find greasy bacon pieces hiding in my food (or so I thought, that's exactly what I did find in a goat cheese salad I ordered). I didn't eat enough crepes or pastries, not nearly enough. The best crepe I ate though had cheese, spinach and honey in it. I wasn't sure what to think but really, it was so good.

I don't have any pictures of Paris because Parfait and I don't own a camera. Lame. The picture of Les Plantiers were all taken with my mom's boyfriend's camera. And that was the end of our trip. I love wood stoves.

physiolowhat?

As I'm waiting for Barack Obama's speech I'm sitting in front of my computer letting out little stinkers because, you know what, cigarettes give me gas. Yes, I bought a pack of cigarettes the other day, I was depressed and mad, and I smoked one this morning and totally forgot that for some reason they give me gas. Why would that be? They only seem to give me gas when I smoke on an empty stomach too. I find that odd. And I feel pretty gross when I smoke them but I've just accepted the fact that I have them and have smoked some and I'm not going to beat myself up about it, I'm just not going to buy any more.

I'm sorry I still haven't posted anything about Winter France Trip 08/09. I have the pictures ready, I've just been too lazy to type something up about it. Here's a preview, it was taken from my mom's bedroom window.



It was great.