Be the change you want to see.

He said,
"Will you?"
She said,
"Yes, and...
I want THIS too!"
He said,
"Oooh..."
She said,
"Ummm!"
And then
"Move your elbow a little bit, hon...!"
"How should I move it? Perhaps like... This?"
She answered with a kiss.









This has been my week 9 entry for therealljidol, and the prompt was "Yes, and...".

Voting for Tribe 1 is HERE. If you liked this entry, please vote and help me to write another week!

I encourage everyone to enjoy the entries that my writing colleagues have also posted, available (HERE).

Monday was a giant success in the Moving My Body department.
Matter of fact, I'm more than a bit sore today, in ways I haven't in weeks and weeks, so that's good.
(it's good because SORE is different than Injured or Impaired.)

Monday morning I met wrenb at the gym for to try a new yoga class. Hadn't had a Hatha Yoga class in, well, at least a couple of years. *shrug* been doing other things, haven't had enough interest to go there, and it had seemed that the so-called Gentle Yoga was serving my yoga needs... But this Hatha class was very enjoyable and a good amount of challenge while not being a huge strain. Even if the teacher did look at me among others (I think I was the only roundy woman in the room) when she asked if any of us were new to yoga, I didn't mind. I was mildly amused, and smiled gently at her.

And then it was quite a good and thorough workout. The sacroiliac joint, where my chiropractor was working on me previously, made quite the series of long crackly readjustments toward the end of the session during a hip twisting stretch before savasana. It never hurts, but it still feels strange, like ... like pulling apart warm rice crispy treats. Only with a crunch with every stretch.

After Yoga, I spent some time with wrenb, her husband, and her kids at a local park for part of the afternoon, then went home, took care of various personal and house things, and had something to eat before meeting wrenb again for dance...5Rhythms in Mountain View. They meet, WE meet, at the Masonic Temple and use their ballroom for dancing. It's a HUMONGOUS lot of fun, although it's also challenging. Claire, the teacher, encourages all kinds of heart-centered meditation practices, and often has us try new exercises meant to break through the walls around our hearts, or break through our fears and engrained habits of self-image.

Claire ran an exercise last night that I know as a theater game... Everyone circles up. Then the teacher starts with simple statements: Walk across the circle if you identify as male. ...as female ... as somewhere in between (two people I like, crossed the circle at that point, visually seeming as one of each gender).

Questions moved to a popcorn format eventually: Have you ever had your heart broken, have you ever been divorced, have you lost a parent, are you a grandparent, did you have a challenging day, did you have a good day, did you identify as other than heterosexual? (I walked for that one.) Have you lost an SO or a child? Are you now or have you been dealing with cancer. (I walked for that one as well, though a tiny bit of skin cancer hardly feels /worthy/, you know? But my little brother Scott died from cancer, so did my uncles Leo (leukemia) and Dino (skin cancer gone metastatic) and my cousin Jeff (testicular, he was only 6 months older than me), so fuck that, I will keep it in mind)

I danced a LOT. and I made an effort to dance with other people. 5 Rhythms isn't like ballroom or country dances, everyone dances alone most of the time, but people play together occasionally, in twos or threes or occasionally in hug-circles kind of things. It was good.

It wasn't an effort, like it usually is, to let someone come ask me (nonverbally) for contact or play. It flowed well, and was fun, silly, joyful. My native state. =D

More of this. Moving is joyful.

I have an idea for a blog post: Advice for younger women.

I'd like to make it a list of 40 things I've learned as a woman of a certain age.

I'm not yet sure I HAVE 40 things I've learned as a 40 year old that would be valued by younger women.

Here's a start though. Edit: who knew I had this much good advice in me? =)


1) Pluck your chin hairs while your face is slightly 'dirty'... they come out easier and don't break.

2) If the person you're crushing on isn't all that "into you"... might want to reconsider why YOU are into THEM.

3) If your body is sore, move it. No, really. (And don't say should I move it if it's broken, I know you are smarter than that)

4) Invest in quality tools of all kinds. Take care of them. You don't need 3 pairs of mediocre scissors, or nailclippers, or whatever, if you have one good pair and you know where it is.

5) Get rid of crappy stuff. Get rid of multiples. You deserve better than to paw through boxes of crap looking for something you need.

6) Don't talk trash behind people's backs. Hell, don't talk trash period. You look petty and mean when you do.
( Read more... )

Whew! Not too bad for a first draft! Any comments, advice, critiques, or contributions?

(that was SO much fun!!)

There looks to be a whole series of these.
IANAB (I am not a biologist) but I think it has something to do with factors inhibiting stem cell growth and a particular cell that helps remove those inhibiting factors. Damn, if I have time I am going to cruise all of the videos in this series...



Enjoy!

With thanks to blessed_harlot, who linked to it on her LJ...

There are 30 questions.

Answer each question with one name.

Next to each number, write only the name of the person who fits.

Don't tell the questions to anyone who isn't doing the meme.
(I will tell you, if you ask for the questions, by private email or Private Message here on LJ. In return you promise to fill out the questions yourself and post them in your blog.)

(yes, the secrecy is part of what helps the meme to propagate. Heh.)

(I altered two questions. You can use the original or my alteration, but you should include the fact that I altered those two in further iterations of the meme.)



01. zoethe

02. themusecalliope

03. Nobody.

04. eeyore_grrl

05. battymaiden

06. naamah_darling

07. Mario. mrplanet4

08. zpdiduda

09. uncledark

10. deedeebythebay

11. Nobody on my Flist or extended social group seems to fit in this category.

12. 1radicaldreamer

13. matociquala or tammypierce

14. frosteee or lastmx

15. foresto, or Megan T.

16. astroaztec

17. labelleizzy. =)

18. wintergr3y or ariyanakylstram

19. qos

20. bedpimp

21. Kristi, mrsgiggle

22. Ray. waywardbound

23. masterfiddler’s wife Ellen

24. pushkie naamah_darling

25. yezida

26. dotarvi

27. barelyproper

28. livefalcon or dragonfairie

29. eeyore42

30. You all, and everyone else in my life, make it richer simply for the being IN it. You all bring something special, something wonderful. Thank you all for participating in the wider world that includes me.

Survey on Jewish Language that you don't have to be Jewish to do! (thanks to cyan_blue for the link!)

(but, I'm looking at you, fools_and_irish, I think you'll have fun with this one.)

If you're not Jewish, never practiced the religion etc, the survey is much shorter. Took me about 10 minutes, and it was fun, especially for a language-whore like myself.

...sometimes I think I am a freak for taking pleasure in things no one else talks about.
... sometimes i think i am a child for taking pleasure in things that are "too simple."

* beautiful blue skies and crisp fresh air
* a dandelion in flower, growing up thru the sidewalk cracks...
* clean ears after a shower or bath (yay Q-tips!)
* eating really good food when I'm really hungry
* being busy or engrossed in something really cool to the extent that I forget to eat....
* swimming, jacuzzi, floating, feeling my hair spread out in the water...
* dancing along in my house with a favorite radio song, and feeling that I somehow have "nailed it" - I dunno, moving just with the rhythm, using muscles I don't usually use...
* a much needed haircut - great satisfaction in this
* saying something that makes a friend grin, who I don't see often enough to really KNOW what makes them grin...
* completion of a small but necessary task
* cuddles & great conversation
* laughing till my ribs hurt or I'm gasping for breath
* making someone else laugh uncontrollably
* a wicked, flirty smile (mine or someone else's)
* being "in the zone" while freeway driving - utterly aware of other drivers' patterns, and even anticipating trouble... (thank you, Hermes!)
* good hair days (ok, sometimes I'm a little shallow)
* sunlight shading green through late-afternoon sun-dappled branches...
* a long, close hug where you trust the person enough to lay your head on their chest, or on top of their head, and leave it there for awhile...

... and there's so much more!
But, I have a date with a friend for a tutorial on MS Office Suite, and I'm gonna go do that thing.

Ok, on the job front, have applied to 2 jobs at UCDavis, have to review the other 5 for due-dates and requirements, and have to mail hard copy of the second UCDavis app with my resume, today.

Thanks to everyone who has been offering support and commentary. It makes me feel not-so-alone in the jobhunting challenge.