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Day 1079: Caffeine and Sunshine
Jul. 11th, 2013 06:12 pmSo...I spent most of last week gearing up for the Fourth of July and then recovering for it.
It was my day off. Why did I sign up for the parade? Probably because my teacher is a wonderful woman and I believe in her studio and her cause, which is teaching people to be comfortable with themselves and to enjoy themselves. Still, getting up at 4 a.m. on my day off to battle with eyeliner and eyelash glue and make-up and dancing on a float is kind of crazy for the day off. There was drama - because where there are performers, there is always drama - but it was resolved and we pulled together, and we had a great time. Of course, there's something a little shocking and scandalous about a bunch of girls belly dancing on a float through a town that's, let's be honest, mostly Mormon. But a lot of people were supportive and super nice about it. Cody showed up and took pictures and some videos - he promised my mom - and once I convinced the other girls that the guy with the red camera who was following along and filming wasn't a creepy perv, they all decided he was very cute.
He was there on the riverbank, too, while we danced and listened to other bands. We listened to this awesome Reggae/Funk band called Galaxy Forest, and he adored their Pink Floyd covers. I learned the basics of dancing with stick veils, and I made friends with a Wing Chun instructor, a brown-haired, slender, bespectacled, unassuming guy named Bill who's super sweet. Cody and I went along to Wing Chun on Tuesday night to see what it's all about. Apparently its principles are compatible with Kenpo, so Cody wants to give it a shot. On the riverbank it was kind of alarming and a bit worrying, even though I was wearing thirty two yards' worth of fabric in my skirt alone, because I was getting leered at, and when I went roving the riverbank handing out flyers for the dance studio, I was kind of nervous by myself. I also felt super sexist, convincing boys to take flyers by playing up the martial arts angle.
Two groups of teenagers asked for pictures with us dancers, which was a bit alarming, being crowded up by teenage boys who looked barely old enough to drive. A teenage girl hit on me, too, which was kind of awkward. Disturbingly, the guys who leered the most were Middle Eastern. Disturbing, but I guess, given their culture, not that unexpected. The fireworks were delayed because some guy got drunk and thought he could swim the Snake River, and we gave up and went home before they happened. I didn't find out about the drunk guy until the next day. Poor kid died. Still, most sober people can't even swim the Snake.
I was sooooo tired the next day, so I drank about twenty ounces of Dr. Pepper. That night, I didn't get to sleep till nearly 4 a.m. And I spent the entire weekend in a sleep-deprived haze. And then we were up late gaming. I hadn't been planning on gaming because I hadn't thought through my plot, and were up late because I was super winging it.
This week work has been slow, but good. Yesterday I sat on the river bank and read through the draft of my friend's novel while I was waiting for dance class to start. It was super hot, but I think the sun is good for me. I like being dark-skinned.
We're moving forward on the whole home-buying thing. Hope it works out.
It was my day off. Why did I sign up for the parade? Probably because my teacher is a wonderful woman and I believe in her studio and her cause, which is teaching people to be comfortable with themselves and to enjoy themselves. Still, getting up at 4 a.m. on my day off to battle with eyeliner and eyelash glue and make-up and dancing on a float is kind of crazy for the day off. There was drama - because where there are performers, there is always drama - but it was resolved and we pulled together, and we had a great time. Of course, there's something a little shocking and scandalous about a bunch of girls belly dancing on a float through a town that's, let's be honest, mostly Mormon. But a lot of people were supportive and super nice about it. Cody showed up and took pictures and some videos - he promised my mom - and once I convinced the other girls that the guy with the red camera who was following along and filming wasn't a creepy perv, they all decided he was very cute.
He was there on the riverbank, too, while we danced and listened to other bands. We listened to this awesome Reggae/Funk band called Galaxy Forest, and he adored their Pink Floyd covers. I learned the basics of dancing with stick veils, and I made friends with a Wing Chun instructor, a brown-haired, slender, bespectacled, unassuming guy named Bill who's super sweet. Cody and I went along to Wing Chun on Tuesday night to see what it's all about. Apparently its principles are compatible with Kenpo, so Cody wants to give it a shot. On the riverbank it was kind of alarming and a bit worrying, even though I was wearing thirty two yards' worth of fabric in my skirt alone, because I was getting leered at, and when I went roving the riverbank handing out flyers for the dance studio, I was kind of nervous by myself. I also felt super sexist, convincing boys to take flyers by playing up the martial arts angle.
Two groups of teenagers asked for pictures with us dancers, which was a bit alarming, being crowded up by teenage boys who looked barely old enough to drive. A teenage girl hit on me, too, which was kind of awkward. Disturbingly, the guys who leered the most were Middle Eastern. Disturbing, but I guess, given their culture, not that unexpected. The fireworks were delayed because some guy got drunk and thought he could swim the Snake River, and we gave up and went home before they happened. I didn't find out about the drunk guy until the next day. Poor kid died. Still, most sober people can't even swim the Snake.
I was sooooo tired the next day, so I drank about twenty ounces of Dr. Pepper. That night, I didn't get to sleep till nearly 4 a.m. And I spent the entire weekend in a sleep-deprived haze. And then we were up late gaming. I hadn't been planning on gaming because I hadn't thought through my plot, and were up late because I was super winging it.
This week work has been slow, but good. Yesterday I sat on the river bank and read through the draft of my friend's novel while I was waiting for dance class to start. It was super hot, but I think the sun is good for me. I like being dark-skinned.
We're moving forward on the whole home-buying thing. Hope it works out.
