adventures of a belly dancing acupuncturist

Which reality?

2008-11-03T21:48:00.002-07:00

Just hours before it all begins, the fog is finally starting to lift.

It is hard to put into words, but ever since August 29th I've felt we moved out of reality into an alternate time line. Sarah Palin was not the original pick, but it feels as if someone else was picked, the campaign season progressed and the ticket lost and now we're in a weird and warped reality do-over. It sounds crazy, but everyone I speak with feels as if this fall was just not right, time felt wrong, everything just seemed off - it has been very hard to articulate.

And just in the last few days it's cleared up. Could it be the Saturn/Uranus opposition that goes into full effect on the 5th? Is it just election season winding up to its final frenzy and conclusion?

Whatever it is, it's a relief.

The No Credential Required Event Night

2008-08-28T10:33:00.003-06:00

drew a fair number of people with tags of various sorts dangling from their necks for the speeches, but they all split when it went into party time. What I find a bit confusing is why so many events and parties actually overlapped major speeches - if you want to get the kids involved by having them get to see their favorite indie bands for free in an RSVP event, why are you doing it right when all of the major speeches start. These kids really should have been watching Clinton, Kerry and Biden. Then again, that is my snarky nearly 40 year old opinion.

In health systems and management we had an overview of the health care system (and non system) that we will be studying in depth thru the term with a bit of debate on how we would like to fix/change things, an interesting lead in to the Healthcare United rally. More appreciative people, which is why we do it. Good music and talk wafting up from the stage too.

But all of it is hard to enjoy with lingering crud. I had all of these ideas of having fun and party hopping, and maybe if I hadn't been feeling so crappy this whole week I would've had the energy to turn on and float into great parties and such. Now all I want is for it to be Saturday afternoon so I can lock up after my last client and go home and sleep and get caught up with my online Epidemiology lectures (nearly 4 hours worth) and drink tea on the patio.

4 hours to the line up for the big speech.

Help! My city has been hijacked!

2008-08-27T08:11:00.003-06:00

Which is how I felt last night when I read thru a section of the Denver Post last night waiting for friends to come and meet up. As I said yesterday, I am fine with conventioneers and crowds. It are those from elsewhere who making exclusivity for others not from here who I would like to send back to where they came from.

Most of what I saw were the comings and goings from Lola's, union party during the day and the prep for the DNC finance committee at night as I was giving free acupuncture in the red and blue pointy domed tent across the street from it. The Sustainability Road Show wasn't swamped, but I was with the various road crew and local exhibitors taking turns receiving treatment and they worked me hard.

The crowds around the MSNBC tower are quite amusing, especially the 19 year old guy who got all excited as soon as he heard Keith's voice coming out of the speakers and the cottage industry of peddlers that has sprung up to feed off of it.

Only one party, too wrecked for even trying for more, but at least it was mellow and interesting. Reports coming to us at the DFA event made me glad that I turned around and didn't head to the event at the Martini Ranch, didn't need loud, bad hip hop to ruin what bit of voice I still had trying to yell over. Instead I heard from US Congress and Senate candidates who I could have babysitted for as a teenager given their ages. As I am almost 40 this is something I am going to have to start getting used to, candidates who seem like kids.

Healthcare United rally today 2-6pm, Sunken Gardens by 8th avenue and Speer blvd.

Denver residents S.O.L.

2008-08-26T09:24:00.002-06:00

Plenty of goings on around town, and lots to see.

Like the much reduced traffic on East Colfax near where I live cause everyone is afraid to drive near downtown, or the operation rescue fundies and their whores for their own worst interests and their graffic imagery drawing police to break up their protest of some ticketed lectures on women's issues (directly across from the church where the Progressive Dems of America are hanging). And let's not forget the unwashed masses itching for confrontation. Now I know some of them, a couple of sorta friends, clients in the group, and while some just want to be heard, others were planning for some head on action when I left them around 5:30 yesterday evening. I am also of the agreement that the DPD is trigger happy given their actions in my nearly 10 years here.

Also found myself in front of the 16th street mall restaurant having the McCain party (memo to self - never eat at Earl's, the restaurant hosting it). Lots of sad looking bleach blondes with heavy makeup and perhaps some surgical enhancements in tight short black dresses leaning against the second floor railing, lots of healthy (save for the one fat ass who with the diminishing standards would still likely be able to enlist, he can get in shape during boot camp) looking guys, none of whom are in the armed services and my first (and likely last) 'another democrat for mccain' bumper sticker.

After watching the coverage at the Well's Fargo Theater (nice place, bad corporate name) thanks to a nice college gal from L.A., I met up with some friends at teh Big Tent for some comedy, a not so sober Daryl Hannah and party hopping. Lots of parties that are pretty damn tight at the door, the only one we got into (which was nice) was hosted by the Maryland Dems and we did get to gush all over the wonderful force that is Donna Edwards, soon to be congresswoman.

So, still no voice, kinda sick and pissed off at the celebs overwhelming this town keeping my friend from walking on the sidewalk in front of our favorite bar, Mezcal, which is 2 blocks from her house! I'll gladly keep most of the politicians, celebs like Jeffrey Wright who I didn't chase down to tell him how much I loved him in Angels on B'way some 17 years ago if we can boot most of the the others who have truly nothing to add to the discussion.

And The Daily Show. Haven't seen them around nor do I have tix, but they can stay. And they can stay past the convention too, we'll gladly keep them.

Off to stick people with needles at Hirschorn Park for a few hours (come down, free treatments from lots of people from 10-7), and tonight the Kuciniches are keeping it real at The Skylark tonight (where Denver DL has it's 3 year anniversary tomorrow).

Game on!

2008-08-24T22:56:00.004-06:00

And I am sick. Yet again.

With all of the stress and chaos setting up my free roving acupuncture gigs (which I've cut back on), my clinic open house (which is ALL mine now, just me) and some snafus with school registration my system just couldn't hold it together, just when what I've been looking forward to since it was announced has arrived, the DNC.

In a week and a half I went from being offered the opportunity to setting up a healer's tent at the Green Frontier Fest on no money, a broken borrowed tent and a bunch of loaner chairs with the few good healers I could track down who were not already set at the Yoga Fest or paid gigs. But it was worth it as it looks like each of us are likely gaining a few new clients and left many satisfied Denverites and volunteers and delegates from around the country. I split for a couple of hours to hang at the Garden Blogger's house, didn't meet more than one out of state blogger, but I love my square staters and they are more than good enough.

Then, with little to no voice left, it was tour guide time to some Cali bloggers, showing them the best of Denver on a Sunday night - tho the wind was a bit too strong on a sore throat to stay out for the fire spinning for long. But the last minute decision to stop at the Merc on the way home was fate as Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinich were there for dinner and Elizabeth remembered the attempt we made at finding time for me to give her a treatment. Hopefully we'll find time during the chaos of convention. But Dennis also loves the community acupuncture sliding scale business model and thanked me for my service! My giddy 2 seconds.

Now I am very sore of throat, hoping to wake up tomorrow with something resembling my voice back.

More as it happens, ideally with plenty of parties included.

Away

2008-06-12T21:24:00.001-06:00

For only the fourth time in my life, I cried as I was finishing a book.

Away, by Amy Bloom.

Thunder snow!!!! and other miscellanousy

2008-02-02T17:39:00.001-07:00

is that a word?

Thunder snow last night here in Denver, the night of the quickening of the earth in the Northern hemisphere, a week after Pluto transitted into Capricorn for the next 15 years, a few days after Mercury went retrograde and Mars went direct . . . . .

And just a few days before a caucus that will likely shatter previous attendence records.

4 years ago I was one of 5, and the only under 50, who showed up in my very flaky precinct. Tuesday I am expecting upwards of 75 people, many of whom will likely want to continue on thru the convention process not quite knowing what it entails. It could be fun, having so many newbies to the process, or it could be an extended 2 hour headache. I'm hoping for the former.

mourning and escapism

2007-08-12T20:42:00.000-06:00

were the activities on the agenda this weekend.

Mourning for others, reminiscing about others, clears up the inner eye - bringing up the 'who am I really' thoughts, what am I holding on to that I am not letting go of, who do I want to be.

In my 20s, traveling in Asia and consumed by grad school, it was much easier to grow out of teenage interests. As a late 30something with more time than money or energy, I default to the interests that I have long ago outgrown. It's easy, even tho it doesn't serve me and doesn't necessarily interest me either. And then there are interests that it is tough to muster up the energy for.

Memorial services are not really for those who've died, are they. They are a reality check for the living - an intervention, and opportunity to revise, and revamp if one chooses to use it as such. But how many do so?

Enough death already

2007-08-06T21:21:00.000-06:00

It started 2 1/2 weeks ago. My grandmother went into the hospital with sepsis, she lasted a week. The same night one of the original acupuncturists in Colorado had 2 strokes and he was gone by the end of the weekend. There have been a bunch of high profile deaths and friends are relating stories of friends of friends or acquaintances passing.

Earlier tonight I got an email from a colleague I've not been in touch with much but recently reconnected with and was happy to be in touch with as she began her life as a mother. The baby, a 6 week old boy, died of SIDS yesterday.

Enough already.

Drama

2007-07-15T17:08:00.000-06:00

Drama is everywhere. It seems to be a natural extension of the social order or, rather, disorder.

Sometimes those who swear they are not into drama end up perpetuating it the most. Oftentimes those who claim they are beyond it say so because they are not and need to convince themselves that they are.

The hard part is when one ends up perpetuating it, in part due to mishearing and misremembering conversations when then asked to repeat them. Once reminded, by someone present (and someone far less involved than remembered), repairing the damage is near impossible and almost never believed. How many of you actually read the corrections section of the newspaper? How many of you pay attention to ciminal cases when a defendant is found innocent? When I stood up and realized that to a degree I was at fault, and then did what is for me that hardest thing to do and took responsibility, I was not believed. One uninvolved person who was believed to be involved and another who's conversation I remember differently than said, over loud music, (which I remembered with prompting) because of my foggy memory are still considered at fault. They are not. And it seems no manner of further trying to prove my misinterpretation of the situation at hand will help.

Standing up and being direct in taking my share of the blame is not easy for me, but I did it. And to have it not help the gals referred to above is not fair to them, regardless of how difficult it was for me and how it made me feel.

I have one dance friend who, despite being a performer, sometimes finds her greatest joy in dance in her home completely alone. She's quite lucky. I lost that a while ago and haven't been able to find it. The above could be avoided quite readily otherwise.

2007-07-09T22:51:00.000-06:00

Plugging away, sometimes with results. I may actually be close to earning a proper living this month.

Wondering why I've not yet abandoned this.

The interesting anecdotes will probably be posted at the group blog at the community acupuncture network.

Too Much

2007-06-27T00:07:00.000-06:00

too much going on, in my head at least. many days of 100 degree heat keeping me from recording.

Clinic up and running and the momentum is starting. Pounding the pavement is starting to pay off and I've had 5 new and 4 returning clients in 2 days, ALL rescheduling. 3 more new and 7 more returning by week's end, and that's with today's no show. got a myspace page too, getting some viral marketing started, maybe the squarestate ad by week's end finally?

and Michael Moore this past weekend - rally and movie. a 'damn I really wish we had universal health coverage, I should move in with my cousin I've never met in Toronto' movie. a great talk on the capitol steps after the 100 heat broke and a Q&A after the free screening . . .

and now my tendonitis is acting up from too much typing today.

I'm done. too much. (and still a bit worn out from this whole clinic set up thing)

Shimmy for the Cure

2007-06-07T21:43:00.000-06:00

I feel like it's taken all week to recover.

3 of 4 nights having Jim stay over with the late nights talking and coaching - nothing like having the esteemed Jim Boz give me bit of coaching on my 4 minute song at 12:30 in the morning, when it comes to that an Egyptian classicist can easily help a Turkish inclined gal.

I'd have liked to see more people at the show, and more of the tribal gals stick out the whole of Sunday. I never thought as a Turkish stylist I'd get so much out of an Egyptian teacher, regardless of the 12 years of friendship involved, but I did. Jim is truly an exceptional teacher, mixing technique and choreography in a balance that satisfied those looking for a focus on each and entertaining the ADD me by having things switched up enough to keep me involved. And seeing him perform for the second time since we left Portland, and the first time seeing him in a formal show, left me blown away.

Oh so formal, for such a fun weekend. And a sleep deprived weekend, and that's with me not staying around past for the up til 4 am Longmont located Sunday night chatfest. Nothing like being the fly on the wall while the experienced pros dish (at least til midnight).

But a slow acupuncture week, needed to let me catch up on sleep, but the wallet wasn't happy. Manu Chao tomorrow should cheer me up just fine, and meeting the cool personal trainer while wine shopping (after having ridden there in my friend's vintage side car!), moreso if I get some calls for private outcall needling for some of the big music tours coming thru this weekend, fingers and toes crossed . . . . .

Red zin on the cheap that's good too? Me likey. And no more crazy strong winds. Whew.

Denver Open Acupunture

2007-05-30T21:56:00.000-06:00

is up and running up on 22nd avenue. yay me.

I opened a clinic with a tax refund and what was left of my will. I told myself in January that I would be open by May 15th and have an opening on the 20th. it doesn't matter than I didn't have much of a turnout - I did it. and I am still dead tired. and I have clients grabbing handfulls of cards to distribute, yay enthusiastic clients.

and I am giddily tired.

24 hours from now I'll be belly dancer belly up to the bar at Mezcal or Thin Man with the one and only Jim Boz. and on Saturday I will finally debut the replaced Misar Butiq costume in the Shimmy for the Cure show. all this excitement, all this beading and girly stuff. no lethargic indie rock for me this weekend.

So a post perfectly fitting my title; the acupuncturist, the belly dancer spinning around like a top and ready to drop once the second week of June starts.

diseases in the news

2007-05-03T22:29:00.000-06:00

squirrels in City Park have the plague. Lovely, considering I was there for a friend's in the park pot luck wedding reception there just a few weeks ago.

my nephew Harry

2007-04-29T21:27:00.000-06:00

had more people turn out for his Bris than most people have turn out for any major life event. as his daddy said, he has more friends than his parents do. not bad for an 8 day old.

but my dear sweet little boy, you have been born into a very tight knit Jewish family. suffocating at times, but never lacking in love. whatever may occur to you in your life, you will never, ever lack for love (or video record of your first couple of years thanks to dad's purchase of webcams for all of us). and you'll have to deal with a batty auntie in Denver who can't bear the fact that she lives nearly 2,000 miles away from you and is happy to have her webcam.

split personality

2007-04-23T19:52:00.000-06:00

walking home from a friend's I have to accept that I am 2 separate people - the person I am in my life in Denver and the person I am when I come back to NYC to visit my family and the few old friends I still have. and that the real reason that I didn't move back here over 8 years ago is that I became a different enough person while in grad school that I didn't know how to be this new person in this old place.

multiple posts in my head, never typed out

2007-04-05T22:18:00.000-06:00

In February I wrote, if in not exact words, that acupuncture can change the world (or that I'd like to use it to change the world, something to that effect). Well, that's the slogan around the fist on the tshirt I bought from my wonderful compadres from Working Class Acupuncture in Portland, OR. I met 5 people in the patient panel they had for us for whom it was a statement of truth. I have many clients for whom it is truth. And if all goes well tomorrow with signing a lease, I will be able to greatly add to the number of people in Denver for whom it is truth. I've had a half dozen calls from prospective clients in the week since I've returned from my first trip to Portland since I moved from there, all of whom need me in the community sliding scale model, not private practice. I even started one at a lower than private rate just cause I knew she needed to get in to see me now, not in 6 weeks.

Just a few minutes ago I was flipping channels as the 10pm news started and caught the second half of an interview with a political/Drinking Liberally friend, Pam Bennett, who is running for the city council in Aurora this fall. If she wins, she'll be one of a handful of openly transgendered elected officials in the U.S. Of the people they showed interviewed, 2 of 3 were ok with it, only 1 brought up 'the children' as being a reason for her not to deserve being elected. Yes, cause showing openness and tolerance would be bad for the children, looking to the quality of the person and not the shell would be bad for the children. I hope to be typing in news of her victory in 6 months.

My mind has been like a hamster on an exercise wheel since being in Portland, seeing the few firends I kept over these 8 1/2 years and falling back into the same familiar speech patterns in a matter of minutes over tea at the Tao of Tea or down in wine country or in Kimberly's little breakfast nook. Not unlike in Turkey, sleep could wait until my return. Again I was like a small child, pushing and pushing myself until I was so tired that sleeping was difficult and fitful, requiring more time than I was out there to recover the balance. Combined with the enthusiasm from the support of those who figured out and were willing to share how to break out the conventions and expectations of acupuncturists in the U.S., I am overwhelmed, anxious and ready to be done with conventions, ready to be fully functioning outside of the insurance racket, ready to not have to fix wealthy clients who take no responsibilty for the impact of their actions on their health. The next 5 weeks of transition are going to be long, even with the holiday of meeting my soon to be born niece or nephew.

reducing harm and widening the reach of acupuncture

2007-02-11T21:15:00.000-07:00

In my own ways.

Did 'demonstrative acupuncture' at the Harm Reduction Project of SLC conference on Methamphetamines, HIV and Hepatitis week before last. Now there are at least a half dozen drug treatment facilities around the country that want to add acudetox to their programs. With just 3 hours of effort on my part. And I helped to add to the cache of the Denver program which has led to the writing of more grants to enlarge the scope and reach of the Denver project.

Organizing the phone calls to maximize turnout for the Acupuncturists Without Borders workshop in Boulder 2 weeks from now. I got another registration for the initial 6 hour team participant section of the course and I only made about a dozen calls.

And only 5 1/2 weeks til I go to Portland for the first time since I moved from there over 8 years ago for community acupunture training. It's a viable business model, but it bucks the system by not catering to the small number of people with a significant disposable income. Therefore, many people look at it and don't see it as a model that can lead to prosperity, especially those who are still of the mindset that it is a luxury as opposed to a necessity for many. I used to think that way, and it is only my own narrow mindedness that took me so long to see how far and wide a true understanding of the medicine has made, and that the progressive/alternative friends I have often have little and/or false understanding of it, and I am the only was they'd have correct info.

I have great dreams and aspirations for what I want to accomplish with this medicine, where I see myself, which is far from where most other practitioners are. I felt so much more comfortable with the varied assortment of people who attended the Harm Reduction conference than I have with such a large group of people in as long as I can remember. People who don't necessarily agree with each other (the Indianapolis left libertarian vs the neo liberal from Hartford provided nice hotel bar fireworks, and not in the romantic sense) but have the true best interests of people at heart. And who truly care to work with those who need our attention, not just those who have the money to dabble in all sorts of pursuits as tourists, for the most part lacking discipline to do their part in their path. The health practitioner must heal them, regardless of the bad habits they choose to continue and the ways that their actions undermine the practitioner's efforts.

Houses of the rich and tasteless

2007-01-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

Things are still slow for me on the acupuncture front, so I've been helping a friend who has a company that cleans new constructions when they're completed for showings or for move in. It involves lots of damp dusting, scraping and scrubbing paint, plaster, etc off of surfaces that they never should have dripped on - cleaning up the mess the building crew leaves behind.

So we were in a house today in the Crestmoor neighborhood, replacing what was probably a lovely modest mid century bungalow on a good parcel of land. This house, which I imagine will list for a minimum of $4 mil, could easily fit at least 2 (maybe 3?) of the apartments in which my parents raised 3 daughters, but not wisely. It also seems to be a repository for all of their leftover building supplies - a mish mash of woods, tiles and granites that are not necessarily in synch with each other. The closets in the master suite are large with plenty of shelves and half length hanging space, but very little full length hanging space. The master bath tiling is freezing under foot with no evidence of a floor heating system (if you're going that far, you may as well heat the tiles that will likely be ice cold even when it's 90 out). The whole layout seems like it's space for the sake of having it as opposed to using it creatively and wisely, a waster of resources really. The decorator seems to have a fetish for odd and disconcerting shades of brown. This is the kind of home that has a utility bill that would dwarf my significant, for Denver, rent. The question now is, can this company sell this house (it is not a custom build but a company design that they are now putting on the market)? My gut tells me this may well end up one of the homes that is putting Colorado at the top of the list in foreclosures within a couple of years.

What a waste.

Tapped out

2007-01-15T22:05:00.000-07:00

completely.

I was given a tool on how to rethink procrastination. Instead of procrastinating on the usual matters, procrastinate on the time wasters (like this?) and the things that keep from what I want to do.

Easier said than done, especially when just flat out worn out.

I realize that for much of my life I really pushed myself, always trying to have the accomplishments beyond realistic time to have them. Every few years I'd wear out and need to take a break and just sit and veg. Which is how I've spent much of my 30s. It's not that I don't want to accomplish my goals. I feel as if I've forgotten the 16 year old who was the only volunteer ever at Odysey House, who befriended people who would help to help her get a start in the music business while still in high school. Over 20 years later the know how is there, but the energy to power it?

music and silence

2007-01-14T22:19:00.000-07:00

We take for granted the presence of any/all of our senses. I don't think anyone who has all 5 can imagine what it's like to lose, or to have never had, one or more of the senses.

A friend, who before this weekend was more of an acquaintance, and I spent much of the early part of the bus and train trip comparing notes on our favorite bands. For both of us, it was the first time in Denver that either had met someone else who was an 80s college radio type and he was as jealous as I of the friends back in NYC who were going to see Mitch Easter and the dBs that night.

As we watched the sky turn deep blue from the vantage point of one of the raised viewing cars we had a crash course in the politics and nature of deaf culture from the sign language interpreters. One was telling us about taking a blind and deaf person on a tour of the mint just days earlier - telling us about the nature of describing space in terms of the senses that the person does have. It's interesting to realize the difference between a deaf person who is part of a hearing family versus a multigenerational deaf family.

What would it be like, to not only not have a particular sense but to have never had it - to not know what it would be like TO have it versus missing it after having had it. If I had to give up a sense, how would I choose? I think many people would choose taste or smell, but I don't think anyone really considers those valuable until they're lost, even temporarily such as when one has a cold. Just another one of those variables that it's hard to wrap the brain around; not having the music, the sun setting over the Rocky Mountains, the view of the Golden Horn at all hours of the day and night from the Hali Hotel, the taste and sound combos of many great dinners in Istanbul . . . not the thing I really want to have to consider. The thought tangent that makes me appreciative.

Adventures with a Democratic inauguration

2007-01-14T17:58:00.000-07:00

It pays to volunteer for these things. Why? Face time. I have a grand idea, and now there are people with my business card in their pockets who can help me realize it.

I also got my sugar addicted hands on one of the chocolate tea cup desserts. Yummy, especially accompanied by red wine.

Then came the thank you for spending our time managing traffic flow Friday night; the volunteers got to come along on the whistle stop rail tour from Greeley to Pueblo.

In near zero temps we were bused (got to sit behind the Fighting Dem from CD 5 Jay Fawcett) from Invesco Field to Greeley, then loaded onto the train. The train was just warm enough to be comfortable, not too warm to regret the tights under the jeans and the multiple shirts, especially with the addition of Colorado style political swag thru the course of the day (fleece blankets and vests with Colorado Promise 2007 logos). I hung out with people ranging from Ritter siblings (one of whom explained why Greeley is always colder than the rest of the front range/NE plains area) to campaign employees to other volunteers to friends and family of the first lady who loved the hand painted jeans of Tiffany's I was wearing. Moving from the back to the front raised viewing car for the Denver-Colorado Springs leg, we had a couple of rail employees answering every question we had and then some, discussing the feasability and logistics of a front range commuter line, explaining the different trains and maximum speeds they can reach, trading stories of the legendery train routes rail nuts travel in order to ride.

We were fed, watered, boozed, sugared as the trip went on. The swag was passed out in intervals, causing us to act like greedy little children with each new goodie (the vests were prompltly donned, the cookies gobbled down with more bottles of Fat Tire and glasses of merlot and cocktails as the sun set). We had multiple trips up and down the length of the train by the governor himself, offering up photos ops and thrashing his voice.

We arrived in Pueblo way late, and gobbled down dinner (yet more food, as if we hadn't had enough, but we ate as if we hadn't) listened to a shortened series of speeches and boarded our buses back up to Denver (not sure if they had the fireworks desplay or not, we didn't see it)- seats laid out with Pueblo salsa to add to our haul and a temperature reading of 4 degrees according to the LED sign at the Marriott. Arrived back at Invesco field to our cars only 45 minutes late, but still nearly 15 hours after the day started.

And this morning? It's amazing how hanging out and overindulging for a day has made me feel as if I've been beaten up. This evening? Other than a quick foray this afternoon for yet more food someone else cooked, I've barely left my chaise.

'08 convention

2007-01-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

is DENVER"S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

taking futon and floor space reservations as of now, first come first serve. I expect to not be working from home by then, so if you have an air mattress to put on my hardwood floors, there's plenty of space.

Optimism

2007-01-09T23:41:00.000-07:00

I left Portland, OR for Denver 3 days after election day 1998. When I went to sleep election night, it was looking like Gail Schottler was going to wint he gubenatorial race, when I woke up 6 hours later, Bill Owens had won. Big bummer.

Today Bill Ritter was sworn in. Other than my first month here, this is the first time I've been living in a democratic governor state since my arrival. The possibilities are tantalizing - the changes will be slow by I don't have any doubt that they will come (needle exchange, anything to combat the myriad of new unnamed hepatitis strains my guys at the drop in have).

Having met Ritter's eldest son a few times and his second son once for less than 5 minutes on election day only to have him point right at me on the recieving line and say I remember you, when I had my turn with the governor I told him if he raises Colorado half as well as his kids, we're in good shape.

Even with the snow, these are optimistic days indeed.

Blizzard of '06 almanc, part 1

2006-12-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

The following is what I sent out to friends a week ago (with some minor alterations). No doubt there will be a part 2 to be posted either tomorrow night or Saturday.

So, as of late Thursday, December 21st;

Official snow tally, at the old airport location: 20.7 inches.

Rank: #8 on the dumpiest snow falls on record. #2 in terms of one day accumulation. Unofficially numbers go up to 24 inches in Denver proper, which would lift it up to #4 dumpiest blizzard.

Time to walk 6 long blocks to the supermarket Thursday noon, for the sake of getting out as I was already well stocked: 20-25 minutes, normally 10 at the most.

Number of times I lost my balance on the packed tire tracks provided by arrogant SUV drivers who think they can drive regardless of the safety of others because not every home owner or building manager thought it necessary to shovel their sidewalks: what, you expected me to keep count of that? I was too busy focusing on not falling!

Time to shovel out the back half of my car (the owners of the cars on each side of me cleared the area to the alley as they dug out before me): about an hour and 15 minutes.

Time it took to finish the next day: only about 20-25 minutes, and then I helped clear out the area behind another neighbor's car. I needed to negate the eating and not moving.

Degree to which I miss the neighbors who dug out my car in March 2003 after the nearly 32 inch blizzard (as a surprise no less): need I answer?

Idiocy of the NBA for waiting until less than 3 hours before tip off to cancel Wednesday night's game because of the blizzard raging outside with tropical storm strength winds: rhetorical question.

Clients who had to postpone til this week as even if they could've gotten here, where the hell would they have parked: all but the one who could walk over. The one down in Sedalia was snowed into her house by over a mile of unplowed road til the end of the weekend.

Clients who cancelled today: 1, as it went from so so at 2pm to downright sucky by 3:30 when she was due.

Hours my friend spent sitting on a stuck bus at the Broomfield bus station: 4, then she got a lift from the police to a Red Cross shelter on Sheridan where a friend picked her up and took her to his place. He then drove her home in his SUV the next day as the buses weren't running.

Biggest bummer of last week's storm: I was to belly dance on the roof of the Mercury Cafe as part of a ritual welcoming of the return of the sun and installation of 2 wind turbines and a bunch of solar panels.

Number of goings out that didn't happen: a bunch, last week's social calendar was much abreviated. Tonight's plans are already just about ready to be tossed as well. Money saved, and splurged already on some not cheap wine.

Number of times I've heard sirens the past week (I live 3 blocks from a fire station): more than I've ever heard here, more than I often hear visiting the family back in NYC. I'm assuming it's mostly idiot drivers and the fire engines that respond to car accidents.

More to come . . . .

the parasitical virus

2006-12-15T21:48:00.000-07:00

it seems that the virus that is moving from a cold into bronchitis in large numbers is a virus without cell walls. it then proceeds to burrow deeper and deeper into the body much like a parasite, and is much harder to treat and get rid of. I have a few clients who can't seem to shake it. my sleep deprivation thanks to my trip back east caused my relapse which responded well, for the most part, to the Health Concers formulas I used (tho Isatis Gold does a number on us spleen qi xu types). what remains is itchy, irritated ears. according to one client whose been to the doctor, this virus can lead to blistering of the ear drum. lovely. hoping that Thieves oil blend directly in the ear (cinnamon oil does burn, use sparingly) will do the trick. especially as I get to dance on the roof of the Merc in a week to celebrate the solstice and the new wind turbines.

in laying low to prevent another relapse, I've discovered that I really don't like the early 40s film version of Little Women. but it still beats most of what is one tonight.

snow, snow, do you like snow?

2006-11-28T20:34:00.000-07:00

do you like it in your face? yes I like it anyplace!

despite the new tires, I just didn't have it in me to deal with driving in the snow to Yuen method study group. if I were still in NYC or even Portland, I would have no problem jumping on the bus or subway. but here, having the destination be far away enough to need to drive, the busses don't work.

I don't even remember it turning into winter, my body and psyche are having trouble registering that it is dark before 5 and cold, really cold. It's as if the internal pilot light is out, and with it out the impetus to do anything is nearly gone. And watching the weather forcast just now, I'm glad I'm hidden away at home, saving my energy for a New York fling this weekend.

Chapped lips, bruised and blistered feet and a sunburnt face

2006-11-08T02:35:00.000-07:00

I have been up 22 hours today. Poll watching for hours, with a 3 hour stretch resting my feet at the city/county building courthouse during the attempt at the injunction to keep the polls open an extra 2 hours.

I can't think, all I can do is feel pain from hours on concrete.

Still a bit worn out

2006-10-25T07:44:00.000-06:00

Why did I exhaust myself yesterday?

I can't even begin to count the number of people I met over the years who have either a complete misunderstanding of acupuncture and oriental medicine, or have had a bad experience by a poorly trained medical doctor or chiropractor (with limitted hours of training, the equivalent of one of my 11 terms).

To have the gal with needle issues walk out with a positive experience; while she may never come back she will at least have good things to say about the medicine and the experience (and me), that makes it all worth it. This is one more person saying good things about AOM, one less person with such a bad experience that she'll never try it again and say bad things about it to anyone who will listen. That's better advertising than any of us in the field can buy.

Final Tally

2006-10-24T21:31:00.000-06:00

12 newbies, 2 definite continuing, probably up to 3 more likely.

$54 for Angie Paccione, also bits for 2 HD candidates.

I'm burnt out.

Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Day

2006-10-24T10:38:00.000-06:00

It's 10:30 and I am on #4 of 12 free treatments that I am doing to promote the medicine and to promote my practice. 2 of the first 3 are looking like potential returnees, at the very least as short term/occasional clients. The current one is in a position to provide great referrals. 2 others due later have already expressed interest in pursuing extended treatment.

For each person who schedules a follow up today I'm going to donate $18 (chai) to Angie Paccione, as I've not given her any $ yet this election cycle. And I'll probably due the same for anyone from today who chooses to reschdule at a later time, but calls before election day.

Hope the person coming up from the state capitol later is one who is pleased rather than perturbed by my political signs!

What temptation?

2006-10-08T21:45:00.000-06:00

Dear Mr. Temptation creator,

I repect you for admiring the art of belly dance to the point that you made a whole vanity project for your wife that you're going to try and sell. You even got 4 excellent dancers to fill out the bill (let's not go into the openers, all I have to say on that one is the sword dancer really deserved to be there, that's all). But from what I saw of the show (I gave up after the intermission), your aspirations to a less conservative/high class concept fell short. Not because of the dancers themselves, although your wife gave us a great crotch shot while writhing on the floor at Captain 80's feet, but because of the stereotypical imagery hanging over the whole show.

Captain America hijacked what was once a great Middle Eastern genre musical combo and turned it into a retro cheeseball 80's synthpop goth lite solo project. Not quite Nik Kershaw or Howard Jones, but more in the white guy from the Thompson Twins look (with more hair), but solo. Yeah, that cheesy. He acted as an MC, fidling a bit with his synths to tweak, to annoying effect, the prerecorded music used by the dancers (which was much easier on the ears than his partially live originals).

Then there were the lovely photos on the screen behind the dancers. A mixture of the entire photo content of The Serpent of the Nile, and some really badly taken snapshots. The lighter the costumes, the more they picked up the projected images (classic amatuer hour imagey here people).

So I didn't last into the second half; hunger and Captain 80's drove me out of there. It's a shame as the 3 out of town dancers, along with Sadie, were absolutely fantastic and Rachid and Zahara provided real musicianship. And only some of the audience knew about the preceeding Boofest, a benefit show, and chose to attend that as well (at least they taped us so that we can have a record of the performances).

The REAL Temptation came at 2am. Along with a neighbor and 2 of her friends, I managed to sneak in a back entrance to the new Libeskind wing of the Denver Art Museum in their 35 hour marathon rather than go to the front and get tickets for 4 or 5am. 2 hours, exhausted and tipsy, wandering around the new wing, getting vertigo looking down the the center open space from the 4th floor, unexpectedly running into several people I know, enjoying the dj at the foot of the stairs and dancing across that floor at 4am (and being up for over 22 hours straight by the time I got home and to sleep).

Aseret Y'mai T'shuvah/Navaratri

2006-09-28T22:42:00.000-06:00

The lunar calendar is so much more interesting than the solar one, to think that Judaism has prescribed prayers at the beginning of each month - the new moon. Love that residual Goddess influence there.

With the new moon of a week ago, Jews began the 10 days of asking for T'shuvah, forgiveness, with Rosh Hashannah and conclude it with a day of pounding at one's chest begging the big guy above to be included in the book of life for the next year. The Hindus have Navaratri, which was explaned to me as 9 days of celebrating the divine mother, revelling in her embrace.

Which one sounds more inviting?

Progress

2006-09-05T17:59:00.000-06:00

Manifesting in many ways.

Last week was my busiest week of the summer, and it's only the beginning. With the fall (already here weather wise) I feel back, revitalized, recovered from the series of setbacks that are all decidedly and officially in the past.

And just earlier tonight - Bollywood dance class! I am not good at being a beginner, starting the learning curve. Perhaps this is the beginning of a change in attitude in that regard.

Integrity Part 2

2006-08-29T23:16:00.000-06:00

read the letters to President Bush by Professor Peter Caws of GWU at

www.nadasurf.com/diary/index.php

I am not a writer by nature, and I'm not always able to simultaneoulsy take both the broad and detailed view of things, and retain a sense of discernment. So when I have the opporunity to share what I am not able to express myself, I do. These letters are the beginning of a series that is still in progress and may not be reproduced without proper acknowledgement of and permission from Prof. Caws, but feel free to send any interested readers to the above link to read them.

Integrity: Unimpaired moral principles; honesty; soundness; the quality of being whole or undivided. A bit different than the understanding I had in my mind, or is it just the language used by the dictionaries on my shelf? My understanding of the world seems more acurate as I look at the synonyms in the thesaurus. The image of the woman smoking while hooked up to her oxygen tank is still my perfect antithesis of integrity - definition by opposite.

2006-08-29T22:58:00.000-06:00

Dear Ken-Gordon.org troll,

please identify yourself; not just some anonymous Colorado organization (the one that meets at the Merc on Mondays?), something more concrete. if you want to spam my journal, you should at least have the nerve to sign a name of some sort to the post beyond your vague collective, not just the subject of your attack.

thank you,

tovah

and yes, this is my Hebrew name. and if you are in the Denver metro area you've likely met me, and I've likely identified myself in some way that you know my English name and what I do and where I live. so although I use a name here that I don't use often, I am not hiding. unlike you.

with that rant over I feel too irritated to use my blog for the reasons that I've created; to rant about belly dancing (the good, the bad and the ugly, heavy on the second 2), to react to things from a green meme feelings perspective (tho I am striving to be a full on yellow meme residing gal) and to still eventually rehash some still untold stories from last year's trip to Turkey. will I now get spammed for my love of Turkish Roma music and dance now that they're putting the screws on the Kurdish minotity causing violent responses in return?

Integrity Part 1

2006-08-17T09:44:00.000-06:00

2 quick examples of the lack thereof:

1) the woman sitting outside Diedrich's the other morning who, in the 15 or so minutes between her sitting down 2 tables over and my departure, smoked at least 2 cigarettes while tethered to a portable oxygen source.

2) the fact that neither the Rocky Mountain News not the Denver Post covered the big Democratic fundraiser in Greenwood Village yesterday. Bill Winter (who will beat Tancredo come November) won a fundraiser attended by former VA Governor Mark Warner, it was attended by Diana DeGette and the other 3 Democratic challengers to open and republican held congressional seats. this was a big deal, and there were reporters from these papers there. It did not make the online editions of the papers, not even as a blurb in the briefs column. the Post did cover Hastert's fundraiser for
O'Donnell. and they wonder why we don't trust them nor take them seriously.

a friend emailed me from London yesterday about being bewildered by the world at large. I'm stunned sometimes about the little ineptitudes that can be bewildering just in this middle of nowhere cowtown.

2006-08-13T21:10:00.000-06:00

Doing my best to remain impartial, despite annonymous commentors. I still trust Ken Gordon, as I know we're not getting the truth from the media on the Lebanese war, but I believe we're not getting the truth from Hezbollah either. Everyone has reason to spin, everyone is manipulating the facts and Ken Gordon is still entirely trustworthy regardless of what some activists here in Colorado would like you and me to believe.

That said, I am glad that I was not at my 20th high school reunion last month as I am not a Zionist.

2006-08-09T00:03:00.000-06:00

well, another carpet bagger snows the masses. seems being the son of a former governor precludes actually living in the district one is running in and, as of a couple of hours ago, winning the primary for the state senate (buying a condo and registering to vote there after a candidacy is announced despite not living in it was sufficient).

oh well.

and much more remains unwritten in favor of mulling over acupuncture techniques based on the Yi Jing and figuring out how those techniques would fit in well up at the South Park Music Fest next month. suggestions anyone?

the act of voting

2006-08-03T15:14:00.000-06:00

I love the act of going to the polls. One of my clearest snippet of a childhood memory is from election day 1976, weeks shy of my 8th bday, I was online with my mom at our polling place on east 82nd street with at least one of my sisters singing Dole is a pineapple, we know he is, Dole is a banana, we know he is . . . . If you don't remember, or don't know, Dole was Ford's running mate. My first election day eligible to vote the NYC elections consisted of various judge positions. 6am to 9pm with maybe 20 people tops turning up at the pols. One of the longest days of my life.

I like to vote in person. My last election day in Oregon was the first run of mail in ballots only. While I understand its efficacy both financially and for ability to spend time on the various ballot measures, I still love the ritual of the process. So today I went down to the Webb building while doing some errands downtown to vote early (my preferred way now, so I can be available to a campaign of choice on election day itself). At 10:30 there was no line and my arrival specifically to vote was practically an event. I was reassured to see the paper record printed out with my selected choices (the only real choice city wide being the Xcel monopoly - voted no, and I did have a primary for SD 32 - one more vote for Jennifer Mello there), but who knows what really happens when all is said and done. I trust the city of Denver, I do not trust the secretary of state (only Ken Gordon will be able to fully restore my trust in that office).

So, primary down, genral election to go and a long slogging fall campaign season between. Happy Politicing.

let's start with nostalgia

2006-07-25T18:32:00.000-06:00

all of the ideas buzzing around in my head, not getting written down.

it had been going on for a while, exasperated when mercury went retrograde, further aggravated with venus moving into cancer. resisting reading letters from the favorite ex, a writer, was not an option. going on and on about my 20th high school reunion tomorrow night, about 30 of the class of 90 having been together since nursery or kindergarten (and I've had little contact with nearly all since, and none until the planning stages for a few years) has been boring my friends to tears.

but in a city where I've known no one other than the extended family out here before my 30th bday, nostalgia for people who know where I come from , my particular little socioeconomic religious community, is strong. and of course it brings the 'how am I faring' inner dialogue. and I'm not faring particularly well at the moment, at least not for me and the work I've put into where I'd like to be. to make myself feel better I blame the gas prices and the ever decreasing available income stream for what most people call an expendable luxury. but nostalgia can also bring critical analysis, searching for those blocks that don't allow the "right things" to be effective. for some it means new approaches to business building. to this one time nice Jewish girl it means calling in the services of the Hoodoo Root work practitioner with whom my dear friend studies. maybe even an expanded Vedic astrology reading. and a bit of ass kicking for the lack of follow up from the Integral Institute training I did last month.

So what have we learned today. Reunions can be good triggers, when used for evaluation of point of next departure. And I didn't have to schlep back to NYC for it (maybe for Anahid's labor day workshops with Ozel Turkbass . . . . ). Tho I still plan to email that photo of me at the Yaga Club with Babazula and a note later tonight. And I want the gossip!

oh yes, it's nice to have pre-career love letters from a well respected dramaturg.

Have new computer will post

2006-06-30T10:43:00.000-06:00

And pin free. I like this, being able to use my right hand near fully.

Argentina-Germany match; the land the nazis fled to vs. the nazis, as my sister just pointed out. Yes, stereotypes, but true.

Now I have no excuse to make this better and join in the fun over at www.squarestate.net. It's overdue.

miscellaneous

2006-06-19T21:49:00.000-06:00

12 hours and I'm pin free. Finally. And just in time to meet some folks for whom I will be auditioning for a summer belly dance gig. A non-restaurant gig that is just my style. Thank the goddess for the Westword Music Showcase and the delay it caused.

And a big sloppy wet kiss to the Lucky Mojo folk and all of the fun washes, crystals, incenses and powders they make. I feel the difference already.

Lastly - Real Worlders, stick to Lodo and leave the rest of Denver to those of us who live here. Twice in 4 days is 2 times too many.

Denver Health lies

2006-06-15T14:49:00.000-06:00

it seems that I am far from the only one to go to the patient advocate's office to complain about false scheduling at the DH specialty clinics, or rather changing my appointment by 5 days and then accusing me of being wrong about the date. I should've taken their print out of the appointment time rather than just write it into my book.

lesson learned - call to confirm appointments at DH. and get their printouts of scheduling confirmation. that way you can prove they are wrong and not be left with 5 more days of a steel pin starting up an infection in your hand.

you can see what I thought was my last hurrah with the cast at www.squarestate.net. I finally got to experience the wonders of Lynette's stick figure drawing in real time, and we got to yell at vapid Real Worlders to boot!

still one handed

2006-06-02T17:00:00.000-06:00

stomach bugs that linger, not in an active way, but a passive, mildly nauseating way (for 1/2 my trip back east) makes for a truly effective weight loss program. also very inexpensive.

all casted up and out of town I seem to have missed some major Owens last gasp masturbatory efforts. I'm no lame duck, see how many wonderful and beneficial democratic sponsored bills I can veto! I hope he's proud of himself. not like his kids (ALL of his kids) will be affected as they no doubt are all in private schools and I'm sure he can afford health insurance. I thank the crew at soapblox for keeping me up to date and being erudite where I am far less articulate and emotional.

all of my favorite 80s jangle guitar bands have myspace pages! I walked into my friend Mike's record store in the village and he immediately asked if I had one so as to get me added to the Winter Hours page! I put my dying 8 year old computer into a short term coma yesterday jumping around pages for Big Dipper, Dreams So Real, the Tall Dwarfs . . . are 30 and 40 somethings even allowed there if not in a current hip band? are we over the hipster age limit?

when back to 2 hands . . . folk tours! Tayyar and Artemis! and me being way down at the low end of the talent spectrum. it never ceases to amaze me how easily accessible the greats in this genre of music and dance are, a level of access not to be found in any other genre.

Adding insult to injury

2006-05-11T09:50:00.000-06:00

It wasn't enough that the vicodin made me very nauseous. I woke up in the middle of the night Tuesday night with the beginnings of a 24 hour stomach flu. No more pain meds for an aching finger. No going to the last episode ever of Magnets on the Fridge.

At least I'm on an effective weight loss program.

I've been pinned

2006-05-09T22:48:00.000-06:00

The bone shifted and would've healed way off. Oh well, a learning experience. And what did I learn? My body is just slightly more tolerant of vicodin than it is of percocet, but not much. Though bone deep pain needs interference beyond herbs sometimes, at least I don't have it in me to be a drug addict. Good to know.

And all of these wonderful events around the end of the state legislative session, belly dance stuff, shows . . . and all I wanna do is crash at home. What a waste of a great May.

10 more days til NYC, 12 til dad's 70th bday . . .

less impaired typing

2006-04-28T11:23:00.000-06:00

a better cast in a beautiful and vibrant purple, less confining. no pins. if the finger heals well in the position it was reduced to (took 2 tries) then I won't need pins at all. and if the deep pain that woke me up before 5 am Wednesday is a clue, the bone is knitting together well. and the candle to St. Lazarus with calcium pills pressed into it can't hurt (Lazarus was Jewish, so no big conflict here).

yes, I can work. even took a new client on Wednesday. and I can write too (chart notes!). so those of you who took notice of Coloradolib's shout out, email me at healingneedles@msn.com if you need a truly good acupuncturist.

I'm in such a good mood that I won't even rant about the mediocre dancers and the experienced dancers who turned in dull performances Saturday night at the big show with a too short performance from Momo Kadous.

left hand typing

2006-04-21T11:03:00.000-06:00

I missed all of the Kos in Colorado festivities as I managed to trip, fall and crunch up part of my right pinky finger early Wednesday afternoon. Fun. I hope to be a testament to the powers of homeopathics and topical Chinese linaments and find out that I am healing so well on Tuesday that the hand specialist will not need to put a couple of pins in the bone. It will be worth wearing this unwieldy cast, way bigger than the injury would seem to need, for 6 days.

This typing with one hand thing is frighteningly laborious.

Glad to see the Ken Gordon love being spread 'round the blogosphere. In '08 he will be the go to guy on ethics in elections nation wide - and he will be one of those dems who will find the '08 convention (likely being held within blocks of his home and work) an unexpected launching pad into statesmanhood.

Look for me, pre cast, on a channel 9 news feature about wellness services one can order in at the Teatro Hotel sometime during sweeps. Or if you're going to stop by the 9 News Health Fair Tuesday at the Webb building before work, visit me at the Acupuncture Association of Colorado's information table.

And buy the new Norfolk & Western CD, The Guilded Age, because it's wonderful and 8 years after I last saw her, Rachel still amazes me with her breadth of talent.

Orhan Pamuk's The New Life

2006-04-10T14:12:00.000-06:00

What if life? A period of time.

What is time? An accident.

What is an accident? A life. A new life.

Today we are altogether defeated, the West has swallowed us up, trampled on us in passing. They have invaded us down to our soup, our candy, our underpants; they have finished us off. But someday, someday perhaps a thousand years from now, we will avenge ourselves; we will bring an end to this conspiracy by taking them out of our soup, our chewing gum, our souls.

2 months to read the first half of the book, 2 hours to read the second half. I've never had such a lopsided experience with a book. I've also rarely read such a mind warp of a book either.

from art walk to the political beat

2006-04-09T13:26:00.000-06:00

Helping friends at their openings until 11 pm is fine, unless you have to be out the door fresh and ready to delve into the nuts and bolts of the political process at 8am. Needless to say, my dithering of what amongst 3 great options I wanted to go out and do later that night was for naught, as I was too wrecked to do anything (even read) and channel surfed in exhausted boredom.

My personal highlights of the Denver County Assembly . . . hm. Not as exciting as last time, but without the presidential primary (and our strong pro Kucinich group) and a senatorial primary, it was more like going through the motions. Unlike some, I was happy to hear the heckling of Hick and Salazar, and I applauded the man who, in response to Salazar's statement that Colorado finally has a democrat in the US senate after 12 years, yelled No We Don't. Ken Gordon should be a national figure once he becomes Secretary of State, an example of how the office should be run. I very much liked the CU Regent at large candidate, Ludwig I believe, who came late as he was barnstorming the state that day. Many others have the detailed recaps that laziness prevents me from providing.

And I liked the bit of snark that came up in the HD5 meeting at the end. We range from yuppies and the like in Lodo, to well raised living to a lower income standard then their parents (ie, me) and younger fresh faced college kids in the variety of capitol hill rentals to some true working class folks in the SW edge of the district just south of Auraria. I like that we had the 4 folks who wanted to be selected to the platform committee have a quickie debate (we got to elect 1). I like that we have a handful of folks who aren't doing the computer/email thing. We have range and variety, and we may be the most diverse and representative microcosm of the democratic party. And if we get the '08 convention, the bulk of it and its events are going to be in our own HD5, so we better get our shit together and serve as an example of diversity coming together to work as the big tent that we are supposed to be.

One of the options while channel surfing last night was The Beach. I caught the scene where the leader gives this grand passionate tribute the the place they've called home for 6 years. Quite the politico, with all of the tyrannical charisma needed to have her own little queendom. Frighteningly enough, it felt appropriate to watch after my morning activities.

And I won a ticket to the ACLU forum with Gary Hart on Tuesday over at Soap Blox Colorado. Is that the hint that I am delinquent in registering over there? Too bad I'm working til 7:30 or so that night to allow myself to get to a Seder on time the next night. I hope Aaron can find another appreciative recipient.

Please pause and send a blessing to the Hook family. My great aunt Flora died on Thursday afternoon. She put up with my uncle and his 4 terms on the city council. She was a straight talker, never minced words.

Rest in peace Auntie Faigie.

Caucus, a review

2006-03-21T22:20:00.000-07:00

Kinda dull. But that's real life, the nuts and bolts of it.

Unlike most of the Coloradoans reporting to Coloradopols.com and soapblox.net, HD5 did not actually vote on any resolutions as a unified district. Some precincts did, but for the most part we filled out cards with various resolutions which will be presented at the county assembly on April 8th. We should have good support for resolutions to get the hell out of Iraq and for attorney general involvement with the Coors family funded robocalls in contested house district races. Gee, the Coors family involved in lying and abjectly unethical partisan politics, who'd a thunk it.

And Angel just called during the intermission from the superstars show. Seems I would've spent the night so far in snark/hater mode. That's $38 I didn't spend on something I wouldn't have liked. That's good. Maybe one day it'll actually make an impact outside of delusional belly dance newbies who after less than 2 years of lessons think they're good enough to audition and get in. Without being under 25 and having a Barbie doll body. Ha.

I'll take the other side of it; Suhaila, my friend Jim Boz, the Dahlin sisters, some (not all) of the west coast tribal style gals (please teach the Coloradoans into the tribal scene that it's ok to not imitate you, I'm getting bored watching them do what I used to see in Portland 10 years ago), Anahid and the other great NYC dancers I catch at Figaro and Maia Mehane on visits to the family, the senior dancers here . . . for the past year Eva Cernik has had the unique ability to dance differently in every one of the 20 some odd performances of hers that I've been able to see (not counting the 3 weeks I was with her in Turkey), even with music and costume repititions. Who needs generic choreography, I want art in the moment and soul inspiration. And to find that in the political realm as well, should it exist beyond the great Mike Miles.

Back to the Countdown repeat.

belly dancing over to the caucus

2006-03-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

It surprises me that it's not as hard to be involved in the party apparatus as I used to think. When I was quite young my parents were involved in the local party goings on, we even have a home movie from the early 70s with our then congressman, Ed Koch, visiting our Yorkville block for a clean up something or other and my parents got invites for cocktail parties and prefered viewing spots for July 4th fireworks throughout his mayorship.

As precinct captain, which I am only cause I was the only one who stepped up last year, I've already been contacted by a candidate for my state senate primary to ask for my support and if so, will I be willing to be listed on her site (which I am, I like Jennifer Mello for the democratic nomination for SD 32 and if my opinion counts, take it). How did I get to this point? It's not like I've done anything as precinct captain (we can blame my downtime this fall as well as hopefully now replaced district captains for that). And they've certainly not notified me of any of the meetings in the last 6 months. I got the card informing me of the meeting to pick new district leadership the DAY AFTER THE MEETING. The only House 5B business I knew about in advance, and quite a long time in advance I may add, is that I was to volunteer directing traffic into the parking lot at North High tonight. Well fuck that. I am going to be spending a few hours with one of my dearest friends for the first time since last summer. Freshly driven down from Aspen, Angel is in the first of the 2 workshops put on by the Belly Dance Superstars, and then we're tooling around to the Chinese herb shops down on S. Federal and for some pho until I need to leave her at the show and go up to be a surly bitch to the rest of the 5B folk.

And I'm passing on the Superstars show, not cause of the caucuses per se, but cause I am not a fan of Jilina's choreography, some of the dancers on the tour and Miles Copeland's inability to actually promote the world of bellydancing as opposed to coasting on his decades old success in rock. Which I know about quite well as my parents did his intellectual property work for over 25 years and I was comped to the last show 2 years ago by the same guy who gave me and my sisters tickets for various bands in the early 80s. I have lots more to rant here, but I need to clean the snow off my car and meet Angel in 20 minutes.

those pontificating repugs . . .

2006-03-14T10:19:00.000-07:00

We have an adulterous governor who bankrupted the educational system here in Colorado praising this Sean Allen kid (who I'm worried will not grow intellectually but harden as a result of his parents and their friends setting him up to take down Jay Bennish). We have lying, armed service evading (but wearing uniforms), flagrent law breaking republican congressmen (and woman) lobbing false charges back in order to deflect their shameful and disgraceful behavior.

Who votes for these people? Who can listen to them without wanting to bang one's head against a wall?

but I found a great blog piece this am. I have no idea how to link, so I've copied down the whole damn URL for you folks.

htt://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_theswamp/2006/03/obama_on_bush_b_1.html

may all our allies have the chutzpah to speak like Obama and Feingold.

pic spam!!!

2006-03-07T22:29:00.000-07:00

wishful thinking.

I finally download some of the the photos Lori and Charlie posted, and now this lovely blog program won't let me upload them. phooey.

help please?

witticisms

2006-03-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

Ronnie has a whole bunch of great stuff at All American Vogue (18 S. B'way).

All of my friends with small children can expect to receive a tshirt that says 'I wish my president was smarter than me' over the next few months. And you can find me around town by my new bumper sticker that reads 'No, you can't have my rights. I'm still using them.'

Go give him some business.

doin' the happy dance

2006-03-05T14:59:00.000-07:00

lots of things making me do it. wanna know what? sure you do, that's why you're reading.

1) It's about 70 degrees out there today. And it will be tomorrow too. And it has been really nice for about a week now. And if people stay willfully and blissfully ignorant February/March will be the new May.

2) My late mentor's PMS herb formula. Could be the reason I wasn't completely unbearable this past week.

3) Ken Gordon, my favorite state senator, is a man of principle. He stood up to a fellow member of the state senate who compromised herself in a monetary ethics manner and called her out on it (a senator who greatly benefitted from his '04 This Matters campaign efforts). Best of all, he's running for Secretary of State. Ken - when are the bumper stickers going to be ready?

4) I may not be busy, but my practice is gradually increasing. And some of my new clients are enthusiastically referring me to others.

5) I may not have to sell the Egyptian Cabaret costume my parents bought for me while there 10 years ago that never fit. It seems that there is a gal here who can take A cup sized bras and make them fit us voluptuous dancers.

6) My friends from NYC played the best show I've ever seen them do (tho I've only seen them play about 5 or 6 times over the past 10 years), prior bands included. And they had a full house watching them. Not to mention great openers (Inara George has just about the sweetest stage demeanor I've ever seen).

7) Adding to Tiffany's success last weekend, she sold a bunch of stuff in her gallery this past Friday night. I genuinely enjoy seeing my friends do well and shine in their creativity.

8) The Coloradoans who write at www.soapblox.net. I've been encouraged to join in, but I'm not well informed enough, I'll be the cheerleader.

9) Morgan Carroll at the next Drinking Liberally this coming Wednesday. Come and hear her speak and you'll know why.

10) Magnets of the Fridge may be ending in May after 5 seasons, but a new serial will be coming up in its place. This time around I'll be watching from the beginning, not from season 3 on.

Time to stop typing and continue flailing about . . . .

cigarette smoke

2006-03-02T01:40:00.000-07:00

I smell like it. Oh well.

But I didn't cower in the corner suffering from stimulation overload and wind invasion. Tho I did most likely drive my friend a bit crazy with my hyper-joy to see him. Lots of fast talking and subject jumping, which happens when you see someone every 2 1/2 years.

the prosaic and the sacred

2006-03-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

It's always easier to write a post in my mind than to actually type it, so in my mind this blog is filled with all sorts of entries that most likely are interesting only to me. As I've not typed them you don't have to be bored by them.

This weekend I helped 2 friends vend their eclectic creations (primarily handmade leather masks, along with some jewelry and unique fashions) at the Sex and So Much More show at the Denver Convention Center. Of the vendors and preformers (not to mention the porn stars doing autograph signings) I would rate the convention at 90% prosaic, 10% poetry (if that much). The atmosphere wasn't helped by the stark, cavernous space and the bloodshot eye inducing overhead lights. The proliferation of so many sex toy vendors, private strip club promoters and women dressed as Jerry Springer show audience members made it all seem so very unsexy and so very dull. In a week that had 2 states a governor's signature away from a near all out abortion ban, the event was decidely clinical but at least there was a great emphasis on safe sex and condom use. The most pronounced juxtaposition for me is getting a call from a couple, now new clients, who want my assistance as they prepare for artificial insemination.

Whereas my focus for studying is wandering with the stirring up of the wind (which is driving me near batty today), putting myself in situations like the sex show shores up my resolve to move into more of a foward thinking modality - the Integral modalities propogated by Ken Wilber and his group. Although whether it truly is in my heart or in my little wanting to be superior academic head (emphasis on the wanting and less on the achieving) will be seen on if I can put more action to my words.

The wind is seriously messing me up today. Kuddos to all who can stand it. I'll be the one hiding in the corner at the Bluebird tonight trying not to be a major bitch while seeing old friends from back east and praying that the smoking ban gets back on track so I can not smell like an ashtray after a night out. The air is thin enough up here people, your smoking only makes it worse.

First Friday musts; visit Ronnie and All American Vogue for the 10th anniversary party turned Bill Winter for Congress fundraiser, then head over to Santa Fe Drive and include ArtsMyths at 802 Santa Fe, studio #1 on the second floor.

Magnets

2006-02-15T10:37:00.000-07:00

new episode of Magnets on the Fridge tonight. woo hoo.

I wonder how they'll work in Cheney's latest adventure . . . . .

thinking people are hung over

2006-02-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

I couldn't watch. Earlier in the day a dear friend related a dream that she had in which Bush and some of his advisors were sitting in her living room discussing the nuclear attack that they were planning for the Middle East. My friend woke from this dream crying, and just hearing her describe this (the dream happened on the day of the Palestinian elections) made me realize that I couldn't watch this incarnation of the devil at work. So I listened. And drank some shiraz, because for someone who has maybe one drink a week, 2 big glasses of very heavy red wine were necessary to get through listening to a lying dry drunk.

And then later I watched the Gilmore Girls, replete with barely veiled attacks on the administration and the state of how things are. See Coloradolib, I told you Gilmore Girls would be more intelligently written, and more truthful as well!

state of the union

2006-01-29T11:50:00.000-07:00

is grim, as we know. I know myself and my love for my favorite tv show, Gilmore Girls. I will tape GG, but unless I watch Bush's lies with a group of like minded folks ready to throw pillows at the tv, I will likely flip back to GG. As I've emailed to some folks, the desire to watch something intelligently written will win out.

So, who is up for it - I've got the pet free home and lots of pillows, but a client til 6:30 so we won't be able watch much of the pregame festivities. I copied down the drinking game posted at dailykos and found strong affinity with the idea posted in the comments of having a jar to toss money into for those not interested or unable to drink (we can vote on who we donate to at the end).

impaired typing

2006-01-27T15:07:00.000-07:00

slight knife cut, about double the width of a papercut, on the pad of my right index finger. fun.

managed to not bring enough change for parking for Drinking Liberally. dashed out in a somewhat blowsy fashion - but I didn't get a ticket. with the January slump I really don't need one. I need to get out like that more often. It's nice to find like minded people not in my usual haunts - actually I need to change my scenery and find some new haunts. next time I'll double check the change purse. as far as the man of the hour goes, Bill Winter is getting more articulate every time I hear him speak. I really hope that he does whip Tancredo's ass next fall.

right now my eyes are tired and bloodshot. I've assigned myself a project for 2006 - to study the ouvre of the late Claude Larre and Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallee. Their lecture series on various organs, drawing from the Chinese classics, as well as treatises on a few of the classics and on some other more esoteric (in terms of the modern practice of Chinese medicine) are some of the most elegant books available in this subject matter. They translate with a thorough analysis of the ideograms, which can lead to a different perspective on the text itself, or explain how a concept or understanding came to be. And the amount of discourse on just a few ideograms puts me back into Talmud class, something I last studied in 11th grade (1984-85 school year). At least this time I don't have to pretend to be functional in 2 other languages (Hebrew and Aramaic), I have the English translation right there. Not that is makes the work much easier. I've logged about 10 hours for 90 pages, and still have the conclusion and appendicies to go for the Kidney book. Then the reward - brush, ink, paper and attempting the ideograms. And after that, Slim Cessna and the Auto Club. Unless lameitis strikes yet again.

Huzun

2006-01-20T22:11:00.000-07:00

Reading the Orhan Pamuk memoir of his life in Istanbul (my starting point for immersion into his writing). He's currently on trial in Turkey for speaking out about the mass murders (in the millions) of the Armenians and Kurds back at the close of the Ottoman empire. The NY Times has the occasional editorial with the latest (delays, the EU politico from, I believe, The Netherlands getting into trouble after making statements about the massacres, etc), but news here about Turkey for the most part seems limitted to the advance of the Avian Flu.

The pictures he draws are fascinating to me, showing me the old city that I caught in glimpses, especially on the last day I spent there running around the outdoor exhibits of the biennial with Alex. We saw buildings in varying states of decay and ruin, rubble yet to be sorted thru after the earthquake a few years ago. I had the views 2 1/2 weeks earlier from above looking down from the Galata Tower, now I was wandering the alleys near the waterfront - the old buildings built poorly at the end of an empire to house an increasing population shift to the city. Not unlike the houses he describes on the Bosphorus that were once the retreat of the rich from the inhabitants of the areas I was roaming, houses that were burnt down in the 50s and 60s or the subject of inheritance dispute.

The Turkish language is a puzzle to me even after 3 1/2 weeks spent there. There is a tense that "allows us to distinguish hearsay from what we've seen with our own eyes; when we are relating dreams, fairy tales, or past events we could not have witnessed . . . It is a useful distinction to make as we "remember" our earliest life experiences." Pamuk later explains the word Huzun, melancholy. He sums up the 2 points of view of the word as; 1) a state of grace or poetic concept, a Sufi idea of spiritual anguish from not being able to do enough for Allah, to be close enough to him, or 2) an illness, loss, death, anger, fear. I won't even try to articulate what he spends an entire chapter illuminating. I will just alert you to its existance and recommend it.

The word Huzun seems to fit very well right now, but which definition thereof I'm not sure.

Single minded obsession

2006-01-17T22:42:00.000-07:00

Who cares about what is going on in the world, or even in our state. The Broncos are in the AFC championship game and that is all that matters.

The local news stations didn't even cover the fact that some of the state senators are pushing a referendum to go on the fall ballot to allow for same sex domestic partnerships that, while not the full rights of marriage, give many of the rights of married couples. I only knew to look for articles in the papers because Jay Marvin spent most of the 8 am hour on the subject. They did manage to spend nearly a minute on this year's version of the smoking ban (yes my fingers are crossed for this one, I want to see bands without smelling like an ashtray at the end of the night) but they spent nearly the first 5 minutes on the upcoming game, not counting the features on the guy with the same last name as a major Steeler later in the 1/2 hour. This brings back fond memories of Ralph Nader's analysis of local news that I got to hear the week before the 2000 elections when he was at the Paramount . . . .

Sounded out my heck of a welcome party for Brownie yesterday at the Marade. At one point I asked a reporter from the CBS affiliate if she had heard any more details as to the location and projected opening of Brownie's office and she said "now remind me of who he is again?"

OMFG!!!!!!!!!

Can we please give reporters a current events quiz before allowing them on the air?

I had a roommate my sophmore year at NYU who was in the journalism program. Not a good writer nor a particularly bright girl. Did the John Casablancas modeling school in her Illinois home town and believed that, at 5'2", she had a realistic shot. I saw her on CNN as one of the local reporters in some hurricane or other in summer '04. Brains must not be a prerequisite for looking windswept.

Unrelated to anything else, I spent nearly $400 today on herb formulas and flower essences stock bottles to make individual concoctions for my clients. Ouch.

A Modest Proposal

2006-01-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

It's 9:30 am and I am going to be lazy. I'll join up with the Marade as it comes down East Colfax rather than run the 12 or so blocks up to East High and join the preliminaries standing in 30 degree cold.

"Brownie" will be opening up a Boulder area (I've heard it may be Longmont or Lafayette, but no one I know seems to be sure) office to assist people with disaster relief. I say that the progressive community of Metro Denver/Boulder, in conjunction with the Katrina evacuees relocated to this area, join together to throw him one heck of a welcome party. I'm talking hundreds of us clogging up the office and the street outside, the evacuees requesting some free consultations, political theater all around . . . . So here's the idea. Who has the office address, date of opening and the interest in helping me organize? Could be a great kick off to the caucuses in March . . .

I will be emailing the Colorado blogging community, Jay Marvin, KGNU and Argus Fest as I want this to be big, our prep rally for the 2006 election cycle.

Conceit and a night at Kervansarai

2006-01-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

So I think that I want to ingratiate myself amongst the far more informed than me liberal blogroll of Colorodoans. I still am not up enough on the state scene, but I do have opinions and am not hesitant to say them.

I never wrote up adventures in cheesey Istanbul belly dance nightclubs, the filled out version.

A night at Kervansarai, or, Bill Murray lives in an Istanbulu who speaks English with a Russian inflection:

Obviously a popular nightclub, as they have 2 cabarets running at once with the performers going from one to the other. We were downstairs in a dark, very 1970s feeling room - long tables on each side of the dance floor (which we discovered is raised for performances) with a few smaller ones in little raised areas on the edges, like ours). There was a band playing the best in elevator music as the groups filed in, furthering the time warp quality of the evening. Happily, the preset dinner includes free booze - cheap Turkish red wine (which I really grew to enjoy) helps make ANYTHING more entertaining. This evening of dance included 4 belly dancers and a few rounds of folk dance.

The first dancer (who is not the street walker we saw while grabbing taksis afterwards fellow tour group people - the one on the street had much shorter hair and an Adam's apple, but is far more realistic than most trannies and transvestites in the states) had good moves when she did dance. She had a penchant for posing at the heads of the long tables set up flush against the stage. Not much else that really stuck in my memory 4 months on except long bleach white hair and an average plum colored costume.

I forgot the order of who was second and who was third, but I do remember the dancers pretty well. Ercil was in the most exquisite white Bella costume, which we were able to place by the pallettes and a long morning spent examining them on other costumes the day before. Ercil however, seemed very pained to be there. This is the dancer about whom Lori surmised must have been called in last minute, totally depressed about breaking up with her boyfriend and really wanting to be at home, or at a girl's night out, anywhere but dancing for us. I remember thinking that she would be really good, if she had interest in what she was doing. Bad night, or her style? Stylish disinterest does seem to be the approach of many of the younger dancers over there. I quite liked Yildiz Ai, and red suits her quite well. Her arm work was really sharp, tight moves on the music - I liked them even tho they seemed a bit awkward, but I was in the minority. She didn't do the American placid smile or aloof/smug face, but had far more expresison (and variety of) than the dancers who preceeded her. I can't give details, but I did really enjoy her performance and she seemed to enjoy what she was doing.

In between these performances we had a selection of coed and same sex folk dancing which didn't really measure up to the folk show we had seen the night before. Only some of the dancers bothered to show up, so to speak. The best were the men's dances - we've all become big fans of the Black Sea fish dance - and the sword performers (not so much belly dance style balancing on the head but throwing them). I did manage to get myself pulled up to dance with some of the folk dancers during one round - the casualty of sitting in a seat next to the steps up to our table I guess. The fun part was the shock on the part of the dancers that I knew the steps they were doing.

Then it was time for Asena. I don't remember her whole story, but it involves intrigue with her former band leader, a gunshot wound to the leg and a triumphant return to the dance scene. And she is good. Far more subtle than the rest of the dancers, she communicates much more in the cut of her eyes than the average dancer does in a whole song's worth of moves and gestures. She has a far more sophisticated range of facial expressions, coy to interested disinterest to a variety of smiles, none of which were too obvious. This many months later I don't remember any specific moves of hers (tho I have her VCD to jog my memory). The overall impression was a less is more - her makeup, hair and costume were all toned down (but not simple) so that we were drawn to the quality of her dancing over her appearance. I will ask Eva how much footage she has of that night and perhaps we can post it somewhere so that it can speak for itself (plus we can show off our performances with Babazula that way).

After all of this, out comes the Bill Murray lounge singer cliche. Like a good host he circled the room, singing songs from each country for which he saw a flag. Finland stumped him - luckily he had 2 long tables of raucous folks to sing back at him, including Santa Claus on a last holiday break before his busy season gets underway (hope his beard grew out a bit more). He did cheat a bit for Costa Rica and Belize - used a generic Spanish song to get his bases covered. He did the variety of cliched covers - lounge singer style and only a few years dated with his most recent references before leaving those of us left to dance to a variety of songs on tape that could be best described as a wedding band's greatest hits - the ultimate collection.

And with a dash across nearly 10 lanes of traffic, in the rain, and a few glances exchanged with the daintiest she boy prostitutes I've seen since I was last in Bangkok (as I said earlier - some in the group were fooled, but we were several feet away) we bundled in to taksis (I so prefer Turkish spelling) for the roller coaster drive back to the Hali.

Next up, a night at the Orient House featuring Birgul Beray and the mad taksi dach across town to dance with Babazula at the Yaga Club.

How to be a client . . .

2006-01-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

or what you can expect from me as your acupuncturist, and what is going WAY TOO FAR:

You have the right to 15 minutes of my time on the phone for a consultation to determine if this is an appropriate form of therapy for you, in addition to the time needed to schedule an appointment, find out my fees and get directions to my place of work. This is very generous time wise (as are my fees) for someone in practice for nearly 9 years.

I will give you the time you need to fill out any paperwork without counting it as treatment time. After that, time is money. Sorry to be crass, but this is my job and you are paying me to listen to you, to feel your pulses (and diagnos you) and to treat you. When you walk out the door you are either going to come back for further treatment, or you won't. It's your decision. It's your money and it's your health.

But . . .

You will not become my friend because I have listened to you for the time spent in the intake and on the phone while determining your interest in pursuing acupuncture. You are pursuing acupuncture, not me nor my friendship (nor anything more for that matter). I have had friends become clients for periods of time, but I've not had a client become a friend. There are some that I would enjoy as friends. It is not appropriate. You will not ask me out for coffee after only 1 treatment because you like talking to me. I listened to you as it related to treating you. I have no interest in becoming your friend and I have no interest in sitting and listening to you say the same things over and over. If I recommend therapy to you (before the request to talk my ear off is made) it is because I feel you do need someone to listen to you, but it will not be me. I have the right to terminate treatment with you if you do not respect my boundaries. And I will not hesitate to do so.

Coming soon . . . . stupid client stories with all identifying features and gender removed.

Read about the client who kept cell phone within reach to be able to receive calls while on the treatment table (and scheduled self to recieve calls at this time) and then couldn't understand why I was unable to be of any help. I know the practitioner this former client goes to, good luck to you!

Amma helps

2005-12-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

make me calm. I just have to actually meditate as opposed to telling myself I will.

I really cut loose last night, and was a bit redundant. Oh well. As for foot in mouth disease, it's not like I've not said anything I've written before - I am known for being a bitch in both the bellydance and acupuncture communities. I've just never had a forum, albeit unread, to put out my opinions to a potentially large audience.

If I can sort out picture posting I want to put up (under a cut to not offend the squeamish) a photo of my fibroids. I know too many women with them and none have any idea of what they look like. We look at outer selves - we should see what the inside looks like too.

Ranting . . .

2005-12-12T22:16:00.000-07:00

Somewhere, most likely in the general vicinity of the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport, lies my Misar Butik costume. Dumped as a stupid grab by the airport/airline employee who raided Lori and Charlie's suitcase, but I am out a perfectly fitting costume that is possible tho difficult and pricey to replace.

It makes the healing process from the past 6 weeks of chaos much easier to deal with, focusing on the trivial.

I could be vaguely brilliant making references to; the imminent execution of Tookie Williams, liberal political goings on in regards to Denver (that we may get the dem '08 convention and my fave state senator, tho not my state senator, is hopefully running for state treasurer in '06) but I can't come close to Colorado Luis et al. I still have yet to figure out how to link articles anyway and don't bother with the local papers enough to sound decently informed. I could add my $0.02 to a very interesting story in the Style section of yesterday's Post about Metrospirituality. For a price you too can buy your way into Nirvana. My ancestors did it at the temple in Jerusalem, why can't we spend ridiculous sums of money on statues and trinkets of Hindu and Buddhist dieties that we treat with less regard than a piece of clothing. It really only counts when other people see how cool your home looks, and you'll be leaving it in the alley for someone to scavange or purge it in a yard sale in a couple of years anyway. And the books will sit, spine intact, on your shelf until you remember that liked the cover cause it was just too cute!

But my scar hurts despite being good to myself, treating myself and pouring essential oils on it.

And I still can't watch any bellydancers in action without getting angry and upset cause I am seeing some pretty mediocre dancers get some good breaks, and some girls really need to look in the mirror and realize that hair and makeup are part of costuming (and that 1981 bridge and tunnel hair looks really bad with a belly dance costume). And facial expressions! Looking smug and superior can make a good dancer look ugly and uninteresting, as was evident at the Spark tour show 6+ weeks back (both the local and national troupes). At least local veteran Jenna Woods on the bill to show us dance without pretentious airs, and the Kan'nal set made it worth the schlep.

And did I rant about the self righteous acupuncturists in Denver yet? Falling all over themselves to get access to the Katrina refugees while they were shacked up in the barracks at Lowery, while not a one could be bothered to cover for me at the IV drug users drop in while I was away. Oh, one did. But then he no showed them one week and was wondering why no one was there the next week. You couldn't call!?!?!?!? I like fewer people within my current profession than I did during my late 80s foray into the music business. At least in that profession you know up front most people are *&@&$.

I am tired of being nice when it is not honest. I am tired of stupid people, including stupid educated people. I am tired of not being able to think clearly, focus and quiet my mind. I am tired of being tired.

Ready to implode, I remind myself of the lovely man with the sandwich stall down a quieter side street in the Grand Bazaar. When we told him we were Americans he said "America good, Bush bad." We're not all that bad, are we.

And with it out of my head and down in writing, maybe I am clear enough to get a restfull night's sleep.

again, briefly

2005-11-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

I have 15 staples in my lower abdomen. They hurt. But I no longer have the mass of fibroids that enlarged my uterus to the size of a 5 1/2 month pregnancy that led to such severe bleeding that I had a 5 day hospital stay earlier this month complete with 4 pints of transfused blood.

It is difficult to sit at the computer. Eventually more stories will come, as will, hopefully, the Misar Butik costume of mine that was stolen out of Lori and Charlie's luggage.

back, briefly

2005-11-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

I still have stories to tell, but they will be coming more slowly.

I spent most of the past week as a guest at the illustrious Denver Health (foemerly Denver General). The ER is quite amusing late on the Saturday night before Halloween, people in the remnants of their costumes dealing with the injuries of bar fights . . . . .

And there is nothing more fitting than getting a blood transfusion the day before Halloween (and another 2 days after).

the music video cliche trifecta . . . .

2005-10-27T18:30:00.000-06:00

OK, here it is - the pop music post.

In Istanbul Amy would humor me and let me put CNN International on occasion. Once on the road, Jaq and I would check out what Turkish tv was like when we came across it. Our first night was in Pamukkale - in an attempt to deal with the choking eye watering perfume that was dumped in the room as a dstraction to the fact that it probably hadn't been cleaned in at least a week. While surfing past the various Turkish sitcoms that we were too lazy to figure out thru the visuals, we found KRAL, the pop music video channel. This channel became the source of great amusement both that night and again in Bursa (where we once again had tv access).

Pop music everywhere is about 80% crap. That's a given. But when it is not familiar to you, when the visuals don't have a scope of reference to which you can relate it gets pretty damn amusing.

Before I continue I must say that while having an insomniac moment in Cannakale and turned the tv on I did finally catch the gal who I'd only seen in 20 second snippets on the top 20 countdown and was able to get her name (Aylin Aslim) and later, her CD. It was pretty lame overall in comparison the piece of the song I heard BUT one of her songs in in a 9/8 rhythm! I was pretty wowed when Elliott Smith did a rock song in a waltz rhythm, but this is in a Karshilama!!!! The bra from my Misar Boutique costume, my Mavi jeans, the chain like noisy hip belt I bought from the vendor at Ephesus . . . . . .

Anyway, over the week and a half we were periodically tuning in the majority, if not all, of the videos were ballads, with band appearances not always fitting the music performed (not unlike the joint number by Urbal Tribal and Ultra Gypsy I saw a few nights ago when they danced generic dull tribal moves to a lively salsa song. it just did not fit), fitting even less than Poison's appearance in relation to "Every Rose Has It's Thorn." And there were the I'm so sexy guys (who aren't, but maybe some women there do find them sexy?). A big cliche in the videos is death. There were a number of videos that had a scene revolving around a funeral, or reminiscing about a beloved youthful crush who must have had some sort of early tragic death. Jaq's favorite example of funerary excess was a band whose name I can't remember but they had 2 singers (tho one has a really bad voice) one of whom looks like he could be in any overstyled US boy band and the other who really needs to return the wig to the surviving Milli Vanilli guy. Other cliches include the requisite beach scenes, which they have plenty of which to choose from (next trip I am heading for the Meditaranean coast), and my favorite - the pop singer who both on his CD cover and in his video has imagery of him running towards the camera away from a burning wreckage - because a pop singer is really analagous to an action movie guy.

But no single video had the trifecta of cliches (keeping in mind a desert setting or being caught in the rain can be interchanged with the beach scenes). Until I was in Cannakale, and found what is a French video channel, hence the Nada Surf video, and the winner of the pop video cliche trifecta. Burning wreckage, check. Agonizing, mournful overdramatic emoting (tho minus a coffin or gravesite), check. Pouring rain, check. Plus, guy on a piano sorta playing/pretending to play while singing with great emotion, check.

It was the Backstreet Boys.

America, still the land of extreme excess.

Tally of CDs bought - 27 if I'm counting correctly, plus 2 VCDs (including one of Asena!).

happiness is one's own bed and comforter

2005-10-25T18:50:00.000-06:00

I have a list sitting next to the computer - all of the stories that I want to relate that I've not yet put down, some opinions with distance about some of my experiences, the last 36 hours in Istanbul (Suleymanie camii, finding the outdoor instalations of the Istanbul biennial, having a last dinner in an actual Istanbul residence . . ), some rants about costuming after an hour in a small costume museum in Bursa (yes tribal gals, this former tribal gal is ranting all about your cultural theft and disinterest in context) and even a bitch about the hypocrisy about my fellow acupuncturists who were tripping over themselves to get into Lowery to treat Katrina evacuees (they got the run around) but couldn't be bothered to cover my volunteer shifts treating local IV drug users at the Harm Reduction drop in center.

But nearly 2 weeks after returning to the US I am still so damn tired! And Babazula hasn't posted our photos on their site yet. For me writing requires energy so that I can get something interesting down - it's always been like pulling teeth for me (this metaphor is unrelated to the dental work I had earlier today), to write interesting and well. And I don't have much to power it. But I am picking up and feel ready to start adding stories, some of which could end up as rather long posts.

So for the few of you hanging in there with me, and those of you who are only now getting this blog URL from me to save me from boring you in person, there's plenty more to come.

PS to Colorado folk. Yes on C&D. I saw the budget cuts proposed by Owens' staff should it not pass and it's not pretty. NO arts funding (we're 50th anyway, but this is total elimination) amongst other things. The money you don't get refunded wouldn't come close to repairing the damage to your car from the lack of road repair anyway - so it really is a good investment.

First post trip entry - Turkish pop videos and how, despite the cliches, the Backstreet Boys still have them beat on the melodrama. And the final tally on just how many CDs (including Aylin Aslim - got my Courtney Love wannabe singer!!!) I bought.

one last note

2005-10-09T16:45:00.000-06:00

It was 12 years ago today that I saw Fat Chance Belly Dance ın Kanzaman's restaurant on Haıght Street for the fırst tıme and knew that I had to learn how to do that.

I am pretty bad at stıckıng to thıngs over long perıods of tıme, whıch ıs why I've needed perıodıc breaks from thıs, and changıng styles probably helped my longevıty ın the dance (I'm at the poınt now that most trıbal performers, and doıng ıt myself, bore/s me to sarcastıc comment overload). But I am stıll here, stıll ınvolved ın thıs dance. Maybe not how I orıgınally envısıoned 12 years ago, but ıt kept me goıng ın grad school and contınues to shape my lıfe ın so many ways.

Happy annıversary to me!

hıgh wınds on the Dardanel Straıghts

2005-10-09T16:40:00.000-06:00

I could blame the strong wınd at Troy for my sleepyness, but the fact that I've had maybe 2 good nıghts of sleep ın over a month ıs most lıkely the real culpret. Spellıng errors wıll be numerous thıs post.

If you can't have the best guıde ın town for your trıp to Troy, hıs daughter ıs the next best optıon. Especıally when she takes you off the marked traıl to show you the well that was belıeved to be the sıte of the Hector-Achıllıes duel (dıd I get my partıcıpants correct?) amongst other thıngs. There are 9 known excavated levels rangıng from 3000 BCE to about 500 CE, but new sound based technology ıs showıng that there ıs at least one more layer yet to be found. I wıll not even attempt to explaın anythıng, ınstead when I get back to the US I'll post the URL of the famıly websıte whıch can do all of that for me, clearly and a acurately.

I had planned to put ın all sorts of loose ends, thıngs I've been savıng up to wrıte, but as I can barely hold my head up I'll leave all that for later thıs week once I'm back ın the US.

Thanks for followıng along and stay tuned for the long delayed cabaret venue dance revıews . . . .

Football nıght durıng Ramazan

2005-10-08T22:01:00.000-06:00

day 4 of Ramazan and we're doıng ok fındıng food optıons durıng the day, but rıght now the natıonal football team ıs playıng a world cup qualıfıer and there ıs a bıg screen pratıcally outsıde my hotel wındow. so despıte the 9pm planned bedtıme on a saturday nıght . . . . I'm ın a smokey ınternet cafe.

Matthew (ıf you're readıng) - just saw your vıdeo whıle channel surfıng on MCM channel. In the other places we just had the ın country channel KRAL wıth Turkısh pop and a few slıghtly alternatıve vıdeos. Jaq and I got a real kıck out of them. They do lıke theır over the top power ballads here. the more melodramatıc, the better. we dıd spot one sorta Torı Amos lookıng, Courtney Love/Sleater Kınney soundıng gal band on the countdown but they never actually play the vıdeo so I've not been able to add ıt yet to my CD stash. other than Babazula my new favorıte Turksıh rock band, thanks to the gal at the CD store down the street ın Bursa, ıs Rebel Moves - kında rock, funk, tradıtıonal and even a touch of reggae all mıxed up wıth some Englısh lyrıcs and fun drawıng ın the CD booklet.

Nıghttıme ın Çannakale. remınds me a bıt of places on the Jersey shore. Around Anzac day ıt wıll be overrun wıth war memorıalısts, but otherwıse ıt seems as much or more an ın country turıst spot. For the land locked 3 of us who remaın, fısh on the boardwalk and a sea aır constıtutıonal are a treat. Tomorrow we go to Troy, and ıf someone could emaıl me Scott Z's address he wıll get a postcard as ıt was hıs promptıng that led me to addıng thıs extra excursıon. The archelologıcal museum has some nıce (tho poorly labeled at tımes) pıeces but lıttle from the tıme perıod of the Ilıad. We thınk they may be ın Austrıa, where the guy who restarted the excavatıons ın the early 90's was from. The wooden horse used ın the fılm Troy ıs the one that ıs supposedly on the water about a block or 2 east of the hotel. The one down ın Troy ıtself tho ıs cut open for all the cats to hang out ın.

the cat tour of Turkey has taken a strange twıst ın that I saw dogs before cats ın thıs town, and once I spotted cats I've only seen a few. a sharp contrast from last nıght's dınner ın the east 6th street of Bursa fısh restaurants (just down from the last synagogue ın town, tımıng kept me from my chance to vısıt ıt) where we had 6 to 7 just by us.

Jaq and Eva are back ın Istanbul as Jaq dıdn't add on the Troy optıon (tho she dıdn't know untıl she got here that ıt was an optıon). whıle I lıke the prıvacy I mıss my roomıe and her sılly pırate jokes. her best, other than her Puerto Rıcan homegırl ımmıtatıon, was the other day whıle doıng the rounds of all of the Sultans' tombs ın Bursa (capıtol of the Ottoman empıre for much of ıt). the last one was Ossman's, the father and namesake of the Ottomans (Ossmans) and, as Jaq added, father of Donny. Charlıe would be proud, as would the very funny former LA based (I assume comedy) wrıter we met the last nıght ın Istanbul - what ıs your name . . . NO I DON'T WANT TO BUY A CARPET guy.

Bursa ıs an ınterestıng cıty. the fact that ıt ıs hılly (for non Coloradoans you could say mountaınous) and has many hot sprıngs makes ıt ok ın my book. ıt was also not a turıst town, after a week of beıng ın turıst enclaves - even our 2 hour stop ın Konya was to the turıst attractıon - and ıt was refreshıng. of course ıt was that much harder to be understood. we stayed just a block from the bazaar (regular and sılk, and I have 3 lovely bıg scarves for myself, small ones for gıfts. ımagıne me at customs; no these are not presents, these are for me, ALL FOR ME! I'm a greedy JAP thıs trıp) and the open aır stage for Ramazan performances. we could hear them from the hotel (even wıth wındows closed) whıch was nıce cause ıt's gettıng pretty cold. walkıng alone one nıght I was mıstaken twıce for beıng Turkısh FINALLY (dıdn't have the very whıte guy wıth bıg camera bag wıth me, a dead gıveaway). ıf I could be mıstaken as Irısh 15 years ago wıth my colorıng, I should sure as hell get mıstaken as Turkısh! last nıght Eva and I went to see Mercan Dede and hıs group. ıt was ın the courtyard of a centurıes old buıldıng that was a rıce tradıng center. we stayed quıte a whıle despıte our fatıgue and the cold because he was just so good. I hope my clıents wıll enjoy lıstenıng to hıs newest CD whıle on the treatment table because that's what's goıng ınto the CD player the fırst week I'm back.

Bursa seems tradıtıonal, but flexıble. we got there 2 hours before break-fast on the 1st day of Ramazan. many people there fast, but took no offense at us cause they don't have any expectatıons of us fastıng. travelers don't fast anyway. but everyone stays up late after breakıng, and by the bazaar there were booths for food, trınkets, sweets . . . and ıt's whole famılıes that are out. even at the Mercan Dede show - ıt was very sophıstıcated musıc, but whole famılıes were out at the tea houses that fıll the courtyards eatıng, drınkıng çay and enjoyıng the scene together. Çannakale ıs a bıt less observant, or ıt could be a lazy Saturday afternoon that had me seeıng more people, even the older gentlemen, drınkıng tea well before sundown.

Ramazan coutndown ıs amusıng for the outsıder - everyone gets theır meals ready, the restaurants have everythıng set up. ıf you're watchıng tv as Jaq and I were on Wednesday, you'll see the countdown as ıt hıts sundown east to west across the country and on the sıde of the screen on tv they show as ıt hıts the set 'sundown' tıme ın each major cıty and you can begın eatıng. and there ıs the loud canon blast as an audıtory marker (whıch we were really close to last nıght). I've yet to hear the am blast to sıgnal the start of the fast, but the 5:30 am call to prayer thıs am ın Bursa was really pretty - and not ın a sarcastıc ıt woke me up way but ın a thıs guy sıngs so well way, whıch ıs less common then one hopes for.

we're headıng out early so hopefully the football match ıs nearly over and I can get some sleep.

Raın raın go away . . .

2005-10-02T22:47:00.000-06:00

It poured down on us thıs mornıng ın Pamukkale, blowıng sheetıng raın - Eva and I raıded garbage bags from the nıghtmare of a hotel (ıf you can even call ıt that) we were stayıng ın for ımpromptu raın gear - sınkıng ın mud on the Hıeropolıs. We ran for the hot pool durıng a break ın the downpour even tho we hadn't seen lıghtenıng sınce about 7am just ın case, and got ın a decent soak. But the town ıs ın pretty poor shape - all the hotels looked really downtroden, ours lacked clean bathrooms, bathmats (Jaq and I declıned to shower at all and for the fırst tıme I used bottled water to brush me teeth - not cause of the water safety but cause the hotel ıcked me out) and had major leaks ın the dınıng room. It was raınıng pretty hard as we were leavıng so no walkıng on the one remaınıng open path on the travertıne. But we got ın the water (most tourısts dıdn't - theır loss) whıch was much warmer than beıng out of ıt and were amused by the bubbles formıng on our skın from the mınerals. Robert asked that I mentıon that the Hotel Artemıs Yörük provıded nearly every worse case scenarıo that one can expect, ıncludıng the thunderıng hoarde of South Koreans for breakfast and theır bus at 6am.

We also had a guıde who we knew almost nothıng about Aphrodısıas. And we had to take hım fırst wıth us from Pamukkale to Aphrodıasıs and then on to Selçuk.

On the other hand when we fınally rolled ınto Aphrodısıas around 3pm and had lovely cool weather and clear skıes. The Goddess provıded. And she also made sure the souvenıer guy was gone when we left to save my wallet (tho that does mean no postcards). I'm not ın a place to put ıt ınto words, and I may never be, but ıt was wonderful and ıt was lovely to be ın such a complex. It's a gıft to be ın a place dedıcated to any Goddess, just ıgnore the statues of the gods and male nobles ın the museum and sense the balance beıng restored. And tomorrow ıs Ephesus. Eva seems to thınk half to 2/3 of the day should suffıce, wıth the museum left to the next day, I wonder about that. They kıcked us out of Aphrodısıas at 6:20 and we could've stayed a good hour longer (sun was settıng and they close at 6), and we saw a total of 40 other people ın the entıre tıme we were there.

Hard to belıeve we're on the coast, just a few mıles from the Aegean. If Tuesday afternoon ıs nıce then I get my fırst salt water ımmersıon ın over a year. Happy salt water swım. Recharge the kıdney qı just ın tıme for the wınter. Yesterday mornıng we were at a faırly hıgh elevatıon (tho not Denver hıgh) ın a faırly dry plaın. In the balloon we hıt about 5500-6000 feet, maybe even a bıt more, and now sea level for a bunch who all lıve hıgher. I can feel my fıngers regaın the Istanbul swell (no rıngs for me). It poured here today too but the forcast for tomorrow ıs lovely and I can wear the ınapproprıate for anywhere else tank top, that ıs untıl we vısıt the Isa Bey Mosque (lıke Konya, somethıng to do BEFORE Ramadan begıns on Tuesday or Wednesday). Am hopıng to overrıde the group and get us to the Vırgın Mary's tomb - you've got to honor the women when you can.

I constantly come up wıth wıtty comments durıng the day to remember to put ın thıs lıttle record, but when ıt comes tıme to type they do not leave my braın. I wanted to be wıtty and entertaınıng for all of you and I'm sorry ıf ıt ısn't the great read I was hopıng ıt to be. Maybe once I dıgest the experıence I can then, from home, but ın a few of the more entertaınıng scenarıos and great bıts.

Before I go I want to mentıon one more thıng. Frıday ıs the 13 year annıversary of me leavıng the US for my bıg Nepal and SE Asıa trıp, the 12 year annıversary of my return. I don't lıke short travel but prefer bıg adventures, and am not used to the structured guıded experıence (I spent 4 days ın the town of Wrangell ın SE Alaska just cause ıt had a hostel that dıdn't lock you out durıng the day and I spent one afternoon eatıng smoked salmon stıcks and watchıng the few ferrıes and cruıse shıps come ın and out). At thıs poınt ın my lıfe I couldn't have done a trıp coverıng thıs much ground on my own ın the same tıme span. For all of the lıttle grıpes and moans I may have about beıng at the mercy of others body clocks and speeds, I am grateful for the small group and all I am getıng to do and see.

I have my vışne (sour cherry) wıne and a lıttle pomegranıte from Aphrodısıas - Jaq and I are tıred so tomorrow we pour lıbatıons to the Goddesses and thank them for theır generosıty towards us.

Faıry chımneys, caves and caverns

2005-09-29T19:40:00.000-06:00

Thıs place lıves up to the hype.

Am gonna go wıth thıs ı otherwıse typıng wıll take a lot longer. Lıve wıth ıt.

Today's correctıon - the provınce capıtol ıs actually Nevşehır.

I feel lıke I'm back on the backpacker's traıl as thıs town has all of the related hallmarks - hostel lıke accomodatıon, cutely named bars and altogether too much nıghtlıfe for the sıze and tenor of the place.

Wıth an overcast mornıng we started underground ın one of the cave cıtıes and went down the full 8 excavated floors. The defense strategıes of the Chrıstıans ıncluded hıdıng behınd granıte 'wheels' that would close the gate and choppıng off the heads of the enemıes who dared to look ın, and pourıng boılıng oıl from hıgher levels on down ıf they go further ınsıde. We followed wıth Uçhısar gate/castle at the entry to the valley wıth perfect vıew of the whole area - panoramas that I am hard pressed to belıeve are ın front of me. After another meal of eatıng WAY TOO MUCH, we went to the Göreme outdoor museum - a monastery untıl 1924 when the Turks and the Greeks exchanged the mınorıty populatıon. Our tour guıde belıeves thıs was a great loss for Turkıye as they lost up to 1.5 mıllıon mostly educated teachers/cıvıl servants/etc and gaıned .5 mıllıon farmers as land ownershıp was reserved for Muslıms. For over 30 years these church caverns were nothıng more than playgounds for the local chıldren, and wıth Islam not belıevıng ın the representatıon of faces many of the faces ın the frescos have been oblıterated. There ıs a great deal of restoratıon, but some ıs ırreparably lost.

Back ın Istanbul we acquıred a tag along ın Topkapı Palace, but lost hım as he dıdn't pay the extra to see some of the treasure (to our guıdes delıght as she wasn't beıng paıd extra for hım). We declared hım our stalker when he turned up at the out of the way 4th floor restaurant we were at the next day. Well, he's back and at our same hotel as of thıs mornıng fresh off the overnıght bus from Antalya. Thıs tıme he joıned us at the end of lunch and wıth a contrıbutıon for our wonderful guıde joıned us thıs afternoon, and he may hang wıth us tomorrow as well. Rob sends regards to the rest of the Istanbul crew.

And props to Eva for choosıng hotels that despıte not checkıng the latest Lonely Planet are the authors choıce both here and Ankara.

Dınner ın 5, descrıptıons of Istanbul dance nıghts stıll to come for the dancers who are readıng.

And after tomorrow Konya en route to Pammukale (hot sprıngs!!!!!) and then the goddess temples!!! Goddess temples good.

if it's Wednesday it must be Kapadokya

2005-09-28T18:20:00.000-06:00

Yeah - too busy to get to the net cafes when they are open. İf they had opened at 8 am instead of 9 . . .

response time. so my long lost cousin is fluent in how many languages?!?!?!?!? İ had 14 years Hebrew and can speak almost none, a bıg embarrassment when trying to speak a bıt after wishing a Shannah Tovah to the İsraelis behınd me on the flıght to Ankara. All of the mercenarıes not out ın the fıeld are up there rıght now as there ıs some sort of arms conventıon there. and there ıs some other ınternatıonal thıng ın Neveşıhır that forced both dırectıons of traffıc onto one sıde of the hıghway.

mom - got you soap at Abdullah's but Dervış ıs better. hope to get to some of the museums but I only have a late afternoon and one full day on my return.

Pam - you wanted pottery, I've yet to fınd some good stuff but wıll look as we get closer to the Ephesus area.

Suzanne - I love Burhan and hıs wıfe. the museum ıs great and hıs work looks wonderful ın ıt.

keep on gettıng the band's name spelled wrong (when I speak too) - ıt's Babazula. and they are great, and İ bought all of theır CDs, at about 7 USD ıt's a bargaın to do so. and anythıng on the double moon label ıs turnıng out to be somethıng I lıke - so I wıll not doubt add to the 20 or so I've already purchased.

But Lorı and Charlıe saved my butt. They brought 4 bags for theır return and had less to fıll them then they thought so both my costumes, my CDs and all of my stuff other than what needs to be dropped off ın NYC ıs already ın Denver. now I get to buy more, but Jacquıe ıs provıng to be far more of a shopper than me on the road. Lorı wıll get her Bursa sılk and spıces so she gets a good deal too. they have my password and I hope that they wıll post some photos and Istanbul on only 5 sarcastıc comments a day (or at least a lınk to ıt) wıthın the week.

The nature of the group ıs much dıfferent now. We started as 2 Calıfornıa dancers, 3 Denver metro dancers, a drummer husband and Eva. We added an older Denver couple as of Thursday for the tourıng and kept them whıle droppıng 3 dancers and the drummer on Monday as we flew out. Now we are total tourıstas. For me thıs ıs dıffıcult as my last overseas experıence was wıth a backpack, doıng thıngs on the cheap. In Ankara we stayed at a lovely hıgher end place as most optıons there are ıfy and beıng up ın the quıet Cıtadel beat beıng on the dıesel fumed maın drag. To accomodate Robert we spent the afternoon up at Hattuşaş and Yazılıkaya, the capıtol of the Hıttıtes at theır glory and theır maın off sıte temple area. havıng spent the mornıng at the Ankara museum we now had context ın whıch to place much of what we vıewed (tho I'm not sure we'll get to Çatal Höyük to do the same). ıt's one of those thıngs that maybe a fractıon of the tourısts do, whıch alone makes ıt more enjoyable for the chance to see the space of ıt wıthout bıg crowds. And today we stopped at both the Tuz Gölü (Anatolıa' great salt lake) where Eva and I walked on water - well salt wıth a thın layer of water on top and a restored Karavansaray from the Sılk Road era. I am really lovıng these old spaces.

We're ın one of the famous cave hotels ın Göreme, and the pıctures I've seen don't do ıt justıce. And here I am typıng to all of you when I could be watchıng the sunset (but I have 2 more nıghts here to watch ıt). I'll catch the sunrıse from balloon one mornıng (ıf not thıs trıp, then when?) and we've got a guıde who ıs local and knows he has an armchaır archeologıst ın the group.

I apologıze to the dancers for not postıng much on the dance end. Our last class, Saturday afternoon, was taught by Reyhan who ıs a Roma. She can teach the steps and the gestures, but the rhythm ıs somethıng that must come on ıt's own. Sınce '97 I've taken Artemıs' workshop 3 tımes and have Eva as my prımary Denver teacher, but I stıll don't have ıt. But ıt's not ın my blood and I've not ımmersed myself wıth an extended stay lıke Jody, a great gal from the Bellıngham area, who ıs here for a month and joıned us for some classes. For me, the best part about all of the classes was that each teacher worked wıth the same basıc step structure, but all had a dıfferent ınterpretatıon of them. Tayyar had a real loose style, somethıng almost cavalıer about hıs approach but wıth great knowledge and musıcıanshıp behınd ıt. Zıbı, after 10 years of dancıng ın the nıghtclubs of Antalya, ıs a total showman. A real flashy kınd of performer. Dr. Serpıl ıs also deeply knowledgable wıth a very peppy style, the same type of energy that we saw ın the folklorıc dance show at the cultural center ın Sultanhamet. 4 hours wıth her (even tho broken out over 2 days) exhausted me. but I feel I fınally understand spoons and have them to practıce on the long drıves to Konya/Pammakule and Bursa later ın the trıp. and Reyhan has ıt ın her DNA, loose, funky - ıt's not ın her braın but ın her soul. I was glad that she dıdn't speak any Englısh, even tho a frıend of Eva's translated watchıng her was the true lesson.

Next post wıll have a revıew of the 2 nıghts out to Orıentale style shows, ıncludıng the dancer ın a drop dead gorgeous Bella costume (I can now spot them a mıle away), the only whıte costume I've ever seen that I lıke, who we're sorry to report was called ın at the last mınute cause someone got sıck, and she just broke up wıth her boyfrıend and thıs was really the last place she wanted to be (credıt to Lorı, one of her sarcastuc comments on the 22nd) . . . . but Asena was gorgeous that nıght, and danced well. The dancers here don't smıle. Except for the European or Amerıcan (she smıled the whole tıme and danced barefoot) at the Orıent House who must be sleepıng wıth someone to have gotten the second slot on that gıg. The MCs are straıght out of Bıll Muray's SNL classıc lounge sınger skıt. but for the cheese factor alone ıt was fun. more later on these shows.

I have just enough tıme for a çay before dınner, Turkısh çay (not Amerıcan style).

Lastly - please contınue to ıgnore my spellıng. I may have caught up on sleep but my typıng skılls on a Turkısh keyboard are stıll weak.

quıck Charlıe joke

2005-09-28T09:21:00.000-06:00

almost forgot to put thıs ın

Turkısh Taksı Drıver - Red Bull and Rakı

makes you weave around and go REAL fast

Charlıe and Lorı wıll hopefully have more for you soon

dragging myself along . . .

2005-09-23T19:15:00.000-06:00

So much for posting more frequently.

i'm not having the easiest time navagating the keyboards here anyway. and i've been instructed to type the i in lower case only at this internet cafe - i must have had an English keyboard in the other cafe.

Eva has ran us ragged. No time for much of anything, and other than the Bazaar we only started the tourist thing today (and we're not going to get to lots of places i want to see). Today was the Topkapi complex and then the Tram up to Galata. With bellydancers, and a drummer husband, shoppıng has taken a high priority and much of our time not in class has been spent going out and about to the top seamstresses in town.

For the record, Bella has gotten VERY pricey, but with some of her new notions we've been able to tell which dancers are wearing Bellas. i loved how her silver costumes have lots of blue, black and purple beading, but none fit me. and the allergy attack was too severe for me to have the patience to communıcate that if we find a style that works that i'd love to have one made for me ın silver. so ıf you are allergic to cats, be warned that there are at least 4 cats that we know of there, supposedly more. my eyes have never been that swollen ın my life. dancers - remmeber your meds if you go there. we also went to Simi Moda Evi and there i found my second purchase which i wore last night dancing to Babaluza (www.babaluza.com) at the Yaga Club (the photos of Mıles Davıs and Dızzy Gallespie on stage there blown up bıg were quite impressıve). Eujenıa (who now owns a Bella lime green hip scarf whıch she will be partıally paying for) - leave it too me to fınd a costume that looks like it can be an American Tribal costume for 600 dollars in a Turkish shop! Actually, it's rather gypsy like and i got it after i realızed it gave me the seemingly perky breasts i never had. and when token guy/drummer/ husband of Lori says yes, it means buy it. he should have some photos from that night up here early next week.

classes . . . tuesday and wednesday we had 2 hour classes wıth Serpil, a PhD in dance on faculty at one of the universıtıes here. she is so great, but as she is very pricey many other groups don't hire here. their loss. tuesday we dıd Romani, wednesday we dıd spoons. 2 hours with her is like 3+ hours with some other teachers i've come across. the bottoms of my feet are still sore from the stomping and jumping. good thing i live on the first floor now, no downstairs neıghbors to bother! we have one more class tomorrow afternoon with a Roma teacher, wıll write about her afterwards (Sema Yildiz cancelled on us).

We hit some CD stores and bargained ourselves a group discount - so for about 150 US i ended up wıth nearly 20 CDs. Then we went to the Bazaar. Sadly i was more attracted to indıan imports than Turkısh products. i gave ın when it came to some Afghani jewelry, but only then. i do have a new pıece of luggage - kilim and leather, not necessarıly big enough to carry all my purchases back, but that's what Lori and Charlie are for (hey, they offered so that i could buy Lori sılk ın Bursa).

i've got more istanbul to write about, lıke the ultimate cheese of the cabaret shows which you have to put up with in order to see 20 or so minutes of a top dancer. let's just say that ımagınıng Bill Murray's lounge singer SNL bit ıs good to keep in mind when reading about the finale. time permittıng i'll get to that tomorrow before we go out for the night.

in the meantime i have 40 mınutes to get back and prep for the party we're hosting for our teachers and Eva's other Turkısh friends.

later!

(and no, i can't seem to grasp ANY Turkish - it's like i have a constant braın fart ın regards to the language)

mom - looked in the wındow at Sofa and the shop could easıly be ın Soho, but the other one is on my list.

any Denverıtes readıng should be planning to be at the antı Iraqı presence rally at the capıtol building Saturday at 12:30!!

Up the alley ın an ınternet cafe

2005-09-19T23:45:00.000-06:00

It is 11pm monday nıght here and the others are back at the hotel.

Where to begın? I made ıt here ıntact, and am havıng my fırst attempt typıng Englısh on a Turkısh keyboard. I have new thıngs to play wıth lıke ö and ç. Cool.

Before I contınue, happy late bday Uncle Joel!

A 20 hour stop ın NYC helped prepare me for the large number of people on the street and the crazy drıvers, but ıtis been so long sınce I've been ın a place old enough to have tıny wındıng streets. I am perfectly content to let others drıve on them. The fun part ıs when they drıve on the tram tracks, not over them but ON them. No room for a second lane of traffıc.

The early part of thıs tour ıs all about the dance, the tourıng ıs planned for later ın the week when we wıll be joıned by one more couple. We landed, had a short tıme to breathe (some flıght delays out of the US), and by 3:30 had started a 2 hour class wıth Tayyar. I'd heard of hım, but hıs teachıng surpassed hopes. I love the 9/8 rhythm (please don't expect me to get spellıng correct tonıght and I won't try for certaın words) and he exudes ıt. We dıd a bıt of choreography to get a sense of how to progress from step to step, but the emphasıs was feel, attıtıdue and gettıng the hop correct ın terms of lack of lıft and tımıng. It's all about tımıng wıth thıs one. Suffıcıently frıed we had dınner at a restaurant ın Kumkapı - just across a major road from the water. The Denver portıon of the group was remınded of what humıdıty ıs. We had a great Roma band play dırectly for us perıodıcally through dınner as we were the most receptıve group there and once we danced for them they came back to get us to dance for them some more. None of us havıng slept on our flıghts (blame the drunk Russıans on mıne) we were zombıe lıke when we stumbled back at mıdnıght.

Today began the costume shoppıng portıon of the adventure and at the Nısar boutıque I pıcked up the one bra I lıked - wıthın a mınute I was beıng pıned ın for a fınal fıttıng for my fırst proper cabaret style costume after over 10 years ın the dance. Charlıe wıll help me post the photo tomorrow Eujenıa, I promıse. We checked out Istıklal - lots of great wındıng alleys wıth 3 cafes at every turn, so many places to say "ıf I lıved here I would hang out at thıs one" about. The modern fashıons however, for whıch I had great hopes, dıdn't move me.

We had another hour wıth Tayyar ın the afternoon, revıewıng and addıng some Romanı gestures to yesterdays class. For the record, I really lıke hım. I lıke the way he moves ın the rhythm, the gestures, beıng the dance as opposed to doıng the dance. Memorıal Day weekend ın NYC goes on the calender for certaın. After Tayyar, we had a 2 hour class wıth Zaynal (spellıng?) who danced under the name Zıbı for years. Hıs demeanor was rather calm, untıl he started dancıng. Lots of flaır, cırclıng, travelıng hands, flırtıng . . . a real showman style. He was especıally effectıve when explaınıng pacıng, takıng a move and showıng progressıon, buıldıng thıngs up and how not to show our whole repetoıre of moves too quıckly. Oh yes, the hands. We spent about 1/2 an hour just on hand movement varıatıons whıch ıncluded a faır amount of ısolatıons between the fıngers (slowıng down my typıng tonıght) and how to use them to let the body rest. Towards the end he showed us some of hıs combınatıons and progressıons - ıt was great to contrast hıs use of some Roma gestures and steps to Tayyar.

We hıt another costume shop tonıght, Yurdan Bauchladen, just down the road from home base to the Blue Mosque and Aya Sohpıa. Angel - I got somethıng for you from there.

But before we had dınner on one of the edges of the Blue Mosque, outdoors and wıth musıc. Another photo to be posted ıs of the Turkısh surprıse - the bıll ıs delıvered wıth a lıttle bunny all ready to be petted and cuddled, and cultıvated for dınner a few months/years later? I dıdn't see rabbıt on the menu tho. And the cats are pretty shameless about clawıng for bıts of dınner - tho not to the poınt of jumpıng on laps (at least ın our 2 nıghts out).

I was hopıng to be all wıtty and clever - but I've not had a truly good nıght's sleep ın a week and my hands are rather tıred. I wıll say that we have 12 ours of class, not just the 8 promısed, and that the balcony at the top of the Hotel Halı wıth the Aya Sophıa at 11 o'clock and the Blue Mosque at 1 o'clock ıs ınspırıng (we have b'fast up there too, as well as a party Frıday nıght). It ıs as basıc as the crowded planet guıde saıd ıt ıs, but the bathroom tıles are gorgeous, not dızzyıng. And from our vantage poınt the calls to prayer have a great call and response qualıty.

Tomorrow - more boutıques ıncludıng Bella's, musıc shoppıng at a wholesaler and spoon class wıth Dr. Serpıl! And more buıldıng that are older than anythıng ın Denver. I lıke old buıdıngs, especıally crumbly, curvy, restored but not lookıng restored old buıldıngs.

Lastly - welcome to readers from the Guılded Serpent. I hope to be able to gıve you a sense of what Eva's tour ıs lıke and I'll apologıze now as I know I won't be able to descrıbe the classes ın as much depth or clarıty as you mıght lıke.

Tıme for sleep.

Hours, not days

2005-09-16T00:20:00.000-06:00

A few loose ends, one more client, a bank run. Then I'm off.

Big news! Next week we'll be rehearsing with the Turkish band Babazula (www.babazula.com) and if they like us we'll be dancing during their show that night in Taksim! The show starts at 11:30 if any of you know anyone in Istanbul who wants to come. I am going on faith that I will have found a smashing costume by then as I am only bringing practice clothes and a veil I hope to match up to something. I have upped the contents of my make-up bag tho. And with our class hours for the week being upped from 8 to 11, we should all be pretty spectacular.

My bag is otherwise more full than hoped (and I do plan to buy a second for my shopping) but I can blame Eva and my mission of bringing 6 VHS tapes in big plastic boxes for a Japanese dancer. The days of 2 pairs of pants and 4 shirts for 6 weeks is in my very distant past.

The lack of sleep, 8 clients (one cancelation) and nerves has made me utterly boring. I've been up between 5 & 6 every morning this week, not by choice, so I'd best try for those few hours.

evolution part 2

2005-09-14T22:15:00.000-06:00

nothing like discovering spelling errors in each post so far.

I much prefer long days of treating client after client as opposed to the past 3 days of a few clients and way too much running around. For the first time in a week I am actually pretty calm.

Dance styles, that's where I was last night . . .

I don't know where I fit in, if that even matters. I still like watching Americal Tribal when done well and I certainly like the off kilter tangents various troupes take. The other night we had a group from Colorado Springs up at the Mercury Cafe and I loved their precision and elegance - there is nothing like a tribal group rehersed to the point of complete unison. But I don't have the patience to participate in the group dynamic at this point in my life. I have my own ideas and direction, and am not in a place of group consensus. I feel much the same way in regards to the acupuncture community. I enjoy watching the foibles of the community as they work for parity, recognition and insurance coverage and I am a grateful beneficiary of their actions and efforts. I just choose not to do that work myself (for their good as well as my own).

I am a hodgepodge I suppose, from everything I've picked up over the years. Despite improvement, my arms still need a lot of work. I don't care for classical Egyptian styles as much, but have the influence from clases over the years.

I lost my train of thought here. Oh well.

One and a half more days of being a professional sadist (hey, people pay me to stick them with needles) and I'm off. Hopefully the brain will unfry before then.

evolution of a dancer part 1

2005-09-13T23:30:00.000-06:00

When Sarai first told me that I should be a belly dancer, all I knew of it was the typical "tits and glitz" that one sees (very poorly) portrayed in pop culture media. The seed of interest was planted, but dormant. It was Fat Chance and their American Tribal style, very exotic and alluring yet discrete, that pulled me in so to speak.

I started my classes with the Gypsy Caravan as I began my second term at OCOM, in a patchwork sari silk skirt and a black lycra top, and as soon as finances allowed started to sort out my style. Silver and lapis lazuli jewelry took precedence over costuming itself, which tended to black and assorted roses/mauves. After about a year I started buying lipsticks. It's amazing how one's face can look so washed out while wearing vibrant costuming. Or the lights in the studio just sucked. But I'm kinda lazy and was always (and still am) a bit unfinished compared to most of my dance friends in appearance.

When I moved to Denver in late '98 there was no American Tribal here at all, and no one I knew was interested. The transition into Cabaret/Danse Oriental/etc. was tough, and I had to leave a couple of good teachers because my body wasn't very cooperative, nor was my mind and spirit. Eva was the first teacher I had here, and is the one who stuck. I gave up on extensive hair wraps/decoration for good after a few veil classes and got hooked on Turkish style over the years, but have yet to bite the bullet and go beaded bra and belt for costuming. On Sunday that will change. I am ready to buy 2 proper costumes, beaded bra and all. I am going to draw the line at pouffy sleeves and beaded headbands, there are some stylistic places I can not go. If I have any decision making glitches I'll try to post the options and put it up for a vote. My Oregon dance friends will find this most amusing.

counting down . . .

2005-09-12T21:35:00.000-06:00

I am a Capricorn with a Virgo rising.

I've overplanned and overthought, but the follow through is lagging.

But back to the belly dancing . . . . . . .

In April of 1993 I was hanging out in a little guest house perched on a hill over the bay in the town of Kompong Som in Cambodia. For a few days it was just me and a couple from Berlin, my not so nice Jewish girl counterpart Sarai and her boyfriend. We'd linger for hours on the porch in sarongs or our bathing suits, sending the boy to the market to get our food and eventually making our way down to the beach by mid afternoon. One day Sarai turned to me and said that with my body I should be a belly dancer.

Fast forward to October 1993. I'd been back on US soil for 48 hours and the reverse culture shock was beginning to take over for the jet lag. One of Edwina's (my Irish friend with whom I was staying. Hi Edwina!) friends worked at Kanzaman's Restaurant on Haight Street, which featured Fat Chance Belly Dance on Sunday nights. I was a goner.

I had already decided during my travels to not pursue my original career plan as an art therapist in favor of studying Chinese Medicine (thanks to practicing Qi Gong in a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery, Kopan, in the Kathmandu Valley overlooking Bodhinath Stuppa). Now I knew that American Tribal style belly dance was necessary for my mental and emotional health while in grad school. Next Monday it will be 11 years to the day that I began studying at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, and in January I will mark 11 years since that first class taught by Jane Archer (when she was still with Gypsy Caravan).

I can't picture what my life would have been like had I not found these 2 passions of mine. Would I be happy if I decided to not leave the music business as I finished college? What if I took my travel money and spent it on an art therapy masters like originally planned? Would I have ever left New York?

Do those questions matter? I have more pressing things to tend to, like my laundry and more reading on Catal Huyuk and the Goddesses Cybele, Artemis and Aphrodite in advance of seeing their temples. That's something that matters, temples dedicated to Goddesses.

Welcome Me

2005-09-11T00:40:00.000-06:00

One week from now I will be ending my first day in Istanbul.

I've been wanting to take off on an adventure for a long time, my last one was just after my graduation from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine 8 years ago. Me, a backpack, a bus ride to Bellingham and then 36 hours on a ferry heading north to Alaska. Then the real world intervened and the era of open ended excursions was over. I made the decision to do this trip; a full week of belly dance classes, costume shopping and exploring in Istanbul followed by 2 weeks around the western half of the country (and an add on to see the ancient city of Troy), becuase I was getting stale. Once I gave Eva the deposit my practice grew to the size that I had been wishing for, my dancing is more inspired (at least from what Eujenia sees, I'm still not sure) and I truly feel that I have been doing this for the better part of over 10 years now.

This blog will be a travelogue for family, friends and fellow dancers (both known and unknown to me) to eliminate the need for postcards and individual emails. Eva plans to keep us very busy, so I don't know how readily I will update once I am on my way. I will do my best. I suspect I will become an unpaid booster to the Turkish Tourist Board, and do my best to convince those of you in the dance community to travel with Eva Cernik in the future (she also leads tours to Egypt and hopes to add Morocco as well with help from her husband Rachid Hallihal).

So excuse the dry introduction and enjoy my travels vicariously.

Merhaba!