November 01, 2005, 10:55 p.m.
This is a somewhat disparate entry, so bear with me.
This weekend I went to Napa for Halloween and it *rocked*. It was so much fun, I couldn't believe it. First, I got to hang out with Nicole, which I always love. I think the thing I miss most about her is her laugh. Occasionally we get into laughing fits and it just makes me so happy. Second, we went to a kickin' Halloween party in St. Helena, a teeny little town up valley. Who would have thought that Napa would be able to throw such a fiesta? Among others there were 8 female cops, a musketeer from the Three Musketeers, 3 convicts complete with orange jumpsuits, a Grecian princess, a fireman, and 2 French maids (I was one of them). The music was awesome (they played a remix of "Prince of Bel Air", and they had jello shots. Can a party get any better? I submit that it cannot! ;)
The next day we went wine tasting, which was picturesque and charming. The scenery really is stunning, and a tall glass of pink champagne on an empty stomach will get you buzzed. :) The only problem was that all of us forgot our cameras. :( Oh well, we'll just have to go again.
On the Buenos Aires front, it looks like I'll be able to find an alternative solution. I'm technically in touch with three Universities, two of whom seem serious about the possibility of admission, and I've spoken to some former Rotary scholars who assured me that 1) it's weird that di Tella rejected me, and 2) that schools down there often have informal, rolling admissions policies so I should be fine. I feel much better about this, although it's getting quite expensive. Sending and faxing documents to Argentina has so far added up to nearly $200. *sigh*
Because I think some of you have been wondering, a typical day for me goes something like this:
11am: Wake up, eat breakfast (smoothie with Odwalla protein drink, banana, yogurt, and ice; bowl of Cheerios, mostly for the iron), pack lunch
11:40am: Bike (mostly uphill) to my gym
Noon: 1-hour Weights class
1:15pm - 4:40pm: Go to café near my gym, eat my packed lunch (whole wheat tortilla roti roll with curried sweet potatoes; dried fruit and nuts; apple) and work on essays for EssayEdge
5pm: 1-hour Pilates class (if you don't know what Pilates is, imagine doing all the abs exercises you hate - like bicycles and leg lifts - for an hour straight)
6pm: Shower at the gym, bike home, eat quick dinner (salad with serving of tuna fish, toasted sunflower seeds, and goat cheese; orange; teaspoon of peanut butter and raisins for dessert)
7:30pm: Leave for tango, either on public transport or with a ride.
8:15-9:30pm: Tango lesson
9:30-Midnight: Tango practica
12:30am-1:30am: Finish any outstanding essays and sometimes call my Mom
So days are usually exercise, essays, exercise, tango. And just to show you how confusing it can be for me at tango (as in, it's confusing, I'm not just making it up). Comments from leads last night:
Lead #1: "You're as good as women who have been dancing for 4 years."
Lead #2: (exasperated) "Don't lean. Whatever you do, don't lean. See, when I do that you draw back like a cat, so I don't do it. I lead you especially light because you lean."
Lead #3: "You're doing quite well for only dancing 3 months."
Luckily, Lead #1 is an 8 on a 10-point scale of talent and experience, and Lead #2 is holding steady at a 5, so who do we believe more? Lead #3 is around a 6.
Things I've noticed about training:
- I sleep really, really well. My head hits the pillow and I'm out for a night of deep sleep. I rarely wake up during the night and I rarely dream, but when I do it's vivid.
- I can feel my tummy getting tighter. Not necessarily flatter, if that makes sense, but tighter. The exercises we do in Pilates are getting easier, for example. I'm definitely getting stronger.
- I'm hungry all the time. That's not really true, but it is true that I have a deep hunger a lot of the time, like even if I eat it isn't satisfied. I don't really know how to describe it better than that.
- Ashtanga yoga kicks my ASS. I did it the other day and then went to hang out with Cindy and could barely handle walking to the deYoung museum. I was destroyed. It's the kind of yoga Madonna does and claims it's the only exercise she does -- no freaking wonder as it makes you sweat, stretch, burn, crouch, push-up, balance, and never stop moving unless you're in a really frickin' hard pose.
- OK, it's official. I fit a size 6 and the occasional size 4, officially rendering practically all of my pants obselete. I hate belts but I'm going to have to start employing them or my bottoms will be falling off me. Let me rephrase: they are already falling off me, I will need to begin using a belt to keep them from falling off. Both my top AND bottom kept creeping down last night at tango, it's really unacceptable. Luckily, I skipped ballet today and went to Goodwill to buy some clothes that actually fit.
An especially cute e-mail from my sister:
So I am in class right now, but there happens to be wifi, and we are
moving INCREDIBLY slowly, omg, haha...I must present a scenario real
quick, be right back.
Anyway I wanted to write you a note real quick b/c I don't think I
have expressed enough enthusiasm for your pursuit of becoming a
professional dancer. As in I am VERY enthusiastic, and sooo proud of
you, and haven't bothered to tell you about it. I of course, am
totally understanding of everything that is scary about it and am
therefore all the more amazed/impressed/excited about your plans. And
of course being the intellectual that you are you have gone about
planning your ascent into dancerhood beautifully. O.k. class is ending
now..so I must go, we shall discuss this more later, love you!
We are going to hawaii!
-Kenda
Also I just have to share that all I want to do right now is curl up and read harry potter but instead i need to review for the berlitz language exam that i need to take tomorrow morning, which i've been putting off and really am not looking forward to.... i think it's gonna be really hard and i'm not going to do well. you know me, always the optimist. why didn't i do this right when i got back!? oh yeah cause i was looking for a place to live and changing the direction of my life. ok, wish me luck!
Language spot:
From a Rotary person:
"Please advice me if you can make it on the 17 th or any other day that is good for you."
and to end with, a few excerpts from my friend Sarah's blog:
5... 5 minutes ago, I was lying on my bed, browsing around on the internet, finding this site about an invented language, 5 hours ago, I was driving a tractor, bringing home bags of silo from the fields, 5 days ago, I was getting drunk at Sher-e-Punjab (you where there too? Sorry, I can't remember :-D), 5 months ago, I had just started living a new life, working in an NGO in Bombay and sharing an apartment with strangers that became friends, 5 years ago, I spent my week of autumn holidays from college in a gymnastics camp.
ok well i just had to copy this idea right now cause it's so cool. only i'll go with 6, why not?
6...
6 minutes ago, i was stirring a big pot of lentil soup i just made and trying to review spanish in my head; 6 hours ago, i was just arriving home after a stint in a café, actually writing this blog entry; 6 days ago, i was at Cellspace, the alternative milonga (tango dance), in fishnets and a short skirt; 6 months ago, i was in Barcelona, about to leave Europe through Geneva and Paris, after a year spent researching, writing, looking for work, teaching English, spending time with friends in the UK, and let's be honest, "finding myself"; 6 years ago, i was in the middle of the first semester of my last year in high school. i had figured out what i wanted to write for my stanford application and was worried about who to go to prom with.
her other entry that i liked:
"born in the richest country in the world, but having to earn my own money I used the freedom my buying power gives me, and left... far far away, searching for new ideas, new experiences to form myself, what you need when you feel stuck in what you know all too well. far I went, crazy things I've experienced, from the first moment to the last, people, discussions, food, strangers, friends, streets, trains, houses, mountains, cities... only to find out how the urge to go far far away can turn into missing home.
still, I'm happy for everything that happened, it has helped me grow."
