... a deviant path is the only way ...

Well, I had another dream about my teeth falling out (I hate those! I even asked myself in the dream if I was dreaming!), so I think that instead of going to Mexico for dental work midway through the Arizona show, I'm going to see about going before I open up the chocolate shop.

I just downloaded a Sega Genesis emulator... looking forward to playing some nostalgia games. And I got a $10 tripod from craigslist, which will make recording spinning much easier. Though I'd like to make an adjustment to my fire chains so I can switch out my fire heads with blue glow poi.

My 2 year contract is up, and now I get to look into getting a new phone/plan. Does anyone have any recommendations/suggestions? One of my primary considerations now is my laptop - I've heard of some people having a plan where they can plug their phone into their laptop and connect to the web like that (or something to that effect anyway) - do any of you lovely people have any experience with plans like that? I'd much rather just have one plan like that than have to have two separate plans, one for my phone and one for internet.

Have a great day, and year, all!

I had fun at the potluck last night, and all my apple cider was consumed. I now have a glass gallon jug and am going to start looking up some hard cider recipes, so maybe I can make use of it.

I spun fire twice while there. I did tangle once and needed to drop my right poi (Eee! Freaky!). However, Linnea said I did super good for it being only my second and third time spinning fire, so I felt all warm and squishy.

One of the folks there mentioned the possibility of us spinning at Sadisco. It wasn't until after I had relayed the news back to the others that I realized I didn't remember his name, and when we found out, my gears started turning... "Wait a minute... isn't that the name of starlyn_monster's boyfriend...?" Only I was having a brainfart and couldn't remember her name until I was driving home/to the Tempe drum circle, and didn't want to just be like, "Um... wierd question, but do you have a girlfriend who is really into tea ceremonies?" Sorry, starlyn_monster.

So... yeah. The next Sadisco is on Christmas Eve, and I may be spinning fire there. Costume? Choreography? Eee! What do I do?!

I spun a lot at the drum circle also, figured out some neat combos I can do, figured out what I can't do with my eyes closed, and let a lot of people play with my poi, including one interesting fellow who actually knew how to spin well.

I picked up A Feast for Crows at the library today! Yay!!! I've also finished Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. Fanny rocks; I would have given in under all that pressure.

'Tis the season to raid my savings account and buy Hanukkah gifts. Of course, I only know what I'm buying for a couple people. I'm going to hope that for basketball games, halfway to the back in the upper section and dead center is better than halfway back in the lower seating but directly behind one of the baskets.

I'm coming up on 120k miles on my car - that means a new belts! Wheee! When I got my oil changed, they did a very thorough visual inspection, and pointed out that my power steering belt is cracked. So, once HRBlock training wraps up next week, I'm going to work through Adecco until the tax season gets rolling in Jan, and that should cover that.

I've been looking into fire deities, as when I did my first burn I felt awkward with lacking any knowledge whatsoever, and have realized that honoring Pele is definitely the way to go for fire poi, instead of going Classical, as that's what I generally feel more comfortable with.

I'm also starting to listen to music with a thought towards choreographing something for a specific piece. So far, I really like Pistolero by Juno Reactor (I have no idea which remix) - it varies between slow with lots of places where I could stall a lot, and a good fast pace that I'm comfortable with. I'm not very keen on the idea of spinning to music that has a steady 10 billion BPM through the whole song. However, for Pistolero I'd want to try and figure out how to pull off an Old West looking dance, so it might have to wait until I've choreographed a few other dances and have some sort of clue of how to go about it.

The roach population in the apartment is greatly reduced, I feel accomplished.

In the next week I'm going to try and hit more dancing things - belly dancing classes to try and get more comfortable with that, the local SCA group has their last dance practice of the year next week, and there's even a local ceili next Friday, woo!

HRB looks positive. I'll have 10 on the job training hours this week, and then next week is the start of Peak hours. It looks like I have a good chance of learning the electronic transfer system, and/or working as a "preparer's assistant," basically data-entering W-2's, 1040's, and that sort of thing, leaving the preparers to conduct the interview proper.

I finished my new bodice. I have no slack at the waist, the bust is a little loose, and there're some wrinkles where I didn't match things up just right, but nothing horribly obvious.

I did some awesome new things with my poi. Tali showed me a neat thingy where you spin the poi asynchronously over your head, and occasionally dip them under your arm, and I figured out how to do that, yay! I also was able to spin a bit behind my back!! I can't do anything too impressive yet, but I at least can cross both hands behind at once, and bring them back (ie, a basic X-cross) without hitting myself in the head or calves *too* much.

The drum circle this last weekend was interesting, as I witnessed my first ever almost-fight... ( details... )

socraticlaughtr showed me around downtown Tempe/Mill Avenue last night... coffee, resale, import, and head shops, with only a passing glance for all the big name retailers and restaurants. We ended up at the weekly drum jam, where Tempe's youth congregate, dance, drink, and, of course, jam. Homeless, transient, and other at-risk youth make up a large percentage of the attendees, and I was tickled pink to realize I could be considered part of that number.

Because of the Fiesta Bowl, there were a fair amount of tourists there (and I use that in the worst sence of the word), people rudely taking pictures of their family/friends against a backdrop of drummers, for example. One man stood out because he started pushing a nearby violinist to go and play in the center of the group, going so far as to interrupt the drummers to ask them if Corey could play in their midst. I spoke to him briefly - he was elitist who assumed that it didn't take any talent to hit a drum, and that someone playing a violin automatically has more talent than the half-dozen or so drummers put together. Corey was cool - turns out he just arrived in town himself, touring the country in a van with 2 others, playing gigs and busking as they go.

It is thoroughly something from Bordertown, and I could easily see the people there in the Dancing Ferret.

... Found a few more stories from Bordertown, this one, this one, and this one (7 parts).

Also a genaric review, and a role playing guide by Terry Windling.

*gasps* Oh my god! I found an audio sample of For It All!!!! I've wanted to hear this song for years!!!!! Since 1996!!!