F is for Feet

F is for Feet
Originally uploaded by Cyndiva.

You cant's see it from the photo, but these are Croc heels - Cyprus to be exact. I couldn't get a photo of my own feet in them I liked enough to show.

As I mentioned in the photo caption, I love my Crocs. I wear almost nothing else. This began about a year and a half ago, when I herniated a disc in my back, and I had to find shoes that I could stand and walk in for any length of time that just didn't kill me. Thankfully now I can wear just about any shoes again, but I still tend to return to my Crocs, usually the Maryjane styles - as they are comfy, easy to slip on, and they give a bit of arch support. Me likey. Have I said that yet? :D

That performance high

Wow, the opening gala performance for the Long Center was an amazing thing. I only wish we got to see more of it -- but our group was the actual finale, so we weren't even backstage until almost halfway through. I'd seen bits during rehearsals all week, but not the whole thing put together. If anyone hears of a recording of this concert (especially video - I want to see the ballet bits particularly), let me know, please!! :D

Overall the evening went spectacularly: we got to see Tommy Tune backstage, and I noticed a few other VIPs in the audience as well. There was one gentleman in the balcony box that made me grin - he was so into the music that he stood up almost immediately during the reprise to clap along (the entire audience stood several times - it was great!) and waved happily down at us. He looked very familiar and yet was far enough away that I wish I know for certain who he was. When we did get offstage and mingle, everyone was really complimentary, so I think that the whole crew did a fantastic job - ALO, Wesley, Conspirare, the Austin Symphony and all our wonderful directors.

Many MANY heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful people who made it possible for the Long Center to be completed. Without your donations, none of this would have been possible.

The last rehearsal is over - the gala is tomorrow night... And right now 500 cars are all trying to get out of the same garage exit.

More fun with plumbing

Well in the past week I have definitely learned more about bathroom plumbing than I knew before -- and I thought I already knew more than I would ever need.

Apparently they did not replace my diverter stems yet (just the ones upstairs), and it does look like they are part of the leaking problem -- and they will recheck the ones next door as well. The maintenance guy that came to take another look today noted that even though it didn't happen while I had any water running, it can take a while for water to drain through the pipes, so it may still be my stems at issue. Even so, most of the wetness shows up when I am not even home, so they are going to once again check my neighbors' pipes for any additional signs of leakage. Seriously, I am so over this. They are going to try to have this all resolved by tomorrow, so once again, we shall see...

Happy Easter, y'all!

He is risen, He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

It's been an interesting week. I've been fighting with a water leak of some sort all week long - and maintenance has yet to fully resolve it, which makes me think that the source is either a pipe in the wall (icky) or a something in a neighbor's apartment (also icky, but probably easier to solve). They've already replaced diverters in three units (including mine) and the angle stop in mine, and supposedly fixed my toilet (including a recaulk job) although it is once again off balance. No joy: there is still water seeping in somehow, but I'll be danged if I can figure out a pattern to when it happens. It really does not seem to be affected by any water usage I specifically have in my bathroom so I am even more inclined to believe that the source is outside my apartment. I just really truly want them to fix it soon. Not that I think that anyone is actually going to come over here on Easter Sunday afternoon, since it is not a massive flowing leak.

Contrary to popular belief, I have been getting some knitting done - not much, but a little. I've been working mostly on a shawl for my grandmother (still) and on a Leia hat that was commissioned. I only have one bun left of the hat; they take a surprisingly long time to knit, but I need to get it finished up here in the next week or so. Since I'll have rehearsals every night this week, I'll take the hat with me and work on it every chance I get in between sets.

Right now I am just working on not being in a food coma -- went out earlier with a couple friends for a fabulous Easter lunch at Fujiyama. It's a Japanese steakhouse, of the sort where you sit at a table with a grill and the cooking of the meal is part of the entertainment. The sushi is great, the sake is great, the rest of the food is fantastic, and Sapporo is a wonderful chef! Props to Kon for running a such a wonderful restaurant.

Fifteen empty tables in the coffee shop, and the person holding a loud cell conversation sits at my table and continues to talk. Yay.

How the heck did this happen?

Oy. And you may quote me. I've spent a good portion of today cleaning house (the sound you just heard was the peanut gallery going wild), and I still have so much left to do.

A friend recently asked me if I was a hoarder. To understand the question, you'd need to know that I do have a collection of over 400 movies (DVDs and videos) and close to that many CDs, some vinyl, video games, and a large library. I am also a serial crafter - knitting and crocheting are my two main outlets, but I also bead and weave, and have done others in the past. Most of the crafts that I no longer pursue I have trimmed out of my stash - giving away materials to friends who would use them or throwing away materials that cannot be re-used. However, the amount of STUFF in my domicile has reached (to me) critical mass. No, I am not in danger of being engulfed by pile of stuff in my sleep - and there is in fact more floor space visible than just small walkways (all reports to the contrary are exaggerations, however well-deserved).

After the time I've spent cleaning today, I think I can define my problem in a wa. I've never considered myself a hoarder, and I still don't -- although I will admit to some pack rat tendencies, simply because some things really do seem like they'd be useful at some nebulous future time. Eh, those things just don't make up a large part of my STUFF. As a matter of fact, the things that take up the most space around here don't even seem to be STUFF at all -- rather, it is the packaging for the STUFF that I need to toss but haven't or those stacks of mail and receipts I need to shred but haven't yet... In other words, my careless procrastination. Add to that the fact that I just don't spend that much time at home (always rushing to rehearsal, heading off to work, teaching a class, going to this interest or that) to actually clean up after myself and little bits build up rather quickly.

Somehow I doubt that I'll ever turn into a complete neat freak, but if I can apply the same theory to this that I am to my weight loss perhaps I can at least turn some of my habits around. It's the little things - like not setting bags down in the entry way when I get home, and not just kicking my shoes off and leaving them there. I'm purging the parts of my collections that I am not using -- the movies that I no longer watch, the clothes that no longer fit, the shoes I don't wear -- to regain control of my space. I've been in the process of the purge for a while, but I think I need to get the whole thing down to a system.

I'm also adding to my daily log the amount of time I spend cleaning - or at the very least what I've managed to accomplish around the house. Since keeping track of what I've been eating and when has helped me a great deal to change my patterns in a more healthy fashion, it stands to reason that I should be able to effect a similar outcome in my housecleaning habits. We shall see...

E is for Eternal Flame

E is for Eternal Flame
Originally uploaded by Cyndiva.

Just under the wire...

This is the Eternal Flame -- the candle that burns permanently to remind us of God's presence in the church and His love for us. Unfortunately I can no longer locate the LCMS article on the meaning of the candle, but I did find this wikipedia article which explains it reasonably well. Every Lutheran church that I know of (and for that matter, Catholic to my knowledge) burns an eternal flame, as part of our directive from God to keep His Light burning. As this directive actually comes from Old Testament Law (Exodus 27:20-22 and Leviticus 6:13 among others), I believe you can find one in most if not all Jewish places of worship as well.

Happy of the insane variety

I just put on a pair of shorts without thinking about it. After I looked in the mirror to check the outfit, I realized that this is a pair I accidentally bought too small without double-checking the tag one day when I was in a hurry, and then never returned. They were only a little too small - enough so that I'd have to suck it in and deal with muffin-top if I wanted to wear them, so they got relegated to the dresser drawer. This morning I was in a hurry (and yet I take time to blog, heh) and grabbed a pair... and what do you know, they fit!

As of today I am only 3.5 lbs away from my short term goal - and that due date is Easter Sunday. Earlier this week I had plateaued and it looked like I might not get there, but now hope is shining once again. Yay! Now if I could only convince my body that it is okay to lose the inches in the upper torso region so I can once again find bras in styles I like...

Okay - this whole spring forward thing bites. That is all.

Saturday Fun

Dooce and Blurb at Halcyon
Originally uploaded by Cyndiva.

Every year I want to make plans to go to South by Southwest and every year I get thwarted - the cost combined with timing and other obligations generally mean I can't make it to the festival.

However, I did get to a few meet-ups this weekend because of SxSW -- first up was meeting Dooce and Blurb at Halcyon this morning. I've been reading Heather's blog for about three years or so and it's cool to finally meet the couple behind the stories.

I also got down to the Flickr meet-up at the Cathedral of Junk. A lot of talking there, plus networking and chatting at another event afterwards and it is good to be home now. Especially since I haven't had a real meal all day.

The networking really gave me a better appreciation for my current job. It's fun to talk with a lot of people in fields related to yours about what they do every day -- and several people mentioned how much they needed someone with my skill set. That's an ego boost right there, I tell ya. Unfortunately most of the people I was talking to were from offices in San Francisco, but if I ever decide to pack up and move west, I've got some contacts to start hitting up for jobs....

That reminds me

Something else I saw at the mall...

...a window ad that read: the legs start at the waist. This accompanied by mannequins wearing high-waisted pants that started just below the bust-line. My friends, if your legs start at your boobs, you are not formed normally.

Baby, it's cold outside

...but I've got my fuzzy slippers on so to heck with everything else. Actually, it isn't that cold out there at the moment - only about 56 degrees Fahrenheit, but it'll be getting down below freezing later. By then I plan to be snugged up in bed with a good book.

Since I've been feeling the dizzies even more the last few days, I hadn't gotten my walking totals in. My current daily goal is up to 7000 steps a day and this week I've only been doing about 5-6k daily --- previous weeks I'd been doing good about averaging 500 to 1000 steps over my daily goal. The walking program I started 4 weeks ago actually suggested I start at 4k a day and increase 500 each week, but I was already doing over 5k a day so I started there. Today I was so tired after work I almost came home to nap but instead I decided to go ahead and hop down to the mall to force myself to get more walking in to make up some of that slacking I'd been doing :) --- 30 min and about 5k steps there brought my daily total up to about 11k. I feel a lot better, too - still a bit of a headache, but it has been one heck of a week. That does not mean I can slack off the rest of the weekend, though...

Oh, goodness -- I am watching Amnesia while I type up this entry, and the guy that is on tonight is a card. He's dancing in the isolation booth like he is on display. Which I suppose, technically, he is.

At any rate, while I was at the mall I saw the Easter Bunny sitting on his throne, looking very sad. Not one child came to get their picture taken with him while I was watching. You know, that doesn't hurt my sensibilities at all. In fact, it restored my sense of rightness with the world.

It's still Lent, but Happy Easter, y'all.

R.I.P., Gary

I think xkcd probably did the best comic tribute I've seen, although I've seen quite a few good ones out there from my fave web strips this week...

Ah, home

I really love that we're going to get to perform at the opening gala for the Long Center. This is going to be a fabulous experience. The music has been especially arranged for the occasion and the WUMC intergenerational choir and ALO are singing along with us - there will be a TON of people on stage.

But it is still nice when rehearsal is finally over so I can come home and go to bed.

Shiny!!

Your results:
You are Derrial Book (Shepherd)

Derrial Book (Shepherd) 85% Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 80% Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 70% Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 70% Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 70% Inara Serra (Companion) 55% Wash (Ship Pilot) 50% River (Stowaway) 45% Alliance 35% Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 30% A Reaver (Cannibal) 0%

Even though you are holy you have a mysterious past.

Click here to take the Serenity Personality Quiz

D is for Dinosaur

D is for Dinosaur
Originally uploaded by Cyndiva.

Originally I was going to make D for Down the garden path, as I was wandering through the Zilker Botanical Gardens. The gardens are of course on a hill, as is all of Austin, and you start at the top and wander down into it as you go.

One of the sections is a prehistoric garden, however, and there they've placed this handsome fellow, who has ever so naughtily suborned the letter for the day. So here you have it - D is for Dinosaur.

PSA

I just have to take a moment to give many thanks for the greatness that is Boston Market. Yes, I realize that sounds odd, but when you find yourself suddenly in need of a real meal, there aren't a whole heck of a lot of fast choices that will give you a good serving of protein plus veggies in a palatable (well, to me) form. I've been doing pretty good about finding decent quick protein options, and even fruit, but I haven't been getting enough veggies. It's especially tough on evenings when I'm rushing from work to rehearsal or to teach a class with no time to stop between.

Perhaps someday soon my metabolism will stabilize itself (or something) and I'll know when I'll be hungry and can plan accordingly, instead of random "ohmygodIhavetoeatNOW" moments. Snack bars just don't cut it. :D In the meanwhile, I am very thankful for Boston Market. Cheers!