29 posts tagged “stuff”

i have a roomful of < > and nothing to show for it..

Jun 3, 2009
3 comments

Well.. i have lost my last dance contest. truly, i could lose a lot more if i really put my mind/money to it, but i'm done shoving money at impossible dreams, and i'm ready to start shoving money at merely improbable dreams.

i spent the last couple months training 'hard' for the camp jitterbug jack and jill. Yes, i could have trained harder.. but i don't have a partner, and i don't exactly have the money to supplement that kind of practice with private lessons. I'm not at all disappointed with my effort.. i did ok. and i had fun dances, and i didn't actually expect to make finals, let alone place. it's just not my contest anymore...

i'm not a dancer, i'm a person who dances. and the difference is huge.

so anyway, i feel strangely ok about moving on to bigger or smaller or better or worse things.. for now i think i will throw myself into running and yoga:: two things you can still excel at, even as an 'old' person. I will still dance and teach locally, and probably hit the occasional regional event, but i don't think you'll see me at a dance camp again. a penny saved....

we're saving for a house. actually we've been saving, for a while.. at least since i found myself rather remarkably out of debt. however, it's going to take another few years before i'm comfortable with the downpayment we've saved, and i think when my lease is up in November, we will find a rental (house) to call home for the next few years.. any suggestions? i want somewhere i can ride a bike. ideally, in nashville.

ok well.. i'll make a better effort to post more. i can't promise anything.. night shift has just about killed any entertaining things that might make it into a blog. but.. will try

i don't know what happened to the weekend.

Mar 9, 2009
3 comments

well it's 6 ish am and i'm not sleeping. have had some difficulty the last few days getting more than three hours sleep at a time, which is a bitch. sleeping is one of my greatest pleasures, and until this weekend, one of my greatest talents. However I've caught up with every blog i read, every episode of House, Lost, and Fringe that i have missed, and read TWO magazines cover-to-cover. if that is in fact, productive at all.

This weekend was about what I expected. Altho, my 8-mile run on saturday was a -lot- easier than i expected it to be, probably due to all the other training i've been doing. Speed-work really does improve your running... just like all the magazines say! I'm going to do more of it.

that was really boring. i'm sorry you had to sit thru that right there.

I'm in the slightly annoying clutches of a low-level anxiety attack. I don't know if you can call it 'attack'.. when it lasts for days before finally maturing into a full-fledged Mood Swing from Hell. so ridiculous. right now i'm just short of breath and a little edgy. it definitely could be worse-- for everyone.

what if this is the new me? I thought i had a handle on this shit, working out regularly, etc, but now i'd say i spend at least half the time feeling this way. and just about to give up caring..

for now anyway.

since i learned my protein intake is low, i've been supplementing everything with soy protein powder. which means if i do ever spawn anything from my own girlie nether-regions, it will probably have man-boobs.

oh, and next time i tell you that i'm going out dancing at the clubs on a saturday night with people a decade younger than i am, please remind me that my ass is way too big and way too old for that kind of nonsense.

way.

Officer, Officer, Officer...

Feb 23, 2009
2 comments

This weekend i was pulled over twice (and stopped once in my parking lot) within 15 minutes by concerned police officers letting me know my headlight was out. The first time I had no idea what I could have done wrong, but i was so tired, I thought it could be possible i sped or ran a light or something.. possible.. but not likely.

Nope. Just Officer Friendly encouraging me to get the light fixed. after freaking me out a bit and taking my license, insurance and registration back to his car for a gander.

Umm otherwise.. what an EXHAUSTING weekend. The farmer's market dance was a raging success.. we must have had.. probably 30 people there, and most everyone stayed the whole time. we got a lot of questions and a ton of people watching us.. including one older woman in a silver-sequined hat. she looked... like a jazz age superstar. awesome.

Farmer's market costs me $20 per saturday, currently once monthly. not a sizeable expense, unless you factor in the four-hundred dollars I spotted to chip in for the portable PA system.. It has been suggested that our local swing dance organization can undertake the cost of this event, but it really got me thinking about it; i don't want to give it up, at least not until it's sustainable, until it's a staple both in the swing dance community and in the farmer's market community. we aren't there yet. I'm also wary of people with other motives setting up any kind of 'policy' i don't agree with. Right now, our 'policy' is.. Music. No announcements, no marketing.. just music and dancing and we have some flyers out if people want them. We stay in our space, we are respectful of the area, and we clean up after ourselves. I have seen lindy hoppers take advantage of their venues too many times.. and this particular buck stops with me.

A guy I know helps his brother run a restaurant/bar here in nashville. I was talking to him about farmer's market and dancing in public spaces, etc, and he mentioned that swing dancers are among the worst customers he's ever had. In fact, he used to host a regular swing dance at the restaurant, but lost so much money, he had to stop it. says he:

"every time they flush the toilet, it costs me money"

I don't think i've ever thought of that, but he's right. Dancers think they're doing their part just to show up and 'support the band' and provide part of the entertainment for the evening. They forget that it takes just as much in terms of waitstaff and resources to host them at the venue as it does an eating, drinking, paying customer. But dancers are frequently underage, and more often, broke, and they stick to water. right there.. this makes them an unattractive customer, and it's no surprise we can never find a real club to host a swing night.

Farmer's market hasn't made any kinds of demands on us, but we have, i think, contributed a fair amount of business to the event. there's a variety of inexpensive food and drink, so it's easy to afford.. and we do get hungry.

well. i'm tired. I should try to stay up another 3 hours, but i'm not sure that's gonna happen. i think i'll have some tea and head up to bed to snuggle next to my warm and lovely boyfriend.

""create""

Feb 16, 2009
5 comments

I KNOW I KNOW.

i've been away for no better reason than, i was on facebook telling people 16 and then 25 random things about myself. if this keeps up, soon enough there will be nothing random about me at all. it will all be, simply, the most pedestrian and common details of the wide-open book that is my life.

ew.

i think i will start a policy of lying on facebook. half of what i say will be true, half will be false... just to keep it real. (which is funny because 'real' would seem to imply 'truth' but, come on.. reality doesn't always involve actual facts, in fact i bet it does even less than half the time). so, keeping it real, or real-ish.

25 random (truthful) things about the last XXX days i've been MIA

a) I started out keeping tabs on (what's left of) my neighborhood but eventually stopped looking. Not because i didn't care, but because it was sort of like one of those bad breakups where you know you've been unfair and you just don't want to deal with the aftermath, so you avert your gaze.

b) there was no aftermath

c) i'm ok with that. Vox (unlike facefuck) allows me the opportunity to peek in on your lives without feeling it necessary to comment on every. miscellaneous. fucking. thing. you do. e.g:

---Jane Doe is tired.

---Jim Beam found his keys.

---Spe Lunkin became a fan of spam.

d) <related> i'm back on night shift. While this is totally crushing to my social life, it works miracles on my 'antisocial' life, which means.. hellloooo my vox lovers <purr purr purr> do you still love me???

e) I'm sick again. i swear to GOD swing dancers are like kindergartners, in the level of hanta virus they tote around under their creepy little dancer fingernails and on the back of their sweaty necks. Ew.

f) I do believe I logged on briefly to pimp my farmer's market gig, but allow me to go into excruciating detail for you.. because i'm 'totes proud' of what it's become:: I MADE A DANCE OMG IT IS TOTES AWESOME.

g) to elaborate: I found a public space at Nashville Farmer's Market to hold a swing dance, where all my swing dancer friends gather on the third saturday morning of the month to dance to the best (deejay'd) jazz/swing/big-band/whatever music we've got. So far, it's a HUGE hit with the dancer crowd, and from what i hear from the civilians like it too.. WE WANT YOU to come dance with us. You don't actually have to know how to dance, no one even cares.. we just want to be a member of the community, and support something so awesome as the local farmers market. and we want to dance. to jazz. with you. (did i mention the 'you' part)? Next one is THIS COMING SATURDAY, 2/21, farmer's market, inside, 11-ish am to 2pm.

h) ha-ha. i was joking about the hanta virus thing. (note to self: provide hand sanitizer)

i) since initiating this post, i have already checked facefuck 10 times for new updates. *twitch*

j) I bought a mac!!! I am so, so deeply in love with my mac -even through our growing pains. I feel like we have so much to learn about each other.. like.. Where is the control key? why doesn't it work? how the FSCK do you cut-paste? WTF IPHOTO OMG SRSLY??? But like little Hope which flew out of Pandora's box on the heels of all those Troubles... there's a terminal window to make it all sweet and simple again!! so i can say: Mac, oh Mac i don't know why you iPhoto the way you do... but i sure as hell know how to fix it.*

k) *yes, i have had to reinstall MacOS once already. we try not to focus on that. we're trying to move forward in a healthy way.

l) i just figured out that command, with the weird clover -thing on it, + 'i' will make italics. watch..i will do it again.

m) my new years' resolutions were to give up plastic bottles and plastic bags. I am happy to report that since 1/1/09, i have sponsored the production of ZERO plastic bottles and only one plastic bag, because i'm an idiot and forgot that when you pick up take-out they usually put it in a bag for you. I am getting more comfortable bringing my canvas bags to the mall and carrying my purchases around in them. I feel like a shoplifter all the time, but no one has actually accused me of it. so maybe thats the trick (shoplifters, take note)

n) I went home to phoenix for the half marathon there, hung out with my family and a few of my friends. good times were had by all.. unless you count the first 72 hours where mom and i were having a fight so monumental that we've just made silent agreement never to speak about it again...

o) ...except with my therapist.

p) Jinkies came to visit in October, and we bought a box of wine to be ironic. except that it was actually kind of good and i've been buying it ever since. i'm sure that's bad, and i'll have to turn in my membership to whatever club it is that demands you at least pretend you know shit about wine. but it's cheap and doesn't suck and .. so sue me.

q) one of my cali friends had the cutest baby ever. his name is Connor. and i love him very much.

r) at 6 am, i'm going to take what I hope is my last round of Theraflu and fall into a deep slumber. When I awake, I will be well again. (and while we're at it: 5'10" and 108 lbs. and with a 190 IQ and a billion dollars..)

s) speaking of a billion dollars, i got a really good annual review at work :) Note that this in no way relates directly to a billion dollars, but it may indirectly relate to the smallish but not insubstantial sum I received for a yearly bonus. Most importantly, it echoed my own feelings on my performance: namely that I AM THE SHIT.

t) all the same, I'm really glad to be back on night shift. I like the work a lot better, and it helps me save money...

u) ...which I'm saving to buy a house.. soon.. well not so soon. but eventually.

v) I want to live in east nashville.

w) My boyfriend got a job at $NashvilleSweatshop , part time. I could go on and on about this, but i have to check with him first to find out what i'm allowed to reveal online. for now, suffice to say that in our entire lives together, in all my fumbling and clutziness, i will never give him as many cuts, bruises, and assorted injuries as he has received in two weeks on the job at $Sweatshop.

x) I downloaded a shit-ton of swing and jazz music today, because i was informed i'm expected to dj for an hour after the dance class i'm teaching on tuesdays. This inspires a cold panic in me. In all my years of swing-dancing i've never actually learned anything about swing-music. I only know the titles of about 5 songs, and only then because i had a routine or something to them... which means they're FAST and not at all suited for beginners. So i spent most of today with headphones on, trying to get a sense of style and tempo for something resembling a playlist for Tuesday evening. Dj'ing is an art, and it requires at the very least, interest and talent. I have neither. hahahah we'll see how that goes.

y) I'm going to DC in april, for a totally non-dance-related vacation to visit my friend Gangbuster. we are going to dress fancy and paint all the red doors we find, black :)

stuff ... for miz jackson...

Nov 24, 2008
5 comments

today's stuff is:

--I saw a guy today that reminded me of harsha. God damn, i miss you, you mo fo. what are you doing, and why can't you do it a little farther east??? you're one of the best people i know... remember that time i poured you tonic because you'd already had too much gin? remember our birthday?? come over let's do 33 here in Nashvegas, it will be a trip...

--I've been insanely sick for the last 48 hours. wow. I slept i think 30 of the 48 hours, and i've healed more or less, which is good because i've got a hella week namely:
a- ~~work~~ ---check
b- ~~giant fight with the best lead in town, which equals me following my instincts, burning a bridge, and probably sabatoging my role in the dance scene here~~... ummm -check.
c- ~~gin~~ ... check
d- dancing
e- dancing
f- chattanooga!
g-dancing + gin
h-running group

--Miz Jackson is one of my besties here in TN. she's blonde, and though she is not fluent in southern she can understand it, read and write it (on bathroom walls). She was born in a vegas brothel, but she rose above it all and sent herself to veterinary school on a showgirl's wages. she loves animals. she invented the wheel.

The wheel.

when i was in school, our sixth grade class grew a vegetable garden. one day we were required to prune, which meant pulling out baby carrots early, to allow the big ones to grow strong. we were to find a good sprout, put three fingers next to it, and pull out the one that fell there.. no matter how big or promising it was, no matter its potential. three fingers was the rule, and rules made it easy. it didn't make sense at the time, but when our remaining carrots grew big and tasty, it paid off.

people are like carrots. sometimes you have to kill some off, to let the others grow.

i feel better today...

Nov 14, 2008
1 comment

i'm so melodramatic sometimes! the emotional clouds have cleared, more or less, and i enjoyed some coffee and some soup, some petting of my miraculous cat, and a few episodes of 30-rock with my man who won't yet admit to liking a show i like. he also 'hangs around' when House is on. very noncommittal, won't sit on the sofa, but clearly engaged.

tonight, i work. then in the AM i'm heading out to run 10 miles with my running group and a Special Guest, AllMyBase. THEN, I'm going to knoxville to do some dancing. should be ok. should be good.

thanks for the get-happy messages, it's working :)

xo

ps if you're wondering where i've been; mostly on facebook. sue me. that site is like crack-cocaine.

05 You're Not Alone

it's father's day!!!

Jun 15, 2008
2 comments

happy father's day to everyone's daddy. Most especially, happy fathers day to MY daddy, i love love love you and i miss you hella. I'll call you in a bit so you can open your gifts before whatever is inside dies because there are no air holes in the box.

So

a) tomorrow morning at 7am I start a new job. I will have my fingers on many important buttons. No longer will I be bored, sitting at my desk at 5:45 pm counting the seconds until 6pm releases me to a world of crappy classes at the gym. No-- I'll be off at 4ish, and I've got my whole gym-agenda set. And important buttons? Reponsibility? Fuck yes.

b) Yesterday was fab. I did the 'Ellie's run for Africa' 5k.. Cool and a bit rainy, the weather was GREAT. My time wasn't terrific, but there were some challenging hills, and I was running with a newbie.. a dance friend, Antsy. (she held back the whole race and then sprinted at the end and beat me by 1 second, how's that for awesome?? [paybacks are a bitch])

c) after the race Antsy and I went for breakfast at Fido. Yum. Vegetarians, ho! We had the village burrito with portobella mushrooms, eggs, feta cheese, etc. and the Spuds McCheesy, and a big fake sausage patty. It was all divine. Sorry I didn't think to take a picture until my plate was empty!

Audacity

d) after breakfast we sat on Antsy's tailgate talking about random stuff and watching the rain. Then we drove to Borders and fondled the books. In particular I fondled me some Barack Obama. (don't we look sweet together?) Sorry ladies, it doesn't come with centerfold, a la Teen Beat, to stick on your wall.

But a girl can dream.

e) I did a little shopping. Bought some new socks (socks! FTW!) and two new CD's (Dresden Dolls 'No Virginia' and Panic at the Disco's Pretty. Odd) New headphones to match the super music phone I'm playing with, and when it's out in the market I will be telling you how much I LUV it. Really, very impressed. (and i'm never impressed by cellphones)

f) just spent some time napping. It's really too hot to be doing anything. Ew Ew. My kingdom for an apartment with good insulation and a rockin AC.

g) this week is going to be insane. In addition to all the juicy new classes I can take at the gym, I've got at least one private dance lesson. Topic: Aerials. for the uninitiated that means my feet leave the floor, ass over teakettle. Yes, in this heat. Tuesday is a hip-hop dance class, and I'd really love to get out to the honky tonks at least one night this week, to work on my fast dance. Then, friday morning I fly to Cali, and Pebbles's wedding is that night. I'll be reunited with some of my very best Bay Area buds.

h) I'm not even going to begin talking about where and what i'm doing in Cali. I'll just say, for those who are keeping up:

Swing Central
Tin Cup at Le Colonial
TBA.

naked little toe

May 10, 2008
3 comments

i have nine toenails. I have one cup of coffee. I ran seven miles already today. At some point I have to get a dress altered, one I bought off the rack at david's bridal because it was a) on sale and b) oh-so-cute. I couldn't resist. I'm wearing it to pebbles' wedding in June....

...with open-toed sandals.

Love to all.

best . coverletter. ever.

Apr 17, 2008
7 comments

(some identifying info changed)

Dear Mr. Doohickey,

Please find attached my resume for the available position on your Shmeezy Boomwhipple Team.

In my time at Sippy, Dixel & Frotter, it has been my great pleasure to assist the hibblestomp team in the work that it does to ensure the Narkiest Hibblestomp to our migglebuttons. In the last few years, I have accomplished this in two ways.

As a member of the IMP Wobmuffin Diggle team, I regularly worked with MF and Tundry Sporkdum mogdors in their efforts to design and optimize our hibblestomp. My goal was to keep them working productively and efficiently by delivering optimal diggle. I tried to stay in contact and anticipate their needs. I hoped they would consider me their first and most useful resource in Wobmuffin Diggle, and I believe that I accomplished this.

Recently, as a Tundry Kepsor on your team, I came up to speed quickly on the tools I'd need to kepsor your hibblestomp. I developed a strategy that would make sense in terms of your hibblestomp standards, and I've heard nothing but good things about my performance in this area. I've developed a good working relationship with the very talented shmeezy and cootie boomwhipples here in Tennessee. Every day I have a better picture of the overall hibblestomp health and I try to increase my own contributions.

Being a Shmeezy Boomwhipple is a great responsibility. Shmeezy Booms have their hands in and on the hibblestomp 24 hours a day. Such a job requires skill, flexibility, and a genuine concern for our migglebuttons. In terms of Narkiest Hibblestomp, the buck stops with the Shmeezy Boomwhipple. I am absolutely up to the great challenges of this position. I am convinced that I can learn quickly and work harmoniously with your team. I believe my MooPid skills will prove to be an asset on the MooPid equipment in the shmeezy. I'm confident I can provide the most seamless transition to Shmeezy Boomwhipple, and I believe I would quickly become a productive, integral member of that team. I have a great deal of respect for the shmeezy team, and the prospect of becoming a member of it is an exciting one.

I look forward to hearing from you very soon,

Kippy Strudell

my parents caught some nasty virus in mexico

Apr 9, 2008
Post a comment

apparently Miss Melanie is now sick with the plague my dad had last week. A plague so intense that he couldn't even rouse himself to talk to his baby girl (that would be me) on the phone. Fevers, cough, general yuck.

Poor parents. I hope you both feel better, best, soon.

Last night I had some drinks with friends and I think we pretty much talked about... everything. Way fun.

Today our office is hosting a tour for some Enormous Business Customer so everyone ran around filing things and changing lightbulbs and making things shine. I'm wearing a shirt with a collar, and real shoes (not Chucks).

Tonight is running and maybe .. maybe i'll go for a tan. Last time i was laying on my headphone wire and i've got a curly tan line on my shoulder.

I'm off. enjoy the day.