State of the Union in Naimaland

Dance
Right, so I haven't done much of it. Creatively speaking that is. I have been going through the motions every few days but I have so much else on my radar right now it has not been a priority.

Miss B. gave me another pair of zills to practice with and I did try hooping and zilling at the same time. That was crazy. I am working on a duet with Miss B. for the next Inappropriate Hafla, I substituted 4 beginner classes for Springfield Bellydance Academy, I am still doing privates every Thursday,  and, I got my 3rd Jim Boz workshop under my belt. I also took a private with Jim and it is still sinking in. Despite all of that, I have been putting all of my creativity into other things.

Exercise
Some folks know that I have changed my exercise routine from when I feel guilty to 15min. a day/5 days a week. I have been doing this since January 2nd, only missing a few in the past 5 months. I have lost at least 10lbs and 2 1/2 inches off my Bellydance waist (the place I wear my Bellydance belts). I actually completed my 100th workout today.

I've stayed on target for 3 reasons. First I work out during my lunch break. I never actually eat during my lunch break. I eat more of a brunch and at mid-afternoon. I also work from home which means I don't have drive to the gym, change clothes, or be otherwise inconvenienced. That means 5 days of scheduled workouts.

Second, the Husband Person set up our old Xbox in the bedroom with the Yourself!Fitness game for me. I basically have a personal trainer and the exercises evolve as I get more in shape. Fifteen minutes flies right by.

The third reason is also related to my job. January was my 10 year anniversary with my company. I received a Thank You letter and a gift card. It made me really depressed to think that all I had accomplished in 10 years was literally sitting on my ass. So I got off it. Now I am feeling and looking better. Go me.

This leads me to Hooping.

Hooping = More time outdoors in a month than the past 10 years.
I have been hooping for well over a month now. It is seriously one hell of a workout. And since I dig it so much I burn an extra 400 or so calories every hour I hoop. I spend more time outdoors because of it too. My mom is even interested. I am making her a hoop so she can start hooping.

Tour de Halo
My free time not spent dancing or hooping is with the Husband Person. We usually catch up on movies/TV or playing video games together. This past week we replayed all of the Halo games in chronological order starting with Reach, Halo 1, Halo 2, and Halo 3. We have not played Halo Wars or ODST yet. We also watch reruns of Entourage, How I Met Your Mother, and The New Adventures of Old Christine.

Reading
The Way Ladies finished up Walking in this World by Julia Cameron last month. I am almost finished with Sandworms of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. I am a  s l o w  reader and refuse to read more than one book at a time. Not much else to say here.

Beading Tutorials
Ah yes, the thing all my readers wait with bated breath for. I have gotten really good feedback about them. Everyone seems to like them so far. I don't know how many more I will do before I've used up the extent of my knowledge base and patience to write it all out. I am currently working on a complete project tutorial where you learn to actually make something from start to finish. It should be fun.

Blogging and Pen Pals
I want to say thank you to all of my readers. There are a lot of blogs I follow as well. Many more than are listed in the sidebar links of my own blog. I have them on Google reader because I am too lazy to go out and check each one every day. I really want to get in the habit of commenting on other blogs more. Even if it is just a, "Thanks for posting," to show my appreciation for all of the knowledge other bloggers share every day. You know, like being the friendly face in the audience while your troupe mate dances.

Finally, I want to address my serious neglect for not mentioning my Bellydance Pen Pal Kis in Australia. We exchanged addresses after Christmas and send each other random little pick-me ups. I get close to giddy when a letter from her arrives in the mail. Getting unexpected notes of friendship and good vibes is awesome! Not to mention, I still feel child-like awe imagining something from the other side of the world is in my hands.

The first card Kis sent me.

~N

Mario Was Never This Super

Yours truly performing at Visioncon 2011

*NOTE*
Yes @RetroKali's comments. This is the new Red Disguise costume in action. I had to borrow the Mario hat. The one I ordered did not show in the mail yet.
~N

Bebop Bebop!

It's a secret no more! Three lovely ladies and I will be performing a +15min. set to the music of Cowboy Bebop at this year's Visioncon (Sci-fi, fantasy, comic, gaming convention) during the Masquerade intermission. The Masquerade starts at 6pm on Saturday Jan. 23rd, 2010. No this isn't bellydance. The four of us just happen to be bellydancers.

For more info:
www.visioncon.net
Cowboy Bebop 

(Remember - we are doing this BEFORE they decide to ruin it by making it into a live action movie staring Keanu Reeves. Don't get me wrong. I like Keanu, and Cowboy Bebop, and will definately go to see it, and probably buy it on DVD. I'm just saying...) 

~N 


Now listening: Sneaker Pimps - Bloodsport
mood: grape nuts

Visioncon 2010

Wow, Cobra Commander is damn tall! - Visioncon 2006

(Those are Harry Potter costume glasses I'm wearing.)

Springfield's gaming, sci-fi, fantasy convention, Visioncon, is Jan 22-24, 2010. According to the con schedule bellydancing is scheduled for 12pm on Saturday. I will again be a volunteer and working at the registration desk. There is also a possibility I may participate in the Friday night Charity Slave Auction.

Also, my super secret "performance art" project will be revealed during this year's con. It is not BD so it will not appear during the BD hour. The schedule for this performance has been up in the air. And even though I got conformation today on when it would be, I am going to wait until it is set in stone before listing the time for it here.

Hope to see you there!

www.visioncon.net/

~N

Now watching: Samurai Champloo
mood: no more headache, please

Friday Blues: Mario Kart Love Song

I'm such a dork, but I found this video link-hopping on CA's youtube. If you at all get this song then you can join the dorkity-dork-dork club with me. It made my Friday Blues go away =)

Mario Kart Love Song

lyrics:

V1:
You be my princess
I'll be your toad
I'll follow behind you
on rainbow road
Protect you from red shells
wherever we go
I promise.

V2:
Noone will touch us
if we pick up a star
If you spin out
you can ride in my car
When we slide together
we generate sparks
in our wheels and our hearts

Chorus:
The finish line
is just around the bend
I'll pause this game
so our love will never end
Let's go again

V3:
The blue shell is coming
so I'll go ahead
If you hang behind
it'll hit me instead
but never look back
cause I'm down but not dead
I'll catch up to you

Bridge:
Don't worry about
Bowser or DK
Eat this glowing mushroom
and they'll all fade away

Chorusx2

to the mushroom cup
and the flower cup
and the star cup
and the reverse cup

walalalalala
walalalalalawaluigiiiiii

COPYRIGHT 2008
Music and Lyrics by Sam Hart

Architects of Narghilé

To start off my Valentine's weekend, I received my Rembetika Hipsters CD - Architects of Narghilé Friday after work. I have been waiting for some time to buy it and finally had the money. RH is an awesome Greek band based out of Calgary who I would love, love, love to see live. Unfortunately, airfare from here to anywhere is stupid.

Here is a sample:



I plan on dancing to their music next Greek Night on March 7th. Some day I will see them live. I've never been to Canada after all.



For Valentine's day, the husband person "gave" me the squirrel he caught in our basement <-That's love right there. We've been trying for months to catch them running from our attic to our basement through the walls. (He caught a second one on Sunday).



Then we drove it to a cemetery and set it free. Valentine's at a cemetery. How goth-y is that? =P

The cemetery is down the street from my mom and sister. Hopefully, the squirrel won't move into their house.



Then I picked up some knitting needles for around $2.50 and started teaching myself basic garter stitches. This was a bad idea because my wrist pain started back up pretty strong while working last week and knitting a few rows only exacerbated it more. Not to mention I thoroughly suck at it. Once my pain lessens, I figure I will make potholders for practice since I have so many crocheted scarves.

We failed at having a VHS marathon and ended up having a Fallout 3 marathon instead. I finished the main quest, was sad, and reloaded my old save and continued playing.



This is my new best friend Fawkes, aka "Joe the Super Mutant". I also enjoy playing with "Joe the Feral Ghoul Roamer" and "Joe the slaver."

~N

Now playing: Farscape season 4
mood: a long john, or two

Visioncon Call to Springfield Dancers

Visioncon is looking for local Bellydancers for next January. See the below abbreviated email from Karen Culp.

Visioncon will be Jan. 23-25, here in Springfield at the Clarion Hotel. Events go on all through the day and night, as many of you know, and right now the schedule is pretty fluid, so I'm just asking if you'd be interested in dancing at the 'con and if you'd let me know in general what you'd have to offer: a solo #, a group "set" of several dances, etc. I'm also asking you to save those dates, if you're interested in dancing.

Visioncon, as most of you know, is a science fiction, gaming, fantasy and media convention, and it's a lot of fun. For more info, you can look at visioncon.net.
Troupe leaders, if your troupe can't come, but individual dancers of yours would be interested, have 'em contact me.

This is not like an ArtsFest or something where one group is "chosen" to represent belly dance. Think of it more as a citywide belly dance "show" where anyone who is interested can participate :-).

Please let me know by end of day Saturday if you're interested. Again, you don't have to have your whole show planned for it at this point, just a simple, "yeah we're available and interested" or "no, thanks" will suffice!

If you are interested please contact Karen Culp (or me if you need Karen's info).

~N

Now playing: more Robin Hood
mood: to go back to bed