Today's Thoughts

The Challenge ...

Baseema — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 02:58:49 GMT

... that I didn't win. So, I've been training for the Pan Mass Challenge. But, I've lacked motivation the last couple of weeks. Yesterday, I decided that I would ride home from work - 35 miles. One of the guys I work with challenged me with "If you make it home in 3 hours, I'll donate $100". That would mean that I would have to ride at a pace of 15 miles/hour. Lately, I haven't been that fast (about 13mph). But, I had to try. I rode hard. Now, I don't want to make excuses ... but, I will. I hadn't driven this way, before. So, I had to print out directions. I'd read the next couple of turns, ride, stop, read again. I was losing time! And, somewhere along the way, I dropped the directions. Ruh-roh!! (Scooby-Doo reference.) Thank you to the people who are smarter than me for invented cell phones. I called my husband and he looked up the directions. We went through the same thing - get directions for the next couple of turns, ride, stop, call ... You get the picture. I'm riding hard. It was tough in traffic. I was tired. There were hills. It was getting dark ... and I see a sign for Lexington. Now .. for those of you who don't know. Lexington is the wrong way. I took a left when I should have taken a right. Thanks to my husband who is a really good sport. He came and rescued me. My Hero! I totally need GPS for my bike!

200,000 mile milestone

Baseema — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 04:31:08 GMT

In 1992, I was driving the first car I could afford - a 1976 Oldsmobile. I saw it roll over to 200,000 miles. The car did not have a digital read out (it had those little plastic dials) so it read 00,000. Today, my 2000 Dodge arrived at and passed the 200,000 mile mark. I knew it was coming, so I brought my camera with me and took a picture of the momentous occasion. Unlike my first car, I drove all these 200,000 miles ... well ... most of them.

Incredible Popper

Baseema — Sat, 24 May 2008 04:24:34 GMT

I don't watch "So You Think You Can Dance", but I was channel surfing and saw this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=AWLeLE-Qif0&feature=related This kid is crazy good! I've never seen anybody dance like this. He's lots of fun to watch. Enjoy!

The FOUR things (from Samantha and Zehara)

Baseema — Sun, 18 May 2008 03:33:34 GMT

Four things about me that you may or may not have known. Four jobs I have had in my life: 1. Project Engineer 2. Analytical Chemist 3. Polymer Scientist 4. Chemical Engineer Four movies I've watched more than once: 1. The Mummy 2. Holes 3. Indiana Jones trilogy 4. Harry Potter movies Four TV shows that I watch: 1. Ghost Hunters 2. How I Met Your Mother 3. Two and a Half Men 4. Monk Four places I have been: 1. Fort Lauderdale 2. Orlando 3. Chicago 4. Washington DC Four people who e-mail me (they need more than 4 for this!) 1. *Samantha* 2. Karim 3. Dale 4. Phoenix Four of my favorite foods: 1. popcorn 2. pizza 3. Diet Coke 4. tiramisu Four places I would rather be right now: 1. Disney World 2. Rome 3. dance class 4. … nowhere – I’m happy where I am Four things I am looking forward to this year (2008): 1. Pan Mass Weekend 2. Monday after Pan Mass Weekend 3. camping with my husband 4. more dance classes

It’s the small things …

Baseema — Sun, 04 May 2008 03:27:29 GMT

As good as my relaxing and fun vacation was, traveling home was the pits. My flight was at 1:30 (JetBlue), so I grabbed a sandwich from Au Bon Pain (in the ass) before I boarded. A grilled chicken with mayo only – I don’t like veggies on my sandwiches. The chocolate muffin looked good, so I got one of those, too. The flight was delayed, but only for 20 minutes. Not too bad for airline time. I got on and there was somebody else in my seat. There was also somebody else in 3 other people’s seats. Turns out, the plane we were supposed to be on, had a safety problem. So, they got another plane for us. (Thank you, Safety People, for finding that out when the plane was still on the ground.) Turns out, this new plane had 50 less seats than the first plane. But, their computer tried to accommodate everybody by double-seating some of us. Well, a few people offered up their seats and a mom held her baby instead of having a separate seat for her. And, we were off … … on the bumpiest plane ride I’ve ever had. Made me feel a little nauseous. I got out my sandwich … and there was lettuce and tomato on it. Small thing. No bid deal. I just had to toss the veggies, ‘cuz I really didn’t want them. I wanted some of my chocolate muffin. Alas, it was chocolate chip and not chocolate. Small thing. I really shouldn’t have eaten it, anyway, ‘cuz I was feeling a little nauseous. As an apology, the airline let us watch a pay-per-view movie for free. Cool! But, my screen blinked every 3-5 seconds. Small thing. No bid deal – I didn’t pay for it. But, watching it was annoying and made me feel even more nauseous. I had to close my eyes and hang on for a while for it to go away. The stewardesses came around and offered drinks. I asked for a Diet Coke. I got a Coke Zero. When I asked for a Diet Coke, instead, I was told that was all they had and Coke Zero was the same thing. No … no, it’s not! ________________________________________________________________ PS - I thought about titling this blog "No Diet Coke for you!".

Disney World

Baseema — Sun, 04 May 2008 02:50:12 GMT

So, after Spirit of the Tribes, I drove to Orlando and met my husband and mother-in-law. After the errands, we went to Disney World. What a blast! Epcot was having their annual flower show. The sculptures made of flowers and plants were incredible. There’s so much talent in Disney World. We had breakfast with Pluto one morning. You can tell my hair is still wet in the picture from just getting out of the shower.

I (heart) Romka!

Baseema — Sun, 04 May 2008 02:07:11 GMT

These two gals ROCK! They were funny, smart, strong, and very personable. Theirs was my favorite workshop from Spirit of the Tribes. They gave some great tips on dancing with your sword. And taking care of it! I’m thinking of bringing them to New England for a workshop. Spirit of the Tribes was loads of fun. The shopping was incredible. Zoe Jakes was fun, too. Karim Nagi is so good with teaching zills. I learned a lot in his workshop, too. I’d like to take some more classes with him. I hope to talk Moirae and Phoenix into performing at next year’s Spirit of the Tribes … ____________________________________________________________________________________ Picture is Belladonna and Mavi of Romka taken from their web-site: http://www.romkadance.com/

I've Got Spirit, How 'Bout You?!

Baseema — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:01:22 GMT

I've been packing for my vacation. Of course, vacation includes a belly dance festival with my best belly friend, *Samantha*. We're heading to Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday for Spirit of the Tribes 8! Not only will we be taking in the sun (and heat, it'll be in the 80s!) we'll be taking in some awesome dance workshops offered by some of belly dancing's finest: Zoe Jakes Moira Chappel Romka (a sword tribal duet who I just found out about) Karim Nagi - he's teaching a zills workshop There's lots of excitement in Baseema's household! Then, my husband will be meeting me with my mother-in-law. She's planning on moving to Florida. She needs to talk to the builder and do some errands. She recently had surgery and needs help traveling. When she asked for help, the conversation went something like this: Ma: I need to go to Florida, but I need help with my luggage. Me: Florida, you say? (If I was a dog, my ears would be perked, standing at attention.) Ma: We can go to Disney World after the errands are done. Me: Disney, you say? (Ears still perked.) No problem! Hubby can carry luggage. My mother-in-law likes Disney World as much as my husband and I do. It's wonderful that she's planning on moving to within 30 minutes of the "Happiest Place on Earth"!

They're peeping!

Baseema — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:10:58 GMT

I heard the spring peepers for the first time tonight. Very excited. Spring is springing!

WOW!!!

Baseema — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 23:12:05 GMT

In the past 2 weeks, we have had so many sign ups for the Shimmies workshops and hafla. I am so excited. Two of the workshops are SOLD OUT! Najmat's Drum Technique and Aepril Schaile's Unconventional Props. How sweet is that?! Nadira's and Phoenix's workshops are getting pretty full, too! These ladies are awesome! We hope this hafla will be great fun. Thank you to all involved for their love and support.

Shimmies for a Cure - Part Deux

Baseema — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:38:29 GMT

Who: The New England Belly Dance Community What: A night of great entertainment, good food, plus support a great cause. Where: Somerville City Club, Somerville, Massachusetts When: March 29, 2008 (Doors open at 5:30) Why: Because Cancer Sucks! The second annual belly dance fundraiser to support the Pan Mass Challenge - raising money for life saving cancer research and treatment at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Performances by New England's favorite dancers starts at 6:00 (doors open at 5:30). $25 includes performances by more than 20 beautiful dancers and troupes, Middle Eastern/Greek style hors dourves, chocolate fountain with dipping delights, non-alcoholic beverages, free parking. DJ, raffles, vending, food, and silent auction. Pay on-line by (or just donate): https://www.pmc.org/egifts/giftinfo.asp?EgiftID=RG0131 Find out more about BELLY DANCE WORKSHOPS on our web-site: http://shimmies4cure.tripod.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Logo by my troupemate and friend, Diana. Sounds great! Right? Then why are only 9 people registered? I'm getting nervous. It's only a little more than 3 weeks away. Please feel free to post this information. Everywhere!

People's Choice

Baseema — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 04:06:58 GMT

... was a blast. We saw some great dancers. Met some new lovely ladies. Thank you to Erzulie and helpers for such a great day. Congratulations on a successful event. Moirae danced with Phoenix. On video, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiSz64_DCPw We won for best costumes and outside-the-box choreography. Thank you to Phoenix for both of those! The picture was taken on the stairs. It's all shadowy. But, I kind of like it. It makes us seem dark and mysterious.

The Pan Mass Challenge

Baseema — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 03:44:29 GMT

I just signed up for the PMC, again, this year. I've decided to ride both days, for a grand total of 200 miles "in the saddle". My butt's getting sore just thinking about it ... I have to raise $4000. (gulp) Nastasia and I have already been scheaming for this year's "Shimmies for a Cure" fundraiser. Watch this blog spot for futher info on the event! File this under "What am I thinking?" Picture is from last year's ride. I'm just about the cross the finish line after 110 miles.

New Year's Eve (night)

Baseema — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 00:24:51 GMT

We went to Maria's in Haverhill for New Year's Eve. Everything was wonderful: the food - a Middle Eastern flair the dancers - Zareena and (my personal favorite) Erzulie the company - my best belly friend, Samantha, and my hubby the chocolate fountain - yummers! Happy New Year!!!!

New Year's Eve (Day)

Baseema — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 00:09:49 GMT

We got home from Chicago on Sunday night. Monday morning, we woke up to no heat. And, it was snowing. Turns out, our oil was never delivered. We're on an automatic schedule. They filled up the tank 6 weeks ago! (I know, we should have been paying attention ...) We have a 300 foot driveway. It's wonderful during the summer, spring, and fall. Not so wonderful when it snows. So, my husband had to start plowing. He got his truck stuck and had to call a friend to help. The driveway was clear before we left for vacation. But, with the snow melting during the days, and re-freezing at night ... Well, you know! The freshly fallen snow (which was wet and heavy) made it that much more slippery. It was ugly. And, the oil truck slid right off the driveway. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. This is the picture of the oil truck. You can't see it from this angle, but, one of the back wheels is off the ground. That's the oil guy standing at the end of the driveway. Nice guy. My husband carried oil up the driveway (5 gallons at a time) so that the heat could be started. I totally played the girl card! I held the funnel. 8)

You know you're a belly dancer ...

Baseema — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 01:59:39 GMT

1 - You're looking for Arabic sheet music to everyday Christmas tunes... 2 - Instead of ;''Fa La La La La'', you zaghareet instead.... 3 - You're putting in your upcoming vacation time around bellydance getaways out-of-town.... 4 - Your bellydance attire is suddenly adorned with mistletoe.... 5 - When you refer to your stomach as a ''bowl full of jelly''.... 6 - When you try to paint your cane like an actual candy cane to dance with.... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copied from "The Everyday Bellydancer" I thought this was funny. And, I've totally done 3 and 4. What have you done? What's missing on the list?

We can all use a smile ...

Baseema — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 20:45:32 GMT

Thought I'd share this pick. It made me smile.

Thank You

Baseema — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 02:49:06 GMT

To everybody who said nice things in my last blog. I needed it. I was feeling shocked and sad that somebody had been so rude and mean. Your words mean a lot to me: beautiful love luscious great smile happy healthy Hugs and love to all my friends. PS - I deleted that last blog because it made me feel negative.

Raks Spooki II

Baseema — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 04:08:51 GMT

A Gothic Bellydance Event What a great night! There were so many wonderful performances: Tribal Redemption, Badriya, Aepril Schaile, Nepenthe ... the list goes on. My lovely teacher, Phoenix, helped me make my costume. It's my first costume attempt. I love my skirt. And, you can't see them in this pic, but I made my hair falls, too. But, I'm sad that you can't see the detail on my bra. I put a lot of work into it - there are chains coming down from one shoulder and chain "fringe" hanging off the bottom of one the opposite side. I also covered one side with fake leather (to match the corset part of the skirt) and attached black trim from one side to the other. Lessons learned: bigger is better (use bigger chain) and contrast works. Black on black on back just looks ... black. Fun!

This is from a friend's blog ...

Baseema — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 01:15:43 GMT

<<I've been poking around on some of the admin tribes and it is looking pretty grim for Tribe.net. Please read below and respond>> ****** The word in some of the admin tribes is that Tribe.net is in serious financial peril. Peril that may make this site go away. Most of us belong to MySpace and/or Bebo and/or Facebook, yet we return to Tribe because it is what serves us best. There are even rumors that Tribe is down to less than five employees. Given the above, would you be willing to pay a $5/mo subscription fee to tribe as a Premium Member? Premium Members might receive benefits such as ad-free usage, more customizable skins, or other such bells and whistles. Please, if you support tribe and are willing to pay HALF THE COST OF A MOVIE TICKET for one month of Premium Usage, respond to this blog post. Repost this in YOUR BLOG. Please Support Tribe ******** Collect the yays and nays and forward them to me. I will forward them to the orginator of this post and he will summarize and send to tribe in 10 days.

Don’t let this happen to your pets …

Baseema — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 01:17:06 GMT

I’d had Peanut for about 12 years. She was an old lady – 18. So, up there in kitty cat years. She had some elderly problems – food allergies and hyperthyroid. She was on medicine and special food. She was doing pretty good. But, over the weekend, things changed. She wasn’t eating at much. I tried different food – real tuna and salmon instead of her special food or regular cat food. She showed a little interest, but not much. I kept thinking that I’d give it a week. But, Wednesday night, she was staggering around. She couldn’t walk straight. So, I was going to call the vet on Thursday morning (it was way too late in the evening to call on Wednesday). But, it was too late … Thursday morning, I woke up and found her laying on the floor in convulsions. When I picked her up, she cried. She was so weak that she couldn’t even pick her head up. I laid her on my bed and put some blanket and petted her. She didn’t move, except for the involuntary twitches. I just petted her and told her that I was sorry. I wrapped her in a towel to keep her warm on the ride to the vet. She never tried to move. When the vet gave her the shot, he said “Go to sleep, baby”. I am so sorry that I didn’t make the decision to bring her to the vet sooner. I thought things might get better, but I was just kidding myself. I’ve had to make this decision two other times and I’ve never regretted it. The only thing I regret is I feel that I should have done it sooner. I’m sorry, Peanut, that I wasn’t strong enough to make the decision sooner.

He's beat boxing!

Baseema — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 04:30:53 GMT

Last month, my husband took a beat boxing workshop with Pete List. He now has a microphone and a youtube "video". It's his first. It's short. I'm proud. 8) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz_LBvI-f-A PS - The bus is his other passion these days, "The Blue Rajah".

50 Questions

Baseema — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 01:30:47 GMT

(Copied from Zehara's blog) If you can read this, then you have to fill it out, too. Learn 50 things about your friends, and let them learn 50 things about you! 1. How tall are you? 5' 3 ½”. 2. Have you ever done heroin? No. 3. Do you own a gun? No. 4. Do you recycle? Soda bottles & cans – yes. Other stuff – no. 5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No 6. What do you think about hot dogs? Sometimes a hot dog hits the spot. 7. What's your favorite Christmas song? ”Christmas Eve: Sarajevo” by the Trans-Siberian Ochestra. OMG – I get tears in my eyes when I hear it on the radio. My husband took me to their concert a couple of years ago (for HIS birthday) and I was sobbing. 8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Diet Coke 9.Can you do push ups? Yes … when I cheat. 10. Is your bathroom clean? Upstairs bathroom – no. Downstairs – yes. 11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding band. 12. Do you like painkillers? Ibuprofen is the best pain killer in the world. 13 14 15 16. Middle Name? Ann – after my paternal grandmother. 17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? Trans-Siberian Ochestra Christmas And … What happened to Questions 13, 14, 15, and 18? 19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink Diet Coke Diet Coke Diet Coke 20. Who is your hero? My husband 21. Last person you called? My husband 22. Current worry? Getting my house “guest” ready. 23. Current hate? Hmmm … not feeling the hate right now. 24. Favorite place to be? Disney World! 25. How did you bring in the new year? Hanging out with friends. 26. Where would you like to go? Disney World 27. Do you own slippers? Yes. 28. What shirt are you wearing? Purple t-shirt. 29. Do you burn or tan? Burn 30. Favorite color(s)? Orange, green, red 31. Why did you choose your display name? It is the name given to me. 32. Do you swear a lot? Define “a lot”. 33. What songs do you sing in the shower? Whatever’s on the radio. 34. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child? Darkness 35. What's in your pockets right now? No pockets 36. Last thing/person that made you laugh? My cat, Sunoco, playing with a super ball. He picks it up in his mouth, tosses it, then chases it. 37. Best bed sheets as a child? Peter Pan 38. Worst injury you've ever had? Torqued my knee – sprain. 39. Are you doing anything else right now? No. 40. How many TVs do you have in your house? Two 41. Who is your loudest friend? Leeanne 42. Who is your most silent friend? Michelle 43. Does someone have a crush on you? Not that I know about. 44. Do you wish on shooting stars? Yes. 45. What is your favorite book? Harry Potter. 46. What is your favorite candy? Dark Chocolate 47. What song do/did you want played at your wedding? Daddy’s little girl – I danced with my dad to this song. 48. What song do you want played at your funeral? Haven’t thought about it. 49. What were you doing @ 12 AM last night? Running for the Logan Express shuttle. 50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up this morning? I gotta pee.

Humpbacks and Monarchs

Baseema — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 03:27:11 GMT

I've been blogging out of order ... but, that's OK. Right? Two Sundays ago, the 23rd, we had a company outing. They took us (and our families) on a whale watch our of Gloucester. What fun!!! But, before we got to the whales, we saw all these butterflies! I stopped counting after 35 flew by. I didn’t know this, but apparently, Monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico during the fall. It was amazing to watch. One of them actually landed on our boat and took a rest before taking off, again. Then, we saw the whales! We saw 5 of them! One small whale (but I forget the name) and 4 Humpback whales. One of them was alone, but the 3 others were hanging out together. They actually let us get pretty close to them – as you can see from my picture. They would come to the surface of the water, blow out their hole, then dip back under the water, with a flick of their tail. The tour guide explained that’s how they get to the bottom of the water to eat.

The photographer

Baseema — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 01:53:18 GMT

On Friday, Erzulie gave my husband a few tips on taking pictures. He took a bunch of pics on Saturday at Zehara's Shimmies for Heroes. This is his favorite - Sabrina with her veil. Thanks, Erzulie!