My Blog

Bad, Sexy Knitters!

Jennifer — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:40:26 GMT

http://badknitgirls.com Click on 'Vote' Scroll down for Jenn!

Tribal Fest

Jennifer — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:25:29 GMT

>sigh< My friends are all posting their TF pics. I, of course, have none, because I could not go FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW!! BUT! There is NO REASON that I shouldn't be able to go next year! Last year, i was still reeling from the financial burden of moving halfway across the country (and then my plans for a secure place to lay low for awhile were dashed) This year, I had just become eligible for things like vacations....and was unable to take one on such short notice. I have an entire year to plot. and save and schedule vacation and plot more So, I will see you all there next year! I will get to see some of my *dearly* missed Eugene bellydancers, and take workshops from some of my favorite dancers! HOORAY!

Creole Debutante

Jennifer — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 18:18:34 GMT

She went to the School of Miss Crocodile, learned to walk backwards, skin a black cat with her teeth. Soon, she could dance with dead pirates, cook perfect gumbo, telephone the moon collect. But it took 23 doctors to fix her after she kissed that snake. - Tom Robbins, "Creole Debutante"

Graduation!

Jennifer — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 19:03:59 GMT

Well, I did it! I graduated from the EXTREMELY INTENSE 40-hour general volunteer training at SafePlace! http://www.austin-safeplace.org/site/PageServer Next week, I'm taking the 6-hour training to volunteer in the childcare center, and I'm going to train to be part of their community education team, too! This is my first foray into an ongoing volunteer position. I have spent the last month reading and learning about the arena of sexual and domestic violence. I have spent 40 hours with a group of about 40 people, sharing ideas, survivor stories, solutions, and hopes for (someday) a world without violence. There were times when the subject matter was so intense, and I would look around to see every eye filled with sorrow, and there were times when we all cheered together for the stories of survival, strength and healing. We worked on our communication skills; we did exercises that really helped show us why a person would choose to stay in a domestic violence situation; we talked about the isolation that survivors feel..... We learned to take care of ourselves, and to set our boundaries; as well as to open our hearts and be the support that survivors need. And now.... we get to practice all the skills we learned! My hope is to become deeply involved in their prevention program ~ they have extensive community education, and a very well developed teen program as well. They even have a program that teaches the little ones about power dynamics (ie bullying)! It's such a wonderful organization, and I am SO PROUD to be a part of it!

Tattoo!!

Jennifer — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 21:06:45 GMT

It's time. I've got the itch..... I need it to be scratched.....with an ink-covered vibrating needle! So I'm dreaming up the next piece. It'll be a chest piece, and I still don't have it formulated in me brain. If you come across any bad-ass chest piece pics that might inspire me, send 'em my way! ;)

Oh Lor'

Jennifer — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:03:07 GMT

Holy shit. What happened? I feel like I'm blinking awake....but I swear I only closed my eyes for a moment!! I've been trying to find my footing in the tempest. Life's been buffeting me back and forth between family struggles, job problems and relationship issues.... who knew I had so many issues? Well, maybe you did. I didn't realize. All of that turmoil led me to a place where I wasn't dancing, wasn't meditating, wasn't doing yoga, and was feelin' like shit. Nice. Funny how all the things that make me better able to handle life's challenges are the first things to go out the window when I'm being challenged. Go figure. So, I'm taking an Ashtanga class ~ step one.... I went to see Le Serpent Rouge (yaaaaay!), and I am now re-inspired. Let's see where the yellow brick road takes me now....

Pema Chodron, can she rescue me from the depths of despair?

Jennifer — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 20:45:09 GMT

"Rather than letting our negativity get the better of us, we could acknowledge that right now we feel like a piece of shit and not be squeamish about taking a good look. That's the compassionate thing to do. That's the brave thing to do. We could smell that piece of shit. We could feel it; what is its texture, color, and shape? We can explore the nature of that piece of shit. We can know the nature of dislike, shame, and embarrassment and not believe there's something wrong with that. We can drop the fundamental hope that there is a better "me" who one day will emerge. We can't just jump over ourselves as if we were not there. It's better to take a straight look at all our hopes and fears. Then some kind of confidence in our basic sanity arises." Yes, I feel like a piece of shit right now. Philip dumped me, and I can't seem to get over it, even after finding out that he was trying to start dating his ex in Houston before we broke up. I seriously feel like someone is drilling through my chest, creating a vortex that will eventually suck the rest of my body in. I can only hope that will happen, and put an end to my pain.

Pimpin' Kittens

Jennifer — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 18:29:51 GMT

You know you want one. All males, and they'll be neutered next week. These rescued kitties need a good home!! See my photos for individual shots!!

Poetry....

Jennifer — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 16:07:38 GMT

The one who has not had a taste of love Is but a piece of wood or stone to God. Love extracts water from stones; Love removes rust from mirrors. infidelity seeks war, faith peace; Love sets fire to war and peace alike. Love opens its mouth in the sea of the heart; It devours the two worlds like a whale. Like a lion, love knows no ruse; It does not change from a lion to a fox. ~Rumi

Gush...

Jennifer — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 19:15:15 GMT

Was it a rabbit-hole or a worm-hole that brought me here today? I have to look back at the series of events and decisions that put me here, in this place, at this time.... It seems belittling to call it 'Luck', more fitting to call it 'Fate' or even 'Serendipity'... One day, I just looked down at my feet, and up at the sky... and stepped off the edge of the cliff, spreading myself out into the open air, trusting the Universe to catch me somehow, knowing anything had to be better than where I was standing at that moment. I thought of everything I'd learned from Pema Chodron, felt the air move around me, and found the earth under my feet, after all.... Who knew? Throw yourself into the fire, girl, it'll burn you clean, and the Phoenix always rises again, doesn't she? I expected resiliance, maybe stoicism, and a resignation to the life ahead. I didn't expect this.... this warm, wonderful flowering within me of the emotions that I was desperately trying to eradicate; this graceful poetry; a totally unexpected gift of pure joy. Was there someone listening, all this time? Waiting, perhaps for me to discover all the details of my heart... to find answers for questions I didn't yet know to ask? Thank you, brilliant Spectre, for your attentions!! It makes snogging all those frogs worthwhile, to find the shining prince amongst them.

The chicken has landed

Jennifer — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 19:12:02 GMT

Whew! I made it! I picked up my dad from the airport on Sept 18th. What was the first thing he said about Eugene? "Wow, this looks so much like Austin!" I am now sticking out my tongue to all those people who didn't believe me. We loaded up my truck, drank some beer, and tried to sleep. At some ridiculously early hour, we found my cat and hit the road. Wouldn't you know that it was a torrential downpour in Oregon that morning? My conceit tells me that the heavens must have been weeping over my departure. Either way, it made for a very SCARY ride out of town. We drove for 14 hours ~ Mogquai was pretty annoyed to be locked in a tiny crate for all that time, but she was quiet. I must've apologized to her a million times that day. We spent the night in Barstow, CA. Mogz is such a resiliant little kitty. She was parading around the hotel room after only an hour, and quickly got over her fear of my big, burly dad. At yet another ridiculously early hour, we dragged ourselves out of bed, and all climbed into our little boxes. I couln't bear the thought of Mogz in that crate for 18 hours, so dad agreed to see how she'd do loose in the cab. By this time, we were driving through pure desert, so there weren't too many distractions for the driver (wow! look at that cactus ~ can you dig it?) She was the best little car cat ever! She rode on the dash.... she slept in our laps... she watched out the window.... I was very glad to learn this about my little furry friend! After waaaay too many miles of flat desert, we reached Guadalupe Mountain National Park, where my parents live. We rolled into their house, where mom had a bottle of Crown Royal and dinner waiting for us. Smokey (their dog) was incredibly excited to meet the cat.... cat was not so excited to meet her. No fighting, just some disdainful looks. We got to sleep in until 8 the next morning, and then hit the road for our last 8 hours of driving. This time, I rode in my parents vehicle with mom and Mogz. We rolled into town Thursday evening, hung out with the grandparents and my brothers, and then all passed out. Friday, dad and I unloaded my stuff into the storage unit Jaffe is letting me use (even though I totally forgot his birthday ~ yaaah!) Some aunts, uncles and cousins came over to hang out and drink white russians. (not the cousins ~ they're too little) Once all that family togetherness was over, I was somehow convinced to go to a party with my friend Rodrick. He and Leon were apparently conspiring for me to be a 'suprise guest' at the party. That was awsome ~ I got to see some of my oldest and dearest friends, and some people I haven't seen in 10 years! Some mad craziness ensued Saturday night ~ involving a rescue mission, a smoking car, and a 5:30AM trip to the airport. Somehow, I ended up with Rodrick's car for the next few weeks while he's in Japan. Friends rock! So, aside from salsa dancing with my brother, that's all the interesting stuff in my life since I left Eugene!

Sweet 31, and never been... Wait!

Jennifer — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 23:42:00 GMT

Um.... so I'm kinda a blog virgin. (at least I'm a SOMETHING virgin!) So, I THINK I'm doin' this right. It doesn't hurt, tho... tell us 8 little known things about yourself and tag 6 other people. game on! Taggity tag tag: Fajera Miki Bow Jamie Swirly Girl Layla Jeffe Okay, here goes... 1. I'm an alien - no, really! Don't poke fun!! Heh. No, seriously, I had a huge crush on Bugs Bunny and Kermit THE Frog when I was a kid. Didn't you? 2. I was a stripper for 3 1/2 years at The Yellow Rose in Austin, TX. For about 2.85 of those years, I LOVED it. For 2.5 of those years, I didn't drink or do any drugs at all. I also worked out twice a day. Nearly 10 years later, I am still healing my body image. Thank you, bellydance, for aiding me in that. 3. I have a BA in Asian Studies and a minor in Japanese. I don't use it at all, but I wanted to be an interpereter for the Japanese Consulate. 4. My parents took me to Medjugorje on a religious pilgrimmage, and I spent the whole week getting drunk at the bar with a sexy Australian. I had a fantastic time, and my parents didn't seem to mind too much that I was being a complete heathen. 5. I waxed my legs for nearly 10 years, until last week. My hair was too wimpy to be pulled out by the root any more. Still dark enough to make me look like Sasquatch, tho.... Lucky me? 6. I was once accused of stealing, and asked to put in my two week notice. It broke my heart. 7. I graduated from a high-school college-prep magnet called the Liberal Arts Academy. As a result, I went from being 'the smart kid' in my classes to being very very average. It was humbling and inspiring to be surrounded by so many amazing minds - kids and teachers. 8. I never did any drugs, had sex, or skipped school until I was 18. After that, tho.... Whew! I made up for lost time!! Not sure how much of that was 'little known'! But now you know the awful, awful truth. Feel free to blackmail me. Just realize that I'm broke, I'm terrible in bed, I can't bake, and I don't do windows - you'll have to think of something else to shake me down for.