My Blog

Kidney transplant a success!!

haflagirl — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:15:24 GMT

The surgery is over and the transplant looks to be a success. The kidney is starting to work and they're going about the business of rehydrating little Joseph and watching his creatinine levels go slowly down (that's a good thing). He's of course in some pain, but they're managing it. He'll be in the hospital for a while for sure, but this is another step towards his living a more normal life. Man, it sure is humbling to see such a tiny person go through all of this. My sister and bro-in-law have been awesome through the whole thing too. It's inspiring. There's just so much that I take for granted right now. I have good health and a healthy son. I curl up like a baby when I get a sinus cold and I freak out when my son gets a low fever. Looking at it universally, those are really small potatoes. Their whole family (Joseph has an older brother) needs to get a free trip to Disneyworld or something after all of this!

My nephew has a donor!

haflagirl — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:20:39 GMT

I rarely post in this blog, but this is the biggest news my family has had in a long time and the more good thoughts that end up going towards my sweet 3-year-old nephew the better. My nephew Joseph was born with no kidney function (and a host of lesser issues). Earlier this year he became big enough to receive a kidney and then it was the waiting game to move up the list. He's been at the top of his state's list for a few months now. Last night my sister got the call. Joseph has a donor. He goes into surgery today. We are all waiting with hope and lots of prayers for the operation to be a success and for Joseph to take one more step towards becoming just a normal little boy. Please, when you're sending your good thoughts his way, spare some for the family who lost a child too early in life, thereby making Joseph's transplant possible.

I finally have a new website!

haflagirl — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 00:11:53 GMT

Same ol' URL, but I finally created a new website with an all-new look and my new Pixie pictures to go with it. There's now a page for my student troupe, Lotus Bloom, and an easy button to sign you up for my email list if you are so inclined. Check it out and tell me what you think (especially if you find broken pictures and links, typos, etc)! http://www.rakschristina.com

Update

haflagirl — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:58:38 GMT

Yeah, I've been a non-poster for a while, mostly due to a combo of being in a climate change induced funk and just being too damn busy!! How the heck did I get this busy? I have shows up the wazoo coming up!! Wed, Oct 17--Lotus Bloom and Blue Lotus Tribe at the Martini Room in Elgin Sat, Oct 20--Blue Lotus Tribe at the Helping Hips Aids Benefit in Chicago Sun, Oct 21--Me at the Jasmin Jahal Fall Hafla in Chicago Sat, Oct 28--I'm hosting a Halloween Hafla at the Martini Room in Elgin Also I taught a tribal fusion choreography workshop last Sunday, an Egyptian finger cymbal choreography workshop yesterday, and have to finish learning the level 4 stick dance by Wednesday's class as well as my choreo for the Oct 21 hafla and the halloween hafla. That's 3 choreographies created in as many weeks, plus one learned! Yeah, perpetually busy and tired. yay me

In-law visit days... Hell, I don't remember what we did on which day so....

haflagirl — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 20:37:31 GMT

* Finished stripping, sanding, priming, and painting the shutters. What was white is now blue!! * Fixed and reglazed broken bedroom window, stripped it, primed and painted it. Other bedroom windows to follow post-visit, but it should be pretty smooth sailing since Wayne taught Michael the right way to do it. * Cut a big hole in the enclosed patio and put an additional door in there. Used to be you had to go out onto the driveway then back in the gate in order to go into the backyard from the house. Now you can go straight out! * Built drawer/pullout shelvy thingys for the pantry cupboard (a fridge-sized one next to the fridge). Result is one additional shelf and mucho more organization! * Built drawer/pullout shelvy thingys for the pots-n-pans cupboard. Again, stuff is easier to find and get to. A small loss of storage space, but there were some things in there we don't use much, so they went above the stove. * Fixed both gate latches and re-hung the gate that was hung wrong. * Took out the aluminum screens/storms on the South windows and stripped the paint. Those windows will be reglazed and the windows and framing repainted today. The rest of the downstairs windows will follow post visit. What was white shall be gray! * Stripped the trim above the front door and the front door.... ready for a fresh coat of paint. What what white shall be blue! All in all, this has been a productive 10 days. The house is looking better all the time and there's more to do this fall and in the spring. On the one hand, old houses are a ton o' work. On the other hand, putting the work into it is totally worth it to have it done right and make it YOUR. This is fast becoming OUR home with every improvement and project and ounce of sweat we put into it. And yes, pics will be posted sometime soon... when I have more "after" pics and get the time to upload and post them. It'll be worth the wait. The in-laws just left, sadly, but we are armed with the info and materials we need to finish the windows and trim repainting. Hopefully that much can happen before winter hits.

In-law home improvement visist... days 4-6

haflagirl — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 12:59:44 GMT

Thursday: I went to work at the salon, Michael went to work downtown, and the Wanye went to work in outside. He finished stripping the paint off the house where the gutters are going to go soon. Bonnie did a bit of work on the shutters as well and helped me out by doing some house cleaning (at some point Wayne stripped paint above our open windows and got tons of paint dust inside). When I came home, Wayne needed to make a Home Depot run, so I took him and Alex. We needed more sanding wheels for the grinder. Dinner was had and I ran off to teach my classes. When I got home, everyone was in bed. Friday: Salon for me again. Michael stayed home. He and Wayne primed and painted where the gutters would go. I think they did some other small stuff, but I'm not exactly sure. They were painting when I got home. We left at 4:00 for Alex's guitar lesson. Wayne wanted to come along to see Scott's work (he builds custom guitars.... from scratch!!) and pick his brain about techniques so he could have more to play with in his pool cue shop (Wayne builds custom pool cues from scratch!). The guys got along swimmingly and Alex had a good lesson. Dinner after the lesson and another early night to bed. Saturday: They put the gutters up!! Wayne and Michael spent the better part of the day putting up gutters and are mostly done with the exception of the downspouts. I spent a good part of the day getting two of the shutters cleaned off and ready to prime and paint. There must have been 10 layers of paint or more on those babies, not to mention gobs of paint collected in the corners that had to be chiseled out. You know there's a lot of buildup when what looks like a nice bevel between layers turns out to be a 90 degree angle when the paint is all chipped off. My back is really feeling it today too and I still have two to go... ugh!!

In-law home improvement visist... days 1-3

haflagirl — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 12:42:38 GMT

Monday... I clean like a madwoman, teach a private lesson, clean some more, and go pick up the in-laws at Midway. We drive home. Michael has made dinner. We eat dinner and discuss what to do project-wise afterwards before going to bed. Tuesday... after breakfast Michael, Bonnie, and Wayne make the first trek to the hardware stores to get the first round of needed stuff. I go teach a class at the studio. Wayne and Michael work on cutting the wood for the new cupboard drawers and I come home from work with just enough time to prep for my evening classes and go back out. Wayne walks around the house and plans out how to take down the gutters. I go to work for the evening. Everyone's in bed when I get home. I'm pretty sure the cupboard drawers are ready to assemble by this time. Wednesday... Wayne and I go to Home Depot to get the paint for the trim and a few other items. Wayne and Michael begin to take the gutters down and strip the paint beneath them as Bonnie begins stripping the paint from the decorative shutters. I get sent out to run errands and do the grocery shopping. I come home. Michael and Wayne are back at the hardware store to get better gutter takedown and paint stripping equipment. Bonnie and Alex are in his room having grandma time. I go outside and commence brushing the dead ivy branches stuck to the brick off of the brick. Bonnie and Alex take Izzy for a walk. The men come home with new toys. They use the new toys to take down the rest of the gutters and strip the paint beneath them. Michael also continues stripping the shutters. I take to the front door, hand stripping the paint off of it. Bonnie is making dinner and Alex is at a friend's house by this time. My arms get tired. I stop stripping paint for a while and come inside and post to journal. I can still hear the hum of the "grinder" as Wayne gets paint off the trim in pretty speedy fashion.

See? Another entry in the same week!!

haflagirl — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 14:36:29 GMT

I am reminded this morning that my in-laws are arriving Monday evening. They are coming from New Mexico to help us replace the gutters and strip and repaint all the trim on the house, among other things. Now, aside from the fact that I have no idea where this gutter money is coming from (we're freakin' BROKE!!), I'm faced with a house that's not been properly cleaned in I don't know how long!! The hubby is good for limited amounts of cleaning at about half the speed I can work at, so I'm pretty much guaranteed to be doing the bulk of it. Aside from that I have gardens to weed, ivy to pull off the house (or my pop-in-law... whom I love dearly but who is staunchly against any kind of ivy... will kill it), and a basement and garage to organize to the best of my ability. Luckily, the garage is mostly there and I have a plan for the basement. That's a lot to do in just a couple of days. I have to go to class this afternoon for a couple of hours, but the rest of the day will be spent on the house. I have class and rehearsal tomrrrow as well, but don't have to leave until 3:30, so I can spend most of the early part of the day working on the house. Fortunately, those are times when Michael is home as well, so perhaps I can nudge him to clean what I can't..... the mess that is his tools, his desk, and his gaming stuff all piled up in the basement/garage. All of that is kind of a no-touch zone. Besides, he needs to have his tools organized if we're to FIND any of them to do the work!! Monday I'll put the finishing touches on the house to make it all shiny before I pick them up from the airport. *sigh* I had hoped to paint the hallway and touch up some other spots as well as finish the window treatments for the dining and living rooms, but I guess it wasn't meant to be this time around.

Trying once again to use this blog thing and not just my LJ one.

haflagirl — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 13:27:45 GMT

Okay... the week in review then... Last weekend was the Tribal:Pura workshop and show. Andrea and I headed up to Milwaukee for the day. The morning workshop, I have to say, was pretty much the same as when Carolena and Megha came to Bloomington, IN last year. I expected as much though, so I wasn't disappointed. I've been tribal dancing for a while now...8 years to be exact, but it's always refreshing to get the moves from the creator's perspective. She worked us through all of the basics and it was fun. After lunch we learned some cool combos that I'm going to keep in the back of my mind (and notebook) until after I'm done teaching the BSBD improv variations to my level 2 and 3 classes... then maybe we'll start back into new combos. After a lovely dinner with Andrea and Kerrie at my fave Middle-Eastern spot to hit in M'wakey, Abu's, Kerrie met with some friends and Andrea and I went back to prep for the show. We were able to catch most of the first half and about half of the second half. Highlights were Khivan's sassy alternative fusion number, Hipnotic's powerful slow improv (and that damned multi-dancer turkish drop they do that always stops my heart for just a second), Stephanie Masters lovely Turkish style dancing, Trillium's straight-up FCBD improv with big smiles and tons of energy, and the Trillium/Stephanie number as well as their student troupe number.... lovely!! Andrea and I performed the tribe's Hallas Walla choregraphy (a Raquy and the Cavemen drum solo) to some pretty rave reviews. It felt good.... we felt "on." We were happy. My only regret the whole night was having to miss the Shades of Araby performance. I heard they did very well though. Fat Chance and Denyavi, of course, ended the show with a long set of tribal improv. Ooooooo.... pretty colors!! I enjoyed it and saw some new things which gave me even more ideas for future implementation. Sorry I'm not so wordy with the reviews. It *was* nearly a week ago!! Needless to say, they were a pleasure to watch. Post-show was the after party at the Safe House, another one of my fave Milwuakee haunts. Much merriment was had partying with all my friends and at some point I realized I had to drive home. Got home at 3:30am.... tired, but satisfied with the day. Onto the week..... * Monday was nothing special. Private lesson in the AM, taught my classes in the PM. * Tuesday I taught my afternoon class and then again in the evening. Level 3 (the student troupe) stayed late to run our Martini room set. Everyone left feeling pretty confident... this is a good thing. * Wednesday I was lazy. I had grand plans for cleaning and gardening that simply didn't come to life. I mostly did computer stuff and puttered around the house all day. The Martini Room gig was that night. Everyone was on time and I was very proud of my students' performance overall. Sure, there are always kinks to work out and things to improve on, but they did a great job and looked happy to be there! The crowd was a small but fun one and we even got some new folks out on the dance floor during the lesson segment. Blue Lotus Tribe took the stage (well, Andrea, Audrey, and I did anyway) and had a pretty good set too. Yay, us!! Ursula, part owner of the bar, was very complimentary and can't wait for the next one. DJ FLX (really.. he's a bellydancer's DJ) was on point as well. Some of us stayed for another martini far later than we should have, but we had a great time... lots of giggles and jokes. The night was a success! * Thursday... that would be yesterday.... I worked at the salon. We have 2 new stylists who I met, Tracy and Jameson. Both uber cool and laid back. It was a good day. After Alex got home from school I took him back over there for his haircut. The mohawk is back!! he even deigned to let Shelly put *gasp* product in his hair!! Last night was my first of two freebie intro classes at a new studio. 7 ladies took the class and 4 immediately signed on for a full session! yays! From there I went over to my class at the college. Again, a good time was had by all. Today, I work at the salon again. Tracy did a funky curly 'do on Heather during their downtime yesterday and now Heather wants to try it on me, so that should be fun. I really like working there.. low key, good people, and lots of free hair advice plus super cheap services and discount product. Can't beat that!! The pay's not much but the value of being there is great!! Which reminds me....anyone reading this and living anywhere near the Dundee area, if you're looking for a new stylist, we gots four good ones!! The salon is La Femme Fatale at 210 North River Street in East Dundee. Call 847-426-2995. They'll make yer hair real purty!! After work I plan to do all that stuff I was going to do Wednesday but didn't. Add to that website updates and some other bizness stuff and I have a pretty full day planned. No evening plans though, thankfully!! I need a night off!

Optimus Prime is God

haflagirl — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 04:34:55 GMT

In an attempt to use the tribe blog to a better extent, I give you the following cute little story about my son..... Michael took Alex to the drive-in last night... a double feature of Transformers and Evan Almighty. I asked Alex for the report. After giving me a brief review of both movies....one about alien robots who hide out on our planet disguised as vehicles, the other a modern-day version of the biblical story of Noah's Ark, he made the following observation: "Sometimes I think that the Transformers could be real and that the Autobots are watching over us, protecting us from the Decepticons." Uh... huh..... guess the whole "movie with God as a character" is less believable than our planet being protected by benevolent transforming machines. The theology of the 8-year old boy is really quite interesting.

The latest addition to our family....

haflagirl — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 15:15:44 GMT

Christmas day, Santa brought us a dog crate full of all things dog... food, treats, leash, toys, bed, etc, etc, etc....... The day after Christmas, we adopted Izabell, a beautiful 3 month old (now 4-month old) border collie/beagle mix full of energy and love. She's amazing!! She's smart and funny and has all of us completely in love with her.... well, all but the cats, but they're starting to get used to her. She's growing like crazy and is sure to be a pretty big girl within few months. She was housebroken fairly quickly and has learned a few commands. She loves to please us and loves the bellyrubs she gets for being a good girl (not to mention the treats!!). Anyway, here's a picture of our baby, Izzy. Told ya she was a pretty girl!

The Christmas Gliders have arrived!!

haflagirl — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 05:35:30 GMT

Today, yes, today, the Post Office was working today. I got the most awaited gift of the year from my dad. Today a package came with gliders for my family... you know, the cheap styro or balsa wood glider planes you assemble, and fly about three times before they crash into something unfortunate and die? Yep... those gliders. We get them every Christmas. I can't remember a Christmas without them. Customers of my dad's store get them too for their kids when they come in. Taped to each gift glider is the following explanation, written by my father. Thought I'd share it with you.... "THE GLIDER TRADITION When I was a child, my fahter always made sure there were gliders in the Christmas tree for each one of us six children on Christmas morning. In time, we came to expect them more than anything else in or under the tree. They became a symbol of our father's love for us. The gliders became such a part of Christmas for us that, even after we left home, Dad's gliders found each of us no matter where we were in the world. Now, we continue the tradition by putting gliders in our trees for our children and grandchildren. Please share in our tradition of over 50 years. Put this glider in your tree and enjoy it on Christmas monring. IT JUST ISN'T CHRISTMAS WITHOUT A GLIDER" Crazy thing is, when I opened up the other boxes of gifts from my parents, I was very disappointed in the absence of the gliders. Normally, dad doesn't wrap them, but maybe he did this time. I was so hoping there were gliders in those packages somewhere... and so happy when they arrived today in a seperate package. Seriously. It wouldn't have been Christmas without the gliders. A Joyous Everything to everyone reading this!!

Now that "old" tribe is back.....

haflagirl — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 17:42:51 GMT

I may start posting again. I'm really good about keeping up in LiveJournal, a little less so in MySpace, and really bad about it here. So, what's new with me? I just bought the cutest friggin house in Elgin, IL. No more condo living for me!! The house is a brick story and a half cottage style built in 1930 with a peaked roofing, an arched entryway, arched doorways in the living room, original woodwork throughout, gorgeous wood floors, an updated kitchen, and an unfinished basement just waiting to be finished!! Aw yeah!! We just moved in last week, so we're still unpacking boxes, but we've come remarkably far in a very short period of time. I'm just glad we finally have SPACE!! The house isn't huge by any means, but it's enough for the 3 of us and the kitties. I actually get an office and once the basement is organized a bit, a dance studio!! Even better than the house is the neighborhood. It's an old section of Elgin where neighbors still introduce themselves and you don't worry about your kid going down the street to play with friends after school. Alex walks to school now, which is only 5 blocks away and he's already made a ton of friends in the 'hood. We're pretty close to the river and I'm sure he'll go exploring around there come spring. I can't wait until he comes home with his first frog!! Michael and I walked over to the local resale shop and found a few antique treasures we're going back for later. Suffice it to say, I'm really happy and just wander around the place sometimes going "shit! This is MY house!!" It's the kind of house I've always wanted and now I have it. Anyway, enjoy the pic of it and if you feel like sending a housewarming gift, skip the plant and send Target or Home Depot gift cards!! (no, I don't seriously expect gifts!)

Harry L. Fisher

haflagirl — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 15:38:35 GMT

Harry L. Fisher was an amazing man. Not in the way we think of amazing men though, he was an amazing everyday man. He served his country fighting in World War II, he was a meteorologist for a time, then he drove semis for a living. After retirement, he drove a delivery van for a bakery. He married a beautiful girl Marie and they had seven children and eventually 2 dozen grandchildren, and at last count, 8 great-grandchildren with another one on the way. Harry did not believe in financing. He'd proudly buy a Mercedes, but it was a Mercedes that was old and so rusted out that sitting in the back seat, you could actaully see the pavement underneath you, so you tucked your feet up under you on the seat and held on tight for the lack of seat belts. Harry did not believe in taking the interstate. Any time you told him where you were going, he'd give you a ton of verbal directions from here to there avoiding any and all interstates. Harry could get from Maine to San Diego without ever going on the interstate. Speculation says this comes from his truck-driving days when he would avoid weigh-stations so as not to pay extra for his load. Yeah, Harry broke laws he didn't believe in. Harry had a favorite chair and could often be seen sitting in it watching football, westerns, war movies, or the news. He didn't like to be interrupted watching TV. When Marie would try to bother him, he'd just yell "shut up, Marie" and she'd shake her head and laugh. Harry and Marie had a very "Honeymooners" kind of marriage: full of love, even through "shut up, Marie." Harry loved to play games. He had a closet full of them. When the grandkids were over, he'd pull them out and play for hours. He had all the traditional ones, but also had a bunch of obscure ones. They were always the favorites of the kids. He loved card games too and would play Sheepshead with the family at every holiday gathering. He kicked butt a sheepshead. Harry smoked a lot and drank cheap beer... only cheap beer. If there was a party where the beer was free and he had access to premuim German beers, he'd order a Pabst. Pabst was his favorite. Being a Milwaukeean, he liked to stick to his Milwaukee beers.... except Miller... too fancy and expensive. ... and Harry could dance. He loved a good party and would dance the night away with Marie, with his daughters, and with his granddaughters. He could waltz, polka, foxtrtot, you name it. Under his gruff exterior was a man with a soft heart for the ladies, and loved to dance with them. Harry L. Fisher left this world yesterday evening. He was my grandfather. I rode in the rusted out Mercedes, listened to his interstate-less directions, hurried when I had to pass between him and the TV, played countless games with him, brought him dozens of cheap beers from the back hallway, and danced on his toes as a child. I'd give anything to hear him tell Grandma to shut up just one more time.

Two new friends

haflagirl — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 15:02:12 GMT

With the loss of Easter, both my other cat Ihashi and my son, Alex had gotten very lonely for another cat in the house. For my son, Ihashi's a great "sit next to him on the couch and chill" cat, but he's not much for playing. Bring on the kittens! We've adopted 2 7.5 month old kittens from a shelter named Atlas and Apollo. They're both very sweet and VERY playful!! Alex is having too much fun getting them to chase the feather on a stick. I just love how affectionate and cuddly they are! This whole house is in love... except Ihashi... he's still adjusting. Once I figure out where the hell I put my camera, I'll post a couple of pics of the new guys.

Easter's Gone.

haflagirl — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 06:59:50 GMT

My pretty little kitty, Easter, died tonight. I left the house at 5:00 to go to the studio and she seemed fine. Mellow, but fine. I came home at 8:15 to find her lying dead at the bottom of the stairs. I have no idea why. She had been with us for 11 years and has never been apart from our other cat, Ihashi. They're from the same litter. The fortunate thing is that Alex had fallen asleep in the car and was too out of it to realize she was dead and not just lying there when we came home. She's in a box in the garage now until I can call the vet to find out what to do. Tomorrow afternoon I get my first glimpse of how my son deals with death as I tell him what happened. That should be a fun way to start our weekend. Tomorrow I also get to take Ihashi to the vet for a checkup, just in case some kind of nasty kitty virus killed Easter and he may have caught it too. I really don't know if I could deal with being totally catless. I'm already a little afraid for him because they were so very close! You know when one half of an older couple dies the other one is many times not too far behind because they lose the will to live without their partner? I've read it happens with animals too.

Shamedan!!!

haflagirl — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 18:14:35 GMT

Got mine today!! The upper level class at the school I teach and study dance at is doing a Shamedan number in the student show.... fourteen flaming dancers! Imagine!! Mine arrived today and I've already been spotted by a neighbor trying it on my head. hehehe....

As long as my friends are doing it.

haflagirl — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 16:08:41 GMT

Swabere and Nevik, ya sure were cuties way back when! Here's one of me, age 3. Have fun!

The Lotus Bloom Debut!

haflagirl — Sat, 10 Sep 2005 22:33:40 GMT

Well, my student troupe, Lotus Bloom, debuted today. They were so excited and so damn cute! We all got ready at one of the ladies' houses and headed over to the Centre (there was an open house of sorts at the fitness complex where I teach my classes). Everyone looked great and of course they all insisted on taking pictures. We had some onlookers from my level 2 class and some former students who also took pics (I'll post something here soon). I was SO PROUD of my ladies! They did a great job! Most of the set was just them dancing rather than me and they really held it together! I only wish there had been more people there to see them. They felt good about their performance and I let them know how proud I was. Next stop, local haflas!

Miracles do happen!

haflagirl — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 17:52:51 GMT

I put the full story in my LJ, but wanted to say here that I believe in miracles! My unborn nephew was supposed to miscarry 3-4 months ago and held on. He was not supposed to survive the pregnancy, or if he did, the first few hours of his life. Things have turned around and my sister is predicted to give birth to a live baby boy. No telling how healthy he'll be or what medical services he'll need, but he's expected to survive. What a little fighter! In other news I've decided to teach myself to crochet... just because. We'll see how this goes.

Pennsic highlights

haflagirl — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 18:45:20 GMT

Already put this in my livejournal, but what the hell, I'll put it here too. Best moments at Pennsic this year: * Seeing my son kick ass in the children's play (he got to kill four soldiers and get the girl) * Buying not one, but two Tribal Source belts... yes, the belt whore strikes again. * Dancing at the Cure Sallee with all of my pals onstage and the greatest assembly of musicians ever! * Getting huge props and a big bear hug from an unexpected source after the Cure Sallee * Dancing to Daveed's drum at 2am at the Casa * Retreating to Oola and Angus' back porch for grilled stuff and great company * Watching my son charm the pants off everyone in his path * Watching my son make Pennsic friends * Listening to our big grunty fighters tell their war stories back in camp after the battles * Seeing the genuine silly grins on their faces as the Midrealm and allies FINALLY crushed the East * Seeing Kestral for the first time in ages at the Pirate Party * The Pirate Party * Haflas, haflas, haflas * Walking from hafla to hafla with Jas, Claire, and especially Bernie * Sipping exotic drinks with friends at the inner vagabond * Seeing my son learn how to play chess... at age six! * Seeing him beat someone at chess * Family night in our camp... extra tasty and extra fancy this year * Teaching classes to excited new dancers * Being reminded why Ziggy is a knight... and a good friend * Sitting in camp around the fire drinking, being silly, making s'mores, and exploding peeps * Watching my best friend float on air the rest of war after her guy proposed * Meeting the sweetest, cutest Viking ever who never hesitated to walk me home at ungodly hours after partying (I live far from the parties at Pennsic and can't get any of my camp family to stay out as late as I like to). There you have it. Yeah, I had fun.

Tribal Revolution a success!

haflagirl — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 00:46:30 GMT

And Wow, are we happy about it! We worked so hard to organize our first event and we really wanted it to rock! Bringing Domba was a guarantee that at least the workshops would, but could we pull it off? Would it all run on time? Would it be smooth? What about the show? I'm so happy to say that everything went off with very few dramatic moments. Lunch was late, but that was the caterer's fault, and there was no A/C in our unseasonably hot weather... and with 110 people dancing it did get hot. Thank god the venue had lots of industrial fans to at least keep the air moving. The show was FANTASTIC!! We owe that to all the performers! Dahui has a new fan base in bellydancers now and Domba.. well, come on, theyr'e Domba! I loved every performance! Hipnotic and Barika must have been my faves with lots of innovation! I'll be studying that DVD! So now it's the aftermath.... the reading of surveys and sending of thank-you's and some nights of sleep. Next year will be bigger and better in every way... for one, there will be A/C!

Almost the last day of work!!

haflagirl — Thu, 16 Jun 2005 19:21:53 GMT

In a little under an hour I leave work. Tomorrow I come back for three hours and then BAM!! No day job!! I'm taking the deep breath and living for my art from now on. I may starve in the process, but I'll be happy!! Just can't stop smiling today!