I need a black lace bra

This has made the email rounds and is attributed to Maya Angelou, but I have my doubts about that (too lazy to reseach it). Anyway, especially as a future counselor, I'm not big on "shoulds," but I think these are pretty good.
-------------------

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own even if she never wants to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
a youth she's content to leave behind....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
one friend who always makes her laugh... and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
a feeling of control over her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW
how to fall in love without losing herself...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW
how to quit a job,
break up with a lover,
and confront a friend without ruining the friendship...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW
when to try harder... and when to walk away...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW
that she can't change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW
that her childhood may not have been perfect...but it's over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW
what she would and wouldn't do for love...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW
how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW
whom she can trust,
whom she can't,
and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW
where to go--
be it to her best friend's kitchen table, or a charming inn in the woods--
when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW
what she can and can't accomplish in a day...
a month...and a year...

Somebody pinch me!

As many of you can attest, I've been pretty nervous about my first performance. Alright, fine-- more like neurotic, obsessive, and scared shitless. (I owe several of you therapy session fees.) Anyway...

Yesterday, I stumbled across a fellow triber's blog about blessings and gratitude, and that was it-- I had my remedy! Being grateful for the wonder and blessing of how this has all come about soothes my lurching stomach and stops the critical, anxious thoughts. Here's the story:

A mere 8 months ago, I saw Liquid Hips perform for the first time (pictured above), and was completely blown away. I said to myself-- and later to Brandi when I rushed up to her in my starstruck state-- "THAT's what I want to learn to do!" Afterwards, I couldn't eat or sleep for a week, I was so enchanted...

Several months of classes later, here I am. There's no way I would have believed you if you'd told me *then* that 8 months later I'd be dancing on that very stage, much less that I'd be a little Liquid Sin-ner. I hadn't even dared to dream that big, and I can't wait to soak up the moment.

Thanks Heather, Brandi, and Katy, for all the inspiration!

va-va-voom

Which classic pin-up are you?

www.quizilla.com/users/Med...%20You%3F/

Monday Miscellany

I freakin' LOVE the cartoons here: www.gapingvoid.com

And don't forget your daily dose of patriarchy blaming (or just damn good prose) here: blog.iblamethepatriarchy.com

Finally, changes they are a-comin'. Or so it seems to a couple of my friends and me. We're each going through schtuff right now-- mini-breakdowns, personal crises. Unpleasant, but hopefully just growing pains bringing about something new and better. Why now, we have no idea. Is it the season?

Have you noticed it, too?

happy birthday to me

I have been encouraged by a life verse of sorts since I found it (or it found me) six years ago:

"And then the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful that the risk it took to blossom." (Anaïs Nin)

It's in a frame on my bathroom wall.

That blossoming has been a slow, gradual process, the changes only really evident to those who knew me "before." Believe me, I was a real bitch-- and not in a good way. Closed off, unhappy, distant, bitter. Afraid, mostly. "Tight in a bud."

Looking back over the year since my last birthday, though, I'm astounded, delighted, OVER THE MOON about how much things have changed! Not on the outside... my circumstances are pretty much the same... but on the inside. There's more love in my life, and more people to love. And since I believe G-d is love, I'll be thanking Him as I blow out the candles... for blessing me in such sweet, surprising, amazing ways.

Thanks, kid.

Nothing like an unexpected exchange with a precocious 4-year-old at Super Target two days before Valentine's Day to make you want to do a face-plant into a pint of Chubby Hubby.

Little Boy (holding up a box of Batman Band-Aid's): Look at these!
Moi: Yeah, those are pretty neat.
LB: Do you have some of these?
Moi: No, I don't have any fancy Band-Aid's-- you're lucky.
LB: You don't have a kid at home with some of these?
Moi: Nope, sure don't.
LB: Why don't you have any kids?
Moi: Well, that just hasn't happened yet...
LB: Do you have one in your belly?
Moi: Um, well, no...
LB's dad (smiling and thinking this is all just adorable): Come on now, let's go. Not everyone has kids.

Yeah, that's right, ya little shit. Some of us are single and childless and really just want to buy some cat litter in peace and go home and eat take-out on the couch without being reminded that we have become a cliché.

Bah!

the fascinating life of the hopelessly uncool (h/t Nari)

(The pic has nothing to do with this-- he's just my newest celeb crush. ;))

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. (naughty) high school teacher - English and art
2. (naughty) church secretary
3. (naughty) bookstore clerk
4. (naughty) office manager

B) Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Pretty in Pink
2. Top Gun
3. Grease
4. The Meaning of Life

C) Four places I have lived:
1. Amarillo, TX
2. Austin, TX
3. Big Sandy, TX
4. Dumas, TX


D) Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Boston Legal
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. Scrubs
4. SNL


E) Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Austria and Germany
2. Hawaii, Oahu, Kauai
3. Vail, CO
4. San Francisco

F) Four of my favorite foods:
1. green curry veggies and rice from Phuket Thai on Haight
2. noodles (Italian, Thai, Vietnamese...)
3. anything Mexican
4. bakery cake with buttercream frosting

G) Four places I would rather be right now:
1. taking a dance class (yup)
2. running on Town Lake in Austin
3. at the Menil or SFMOMA
4. getting a massage

H) Three friends I think will respond:
1. (whoever's as bored as I am- if that's even possible)
2.
3.

fairy dust

Yoga classes resumed last night, so I unfurled my yoga mat for the first time since the Liquid Hips workshop at 3rd Coast. When my face was a few inches from the mat in Down Dog, I noticed it was covered in glitter and sparklies. It made me smile. :)

Being a superhero is rough!

www.egotastic.com/video

3rd Coast '07

Whew! I think I've finally recuperated enough to form a few complete sentences about 3rd Coast.

What an incredible weekend! I came away from two spectacular shows all starry-eyed and from three workshops all information-loaded and S-O-R-E. Next time, though, I will remember to TAKE NOTES! (sorry, Heather! ;))

Oooh, and I also came away with some groovy new flair pants, extra tall (thanks, Brandy!).

Not to mention some lovely new friends and acquaintances.

Sadly, I missed the after-party I'd bought a ticket to, but that's what I get for trusting a tipsy Austin-ite. :P You'd think I'd have learned better by now...