Below are the 30 most recent journal entries recorded in Ms. Feminist Folklorist's LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, April 25th, 2012
2:58 am	turning thirty A week and a day ago, I turned 30. It was not such a momentous occasion, although I certainly enjoyed celebrating in Vilnius (Lithuania) with friends and colleagues at an international folklore conference. I've accomplished a lot in the past year: I wrote and defended my dissertation, made it to India a 2nd time for teaching and research purposes, started learning flamenco, ran my 2nd half marathon, got my American Tribal Style® teaching certificate which helped me mentor a local dance troupe, got engaged, and oh yeah moved to Estonia to live abroad for the first time in my life. There've been struggles as well - the loneliness that comes with moving to a new place, seasonal depression made worse by a fuckton more snow and darkness than I'm used to, and a softening around the edges thanks to dissertation-writing and navigating a new and hearty cuisine - but on the whole I'd say I'm pleased with my progress and adventures this year. Moving to Estonia has showed me how well I can excel at being self-sufficient and making new friends if I try. The upcoming year will hold its own set of challenges: negotiating married life, trying the job market again if my one last hope at a fellowship doesn't come through, and living with a large amount of uncertainty about the future. The good news is that I've got a great support system, both in the US and abroad, so I think things will be okay. I'm excited to experience what the upcoming year holds, and let's hope that I maintain my momentum and passion even as I leave the awesomeness that was my 20s. Anyone have life transition and/or birthday stories they'd care to share? (10 shards | break the glass slipper)
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012
4:27 pm	brief link round-up First, zomg, naamah_darling quoted me! Her writing on sexuality, gaming, mental health, feminism, and all kinds of other stuff is really awesome so I totally recommend reading her journal (and her FABULOUS online erotica). Here is why I'm not having detailed discussions of women's sexual health in the news right now. It's simply undoing me to feel so subhuman. Here is why I don't buy it when people argue that it's "inappropriate" to talk/write/blog about sex, because it's really about power. Finally, here is the tale of how I went to ICFA (one of my fave conferences) and fangirled all over China Miéville. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a dissertation to revise. (3 shards | break the glass slipper)
Thursday, March 8th, 2012
10:27 am	call me doctor Yesterday I successfully defended my dissertation. Pending minor revisions, I am now a doctor. Hell yeah! Everyone on my committee complimented me on my writing, so I'm really happy about that because I do strive to be a clear and interesting writer (in fact, one of my chairs said that my writing was a credit to my late mentor, Alan Dundes, which almost made me tear up). Most of my committee's contentions were minor or theoretical in such a way that I can address them by retooling and reframing my introduction. So, yeah, I am extremely pleased to be at this stage of the journey. I still don't know where I'm ending up, but I've got a supportive partner and family, so I think everything will be okay. (49 shards | break the glass slipper)
Monday, February 27th, 2012
3:32 am	recent happenings Long time no update. I went to India to present at a conference, give university lectures, and do some preliminary fieldwork. In other words, it was a "working vacation," so while it was lovely, it was also tiring. I spent this weekend in a cabin surrounded by snow and a forest, hanging out with Estonian friends and soaking up as much sauna as I could. This is the week where I do All Of The Things before traveling to the US to defend my dissertation, get my tribal belly dance on, and present at ICFA. Then it's back to Estonia to wrap things up here (and go to Vilnius for a conference! excited!) and then, I just now decided, I shall be returning to the US in time to graduate in the spring ceremony. Lots of logistics ahead, but I think I can handle it. I'll try not to be so scarce on LJ but, well, hopefully you can see why it's been this way and will likely continue to be. (10 shards | break the glass slipper)
Saturday, December 31st, 2011
10:24 am	Good bye, 2011! I'm less into New Year's resolutions than reflecting what I've accomplished and experienced this year, and how I'd like to go about similar or different things next year. Last year I said vague things about my academic life, but in actuality, I've managed to complete a first draft of my dissertation, which is a MAJOR accomplishment, so hey, not bad. To sum up some highlights, in 2011 I: -went to India (loved it, going back in Feb, hopefully again for research!) -ran a half-marathon the same week I packed up my apartment in Bloomington and prepared to move to Estonia -presented on my dissertation research at a digital humanities conference and won a paper prize (co-authored with my fabulous friend/collaborator) -moved to Estonia -made new friends and learned to cope without a stove or fancy kitchen gadgets -belly danced and hooped a fair bit, both with my peeps back in the US and my new peeps here -continued to blog for My Sex Professor, a site whose educational mission I support and adore -had some academic publications come out ...pause for emphasis... -finished my dissertation!!! ...another pause for emphasis... -got engaged! to Pan, my wonderful partner who understands and supports me and talks to me about narrative theory and human development and sexuality, and watches Community with me, and whisks egg whites by hand so that we can have chocolate mousse for New Year's dinner, and totally took me to Spain so we could get engaged on a balcony in the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona. Fuck yeah. Both our families are supportive, and our friends have been too, those we've told thus far. I'm still processing some of the emotional issues that accompany such a large commitment, but I tend to write about those under a friends-lock, so in case you're new to my journal, let me know in a comment or something and I'll consider adding you. 2011 wasn't all puppydogs and sunshine - I dealt with some rough times and depression - but on the whole it was a pretty awesome year and I'm excited to see what 2012 holds. I don't know enough about where I'll be doing what when or how, so I can't really make a lot of specific goals, so I guess for now, I'll have to try to keep focusing on healthy and creative ways to interact with my various communities (academic, dance, writing, and so on). Making risotto, salmon with leeks and duxelles, a salad with candied nuts plus a homemade vinaigrette, and chocolate mousse for a small New Year's gathering in Tartu tonight. I'm skipping my family's traditional dish of latkes with caviar, but don't worry, there'll be champagne. Cheers! (4 shards | break the glass slipper)
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
9:04 am	footnotes or endnotes? Most of the venues I've published in prefer endnotes to footnotes, so that's what I currently have in this (almost complete YAY) draft of my dissertation, and it's what I'll stick with unless my committee tells me otherwise. BUT... what do you think? Footnotes or endnotes? Why? (15 shards | break the glass slipper)
Monday, November 21st, 2011
8:19 am	time flies ...when you're nose-deep in dissertation-writing all the time? Oh, and dancing. Here's a recent solo I performed in Tallinn. And time either flies or really drags when you're recovering from some kind of winter-induced infection that caused me to have to "rest" and "take it easy" (whatever that means). Wow, my paid account is expiring soon. I still like LJ enough to keep using it, and I like the paid account perks... so I'll probably renew. Probably. I am still not 100% sure if Thanksgiving is going to come together here in Estonia, which is a bummer since it's one of my favorite holidays. If I can't find a turkey, maybe I'll find a goose. Or some other form of poultry. Hell, I'd even consider chicken an acceptable Thanksgiving entree provided I made the rest of the fixings too (gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce). We'll see what I can come up with. Suggestions welcome. I've never cooked a goose, for instance. Maybe I should look for pheasant? I think I need to drag an Estonian person to the meat market with me so I can take advantage of their linguistic skills. My rudimentary Russian only gets me so far here. Back to work; just thought I'd surface long enough for an update. ETA: I love naamah_darling's post about introversion and the internet vs. "real life". I'm becoming more interested in the invisibility of introverts in different times and spaces. Perhaps some of the disability studies research on mental illness in different periods would be helpful for me here (not saying that introversion is the same as mental illness, but there are some points of overlap when it comes to the ability to socialize in normal ways/spaces, and both tend to be overlooked in many accounts of social life). (1 shard | break the glass slipper)
Friday, October 21st, 2011
11:39 am	fall & falling Long time no post. My whirlwind trip back to America for a conference was largely a success; I gave a paper, saw old friends, met new friends, got in some delicious food, and somehow didn't collapse from either jet lag or sleep deprivation (pro tip: don't start a conference with sleep dept). Dissertation-writing is continuing apace, and that's all I can really state with certainty for now. I'm sure in a few weeks I'll have plenty to complain about when the weather drops to freezing and there's ZOMG SNOW everywhere, but for now I am just skimming by. Started reading Anansi Boys for the first time, after recently rereading American Gods, so that's been enjoyable. Oh, and I need to read some China Mieville since he's one of the GoHs at ICFA--I already asked for recs on the social media I use more than LJ these days, but I figure it couldn't hurt to ask here (same with Kelly Link, as I've only read one story of hers, "The Library"). Oh, and just to offer something that might be entertaining, here's video of one of my hooping performances here in Estonia. It is quite possibly the first hooping performance recorded in this country. (11 shards | break the glass slipper)
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
5:54 am	and what it comes down to is... I am only half-heartedly following the George R. R. Martin feminism/rape/etc internet debates, but here's what it comes down to in Sady's words: That’s what it’s actually like, being a woman: Playing nice with every random asshole, because this random asshole might be the one who hurts you. And then, if he hurts you anyway, they’ll tell you that you led him on. This line totally resonated with me, because I do play nice with people in general--often because I like to think I am generally a nice person, and curious about other people's lives, and willing to talk to just about anyone for a few minutes at a time... but also because, as a woman, I know that someone might hurt me simply for being a woman who does not respond nicely to their approach. Yes, we can have the "there's violence against men too, men get robbed/face random violence" discussion, but it's far less likely that a man will be hurt for simply not responding nicely to someone's request to chat than that a woman will be. And that bothers me, A LOT. The social conditioning to be nice bothers me; the consequences for not being nice bother me. Fuck the lot of it. At any rate, I'm not fully caught up on the Martin books, and I'm sorta vaguely trying to avoid spoilers, so while I do think discussion of sexism and representations of rape in fantasy is an utterly fascinating topic, now I'm paying more attention to how these discussions are being framed, and who is expressing which viewpoints, and so on. (4 shards | break the glass slipper)
Tuesday, August 30th, 2011
7:23 am	toe issues Dangit, I think I sprained the little toe on my right foot, or at least bruised it. I must've been hooping a little too enthusiastically in flip-flops (not enough foot support) on Sunday, since on Monday when I went to run, I noticed a little pain. I already had a blister on my little toe, so I thought maybe the bandage was too tight. I readjusted it, ran 4 miles, and then it was still hurting when I came home. And when I say "hurting" I don't mean blinding amounts of pain, more like an ache or a soreness in the "huh, that hurts when I touch it or pay attention to it" sense. The toe's not discolored or swollen, so it can't be too bad. Pain is localized in the outside and top of the toe, especially where it meets the joint. So mostly I've been trying to stay off it. Yesterday I taped it to the next toe just in case that would help, but today I think I'm just going to leave it as is, and wear shoes with good support. Any advice for toe injuries? My littlest toe is so tiny that it's hard to pinpoint where the pain it coming from. Also, this whole not-exercising thing is kinda driving me nuts. I was going to do yoga today, but all those toe-flexing positions like lunges and downward dog just seem like a bad idea now. At least I get to walk a bit when I go to the university, the market, or my fave coffee shop. In other news, holy crap I've been sex blogging for one year now. And I'm excited to reread American Gods because Pan is reading it now, so we're going to discuss it when we both finish it. Sharing favorite books with loved ones has got to be one of the world's finest pleasures. And now, more poking at and polishing the 3rd substance chp of my dissertation. Because at 55 pages, the damn thing had better well be close to done. (2 shards | break the glass slipper)
Monday, August 22nd, 2011
2:29 pm	more estonia pics + life here Whew, it's been busy. Dissertation continues to eat my life (except on weekends, when I unwisely stay out too late exploring the night life). I posted some more pics of Tartu here... just a few photos, really, documenting the places I walk and work. I am THRILLED that a friend showed me the public library here! There aren't that many books in English, but I can reread some classics by Gaiman and Stephenson if I wanna play in my fave genre, or branch out into classics, like the Jane Austen books I never got to in school. I don't care if this makes me a nerd - I've always loved books, and always will. Oh, and I just read The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making by Cat Valente (yuki_onna). I teared up at the end. It was such a beautiful book. Vivid imagery and clever phrases populated it, bringing it to life before my eyes. As a fairy tale scholar, I give it a stamp of approval... it's entered the ranks of books like Palimpsest that I don't think I could bear to study, because I love them too much and they feel like home. And this coming from someone who will deconstruct damn near anything given the chance. Ugh, I'm getting the itch to do a photoshoot but I don't know any photographers around here, and my time is quite limited. On the plus side, the friends I do have here are awesome. I hang out with people from around the world, and we cook and eat and drink together, go out dancing and chat over coffee, talk each other through boy troubles and hangovers. I've never had this easy of a time moving before. I think Tartu might be a little magical. (3 shards | break the glass slipper)
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
9:13 am	adventures in Estonia! I finally got around to uploading some recent pics into a Picasa album. Highlights include the adventure park at Otepää where I seriously confronted my fear of heights, like whoa. I almost lost my shit on one of the higher routes, but I came through and clung to a rope while jumping off a high platform (I was hooked in by a climbing harness belt so obviously nothing bad would've happened if I fell, but still, it was SO scary). Then there are also pics from Viljandi, where they have an awesome world music festival every year (think Lotus Fest, for those of you in Bton, but for 4 days instead of 2! just imagine!). My dissertation is coming along, slowly but surely. I document a lot of the frustrations on Twitter, @foxyfolklorist if you're interested in following along at home. Still writing for Ye Olde Sexe Blog, which I adore. One of my favorite recent posts is Professor Writes Romance Novels... And Keeps Job. I also reviewed Sex at Dawn, which I thought was a truly amazing book. There's some of my usual feminist ranting about rape culture & access to reproductive choices too. I'm sad about missing GenCon this year, but I think it was for the best for me to have already come to Estonia to start my scholarship. I've made way more diss progress than if I'd been crafting and practicing madly in the months preceding the con, not to mention that the entire week would've been lost and no good for work. This way, I'm more than halfway into the 3rd content chapter of my diss (6 of these chps, plus an intro and conclusion, should be the extent of it). Other than that, no major homesickness. Having Skype and wireless internet access in my room is helping a lot with that, as are the awesome friends I've made here--some fellow folklorists, some other international students, and some local Estonians who are all equally cool and fun to hang out with. Additionally, I'm trying to be more body-positive, which is no easy fear in the land of tall, lanky blond people (I am none of these things). I'm inspired by the words and actions of friends--both IRL and on LJ--to try to revise the body-negative thinking that has become so ingrained. When I look at my legs, I think about how strong and shapely they are: they carry me when I run, dance, climb. Pretty much everything I wear looks good on me, in large part because I've decided not to pursue fashion or trends that only look good on skinny chicks. When I wear outfits that display and enhance my muscularity, I feel good about myself. I know I can outrun and out-dance (not to mention out-think and out-talk!) most of the people I meet. Focusing more on what I can do (ie physical achievements) than what I can't do (ie wear skinny jeans) has been excellent for me. Thoughts on body positivity, or any of this? (8 shards | break the glass slipper)
Monday, July 11th, 2011
8:45 am	live from estonia! After a whirlwind trip of some of the towns in the Netherlands surrounding Amsterdam, I'm getting settled in Estonia, making all the arrangements to live here for 10-ish months (getting a local phone number, university ID, bank account, etc). It's really beautiful here. For instance, I live about 2 blocks from this scene of the city center, which is also where many of the university buildings are located: ( Read more... ) (22 shards | break the glass slipper)
Monday, July 4th, 2011
7:49 pm	travel + catching up on other stuff Sitting in the Toronto airport, where happily there is free wifi. Unhappily, however, I was told that my luggage from Indianapolis would check straight through to Amsterdam, but no, it did not--I had to retrieve 2 giant suitcases from the carousel and lug them between terminals and recheck them. Turns out you need a lot of crap to live in another country for 10 months, so schlepping it all around is no easy task. Luckily, from here it should check straight to Amsterdam, where I'm hanging out with my juggling/performance buddy for a few days before going to Estonia where my scholarship is letting me live for the next 10 months while I work on my dissertation. I think once I get settled in, I will be glad to have all the stuff I brought and I will be very productive. Otherwise, I've been busy arranging my stuff in storage (unwittingly, 3 library books were packed in boxes but SOMEHOW Pan and I found them... in under an hour, even!) and traveling through California. Oh, um, and the paper I delivered at the Digital Humanities conference in Stanford won a prize. Best newcomer to the field. My coauthor/friend and I were pretty much floored at that. The conference itself was also really fun... I've decided that all conferences should have a hash-tag and should be live-tweeted, because that makes conferences SO MUCH AWESEOMER. I'm quite happy that my dissertation ended up being a digital humanities project because I think it's a really cool field, and one I intend to continue participating in whenever I get the chance. I got to spend some time with my family in SoCal, even though that time felt all too short... but I need to get to Estonia and start writing so I can finish in a reasonable time. I expect I'll resume posting once I reach Estonia next week. Any questions? (18 shards | break the glass slipper)
Friday, June 3rd, 2011
8:31 am	protein post All the dancing and running I'm doing is catching up to me - I'm craving mad amounts of protein these days. Problem is, I don't like eating animals that often. I continue to believe that humans do not need to eat animals for our survival, although it is frequently convenient to do so. Much of the world's population gets by on a mostly-vegetarian diet, so it can be done. It's mostly a matter of combining your food choices properly, which, again, traditional world cuisines tend to do very well, with their combinations of grains + legumes + dairy and so on (think of Mexican food, or North African food, and so on). The American diet does not particularly lend itself to such decisions, though. You really have to go out of your way to find foods that came directly from the earth and can be combined healthfully. I also have ethical problems with how meat is done in this country. I don't want my money going to support those awful factory farms... but since I'm living on a student budget, I can't afford to eat sustainably/ethically raised meat all that often. Eating too much meat makes me feel kinda heavy and weighed down, anyway; maybe it's just how my body processes meat. I only eat red meat 2-3x week, so the idea of eating more meat, even more than once a day, makes me feel kinda gross. I could do more poultry and/or seafood, but again, it costs more if you want to eat from environmentally-friendly sources, plus I'm in the Midwest right now, which isn't great for seafood. That leaves eggs and dairy to round out the easy-animal sources. I do like those--I'll eat Greek yogurt daily, no problem--but again, organic = more expensive, plus the animal sources come with additional correspondingly high levels of fat and cholesterol, for the most part. And while I know modern dieticians have disproved the whole "animal fats = bad, just eat margarine all the time" claims of decades past, I still don't want to be filling myself with unnecessarily high levels of fat. So, we get into legumes and nuts. Which I love, but don't always manage to incorporate into my diet. I just don't always think to. Maybe it's something I need to work on. Part of the problem is that I'm a social eater, and not everyone I know is as happy to dig into a big bowl of Tuscan white beans as I am, so my preferences sometimes go on the back-burner (I do ensure that there are fresh fruits and/or vegetables at every meal I prepare, though; things like that, I refuse to compromise on). I guess I could look into supplements. I already take a multivitamin with iron, since I'm prone to anemia (another reason to eat more red meat if I could stomach it, I guess). I don't mind protein shakes, or tofu, or other vegetarian/processed kinds of protein... although, given the option, I avoid processed foods in favor of ones I make myself. Which leads me to believe that this is a matter of deciding which is the lesser evil: eating animals, which I don't view as necessary or desirable on a regular basis, or consuming processed (but vegetarian) forms of protein. Maybe I need to start tracking calories/nutrients using some web calculator just to figure out where I'm at already, and adjust from there. Ideas welcome. And feel free to drool over the healthy and sustainable dish I'm making for dinner tonight. Also, thanks to joecichlid for the new userpic! (11 shards | break the glass slipper)
Sunday, May 22nd, 2011
10:13 pm	crazy busy: general update I'm out of my apartment in less than a month, and have been treating moving like a full-time job. I've gotten rid of a lot of clothing and books, and I reserved a storage unit for my stuff while I'm in Estonia... these tasks, while not very demanding, are still really taxing on my emotional resources. Being in "moving mode" feels about as draining to me as being in "constant socializing" mode, which sucks for an introvert. Oh, and I stepped on a nail, which made last week's half-marathon training slow to basically nothing (I ran 10ish miles over the course of the week rather than the 26 I ought to have run). Foot's nearly healed by now, though, so hopefully I can ramp it back up and be good for the race, which is on June 11. (right around moving time! bad planning or good planning or "so exhausted I'll want to hibernate" planning?) However, I'm still making time to hoop (new practice video up here), and blog at MySexProfessor.com (ranty post about educators and erotica here). The diss has slowed, though, because moving is stressing me out so much that I can't really work on it now, sigh. But the whole point of the move is to get me settled in Estonia for 10 months of uninterrupted writing time, so I ought to be able to pick up the slack when I get there. Otherwise, nothing all that special to report. I'm still reading LJ, just not writing very much. (1 shard | break the glass slipper)
Friday, April 15th, 2011
10:14 am	feeling better + good news This allergy/sinus/whatever thing is finally started to go away; today's the first day I woke up without pain in my throat, though my head's still a bit stuffy. I've been getting 8-10 hours of sleep a night and not doing a lot of strenuous stuff during the day, so that must be it. Now that I'm finally feeling better, I'm gonna see if I can't run 8 miles today, so I can still be more-or-less on track with half-marathon training. And... I just found out that my application to study next year in Estonia was accepted! The folklore institute at the University of Tartu is able to occasionally bring in Ph.D. students from other countries, and I was invited to come by a professor I know. I'll be there from early July to May, since it's a 10-month scholarship period, during which I will work on (hopefully finish) my dissertation, participate in the occasional seminar, and so on. I am excited but also terrified, because when my lease is up in June, I have to put all my stuff in storage (except for the few boxes' and suitcases' worth of things I'll be bringing with me) and then leave the country. Which I've never done before. In order to make this seem more manageable, I am trying to divide it up into tasks: first, airfare; then, starting to go through my things and get rid of stuff I don't need (EPIC clothing-swap party will happen in May); find homes for my nicer things that I think friends might get some use out of while I'm gone; and so on. (also, I know it's probably a bad idea to leave the country with library books.... but, er, how bad of an idea is it, precisely? a lot of my diss books are from the library, and I'm not averse to purchasing copies for myself, but still... I'd totally mail them back if they were recalled...) Advice from anyone who's staged a drastic relocation before would be welcome. I also have NO idea how to look for an apartment in Estonia, but luckily, the profs and grad students I know over there are very friendly and helpful, and they're already offering to aid me when I get there. I have the option of living in the international student dorms for the first month-ish, and if I like it, I stay, and if not, I can find an apartment or sublet to move into. The dorms sound like they might not be too bad, with 3 single bedrooms linked up to a common kitchen, but I've come to really value my privacy and space, so perhaps it's not a good long-term option for me. We'll see. Otherwise... my birthday is Sunday and I'm not planning on doing anything big this weekend (the Little 500 already has that covered, sigh), other than enjoying the people around me and the activities that make me happy (such as hooping and dancing). It's not a "big" birthday, anyway. (20 shards | break the glass slipper)
Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
10:56 am	well, that's just lovely Day 2 of week 2 of half-marathon training, and I think I'm sick. Dry/scratchy throat, pain swallowing, one side of my throat is externally swollen (probably a lymph node?). I can still eat and drink without too much pain so I don't think it's worth a trip to the health center just yet, but it's also been paired with trouble sleeping, and if that continues, I may have to go in. Hopefully it's just a minor infection or soreness due to post-nasal drip from my allergies (HELLO, SPRING). Mostly, I'm irked that I'm missing a day of training. It feels like the best thing to do, to give myself a rest day when I won't have any for the rest of the week unless my body completely shuts down. I'm only missing an easy 3-miler, so it oughtn't impact my training that much, but still, grr. Hopefully I can manage to eke out a few pages on my dissertation, too; now that I've started actually writing the bloody thing, and am able to churn out 3-5 pages most days of the week, I would hate to face any obstacles that slow my progress. Moving in June is going to be bad enough (still not sure where I'm going, either). Despite the fact that I sound like a bundle of stress, things are not actually going that poorly in the majority of my life. I'm excited for workshops this weekend with the amazing hooper Brecken (link to video of her tearing it up), as well as whatever other birthday mischief I can get into. Ugh. Better go drink more liquids, then tackle chores & the diss... (5 shards | break the glass slipper)
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
5:25 pm	my birthday's in less than 2 weeks... what do I want? Poll #1727408 Birthday Wishes Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 16 What do I want for my birthday? View Answers A new tattoo 5 (33.3%) Money for dissertation books 1 (6.7%) A camera (even though I am a terrible photographer, but I do travel enough to warrant it, maybe?) 5 (33.3%) Suggestion below 4 (26.7%) Expand: View Answers Just being frivolous here. I'll enjoy my birthday either way since I plan to spend the weekend hooping. No time or inclination for a party, though. (1 shard | break the glass slipper)
Saturday, April 2nd, 2011
6:02 pm	Caliornia dreamin' Visiting family in CA this week. Still working on dissertation stuff... still hoping to actually sit down and start writing... soon. Everything's so up in the air right now, I barely even know what to make of my life. At least I'm sleeping better these days. And it helps to know that I've got friends and family who care about me and make sure I get fed tasty foods. Oh, and I'll probably train for a half-marathon in June. No rest for the wicked, indeed... (1 shard | break the glass slipper)
Monday, March 21st, 2011
8:05 pm	oh, and some brief India tidbits A post about my India trip has gone up at Ye Olde Sex Blog. I also have a fairly ranty post about inaccurate misconceptions about non-monogamy. And one about when science gets it wrong. (4 shards | break the glass slipper)
7:00 pm	tired but in a good way I'm exhausted from the conference, but ICFA was amazing and I intend to make a post but first there's unpacking and sleeping and working on another conference paper and figuring out how I am actually going to sit down and begin writing my dissertation! (break the glass slipper)
Saturday, March 12th, 2011
1:12 pm	back from India. I've returned, and triumphed over jet-lag (which took days, ugh). I'm scrambling to organize my living space and prepare for ICFA and deal with things that have happened in my absence, so it'll be a while until I manage to upload some pics and write some travel narratives. In the meantime, here's a picture from Kamakhya, a temple in Guwahati devoted to Shiva-Shakti. (6 shards | break the glass slipper)
Monday, February 28th, 2011
8:08 pm	awesome things afoot! I have some internet access here in Chennai, so I thought I'd post a brief update. The IFSNR conference in Shillong was amazing: I truly felt like part of an international folklore community, and I don't want to let that feeling go. I met wonderful people, and the north-east Indians were especially warm and welcoming; I feel like I met friends everywhere I turned. I need to think of a post-dissertation research topic that'll get me back to India, particularly the north-east. While here, I've been invited to give a lecture at a center for indigenous studies. So that means my week in Chennai isn't as carefree as I'd hoped, but I also get to see more of the country, and I get to have yet another cool academic experience. The food here, of course, is delicious; I haven't had a bad meal yet (this includes airplane food, amazingly enough). I'm actually remembering to take pictures, which I'll share when I'm home in a week+. Ciao for now! (4 shards | break the glass slipper)
Monday, February 14th, 2011
1:55 pm	yay new dance video + travel I just got this video uploaded to Youtube, and I think it's one of my favorites. Check it out and let me know what you think if you have a chance. Slinky performances like that are so enjoyable for me; I think that performances shows off a lot of my skills nicely, too (floorwork, layered shimmies, and so on). So, tomorrow I leave for India! I'll be gone til March 8. I'll be in the north for a conference, and in the south visiting friends of my aunt. I need to put some books on my kindle, finish packing, run some errands, etc. I am terrifically excited about this trip. The paper I'm presenting at the conference is solid, all the travel arrangements have been made, safety precautions are being taken... whew! Can't wait! I expect I'll be on email and Twitter a bit, but not on LJ much, so I'll see y'all on the other side? (12 shards | break the glass slipper)
Friday, February 11th, 2011
7:34 pm	fun dancey bits First, I had a great time at the Snow Flow Fest in Louisville. Workshops were excellent, people were friendly, the flow jam was like every rave I've never been to (I am a latecomer to many scenes because my nose is stuck in a book). ( pic below the cut as it's large-ish ) I took a fire fan workshop and liked it so much that I decided to buy a pair. Granted, I'm crap at spinning things (e.g. I bloodied my nose during the mini-hoops workshop because I spun one right into my face), but spinning fans is not the whole extent of fire fan dancing, as I gather. I just want to do more tech moves than belly dancers who just kinda pose with them, wiggle a bit, move the fans to another pose, wiggle some more. It seems like the prop demands more than just holding it in one plane at a time. I've already noted some interesting similarities to poi (though I only know a handful of moves), so now I have something new and fun to work on--and I bet it also improves my arm and hand strength for climbing! Last but not least, I'm getting into dubstep because it's GREAT for hooping, so I made another hooping video of myself and here it is. I've known about Bassnectar for a while, and I'm hearing about other musicians like White Ring... recommendations, please? (12 shards | break the glass slipper)
Monday, January 31st, 2011
8:24 pm	Happy Hoopiversary to me! I've learned a lot about hooping in just one year. I'm still not terribly pleased with how my videos of myself look, but I figure I had to decide to post one or else I'd just never do it. At least I can look forward to learning a lot in the future! Video! Also, silly question... but my Flip goes through batteries really quickly, and I haven't had a battery-operated device in a while, so, um, if I'm not supposed to throw away used batteries, what do I do with them? Anyone have a recommendation for a good set of rechargeable AA batteries, while we're on the topic? (14 shards | break the glass slipper)
Thursday, January 27th, 2011
10:07 am	wooo, Flip! Being the giant dance dork I am, I starting filming almost all my practice sessions with my new Flip camera. Here's the one I'm happiest with, as I think it shows off my technical skills rather nicely, but still gives me good ideas about where I can improve (mostly, facial expressions, imbuing my movements with a little more tension, fewer obnoxious wrist circles... the usual). I've filmed myself hooping a handful of times, too, but I don't like any of those enough to post. Hopefully viewing them will help me figure out how to become a better hooper, since I'd love to share some of what I've been working on as soon as I feel proud enough of a particular piece! (3 shards | break the glass slipper)
Sunday, January 23rd, 2011
11:57 am	the better-late-than-never new year's post January has been a bit of a trial thus far: lots of worries and troubles, and also lots to look forward to, but it's been hard to get my mouth around the stress-sandwich that my life has been lately. I've been reflecting a bit on 2010, though, and I think I met most of the scattered goals I'd set last year. I trained for and kicked ass in a half-marathon; I continued to improve as a rock climber, dancer, and hooper; I learned to eat fire (as a first step to fire dancing); and I wrapped up my dissertation research and am on the way to a solid outline so I can start writing the thing. Notable but unforeseen events of 2010 include writing for a sex blog, becoming part of the performing duo Circle and Spice, becoming a sourdough-focaccia-baking bad-ass, and performing in a humorously macabre show called "Sex/Death." In 2011, I'd like to continue in much the same manner, evolving in my creative and physical pursuits, and getting enough academic work done that I can meet my eventual goal of being a professor when I grow up. I realized recently that my creative life is inextricable from my life as a scholar; academics shouldn't have to apologize for having hobbies outside academia--if anything, they make us better scholars. Flexing your mind outside of your primary research and teaching areas is always going to be valuable and useful, making you more inventive, more inspired, more inspiring. That, and although I hate to play into the "tortured artist" stereotype, I've come to terms with the fact that I am a creative person in large part because I need to be in order to cope with life and the world. I experience life very emotionally and immediately; I need to process my thoughts and experiences somehow, and art is the best way for me to do that. Art is the symbolic expression of how I think the world should be, and it's my way of reaching out to others about that. It's a way for me to communicate my values, which are not exactly mainstream but are, I think, less hurtful than a lot of mainstream (read: heteronormative) ideas and behaviors. In short, creative outlets are one of the things I need in my life to survive, and to suggest that they detract from my academic labor or value is to seriously misunderstand not only me, but what art is all about. Obviously I can't dance for 10 hours a day and expect my dissertation to get done--balance in all things and all that--but I'm not giving up the creative outlets that make me happy and keep me sane in order to try to live out a normal fantasy of how people "should" work. On that note, time to get ready for belly dance practice and hooping! (8 shards | break the glass slipper)
Sunday, December 19th, 2010
11:56 am	blech, junk food I think I've eaten too much crap this weekend. Fries, sodas, etc. I feel like crap and am feeling very sluggish and slow. Times like this, I want to go back to eating mostly vegetarian, but that's not terribly practical for traveling (I mean, yeah, I know I could do it, but when I'm a guest in people's homes I feel bad making them accommodate my special needs, plus I like trying new foods like regional specialties too much to restrict myself to any one mode of eating). Does anybody else feel like the foods they eat affect their moods in concrete ways? I know it happens to me based on the sheer timing/quantity of foods I eat, because if I don't put calories in my body every few hours, I get light-headed, so I need to have steady access to at least snacky foods between meals, before and after workouts, and so on. Maybe I have mild hypoglycemia or something? I know I've had bouts with anemia in the past. However, I feel like the types of foods I eat affect me too, and I'm still figuring out how that works. (I kinda feel like if I have a better handle on this topic, it'll be easier for me to explain to others why I do or do not wish to eat with them, without simply coming off as a food snob) (12 shards | break the glass slipper)