oh yea

today at work i was so flustered
that I answered the phone

"thank you for calling Allyn, how can I help you?"
and proceeded to have the wrong calendar up for the reservation the man wanted and we had a little calendar tustle over the date.
He was correct.

it made me laugh so hard I was crying.

makin' do

with whatcha got is hard shit.
You oughta know what I mean and I refuse to explain.


makin' do with whatcha got is tough.

Family traditions never get old

There are a lot of things I love.
Among them are get togethers and family, traveling and meeting new people, and recently,
being domestic.
As in, I really enjoy cooking, and decorating my space, to make it feel like my very own home.
And I want it to look lived in, I want it to reflect my past, my roots, my interests, my loves.
And when I travel, I make it a point to not forget where I came from and what I love about home, to take a little piece of what I have learned growing up with me wherever I go.

And so get togethers with family that I love, in beautiful places with lots of yummy food... it just all makes me very happy.


Luckily, I come from a family that also loves and even throws great get togethers, whether for a reason, or just because it is high time to get together, eat yummy food, meet people that know you but you don't know them, and just catch up and laugh, an inevitable part of being together.

This weekend I headed into the middle of nowhere for a birthday party for the Pog.

The Pog was beautiful, just like she has always been.
She has always been the most elegant lady I've known.

The house was beautiful, because my aunt is a wonderful decorator, who really utilizes what she has and makes it look its best.
I think it is high time for a Southern Living nomination.
To boot, she is a great hostess!

And what made the house even more beautiful was that its surroundings were in full bloom.
The middle of nowhere is beautiful.

The middle of nowhere has been in my family for a while - in fact, the middle of nowhere pretty much consists of my family. But my family has deep roots in this place, and so when I go there, despite how much I dislike the middle of nowhere, I get caught up in the history, and mystery, and potential of the place and how I can carry little pieces of that place and all it means to my family with me wherever I happen to be going.

A few glimpses of the weekend:

 

 

ballet

You know have returned to the world of ballet when your teacher asks you why you aren't as flexible as a few days ago, you tell them you have a big knot above your left cheek and are taking it easy, and they proceed to pull you off the ground, and punch you multiple times in the butt, declaring that they are fixing the problem.

lately

Been busy, yessss.

An update:

babies got a bath. We had rats for a little while. They like us more now than they did a few days ago.

Eva and I went to the beach on Saturday.

I took a test in Archaeology and a quiz in Biological Anthropology today.
I survived.
I know, I'm surprised, too.

Anddd I absolutely love doing floor/ground work in dance.
It just feels so natural, so earthy, so full. 

wonders never cease

It was deceiving in India, yes.

Cutting up a real life pineapple is not as easy as the average Indian street vendor makes it seem.
No sir, it is not.

I'm missing it. I am missing India.
I am missing traveling.
I am missing the people and the sights and the excitement.
I miss taking pictures.

I'm getting scared that everything I want is too far out of reach.
I want my masters, my Ph.D, the Peace Corps.
And before that I want my choreography for the fall to be amazing - I want it to feel right, not just look technically right. I want my GRE scores to be fantastic. So I don't have to take it more than once. I want all of the fleas to stop irritating my babies and get my roommates off my back. I want to finish Biological Anthropology confidently. And I want a banjo.

ok. go.

This weekend was another one of those great happy weekends.

long evening walks
french food and cold coffees
sunsets
auditions ("Raise your hand if you want to be in the modern piece... I know Allyn does." "WTF?")
funny movies (please watch The Men Who Stare at Goats.)
and a John Dillenger gangsta movie (loud)
cooking and eating on the back porch (Justin's request - asparagus)
pretzels with peanut butter (Justin ate a lot)
Hairspray the musical ("You can't stop the motion of the ocean...")
desserts at Kaminsky's ("you've been here before, right?" "...Yes.")

and then -

my mataji showed up and i loooooved having her here!
It was her birfday weekend wif me and so she got flowers and then she bought a wine opener for us because we broke the last one, and then I was supposed to sneak get her coffee/breakfast in bed but was unsuccessful because she got up and we went for breakfast at the Sweetwater Cafe -grits, eggs, hashbrowns, coffee, english muffin (to share of course).
Went to the beach and walked straight through the bocce ball tourny - got washed away by the water - went for dinner at Vickery's and watched a wedding across the creek - inevitably couldn't convince her to stay.
She never called to say she got home.

I hate when she leaves.

Sometimes, it's hard to get your work done around here.

I mean, c'mon.
One thing I have always known, but is constantly being reinforced, is how much I need something to pick up and cuddle around its neck. Someone that knows when I'm happy, knows when I'm sad, knows when I would rather be playing with them, knows that I'll lock them out of my room and they will still love me in 2 days.
My kitties are so comforting, it's ridiculous.

So, I think CofC needs to be reminded that 4 pm is tea time. I've yet to find a chai shop, my bicycle is actually comfortable and I'm not about to die every time I get on it, I'm having trouble getting credits for the yoga class I took (don't they know that yoga is a very legitimate, very real, very true, very wonderful class? Doesn't CofC know that they need happy, centered, balanced students before they can expect good grades in classes that aren't their students specialty?) I've yet to be blocked on my way to class by man, bus, by concrete, or by cow. I don't sweat through my entire class, I don't have to carry a towel to class, nor do I have to hide my sweaty thighs on my way out of class from other students with sweaty leg stains too. My teachers don't chant, they don't sing, they don't emphasize words the way I like, they don't bless and thank the earth for letting us stomp on them, their toes and finger tips aren't red, they don't have nose rings, they don't walk around barefoot, not a single one of them has a creepy moustache, they don't demand we get water for them, and in fact, nobody from downstairs brings them glasses of water and tea. I'm not getting my recommended intake of naan, aloo gobi, daal, or milk bikis, and I have far too much reading. My teachers respond to their emails too promptly and dress boring. I have too many clothing and shoe options, and so it takes me wayyy too long to get dressed, and my bookbag is super heavy because each of my classes requires a notebook and 3 textbooks each. I have classes on Fridays, and no mindblowing, absolutely jawdropping gorgeous weekend plans of ancient mystery. My hair doesn'
t curl on its own, and I've eaten my fingers to nubs because I don't have wonderful henna on my hands.

Most of all - I don't take it nearly as seriously. I mean, I'm serious. Serious, and stressed, and hopeful, and excited, and determined.
But I was connected to myself and my life, and I don't always feel it now.
I'm connected in a very different way.
Here, I'm all business. Get things done - this is how you succeed.
My priorities are wonky.
At one point in time I understood the importance of yoga and meditation in daily life, of thanking the earth for its time and patience, of approaching others with grace and compassion.
I still understand it, but I do not employ it like I should.
It's disappearing from me. My experiences are fading.
Everything I learned, I'm having trouble putting it into practice.