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January 31, 2007
Localized Fame
I'm on the wall at the local Appleby's.
You know how they have stuff all over the walls? And how they make a point of supporting local events/organizations/things? Well, Idaho Repertory Theatre is one of those things. And I realized, as I was staring at the wall across the room, that a couple of photographs looked familiar. I reported my suspicions to Dave, who "went to the bathroom" and just happened to check on the way. Several photographs from the summer I worked at IRT are on the wall. A great shot of myself and John from You Can't Take It With You. A lovely shot of Heather and Rachel from The Rivals.
(You can see the photo in question here. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page. It's the last picture in the far left column.)
The Rivals photograph, by the way, was what made me realize I could be on the wall. I know of only one recent local theatrical event that involved all white costumes and a fountain shaped like an elephant. I'm kind of sorry it was a picture of me as Penny from You Can't and not me as Mrs. Malaprop from The Rivals. Because even though I was much prettier as Penny, the Malaprop outfit was probably my favorite costume ever.
And all I could think when I realized pictures of us were up there on the wall was, "Thank goodness they didn't put us in that booth." Because wouldn't that have been affected. To be sitting directly under my own photograph?
Yeah.
Posted by sally at 11:03 PM | Comments (3)
I Could Have Written
There are so many things I could have written about here over the last several days.
I could have written about a lecture I attended on Monday, the heartbreaking story told by a former slave who was trafficked to the US from Haiti. She'd been a slave since she was 5 years old, and always at the hands of relatives.
I could have written about how rehearsals are going for The Option, the one-act I'm in that opens next week. And about how having a two-year-old running about during rehearsals is both refreshing and a great way to hone your ability to focus.
I could have written about the way my classes are going, about how smart my students are, how talented, how willing to work.
I could have written about the snow. And the cold. And the snow. And the cold. And the snow.
I could have written about how much fun the long-term improvs are. The ones I'm doing for the Law School. About how I teared up in several but only cried in one (the most nervous of all the students I worked with, poor thing), and about how much I enjoyed the challenge. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy long-term improv. I suck at the short stuff. I just can't think fast enough. But I can be in character for days if I need to be.
I could have written about how it feels to be trekking at midnight across a parking lot covered in snow, about being the first person to mark the whiteness and the experience of looking back to discover that you really don't walk in straight lines but in a series of gentle curves.
I could have written about all those things. I thought about all of them, even began entries in my head. But my life was so full of just going about the business of living that I haven't had the time to sit down and think about it and record it here. I have a wide open afternoon today, though. Maybe I'll be able to get to that stuff now.
Posted by sally at 10:24 AM | Comments (3)
January 28, 2007
Faculty? Me? Weird.
I was one of the judges for the ASUI Poetry Slam this evening. I had a great time. There was some stellar work. All the competitors should be very proud of themselves. Getting up in front of an audience like they did takes a huge amount of courage.
There were some tremendously funny poems and there were some astoundingly moving poems.
One of the other judges was the advisor for student programs or something of the sort, whatever they call it here, and he and I had some great chats. I may have to just drop by his office some day to see if there's anything else I can be involved with. Anyway, as we were getting acquainted, he said to me, "I'm so glad you're doing this. It's really important to get faculty involved in this stuff."
And I thought, "Dude. I'm not really faculty. I'm the pinch hitter. I'm the emergency backup plan. I'm the adjunct who's just been told, 'thank you for helping us out this semester, but your class will be taught by tenure and tenure-track faculty next year.' I'd love to be faculty, but I'm the very last grain of sugar in the bottom of the faculty barrel." Which is sad, because he's right. Faculty should be involved in this stuff. They should go see this stuff. They need to hear what their students have to say and be there to cheer them on when they take these big risks.
Hopefully, someday I'll be an actual resident of someplace. Hopefully, someday I'll actually be valued for my teaching abilities and be an honored member of a faculty instead of an embarrassment. Hopefully, someday I'll be able to actually qualify as "faculty involvement" at an institution of higher learning. Because I've just discovered that I'd like to be.
Posted by sally at 10:56 PM | Comments (2)
Someone Else's Grief
I received an email today announcing that a friend's husband died late last night. This was not unexpected. He was diagnosed with leukemia a little over a year ago. In fact, when I heard they were home last week, I said to Dave, "I bet the hospital sent him home to die." I am so sorry that I was right.
This man's illness is the reason I'm adjunct faculty right now. His wife, now his widow, is the person I've spent the last three semesters covering for in Comm. Their tremendous misfortune has been very, very good for me, though I've known every step of the way that my good luck was a result of their very great pain. And even now, as I feel for her in her time of loss, I am overwhelmingly aware of my many blessings. Someday, I will be the widow. May that day be a very, very long time from now. And may Charla and her children find peace and comfort in the coming time without their husband and father.
Posted by sally at 04:22 PM
January 27, 2007
Pouting Naked
I feel like Bridget Jones. Last week, I lost 1.5 lbs without even trying this week, I not only followed the diet, I tried to keep my intake to under 1800 calories/day. And the results, well, let the numbers speak for themselves:
Starting Weight (June 2006): 186 lbs
Current Weight: 164.6lbs 168.0 lbs
(cue Bridget: terrifying slide into obesity--why? why?)
Short Term Goal: 150 lbs
That would be a gain of 3.4 lbs. For no reason. All this past week I was hypervigilant. And my reward was to gain twice as much as I'd lost the week before by being especially careful to follow the damn diet. Nothing is as demoralizing as that. Nothing. Even knowing that my pants fit better than they used to and seeing the slimming of my face doesn't help.
This is why I avoid scales.
Posted by sally at 02:17 PM
January 25, 2007
The Weekend of Trying New Things
Because I didn't have nearly enough on my plate, and because foolish, foolish people asked for my help, I am participating in two new (to me) activities. Tomorrow, and possibly Monday, I am acting as the plaintiff in a series of preliminary interviews with students at the Law School. Which should be fun. I have a character with all of the necessary background information, and they interview me about my case.
Then, on Sunday, I am one of the judges for the ASUI Poetry Slam. Which should be fun. They asked for my bio today, and this is what I gave them:
Sally is a professional actor and an adjunct member of the
CORE and Psychology and Communication Studies faculty.
Her main exposure to poetry has been via Shakespeare,
the classic Greek playwrights and Dr. Seuss.
All of which is true.
Posted by sally at 09:15 PM
January 24, 2007
Bibliophilia Exposed
Anyone who knows me at all, knows I like to read. Ditto David. We have boxes of books in storage. We have stacks of books around the house that don't fit into the limited shelving. We are members of Amazon Prime. (We get something from Amazon at least once a week. Remember, we live in the sticks.)
We also have, how do I put this... eclectic tastes. I, personally, have just realized in the last few weeks that my main goal in life is to know everything. Everything. Not because I want to delve into people's secrets, but because I am the Elephant's Child. To be honest, I'm not much for gossip, but that's not the kind of everything I want to know. What I want to know is how things work, why people are the way they are, and what they did about it in the past. In short, everything. And my reading choices reflect that. (Dave leans that way too, though he's a bit less wooo about it.)
With that in mind, here is the list of books that arrived today from Amazon. In the order they came out of the box:
The Bagavad Gita, translated by Eknath Easwaran
Everyman's Talmud: The Major Teachings of the Rabbinic Sages by Abraham Cohen
You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
The Torah, Henry Holt, pub.
The Qur'an, translated by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem
Bicycle Maintenance & Repair for Road and Mountain Bikes by Todd Downs
Dave actually ordered all of those (though I will read the Christopher Moore book to him and plan on diving into all of the books that aren't about bicycles). I am disappointed to discover that the two books I ordered were not in this box. I was so looking forward to reading them:
Cunt: A Declaration of Independence Expanded and Updated Second Edition - Inga Muscio
The Rule of Saint Benedict by Leonard J. Doyle and David W. Cotter O.S.B.
Posted by sally at 02:53 PM
The Holiness of a Free Minute
No, I'm not trying to sell you a cell phone or a calling plan. I actually mean a free minute in the sense that it isn't required for a specific task.
Take this morning, for example. I actually slept well last night and was alert when the alarm went off, probably because the sun was already up and out. It's above freezing today, for the second day in a row, and there are blue skies. Anyhow, getting up was a good thing, my normal morning chores were easier than usual, I even had time to sit and read a brief scene that Dave wrote for a friend in the wee, small hours. (It made me cry, such a little gem of a piece; complete, mutifaceted and shining. I am married to the most generous man.)
I finally finished making my breakfast smoothie and checked the time: 8:45. So I have fifteen minutes to eat breakfast and--no, I don't have to be at school until 10. I have FORTY-FIVE minutes to eat breakfast and get ready for class. Sweet virgin olive oil, I've got an unexpected half hour. So I of course sat down here to post. I can't imagine a better choice than to while away thirty free minutes spending them with you.
Though I don't actually have anything to say...
AH.
I struck it rich on Monday, if, by rich you mean rich in hand-made, pretty, warm, yarn articles. Before rehearsal (which Dave also attended, he's co-producing the Theatre Department's New Works Festival, and By Design, his National 10-Minute Award-Winning Play is in it. You know, that last sentence got too confusing. I'm starting it over.) As I waited for Dave to be ready to leave for rehearsal, the postperson rang our doorbell--very late in the day for a delivery--and handed me a box of Christmas presents. From New York. (Thank you, Amy!) I got a toasty warm, exactly the right length scarf in orange and black--actually quite collegiate-looking, this scarf. I love it. And Dave got this awesome multi-colored knit hat. We wore them to rehearsal. Which was wise, because the theatre was freezing.
And then at rehearsal, the assistant stage manager for Death of a Salesman, who is also stage managing the one-act I'm in, gave me this gorgeous green and blue and purple, very thick afghan that she'd crocheted for me during the run. (What is the past tense of crochet? Anyone?) It's beautiful, it's soft, it's very warm, and the cats adore it. Imogen is sleeping on it right now.
Also during rehearsal, an Oscar-winning actress gave me a big hug and kissed me on the cheek. (I feel like a name-dropper. Ick.) She's doing a one-woman show as part of the New Works Festival, and we read all the plays on Monday night to get a sense of the run. I loved her reading. It was so fun to watch a working actor with that kind of experience explore a script. I told her so afterwards and received the big hug. Which was unexpected, but very sweet.
And now my extra half-hour has vanished into the pixels in front of you and I must scramble around getting props for a speech I just realized I'm giving in class today. Oops.
Posted by sally at 08:56 AM | Comments (2)
January 22, 2007
Blogging For Choice
Why am I blogging for Choice today, on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade?
Because it's my body. Period. Nobody gets to say what goes on here except me. I believe that's a--no, the fundamental right of my personhood, and I believe everyone deserves that right.
It sounds militant, I know, but I can't think of any other way to express my feelings.--Why am I apologizing? Why do I have to be nice about this? Angry women are scary, I know. Many of my students think I'm scary as it is, and they've not seen me mad. Right now, I think I have the right to be mad, I'll even go so far as to say I have a duty to be angry. So I'm not going to apologize for standing up for what I believe is a basic right all human beings deserve, for demanding the right to be whole and complete in myself, choosing for myself what I want and what I don't want in my life.
All this talk of the sanctity of life and the pressures to reverse Roe go right back, in my mind at least, to the core belief that kept women out of the workplace for so long, that forced talented, intelligent women to deny and ignore their gifts in the name of "motherhood" and "family;" the belief that men are superior and that women aren't really smart enough to know what's best for themselves.
Well kiss my ass.
I'm more self-aware than many people I know, male and female, and I'm definitely smart enough to figure out what's best for me. To know that at the heart of the pro-life movement is an assumption that I'm not capable of knowing what I want, of determining what will make me happy (not the light, fluffy happy of birthday parties and greeting cards, but the deep abiding happy of living my dreams, of making my art) and pursuing that happiness, and that they've managed to convince so many good people into believing it's all about killing babies sickens me.
If life is so holy, why are we supporting a war where thousands of people are dying?
If life is so sacred, why do we practice the death penalty?
If life is such a blessing, why are we not doing all we can to support the living around the world (and in America) who struggle every day to get enough food and water to survive?
Because it's not about life in the end. It's about power. It's about taking control at the most basic and fundamental level. It's about taking control of my body to assure my compliance.
I remember a cartoon that hung on a professor's office door at my undergraduate university (the first one). It showed two women. One was extremely pregnant, and across her belly were written the words, "Property of the State." The other was exhausted and had a snotty-nosed, dirty child in tow. The child was labeled, "Property of the Private Sector."
If we really believe that life is so sacred, so beautiful, such a blessing and a wonder, we need to assure that we follow through on that. We can't insist on controlling reproductive rights (including access to birth control) and then wash our hands of it all once the children are born. We have to take the responsibility we assumed when we insisted they be brought to life.
It's that behavior right there, the slashing of funds for family programs, the hacking away of money for education, the poor treatment of the survivors of Hurricane Katrina, the various assaults on environmental protections, the bloating of the military as we fight campaigns on two separate fronts and make noises about a third, all of those tell me that the people in power, the people who make noises about the sanctity of life really don't give two fucks for it. If they did, their priorities would be entirely different.
I spend my days helping my students find their voices. Helping them discover their own truths and teaching them the skills they need to speak those truths clearly and logically and without fear. Today, I am practicing what I preach. I am using my voice in this forum, this electronic soapbox, to speak my truth.
I am pro-choice because I am a great believer in life. The sanctity of my own and of all other living beings. And I have no right at all to deny others those things that will lead to their own happiness, whether those things be resources or less tangible things like freedom of speech. I give my fellow humans credit for being smart enough to know what they want. I support their right to decide their own destinies. Their right to choose.
Posted by sally at 09:49 AM | Comments (2)
January 21, 2007
Lucky Me
I just want to take a moment out of grading papers to say that I have fantastic students. I've given them a big workload, and they're doing the work. They may grumble about it outside of class (I don't know that they do, but I probably would if it was my instructor), but they're doing the work and they're doing it well. They're thinking, they're reading, they're writing and they're willing to be open and honest with me about their approach to some really sensitive issues and it's awesome. I wish I could say it had anything do to with me, but how could it possibly when we've had class three times so far?
It's all them, baby, and they are tremendous.
(For the record, I usually get this lucky with my students. But this group is getting hit with some deep and sensitive issues right off the bat, and they are rising to the challenge with wit, intelligence and honesty. It's a beautiful thing.)
Posted by sally at 08:47 PM
January 19, 2007
COMMENTS ARE OPEN! (sort of)
You can now comment if you've signed in to Typekey. Once I've approved you as a commenter on Sallyacious, your stuff will be automatically approved. (You'll still have to sign in, though.)
Thank you very much to Desiree who made me aware of the problems.
I wish there was an easier way to do this. I'm thinking about opening comments to non-Typekey types again in a couple weeks to see whether that damn spam bot has given up on me. In the meantime, I really do welcome comments from anybody who wants to make their voice heard. I'm sorry you have to jump through hoops. (Feels like I work for the state government. Oh. Wait. I do.)
Posted by sally at 08:24 PM | Comments (4)
Swelling Up Like a Balloon
So we had Chinese food the other night, at one of the FOUR Chinese restaurants here in town. (Honestly, we have four Mexican restaurants, three coffee shops, one sit down pizza joint, one Italian place, one southwest fusion-y place, one really nice slow food house of yumminess, one Hawaiian plate lunch, a bagel shop, two bakeries, a whole bunch of fast food and FOUR Chinese restaurants. I don't see how they stay in business. I mean, FOUR.)
I don't have anything against Chinese food in general--I lied just now. There are FIVE Chinese restaurants in this town of 18,000. Anyway, I like Chinese food. A lot. But I don't know how you support more than two. Unless everybody in town eats Chinese at least once a week. And I don't think they do. Dave and I don't. The one we go to is never even close to halfway full.
(Which reminds me. Another sidetracked moment in a post apparently devoted to sidetracks. Sidetrackings? Side--Never mind. Not important. This is the important part: There was a table of four white boys across the aisle from us, and as I came back from the buffet, I realized that one was talking on his cell phone in a parody of a Chinese accent, making fun of the restaurant as he did so. I wanted to break my plate over his head.)
But now to the purpose of this post. A couple of hours after the food, I started feeling odd. And then I noticed that I had a couple of swollen lymph nodes in a place they'd never appeared before. In front of both ears. It was a relief to discover that there was a matched set, which suggests something more benign than, "Holy cow, how did I never notice this tumor before?" I immediately assumed that it was allergies. Because, well, I have a delayed food allergy to dairy products, and I have begun to recognize the way they work. In the case of dairy, it's asthma. So I assumed the lymph nodes were a reaction to MSG in the food.
I did some checking online, just in case, because that's the kind of person I am, googling " 'lymph nodes,' head swollen allergy." Figuring that I'd be able to get a good link quickly. And I did, sort of.
I now know far more about the lymphatic system than I ever knew before.
And that swollen lymph nodes could indicate a mono relapse (ruled out, I don't feel like I do when I have mono); an allergic reaction to various vaccinations, including typhoid; an STD; leukemia; Hodgkins lymphoma or non-Hodgkins lymphoma. I determined pretty early that it wasn't any of those since it was behaving like a delayed food allergy, coming on quickly some time after eating. But after getting that information? I couldn't find anything more. Every site said the same damn thing. So I gave it up and went to bed.
Dammit, though, I wanted answers. I wanted to know if my hunch was right or if I really was coming down with mono again. So this morning, I searched again, this time leaving out the word "head." And I'll be damned if the first link to come up wasn't about delayed food allergies in children that manifest as tonsilitis and swollen lymph nodes. Just as I suspected. Unfortunately, I also learned that the allergy skin tests don't work to find delayed food allergies. The only sure way to identify those is an elimination diet, which is how I figured out the dairy allergy.
For the record? Elimination diets suck. Unless, of course, I do the really fast one an actor I knew in Portland did and just eat white rice and drink pear juice for two weeks to clear the system. Boring, but quickly detoxifying. And slimming. Very slimming...
Oh. Because my mother reads this blog, I should probably also reassure everybody that one of the nodes is unswollen now and the other seems to be going down as well. I did not actually swell up like a balloon. I'm fine, Mom. I promise.
Posted by sally at 08:10 PM | Comments (1)
Oh Yeah, I Should Come Up with a Title...
Starting Weight (June 2006): 186 lbs
Current Weight: 166.0 lbs 164.6 lbs
Short Term Goal: 150 lbs
This is astonishing, because I'm sure I broke my diet at least 800 times this week. I'm so bad at the whole dieting thing. I think it's because I have so many restrictions on my life right now. I hate restricting myself in yet another area.
I wish I knew how it happened. Because I'd happily do whatever it is again.
Posted by sally at 11:00 AM
January 18, 2007
Who Are You, Exactly?
I would be the person who used to post here on a much more regular basis. Sorry. I've been busy out in the real world (as opposed to this virtual place). I'll try to be better about keeping up here, it's just that I've had so much to do lately. I did start a couple of posts but then decided they weren't really what I wanted to say.
Classes are going well, I think. It's hard to tell when they just sit and stare at me whether I'm making any sense or whether I'm talking in loops and circles (this is entirely possible). I decided I was doing okay when my second class of the day started arguing with me as I was explaining the concept of the Male Gaze. I figured arguing meant they understood what I was saying and didn't like hearing it. If they didn't get it, my reasoning went, they certainly wouldn't be taking issue with the concepts.
I kept having to remind them that I wasn't necessarily trying to convince them to think that way. Only that I was trying to explain the concept. You don't have to agree to understand, but I think you do have to understand to disagree effectively. They were doing a good job. Though the speakers are the usual suspects. I've got to figure out how to get the silent ones to speak. Because some of them talked with me before class but volunteered nothing once class started.
(Beautiful moment of juxtaposition from class today: A member of the football team passionately arguing that pornography is not a good choice for the women who participate. That it cannot possibly be a good thing for them. While a group of 5 or 6 women kept insisting that it a) had to be a choice,--no one was forcing the women to participate; b) could act as an outlet for people who might otherwise act out their fantasies of torture, rape, violence, etc.; c) could be a healthy thing for relationships. In fact, I think I have an assignment for one of the discussion days. Everybody has to find an article on employment conditions in the sex industry and bring it to class for discussion. Then they'll really be able to get going.)
In other areas of my life, in the interests of having way too much to do, I somehow managed to agree to 1) teach a full load, 2) do fake depositions for law school students (which begin next week), 3) be in a show that opens in THREE weeks (thank goodness it's a one-act), 4) do a reading of Dave's play Lincoln's Shins and a performance of the other show at ACTF in FIVE weeks, and 5) help a former classmate out by doing a monologue for her directing class. At least it will all be over (except the teaching) before the end of February. Which is early than the chaos ended last year. The first round of chaos, that is.
Thank goodness I somehow managed to schedule a movie for class next week. Fewer lesson plans that way. Though I do need to get to the next round of readings so I can put together the next round of questions designed to give them something to talk about in class.
On the home front, I spent some this evening playing with three cats and one string. They were all very good about taking their turns and not trying to ambush somebody else's play, though they occasionally got impatient. It was interesting to watch the dynamic unfold.
And I figured out a solution for a couple of pieces of troublesome art. Which I will someday have time to do. (You know, Sal, you'd probably have LOTS more time if you stayed off the internet. But where would be the fun in that?)
Posted by sally at 11:50 PM | Comments (2)
January 16, 2007
Good Morning Class
Today we're going to talk about pornography. But before I slip loose the dogs of war re: various political and cultural ideologies, I want to give you a brief history of the concept of obscenity. Triggered by my rediscovery of Justice Potter Stewart's statement, "I know it when I see it." (That's a good base for a legal definition. Nothing like basing a law on the arbitrary and highly personal.)
It's been a good weekend. I got lots done. Reading for today's class, so that I know what they read, too. (Yes, I've read it before, but it always pays to be fresh with the material.) LOTS of research into feminist film theory and the whole concept of the Male Gaze and the aforementioned history of pornography/obscenity.
And may I state for the record that I am NOT a fan of Freud, whose work triggered the whole concept? Yeah. I don't feel the lack of a penis. I certainly do not feel that I am castrated by my lack of a penis. I have things that more than make up for it, in my mind. Like boobs. And an eye for footwear. Not to mention the primary sexual characteristics that make me different from men. Yes, indeed, I think old Sigmund missed the boat when he defined women as people who don't have a penis and want one desperately. (I know that's a major generalization, but it's no worse than assuming that a man who sees a naked woman is struck first with the horror of castration because she doesn't have a penis. The human race would not have fared very well if that happened every time.)
On Friday night, there was a reading of Dave's latest play at a friend's house. Lots of people, wine and pizza. It's a good piece, and he took the suggestions of the various people there and made it even stronger. It goes up in Lewiston at LCSC in March, I think, but I'll post the actual dates here when I know them.
Then, we had people over to watch the football game on Sunday because the local cable service isn't carrying Fox right now (Some big legal fight over unpaid bills. I don't know. I only know that a whole bunch of locals missed the Fiesta Bowl and are NOT happy about it.) We have a dish, so a bunch of people (evenly split between Bears and Seahawks fans) smashed into the living room and chose to sit roughly four feet from the great big television, despite there being all kinds of room behind them.
And I did art. Which I mentioned earlier.
All of this was guilt-free, which was nice, because my wonderful husband cleaned the bathroom and the living room. Bless his heart, the place looks fantastic. I am such a lucky woman.
Posted by sally at 09:34 AM
January 13, 2007
Who Are You and What Have You Done With My Crankiness?
In a big step away from the norm, I actually got things done today. I decided that because I spent yesterday doing research when I meant to be taking the time off, I should spend the day playing and being creative. I hadn't done that in an artsy way for a bit, and I figured I needed the break. Tomorrow and Monday I'll work on work again. But today was for playing.
Normally, I get up, I eat breakfast and stare at my computer and when I look up again, it's 4pm and I've done nothing. But today, I poked around Swap-bot. I've been wanting to do some more ATCs, but I haven't wanted to sign up for any more swaps because I don't think I'll have time to build stuff. Some of the themes are awesome, and I'm dying to just leap right in, but I don't dare because my classes have to be the priority. Well, those and the shows I've been cast in and the fake depositions I've agreed to do for a class at the Law School and the monologue I've agreed to learn and work on for a former classmate's directing class. So ATCs, at the back of the line, please.
But I wanted to do art today. I was itching to do art, so I scrolled through the list of open ATC swaps right now, drooling over the possibilities, and suddenly saw a swap I had to participate in. Had to. The theme is "Other Than Paper," which means that you need to make your cards out of anything else. And I knew what I wanted to do. The material lists popped into my head right then. So I signed up for the swap and set to work.
I can't post pix of the cards yet because they're not done. All of them are drying and need trimming or finishing. But I can tell you what I did. Two of them (one will go to each of my partners) are old cd-roms. I found two I don't use anymore (one was an awful junk mail cd) and cut them to ATC size. (Scissors are best for this, it turns out. Box knives take FOREVER and the cd's break with a jigsaw. But if you're patient and strip away a little at a time, scissors work beautifully.)
The other two are actually part of a series of eight I made from fiberlace. Fiberlace is gorgeous stuff. You take a piece of watersoluble stabilizer, spritz it lightly with quilt basting spray and trail fibers and ribbons and yarns around on it. Then you put another piece of stabilizer over the top and sew the two together in a grid. When you're done, dissolve the stabilizer in water, rinse the fiberlace gently and air dry. The results are breathtaking.
It's best to use the UltraSulky stabilizer, I've discovered, as anything lighter doesn't hold the fibers still enough while you're sewing the grid. I learned this the hard way. And the resulting mess was what I used for the ATCs I made today. I just finished the grid and added ribbon trim in the right sizes. The fiberlace ATCs look so cool. I've made enough that I can send some to people I feel I owe (Karma, Maaike), so once they're dry, be looking for yours in the mail.
Anyway, that took most of the day, when I wasn't doing laundry, and then I cleaned the sink. I'm not sure what prompted this busy-ness. I wish I had this kind of go-getter energy more often. Maybe then I'd get more done.
I told Dave this evening that I think it has something to do with loneliness. I get my most depressed and lumpish when I don't see other people. Because while school's in session, or when I'm in a show, I have all kinds of energy and find stuff to do. But when I've finished the show or in-between semesters (or when I don't have a job), I sit on the couch and hate life. I guess Rule #2 to avoid depression is Don't Spend Too Much Time Alone (Rule #1 is Get Regular Exercise.)
Posted by sally at 11:24 PM
January 12, 2007
Dieting Nakedly (And Speaking of Naked...)
Starting Weight (June 2006): 186 lbs
Current Weight: 167.2 lbs 166.0 lbs
Short Term Goal: 150 lbs
I haven't made it to the gym yet because I needed to update my status with the university and get a new id card and it's all very confusing when you're both a student spouse and a full-time (if temporary) faculty member with an odd waiver for the stuff you're teaching for one of the three departments with which you have a relationship. (If you think that's confusing to read, you should try living it.)
On the other hand, I keep forgetting to eat, which is what happens when the semester starts. I get caught up in something and the food on campus isn't appealing enough to interrupt the project for and the next thing you know, I've taught a class, hiked all over campus, run errands, had several conversations with people all over the place and it's 4pm and I haven't eaten since the 412 calorie smoothie I had at 8:30am no wonder I have a headache. So. Time to stock up on things to keep in my desk in case I forget to have lunch (again).
Speaking of which, today is my day off. As in, I don't have to be on campus unless I choose (and now that I think about it, I need to get the book for the reading that's due on Tuesday so I can reread it myself). Only, this is what I've done since I got up.
✔ Changed out of my pajamas.
✔ Eaten breakfast.
✔ Researched and printed example images of art by Tom Wesselman and Robert Mapplethorpe* and also images of Michelangelo's David and The Spirit of Liberty from the Justice Department. [Did you know that there are no photographs of the statue itself? There are only shots of John Ashcroft giving a press conference with it (pre-curtain) blurrily standing in the background. Also that the statue wasn't clothed, it was completely obscured for the remainder of his time in office? How very symbolic.] This was all for Tuesday's class in which we'll try to figure out the difference between pornography, art and erotica.
✔ Looked for (and found) some really great examples of wasp-waisted, balloon-breasted, weird comic book-bodied women for Thursday's class on the Male Gaze, to go along with the Playboy catalogue I received before Christmas (I would love to know how I made that mailing list) and the print of a romance cover all mantitty and swooning female. Because it's not only men objectifying women.
I got up at 8am. It is now 1:30 and I FINALLY got around to sorting the laundry. I should eat while I'm thinking of it.
*For the record, though I printed Mapplethorpe's Self-Portrait, 1978 for possible use in the class, I find the photograph disturbing. And if it bugs me, I can't imagine how it will distress my students. I think I'll warn them about the graphicness of it and then show it ONLY if all of the students are comfortable with it. And I mean comfortable, not just bowing to peer pressure. Anyone who's dying of curiosity can google it, after all. That's how I found the image.
It's pretty extreme. I'm not surprised people had fits about it in the 80's. I'm not sure the responses (ART IS EEEEVIL! SAVE THE CHILDREN!!) were the healthiest and most useful reactions, but I'm not surprised there were huge civil/social to-do-ings about it.
Posted by sally at 02:59 PM
January 09, 2007
How Very, Very Appropriate
 | My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Noble Excellency Sally the Idle of Molton St Anywhere Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title |
Kneel before me, Peasants.
Posted by sally at 03:36 PM
January 08, 2007
I Didn't Mean You
Um. You can still comment. Maybe I didn't make that clear.
Please comment.
Please?
Posted by sally at 05:52 PM
Quiet in the Peanut Gallery
Or, rather, the SPAM gallery. Because over the last several days, after getting no spam at all for months, we got slammed with messages. We tried several different things, none of them worked. So we went with the next to last option, requiring Typekey comment authentication. (The last option being, of course, closing comments entirely.)
I hated to do this, because in my own personal experience, nothing makes you decide you don't want to comment on someone's blog more than having to sign in to do so. You feel excluded and unwanted. I've met some great people through my blog comments, and I worry that I'll never hear from them again, and that I'll also miss out on the new voices of readers who finally have something to say.
The really annoying part of all this is that I was the only person seeing the spam. Because I have to approve every message before it posts. In other words, all the fuckhead managed to do was to waste my time. His messages weren't even getting out to anybody. And yes, I know it's all automated and they don't actually do this stuff personally, blahblahblah. It was still a waste of time and bandwidth for nobody but him and me.
So I'm sorry you have to jump through a hoop to make your voice heard in my comments now. I wish there was some other solution. I guess you could hunt down the asshole who's got me on his list and run over his computer with your car. Then I can open comments back up. Even better, if you send me a picture of the spammer's tear-stained face as he views the ruins of his annoying and intrusive empire, I'll buy you dinner.
Posted by sally at 10:52 AM
January 05, 2007
Because the Previous Post Is Depressing Beyond Words
Here's a set of pictures that makes me happy.
See? See how his irises are beginning to go gold around the pupil? See?
What a pair of gorgous men. Dave is edible in that sweater.
And finally, a picture I look halfway decent in. It's amazing what a little makeup and the right lighting can do for a person.
A Boy and His Auntie
Posted by sally at 01:57 PM
Ugh, There It Is
And you thought I wouldn't really do this.
I have to admit, once I took the pictures and saw them, I got depressed. I weighed myself this morning and for whatever weird reason, I weigh 6lbs less than I did two weeks ago. So I was feeling pretty good about myself. And then I took these pictures and, well, ugh.
And now for the rest of the naked/ugly truth:
Height: 5'8"
Starting Weight (June 2006): 186 lbs
Current Weight: 167.2 lbs
(And that was AFTER eating breakfast!! Yay!!)
Short Term Goal: 150 lbs
Long Term Goal: 140 lbs
(Though that may be unrealistic. We'll see. All I really want is to be a healthy size 10 again.)
Resume weight: 145 lbs
(I am such a liar.)
Dress size: 14
Pant size: 14
The reason for the short term/long term goal is a little hint about dieting that I picked up while prepping for this journey. Don't focus on needing to lose 30 or 50 or 100 lbs. You know that's where you want to get eventually. Instead, focus on losing 10% of your body weight. So last June, when I weighed 186 lbs (god, no wonder I was depressed), I decided to try to lose 18.6 lbs, which would take me down to where I am today.
I was actually lighter than that in November. Before Salesman rehearsals started, I was down to 162. But then my life got completely insane and I barely had time to sleep, much less exercise and do the necessary grocery shopping. So. anyway, my short term goal is to be lighter than I have been in at least five years. But in the end, I'd settle for being a healthy size 10 again, and screw the numbers.
Damn, I hope I didn't just commit acting career suicide.
Posted by sally at 01:39 PM | Comments (4)
January 02, 2007
Dieting Naked
As titillating--or dare I say, sal(ly)acious--as the entry title sounds, I can't take credit for the concept. I don't even know for sure who actually said it first. I only know that I read about it while following the story of a woman who was finally tired enough of being out of shape that she decided to do something about it.
She realized, as many people have lately, that one of the best motivators for life changes is to tell other people about your plans. Then you're held accountable. It makes sense, in a twisted but very human sort of way. After all, it raises the stakes. Suddenly, the humiliation of failing will be far, far greater than if no one knew you were trying. And so I have decided to begin that process myself.
You see, in September, I will be forty. For. Ty. Apparently getting into shape after that is seven hundred times harder than it was before. No, I don't know why, I only know that's what people say. And because it's a big birthday, I'd like to do something good for myself. Really good for myself. So I vow, here and now, that by my fortieth birthday, I intend to lose two dress sizes and be capable of running two miles without barfing.
Plus, I want a last shot at actually working again before my industry decides I'm too old to hire anymore except in eccentric old lady parts.
To accomplish that goal, I'm doing three things:
1) I'm following David into the portion control/eating healthier lifestyle. It's going to be hard, really hard, when life gets so busy I don't have time for grocery shopping, but I'm going to do it anyway. (I actually started last semester, and have more or less kept it up, except for the almost inevitable holiday pig-fests and occasional descents into self-pitying binges. Next year, I'm not going to indulge. Or at least not so freely.)
2) I'm following Cool Running's Couch-to-5K training program beginning next week. (I have to get access to the gym again first.) I've already worked it into my class schedule, along with time to walk to school on non-running days. Once I get this stuff figured out, I'm also going to try to work in yoga again, but I'm taking baby steps.
Plus, I've always loved running. It's my very, very favorite physical activity. One I hated giving up with all of the knee and lower back problems, which have mostly been solved or at least figured out now. I'm champing at the bit to get back into it.
3) I'm dieting naked, which involves telling you-all how much I weigh, what my sizes are and (gulp) providing pictures of my progress. Not naked pictures (it's emotional nakedness we're after, not the gruesome, physical reality). Fully clothed pictures, but they'll provide virtual evidence of my fitness claims.
So every Friday, I'll be weighing myself and providing that number, clothing sizes and photographic evidence, plus updates on the whole running/fitness thing. Why not do that today, you ask? Because
a) I have way too much to do today already (including a visit to the dentist, ugh), and
b) Once classes start, Fridays will be the days I have time to do all this weighing and measuring stuff. So I'm choosing to begin as I mean to continue.
As a good faith effort, however, I will take the first step today. Currently, I wear a size 14 jean & dress and depending on the brand (i.e. whether they use true sizes or make shit smaller to drive women crazy) a Med or a Large. By mid-September, I fully intend to wear a size 10. That being the case, I probably shouldn't have just blown a couple hundred dollars on clothes, but many of those should still look okay on the healthier me.
That's the plan, anyway
Posted by sally at 08:07 PM | Comments (2)
And Also
Dave cleaned the basement.
Yesterday afternoon. Sorted, organized, swept and vacuumed. It's gorgeous.
I have a celebratory load of laundry in the washer as I write this.
Posted by sally at 11:51 AM
January 01, 2007
Holy Shit
Boise State
just won the Fiesta Bowl.
Posted by sally at 11:02 PM | Comments (2)
How Does It Look?
From where I sit, 2007 looks okay so far.
I don't have a hangover, so that's good. I had a split of red wine with "dinner" last night.* It's only about 2 glasses' worth, but that amount has been known to make me feel vile the next day. I didn't even get tiddly last night, though. It was just enough to make me relaxed and warm and, to be embarrasingly honest here, sleepy. We were in bed by 11:30, Dave was asleep by 11:40, and I held out until a little past 11:50. The entire household was out cold by midnight. The irony is that I can't usually get to sleep before about 12:30am.
So 2007 begins, and with it, all of the things I told myself I could wait until the New Year to do:
✔ Finish the syllabus for Sex and Culture. (And add a book to the Bookstore order list. They're not going to be happy, but I just discovered Self-Made Man while I was in Boise and only read it over the last three days. I couldn't order it before I knew about it, and it's the perfect book for my class. So I'll order it first thing tomorrow.)
✔ Clean my home office
✔ Visit the dentist
✔ Move the stuff from my office in the Psych Dept (which wasn't really my office) to my office in the Theatre Dept. Which is also not really my office, but at least this time I'm the person they hired to do the job and not just a substitute.
✔ Get my UI student spouse card renewed/checked so I can purchase my student spouse gym membership and start working out at the Rec Center again. (Can't do that until tomorrow, though.)
✔ Clean the rest of the house. I've actually been doing this last in fits and starts, which has seemed to work for me. Rather than making myself do the whole thing at once, knowing that's the awful fate which awaits me, I'll pick a room and clean it pretty thoroughly. Once that's done, I'm done. It means I'm doing some cleaning that hasn't been done for quite a while, as the various cleaners we've hired (need another one, please!) don't always dust under the couch. And they certainly didn't sort through my clutter and clean off tables. That wasn't their job, and I hadn't had time for that sort of thing for longer than I care to admit.
✔ Oh and maybe take some pictures in the Arboretum since I completely forgot yesterday was Sunday.
*Dinner is in quotes because we decided to have an end of the year junk food blowout. I'm so glad I had a bagel sandwich (multigrain with turkey, a tomato and some Irish cheddar, mmmmm!!) before the festivities began. The menu included:
Cheetos
Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips
Round organic tortilla chips
Organic Salsa
Ranch Dip made with Tillamook Light Sour Cream
Peanut M&M's
Oreos
Meat & cheese tray containing: Hickory Farms Beef Stick, Wheat Thins, Ritz Crackers, Edam, Irish Cheddar and Swiss cheese plate
Really, when I think about it, it's surprising I don't feel worse, based on the above menu.
Posted by sally at 10:32 AM
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