peter piper picked a peck of purple peppers

today was too perfect a day to not be outside.

seizing the nice day and the work holiday, Liz and I got on the bike and headed out into the new england fall. it was a gorgeous ride, full of brilliant reds, oranges, yellows, and greens. we had hot donuts and cider, rode all the way around Wachusett Reservoir, and happened upon the brigadoon of farm stands where you paid by weighing everything yourself and putting money in a box.

at this magical place, we obtained the best corn ever. period. it tasted perfect when raw. it was sublime when boiled for only four minutes. it needed no salt, nor pepper, sugar, or butter.

there were also two purple peppers, which we added to salad, and used in this post to get your attention, but really, it’s just about the corn.

Tags: motorcycle, New England

silks!

I took two silks classes yesterday. I had almost let inertia and doubt get the better of me, but I remembered that the hardest thing is sometimes just getting out the door. so after being nudged over the edge by dilletante‘s excellent write-up of Friday’s classes, I packed a bag and headed over to CasaNia.

I’m always glad to have gone to silks. not only are there enthusiastic friends to hang out with, but Cypher and his assistants are always warm and friendly and welcoming.

I wasn’t up to or had the time or money for the “all weekend bonanza pass” of something like 7 or 8 classes. so I took just the two; fabric sling and aerial silks.

David does such excellent write-ups that I’ll just refer you there to see what we did.

it’s interesting to take part in something and to learn some new skill over time, and to see how one’s attitude and ability changes. for one thing, I’m noticing that I’m definitely breathing more. even if I’m doing something that I’m not sure that I can do, the panic is gone. I might have to get out of whatever it is, and I might feel frustrated for not being able to do it, but it feels for the most part like a lack of knowledge and muscle memory, and not a lack of ability or capability. and the breathing, taking things slower, concentrating.. being able to actually do a routine, and have enough of it down that you can concentrate on a specific thing, like keeping one’s legs out, back arched, or staring at your navel and down your leg to make sure that your body is in the right line.

for fabric sling, I was initially encouraged to join the beginners group because the requirement for the advanced group was 4 or more classes. I think I might have had 3 or 4, not sure. but soon after the groups broke up, I slid over to the advanced group, and I’m glad that I did. I continue to amaze myself with the sling work. I haven’t done jack all in two months, since the last set of classes that I took. I haven’t made it to Monday night practices or anything (and I get the sense practices tend not to be set up in the sling arrangement anyway). and despite not having had any practice, I felt like I could easily keep up with what was being taught. we worked on 3 or 4 dive maneouvers, including one that stumped frobzwiththingz and I last November.

I was a bit frustrated by the aerial silks class, though. this time I was encouraged to join the advanced group. however, the things being taught were enough beyond my knowledge and ability that I didn’t get as much out of that class as I would have liked. I’d glance over at the beginners class, and was still glad that I was in the advanced class pushing myself, rather than doing things I really have down already. but the first move involved mastery of the hip-key, which I think I’ve done only a couple of times, and certainly don’t have down. the rest of the class I did pretty well, which focused on wrist skills. however, the last routine there involved this body rotation that I just couldn’t get on my own, and it only occured to folks afterwards to have helped me with the rotation so I could have seen how it was done with my own body.

all in all though, it felt good. and while I’m glad that I worked and saw the final show of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, I was bummed to have missed the fabulous party that got shut down by the Fire Department, and the stilts and silks performance that FireflyDance was a part of.

Tags: aerial acrobatics, Cypher Zero

Vroom!

what could have been a better day for a ride?

jencallisto and I went riding out to Mount Monadnock and back today, and it was gorgeous!

we went out 2 and then up 225 through Lexington Center, and into Carlisle, where we stopped at a little roadside market to rest, and picked up some fresh blueberries and freshly-made fudge.. sadly, her spiffy glasses decided to make a break for it and got run over by a truck :( but they actually managed to bend back reasonably well and the lenses weren’t too scratched.. try that with frail modern glasses :)

so then continuing down 225, and an interesting detour around Forge Village past some impressively tall trees, and up 119 and over to 124 in New Hampshire.. we then stopped in Jaffrey at Kimball Farm. they were mobbed! everyone was out :) we sat at a table with another couple of bikers, waiting the 45 minutes for our fried seafood platter to be ready.. it was just gorgeous out, so the wait wasn’t too bad :) besides, we got to see two flybys of a small prop plane (hmm, must ping frotz again :) and a Hondapotamus, Tricycle Edition.. then, of course, ice cream! and my god, a single of their scoops is about the size of two and a half Cambridge scoops. we got mocha almond and vanilla cherry chip :)

after ice cream, we rode down 124 a few minutes, and then up the Monadnock access road. Whee! twisty windy trees!

then we headed home, taking 119 pretty much all the way to the Concord Rotary.. mostly because it was the faster way back, but we did get to ride through Willard Brook State Forest :)

and then the rest of the evening has been hanging out on the porch with cthulhia and watching last week’s SFU. (fuckin’ woof.)

Tags: motorcycle, New Hampshire

so there I was.. juggling naked in the desert, when..

despite the fact that the all-too-familiar routines of normal life set back in almost as soon as I got back from Burning Man, I try to consciously remember that moment whenever I put on my Alien Love Nest medallion. there I was, standing in the desert, just outside of the carpet-filled Arabic pavillion around mid-day, and it’s Trick-for-Treat. you do a trick, they give you a medallion. I used my fledgling skills as a juggler, and although not a great performance, I did, in fact, get a medallion. I thought it trite at the time, but I’ll give them this, it was memorable. for me, keeping that in mind is the conscious use of memory, to draw my spirit back into that place. not so much to that moment, but to the feelings of freedom and being at the edge of one’s limits, and weathering them.

standing almost naked in the desert, when a dust storm roars up and you can’t see your hands. knowing that if you just sit, and wait, and close your eyes, it will simply pass long enough for you to get back home..

always finding someone to juggle with, when you feel like juggling..

coming back from a night’s wanderings to eat Tasty Bites on warm rice..

going to sleep with a face mask and ear plugs, and then waking up and wondering which sarong to wear..

so ya, I’m thinking cthulhia and I should organize that Burning Man party for Worldcon this year.

Tags: juggling

So there I was, standing in front of the Mehndi Camp when..

It’s Sunday night of Burning Man, and I’m waiting for cthulhia so that we can go to see the burning of the Temple of Honor. I’m juggling some of the glow-in-the-dark balls I had brought, and I catch the eye of this little kid next door. He couldn’t have been more than 3 or 4 years old. I threw him one of the balls, and he caught it and ran inside the tent with it.

I laughed, and looked through the flaps of the tent, and his older brother (8? 10? 12? I’m so bad with guessing ages) comes out and hands the ball back. I take it and start juggling, and then the kids’ eyes light up, “Hey, it’s a Juggler! Come quick!” they yell, and a third kid comes out. All of a sudden, I have a rapt audience of three kids. I don’t consider myself a very good juggler, but these three kids were enthusiastic, interested, and entertained.

That was the best feeling. It was a totally awesome, envigorating, pride-filled feeling. It was one of the best moments of the week.

I owe it in part to dilletante.

I don’t remember when it was I first tried to juggle; I think it was probably at Fandom House, learning from Rich Macchi. Or maybe even an early Baitcon from Phil or Vic. In any event, after feeling like a complete failure, I didn’t try again until a couple of years ago, when I finally “got it”, at least, for fairly small amounts of “got it”.

I kept playing at it off and on, but when I started working at Akamai, I got together once or twice with dilletante, and started to feel like I made some progress. I’d even practice on my own occasionally thereafter. However, I seemed to reach a plateau of ability that didn’t really go any further.

Fast forward to the Saturday of Burning Man, and we meet up in the Cafe during the noonish juggle. I ask him to show me how to pass, and after a bit of a fumbling start, it occasionally works, if just for a jug or two or three. Excellent! And then Sunday day, I’m walking into my camp, and Ashley is juggling the glow-in-the-dark balls, and I ask him if he knows how to pass, exclaiming”I learned yesterday!“. So we get in sync after a few starts, and it works! Wahoo! Excited, Ashley suggests we show our campmates our new trick :)

Two audiences in a day, one captive, and one a surprise. Both left me feeling high on life.

Between that, and watching hundreds of fire performers before the Saturday night burn, I am determined to improve my skills, and be one of those performers in two years. I want to be a part of that energy, and it’s not because of some need for attention, but because I want to be a part of that experience, and to contribute towards it.

Thank you, David. :) If you ever want someone to juggle with, let me know :)

Tags: juggling