Several folks have asked, or wondered but were afraid to ask why I'm in a lesbian choir if I'm not a lesbian, or why I'm in a Jewish theater company if I'm not Jewish. Let me answer......
I love to sing. I love to act. That's really all there is to it. I get a lot of value in spending time with people who are different from myself. It allows me the opportunity to learn from them and look at the world from another perspective. It's a beautiful thing.
The mission statement of the choir says we are"...dedicated to the performance of quality choral literature..." and that "Through music VFLA celebrates women and builds bridges within and beyond the lesbian and gay communities." Consider me a bridge. And frankly, I've never sang with a group that was so damn good and so professional. I wouldn't care if I had to dress like a squirrel......I'd do it if I could sing with these amazingly talented women.
So there you have it. It's not that I aim to be the odd one out....but I do things that I love because I love it. And Yay! for making friends along the way. :)
On that note (no pun intended), I'm selling tickets to the first choir concert November 8th. You can also get season tickets if you know you love stuff like this. Trust me.....it's worth it. The link is... http://www.voxfeminala.org/store/products.htm
The play I'm in, Pirates of Penzance, is also selling Playbill ad space if you'd like to market your business in it. I believe it's pretty inexpensive. The show is December 6th and 7th. Please come.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Whirlwind
I have so much going on, it feels like I'm caught up in a whirlwind of every possible emotion .....all simultaneously.
A couple days after my 6 day cleanse, I ventured off to New York with Azam, the lovely Terina and her husband Brent. I loaded cheesecake, pasta, pizza, and several cannoli's into my very clean colon. Um, yeah. Looks like I'll be going back to square one.
Secretly....it was worth it.
We stayed in a cute apartment in Brooklyn, traipsed around the city, subways, and buses. It was wonderful! Azam had never been there, so it was fun to show him my old stomping grounds. I also got to visit my family and friends in Connecticut.
Jordan and Wendie
Ursula, Me, and Takeia
One of the craziest parts of the trip was arranging a dinner to meet old friends in Manhattan. My dear friend Ted lives there and I wanted to meet him for dinner. He knows Terina because we all went to church together, so he was happy to invite her and Brent and Azam along.
Terina and Brent
Then through blogging, I found out another friend of ours from church, Nicole and her hubby were going to be visiting New York at the same time. We invited them, and she informed me that her sister Amy and her husband Lamar (again, both of whom we went to church with) still lived there and would like to come along.
Nicole and Abe
Then Terina told me she kept in touch with Carol and Dan (you guessed it.....who went to church with us) and that they would love to join us. And lastly, the lovely Morgan, who *surprise* went to church with us, happened to be on Terina's flight from Phoenix to NY, and she came to dinner with us, too.
Dan and Carol
Morgan
From my three contacts, we managed to have 12 people at that dinner table, and only 3 of them did NOT go to church with us nearly six years ago. It was effortless! It was so random and serendipitous that I had to share the story.
When I returned to LA, I found that my tidy home had been covered in an inch of black dirt from strong winds and the construction site up the street. Nice. I start my new job in two days and I can't start a new job with a dirty house. But of course I can't clean until I re-arrange the furniture again. And do I really want to do that because if I'm going to stay in this apartment, I simply HAVE to paint these ugly white walls.....
So here I sit in a half clean, half dirty house, blogging. Smart. My life seems to be a happy blend of two of my favorite childhood books. "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" and "Slowpoke Simon". It's ok. I can own it.
I also have been writhing in pain for the last 4 weeks, sleeping in hotel beds, futons, airplanes.... you know the story. I look like a hunchback. So I met Heather at the Olympic Spa today to detox in the Steam/Sauna/Hot Pool/Cold Pool, and to have 8 layers of skin rubbed off by a merciless Korean woman. My Mexican genes gave me many little raised moles that clearly offended this woman, and I believe she did her damndest to rid me of them. I didn't see blood, but I have to wonder......
So I'm done with traveling for now.....maybe even the rest of the year. :( I'm starting a new job in two more days. :) I'm going to a new church this weekend. :) I'm not going to get to see Azam for a while. :( I gained 300 pounds in New York. :( I got to see some of my favorite people while I was there. :) My house is nearly clean. :/ My family and friends are the coolest people on planet earth :) and I am humbled by the blessings I see in my life every day. :D Really......my emotions are all over the map. Hormonal? Maybe. But starting new chapters in life can be really great and really scary all at the same time. Forgive me for sharing my scattered thoughts....and if you're still reading, I apologize again. You must really love me........and I'm grateful for YOU too.
A couple days after my 6 day cleanse, I ventured off to New York with Azam, the lovely Terina and her husband Brent. I loaded cheesecake, pasta, pizza, and several cannoli's into my very clean colon. Um, yeah. Looks like I'll be going back to square one.
Secretly....it was worth it.
OR, not so secretly....
We stayed in a cute apartment in Brooklyn, traipsed around the city, subways, and buses. It was wonderful! Azam had never been there, so it was fun to show him my old stomping grounds. I also got to visit my family and friends in Connecticut.
Jordan and Wendie
Ursula, Me, and Takeia
Azam and Me
One of the craziest parts of the trip was arranging a dinner to meet old friends in Manhattan. My dear friend Ted lives there and I wanted to meet him for dinner. He knows Terina because we all went to church together, so he was happy to invite her and Brent and Azam along.
Terina and Brent
Me and Ted
Then through blogging, I found out another friend of ours from church, Nicole and her hubby were going to be visiting New York at the same time. We invited them, and she informed me that her sister Amy and her husband Lamar (again, both of whom we went to church with) still lived there and would like to come along.
Nicole and Abe
Lamar and Amy
Then Terina told me she kept in touch with Carol and Dan (you guessed it.....who went to church with us) and that they would love to join us. And lastly, the lovely Morgan, who *surprise* went to church with us, happened to be on Terina's flight from Phoenix to NY, and she came to dinner with us, too.
Dan and Carol
MorganFrom my three contacts, we managed to have 12 people at that dinner table, and only 3 of them did NOT go to church with us nearly six years ago. It was effortless! It was so random and serendipitous that I had to share the story.
When I returned to LA, I found that my tidy home had been covered in an inch of black dirt from strong winds and the construction site up the street. Nice. I start my new job in two days and I can't start a new job with a dirty house. But of course I can't clean until I re-arrange the furniture again. And do I really want to do that because if I'm going to stay in this apartment, I simply HAVE to paint these ugly white walls.....
So here I sit in a half clean, half dirty house, blogging. Smart. My life seems to be a happy blend of two of my favorite childhood books. "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" and "Slowpoke Simon". It's ok. I can own it.
I also have been writhing in pain for the last 4 weeks, sleeping in hotel beds, futons, airplanes.... you know the story. I look like a hunchback. So I met Heather at the Olympic Spa today to detox in the Steam/Sauna/Hot Pool/Cold Pool, and to have 8 layers of skin rubbed off by a merciless Korean woman. My Mexican genes gave me many little raised moles that clearly offended this woman, and I believe she did her damndest to rid me of them. I didn't see blood, but I have to wonder......
So I'm done with traveling for now.....maybe even the rest of the year. :( I'm starting a new job in two more days. :) I'm going to a new church this weekend. :) I'm not going to get to see Azam for a while. :( I gained 300 pounds in New York. :( I got to see some of my favorite people while I was there. :) My house is nearly clean. :/ My family and friends are the coolest people on planet earth :) and I am humbled by the blessings I see in my life every day. :D Really......my emotions are all over the map. Hormonal? Maybe. But starting new chapters in life can be really great and really scary all at the same time. Forgive me for sharing my scattered thoughts....and if you're still reading, I apologize again. You must really love me........and I'm grateful for YOU too.
Monday, October 6, 2008
I love to Masticate!
That's right. Masticate. Chew, chew, chew, chew, chew. I love it! And I learned just how much I love it when I did a cleanse this past week and went 6 days without food. I know what you're all thinking. Amanda without food is NOT a pretty picture. Well....it wasn't. Let me explain.
As a part of Tony Robbins Mastery University, I did the Life Mastery seminar this past week that focuses mostly on your body and health. We were on a liquid diet of wheatgrass, Udo's oil (essential Omega 3,6,9's), and a strange variety of juices and purees, most of which were rather disgusting. The second day with no food was not a happy one. My scowl could have melted steel. It's hard to be such a grump around upbeat, jolly people.....so my wrath was turned more against activities and such. I didn't want to participate, I protested rules, I threw little tantrums in my mind. All while trying not to be a bitch to everyone around me. No small feat, I assure you.
The following days I was in better spirits, but I've never felt so tired and weak in my life. Just walking around made me tired. Feeling hungry every two seconds wasn't pleasant either. But by the 5th day, the hunger pains finally subsided and I started feeling human again. By the 6th day, I felt like a rockstar!
Without grossing you out, you should know another part of this valuable detox process included colonics. I won't give you details, but let me give a little plug on colonics because they are SO IMPORTANT FOR YOUR LONGTERM HEALTH!
When you have blockages and layers stuck to the walls of your colon, the "toxins are released into the body. The body, in turn, tries to eliminate in the best way it knows how. When the colon isn't operating at an optimal level, we are, in essence, creating a living sewer in our bodies. Toxins in the blood stream cause cell destruction; accumulation of toxins in body tissues creates slowed reaction time and response; increasing toxicity in the blood stream causes a lack of oxygen to the cells, which brings about a lack of energy; as we lack energy, the body spirals downward, unable to eliminate the toxins effectively." In other words, get a colonic once a month. It will save your life. If you want to know more about this stuff, I'd be happy to share.
You should also know that on the very first day, we are given an enormous challenge that can stand as a powerful analogy if you let it. We climbed 50 foot telephone poles, stood on top (which is much harder than it sounds), and jumped off to catch a trapeze. Um, yeah. You may not believe me, but take a look for yourself....
I've never been more terrified in my life. It took me two minutes to get to the top. Another 5 to get turned around to the back side of the pole. About 5 more to get one foot on the top of the pole, and about another 20 minutes to take the last step. Jumping for the trapeze was comparably easy.
I learned a lot about myself this past week. I feel lighter and have more energy than ever before. I learned some new habits that I will incorporate into my life forever onward....and I made about 60 new best friends. What an amazing journey.....
As a part of Tony Robbins Mastery University, I did the Life Mastery seminar this past week that focuses mostly on your body and health. We were on a liquid diet of wheatgrass, Udo's oil (essential Omega 3,6,9's), and a strange variety of juices and purees, most of which were rather disgusting. The second day with no food was not a happy one. My scowl could have melted steel. It's hard to be such a grump around upbeat, jolly people.....so my wrath was turned more against activities and such. I didn't want to participate, I protested rules, I threw little tantrums in my mind. All while trying not to be a bitch to everyone around me. No small feat, I assure you.
The following days I was in better spirits, but I've never felt so tired and weak in my life. Just walking around made me tired. Feeling hungry every two seconds wasn't pleasant either. But by the 5th day, the hunger pains finally subsided and I started feeling human again. By the 6th day, I felt like a rockstar!
Without grossing you out, you should know another part of this valuable detox process included colonics. I won't give you details, but let me give a little plug on colonics because they are SO IMPORTANT FOR YOUR LONGTERM HEALTH!
When you have blockages and layers stuck to the walls of your colon, the "toxins are released into the body. The body, in turn, tries to eliminate in the best way it knows how. When the colon isn't operating at an optimal level, we are, in essence, creating a living sewer in our bodies. Toxins in the blood stream cause cell destruction; accumulation of toxins in body tissues creates slowed reaction time and response; increasing toxicity in the blood stream causes a lack of oxygen to the cells, which brings about a lack of energy; as we lack energy, the body spirals downward, unable to eliminate the toxins effectively." In other words, get a colonic once a month. It will save your life. If you want to know more about this stuff, I'd be happy to share.
You should also know that on the very first day, we are given an enormous challenge that can stand as a powerful analogy if you let it. We climbed 50 foot telephone poles, stood on top (which is much harder than it sounds), and jumped off to catch a trapeze. Um, yeah. You may not believe me, but take a look for yourself....
I've never been more terrified in my life. It took me two minutes to get to the top. Another 5 to get turned around to the back side of the pole. About 5 more to get one foot on the top of the pole, and about another 20 minutes to take the last step. Jumping for the trapeze was comparably easy.
I learned a lot about myself this past week. I feel lighter and have more energy than ever before. I learned some new habits that I will incorporate into my life forever onward....and I made about 60 new best friends. What an amazing journey.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)