A Life Lived in Fear is A Life Half Lived

We went to Ballet Austin’s The Nutcracker yesterday. We try to go every year but can’t always afford it; it has been several years since we’ve been so I splurged on tickets.

Splurging, of course, means the cheapest seats in the house, but we still got to go. This production has beautiful costumes and is different than the one I saw growing up, but still amazing.

Growing up, I saw The Nutcracker a million times, mostly because of Brian. Brian was my best friend in school and is probably the person I am most proud of from our hometown. He started ballet late, by dance standards, when we were in high school. But he didn’t let that stop him. And he was always my favorite Nutcracker.

Brian is a professional dancer now, with the Atlanta Ballet. I’m hoping that I’ll take one of my test trips to go to Atlanta to see him dance before he retires. I think he is a beautiful dancer and I miss him terribly.

I remembered on Sunday that I had set a life goal for myself and forgot about it. This is why I’m grateful for 43 Things. One of my life goals is to be one of the party-goers at the beginning of the show. They don’t do any dancing on pointe, and they wear beautiful costumes – what else does a girl need?

Well, lessons I’m sure. I should go back to lessons. It’s hard having so many goals.

I think my only motivation to have kids is to take them to see Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas.

Kelly and I loved the special when we were kids. It was on HBO and like many other things we recorded it and watched it 26,193 times. And then it just disappeared when we grew up.

The Alamo Drafthouse started showing Emmet Otter a few years ago. I was surprised anyone would be interested in seeing the screening since it felt like we were the only ones who have seen it.

Aaron and I waited in a line longer then for AVATAR this morning at the Drafthouse to see it. Last year they let the kids in first, but this year they didn’t mention it and I was feeling Grinchy so that was fine with me.

The Rogue River String Band opens the show by playing some bluegrass, including a couple of songs from the special. It always makes me excited, although not as excited as the kids at the showing. You should have seen the kids dance! (Yes, I forgot my camera.)

We had brunch and watched the special. Me and Kel’s favorite song is “When the River Meets the Sea.” There’s another version from the John Denver Christmas special that we like more, but I like this version too. But I think the most fun song is “BBQ” and always embarrasses the kid sitting next to me as I sing along.

By the way, the DVD is like $9 on Amazon – buy it. Buy it now.

December 2009

Season’s Greeting’s!

It’s been a sucky busy year and I expect even better things for 2010. I’m sorry if we haven’t been able to keep in touch as much but I’ve been wallowing I haven’t gotten a chance to tell you what we’re doing!

The best part of the year was the birth of my niece. Everyone, even Mom and Dad, came to the hospital so we could all be a part of it. It was traumatic memorable. I’m very grateful for this little girl and I can’t wait to see her learn and annoy the hell out of her parents grow.

I started the year by being a part of a grant review panel. I’ve done the review panel for several years and in the summer, I was asked to join the city Commission that oversees the program and started my term in July. When you call me, address me as The Commish.

We went to Sacramento to see the Tour of California. It was an epic failure great to visit a new state and I hope to go again since I screwed up the last trip. It was over Valentine’s Day and I had panic attacks was very romantic. I’m sure it was a trip Aaron won’t forget anytime soon.

I started taking guitar lessons this year. I found a teacher who motivated me to learn. I just picked up the guitar again last week after not practicing for six months. The teacher is really cool and helped me record a song for Kelly when she left for Seattle.

They moved in early spring and it was one of the worst times of my life is a great opportunity for them. We got a chance to visit in May and Seattle is gorgeous. I had a panic attack there too, keeping the trend. But despite that I enjoyed staying with them and seeing the city. I’m looking forward to going again in hopes of seeing Eddie Vedder.

I was very sad when my grandmother passed away in July. I still think about her every day.

I’ve seen some changes in my work, too! I was eliminated moved on from the Foundation and found a fantastic opportunity at the University of Texas. I’ve been trying to get a position at UT since I graduated so despite the terror of unemployment I am very happy to be working there! I work in development please give now.

I worked with the Drafthouse in October to teach the Thriller dance for Thrill the World. I think I taught about 600 people how to do the dance! This probably isn’t interesting to you but it was a hell of an accomplishment. We are part of the new world record!

Aaron and all the animals say hello. We are lucky that Boomer is still healthy and with us. Screw you, vet who gave her three months to live. She is four years old and brightens every day for us.

Happy Holidays!

Flat Stanley visited me from Houston, Texas and we decided to show him a good time. He went to the U2 concert in Dallas, Thrill the World practice, City Hall, and Thrillerfest. I sent back a DVD instead of just photos.

Stanley can come back to visit any time!

When I started the Leadership Austin Emerge program last year, I met a guy who was wearing a metallic red bracelet. Wearing my LIVESTRONG bracelet, I was intrigued to see someone with a very worn, metal bracelet on his wrist. I asked him about it.

If you aren’t addicted to Twitter like I am, then I’m glad to share with you the arrival of Madelyn Ruth! My sister and brother-in-law welcomed her into the world on January 21. My sister was induced to avoid any serious complications, and our families decsended on Seton.

(You can, of course, read their blog for direct updates, but hearing it from someone totally not involved is more entertaining.)

My sister called early in the morning on January 21 to let me know that her doctor decided that it was best to induce her immediately. I ran out of work and changed clothes at home because I wanted to be comfy if I was going to be there all night. Aaron met me and, being the saint he is, went to San Antonio to pick up my mom.

I was at the hospital for about two hours before family started arriving. I was trying hard to stay out of Kel and Brian’s way and just did some work on my laptop. (Thank you Seton free WiFi!)

After a few hours, everyone arrived. Just look at how many aunts this girl has!

It was getting late and we were all getting excited/worried. A tour of expectant parents came into the wing, and my mom snuck in with the group into the maternity ward. We couldn’t exactly figure out her motivation, but she came back out an hour later and said, “They wouldn’t tell me what was going on.” (Later, the staff congratulated her – she’s the only person who’s snuck onto the floor.)

Madelyn arrived at 7:49pm, weighing 5 pounds and 5 ounces. I hear Brian was a great coach and Kel was a hell of a trooper.

I am so excited to have this little girl a part of my life. I hope Kel and Brian can handle us being over more often, because she is such joy!

(Brian took this photo – no fair he gets more time with her!)

As I look back at the things we’ve done in 2008 (thanks to the help of Google Calendar), I can’t believe how much we packed into a year.

Drafthouse’s Justin Timberlake Sing-Along

Who knew I was such a fan of JT? The Drafthouse celebrated his birthday but putting together probably my favorite sing-along ever. There was dancing in the aisles, the hawtness of JT, and my premiere of dancing with “It’s Gonna Be Me.”

Valentine’s Day

Aaron went all out to transform our house into a romantic haven. That’s all I’m going to say about it but I have my work cut out to beat him next year.

Voice Lessons

I overcame a little of my self-consciousness and took voice lessons for the first time, both solo and duets with Aaron. I learned how my voice can betray how I’m feeling, how I can rarely squeeze out a good sound, and that Aaron’s really good when he’s not shy. Someday, I’ll be good enough to sing in front of TWO people.

Washington, D.C.

The trip that didn’t happen because I didn’t know that you had to get your boarding pass early, but taught me that I was ready to commit.

LIVESTRONG Day

I coordinated with many offices and the hospitals in Victoria to host LIVESTRONG Day events. It was great to see how each place made the event their own to show their support for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and to meet local survivors. I was proud to represent the Foundation in my hometown, even if I do give crappy TV interviews.

Eddie Izzard

One of the sexiest, funniest men I’ve ever seen. Seeing him back stage after the show let me see how cool he was, and still funny even without a polished show. I love this man.

Girl Guitar

I bought a guitar on a semi-whim (it ended up being a New Year’s resolution I forgot about) and while we were at the shop, a girl recommended Girl Guitar to me. It was a great class for women only to learn a song per week and finish the series with a performance. Being the fantastically left-handed person that I am, I was the slowest in the class and did not complete it, but I plan on going again when I get some damn chords down.

Padre Island

Aaron planned our summer vacation with a trip to Padre Island to Padre Balli Park at Bob Hall Pier. (It was wiped a month later by Hurricane Dolly.) We brought Boomer, who made herself sick by eating the waves. I forgot how much I love the ocean and I learned that Aaron can plan trips without my “helpful” tips.

Tattoos

Aaron and I got matching tattoos of mitsudomoe, showing the balance of heaven, earth, and mankind. I believe it shows other balances in my life too and seeing it reminds of that and of his love.

Las Vegas

We went to Las Vegas for one night as a test trip and to attend SOE’s Fan Faire. I had no problem with the plane or the trip, and we visited Star Trek: The Experience two weeks before it closed. We got our photo taken on the bridge which was really a dream come true. I’m the captain.

The Swell Season

Seeing the Swell Season in concert made me fall in love with Glen Hansard. I think my favorite part was at the start of the show he came out and stood on the edge of the stage, in front of the mics. He sang “Listen to Me Now” with the theater completely silent and has such an amazing voice it filled Paramount Theater. We met him afterwards and I have a new crush.

Thrill the World

Ten months. One day. 881 zombies. After months of practice, I danced with Austin to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. I want to be more involved if we do it again next year and get even more dancers.

Rikku, the Pocket Ninja

We thought that giving the cat that my sister-in-law rescued to my mom would be a great idea. My mom did not. We now have a new addition to our cat family.

Of course, many other moments have been blogged or Tweeted, but looking back at my calendar and thinking about all we’ve done makes me appreciate Aaron and my friends and family. I love them very much and they are what made all these things special and memorable. I can’t imagine what 2009 holds. Happy New Year!

There are some months that I spend way too much money at the Alamo Drafthouse. (Aaron would say that’s every month.) But this month was WAY too cool when they introduced their ASSASSINS OF SOLACE game to coincide with the new James Bond movie.

The rules were simple. We were assigned a single target and given a dossier file with their home and work address and a photo. We had one week to hit them with water (anything but spit, gratefully clarified) and would confirm our KILL with the Drafthouse.

It’s standard for Aaron and I to stand in the driveway in the mornings before work and talk before we leave. We’d been peeking out the windows looking for someone standing there with a water gun, but after a few days I figured my assassin didn’t want to play the game as much as I was thinking. So with my guard down, I was telling Aaron to have a good day when I heard a loud noise then swearing from the sidewalk.

A guy was standing with a fertilizer (I assume) pump which he had just dropped. I dashed into my car, and he had recovered enough to try to spray me. No joy. I couldn’t believe he dropped it, otherwise he would have totally had me. Aaron casually chatted up the guy trying to kill me, waved goodbye, and headed to work. The assassin got in his car, and decided to follow me to work. I lost him with some crazy movie high speed chase driving. (Very bad of me.)

Since he put so much work into it, I figured I had to return the favor to my target. I went to her workplace, an apartment complex, and tried to look as if I was waiting impatiently for someone as I looked inside. I was hoping that she showed apartments but she wasn’t in the front office. Walking back to my car, I saw her in the back office, and assumed she was a manager.

I had a feeling she didn’t leave the office often, and that was off-limits, so I had to think of a way to get her out. I saw the mailman getting ready to leave when I figured this was my only chance before having to camp out all day.

After I told him the truth about the game, he went inside and told her that I was having problems with my mailbox. I had the watergun in my left hand, and I was digging my keys into one of the mailboxes when she came out. I did one spray (she was wearing a nice outfit, and being doused just wouldn’t be cool) and eliminated my target.

I was eliminated the afternoon of the casino party and screening. Since I didn’t know that I was supposed to take my target’s target, I had been on the lookout for my original assassin. But while working from home, I heard a knock at the door. I never answer the door because 1. I’m paranoid and 2. I’m too lazy to tell all the people trying to sell me something no.

But looking out the peephole, I saw a guy with a baby AND a dog. I looked at his hands for a watergun, suspicious, but deciding I was too paranoid I answered the door in case he needed help. He had a great story about… BAM water gun! He mostly sprayed the door but he did get me. I was the third person he’d eliminated.

The night was great. I was relaxed because I was finally shot and could stop being paranoid. But let me tell you, I was totally Internet-stalked by this guy, and it was very impressive.

Antonia came over bearing shawls (since I own nothing girlie) for my new white dress and went with me to get my hair done and a manicure. I was going for kinda 50s Hollywood glam and was pretty happy with the results.

We went out with Stephen and Antonia for dinner at Tomo Sushi, our favorite sushi place.

At the party, I went to the game I’m trying to learn right now, which is craps. When were in Las Vegas I lasted ten minutes because I didn’t want to gamble real money, but fake money is much more fun. I acted like I knew what I was doing, and I think the martini helped.

We ended the evening with a screening of the movie and got home late. It just makes me look forward to going to VAMPIRE PROM with Aaron…

My sister and I used to dance with Michael Jackson’s Thriller music video in our living room when we were kids. My mom had the VHS, the FULL version, and we thought it was the coolest thing ever. We’d stomp around as zombies and fall on the ground giggling.

Henri at the Drafthouse discovered the Thrill the World event early in the year and it sounded like a dream come true. Learn the Thriller dance and try to break the world record of everyone doing it at the same time? Sign me up!

I was a woman on a mission. I ordered the teaching DVD so I could learn it at home. Aaron listened to me play that DVD over and over starting in May. It seemed like I was the only person interested in learning, but if I’m going to achieve a childhood dream, I’d work on it, damn it!

So I tried to spread the word. I told people at work. I told family. I told Aaron. And I was alone dancing in my living room.

Henri knew I was working on it, and a few months ago he emailed to let me know that there was going to be a press conference on it at City Hall and if I’d be interested in dancing. I showed up, and for about 15 minutes it was just me and Henri. I’d never done the dance in public before, much less without the cueing, so there was no way I’d do the dance. But the great guys from Ballet Austin came out, the Mayor jumped in, and MANY newscasts later I was famous and the event was off and running.

By this time I’d suckered Aaron into doing the dance both through guilt and getting the song stuck in his head. We attended one of the organized group practices and I was blown away with the amount of people there. I wasn’t alone in the living room running into the chair! Or getting rug burns practicing my zombie rise from the grave!

I went to Goodwill to put my costume together. I decided I’d go as a Ramalama zombie, really because I love that dance so much, but that’s another story. I got everything – shoes to gloves – for $50. Goodwill rocks.

Here’s my zombie-outfit instructions.

1. Rip carefully. Remember that the zombie was buried, not killed by a cat, so shred the ends to show wear. We used a letter opener for the ends.
2. Tear, don’t cut. We cut small holes then pulled on the fabric to make it more realistic.
3. Accessorize. The tears won’t show up unless you go crazy, so add some details like gloves or one earring.
4. Make it dirty. I went with “grave dust” because I didn’t want to wear dirt all day, but the dust was a combo of flour and baking soda. Know that you’re commiting to wearing whatever it is all day.
5. Go light on the makeup. You can use white to be pale and black under your eyes, but any more than that and you look close to a monochromatic clown.
6. If you have a theme, go all out. My theme was the Ramalama zombie, but even ones like the Waldo Zombie are awesome because they are recognizable, and damn funny.

Thrill the World was set on October 25 at 1pm. We showed up, in our zombie best, and did several practices before we danced. Henri and I were very scary zombies (and you can see how my costume turned out).

Aaron corrected me on one move a bazillion times, so I thought of it as his signature move. Air guitar to the right. He came as an 80′s preppy zombie.

Aaron recorded our first practice without cueing, which is starring me of course.

The event was amazing. We had 881 Austinties show up and do the dance for the record. The whole thing went so well, both with the dancers and the organization of the event. I hope we do it again next year and get even more people involved. Because it doesn’t matter if you suck at the dance, I know I did; what matters is that you’re looking stupid with a bunch of strangers and still having a fantastic time.

As a side note, I wanted to share Aaron’s pumpkin, the Mayor of Halloween Town, because he’s awesome.

September is a great month because it’s all about me. Okay, well not completely about me, but when almost everyone in my family has a birthday this month it makes it busy and exciting.

Kelly and I celebrated our birthday by heading out to the Melting Pot for the first time. I don’t have a great shot of me and her because, well, we forgot to take one, but you can see the evening on my Flickr.

Aaron got me a new monitor and a garnet ring – the perfect balance for the geeky girl. Of course, someone stole the monitor when it was delivered to our house, so I don’t have said monitor yet.

Aaron and I were headed to Main Event the next night to celebrate “old school.” As we were getting to leave, he pulls a huge TMNT cake from the fridge and hands it to me. I stared at him in disbelief and said, “How the hell will the two of us eat this cake? We’re going to waste the whole thing!” He looked at me like I’m an idiot (which I am) and said, “We won’t be the only two people eating it.”

This sank in that I just griped at him for planning a surprise party for me, so I quietly got in the car and tried to guess who would be there.

It was so great hanging out with my friends. We bowled, we DDRed, we played pool and mini-golf. Aaron is so thoughtful and no, you can’t have him. Mine.

By the way, reason #4294 that Aaron is cool, he did this for me totally on his own, imagine there’s music:

The next day my family came in to celebrate the September birthdays. We gathered at Kel and Brian’s house, and everyone brought food for watching the UT game. While coming in to check the score, the bacon-wrapped jalapeños that Aaron made decided to catch on fire. My dad came to the rescue with baking soda to put out the inferno. It was cute that everyone tried to nibble on the charred peppers saying they weren’t that bad.

I have to say though that September was made sweetest after the Swell Season concert last night. Netflix recommended Once to me. I’d never heard of it but the premise sounded good so we rented it.

Halfway through the movie I fell in love with it. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova are two musicians who starred in the movie. I won’t go into the details of the movie but check it out, and see what it took for them to create it.

I’d been watching and waiting to see if they’d come to Austin. They scheduled a show in Dallas about six months back and I furiously bought tickets. I would go to Dallas to see them if I couldn’t see them here! But they were coming with ACL and decided to add a night at the Paramount.

The show did not disappoint. Glen has such an incredible voice and stage presence. He feels the music when he sings and performs. Marketa is harmony in perfection and is really coming into her own. (Check out Colm Mac Con Iomaire too, left me speechless.) After the show, I decided to follow my Eddie Izzard path and see if we could catch them backstage.

Glen wandered out after about an hour and was surprised to see a group of people waiting to meet him. He stopped and talked to everyone, signed items and took photos. It’s really rare to meet anyone who does this anymore, by the way, unless you give them $40 first. I thanked him for coming to Austin and said I was trying to learn guitar, and he agreed that learning it left-handed is super hard. Bless you, Glen.

So, two lessons learned: 1. the fork is hot and will burn, the waiter does not lie and 2. it never hurts to stalk a performer after the show.