The weekend
Jul. 25th, 2005 09:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bethlakshmiWas both fun and productive, in nearly perfect combination. Fun... so I have not felt like I spent the weekend slaving away for Pennsic. Productive... in that I'm not sitting here at work pannicing about how unprepared I am for Pennsic.
Let's see... there was....
So... a good part of the first half of the weekend was devoted to the roomate. Not only have I not seen much of her this week - incompatible schedules - but Friday was her birthday. To mitigate summer schedule insanity, she planned 2 days of Birthday Fun, and invited folks accordingly. I ended up doing dinner on Friday with her at a lovely tea place, Cha Fahn, in Jamaica Plain. Got to feel all smart - since I was the one who knew of it - and also generous, since food and tea are terrific. Was double happy, since we also got![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pax_industria on this little expedition. Which made us a happy little trio of eaters - just the right size for this restaraunt, where the service is non-hurried, and the space is small.
Also went out picnicing on Saturday - did a lunch/afternoon picnic complete with Frisbee throwing. Those of you who know me know I have many fine talents - I'm a highly skilled contributor in many venues... Frisbee throwing is not one of them. :) I pretty much suck. But with the help of the gang, I sucked less by the end, and we all had fun laughing at my inability to throw a frisbee, even when it meant lots of walking for my victims. We were a small but dedicated gang - new_man, mermaidlady, and two friends of the roomate, plus roomate and I for a total of 6 people. Which worked out well as we had 6 Birthday Brownies with us. :)
Sadly, didn't make it out clubbing with the roomate either of the two club nights. First night was sacrificed to producitivity. Second night to some quality time withnew_man Definitely the right choices - it was good to have a well-rounded schedule, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to be in two places at once, or to have double the weekend. :) I hear there were some visitors from the Great North that I missed hanging out with.
Got a fair amount of time in withnew_man and mermaidlady. We did picnicing Saturday as a group and the Dim Sum Sunday. Even had time post Dim Sum to browse a used book store, and I even managed to resist buying anything, with the theory that there will be lots of shopping next month. Generally nice, laid back time.
They are in the midst of the hustle and bustle of planning the next Big Endeavor - a Burlesque style night that will go on at Axis once a month on Thursdays. They are the two bigger participants in this, but I hope to be dancing with them as one of the troupe, so it's generally nice to hear the plotting and scheming. Although, at the moment, it's a little wierd to be one of the troops, not the director, producer, or something like that. Between being the leader of Indian dance stuff, and a large personality in the Middle Eastern dance troupe - it's funny to be not-in-control, and to be thinking about conforming to a very different set of norms. I should take this as a rest break and enjoy being a peon. It might be neat not to have to worry about any logistics other than the ones that directly involve me doing my part. What a novel idea.
Auditions are at the end of August. Looking forward to post-Pennsic prep, to put together a peice to bring to auditions.
Also got a lovely date in withnew_man. Saturday, post picnic, post nap, post shower, we got together and had a lovely South End dinner, sitting at the counter of Metropolis. We've done several dinners at the bar (or counter) - a novel thing for me. Partly because I like backed chairs, partly because I don't like juggling a book at the counter, I generally opt for a booth, even when alone. But the sitting at a bar with someone feels rather uniquely "grown up", and I like joking around with the bar staff, and watching them work is kind of fun.
Due to his promotions down in the Fenway area, new_man has now gotten 8 dots of influence in Fenway Club area. He's always had more than the normal influence at night clubs - through being high charisma, not a shithead, well-dressed, and smart - but now he's got major mojo through his work on staff, as a owner of another club, and as being super-competent. He's got an in with management at the Lion's Group - the business that owns the entire strip of clubs that are Axis, Avaland, Embassy, and several others. He seems to be promoter of choice, in that we got seated in the uber-V.I.P. booth, given a bottle of vodka that usually retails for $300 (because of the status of getting a bottle and a super-star table - the vodka itself is nice, but not crazy-expensive), we hopped clubs (usually you pay to get into each room), and more rum & coke was poured into me than I care to think of - at least 4 glasses that I can count. We did feel like superstars. It was a little bit like being through the looking glass. We went places that most people don't go, randomly we'd run into staff that just said "follow me" and escorted us about, and we were privy to this little club of staff.
Sadly,new_man and I have pretty different music tastes in this sphere. I have this hip hop fetish, he likes house. Being that different clubs play different music, this means it's hard to have a happy medium. Avaland is very pretty, but sitting in the V.I.P. booth, I was cold, deafened by the too-close speakers, and generally not liking the music. But in Axis' stage, where I liked the music, new_man seemed really bored. Now I do understand the system - BTW. The raised stage at Axis is generally V.I.P. space - you pay for the privilege of buying a "table" by buying a terrifically expensive bottle of booze. The table is yours as long as the bottle is there. And you get to have everyone watching you and seeing how cool you are and apparently how much expendable income you have. Now... if you are a cute chick, you may get in for free, since having lots of hotties up in there provides additional motivation to guys to cough up the money for a bottle and table. Knowing this system, and having so much status we could just go into VIP space, meant that I had a whole hour or so of fun dancing, unimpeded by some asshole trying to put his penis in my butt. Admittedly, even in VIP space, it doesn't hurt to have a 6+ ft. gorilla gazing at you protectively to ensure no sneaky butt crack attack. Thank you gorilla. Security is great, but having a big, violence-compatible thug you trust is even better.
An OK compromise was Jake Ivory's Piano Bar - also owned by Lion's Group - which has the feeling of a house party with really good music. Live band - including two pianos (just one player, when we were there), and a combo of various rock of many decades. Classics like Great Balls of Fire, Lionel Richie, as well as some Green Day. Not stuff I'd have found easy to dance to all night, but fun for hanging out.
And... less packed with excitement - the productivity part.
- ironed 4 saris - 3 of them 9-yarders - for a combined total of 35 yards of fabric.
- finished sewing Eleanor's mock-up choli
- did massive laundryness - no more Pennsic-pending laudry!
- dyed hair to one color - dark brown - minus a few spots of grey.
- got Alycia into a good choli pattern
- rehashed the "Skinny Lakshmi Choli" by back patterning, as I had lost the pattern
- made myself a choli from Lauren's spiffy block print cotton. It is super-comfy - soft as pyjamas, 100% cotton, with a lovely red ground, blue and white patterning.
- picked up sewing room... some
Still lots to do:
- more ironing (will it ever end?)
- class handouts
- pick up copies of CD
- review the DVD Eleanor sent
- sew Eleanor's actual choli - post try-on tonight
- 1-2 more dance classes with my devadasettes
- clean room - I want to not hate the room I come back from Pennsic to
- more cholis for me??
- catch up with tpau for post-mock-up fitting
- book interview with primary care physician for post-Pennsic
- book oil burner cleaning/tune-up for post Pennsic
- ? finish handbag with spiffy embroidery?
- documentation for spiffy embroidery?
- documentation for playing cards?
- ?crazy calligraphy project???
All the stuff with ??'s is totally optional, but which I may want to do if I find myself with time. I doubt I will get to any of them, but it's worth thinking about.
Let's see... there was....
So... a good part of the first half of the weekend was devoted to the roomate. Not only have I not seen much of her this week - incompatible schedules - but Friday was her birthday. To mitigate summer schedule insanity, she planned 2 days of Birthday Fun, and invited folks accordingly. I ended up doing dinner on Friday with her at a lovely tea place, Cha Fahn, in Jamaica Plain. Got to feel all smart - since I was the one who knew of it - and also generous, since food and tea are terrific. Was double happy, since we also got
pax_industria on this little expedition. Which made us a happy little trio of eaters - just the right size for this restaraunt, where the service is non-hurried, and the space is small.Also went out picnicing on Saturday - did a lunch/afternoon picnic complete with Frisbee throwing. Those of you who know me know I have many fine talents - I'm a highly skilled contributor in many venues... Frisbee throwing is not one of them. :) I pretty much suck. But with the help of the gang, I sucked less by the end, and we all had fun laughing at my inability to throw a frisbee, even when it meant lots of walking for my victims. We were a small but dedicated gang - new_man, mermaidlady, and two friends of the roomate, plus roomate and I for a total of 6 people. Which worked out well as we had 6 Birthday Brownies with us. :)
Sadly, didn't make it out clubbing with the roomate either of the two club nights. First night was sacrificed to producitivity. Second night to some quality time with
new_man Definitely the right choices - it was good to have a well-rounded schedule, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to be in two places at once, or to have double the weekend. :) I hear there were some visitors from the Great North that I missed hanging out with.Got a fair amount of time in with
new_man and mermaidlady. We did picnicing Saturday as a group and the Dim Sum Sunday. Even had time post Dim Sum to browse a used book store, and I even managed to resist buying anything, with the theory that there will be lots of shopping next month. Generally nice, laid back time.They are in the midst of the hustle and bustle of planning the next Big Endeavor - a Burlesque style night that will go on at Axis once a month on Thursdays. They are the two bigger participants in this, but I hope to be dancing with them as one of the troupe, so it's generally nice to hear the plotting and scheming. Although, at the moment, it's a little wierd to be one of the troops, not the director, producer, or something like that. Between being the leader of Indian dance stuff, and a large personality in the Middle Eastern dance troupe - it's funny to be not-in-control, and to be thinking about conforming to a very different set of norms. I should take this as a rest break and enjoy being a peon. It might be neat not to have to worry about any logistics other than the ones that directly involve me doing my part. What a novel idea.
Auditions are at the end of August. Looking forward to post-Pennsic prep, to put together a peice to bring to auditions.
Also got a lovely date in with
new_man. Saturday, post picnic, post nap, post shower, we got together and had a lovely South End dinner, sitting at the counter of Metropolis. We've done several dinners at the bar (or counter) - a novel thing for me. Partly because I like backed chairs, partly because I don't like juggling a book at the counter, I generally opt for a booth, even when alone. But the sitting at a bar with someone feels rather uniquely "grown up", and I like joking around with the bar staff, and watching them work is kind of fun. Due to his promotions down in the Fenway area, new_man has now gotten 8 dots of influence in Fenway Club area. He's always had more than the normal influence at night clubs - through being high charisma, not a shithead, well-dressed, and smart - but now he's got major mojo through his work on staff, as a owner of another club, and as being super-competent. He's got an in with management at the Lion's Group - the business that owns the entire strip of clubs that are Axis, Avaland, Embassy, and several others. He seems to be promoter of choice, in that we got seated in the uber-V.I.P. booth, given a bottle of vodka that usually retails for $300 (because of the status of getting a bottle and a super-star table - the vodka itself is nice, but not crazy-expensive), we hopped clubs (usually you pay to get into each room), and more rum & coke was poured into me than I care to think of - at least 4 glasses that I can count. We did feel like superstars. It was a little bit like being through the looking glass. We went places that most people don't go, randomly we'd run into staff that just said "follow me" and escorted us about, and we were privy to this little club of staff.
Sadly,
new_man and I have pretty different music tastes in this sphere. I have this hip hop fetish, he likes house. Being that different clubs play different music, this means it's hard to have a happy medium. Avaland is very pretty, but sitting in the V.I.P. booth, I was cold, deafened by the too-close speakers, and generally not liking the music. But in Axis' stage, where I liked the music, new_man seemed really bored. Now I do understand the system - BTW. The raised stage at Axis is generally V.I.P. space - you pay for the privilege of buying a "table" by buying a terrifically expensive bottle of booze. The table is yours as long as the bottle is there. And you get to have everyone watching you and seeing how cool you are and apparently how much expendable income you have. Now... if you are a cute chick, you may get in for free, since having lots of hotties up in there provides additional motivation to guys to cough up the money for a bottle and table. Knowing this system, and having so much status we could just go into VIP space, meant that I had a whole hour or so of fun dancing, unimpeded by some asshole trying to put his penis in my butt. Admittedly, even in VIP space, it doesn't hurt to have a 6+ ft. gorilla gazing at you protectively to ensure no sneaky butt crack attack. Thank you gorilla. Security is great, but having a big, violence-compatible thug you trust is even better.An OK compromise was Jake Ivory's Piano Bar - also owned by Lion's Group - which has the feeling of a house party with really good music. Live band - including two pianos (just one player, when we were there), and a combo of various rock of many decades. Classics like Great Balls of Fire, Lionel Richie, as well as some Green Day. Not stuff I'd have found easy to dance to all night, but fun for hanging out.
And... less packed with excitement - the productivity part.
- ironed 4 saris - 3 of them 9-yarders - for a combined total of 35 yards of fabric.
- finished sewing Eleanor's mock-up choli
- did massive laundryness - no more Pennsic-pending laudry!
- dyed hair to one color - dark brown - minus a few spots of grey.
- got Alycia into a good choli pattern
- rehashed the "Skinny Lakshmi Choli" by back patterning, as I had lost the pattern
- made myself a choli from Lauren's spiffy block print cotton. It is super-comfy - soft as pyjamas, 100% cotton, with a lovely red ground, blue and white patterning.
- picked up sewing room... some
Still lots to do:
- more ironing (will it ever end?)
- class handouts
- pick up copies of CD
- review the DVD Eleanor sent
- sew Eleanor's actual choli - post try-on tonight
- 1-2 more dance classes with my devadasettes
- clean room - I want to not hate the room I come back from Pennsic to
- more cholis for me??
- catch up with tpau for post-mock-up fitting
- book interview with primary care physician for post-Pennsic
- book oil burner cleaning/tune-up for post Pennsic
- ? finish handbag with spiffy embroidery?
- documentation for spiffy embroidery?
- documentation for playing cards?
- ?crazy calligraphy project???
All the stuff with ??'s is totally optional, but which I may want to do if I find myself with time. I doubt I will get to any of them, but it's worth thinking about.