Doum tek Doum Doum tek

[clevermanka]

I got this email yesterday:

I’m the communications coordinator for the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. I help put together the College Monthly staff and faculty newsletter. We’re going to start a new feature in the newsletter showcasing "extracurricular" activities of staff members, basically fun hobbies or activities outside of their jobs.

You were suggested as a candidate for this feature for your belly dancing. If you would be willing to be part of the feature, let me know. If you could just answer the couple of questions below and send a photo of your belly dancing, that’s all I’ll need.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Ursula Rothrock
Communications Coordinator
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
University of Kansas
(785) 864-8118

Extracurricular Questions:

Why do you belly dance?

How long have you belly danced?

What’s your favorite part of belly dancing?



I'm not sure if/how I want to respond seeing as I'm kind of really fucking burnt out right now and I have no recent pictures (within the last twelve months) that I'd like printed on a campus-wide document. Also, my answers would be boring. I'm not much on putting deep motivations into things, so my responses are 1) I enjoy it, 2) Twenty-two years, 3) Audience appreciation. Not really article-worthy material.

So glad I went to the gym yesterday instead of putting it off until tonight because my cramps are even worse today. I hope they're gone by Sunday. The free weights room was chock-full of douche-bros, though. Eight to ten guys (they passed in and out), and about half of them doing (IMO) stupid limited-range motions (like bent rows with super heavy weight but only lifting in a range of six to eight inches). *eyeroll* One guy was doing some pretty impressive deadlifts and (amusingly) he was the smallest guy there.

I'm giving up on this yeast-regulation supplement as a possible solution for my swelling. It hasn't helped at all. In fact, I've had some crazy-bad swelling days that rank up with the worst of them in the past few weeks. So now we're bringing out the big guns. And by big guns I mean a test kit for gut bacteria and parasites that runs $479 (before tax). Guess where my money from not-Smoker is going this year!

Last night after gym time I went to Drumming Circle. After nearly a year's hiatus, our group is back to meeting on Thursday nights. We're a bit smaller due to some drop-outs and fall-outs, but damn do we still sound fantastic. We played a saidi rhythm piece last night (all improv) for about eight minutes with just one drummer, our guitarist, and me on zills and the whole time I wanted to be recording it because we sounded fucking fantastic.

I so much want this workday to be over. I can tell it's going to be a miserable slog until check-out time.

Comments

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

Oh wow. I'd be so with you on not wanting to put the bellydance article out there right now. (I'm getting a big giggle out of the use of the word extracurricular in this sense, and do like that they put it in quotes).
And I think it's much more interesting that you're working on the rebuild of a 69 Chevelle.

And wow. I'm glad you can afford the test kit because I'd be SOL if I had to do anything like that. meep.

Damn, I'd love to do drumming again some time, but even if I were invited to your group, Thursdays are becoming work nights for me.

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

Do you think you could suggest focusing on a different hobby? You are so much more than the waggle & shimmy. I mean, wouldn't a photo of you with the hotrod rebuild be cool?

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I think it's much more interesting that you're working on the rebuild of a 69 Chevelle.

You are SO RIGHT. I am going to suggest that to Ursula RIGHT NOW. I have great photos for that!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

See my comment to redheadfae!

[carmy-w.livejournal.com]

Sorry you're aching so badly! I agree-I think the Chevelle rebuild would be a much easier topic for you to write extensively about, since you're more invested in it right now.

We have a friend who is on the board of the Wellness Center here; he just turned 65, and he's sort of like the impressive deadlifter you were describing. He told us a story....

He was in the weight room last year while the football coach and some of the players were in there, and the coach pointed out to all of his (typical high school sports-god) players that here's a 65 year old guy who's damn near DOUBLING their lifts, so they'd better get off their lazy butts!

Solidarity on the Friday-itis!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

*fistbump* to your active friend!

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

Yay! GMTA with saffronhare!

[msmitti.livejournal.com]

hooray for finding an alternative thing to suggest for extracurriculars!

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

Ha -- I hadn't seen her comment before I clicked "post." :)

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

What a great reminder that big doesn't necessarily equal strong, and that weightlifting really can be a life-long sport, provided we're smart about form and focus.

[carmy-w.livejournal.com]

He actually didn't start lifting till he was in his... 50s, I think?
Then he set a goal of being able to deadlift X amount (sorry-don't recall the amount), and worked on it till he got it.
So it's quite the story!

[carmy-w.livejournal.com]

Yep, and he doesn't look like he could do it at all-I think his best is 350 or so? Seems like it was bench press they were working on at the time.
And he's not overly muscled, doesn't worry about the look, doesn't diet to keep the fat percentage low, just...lifts, because he wants to.

[nottygypsy.livejournal.com]

I like your alternate topic too!

It was a long day, I'm glad it's done.

[siro-gravity.livejournal.com]

oh, drum circle!
what fun!

[kazoogrrl.livejournal.com]

I'm always somewhat jealous of people who find some sort of emotional or spiritual fulfillment though belly dance, who can't not dance, who lose themselves in it. I really really like it and that's the reason I do it. It's fun. I'm decent at it. I like the music and the outfits. People never seem to find that answer to be very interesting.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I'm not jealous about people who feel that way because honestly, I don't really care about spiritual fulfillment. At all. For anything.

Total fistbump with you on everything else, though.

[kazoogrrl.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I think I like the idea of feeling there is a higher purpose or something like that? Or that dancing is kind of a calling (in a spiritual or not sense). But that's just not me. It's like how sometimes I wish I got religion because it seems like it would be nice to feel so sure about something but on the other hand, eh, it's not for me.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

it would be nice to feel so sure about something

Well, I feel sure that there's no such thing as a god (or, thus, a reason for religion). Does that count? =D

[kazoogrrl.livejournal.com]

I'll take it!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]