Collie's Bestiary

Oh, again! Almost forgot: the bus driver on the way out to the hotel was an old Asian man, and on the way back was an old Italian man. Both of them were really nice folks, happy to help me get the right stop. It's interesting: clearly my small rolling suitcase and my using actual money marked me as a tourist — all the San Francisco natives have some kind of card in their wallets that they simply hold up to a small machine inside the bus, which obligingly squawks to let the driver know they've legitimately paid. The Asian gentleman was particularly kind to me, as I didn't realize the bus would require cash only for the $2 fare, and I had only $1.85. He let me on anyway! I was quite touched by his generosity, and was careful to pay an extra 20 cents on the ride back, which first confused and then (when I explained) made the Italian gentleman bus driver chuckle and amusedly wave me on into the bus. ;)

So — mentally meandering back to the conference yet again! This time I've got the conference schedule open so I can reminisce better. Let's see… I must first ask forgiveness for a happily tired and blurry memory, as I hastily type. I remember being surprised at how interesting Miriam Robbins Dexter's keynote address on "Sacred Display: Divine & Magical Female Figures of Eurasia" was — especially since I had no real idea of what a keynote was! Nice use of PowerPoint to showcase some of the beautiful but little known sculptures, too.

The first track I went to was titled "The Holy Wind: Artists in Her Service." I've already mentioned how impressed I was by the particularly personal art of one of the speakers, Lydia Ruyle. I also very much enjoyed several others of the speakers: Sudie Rakusin's multicultural goddesses demonstrated a light, delicate drawing style which I rather liked, and her imagined saints were often hilariously fun. I can't remember many of their names, which is a shame because they were clever — right now I remember only Sancta Cumulus. Lauren Raine had some absolutely gorgeous photos of her goddess masks being used, although I got the impression the slides distracted her from her actual planned talk, which was not linked to the PowerPoint display. She seemed to be enjoying herself more when she simply started talking about the masks as they came up on the slides, in fact — and that allowed the impressed audience to ask questions about specific beautiful masks as well. I think it was the moderator, Sid Reger, who explained the track's title, too. If I'm remembering correctly (emphatically not a given, here! :) there is apparently no separate word for "art" or "sacred" in Navajo; they are both considered part and parcel of daily life. Particularly inspiring sacred art occurs when one is swept by a "holy wind," though — and thus the title for this track, consisting of artists who make sacred art their life.

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There were some amazing names present at the conference — women whose writings I've read and been moved by; women I've read about as ground-breaking in the field. It was really nice to be able to meet them, even if some of it was just a handshake and a sincere, "Thank you so much for your books — they really inspired me!" I know how thrilled I am when people say they like something I wrote, so I figure acknowledging our gratitude to our foremothers for their efforts on our behalf is the least we can do to say thanks! ;) I think I surprised one of them, in fact, by telling her it was thanks to her that my mind had changed on what I consider some fairly critical subjects. I got the impression she thought I'd come into the ITP program already a strong feminist — which I fear I emphatically was not.

There were some excellent presentations offered, although unfortunately I could only see a few, and hear about a few more. I'll have to go to the schedule to remember them all. Of particular note to me, however, was the art track I attended on Friday, after my presentation. I was impressed once again with how powerfully art speaks to people on a different level than voice or reading. I also saw PowerPoint presentations used well — both to punctuate presentations before large crowds, and to demonstrate art. Indeed, one artist's work was extremely powerfully shown in that way — she had such personal, raw, vulnerable art that it was impossible for her audience not to connect with it on one level or another, I think. I know I found it quite moving — the only thing that moved me more was Jennifer Berezan's singing on the last evening. We all ended up singing the last chorus along with her, hand in hand in a long and intertwining snake-like chain of women weaving around Jennifer and the tables and each other as we sang. I don't know what it is about her music, but seeing her singing the beautiful "Praises to the World" always gets me choked up from an odd mix of happiness and longing.

There were all kinds of tracks! There were tracks on archaeomythology, matriarchal studies, artistic research paradigms, methodologies old and new… it was incredibly fascinating, and I really wish I could have seen them all, instead of just a tiny handful of presenters. I'm definitely going to have to get the book of the proceedings, especially since the videographers — while quite good — were only able to attend one track at a time as well.

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Heehee! This stream-of-consciousness stuff is way fun — but I'm almost afraid to re-read it later, for fear I'll want to bang my head against my desk or something! No matter — the muse rides with me today! :)

So! The regular MUNI buses were full but not bad for a Sunday, with lots and lots of older Asian-looking folks chatting animatedly back and forth in front, and the more usual silently blank-faced riders (both Asian and a multiplicity of other apparent ethnicities) in the back half. It was fascinating seeing the various sections of the city sort of bleed into each other, both coming and going. We started out — on my arrival in San Francisco at the Montgomery BART station and getting on the #30 bus — in a rather posh section of town: big and flashy, dramatic hotel fronts ostentatiously posing at street level; sleekly anonymous black limos crouching territorially over several parking spaces; brisk, uniformed young men to wave you on if you were just "riffraff" — and to obsequiously serve you if you seemed monied; elaborate second-floor, glassed-in arboretums; lots of officious shouting, snapping flags, and busybusybusy movement! Then, within what seemed like just a block: Chinatown! All full of signs in both English and Asian languages (I don't know enough to be able to tell which languages they were), including that Chinese style calligraphy in big neon letters for buildings like Chase Bank and other ordinarily Western-style named businesses — it was rather pretty! Gawking happily out the bus's windows, I saw goods and produce spilling temptingly out onto the sidewalks, and more shouting shop owners hawking their wares to the few passersby; then the shops got smaller and smaller, packed in cheek by jowl and sometimes with only a single narrow door on the street. Sometimes the signs were small and clearly handmade; it felt like an old neighborhood.

At one point I saw a sign for something like "Delia's Diner" in the midst of all the Asian sounding names, and had just enough time to wonder: Delia didn't sound Asian to me…? Abruptly then, signage was popping up with more Italian sounding names — and boom! Within two blocks it was clear we were in something which I'd guess was referred to as Little Italy. All kinds of Italian sounding names for restaurants, delis, cleaners… I found it interesting that the light posts all had three stripes of paint around them at about eye level, in the colors of the Italian flag — but there wasn't anything quite so territorial in Chinatown. Maybe that's because there are many nationalities all clumped together there? The sidewalks were thronged with passers-by in Chinatown, and the cars and buses all aggressively defended their right of way with blaring horns whenever an intrepid pedestrian tried to shove in before the lights gave them permission.

There was a park or two that we passed on the way — just small triangles where three streets left a small space — and they were really nice: stuffed to bursting with ancient and twisting trees, thick shrubberies, and a small gold-painted sculpture of a bear nestled into brilliantly lush outbursts of flowers. One slightly larger park must've been about the size of a small block, and had two big statues in it as well as a greensward in the middle of the encircling sidewalks. There were lots of people enjoying the morning there — some folks walking dogs, a single older guy slowly and stiffly working through a sword kata with a bokken, a handful of older people doing what looked like calisthenics, and maybe three or four off in another corner performing what I believe were the fluidly flowing motions of tai chi. It was rather peacefully relaxed seeming to me, especially in comparison to the slow moving and thick crowds about a block away.

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Hastily typed out in stream of consciousness, while returning from the ASWM (Association for the Study of Women & Mythology) Conference — typing on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) & I've still got a head churningly full of wonderful, fascinating, intriguing ideas! Still tremendously gleeful at how well my presentation went too. One of my intellectual inspirations has been Cristina Biaggi's astonishingly thought-provoking The Rule of Mars: Readings on the Origins, History, & Impact of Patriarchy, a selection of essays she collected by a wide variety of scholars which all speculate on the origins and effects of patriarchy. She was in the audience when I gave my presentation, as was Vicki Noble.

Vicki is in a class by herself, as far as I'm concerned. Not only was she on my thesis committee, but she near-single-handedly encouraged me in my darkest thesis-etical hour to forge on doggedly and create the best I could — such that despite my being under the metaphorical gun, I managed to pull together a strong, well-thought-out thesis on a subject I love, in less than two weeks. Yes, she's one of my intellectual heroes too, and I'll be always grateful to her for both her encouragement then, and her infinite patience with what was (when she first met me) an opinionated but also unwittingly strongly under-educated faux-feminist. ;)

There were a few other folks in the audience too — Barbara, your generosity and your photography of my speechifications really rocked! ;) -but it was a small audience, since we had four tracks running simultaneously, and my track was up against some of the giants in the field. I was, therefore, thrilled to have any audience at all! However, after giving my presentation, I was wonderfully shocked to see Cristina Biaggi standing to applaud me — and to enthusiastically ask me for a written copy of my presentation! That was truly a lovely moment for me, considering that I was worried about flubbing the talking or reading completely. Yes, intellectually I knew I would do fine, but I have it on excellent authority (Judy Grahn, no less!) that the stomach butterflies never really go away — even after over a decade of performances.

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Quick updating for my 50 New Things, with more coming soon: Saturday 3/24 attended a "Creative Transition" workshop in Berkeley, focusing on art and dance. Fascinating workshop & lovely location. Clearly I must slide more creativity into my life, to balance the delightful intellectual swamp of doctoral work. :)

On Wednesday 3/27 had cranial-sacral massage therapy for the first time. Startlingly relaxing — I think I dozed off at one point! Also attended a poetry circle workshop on 4/4 at the Campbell Library; rather enjoyed that. It was reassuring to discover (unsurprisingly) that I don't suck. :) The workshops are bi-monthly, and I think I'll be attending the next one as well.

This was a busy week! Attended my first shamanic journeying circle at ITP on Saturday the 7th, after donating blood — also fascinating! I love learning all these new things, and even more so when I get to learn about myself as well. This too, I think, will become a fun regular thing for me. The next day, at the urging of a friend (admittedly not a lot of urging, as I was curious :), attended a sexuality workshop taught by Midori. Love the way she clearly explains the psychological aspects of what's hot, what's not.

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Okay, throwing open the field for suggestions! :)

This summer will quite possibly be the last one I have free before I must settle down and really focus on my dissertation. I have therefore decided I should add to my list of new things by taking a road trip from here to Florida, so I can actually visit old friends there this time. So, I'm calling on all of you to please give me any suggestions of new, unique, beautiful, or fun things to do and places to visit. Helpful suggestions on how to travel inexpensively are also quite welcome.

The trip will run from CA through NV, AZ, NM, TX, LA, MI, & AL, to FL. Currently on my list are visiting Yosemite, Death Valley, Las Vegas, & New Orleans — suggestions on what's fun to do there will be gratefully accepted! I've also had Soleri's Arcosanti in AZ recommended to me — I'd like to get one of his bells. My current "maybe"s are Roswell, the Joshua Tree National Park, and the AZ Shakespeare Festival.

Help me out here, please! Any beautiful locations or nifty holiday celebrations or weird historical spots to recommend? Also, suggestions on ways to travel easily and frugally? Any experiences to share regarding camper trucks, or rental cars and camping gear, or motorcycle travel, or tips on staying cool / clean / safe / happy while driving long distances? :)

Lots of great firsts to (quickly) report! First, on Saturday 18 February: I attended a "battle sail" with my housemates on the Hawai'ian Chieftain, a two-masted tall sailing ship, which was a great deal of fun. I also helped crew the tall ship, by assisting in the handling of the ropes for the mizzenmast. Finally, I got to steer the ship! That was a lot of fun — especially dodging the (very indifferently crewed) little sailboat that seemed determined to nuzzle up against us.

The next day, Sunday 19 February, I learned how to tie a sari, and on Wednesday 22 February, the night of the new moon, I attended a Pongala ceremony to Devi, at ITP! I also saw the Vagina Monologues for the first time (on Friday the 24th of February), contributing to V-Day's international campaign to eradicate violence against women and girls. Amazing bit of data: the Monologues (with slight variations to keep it up-to-date with current events and to offer data relevant to the geographical area it is being offered in) has been on-going for fifteen years now!

Closing with another wonderful first today: a women-only rock climbing lesson, where I both belayed (apparently I have "good belaying technique"!) and did a chimney climb high enough to slap the top. Woohoo! Firmly in the "well, DUH!" department: rock climbing is hard work!

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Woohoo! I am now certified on the TechShop embroidery machine! Our practice to prove that we'd mastered the teaching was to make these cute little patches (the photo is slightly larger than life-sized), which I promptly gifted to one of my ever-deserving housemates. :)

The embroidery machine is surprisingly flexible, even though it can take forever for it to work through the programmed stitching. However, the instructor mentioned that it is perfectly acceptable to set up the run, then sit next to the madly stitching machine while you're working on something else on your laptop or tablet. Also, I've been assured custom stitching is both feasible and easy to do once the stitching program has been learned, so that's next on my to-do list for costumery. Things are progressing nicely!

I don't think I'll include learning the custom elements of the embroidery program as a first, though, since I'm counting this class on how to use the embroidery machine. Instead I hope to count my first good piece of custom work as a first. I suspect, with some glittery thread, that really nice hip sashes could be made for belly dancing! I'm also going to study this machine to see if I can use it to help with the planned Sarmatian clothing I want to make. Some of the decorations appear to be like the Central Asian shyrdak rugs, where many differently-colored pieces of felt are layered, then careful cut-outs are made in each layer, which create colorful contrasting patterns. I want to check out whether I can use the embroidery machine to outline and hem the edges of where the felt needs to be cut away.

So! If you have any interesting patches you want done, let me know? I'd like to experiment with some cool patterns to embroider, and I'd love to work with friends. Contact me! :)

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Once a week we usually have some friends over for dinner and gaming or video-watching. For the night falling on Hallowe'en week I decided to celebrate a bit with a special recipe: Rat on a Stick! Here it is in all its delightfully messy glory:

Rat on a Stick

Ingredients:
1 to 1-1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 cup finely crushed cheddar cheese crackers
1 egg
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 lb. cheese (Colby, Colby Cheddar, or Jack Colby)
1 Tbsp. honey
1 cup barbecue sauce
8 wooden meat skewers or equivalent

- for optional tails -
4 pieces spaghetti
red food coloring

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Yesterday I had a wonderful but accidental first while trying to get photos for another of my firsts: I successfully took some pictures with my new xoom tablet, then uploaded them to our server — all by myself! This might not sound like much to the heavily geekified, but it is for me. The xoom arrives with absolutely no help documents worthy of the name, which is an appalling lack if you ask me. As one of my sweeties is fond of saying, "If the user can't find it — it doesn't exist!"

So (with a small growl of irritation) I checked out the Xoom for Dummies book from the library. However, despite the stupid title the book has proven its worth for me. Today I used it to help me take some photos with the xoom, troubleshoot an issue with the Camera right afterward, beam happily at the Gallery, then figure out how to download the photos onto the house's server. Once that was done I uploaded them here, so readers can also see and admire my (*cough*) totally rad awesumsauce l33t skillz! Madly going overboard, there. :)

While doing this I had an interesting side-thought regarding a very nice possible and unwitting byproduct of endeavoring to fulfill this "new things" list. Ordinarily I'd go get someone else to do the research on the xoom for me, then show me how… and I'd get them to upload the photos for me too. This time I decided why not just try it myself?

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