I'm at the Bottom of the Hill

Hey all,
I wanted to share a not so recent experience at a beloved long time venue of SF, Bottom of the Hill.
The plan? My longtime bestie (and a too far away one!) and I go to see my favorite band of all time - Super Adventure Club
We meet up at my place, doing the classic girly ritual of discussing what to wear and doing make up.
Then naturally take a picture before heading out because thats the 21st century (or have we moved to a new name/time frame?) rule of girls going out
We head out, having a pleasant drive and easily finding the venue. Parking is plentiful by SF standards, free parking a block or so way. Definitely dont park on the street of the place (17th st) but still you should be golden.
Vibe is chill, people are rather chatty and social, so its social hour mixed with awesome music. Drinks are cash only and strong. There's a small tv above the bar, which was tuned in to some old school cartoons so instant awesome points for that.
Loud but not overwhelmingly so, except when you're close to the stage some of the sounds of the songs can be lost
Always a good view of the stage unless you're behind the one structural beam thats towards the back.
The bands of the night were Lord Loves A Working Man, Planet Booty, and Super Adventure Club.
LLAWM is a very classic band, bringing classic sounds and vibes and making them fresh.
Planet Booty is band thats a unique and outrageous as the name. Crazy high energy and personalities, complete with a bad ass dancing chick. They know how to start a party and get people hyped, so check them out next chance you get! The only thing that didnt make sense about them is that they seem to have seemingly "useless" members. They rely highly on the personality of the 2 main singers. I know the others were there to make music, but they in no way participated of the crazy antics. So it seemed a bit mismatched.
SAC as we all know I'm a devoted fan. This was their big night of their second cd release of the album "Expensive"
I loved hearing all the songs, but they didn't seem to having as much fun as they normally do when they perform, they seemed a tad rushed and tired, like they were just pumping out the songs from the new album. They did have an awesome twist in the end where Jake, the drummer comes out in......a red speedo with a picture of the Hoff of the crotch.
Naturally the girls went wild, and there was even a receiving line of sorts after the set to get a picture with Jake.
I made my way closer to stage from each set, and for once I would actually recommend staying a bit to back or side for maximum enjoyment of the band. Better sounds and more room to dance. But right upfront by the stage you can dump your purse on the big speakers on the ground so you dont have to be weighed down by it.
Bathrooms are decent, meets standard requirements of being generally clean and having more than 1 stall. I did not like how close to the stage it is (off to the side) and the smallness of it so the door seems constantly open and theres no room for a line. Also too dark in the stalls (or maybe I just prefer light...I like seeing whats going on haha)
So there you have it people, a solid review and a good reason to check this place out. I can see why they're such an establishment in SF

Date experience #2

Allrighty peoples! Time to tell you about another date experience of mine! (I told you dating is not a regular thing for me. Besides we all wanna talk about dating anyways right?)
So I must preface this story by admitting I joined the dating website Okcupid. Guess what the surprising part is...I would actually reccomend that if you wanna get into dating online for free. The website is easy to use, fun, and clean! Just answer questions (thats how they match you up) write stuff about yourself, upload some pics and start looking/answering messages!
So I found this super cute guy who's a bit different than your average guy. He's a farmer, lives in pennsylvania but was in SF for a photography job (hes also a photographer)
We strike up a convo and agree to meet later in the week.
I said hey let's go to the SFMOMA since it's free museum day (after all, that's a good date isn't it? You can talk about each other or the art if the convo fails) So we meet.
He definitely looks like a guide you'd see in a magazine for how to dress casual hipster (but he was cute!) but I have no problem with that.
He wasn't the chatty type. So we just walked around semi together and through the exhibits.
We leave and agree to go look for postcards since he wanted one for a friend. We go to the mission district (his prompting not mine. But I asked him where he wanted to go. Naturally he wanted to go there this it has a popular reputation and he looked like he was from there)
We go into my fav bookstore and I tell him Hey, I gotta use the bathroom.
So I go.
Come back out...and I can't find him. Now mind you the bookstore is about as big as a living room in a surburban house. This isn't Barnes & Nobles.
I look around. I ask the guy working at the cashier if he had seen him, he says yes, we talked for a bit but he should still be in here...
So I look around again. I go outside and give him a call.
His excuse? His friend had just called him and he needed to go. But he had fun.
Uh huh, riiiiight buddy.
Note this - unless your friend is dying or something equally as pressing (I can't think of what else....) you can wait a few minutes to say goodbye to your date.
Giant Fail.
But I wasn't too bummed, I did kinda see it coming. Which in a way is an even bigger fail. Because that means I knew you were gonna fail. But at least I'm not delusional.
But I had no romantic interest, it was more of hey, let's meet and have some fun. Which we met. Fun? Not exactly. the dude barely talked. I looked at his profile again and laughed. Because in the describe yourself section he talks about how he is super witty, great at asking questions, great at convo, great at de-awkwardizing awkward situations (his words not mine)
Annnd he wasn't. Or possibly I so repulsed him he couldn't bring himself to do that.
We all know who's lying here (him. he's not great)
At least he was cute.....
HA

We should strive to be more like....dogs?

Hi! So I went to this lameish pet fair out in san rafael today (san rafel is pretty at least...) to look at all things bay area pet. As I'm walking in the parking lot I see a bumper sticker that says greet every person like it's your dog. I smile and think to myself "that's so cheesy"
But now hours later....
The word unconditional love popped in my mind. And that bumper sticker. And I started wondering why is it people are so free and super friendly around and directly to dogs? I've walked my dog in a downtown area near me and it's actually astounding to me how people will talk to my dog so freely like hi there! and aren't you so cute!? who would otherwise never even make eye contact with me.
Because dogs love people unconditionally. Because dogs don't care who they, what they sound like, what they're wearing, etc. and these people know that.
So that got me started thinking about christians. We need to be like that to people. That's the fastest way people will respond. Is by loving them unconditionally.
Yes the dog-God thing is not lost on me. If anything it's ironic. Because dogs like God, do love conditionally. But God has some major one-upping on these dogs. Because God can actually help these people. Can turn their lives around. Can save them from literally anything. dogs can only go so far.
I can't express how much this is actually impacting me. I hope you can grasp it. Or perhaps its only a personal thing.
Unconditional love. Not caring but just loving on these people. No matter how much they may abuse that, like some dog owners do, we're still there. and when we start to feel the abuse, we have a source to replenish us and is really the One who is loving these people, because we can't on our own

Product review - Bachman's Sparrow

Hey all!
So I recently won a drawing from bachmanssparrow.com in which I received 3 lip balms - Peppermint, Citrus, and Strawberry Fields.
So I wanted to give her (my dear friend maria who is an absolute sweetheart and such a hard worker. plus she's pretty knowledgeable about different things; mainly fashion, crafts, and green living/beauty products) a whole blog post in which I review her awesome products.
First up is Strawberry Fields. Now this one is absolutely perfect for those of you who love sweet things and for those of you who love strawberry ice cream. It glides on so smooth and it tatses like you're eating strawberry ice cream! So yummy!
Now Peppermint. This one here rivals and in my opinion beats out burt's bees lip balm. Oh yes beats it by a landslide! Why? Well get this; all of maria's products (she has more on her etsy which you can find the link to on her blog - bachmanssparrow.com) her completely natural! I mean completely. Because what I'm finding out these days is that all natural products are not all natural. And that's bumming me out a bunch. Take a gander at the ingredients found on ther peppermint: beeswax, shea butter, olive oil, honey, natural sweetener, vitamin a, and essential oils. Whereas Burts bees has    Beeswax, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, mentha piperita (peppermint) oil, lanolin, tocopherol, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, glycine soja (soybean) oil, canola oil.  (ingredients taken from their website)
So how does this peppermint beat burts bees? First off it's waaay smoother! You wouldn't think this would be a big deal or even noticeable but it is! I would sit there for 5mins with burts bees going over and over my lips with the balm to get the right even application to feel that awesome peppermint tingle. Bachman's Sparrow's lip balm I just glided it over my lips about twice and it was perfect. A rich even coating over my lips that feels just right. Needless to say I chucked my burts bees.
Now the Citrus lip balm. This one actually ended up being my fav of the bunch even though I thought the peppermint would be. It's a lemon with orange citrus. And it tastes exactly like that which I love. It reminds me of those time when you drink something soothing like tea with honey and lemon. That's how it tastes and feels to me. It's so soothing, the perfect combo of flavors and it goes on so smooth! And here's another way you can tell if something is natural - you don't need as much of it. with these lip balms, you apply it and you're good! You don't need to keep reapplying or even sit there for 5mins while you zone out and keep gliding the lip balm over your lips like I'm sure many of us do.
Maria you are amazing and I can't wait to see what other products you come out with!
All these products are worth the prize (yes spendier than the average drugstore brand but! substantially cheaper than organic all natural products (trust me, I've bought some all natural products recently and lets just say $18 for eyeliner) so it's definitely worth the price. At her etsy shop she has more flavors than the ones I received so you'll find something for everybody to like. Please take a look and more importantly make a purchase!

Once a dancer always a dancer?

Hi all in blogland.
I was looking at my blog and was sad that I didn't have anything to blog about when whammo! an idea just hit me (when I was about to turn off my computer actually haha)
I was thinking about dancing after watching a clip of an old classmate of mine dancing a piece she had created for a piece she's in and it started me thinking about dancing.
Do I miss it? Yes and no.
I don't miss the stress, the constant wondering, the feeling of needing to always think about it to be a better artist but yet wanting to stop thinking about it to give my brain a rest but then still being consumed by it because the thoughts of dance are limitless really. The constant aches pain (but strangely I actually miss the soreness as well) the constant feeling of inadequacy I experienced and wrestled with but was combated with the feeling of utter triumph and victory and strength. (does this make sense?)
I hated always comparing myself to everybody else and feeling like I could never do to choreography justice the way everybody else could. I didn't like that everybody else seemed to have body of rubber bands whereas I was like pizza dough, I needed to stretch myself everyday all day for hours and on repeat to maintain decent form. I didn't like always being tired but yet I did because it meant I had done something.
But yet at almost any given moment these days I'm dancing little phrases or standing on half pointe in the shower or doing pique arabesques. I stand in front of the mirror and critique my arms in second position.
I miss the routine of plies. I miss Summer's inspirational words and motivation and surprisingly fun pirouette combos. I miss watching Christian's body flop about, his old fashioned grande allegros. I miss Alex's choreography. I miss being sore and sweaty. I miss the familar pattern I had of stretching. I miss watching people and then knowing their movements so well that it defined them. I miss being a part of the process. I miss knowing what was expected of me and knowing how to fulfill those expectations.
Will I ever be a dancer again? It's becoming quite sure in my head the answer is no. I honestly do still entertain the vague notion that someday I'll choreograph or teach or somehow be back in the studio.
Am I sad about all this? Yes and no.
For the longest time I thought other than for the dance life, dancing didn't really benefit me in other areas of my life. People always say it does, but I just figured that was some way to reassure themselves that dancing was not a waste of time.
Do I think dancing was a waste of my time? Not in the least. It definitely bothers me that I dedicated so much to dancing and honestly nothing came of it except some amazing experiences and insight into that world.
But I just realized dance taught me perserverance and faith. Perserverance because in class and in rehearsal you have to trust that it'll work out. That you will somehow understand it or at the very least just be able to do it. Because a lot of times in dancing and in life you don't know what to do, or even how to do it or anything. But you just keep doing it. You just keep trying. Even if it's so far beyond frustrating you still do it. It's almost sadistic the way you keep on going but yet you do. Because of the plain fact you have to. And that produces faith because it will work out somehow. Something will be done

You're like almost an Amish person

I kid you not, that was actually said to me on a date last night.
Ok so I'm gonna blog about this date (thanks Corinne!)
A) because I rarely go on dates
B) because I wanna share my experience
C) to perhaps help some of the guys (ok I know they're not reading this but its a nice thought to round this out) with some tips of how to be. because whether you like it or not, ITS THE SMALL STUFF THAT MAKES A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE (yes all that needed to be in caps. bear with me here)
So, I went swing dancing tuesday night with some close friends of mine (to my experience swing dancing refer back a few posts to stompy jones) I actually made it to the lesson on time which added to the experience a bit, made me feel a tad more prepared. And God bless those guys who actually show up for a lesson. Serious kudos to you.
People watching is soo much fun! ok ok moving on
So as always some random guys had asked me to dance and we had fun (men, please note that saying to a partner you danced with is a beginner is kinda mean. I know I'm a beginner and I know you're not. So thanks captain obvious; are you trying to deter me? move along)
I must say the highlight was dancing with a lesbian for it was so far unusual to me but highly fun and unique and very non-sexual (and her hands felt like mine. that sensation can only be described as ubiquitous.)
so this guy asks me to dance and he's obviously been dancing for quite a while but he asks if I've done other forms of dancing. I say yes, I used to be a ballet dancer. He says ahhh I can tell! You turn with your arms in high fifth and your arms are so balletic (upon watching myself in a video attempting to rave dance, I have concluded I have very balletic arms. which is rather personally amusing for I was always told my port de bras was one of my weaker points)
so we dance a few songs. Honestly he was a bit odd, gave off a gay vibe (hello will truman from will & grace) and he was deeply obssesed with the music but then he paid attention to me. rather disconcerting.
We chat a bit. Now men, asking questions is to be expected but pleease once you hit on some tragic subject (like the reason I don't dance anymore) please stop harping on it. I really don't feel like discussing my deep personal trauma with you. I just met you. I like your concern but once again move along.
We exchange numbers (his phone background wallpaper was a picture of himself lmao) he says lets hang out sometime, I'll call you. I oblige
He calls me the next morning! So we schedule a date for that evening.
I was running late from work so I shoot him a text (oh a quick note, the guy hated texting. not bueno for me a textaholic. but I as I told him later, he had a loud voice and enunciated well so I didn't mind talking to him on the phone. but he did sweetly deal with my texting)
I shoot him a text saying I'll be there late. He says good.
I show up. I'm exhausted and don't really feel like putting on my dating charms. But I'm a trooper.
He's not there. So I wait about 5 mins. No call no text. So I order my food to go. Thennn he calls me! (15mins later...) says he's running late and he'll be there in 15. So I get my food and wait for the guy. He shows up and gets a beer and fries and explains how his dogs got diarrhea and he had to clean that up. He vents about that a bit. Not a problem. He many times offered his fries, I decline. He asks more probing questions (minus points there) and I attempt to find out more about him (I did get soome info but man that guy knew waay more about me) we go for a walk a bit and as every first date of mine (except for one) we get on the topic of religion (since my beliefs are the very core of who I am, its my identity)
OH  by the way; if you suggest we go for a walk please wait for the gal to pick up her purse instead of walking out the door and waiting, its rude (which he did)
The amish comment came up because I had said I haven't had sex since I don't believe in sex before marriage. So we had an interesting discussion of things relating to that. He's a bit of an odd bird though, in the middle of us talking he'd start humming and completely forget what we were talking about or say that restaurant is really good. Uh ok....?
Then he walks me back to my car and we tie up the discussion, we hug and say bye.
I text him today and say I had fun. He responds saying I'm glad you did, I did too but I don't think we're a match. I say I agree but unless you believe guys and girls can't be friends there's no reason we can't ever talk again (I like having friends with different viewpoints once in awhile, it shakes thing up)
He says sorry
The End

After all what's in a name?

Names, they mean everything to us right? It's how we identify and connect things to one another.
Ok so, I went to a dance showing called thieves the other night at my old home SFCD (SF conservatory of dance)
Now I don't know who exactly choreographed it and what not, all I know it was basically some some woman who talks with her teeth always shut together (like a smile)
So the piece itself was ehhh. Some original moments that were never expounded upon and the boring to death parts repeated over and over. Wonderful dancers though that's for sure.
I'm not even quite sure how to explain the piece except for that there were a lot of animalistic influeneces and feelings that reeked of war-time emotions (I don't know how else to put it...)
The unique thing about these dancers was that they both shared masculine and feminine energies. The guy looked quite fem but there were moments where he was actually quite masculine, in the animalistic instict moments. And the gal looked rather butch but had some soft feminine qualities as well.
The thing that bugged me was during the discussion as afterwards my friend pointed out to me (since I honestly couldn't understand hardly anybody) was that a guy in the audience had asked why she named it thieves. There was nothing at all in the piece that connected with that word. And she got rather defensive about it and basically ended up saying its not the name that matters its the piece and how different people have different connections to words especially from different parts of the world (this company is based in amsterdam)
But that really bothered me. It showed her lack of experience and maturity. For the piece itself was rather inexperienced though it had some beautiful moments, it definitely had that feeling of this was the first piece she's ever choreographed.
But it bothered me so much that she got defensive and a bit angry because first of all lady, that's an honest question. For you present this title of your piece and then the word has nothing to do with nothing. It would have been better to call it unamed or in progress for then that leaves more of a blank slate for people as oppose to leading us to believe some thieving is going to take place. I feel like that you should take time to accurately name a piece. We take time to name our kids for what they're named gives a presentation, a preconception to the world. Even Alex Ketley (one of my favorite choreographers of all time) as random or obscure his title of the pieces may be, they connected, they made sense. So her lack of insight or whatever turned me off even more to the piece.
Now on to more pleasant things.
My friend Joy Prendergast recently debuted a work in progress of her choreography so naturally I went to go see it.
It was quite beautiful. I knew it would be. Joy has the most gorgeous of movements and she can take the simplest stuff and make it absolutely golden, it flows together like water. The underlying tension of everything was fantastic, it left you wondering why. To me it felt like a bit of a take off (not rip off but I mean like going down another path of the same broad idea) of Project Bust which she is a dancer in for it related to 2 females and underlying tension in dealings with each other. I look foward to seeing its progression and seeing the intentions coming through more clearly.
As I went to the show I had to laugh and say to myself, this is why I don't go to just any random showing of dance. Because you NEVER know what you will get.
Joy's piece was one of many different pieces that were showcased at the Garage in SF. The garage is quite a venue. Tons of people have started out there but I have seen the most random obscure mishmash of stuff there. Some highly interesting albeit disturbing and some simply good/entertaining but not rich in meaning and some pure absolute crap. The garage I feel is a bit of what I call an honest venue. You can be your absolute self and everybody will see/hear/know it. My polite way of showing that I hated the piece more than anything is by not clapping. I will refuse to clap. For that was crap. It's not worthy of my applause and you should've saved yourself the effort.
Here's my conundrum - I understand the work the effort the time and everything else that goes into making a dance. But some are just pure horrifying and disgusting to me. And I feel bad because I know they poured every fiber of their being into it and I know it provides such a sweet relief in a way but man, spare me.
It reminds me of an article I read on the Bold Italic (google that suckas, you'll LOVE it!) where the guy is basically saying the same thing I'm saying here but about the music scene. He says you know what? enough of the polite applause after every band's set regardless if they sucked or not. Bring back the booing, let them know they suck!
Which I agree with. Does that make me a hardass? A Cynic? I don't know. But I like to think of it as reality. We need to know when we suck at stuff. Ok maybe we like doing whatever it is we suck at, but then enjoy it in the privacy of your own home. save the effort and the humiliation and just stay home with it.