The bellydancing part of my life is in flux right now. My favorite teacher has come down with a mysterious illness (so mysterious she is not even sure what it is yet) so that she had to cancel her classes indefinitely. I love her classes because she is so encouraging that she makes everyone feel like a great dancer. And we are all beginners!
Yesterday I just found out my second favorite teacher is going on sabbatical for an indefinite amount of time as her work schedule has her running ragged.
Alright, illness, work, come on, give me a REAL excuse!
Just kidding. I do love these people and appreciate them more than just as teachers. They are very giving special people and it is too bad they can't teach now. I do feel a little selfish and guilty about my current feelings of desertion over them leaving since I am a "teacher" too (in a way) and I know how important it is to balance giving my time to "students" and to living a balanced life for me.
Meantime I am bored with the classes I have been taking elsewhere I originally signed up to supplement the first teacher's.
Arghhhh. So now Wednesday night is free and nary a good class to take.
On a positive note the Bellydance Intensive is next weekend where there will be nonstop classess and I bet by the end I will be begging for mercy. Hopefully that will give me enough of a fix to last a while. Afterward, depending on what I am doing in my professional life, I may sign up elsewhere on other nights.
This bellydance shell game has me thinking about my weight loss meetings that I lead... Lately I have been missing quite a few due to a trip back east to Syracuse, now Labor Day weekend in California, next weekend's intensive, the Jewish High Holidays coming up in a few weeks and soon, Michele's wedding. Not that I claim to be the Queen Leader of the Universe, but the members make it known how much they miss me when I am not there. It is concerning that some of them are relying on my leadership so much that when I am not there, things fall apart! That makes me feel terrible. But with as many meetings as I am leading, it is inevitable that if I want to live a full life (and my family live in another state), I will be missing my weekend members the most.
So this has made me think about my bellydance hobby again and how I shouldn't stem my bellydance participation on one teacher or another. Yes I am sad about my teacher's inability to teach right now and more importantly her health, but really I should be looking at this as an opportunity to try something new and to learn some new tricks. How sad would it be to stop any hobby just because someone else quits?
This reminds me of my weight loss journey: I started my recent one with my best friend and 20 pounds into it, she decided she was quitting because the scale stopped moving (temporarily). I kept going and I am glad I did.
And working out too: I had a workout buddy when I was getting back into working out around the time I was losing my weight and she quit on me after a few months. How sad it would have been for me to quit too.
So I guess this is the time when our dedication to our pursuits are tested. I am hoping that during the intensive next weekend I will be able to meet some inspiring knowledgeable teachers whose class times mesh well with my schedule. Let's hope.
Meantime I will shimmy on.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
Car-ma
Yes, I am still here. Just has been a busy couple of weeks between visiting inlaws in Syracuse NY, job hunting and the regular running around doing what I do.
Today a few good things happened and one bad thing happened which thank goodness I was there, didn't have a bad ending.
First things first, I got a call back on a job for a company I am very excited about. I don't want to put my hopes too high and don't even know if it will be a good fit after my interview on Monday (I am a combination of nervous and excited all at once). Of course the job description is one of those wanting "the sun, the moon and the stars" which is so typical in the web/internet industry (I am a web designer by trade).
Secondly, I got a "go ahead" by a web client to start a nice-sized project which would make for a nice amount chunk $ we (myself, my partner and our business account) could use. Yeah!
Thirdly, I found out all the people I asked to write a letter of recommendation (I believe I asked 5 or 6) did write one for me for the above-mentioned job which is what I think helped get my foot in the door since I was recently told that my resume hasn't be doing me justice by an experienced job-seeker.
Those letters almost brought tears to my eyes, by the way and will go in my "feel good" file. Reading them reminding me of all my strengths and accomplishments which time begins to discount when the mind starts demanding, "Well, what have you done for me lately!"
Fourthly, this week many members of my weight loss groups (I lead 11 a week currently) expressed their appreciation of me which felt good to hear. Funny how absence makes the heart grow fonder. If I do make that career move to focus totally on my career (and hence make more $)
I will miss those folks. Hopefully I can keep one or two meetings a week. But let's not put the cart before the horse. Whatever job I take has got to be a good fit. Between my freelancing and leading meetings, at least I am not coming from a place of total desperation that I feel I must totally sacrifice my freedom to take something mediocre.
See, I am a pretty spiritual person. Not religion-wise, but just in general believing what comes around, goes around. Hard work pays off and so does performing good works. And I have been working hard and paying my dues.
But sometimes no good deed goes unpunished. Here is the the bad part of my day. I went out to run a couple marketing/bank errands. Friday afternoon is the worst time to do these things because that is when every construction person is in line at the bank to cash his check. Note to self, wait until Monday morning.
Anyway, as I was coming out of Walmart with a few sundry items I noticed a Golden Retriever in a car with a slightly cracked window. Ok, just a reminder it is over 100 degrees here in Vegas and probably much hotter in a stuffy car. Dogs can't sweat to cool themselves and this dog's coat was pretty thick. So I am caught between a rock and a hard place.
What to do? I wait and I watch, hoping above hope the owner returns really soon. No one comes. So I get out and hover near the car. The dog is barking and ignoring me. Meantime a lady from another car gives me some water which I try to feed the dog through the window to no avail. The dog is too busy barking in the diretion of the store, clearly agitated.
So then the dog lays down and I make a controversial move: I open the door. It was unlocked. A nearby gentleman warned me I could get arrested for doing that even if I am saving a dog and he suggested I call for help. I called 311 which forwarded me to animal control which rang and rang and rang and hung up. Great! Now I didn't want to be responsible for this dog dying while I was standing right there. So I called 911 next and told them what was happening and the operator told me she would have someone from animal control call me back. I wait and three minutes later a family approaches the car while animal control is ringing for me. Timing is everything, right? I thanked the caller (who told me I could have just left a message which would be nice if I actually got through) and confronted the owner (a family actually).
They brushed me off saying it was "only 5 minutes." Well hey, heat kills in five minutes in this town and a cracked window doesn't stop that from happening. They didn't seem to care. The attitude of these people seems to be very typical in these parts which surprises me. But Vegas abounds with stupid people. This town just attracts them. Transients and stupid, ignorant people. Sorry for the rant, but it's the truth. And I am actually being nice right now.
So no good deed goes unpunished. But perhaps it will pay off in another way. Honestly I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing I just left that dog without at least trying.
Today a few good things happened and one bad thing happened which thank goodness I was there, didn't have a bad ending.
First things first, I got a call back on a job for a company I am very excited about. I don't want to put my hopes too high and don't even know if it will be a good fit after my interview on Monday (I am a combination of nervous and excited all at once). Of course the job description is one of those wanting "the sun, the moon and the stars" which is so typical in the web/internet industry (I am a web designer by trade).
Secondly, I got a "go ahead" by a web client to start a nice-sized project which would make for a nice amount chunk $ we (myself, my partner and our business account) could use. Yeah!
Thirdly, I found out all the people I asked to write a letter of recommendation (I believe I asked 5 or 6) did write one for me for the above-mentioned job which is what I think helped get my foot in the door since I was recently told that my resume hasn't be doing me justice by an experienced job-seeker.
Those letters almost brought tears to my eyes, by the way and will go in my "feel good" file. Reading them reminding me of all my strengths and accomplishments which time begins to discount when the mind starts demanding, "Well, what have you done for me lately!"
Fourthly, this week many members of my weight loss groups (I lead 11 a week currently) expressed their appreciation of me which felt good to hear. Funny how absence makes the heart grow fonder. If I do make that career move to focus totally on my career (and hence make more $)
I will miss those folks. Hopefully I can keep one or two meetings a week. But let's not put the cart before the horse. Whatever job I take has got to be a good fit. Between my freelancing and leading meetings, at least I am not coming from a place of total desperation that I feel I must totally sacrifice my freedom to take something mediocre.
See, I am a pretty spiritual person. Not religion-wise, but just in general believing what comes around, goes around. Hard work pays off and so does performing good works. And I have been working hard and paying my dues.
But sometimes no good deed goes unpunished. Here is the the bad part of my day. I went out to run a couple marketing/bank errands. Friday afternoon is the worst time to do these things because that is when every construction person is in line at the bank to cash his check. Note to self, wait until Monday morning.
Anyway, as I was coming out of Walmart with a few sundry items I noticed a Golden Retriever in a car with a slightly cracked window. Ok, just a reminder it is over 100 degrees here in Vegas and probably much hotter in a stuffy car. Dogs can't sweat to cool themselves and this dog's coat was pretty thick. So I am caught between a rock and a hard place.
What to do? I wait and I watch, hoping above hope the owner returns really soon. No one comes. So I get out and hover near the car. The dog is barking and ignoring me. Meantime a lady from another car gives me some water which I try to feed the dog through the window to no avail. The dog is too busy barking in the diretion of the store, clearly agitated.
So then the dog lays down and I make a controversial move: I open the door. It was unlocked. A nearby gentleman warned me I could get arrested for doing that even if I am saving a dog and he suggested I call for help. I called 311 which forwarded me to animal control which rang and rang and rang and hung up. Great! Now I didn't want to be responsible for this dog dying while I was standing right there. So I called 911 next and told them what was happening and the operator told me she would have someone from animal control call me back. I wait and three minutes later a family approaches the car while animal control is ringing for me. Timing is everything, right? I thanked the caller (who told me I could have just left a message which would be nice if I actually got through) and confronted the owner (a family actually).
They brushed me off saying it was "only 5 minutes." Well hey, heat kills in five minutes in this town and a cracked window doesn't stop that from happening. They didn't seem to care. The attitude of these people seems to be very typical in these parts which surprises me. But Vegas abounds with stupid people. This town just attracts them. Transients and stupid, ignorant people. Sorry for the rant, but it's the truth. And I am actually being nice right now.
So no good deed goes unpunished. But perhaps it will pay off in another way. Honestly I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing I just left that dog without at least trying.
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