My Submission to Hallmark's

Exterior: Merry Christmas!

Interior: Jesus was a Jew.

Busy

You are never done, a perpetual ebb and flow. A tide, which I may interrupt with a toe against the water.

Apropos of Performing in an Outdoor Amphitheatre

Whether the weather be fine, Or whether the weather be not, Whether the weather be cold, Or whether the weather be hot, We'll weather the weather whatever the weather, Whether we like it or not!

Be advised...

I really can't understand how someone in a faculty position can be obstinate to the point where they appear to be sabotaging their students. Shouldn't an advisor work towards the success and graduation of a student? I clearly have misconceptions.

When Working on a Thesis

When you have to worry about words and typing and saying things just so, and having it mean so little even though so much is riding on it, it makes you covet words and starve their use.

My Affliction

Hyperopia: not simple farsightedness, but the inability to enjoy the present because one is overly worried about the future. It can lead to regret about lost opportunities.

Harm in da Arm

My arms have finally stopped shaking! I had rehearsal this evening that turned out to be 1.5 hours of almost (seemingly) nonstop crawling around on the floor and scurrying on all fours. We are supposed to be like spiders/Spiderman in our comic-book-themed dance. Strange, particularly in writing, but true. That was a lot of arm work in general let alone after two weeks off. My arms were a bit tired right after, and I had to stop at the liquor store on my way returning to my apartment to acquire the goods for my hosted wine night. I went to the Village Bottle Shoppe to peruse the wines. Such shoppe I had passed many thousands of times in the past four years but never entered. they have a fairly small and limited selection of liquids to please oenophiles, but what I found would suffice. I decided to go with Rieslings (which was my original intention if possible) based on the selection. The shoppe had eight different kinds that I noticed, six of which were $10.99 or less, so I went with those six. I had to carry those six bottles back to my apartment, which turned out to be a magnificent feat of bicep-based strength I never realized. I never thought I wouldn't make it; I knew I would persevere. Yet, I also knew there would be consequences. Will I be able to lift my toothbrush tomorrow? Will my students laugh as I gesture with fingers only as my arms dangle at my sides? These questions remain unanswered.
Anyhow, I got at least one brand most Americans will probably recognize at this point - Yellow Tail from Australia. That was the cheapest at $6.99. The next is from Chile at $7.99, then two from the area of Germany where Riesling originated at $8.99 and $9.99, and two from the Columbia Valley in Washington state at $9.99 and $10.99. Funny that the two domestics are highest in price. The other two I did not buy were a lot more expensive at about $14.99. I did not get a "ringer" to confuse the already impossible quest to identify wine club wines. I don't know what it would be but I am now thinking with at least 10 people plus myself it might be wise to have that extra bottle. We have a few indulgent drinkers. We are a very responsible group though; a truly lovely bunch. I will make sure no one attempts to the bus einsteigen.
No weirdly shaped bottles or even particularly ornate labeling at this shop I'm afraid. One interesting thing about these wines I got, all Rieslings of moderate to medium sweetness, is that they range in alcohol content from 8.5% to 13.5%. Not a big number in toto, but that's a pretty good range when it's over a 60% increase in alcohol content! I did not realize such a range existed within one kind of wine.
A review on these selections to follow, if my memory holds out after the brain floats on a golden Riesling river that hints of peaches, apples, and the faintest touch of cinnamon.

Skin Mountain

I have what could be termed a zit on my forehead. It sits high and could be covered by a well-placed sweep of the hair falling at an angle from the bangs position. Yet, for now, it sits exposed. It is, shall we say, large. But I am quite lucky because rather than revealing itself a monstrous, writhing, and greasy mound of pus bulging from beneath skin burning with the bloody glow of inflammation, it more closely resembles a bug bite. It is like a medium-diameter though prominent bug bite and I prefer to treat it that way. Don't touch! Stay away! Let it cool and recede and the body will work its magic to tackle the poorly-armored foreign beasts that established this bastion. The mountain will be overrun, my misguided bacterial friends, and there is nothing you can do but wait and weep.

A Worthy Challenge

I am teaching a course this semester that I’ve never previously taught. It concerns all topics stress-related including stress theory, management, and relaxation techniques. Since I’ve never taught the course and also do not want to be quite the biggest hypocrite, I’ve been reading the textbook. At least one page ahead of the students, right? In chapter one, several stress theories are discussed, one of which is primarily concerned with perceptions in that our reactions to stress are not based so much on the quantity of stress experienced but on how we view our stressors. It says specifically, “…if you perceive potentially stressful events as a challenge instead of as a threat, less stress will result.” This caught my attention as I have always classified the demands of dance as a challenge. Dance, in any form, is extremely demanding, primarily in the physical sense but also emotionally; because I see this demand as a challenge, I am willing to work hard to see what may result. Others who dance likely fall into this or two other categories: those who find it to be too hard, a threat, and discontinue, and those who find it to be neither and participate for other purposes such as for fun or exercise. Of course, the challenge itself can serve as the source of fun and exertion! What I would like to do is to be able to take this viewpoint, and these simple principles, and apply them to other aspects of my daily life. Teaching, research, social relationships, and other sources of stress often seem threatening, now more so than ever before. Unfortunately, and I am not entirely sure why; it wasn’t always this way, especially with science. I used to love the challenge of a course in biochemistry, or the challenge in formulating theory based collected data and results. Something has changed in the past three years, but I am willing to bet I can change it again to find a worthy challenge in all my endeavors.