Kudos & house guests

Tags

antique coffin, bellydance, blog award, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, cat flu, Cleo, cranky horse, cursive writing, Dead Can Dance, Egypt, Espy Hotel, handwriting, house guest, Interview with the Vampire, late night contemplation, Meme, Miss Cleopatra the Cat, pyramids of Giza, Rockwiz, snoring, True Blood, vampires, whoosh, Yulunga

Its been busy over here in Svasti-land, where yoga teacher training swallows my Saturdays whole (takes the rest of the week to digest every succulent morsel), and a family visit on Sunday which should’ve taken up only 65% of my waking day instead took the whole dang thing (result of train break downs and seemingly generous offer of a ride from parental unit, but oh, we’ll drop you and your bike off at a train station as close as possible to us and as far as possible from your place). Its my fault, I shouldn’t have assumed they’d do otherwise.

Yup, the weekend went whoosh!

Consequently, not much writing was done, even though on Friday my wonderful-super-special-lotus-book arrived (from the marvellous Karin). I love it!! And to introduce it to its new home, I’ll take it sightseeing (for inspiration) and some happy snaps of my little treasure seeing some of the landmarks of Melbourne-town.

Here it is this morning, catching a tram to work with me… more photos to come (in another post)!

(You can click on all pics to enlarge)

It was rather foggy this morning

And… for the next week I have a house guest! He’s the 23 year old son of one of my fellow yoginis. In fact, she and I shared a bamboo hut together for four weeks in Thailand last year where I inflicted her with my snoring on a nightly basis, poor thing. Maybe sending me her son is payback?

Nah! 😉

He’s here from Brisbane (major climate difference to deal with) doing some work experience in sound engineering, interning with the Guy in Charge of Sound for Rockwiz – which is filmed in the iconic and handily positioned Espy Hotel.

Lucky thing!

He arrived Monday night, so there’s been plenty of good hostess duties going on and yup, not much time for writing (except when I’m at work where there’s little else to do! Haha…)

Blog lurvvvve

Seems I’ve won the jackpot of blogger-friend love, with BlissChick, Brooks & Linda-Sama all listing me as fellow blog award folks for the exact same award!

This is it!

Personally, I think that’s kinda cool to be triple tagged. They’re all very special chicks, so I am honoured!

And I also think that given this warm three-sided embrace (nothing dirty here folks, move along!) I should respond. But hey, you’re only getting one lot of seven things from me.

Tidbits about me I haven’t told you before (I think) x7

1. Call it the curse of being taught cursive writing in primary school, but I have two types of “E”, “s” and “F/f” that I produce in my handwriting. I never know which one I’m going to use until it arises. This is what they look like…

Notice the variations on F, S and E! (This is really how I write)

2. Sunday night when I really needed some sleep, instead I was kept wide awake with contemplations on the nature of fire, fiery natures, anger and sex. All topics I’m chewing on at present. There might be a post or two in there somewhere and I’ll share with y’all sometime (perhaps).

3. I’ve got a bit of a thing for vampires and own the entire series of both Buffy and Angel on DVD. Plus season one of True Blood (awesome show). I dream of them every now and then, and it’s always an adventure.

4. I was once stood on by a very cranky horse. While I was on holiday in Egypt, believe it or not. We were planning a jaunt around the pyramids of Giza – my boyfriend on a camel and me on a horse. I’d been persuaded this particular horse was okay to ride even though I really didn’t think he was. So we start riding and the horse was definitely not okay. He veered away from where we were meant to be going, wouldn’t respond to riding commands, dumped me in a puddle and came back around to stand on my left inner thigh. For the rest of the trip, I had an enormous bruise which was a little tough to explain at the swimming pool!

5. My very first ever belly dance performance was held as part of a very fun dress up night one of my ex-boyfriends and I organised when the movie Interview with the Vampire premiered (see point 3). We organised approximately forty people to head to the movie all dressed up like vampires, arriving in style in stretch limos.

Yes, I'm in this photo somewhere...

After the movie we wandered a few blocks from the city to Darlinghurst. There, we’d booked out the entire upstairs area of a fantastic Indian restaurant in a gothic styled building. A friend brought an antique coffin (of course) as a center piece.

A coffin, candelabra & plenty of gothicness

We had a quartet of violinists (buskers we’d met on the street) playing as people arrived. And my debut bellydance performance was there, among that environment. I danced to one of my favourite tunes, Yulunga by Dead Can Dance, and I absolutely loved it!

That's me with the veil!

6. As a result of much dancing, performing and teaching others, I developed a theory about human movement (I later realised its not an original observation at all – just tapping into existing knowledge in the world). Its especially clear when people dance – most people either move with their head/neck/genitals/limbs only, or head and heart plus limbs/genitals. Very few people move with their whole body, or sense their lower torso. Even fewer have the ability to isolate the muscles in this area.

Its no coincidence that the lower torso is where we store suppressed emotions and fears. They live in the body until we work with them, and/or they make us sick. Bellydancing especially is great for liberating that part of the body and its one of the reasons I like teaching men as well as women to shake their thang.

I also firmly believe that all kids should be taught to dance and learn at a young age so they avoid feeling self-conscious.

7. Last week Miss Cleopatra (Cleo) the Cat decided it was a good time for a dose of cat flu. Which caused a lot of worry and necessitated a trip to the vet. The vet of course, informed me she also needs approximately $500 worth of dental work in the next couple of months. Sigh.

Payin’ it forward…

You’re also meant to pass this on to seven other people. For the first time in ages, I’m playing along. But only coz there’s some people I’d like to learn a little more about…

• Holly from Earth to Holly
• Christa from Giggle On!
• Amanda from Anthroyogini
• Mama Dharma
• Clinically Clueless
• Caroline of Laughing Yogini
• Jaliya of A Post-Cynical Seer (and a couple of other blogs too)

~Svasti

Cheatin’ on a meme

Tags

big boobs, Broken bones, Cooking, Disorganisation, EMDR, Honest, Honest Scrap Award, Ice-cream, May Day, Maypole, Meme, Mormon blogs, porn, Rabbits, Random, Short attention span, Vegetarianism

Happy May Day folks!

In recent times, I was tagged by two lovely bloggers and a rabbit.

Well, the rabbit actually co-writes a blog with one of the lovely bloggers, but still… how often is it that a rabbit tags you with anything? Usually, they’re too busy eating lovely green food or carrots or philosophising or… I dunno what else rabbits do, actually. ‘Cept this rabbit sure can write (as can the bloggers)!

So, thank you muchly to the very wonderful Tricia and Marcy and Zoe (please go and check out both blogs).

But I hereby declare my intention to cheat… since I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve anyway and definitely on this blog. If I followed the rules of both memes I’d have to find another sixteen (six + ten) random/honest things to tell you about myself.

And I should be really clear – there’s probably a whole lotta things about me you don’t want to know! Oh yes, you should take my word on the matter. It’ll be better for everyone that way!

So, how about I just find ten random/honest things to share, and we’ll split the difference, okay folks?

1. Yesterday I figured out the maximum number of full bags of shopping I can carry home on my bike is five. But that’s pushing it! And I refuse to put a basket on the front of my mountain bike, so that’s how its gonna stay.
2. I was a vegetarian for most of my adult life – eighteen years to be exact! That changed two years ago, but I still haven’t told my family I eat meat now. Mostly, because I don’t want to be expected to eat it every time I go to their place (which I would be if I told them).
3. My attention span is quite limited. Things need to look, smell, sound, taste or feel good to stop me drifting off… which is why there’s an awful lot of blogs I simply can’t read – the layout gives me a headache, there’s no formatting, paragraphs are too long, and people don’t edit. Of course, I’m not talking about any of the lovely readers of this blog!
4. A Mormon blog linked to one of my recent posts (Stooges of Chaos) and that makes me feel a little funny in the pit of my stomach… since most Mormons/religious people would probably consider me to be rather heretical (I think!).
5. I really can’t cook very well. Not consistently, anyway. Often my ‘cooking experiments’ either fail miserably or are kinda wonderful, and I have no idea how I made it taste so good. Right now, I am trying to teach myself how to cook, as I’m a bit neglectful/unimaginative when I’m cooking just for myself.
6. There’s two flavours of ice-cream that vie for top billing as my favourite. I can’t decide though, between Connoisseur’s Cookies & Cream and Chocolate Honey Nougat.
7. Little did I know when I wrote Body Scars (something I should really go back and edit), it would be the most popular post on this blog. It’s because I used the phrase ‘big boobs’ in it, having no idea at the time this gets searched, like… a lot. It’s had over 6,000 views alone. Mostly from very disappointed men, I imagine. It’s always a triumph for me, when another post gets more page views in a week that my ‘porn’ post! 😉
   I am pleased, however, that the third most popular post is EMDR and me.
8. I run the gamut between being hyper-organised and a total disaster zone. On a good day, I’m pleasantly organised and very capable, even if I’m ridiculously forgetful. But you don’t wanna know me if I’m at either end of the scale (annoyingly proficient or completely slothful). It’s painful for everyone.
9. Sometimes in person, I can come across as over-bearing and loud. Part of me finds that quite strange, as I’m also rather shy and nervous at times. It’s possible the loudness is a cover for the shyness, strange as that might seem.
10. In my life, I’ve broken the following body parts: left forearm (both bones), right wrist, right thumb, left little toe, three ribs on front left, left second toe. I think that’s enough. I’ve seriously petitioned the universe to say, please, no more broken bones thanks! But then, let’s not even get started on all the soft-tissue injuries I’ve had as well (see previous ‘fact’ listed elsewhere on this blog about me and my clumsiness!)…

As usual, I’m gonna make this a self-tagging game. If you wanna play, then consider yourself tagged. My only rule is, let me know what you post!

~Svasti

Procrastination to the power of 25

Tags

25 random things, About a Boy, blog award, Butt cheeks, Catatonic Kid, Fake ID, Horses, Malicious Intent, Meme, molè, Muriel's Wedding, Santa, Sixth Sense, Sleep talking, Synchronised swimming, Tea pots, Toni Collette

Despite having plenty to do right now, I can’t even be bothered hanging my washing out (although I’m gonna, I promise, just not right now).

The lovely Catatonic Kid is writing again (some beautiful posts as always), and so she memed me (don’t care if that’s not a word, I’m making it a word). Which I reckon is somewhat akin to mooning someone… ‘cept without the butt cheeks.

And instead of vacuuming or sending out résumés (things I really need to be doing), I present to y’all my list of utter randomness:

1. As a child, I used to act out cereal commercials at the breakfast table. Y’know, pretending to be one of those kids eating Coco Pops on TV and talking about how yummy they are (especially when the milk turns chocolatey).
2. I shouldn’t be allowed to sit too close to anything made of sandstone, coz I might just have an orgasm (I have a seriously weird fetish for the stuff).
3. I have two common recurring dreams, always a little different of course. One is about sharks and swimming with them, unafraid. The other is about vampires. Usually I get to become one and then I have super powers, like the ability to fly. And that rocks.
4. The beguiling Malicious Intent (you need to request access to read her blog) recently awarded me with a blog award. Many thanks, MI!! *blushes*
5. I’m feeling a little embarrassed about the recent spate of blog awards I’ve received. Is there somewhere I can donate them for charity? Actually, if you feel like it, go pick one up from my awards page and tell everyone it’s from me (I’ll back your story up). If you want it, it’s yours…
6. I collect tea pots. Sorta. I’m kinda against accumulating too much ‘stuff’ which conflicts with my desire to collect tea pots. So I only have four. Which isn’t too bad. And I use them all, since I’m a fan of brewing large pots of tea.
7. I was a synchronised swimmer for around nine years of my life, starting at age nine. Yep, glitter, sequins, gelatine (used to keep the hair out of your eyes when performing), wearing make-up in the water – all of that.
8. Synchronised swimming, whilst looking rather camp, actually requires a great deal of strength and skill. Not to mention the ability to hold your breath for long periods of time. So don’t diss the synchro swimmers!!
9. Gelatine, made of horses’ hooves or something revolting like that, actually makes one’s hair very soft. So, each time there was a competition, we’d all looked forward to washing our hair at the end of the day for our ‘hair treatment’.
10. Speaking of horses, I always loved them but was never allowed to have one. Dang! I had a horse poster above my bed for years and used to imagine he was real. A lot.
11. I once sold Toni Collette (of Muriel’s Wedding, Sixth Sense & About a Boy fame) a futon, when I worked in a futon shop. It was for her mother’s house. She was super-nice and very grounded. It was before she was super-famous, although she was definitely well-known by then. I decided to play it super-cool, so I didn’t gush, didn’t say hey, aren’t you… (I knew it was her when she handed over her credit card).
12. When I worked out Santa wasn’t real I used to ransack my parents’ bedroom just before Christmas. One year, I found three albums and knew mum and dad would give us one each. So, I dropped hints about the band I liked, and received the one I wanted (teehee!!).
13. I used to make fake ID for myself and my friends. That was back in the days where a birth certificate extract would suffice! I found a way to fuse together blue and white paper (like the real thing) and with a bit of white out, a typewriter and the school photocopier… I’d run up very realistic looking birth certificate extracts.
14. As a result, my friends and I went to way too many nightclubs in our last year of school. One of those times, I passed out drunk in the toilets. My friends thought I’d gone home and left without me. I had to make my own way home at 6am or thereabouts.
15. I was a vegetarian and/or pescatarian for oh… a good nineteen years of my life. I do eat meat now, but prefer white meat to red.
16. Although, when it comes to wine, I much prefer red. Almost exclusively. Mmmm, one way to my heart is with a very nice bottle of red!
17. Something else you can feed me if you’re trying to seduce me is molé. Oh god, how I love, love, love molé!!
18. Whilst my hair is reddish-brown, I haven’t seen my natural colour in years. Before I started dying it, my hair was often described as ‘strawberry blonde’ – whatever the hell that means – and its been various shades of red ever since. Right now, it’s kinda natural-ish but I’m getting a little bored with that…
19. If you come to my house, I’ll ask you to remove your shoes. I’m anti wearing shoes inside that you’ve worn outside, getting who knows what all over them. Eeew! I’ll offer you slippers or socks to wear instead, so your feet don’t get cold.
20. My parents never, ever respect my take off your shoes rule, even when I ask politely. Neither does my sister.
21. I’m incredibly visually oriented. Often, things I want to say, write or do appear to me as pictures, way before they become anything else.
22. One of my many skills includes the ability to raise my right eyebrow independently of the left. It’s something I practiced for years in front of the bathroom mirror. My mum can do the left and the right, but I only ever learned one side, damnit.
23. Speaking of skills, I’m very flexible. Have been all my life. I can still do the splits and most of my joints hyper-extend. When I have my leg straight and not over-extended, it feels bent.
24. I thought I’d outgrown my sleep talking habit, but in Thailand last year sharing a bamboo hut, my room mate reported my nightly mumblings each morning. Apparently, sometimes you can have a conversation with me while I slumber!
25. I’m fairly certain I know what I’m gonna write my first book about. Hooray! But it’s still a baby seedling of an idea, protected from anyone else for now.

P.S. I’m one of those folks who’ll happily pass on a cool email, but remove the imperative to do so or else bad luck is coming. So, if ya wanna play and haven’t already done so… then go for gold! 😉

~Svasti

Trippin’ the light quirk-tastic

Tags

Anthropology, Audition, Childrens' theatre, Drag queen, Drugs, Gypsy curse, Imaginary friend, John Bertrand, Meme, Monologue, Moving house, Pantomime, Quirky, Weird

A little while back Christa over at Giggle On! tagged me with a meme.

I’ve always been, hmmm, a little unsure about memes coz they seem to be as random as those emails you get occasionally: “All about me!”. Where you’re meant to fill out this sort of questionnaire and send it on to your friends.

I guess the idea is you’re perhaps sharing different things with the people in your life, unless, you know – you actually talk to them and they know you fairly well.

That, or its just something to do when you’re bored at work for ten minutes and you just wanna to prattle on about the insipid details of your life…

But none of my other blog posts are cooperating at the moment, so I decided I might as well write something. So here I am. Hi meme. Hi Svasti, wanna play? Okay…

The meme says to list 7 weird or quirky things about yourself.

As per my initial comment to Christa, if you’ve read my blog you can probably count at least a dozen quirks of mine already. But here’s a few more for your entertainment:

1. Two for one: I could float/swim before I could walk and I could read my older brother’s books (two years ahead) before I went to primary school.
2. When I was a small child, one of my imaginary friends was called ‘fucking bastard‘ – inspiration courtesy of the foul mouthed over-the-fence neighbours. My mother wasn’t impressed.
3. I’ve lived in at least eighteen houses in my life. Since I was 21, I’ve never lived in the same house for more than 3 years. I hate moving but unfortunately its my gypsy curse.
4. I did the whole drug taking thing in my late teens/early twenties (everything but heroin) – but kind of thought of myself as an anthropologist. I studied myself and my friends and questioned why we were doing all that sh*t.
5. From the ages of 18-20, I worked as an actor in a childrens’ pantomime theatre – instead of payment for performances, we got free acting, voice and other related training. It was cool. And I was broke but happy.
6. I once took a tip for audition monologue ideas from a drag queen around 3am in the morning.
7. As an under-10 learn-to-sail child, I ranted crossly at the father of two boys who’d put a crack in my boat when I had right of way. I think you should teach your sons to sail properly, I told John Bertrand.

So there!  🙂

I’m not gonna tag anyone – but if you wanna play go ahead! Write your own post and let me know in the comments. Or… just throw a quirk or two out there in the comments section if ya can be bothered…

I’m off to get ready for my big night out – seeing my celebrity crush. Jeff Martin (former leader of the Tea Party). He’s the only musician I get a serious case of ‘fan girl’ about. He’s hot and talented… sigh… drool…

‘Kthxbai!

~Svasti