I was up last night till something like 3:30am. Weird...I used to have insomnia pretty bad but that was because I could sleep all day and paid the price come night time, but this is no longer the case. Although I do sleep till 10:30/11 most days, it is not what it used to be. But either way, I was awake last night and funny enough, I got a text from my younger brother asking if I was awake. Like I said, most nights I would have been fasssst asleep but that time.

So my little brother who is not so little anymore, called me and we chatted about stuff. It was actually really nice, like he was calling for advice almost. Talking about his girlfriend that he is falling for and how her Dad might kill him. She is 16 and he is 19 so there could be some trouble. We talked about how weird it is that I am in Grad school and we even talking about taking a plan to Seattle next summer to visit my older brother.

He usually doesn't open up like this. He won't give very much as to his personal shit...but I felt honored that I was the one he talked to last night. And before he hung hung up he told me he loved me... first even!

Awwwww.

I am still in pain. I kinda feel like someone karate kicked my stomach, put me in handcuffs then made me squat for hours without letting me actually sit down. Awesome.

Sooooo, I really really really like Halloween and want desperatly to go to the Haunted Catacombs thingy
and I wanna know if anyone has been and if it is indeed worth the $20 bucks it costs to enter. Looks good on the internet :) I am assuming it is, but I always enjoy the comments of those who have gone before me.

Today is read read read, write paper, clean apt, hang out with my cats kinda day. I am so cool.

I am in pain. I mean, I knew I would be. I haven't done anything physically tiring to this extreme in a very long time. One thing that is interesting though...is this is not your typical hurt. I hurt in between my upper thights, in the muscles under my upper arms and in my arm pits and my neck muscles. I think this goes to show that this is indeed no ordinary workout.

I had a lot of fun dancing and playing with the big ball thingy. Not surprisingly, my body pretty much gave out on me after 10 or so reps of one excercise or another. I am in terrible shape and honestly, it is embarrasing. I may be thin but that don't mean shit. My body is mush and it's about time I do something about it.

I am looking forward to being able to dance for more than 5 minutes straight without needing to stop and breathe. I am looking forward to knowing that I can RUN if I need to. I am looking forward to being a little stronger than your typical girl. I am also looking forward to just having so some fun.

Today it will be interesting to find out if I can hold my arms up long enough to wash all the shampoo out of my hair.

There are 9 Estrippers on RIGHT now.

anyways...today is gross. I like waking up to sounds of rain pouring, but I don't like grey skys. Yesterday the moon was out at noon... very beautiful and incognito against the blue and white sky. There is nothing better than summer like days in October.

Do I have anything to say...?
Oh yes, lately I have been watching..dum dum dum, the news. And by the news I mean CNN. I have been noticing this sick tendancy for them to talk about the same shit over and over and over again. And ok, I understand the need to "follow up" on cases. There is always more to be said, but I question who/what decides what these major cases will be.
Although I do like CNN's "Keeping Them Honest" thing...I heard that an "illegal alien" spent years saving money washing dishes and then went to the airport with his savings and it was SEIZED by the gov't. Gross. Are you kidding? And they of course tried to call all these people to get answers as to why and nada, zilch, zero.
And Dr. Sanjay Gupta (sp?) did this great story about food and actually talked about how it affects African Americans and poor people greater than it does white middle class folks...

I should be reading.

Ok so, we went to this place. You walk through a non-descript door on main street next to Hyatts and are faced with a long steep stairway. As soon as you open the door you can hear the music eminating from the very top floor. From the first landing you walk through another door and are suddenly surrounded by bright large graphic grafiti and if you turn your head to the left, something beautiful and new awaits.

This was perhaps one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. There is something so magnetic, inspiring, sensual about dance and something even more specific about this kind of dance. to see a group of men (yes there were 3 girls of the perhaps 30 or so men) gathered around eachother, sharing how to's, friendly hugs, no sense of unbridled testertone at all...and the competition was nothing other than a way to organize the thing, rather than an excuse to pit people against eachother. They always gave each other hugs or props or both before and after each battle and it was clear that for the most part it was genuine.

And when these men dance, holy shit do they dance! I have seen this kind of thing online, on TV, but to see it in person...to see these skinny little boys do these crazy things was...well...unreal. And perhaps the biggest part of it all was how small and warm it felt. It was not some performance with them onstage and us far far away in rows of seets. We were up close, personal, some close enough to be hit in the head with flying windmill legs if they weren't careful. You could see the sweat, the deep breaths, the facial expressions on each and every one.

OK...obviously I was taken by this whole thing. I can't wait to go next month and I will be sure to remind all your asses about it when the time comes because I think everyone should see this at least once in their lives. And as for me, I think I might be taking up some dancing of my own.