I am a Cynic

“Inside every cynical person is a disappointed idealist”
— George Carlin

I am an Ally

Growing up, it never occurred to me that others may not have the same rights that I have. For that matter, it never occurred to me that I would, as a woman, not have the same rights as anyone around me. Working in a non-traditional job for a female has been a slap in the face in that regard but that is for another post. 

Today, I want to focus on my role as ally. I absolutely believe that anyone, regardless of orientation, should have equal rights under the law. This is a civil rights issue. Tax paying citizens of the United States of America are treated as second class citizens every day when they are denied the same rights afforded to their straight peers. I currently serve on the board of PFLAG of Danville, VA. This is a local chapter of the national organization which provides support to the parents, friends and family of the LGBT community.

This is a cause I am passionate about. What right does anyone have to tell someone else that love is wrong, just because it doesn't look like your version of love? I am 35 years old and divorced. I got married because "I had to," which is not true but how it is viewed in the south (again, another post). I don't know that in my 35 years I have ever truly been loved, that someone has ever truly wanted to marry me and share a life with me. I do not say this to belittle my marriage or my ex because we cared for each other and do to this day. I say it to say... why should anyone else be denied the right to find true love, to marry their soul mate and live happily ever after with full protection and rights under the law? For that matter, why should anyone be denied the right to marry the wrong person, totally screw things up and find themselves back at square one, divorced and starting over? 

Love is love.

NEVER turn your back on it, regardless of what it looks like. My happily ever after is without a doubt different than anyone else's, even though I am a straight, white female. Should it be illegal for that reason?

This is the big debate now. Marriage. It goes deeper than that. I can't lose my job for being straight. I can't be denied renting an apartment because I'm straight. I can't be denied adopting a child simply because I'm straight. I cannot be denied medical treatment for being straight. Do you see how ridiculous this sounds?

Your friends, your neighbors, members of your family are all being denied basic civil rights. To borrow an oft quoted phrase... If you aren't pissed off, you aren't paying attention.

I am a Zumba Student

I'm not sure if student is the right word.

I've joined a Zumba group. I'm not an overly religious person but it is a faith-based group called Redeemed Zumba Fitness. There are five classes a week and I regularly attend at least two. 20% of the class fees go to a different charity each month and we host regular Zumbathons for people in need.
This group of women (mostly, there are a few men trickling in and they are more than welcome!) is one of the most non-judgemental groups of people I have ever been involved with. (The other is my PFLAG group, but that is for another post.) They have accepted me, and anyone else who walks through those doors, with open arms and you immediately become family. We have laughed together, cried together and we definitely sweat together. We have grown to having around 70 people in class each night. We email, text and facebook constantly.

Like my belly dance community, I never expected this when I walked in to class the first time. I thought I'd go a few times, didn't really think it was for me but I was trying to support a friend who started teaching the class. I was hooked. The other ladies have wonderful success stories of the scale slowly moving down. I don't have that yet. What I see in the mirror is improving so I'm not worried about that number. In case you are wondering, no, this is NOT a new year's resolution thing. Honestly, I started the week of Christmas. I was lonely. I am recently divorced (again, another post in the future, maybe). My son was going to be with his father, the guy I was seeing at the time was going to be out of town. I didn't know what to do with myself. I knew I did not want to sit at home, bored, on the couch the entire time I was off work. I ended up being invited to a 70's party right before New Years. (Forgive the blurry picture but its the best I've got of the AWESOME outfit I picked up at Wild N Crazy Vintage in Greensboro for the party) I definitely didn't spend the holidays alone!

Last Saturday, we hosted a Zumbathon for Jane Whitley. She is battling cancer and needs a stem cell procedure. The idea was brought to the group by the pastor at Trinity UMC. He did not know her personally. Jackie, our instructor, does not know her. A few people did show up Saturday that actually knew Jane and how important this was for her family. The majority of the people involved had no clue. They just got the call that someone was in need and stepped up to the plate, ready to go to bat for this stranger so that she could receive the care she needed. We heard that the procedure was around $3,000 and they had been able to raise $2,000 so far. $1,000 seemed like a lofty goal for an event thrown together in about 2 weeks time. NOT FOR THIS GROUP! The final figure was approximately $1,700. We came together, we danced our tails off for 2.5-3 hours and it was all for a good cause. 

WSET even showed up to cover the event. Did they show up at 10 am when we were fresh and energized? Did they show up at 10 am when we were working with the instructor we knew? Did they show up when the room was packed? Oh, no, that would have been too perfect! They showed up near the end of the 3rd hour. We didn't know any of the routines, the instructor was like Tigger (you know, top made of rubber, bottom made out of springs?), and we were all about to collapse. If you look closely at the beginning of the clip, you can spy me in all black on the left hand side of your screen.

WSET - Zumbathon for Jane Whitley

I'm learning that the more positive activities and influences you have in your life, the happier you are. I'm glad I decided to walk in to this Zumba class. I have walked away with much more than an hour of cardio.

I am a Belly Dancer

I confessed to my Digital Media class last night that I am a belly dancer.

Again, another label I am not entirely comfortable with. I am strictly a hobbyist.

There are so many misconceptions over what a belly dancer is. No, we are not strippers. Quite frankly, the style of fusion belly dance that I've been learning the past 2 years is rarely even sexy. It's a little bit gypsy, a little bit punk, a little bit sassy and a whole lot silly sometimes. The true belly dancers have muscle control that would be the envy of any athlete. They can isolate muscles that I'm not entirely certain I possess.

I will never forget my first class. I went in expecting the whole sexy, mysterious, woman of intrigue experience. Not a chance. We learned a dance to the Monster Mash since it was almost Halloween. I later had someone say to me "Did you really expect it to be sexy at your age?" WHAT? Really? Wow. I knew we were going to perform in nursing homes, didn't realize I was ready for one. And with that, I became one of the Sisters of the Southern Moon.

One thing I did gain that was totally unexpected was a great network of friends. I've been to a few workshops and a weekend of world music and dance in the mountains of Stuart, Virginia. People came from all over the country to STUART, VIRGINIA to camp, dance, sing, play music, teach, learn, trade, bond. It was amazing.

Sisters of the Southern Moon campsite at Darbukastan Independence Days in Stuart, Virginia

In the past 2 years, I have danced in nursing homes, international festivals, performed at the Tamarack in Beckley, West Virginia and attended some AWESOME haflas (which is just a Arabic word for party). I've learned a lot, gained some self confidence, lost some weight. It's been a fun journey.

Mandatory Snow Post

Yes, Virginia, we got snow.
Not much.
It was enough to give me a much needed night at home to catch up on domestic things. Well, OK, so that translated mostly in to Netflix but I did do some laundry.
The location of my humble abode doesn't provide much scenery for photographing. I did manage to snap this one shot with my phone.

I am a Photographer

Do you know how hard it is for me to make that statement?
Who do I think I am to call myself a photographer? Anybody with a camera can do what I do, right?
(And no, I won't shoot your kids or your wedding for free. I'm not that kind of photographer. I don't like people as subjects.)

In June of 2011, I took a huge leap. I joined a gallery. I ordered prints, framed them, put a price tag on them and actually sold a few things. I've had work published and I even won an award for one of my photographs.

But something happened. I haven't been spending as much time with my camera. I haven't been inspired. That makes claiming the label photographer even more difficult. Now I have a new label - blogger. That inspired me to get my camera out and see what happened. I am absolutely pleased with the results.

I am a photographer. The gallery is closed. I don't have a venue for my work anymore. That never stopped me before and I won't let it stop me now.

Droid girl in a Apple world

For those of you who know me, you know that I am not a fan of Apple products. I'm a PC/Android.
In the world of tech support, you can't always play favorites. I support a lot of Apple products and have recently been issued an iPad. It is my first tablet and my first iOS device.

I am used to the flexibility and ability to customize with an android device. I feel limited with Apple's interface and find myself unable to complete tasks the way I want to complete them. My biggest frustration has been the app store. Android has a myriad of free apps to perform just about any function you can think of. You have options. The open source platform encourages people to develop apps for the way they use them. Apple maintains nazi-like control over what is available in the app store. Yes, it weeds out the junk but it also limits your options.

I say all this to point out what I think is my favorite app so far. That app is Evernote. It's available for all mobile devices and pc so you are not limited to using this on an Apple product. At first glance, it is simply a notepad app. You can organize your notes into notebooks. This is perfect for people like me who like to have their digital belongings neatly tucked away in folders as nature intended. It will also tag your notes with your location at the time of composition. You can add tags for easier searching and navigation. You can also take snapshots of documents to store within the notes. For example, I added the syllabus for my Digital Media class (for which this blog is an assignment) to the Evernote notebook I created for the class. You have the ability to add pictures as well as audio recordings to any note. The most convenient feature is the ability to create an account with Evernote and have all your notebooks backed up to the cloud.

So, check it out. Go ahead. I'll wait.
Oh, a link would be helpful?

Evernote

Be sure you come back and let me know what you think. I'd also love to hear from the Apple's out there. What are your favorite apps?

The First of Many Random Posts

I consider myself a Jack of all trades, Master of none. Or is that Jill and Mistress?

I'm right where I should have been 14 years ago and maybe in that time I've gained some experience that will help someone else. 

I've got a ton of hobbies and not enough time to participate in them all. I'm an activist, a liberal, a belly dancer, a photographer, a cellist, a pianist, an IT "guy" and a mom.

I can't tell you what to expect here because I'm not sure yet what I'll be willing to share with you. I can promise you it will be random. Like me.