Friday, the day of the domestic

Today was my day to catch up on all of the domestic things I have not done in a while. Laundry (um, 4 loads!) grocery shopping, eyebrow wax. I did manage to get to my CORE fitness class to balance things out.


I started my day however at one of the laundromats in town. When my parents were here they insisted that we take my rugs and blankets to Suds to have them wash and fold for me. That gave us time to tool around Sacramento and drink great sangria at Tapa the World -- get it top of the world...tapas...

Anyway, when we picked up the 2 rugs and 3 blankets (which came to a whopping total of $38!!) my lovely white bathmat was GREEN. See, they washed it with my green kitchen mat. Can we say dumb ass?

So, the next day we went into complain and were met with a lovely man who apologized for the mistake, took the mat and our ticket and said someone would call. Five days later and no call, I marched back in there, pointed at my mat on the shelf, wrote my number down AGAIN and was promised a phone call from the owner. Since I had yet to receive a call I went in today with a receipt for a new mat and just asked to be reimbursed. No problem, right?

The girl on duty was the same as last time. She could not believe that the owner had failed to call me. She rang him, but he didn't pick up so she left a message. There was no way that I was leaving there without a resolution.

My side: I have been back here three times and no one had the courtesy to call me. I had to not only buy a new mat, but matching towels and accessories since I no longer had a matching set. I only asked them to pay for my new mat which was $20.

Her side: I don't have the authorization to give you money.

So after asking repeatedly what I should do, because I knew if I left no one was going to call me -- she caved and gave me $20 out of her own pocket. I left my receipt so she could get the money from her slacker of a boss.

As I walked out, I thought I heard her cry.

Am I going to hell?

Revelations and introspections

I am finally settling in this crazy new life and due to all of the journaling and exercises have come to notice some things. I also think a little parental visit can shake things up.

My folks, as some of you know are some of the most critical people around me. Okay, they are the MOST critical. Which can be good and not so good. As we discussed my program over their weekend visit, they kept repeating how weak my program is. I tend to agree with them on some level. But the last time I was in school I was an undergrad. As an MFA candidate, there is much more flexibility as I move from student to collegue with my professors.

I think this is a little harder to grasp since as a mid-career collaborative artist I always thought of the peer system. That the people around me were equals and there was a good bit of give and take. The academic environment primarily puts emphasis on wrong and right, black and white. Education always flows from teacher to student and that teachers have all the answers.

I see that mostly with the class I teach. I did the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange Critical Response Process with their open scenes today it was amazing for them to give feedback to each other. They looked at me for guidance for a while until they finally got the hang of how it worked and communicated as a group -- lessening the emphasis on what I said.

I love that.

In movement we went through the 5 Rhythms -- Flow, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical and Stillness. The exercise did not work for me. We were guided by music and instruction on the recording. How to move and quality of movement, but I could not hear the spoken instruction. So instead of letting my body guide my brain, I immediately resorted to questioning my "rightness." So, when we discussed the exercise afterwards, my undergrad and graduate brain were in conflict. I wound up just being frustrated with the idea that I thought too much about being correct in what I was doing.

After class, in my nausteated/low blood sugar state I walked towards the Silo and my CORE fitness class. I stopped midway and took a detour to the library. I decided to do what was best for my body and mind -- take a time-out and regroup in the library courtyard.

Ahhhh.