Monday, March 10, 2014

IRL Worlds

The intent of this blog is to talk and muse about my current writing projects, but I may occasionally talk/vent/celebrate/whatever about events within my real-life worlds; with that in mind I'd like to fill you in a little about what I do when I'm not at work (at a printing/lithography company) or writing.

World 1) Star Trek

For the past several years my significant other and I have been involved with a project called "Star Trek: Phase II" (formerly "Star Trek: New Voyages"). You can find them here as well as on youTube by just searching under that name. It basically consists of a group of volunteers who get together once or twice a year for two weeks to make full-length, professional-quality episodes of the original series of Star Trek. I can usually be found in the costume department hemming a uniform or taking rank insignia off a sleeve. Once in a while I even have the honor of wearing one of those uniforms and standing in the background of a scene during a shot. It's a very fun project and a great group of people.

World 2) Belly Dance

Though I faithfully took belly dance classes for about two or three years, I haven't been to a class in a long while. It was long enough to give me a firm grounding in skill and technique though. I love dance and I love to dance, so a few times each summer I get together with a friend of mine (sometimes we can rope in more ladies as well!) and we dance in either my back yard or hers. These impromptu performances are usually videotaped and thrown up on youTube. Once in a while we even get to perform on a stage before a proper audience. It's a glorious form of self expression that I enjoy greatly!

World 3) Sewing/Crafting

My work with Phase II gave me the confidence to sew (a hobby I'd always been drawn to) and belly dance gave me a reason to do it! I'm mostly a garment-maker and making costumes for belly dance is a fun little past-time. My dance-buddy is also my sewing accomplice and together we've started a small business called "Dancer's Dream Boutique" Though we have an Esty shop, the bulk of our sales currently come from local vendor/craft fairs which we try to attend two to four times a year. As our inventory and product selection grows, we'll likely try to get into bigger events on a more frequent basis. When not making goodies to sell, I usually have some project or another either for myself or a friend or family member in the queue to produce at some future date.

World 4) Karate

Movement exercise has always been important to me and I try to have at least one class or another going. I took yoga for about four years, Tai Chi for about three and then for a while I was taking belly dance and karate classes in tandem. I took a break from all that a couple years ago to train for a marathon (on a whim). After completing the marathon in August of 2012 my financial circumstances and employment schedule kept me away from taking up classes again for a while. Recently though I decided to return to karate and have been enjoying my return to the martial arts. We'll see how things go on that front!

World 5) Birth-Assisting

Though I have no desire to have my own children, I've always had a passion for birthing and started training as a doula (a type of birth assistant) in anticipation for the birth of my first niece. I never finished my certification for various reasons, but have attended three other births (apart from hers) as a "rogue-doula". I've been contemplating for the past year or two going to school for nursing with the intent of eventually becoming an assistant midwife. In the meantime I keep an eye out for friends and family expecting babies and make sure to pass along websites like BirthWithoutFearBlog to raise awareness of a woman's rights to labor and birth where and how she chooses.

Other hobbies or interests may come and go, but these have been the biggies for a while.

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