PT

Now, you might be asking yourself what a sassy lady wears to Physical Therapy. The answer is posted at left. Yes, that's right, I wore short shorts and knee high socks, and a very fetching hoodie from Carrie.

I figured, if the problem is in my leg, I might as well make my leg...available, you know?

The trouble is, not a lot happened with my leg, and that was the really frustrating part.

At my first appointment, last week, I was analyzed and evaluated; the therapist gave me a few upper back stretches and signed me up to see someone else about my pelvic structure. I arrived to that 9:30 appointment on time. They couldn't find me at first on the sheet. The reason? They'd marked me down for 9 am and given me a no-show. I showed them my slip, given to me by whomever made the appointment, and they kindly reworked the schedule so that I could see the person I was supposed to see.

So, I was in. And spent another forty minutes being analyzed and evaluated. So long, that the therapist's NEXT appointment was already in and ushered to the gym (Said the intercom), and before I'd left the therapist's NEXT appointment was in (a touch early, but still).

Now, let me tell you what it feels like to take more than the usual appointment time while a person tries to figure out what the heck is wrong with your structure. It feels awful. Especially when about five minutes of that time is spent addressing the immediate problem that brought you to that place, the soreness and lack of flexibility in the back of your leg. I know better than most that problems elsewhere in the body might aggravate an injury, and I do want my pelvis straightened back out if possible. But what I really want is for my right leg to heal and quit hurting so that I can stretch and kick properly again.

I'm hoping they're still planning to do the ultrasound therapy, and I am signed up for three weeks of three-times-a-week therapy, sometimes being double-treated by the two PTs I've seen. On Monday, I'm getting the "to be continued" part of my session today, i.e. the answers. An upslip was mentioned. It was questioned whether my left leg is actually longer, or if it's really all in the hips. I was also called out for standing with my knees locked and chest too far back, which is funny because everyone is always telling me to straighten up. The posture I was given to try sucks. I really am going to have to work with these people on not ruining my dance posture in exchange for...whatever.

The best part is both PTs pointed out to me that my back muscles are unusually tight...which I could have told them. Yes, I know I'm compensating for things in dance that my body can't do because I'm not as naturally flexible as I'd like to be. I store tension. It's what I'm good at. I'm like a poised cat almost all the time, ready to jet. I don't relax. I'm type A, what do you want from me? It will be interesting to see what they want to do about that. Again, I have things I need to be able to do in dance, and I don't have time to get completely demolished and rebuilt, so they're going to have to work with me so I can be functional normally and dancefully.

I just hope I'm fixable.

Spare Change for Literacy!

OK, so it's not exactly Votes for Women, but it still sounded pretty cool.
On Tuesday, April 21, the Graduate Writers Club, of which I am the advisor, held their Readathon to support First Book.
It was cold. Oh, my, yes, it was cold. And wet. And blustery.
Over the course of twelve hours, 8 am to 8 pm, members of the organization, students from the Arts Village and my classes, colleagues, and interested parties stood out on the steps of the Education Building and read out loud from their favorite works of literature, while monitors encouraged people to donate their spare change.
I was nervous that morning, when I arrived at 7:45 am with my monitor, trying to set things up in the chilly rain. I began to read my favorite childhood book, Emmy Keeps a Promise, while the monitor worked on posters. I thought, is anyone going to give us money? Will there be enough people out here to get us toward our goal? Will people be annoyed? Will my volunteers get pneumonia?
I knew we were going to be all right round about 8:30, when the rain stopped for a time, and the beautiful sun crept over the roof of one of the buildings. A GWC member was reading in one corner, I in another, and things felt really beautiful. As I watched over the rim of my book, I saw people walking by all frowny, and then smiling a little as they saw us and overheard our literature. The first person besides me to give us money dropped a handful of change in our bucket without even hestitating, and I paused long enough to call a thank you after him.
I was out for about two hours in the morning, then over three hours in the evening (during which I read from Gregory Maguire's Mirror, Mirror. All day, volunteers came in and out for their half hour spots, some staying longer, and everyone contributing. I heard tales, when I returned from teaching, of monitors getting scores of people to throw change in the buckets, and spreading flyers around with facts about what we were doing. Also when I returned, one of the monitors successfully got my sheet-poster (made with muslin and duck and electrical tape) to stay up on a column, billowing like a sail so that everyone could read it clearly.
The weather was excruciating (I think we had every kind of rain possible, and we closed the night at no more than 45 degrees!), but somehow the challenge made it all the more endearing. Everyone worked hard to make this work, and since it was my idea and my planning pouring into it, I felt extra warmed by all their efforts. We all believed in what we were doing. Lots of people, despite the cold, stopped to talk to us and say how cool the event was, and asked us if it would be annual.
The proof is in the pile of change I had in the bucket: We raised $169.35. With that, a donation from my Mum, and a portion from the club, I think we'll be able to send $250. How great is that?
I still don't feel quite right--wind burn!--but I'm so proud of the club and of this event.

Avacious is mad busy, and behind in her work. She will be secluded this evening and much of tomorrow evening.
However, the events are dropping off the list one by one, and there is an end in sight. And then? Bubble bath.

Pretty People

So, yesterday I think I had a taste of what it is like to be a pretty person.
I had big plans to to out to the Franklin Park mall, to go shopping for a few things that I needed, like a light-colored trench coat or similar. I haven't been shopping in a while, so I decided to go fancy. I hot rollered my hair. I wore my lavender boucle sweater with the satin obi. I wore my favorite jeans and my black mary jane heels. Also, I did not wear a coat.
Throughout the day, I kept noticing people looking at me, and I think I overheard a comment that involved "sweater" at one point. I also got several direct compliments on the sweater, including one from a sales girl in Express who was quite glammed up herself. I'm not counting the weird kiosk guy who called me "meess" and who wanted to do my hair because I am "so preetty."
It was most noticeable in Victoria's Secret, where a sales girl complimented my hair. That never happens. Also, all the floor girls were very chatty with me, and I didn't initiate any of the chattiness. Now, I understand it could be because I finally found a bra that I think will work as well as the old Angels Lined Demi with Lace, which they don't make anymore and have replaced with the Miracle fit, which is not miraculous for me in any way. After a bra consultation, and being measured again, I am back to 32B (they can take as much band as they want, but leave my cup size alone!). The gal brought out some options, and we discovered that the Biofit is not only flattering but also the right size for me. So I was all smiles, and some people are of the opinion that this helps one's prettiness. Could be.
In any case, it was a little weird to get that much attention and I'm not sure how I feel about it.
The good news is, I found a coat. I went into every store in the mall where I thought I could find such a thing. Very few stores have any coats right now, even lightweight ones. J. Crew had a few on sale. JC Penney had a few colored vinyly ones. But no, it was H&M that won my dollar, as Carrie will no doubt be glad to hear. They had a number of cute trenches, but very few left in my size, so I got a cute fitted A-line, sand-colored coat of trench length. It was also the right price (since J. Crew's even on sale were $100 and up).
It was an interesting day and one which left me exhausted. I did barely any work, but I guess a girl needs a day off every now and then.

update

My knee is not pregnant.
That is all I know so far. I am still waiting for the real results :)

Popliteal Fossa

So, I've had this pain in my knee/leg for months now. I had thought it was just an old injury reflaring, but then realized as it didn't heal and didn't heal that maybe I should see someone, especially since I've been having mysterious pains in hip and back on the other side that I think are connected to this nonsense.
Saw my CNP today (because I relate to her better than my actual doctor) and demonstrated what I can't do right now very well on that leg that I can do perfectly well on the other (through a duet of dance stretches). Politeal fossa cyst, says she (that's medicalese for knee sac-of-fluid-not-to-be-confused-with-bursitis). That's the working theory.
Lady ordered me an ultrasound, which is where I'll be on Friday morning. I'm hoping she's right, because that means I can maybe get it taken care of for keeps. I know this won't mean much to non-dancer-types, but it would be nice to be able to touch my chest to my thigh again without having to stretch for two hours to do it, or pay for it later. It would also be nice to get my splits back, and get my back stretched properly, none of which I can do with this nonsense.

MSU + Championship Game = Awesome.

Avacious is sorry. She can't hear you over the sound of how awesome MICHIGAN STATE IS!

Blasphemous Shows and Facebook Statuses

Avacious enjoyed being mocked from within Supernatural last night. It wasn't snort-milk-out-of-nose funny, but she definitely laughed aloud in the first fifteen minutes.
Avacious is usually a Sam girl, but she's not sure how she feels about the demon bloodsucking thing.
Avacious is decidedly not a Dean/Sam girl. Ew.
Avacious wonders why Dean told Lilith what was going on; why not just let the archangel blast her?
Avacious thinks Supernatural has been exceptionally blasphemous lately.
Avacious is not sure how she feels about the Winchester Gospel.
Avacious sometimes wonders if she's going to hell because she loves Supernatural so much.
Avacious sometimes wonders if Supernatural is going to hell.
Avacious loves Castiel's edgeways stares, and wishes she could do this effectively to add to her expressions repertoire for striking fear into the hearts of her students.

She had dreams from the grave.

A few days ago I used Poe's poem "To Helen" as a not-good example of a myth poem.
Then, I almost used him again as a not-good example of simile.
Then, I had a dream in which my brother-in-law's cat--named Poe--was hissing at me and attacking me. Coincidence?

This weekend...

I made curry.
I did my taxes.
I watched the Spartans earn their Final Four spot. Spartans, what is your profession?

Go STATE! Elite 8!

As the seconds dwindled to nil, with MSU on top, I did the following:
1. Drained my soda bottle.
2. Said "YEAH" in as fierce a voice as I could muster (that one you say through your teeth and it sounds more like YEE-UH!)
3. Hit myself on the head with the empty bottle.
I'm not proud of it, but it's what happened.

What Say You, Magic 8?

Evidently, BG hockey is saved for another year, which I predicted, silently, but still fretted over.
The Alaskan Mount Redoubt erupted, as predicted.
The Mars Rovers are still in action, as not predicted.
Campus lawnmowers are spitting out massive amounts of grass and whatnot into the air, which I predict will give me a sinus headache and make my eyes itch.
I have no idea what I will have for dinner. Predictions?

Dancey-pants.

What up, Gs?
Just got back from home home, the wilds of Michigan. And when I say wilds, I mostly mean floodedness. Poor backyard and driveways. So muddy.
On my spring vacation, I hung out with my folks, ate too much, went shopping with my Mum, tried to solve a computer problem with my Dad, and slept kind of a lot.
Also, I took two tap classes, with Mr. Mark, who taught me tap, jazz, and modern in my college years.
I can't take tap here in BG...or rather I could, but I would either have to pay a lot or take an intermediate (at best) adult class. And there's no place for me to tap dance just on my own. So, when I was going to spend a week at home, I jumped at the chance. I haven't tapped in several years, so I went to the adult intermediate with some trepidation. I was wearing my split-sole flats, which turned out not to go so well, because even though I jammed my legwarmers in there, they still fell off my heels. I was making okay sounds, but it wasn't as good as I can do, and I kept having to stop to fix them. Mr. Mark said I should come to the senior (high school) class, which is the top level class. So, my Dad helped me get the taps back on my old heels (which are really in disastrous shape), and on my merry way I went.
It was a little bit like waking up, actually. My last year of tap I danced in flats, but I'd danced in heels for ages before that, so it was completely comfortable. My sounds still weren't great, and there were a few new exercises to learn, but I think I kept up pretty well. We also did the big finale tap number twice, and while I had some trouble breathing afterward, I made it, and did a better job than most of the girls. That might be an unfair comparison, since I've known the dance longer than all of them have been alive.
And now that I put that in black and white...ouch. It's true, though. I started doing 42nd Street when I was 11 or 12, which was about 18-19 years ago, and they are all in high school.
Anyway, I had a great time, and was glad I hadn't lost too much flair and speed. I also had the chance to lunch with my dance teacher Miss Assiff, who taught me for my entire time at the studio. It was definitely like getting in touch with my dancing roots.

In other news, so far I have bought 3 more songs from iTunes: Metallica's "Enter Sandman," Cake's "Short Skirt Long Jacket" and "Gone Gone Gone" from the new Robert Plant/Alison Krauss album, which I heard on the radio on my way back to BG. I actually made a little list in the car while I was traveling, since I could look in on a variety of radio stations.

Hockey Emergency

I was going to post about something completely different but that's going to have to wait.
Rumors are swirling that the BGSU hockey program is possibly on the chopping block. As a result of the budget shortfall, they might consider doing away with the team. Even my casual acquaintances will know what a blow this would be to me personally, let alone the guys and the school. I don't know how true these rumors are, or where they came from, but a few papers have reported on them, and while there are have been some denials, others have said that a number of scenarios are up for grabs. And that makes me very nervous indeed. My ability to deal with fall and winter will be severely hampered without hockey. I came to BGSU partly because there was CCHA hockey to be had. Ron Mason coached here, for heaven's sake. The Silver Fox!

There is a Facebook group called Save BGSU Hockey and, despite the uncertainty about all of this, I have joined. You should, too.

Faux Foodie

Hey, y'all.
Thanks for the music suggestions. I am exploring some artists and employing youtube and Amazon to sample. For some reason, I am really hemming over these 9 dollars, like I have to get blow-my-mind songs.

Things are a little rocky in avacious land, but I wanted to share a couple of cool things food-related.
First, I made a pretty great "appetizer" (read, could be appetizer, but currently being eaten as lunch) the other day. Brown some ground sage sausage, remove from pan. Stir fry bag of frozen stir fry veg, or other veg of choice, being sure to cut up larger chunks. Add sausage back in and season to taste. Meanwhile, brown some mini-pastry shells in the oven, then fill with sausage mix and top with a bit of mozzarella or other enjoyable cheese (0ne could also mix the cheese into the sausage mix and get it a little melty), put in the oven for a bit longer, and enjoy your tres fab deliciousness.
I also utilized my much-loved subscription of Cook's Illustrated the other day to make their creamless creamy tomato soup. I won't tell you the secret ingredient here, but it worked out pretty awesome. I also bought a cheap immersion blender (on sale for 20 bucks) so I wouldn't have to do it in my big blender, which is missing its handle and thus is a bit awkward. I struggled with the suction of the immersion blender, but in the end it worked out pretty well. I made it a bit too salty, but am enjoying it, especially since it's made with canned tomatoes. Their recipe uses chicken broth, but you could probably do the same with vegetable broth if you wanted to go vegan. It was all pretty easy except that for some reason I suck at cooking onion and garlic--the garlic always gets too brown. Anyone have suggestions for this?

I Can Haz Muzik?

I tried a Facebook note on this, but for some reason I don't think it ever published. So.

I need some advice:
I have 9 bucks on an iTunes Store card. It's pretty well known that I'm a music sampler, often buying soundtracks because I like random songs in combination on them (like, I own all three Charmed soundtrack CDs). That's why I love Carrie's birthday CDs, too. I know almost nothing about what the kids are listening to these days, and usually run into songs several or many years behind schedule. My music tastes are eclectic, but I do not listen to country (I do sometimes listen to Bluegrass), or rap (but sometimes R & B), or Christian (but I like Gospel). Feist is my favorite current artist, but I'm not averse to buying old songs I don't have yet, or classical music. I gravitate toward female singers or female-led bands, but that's just because they're easier to sing in the car.

So here I have these 9 bucks (9 because I obviously bought "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" as soon as I got the card). So what do I buy now?
I am kind of intrigued by Duffy right now, and am contemplating how "Mercy" would sound on my Shuffle. But that's all I got. Shuffleability of songs is important--Can I dance to it? Will it make my spring jogging easier? Will it calm me down when I'm taking walks, whether because it is soft or because it is angry?

Help me, plz!

Sound Bytes

Every time students write about melting pots I get hungry for cheese fondue.

I have ordered some bath melts and bath bombs to get me through the winter months. By which I mean they smell good and I cannot resist.

Michigan State vs. BG tonight. Both squads are depleted with injuries and departures. MSU pulled it out last night at Munn, so we'll see what happens on the Falcons' home turf. Go Sparcons!

Have I mentioned that I'm getting a nephew in July? Yippee!

Flexi-Bendy

I do not do Yoga, but if I lived in close to the aquarium, I would totally start.
Even better, why not tai chi? How amazing would that be? Especially if they turned the lights down.
And you get a day pass for the aquarium. Have I mentioned how much I like aquariums?

Fun Fact for the Day: A Lesson in Timing

The exchange rate today is 1.42 dollars to the UK pound.
When I went in 2007, it was 2 dollars to the pound.
That is just sad, sad, sad.

Of course, when I was in Italy, it was 2200 lire to the dollar, and everything was cheap.
Today, it is 1.3 dollars to a euro. I won out there.

Tea. T!

I drink Gingerbread Spice tea at the office sometimes, and discovered today a fairly amazing combination: Rather than using creamer, I chucked a spoonful of powdered chai mix in there. I put a little too much in, but now I know how awesome that combination is, I will perfect it, because it is making me feel very happy.