A potpourri of things going on lately

After over a month off the ice, I finally laced up my skates again yesterday morning and hit the rink for an hour workout with my skating buddy. We caught up on things going on in our lives and did several practice routines. Thanks to muscle memory, I hadn't forgotten any of my moves and I didn't fall once. I'm looking forward to going again on a Friday morning when I can enjoy the absolute freedom of skating to my heart's content on a virtually empty rink that seems to be there just for me. No other feeling in the world compares to having an entire rink to yourself where you can blast your music of choice over the loudspeakers and just skate!

Speaking of music, I've been listening to quite a lot of new music lately - and not just listening but also singing. I recently discovered Kate Nash and created a Pandora station with her tunes. The songs by Kate and other female artists on the station are great to sing along to, which I did quite a bit of over the weekend and now still have a bit of a hoarse voice. Sunday night my next-door neighbor came over for an art and wine night where we talked about our lives and drew pictures of our "perfect planets" over a delicious bottle of red zinfandel. The Kate Nash Pandora station was on in the background and we frequently found ourselves singing along.

Last Saturday night my other neighbor and I went out to a bluegrass concert by an awesome local band (Kickin Grass) that I had heard about the night before on the Local Beat segment on a local radio station. I particularly love the song "Run Away", which can be heard on the website. It was great being out downtown for the first time in a few months as I haven't gone out a whole lot since colder weather set in. But this weekend was actually quite mild, with temps on Sunday reaching near 70 F (20 C). After the concert we weren't quite ready to head back home, so we decided to go dancing. The club we went to had no cover and featured an awesome blend of very danceable world music and jazzy beats. Towards the end of the evening the two guys who had been keeping a casual eye on our coats let us know they were about to leave, but then started dancing instead. The one guy was quite possibly the most amazing and entertaining dance partner I have ever danced with! He had the best moves and really knew how to spin me around the dance floor. It was a blast! My new dancing friend and I exchanged business cards and agreed to meet up at the same place with our friends on Friday for another round of dancing. Since it will be First Friday, there should be a lot of people out and about. I can't wait!

Last night a friend invited me to go to an all-girls Wednesday night small group and I decided to go. All of the girls were around my age and extremely nice. Since I've been looking to fill my life with more quality, genuinely nice people, this seemed like a good place to find them. The group is currently working through lessons that examine the sources of problems in our interpersonal relationships and how we can resolve them. I really enjoyed last night's discussion and getting to know the girls. Next week we are planning to go somewhere to watch the big match between arch-rivals UNC and Duke.

I've also got some great follow-up news to add to last week's shopping experience. Last night before small group I went back to the Express to see if I could return two unworn items and repurchase them using one of the $25 off coupons I got with last week's purchase. The girl at the register said it wouldn't be a problem at all. Instead of just giving me the discount on the two items, she did something amazing: she returned everything on the receipt and rung it all up again since almost everything had gone on sale. I ended up getting back nearly half of the money I had spent! Sometimes when you ask you end up getting even more than you ever could have expected!

Time to go back to sleep for an hour, then hit the gym, have some breakfast and start on the day's work. I'm really excited about a networking event tonight to meet other local translators and interpreters. Oddly enough I've never met another translator from around here, so hopefully tonight some other linguists will come out of the woodwork. As diverse as this area is, I'm sure there must be a good number of us. Should be a good night!

In the spirit of trying new things (or mainly retrying old ones)

This week has been a bit more eventful than past weeks. At the urging of a friend, I tried out a rock climbing Meetup group that meets every week for a couple hours of climbing followed by dinner. I went more for the socializing aspect, though I have had some limited experience with rock climbing if climbing in the Alps 12 years ago counts! The meetup was fun, there were lots of nice people and I even went to the dinner afterwards for a little while. Halfway up my first climb of the evening I suddenly recalled that I am actually afraid of heights, which is why there are a number of things that still need to be put in my attic, except that they never manage to get up there because I'm not comfortable going up the ladder. I managed to overcome that fear and climbed a total of about 4 or 5 different easy-level routs, and even tried one the next level up. I think I could have done it, but ran out of steam 3/4 of the way up when I couldn't figure out where to move next. I also should rent the climbing shoes next time instead of trying to climb in tennis shoes, though I think I did alright for the first time in 12 years!

Tonight I went to a Bible study group that is dealing on the topic of friendship and relationships, an issue that has been on my mind a lot lately. I've mostly avoided churches for well over the last decade, but somehow I feel there is a lot that I need to learn and hear. After going to church with my parents last Sunday I decided to give the Thursday night Bible study a shot. Nice people and definitely a good topic. Definitely a lot of food for thought. I won't be able to go next week since I'll be in the mountains, but do think I'll go back.

I was also doing some decluttering today and pulled out my flute that I've had since middle school, but have only rarely played since. While living in Berlin I had it completely serviced by a master Japanese flutist, who happened to have his shop just around the block from me. I found some of my beginner band books and played a little bit on my flute this evening - I haven't completely forgotten everything, just need a refreshed. I found some of my first band books, pulled them out, reviewed notes and played for a little while. There's just one music book I know is around here somewhere but can't seem to find. My flute may be old and only of the "school quality" variety, but it's a shame to have it hidden away not being played. I think it may need to become something I do more regularly. I always enjoyed playing the flute but when I started high school I had to make a choice between the flute and a foreign language. I chose German, which has since given me so many opportunities including my career. Sadly I didn't keep up the music, but it's never too late to start again.

Here's to trying more new things and getting back into the things I enjoy.