Ching ching!

Last night's class was so much fun. I've been taking both beginning and intermediate bellydance classes but I have dropped back to just beginner for a little while, as I haven't had the time to practice for the intermediate level stuff as much as I'd like. Plus I'm still learning a lot of beginner things, and it has been a nagging feeling to feel like I'm "behind" all the time. So last night, it was just the 1.5 hour beginner class. It was great. There are a few girls from my old bellydance troupe in this class now, which is nice. I'm very comfortable dancing with them and Tribal dance is a lot of group work with mostly improvised choreography, based on following whomever is leader of the duet or trio group you are in. Last night we practiced trio and duet work fro the first time for a good long time, as well as learned a very cool looking torso twist and turn move. It was nice to dance with people I know.

We also got to learn a bit more of working with zills.

Zills are finger cymbols, and when they are played properly really add a lot of flair to your dance. In tribal there is less variation in zills, which I thought I would find restrictive, but it really does make it easier to learn them. I can play around more later :) The basic zills patterning is quite easy to pick up and by the end of class we were doing some basic shimmy moves together with trio zill patterns. I have picked up a nice set of brass zills for $30 and they sound so very nice-a nice low tung sound. There were some prettier ones, but they were too tinny for my taste...
I am still getting used to how tight the elastics have to be on your fingers to play them properly (the tips turn a bit blue), but it is so much fun. Definitely not quiet or shy! I ended up taking them out at home later to play them a bit - J was quite impressed (cats...eh not so much...:) ) Last night after class J and I just relaxed together and talked, watched a bit of Venture Brothers and it was so nice to just spend a bit of time together. It's been a busy few weeks. I heart my J.

This weekend some friends of ours are putting on a Star Wars themed costume party dance so we're helping them out with decorations and at the party itself. It should be a whole lot of fun...and after that...hopefully nothing for a while outside of home. I need to get to some organising and planning out the glass panels for the kitchen I need to make in the next few weeks. Dad is finally coming in December to revamp the kitchen...it's getting down close to the actual time of it now. It's all been in my head for months and months...but the times have arrived. Now I need to pick up a faucet and arborite and Dad will help us refinish the counter top with it and switch out the taps (seeing as they'll be off anyways and they're ugly as hell) and put up a tile back splash and rewire and install (meep) our new gas stove and range hood. With any luck the side panels for the stove will actually be here by then. (grrr). I also want to pretty up the cupboards a bit by sanding them down and re varnishing them. We need to close in the top of the cupboards to hide the venting for the range hood so I want to make a few art deco style glass panels to go up there in the wood...just cause I think it would look beautiful...and cuz I can. I'm sure it will take me a little while to get the doors back on the cupboards at the end and the new handles on, but we'll have a revamped kitchen for not too much $$$. I'd love to gut it and knock out a wall and do all kinds of things...but this we can afford. And it'll look great.
I addition to this I really have to finish up my MSc application papers and get them all in by next week so I can start in January... whew.
Anyways...must be off to the lab to do my thing.

Have a good weekend everybody!

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