exhausting weekend . . . 4 days of dance insanity, whew!

Ahlan Cairo Nights was held this past weekend . . . workshops, competition and shows on Thurs, Fri, Sat, and Sunday!! Some of my favorites for teaching/dancing: Aida Nour, Lubna Eman, Zahra Zuhair, Khadeja & Mustapha (lovely American/Tunisian dancing couple living in Germany) and for performing a spectacularly dramatic show . . . ASMAHAN!!!! I caught Asmahan's show in Cairo last year at the Nile Group Festival and she is amazing. It was a real treat to see her again.

I managed to stagger my way thru 4 1/3 classes plus sit thru one (watching can be beneficial when allowing the feet to recover, lol). The 1/3 class was the one where I went to the first hour, then bopped up to the 2 hr class that started after the other one. Along with the oriental style classes, I took the Nubian class . . . great fun! Hard on the feet at the end of an active dance weekend.

Right now I am letting my feet rest after I slathered them in that type of creme which lets heat get thru . . . rubbed some on my knees too. My ears are finally happy with the silence . . . the level of the music is just so loud during the shows and the workshops. I remembered to bring earplugs this time, so it helped a bit on Saturday evening. I find the noise can exhaust me just as much as the physical movement and late hours.

Interesting that after a long hot weekend, we are getting rain . . . lots of thunder rumbles . . I wish it would be a "gully washer",lol. Parts of the metroplex did get buckets of rain last night . . . but where I live, not so much . . . and my yard needs it so bad! So does the foundation.

Depression hurts . . . Endorphins can help . . .

. . . to paraphrase a currently playing ad on the TV for a depression medication. Exercise helps me so I try to keep it going.

So yesterday was an off day . . . I was feeling terribly out of sorts for many reasons. I still have a sore throat so I know I am battling some kind of summer malaise. Of course, that doesn't help my mood at all. Having a sore knee doesn't help either as it is making me not feel like exercising. I have been dancing too as that always gives me a lift . . . and it is very aerobic once you get into the actual moving around the room past the warmup/flexibility/drills.

Speaking of physical acitivity . . . one year ago I started back into the heavier workout routine. Except for the break when I had my surgery, I've been fairly consistent and I can tell how much better I feel (see I can pep-talk myself too). I am now able to lift those 40lb bags of kitty litter, lol!! I was having a hard time with the 18lb bags last year,hehe, so now I can save myself some money by getting the larger ones. Except for the odd night (like the night before last where I ended up getting up at 2am and going back to bed at 4am), it has been helping me sleep better.

Now I guess I need to come up with a strategy for surviving for a few months and as a useless unemployed techie. I've been bouncing some ideas around but I am tackling the useless wasted expenses . . . like dropping the newspaper, emusic subscription, things i can live without type stuff . . . maybe getting my car insurance reduced . . wow, that alone is over $100 a month now, stupid car!

And yes, trying to sell more of my dance stuff, but that is kinda down to the dregs as I've sold off the easily sellable. I don't want to sell my CDs and DVDs but those are more easily turned in to quick cash. I think I'll take some photos to post this weekend . . . doesn't hurt to try!

Celebrating my fitness by buying a new pair of shoes! The walking kind . . . lol . . . ordered some from New Balance today since they carry the wider widths. They no longer make the style I bought last year (naturally), so I bought the one that "replaced" it . . . we'll see if it fits as well.

That's all . . . tired of thinking now so back to doing.

summer heat and headaches . . .

It is just too much right now! Can't sleep for many reasons and the heat makes it worse. Then I wake up with a bad headache that won't go away, grrrrrrrr.

I expect that I am also going thru the stages of job loss . . . whatever those stages are. At first I felt some relief at least knowing that the "inevitable" had finally happened. Now I am feeling really angry for reasons I won't go in to just yet. As I mentioned in my "status", I don't want to get myself more worked up than I already am! Plus, I am a bit paranoid . . . even with things kept low key and rather private, I try to keep my posts rather bland . . . just in case.

Personally, I think after I find another job I should write a book and give free reign to me paranoid delusional ranting!! why not?? many other people do of course. Besides, many other people have gone through what I am going through now . . . some act better, some act worse . . . time will tell how much worse I will act.

If I feel a bit disgruntled towards my soon-to-be-former employer, then I am entitled to feel that way. I am also allowed to feel scared to death and worry about what will happen to me. I try to be brave but sometimes it wears a bit thing . . . put a brave face on it!! Gaaaaaah, just talking to cheerful recruiters makes me want to gag . . . "coach this"!!!!

All this said while sweat is dripping down every part of my body, my head is pounding and i feel my sore throat feeling worse . . . or is it hypochondria???

Where did I put those chips? hmmmmm, do I have some ice cream in the fridge?? hmmmmmmm . . . . . . . .