Get In Emily's Head

Balifinds.com

2010-01-24T14:19:00.000-08:00

A year of training my noggin as a computer...

I believe in Bali.
I love Ubud.
It's my home.

Locals and foreigners needed an accessible means of communication so...

I created balifinds.com, Bali classifieds for housing, volunteering, jobs, events and much more!

The community's response has put a huge smile on my face!

Check it out! If you're coming to Bali Spirit festival and need a house, a friend, or want to volunteer post or search for free on Balifinds.com and someone out there will see your ad and help you! Many people are listing, many people are talking and making new friends!

Also, if you're teaching yoga, music, dance or want to learn any of these in Bali please post!

Help us make Balifinds.com a wonderful community resource!

With gratitude,
Emily

Kiddy Yoga In Ubud

2009-07-23T03:49:00.000-07:00

The kids wait for me. Maybe it's more like they play until I arrive. Regardless, every Sunday I walk through the temple doors at Arma Museum & Resort and past the garden gargoyles feeling quite serendipitous knowing how many smiles await me.

YOGA time ya'll.

This weird concept of YOGA and the many unique gifts the practice brings to the table unties people, kids, adults, colors, and sizes in a manner nothing else possibly could.

We gather in a circle, hold hands and raise them to the matahari (sun) then exhale forward bowing to the awesomeness in ourselves and to the people we love. Breath.

Making our way into down dog, Wellie, the local mut pup decides to sit in the middle of our circle. We walk on hands and feet towards her, half barking, half giggling. There's maybe 30 of us.

Moving on - cat, cow, cat, cow. Meow, moo, meow.

Inhale. Exhale. (Tarik napas. Buang napas.)

We move together and when one kid tumbles the others lend a hand.

The girls donning their ceremonial sarongs try tree pose, yanking the sarong above the knee with subtle determination and fearless lack of ambivolence.

Behind us the river flows. In front, incense burn from temple stones.

We sit. A circle of smiles.

Breathe.

Mmmm. Sundays.

Ubud Yoga

2009-07-06T03:52:00.001-07:00

When in ubud
practice Yoga at Arma Museum @ Resort.
Indonesians and visitors welcome! We teach in both Bahasa and English. All levels welcome!
Much love,
Emily

+62 0812346483434
emilykuser@gmail.com

Sing a Song For Me

2009-06-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

Music, my elixir.

Aside from my current submersion into guitar lessons with a french master of strings, Antoine, I've begun teaching English through song to Balinese children at Ubud, Bali's Arma Museum & Resort. We rock out to everything from Jason Mraz (quite the popular choice around these parts) to tunes from The Sound Of Music - Raindrops On Roses anyone?

With two cranky speakers, some friends on drums and guitar, and my voice, English Through Song is manifesting into a wicked opportunity to jam and blend the divide between two cultures - one Hindu, one... not.

My eager craving to speak Bahasa Indonesia in a non-robotic way is soothed by the help of my older Balinese students who have English down more than I have Bahasa. With super smiles, they help me translate a song's poetic or symbolic message so the young ones may better understand the emotions within the music.

Try explaining a song about 'virtue' to kids...

Philosophical loops of thought are ingrained into the Bali upbringing so even my meager english/bahasa obstacle is magically overcome through intuitive understanding.

I've finally seen 'cool'. Sharing music in this way is my true defonition of 'cool'.

Much love.

Holy Donation Batman!

2009-06-08T01:10:00.000-07:00

Feeling oh, so inclined to help further my writing and see me do things no one else will? Check out my donate button to the left of my blog. Any donations go towards my non-profit work in Bali such as teaching English at the Starfish School for less fortunate kids, snapping photos for sustainability projects and helping the local orphanage voice their voices (the little ones are hilarious!).

Much love everyone! Great stories await you!

Bali Spirit Festival

2009-06-07T23:58:00.000-07:00

Bali Spirit Festival 2009

Yogis, artists and musicians traveled from the corners of our globe to celebrate Yoga, music and dance at the 2009 Bali Spirit Festival held on the predominantly Hindu island of Bali, Indonesia, minutes outside the culturally rich and healing town of Ubud.
The heart of the festival beats with the universal vision of I Made Gunarta, Meghan Pappenheim, and Dan Robert Weber, three very original and vibrant personalities. Kicking off an event of this magnitude in Bali, a culture notorious for abiding by ‘rubber time' is a challenging goal but with passion, perseverance and playfulness this event has manifested into a global peace production.

As the village of Ubud throbbed with fresh energy, festival attendees tightened their helmets and prepared for the motor bike journey to the town of Batuan. Rainbows of Yoga mats bobbed on the backs of festival goers as they navigated through sky filled rice fields, smiling at the curious faces of Balinese children while making their way to the Purnati Centre for the Arts , the venue for this 6 day extravaganza.

Volunteers greeted guests as they walked up Puranati’s steep stone steps and into a haven of five different pavilions; a tropical outdoor amphitheater, a two-story floating bale, stunning swimming-pool, and vast gardens overlooking expansive views of Bali beauty. Bamboo huts offered local goodies such as delectable veggie dishes from Ubud’s Yogi hangout KAFE and plump coconuts ready to be hacked open and sipped with a banana leaf straw.

Attendees strolled barefoot through the grass from one workshop to the next, 16 offered each day! With twenty-nine talented teachers such as Swami Shankardev Saraswati, Uma Inder, David Moreno, Eoin Finn, Joseph Lee, Katy Appleton Apple Yoga), Rebecca Pflaume (Kundalini), and Partrick Creelman (Anusara), this was a difficult task.

Mark Whitwell led students through a gentle asana sequence asking students to promise to practice Yoga 7 minutes a day, reminding them they were always ‘loved and cared for in this ordinary world.’

A medley of colorful instrumentals echoed from each workshop and a harmony was naturally created. These harmonies danced into the many sivasana occurring simultaneously bringing an unexpected flavor to the festival. New York’s Akim Funk Buddha taught afro-centric rhythm, body popping and a funky twist on classical asanas and the lovable Kadek Suambara (Bali) offered Laughter Yoga beneath breezy white tarps creating a lawn of laughter so contagious even the camera crew shook with giggles. “Life is body, mind, and spirit," says Kadek. “Laughter is our key to all three.”

Bali breathes musical talent and intuitive harmonic creation is woven into the culture attracting incredible performers from many countries. Mosquito bites were forgotten as attendees watched in awe as Rocky Dewuni (Ghana), Africa’s ‘next Bob Marley’ whose performances are often coined ‘legendary,’ ended the 6 day festival performing his song, In Ghana. By mid-song, the lyrics transformed to ‘in Bali’ as performers such as Yeshe, Ganga Giri ,Tom Freund from Venice Beach, InRhythm, Daphne Tse, Khalife, Geoffrey Gordon, Akim Funk Buddha spontaneously jumped on stage blending worldly instruments, voices, and dance as the crown went wild, intoxicated by the infectious Bali spirit.

The 2010 Bali Spirit Festival will be held on March 31st-April 4th.

Check it out! If you're coming to Bali Spirit festival and need a house, a friend, or want to volunteer post or search for free on Balifinds.com and someone out there will see your ad and help you! Many people are listing, many people are talking and making new friends!

Also, if you're teaching yoga, music, dance, language or want to learn any of these in Bali please post!

Help us make Balifinds.com a wonderful community resource!

With gratitude,
Emily

Now in Bali

2009-06-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

When in Bali an elusive time warp occurs, especially in Ubud. Love, laughter, song - takes place of the tick tack on the keyboard. Each day I try to hop on the blog to jot down my experiences and the unfolding of events BUT the words don't fit, my mind draws circles, and I loose the feeling I want so badly to hold onto. So I wait, I wait for the writing to come and sift through delicious life happenings so I can tell a story and induce giggles and smiles from others. More to come but until then here are some photos that will tell half my story.

Swimmers

2009-04-16T23:06:00.000-07:00

Tonight I swam. First I dipped into a warm jacuzzi, with heat bubbling against the unusual Los Angeles April chill. We were on the marina, my friend and I, belly laughing under the stars and observing the docked boats twinkle. A bottle of wine illegaly sitting poolside, this was fun.

We cranked the sauna prior to dipping- always a brilliant idea. With one swim race won by me and numerous masterful dives by both, we kicked it. Conversation to laughter back to conversation to dares. Nothing compares to fun girlfriends. First off, friends are found in many corners yet the ones who win the prize must have something sparkly inside- something lively- right? Or is it the common readiness to be guardless, frontless, hilarious?

Days, hours, moments- all have become driven and twisted in daily life. To release the pressure feels like cotton candy on my tongue. I like it but I dont- the grittyness of time, plans and responsibility taste odd yet the sweetness of freedom, fun, and embracing the inner dork creates subtle bliss.

All this becase I swam? ;)
G'nite

The Learning Garden

2009-04-08T15:42:00.000-07:00

Venice beach embodies creativity and cries individualism. Drum, circles, skateboards, vegetarian street shops, and bicycles galore! Here in lies the draw for many: Venice is a hippy haven. Anything, everything, nothing- do whatever you like here yet do it with a smile.

A small group did do what they like and created The Learning Garden- 60,000 ft of deep colored veggies and bright happy flowers grown in a land lot that used to contain tires, trash, drug dealing, and waste. Lo and behold this school Venice High School garden has become the one of the largest school gardens in the world. A project such as this never seizes to catch my fleeting attention.

Digging deeper into The Learning Garden, I discovered the founders partnerered with Venice High School in 2001 seeing an opportunity for community empowerment. City students partake in horticulture programs offering them a chance to dirty their hands and taste the sweetness of their labor.

Yo San University students work intimately with the garden studying natural herb remedies and UCLA runs their extension program here too! Volunteering is encouraged!
(310) 722-3656

More to come soon after I interview the founders...

Santa Monica Business License Marathon

2009-03-26T11:51:00.000-07:00

Being of service to our communities sometimes proves to be complicated . Webs of permits, licenses, insurance, referrals, and certifications are now needed to ensure organization, verification, and qualification. This is fine and dandy, but, I believe loads of paperwork deters people who have something to teach from doing so. Much loved and needed community classes on health, meditation, fitness, self-defense, or even cooking are shrinking.

Today I had the pleasure of speaking with Ebba, Santa Monica's head honcho of community and cultural services. She's cool.
Together we worked to complete all my necessary paperwork, ensuring my entry into the Santa Monica community class instructor program:

Sole-proprietor Santa Monica City business license
City insurance,
General liability, fingerprints,
W9 taxpayer ID
Americans With Disabilities adherence
Fee schedule
Proposed compensation
Class specialty
Conviction information
References
Proforma
Customer service plan

WHEW! All to teach donation based community classes in the parks and recreational areas. Turns out donation based classes have become a take-away from the city's teachers so now teaching community classes in a no no if not in the city pay role .

I see how the system is meant to serve the community but... man, oh man.

Luckily, my determination to have fun with my community outdoors has carried me through the process and soon I will be teaching workshops and classes where ever I please.

Outdoors, stuffy studio personalities and the business of yoga do not apply. It's a fun gathering of new buddies, calm thinking, and cool pacific breeziness!

My schedule is soon to come so keep checking in!!

Eat, Pray, Love on Ted.com

2009-03-26T00:23:00.000-07:00

Prior to my departing for Ubud, Bali and Italy, Elizabeth Gilbert's book, Eat Pray Love, found a resting spot in my hands. Timing - perfect. One's voice in writing contains the possibility to tip the readers courage over fear and inspiration over skepticism.

Ted.com, the world's most expansive coverage of creative thinkers, invited Gilbert to speak on her creative processes and the freakish success of Eat Pray Love. Elizabeth's raw, humorous, and intriguing explanation of the human creative process swelled me with overwhelming comfort. She gets it. From her wise tone of voice to her spot-on insights, she received a standing ovation from the 'Ted-sters.' Once in a while a speaker proves so captivating, everything else seizes to exist.

Wow.

Osmosis

2009-03-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

I use the word osmosis freely. The concept intrigues my mind and seems to illustrate rightly the movement of human energy. Osmosis, described basically- if a cell is put in a solution which is more concentrated than its own, then it will shrivel up, and if it is put in a solution less concentrated than its own, the cell will expand.
E.g. If a red balloon is filled with concentrated salt water then tied and placed under pure water, the pure water will want to slowly permeate through the balloon wall and join the concentrated salt solution, expanding the balloon until both solutions, inside and out, are equally concentrated.
Now, for the second part of my science experiment- a story to connect osmosis to human energy:

She reflected on everything she wanted and everything she inspired to be. The control was in her hands. Somehow she understood that only through understanding and concentrating her surroundings- people, environment, colors, activity, weather- she would expand into endless possibility.

Lessons had been learned. People had drained life from her and so had her activities although all of it was unknowingly in her control. The outside world she had created for herself was far more concentrated than the inside world and she was empty.
Change brewed and glimpses of insight broke through a depleted mind, body and spirit. She began to shed all that appeared dark; all that felt draining. She built, as many before her did, a strong and concentrated inside world through grounding, fearlessness, freedom of expression, and exploration.

Slowly her external environment molded to shape her inner reflected truths, desires, and curiosities. Creative thinkers, mentors, laughers, and seekers replaced the old. Gardens, forests, sun lit rooms, terraces, soft music replaced the old. Still peace, comfortable silence, and conversation became unbearably beautiful. The beauty was her. Inner concentration had expanded attracting more of the like. All things externally good were born from her inner desire for them to be so. Osmosis.

What have you been thinking about today? ;)

-Emily Kuser

Radiantly Alive, Ubud, Bali

2009-03-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

For no reason at all I feel like sharing this video of what I was up to in Ubud, Bali with Radiantly Alive... these are my fellow yogi buddies in the video. I'm on the sidelines rockin' out.

FLOATING BED

2009-03-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

I sleep on a floating bed. It hangs from the ceiling in my new home's meditation room where Sanni, LA's notorious tribal clothing designer invited me to live. She will leave Wednesday for her homeland, Germany where she and her husband own acres of land, tepees, and wild horses. I will work with LA Yoga Magazine while caring for the home, welcoming worldly travelers who will rent rooms in this city haven for out-of-the-box thinkers and creative types alike.

Where am I you ask? LA. Yes LA. But not really because it's Venice beach, here again... 6 years later. Life is peculiar. Ask and you shall receive is a timeless virtue however, the delivery occurs in bizarre, ass backwards and tricky disguises. I begged for community. I begged for involvement with my interests. I think endlessly about teaching and inspiring and shaking the world.

Like a wave crashes, today for a moment I glimpsed at the perfectness, however bitter-sweet, my life has become. I was just gazing out the car window and I felt good. I felt good about it all. To let go of control and embrace fear burns at first yet is simply blissful in retrospect. Day to night, day to day, each tasting of it's own flavor, letting go of controlling the route life desires to take me on is difficult.

Traveling, moving, writing, reading, moving, moving, moving, driving, speaking, laughing, wine, inspiring, being inspired, city, town, village, beach, gypsies, folks, new life, old life, new challenge and old habits. I give in. Take me where you will. ;)

I Met The Walrus

2009-03-09T01:26:00.000-07:00

According to me, I've just witnessed perfection of inspiration.

"In 1969, 14-year-old Beatles fan Jerry Levitan tracked his idol, John Lennon, from a Toronto airport to his room at the King Edward Hotel. Inside, he convinced Lennon to do an impromptu interview. Thirty-eight years later, Levitan teamed with director Josh Raskin to create and edit a five-minute short film entitled 'I Met the Walrus' based on the interview. Amazing, right?" (Paste Magazine)

More to come...

I Met The Walrus

Asa, music to live for

2009-03-04T23:48:00.000-08:00

There are few who brave their ability to embrace liberty, expansion, and voice. Through the pseudo-hippy grapevine, I've had the privilege of being introduced to musical artists doing just that. A strong, raw, smooth voice flowing with experience and wisdom is enough to weaken the knees. Imagine Nina Simone, Talib Kweli, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Anjelique Kidjo, and Lauren Hill. The magic we feel immersing ourselves in their music is born from their unique ability as artists to separate magic from mundane.

A while back I was introduced to Asa, the Nigerian singer songwriter who was banned from choir because of her 'deep voice'. She secretly signed at Peter King's School Of Music and learned guitar in 6 months. Golden singers, Erika Badu and Lauren Hill influenced Asa's musical style towards perfection. She's a bad ass. Every stroke of a chord evokes some pain which bloomed to pleasure derived from growing up in Lagos. Inspiration is the seat of her soul and her lyrics paint a picture of healing ignorance and embracing knowledge and empowerment.

Africa may be her backdrop but the world is in her eyes. Asa's got it goin' on and we can learn a lot form her soulful messages. Elusive beauty in one voice being carried atop a smooth rhythm of instumentals... damn.

Her songs Jailer, and So Beautiful should be heard by everyone.

ASA - Jailer
by naiverecords

Oh Baby...

2009-02-16T00:12:00.001-08:00

Rerturn of the monkey

2009-02-12T19:37:00.000-08:00

My damn monkey mind has returned. Today I have ALREADY dipped my toes in the Indian ocean, bathed in champagne with a Brazilian god, found 1 billion dollars in my back pocket, flew my helicopter to Miami, Cuba, Bali, Perth, and the moon, sworn of coffee while sipping a double espresso, joined the Olympics as a super-flexi gymnast-double-bar master, bought a voice recorder from Rite Aid to create the "best podcast ever", cash-advanced all my cards and joined the circus in Toronto, became a nun in Nepal, became a Buddhist in Nepal, became an Atheist in Nepal, drove a Harley along the coast of Ireland with a red bomber jacket with "Emily Is Here" stitched into the back, invented a pill for transparency, bought a boat to live on forever, became champion gum- spitter, shaved my head, smashed all the world's clocks, painted my first painting...of a painting...of a painting and sold it for $3.72, rolled down a grass hill on my side, wore a Venetian Gown to the dentist where I had my gold grill installed via mouth, learned Spanish, learned French, found directions with my new iphonealottapeopleandtechnologysuckswhenyouuseittoomuch phone, learned Italian, learned Bahasa Indonesian, dicovered the meaning of life, tossed everything I own to the wind in exchange for the momentary pleasure of freedom from goods, learned Greek, learned Russian then found a Russian to practice my Russian, Became the Tai Chi master, kissed the Brazzilian god and became a goddess then realised I was already a goddess and said bye to the god, glued furniture to the ceiling, asked who am I, What am I and the STUPID question... why? All that? All in like 3 hours? Yes. Leave me alone ya damn monkey. I didn't schedule an appointment with you today. ;)

No Comment

2009-02-05T22:43:00.000-08:00

I Blame The Italians

2009-02-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

Many times I've pondered over the origination of the high heel. This is not only because I've broken my right foot twice wearing heels, but because a heel is counteractive to our natural foot mobility. The more though I give it, the more elusive our reasoning for heels appears to be.

After my research I found that although heels were depicted in Egyptian murals on tombs and temples, our first evidence of heels comes from 200BC when the Roman tragic actors wore high wood or cork soles in their performances. Jump to the 1500's and heels were used by European nobility to keep their boots in the stirrups while riding horses. In the courts, wearing heels became the trend for men. The term "well-heeled" referred to a person who could afford costly shoes.

Heels fell out of the scene until the first officially recorded instance in 1533 when fourteen year old Catherine De Medici married the Duke of Orleans. She wore two inch heels made in Florence supposedly designed by Leonardo De Vince. Those damn Italians! A few years later a ridiculous 24 inch high, cork and wood heeled shoe named the Chopine became all the rage by Italian and French women. Servants were needed to help the ladies down from their shoes!

During the French Revolution heels disappeared, thank god, but then slowly resurfaced soon after. In 1950s the trendy Cuban heel, at 1 1/4 inches, is swapped for the Italian 4-inch stiletto which appeared in America in 1955. The 1900s carried us from pumps to wedges to pumps again to platforms to stilettos.

Now, maybe I wont toss my swanky heels out the window but I AM allowed to vent about the absurdity that they are. ;)

Here are reasons NOT to wear heels:

* they can cause foot pain
* they can create foot deformities, including hammertoes and bunions
* they can cause an unsteady gait
* they can shorten the wearer's stride
* they can render the wearer unable to run
* altered forces at the knee caused by walking in high-heels may predispose to degenerative changes in the knee joint
* Women who wear high heels frequently have a higher incidence of degenerative joint disease of the knees. This is because they cause a decrease in the normal rotation of the foot which puts more rotation stress on the knee
* Podiatrists often comment that 75 percent of their business is caused by females wearing tall high heeled shoes.

Aesthetic reasons to wear heels:

* they change the angle of the foot with respect to the lower leg, which accentuates the appearance of calves
* they change the wearer's posture, requiring a more upright carriage and altering the gait in what is considered a seductive fashion
* they make the wearer appear taller
* they make the legs appear longer
* they make the foot appear smaller
* they make the lower leg muscles more defined while wearing tight pants
* they make the wearer look flexibly strong

Magic Conundrum

2009-01-29T08:58:00.000-08:00

My eyes closed. Magic pushed, pulled and rattled against my cage trying to escape me, trying to control me. Sitting in this obtrusive stillness, I feel it beckon me to move, get up, scream, make noise, forget about stillness. It wants me to obey. Instead I remain still, hold steady and breathe, observing the freak show performance behind my curtain. It’s thrashing go, go, go...you don’t need this silence it says. I remain still. A void burns inside my chest, a feeling all too familiar. Fire, streaks of pain, swollen clouds, black depths, twisting roads. I’m still. I observe. I watch.

In the darkness of magic’s tantrum, I wonder, is this void like the door’s lock? Each locked door opens wide with a key. What is the key to this void? By nature a void has no balance, something is missing or on the contrast there is too much of another. Because my void is cold, dark, electrifying, and unstable images of opposites flood my mind. Warmth, ground, soil, energy, purples, reds, chocolates, and the sun. A fearless child is held close to my chest and a shadow casts her face. The warmth is overwhelming. Expansion, space, a swirling stream of blue soothes the dark void and it dissipates.

Words form in mind, to love and be loved. Love. It dawns on me, love is the most concentrated magic. To give love is to be love, a paradox most mysterious to human conception.
Be wise with magic; Ultimately I have control over my magic rather than the magic casting it’s spell over me. This means the magic will win sometimes and this is how I learn it’s paths, tricks, and power. This is how I learn to play with magic.

Name Changes & Conversation

2009-01-29T08:40:00.000-08:00

A grandfather's voice is prevalent in the mind regardless of his presence. My grandfather is not the average grandfather nor is he the average man. His words carry generations of meaning and were born from his shenanigans in our world's nooks and crannies. He drives Land Rover 80mph through Italian craters, orders 10 cases of Chandon champagne for his home in any given country he visits, and relates mostly to the artistically intellectual... a rare breed of humanity. Speaking with him as a child required a twist of endurance and a pinch of pride. Inferiority tastes sour.

I, the granddaughter, came to know my grandfather as "Dadio". Although "Dadio" was the name he offered to his grand-kids, recently he experienced a change of heart instructing us to refer to him as George, his given name. Just between you and me, I have a list of challenging challenges and this small request of his has crept to the top. My mouth opens to call out "George" and I feel a wave of stupidity crash on me. Awkward, unfamiliar, robotic. He's my grandfather, my Dadio. Pulling his nickname after my 20 something years of my living sounds similar to the first time I tried learning Turkish.

Slowly I've gained the momentum to begin a conversation with "George." The habit of using no name began sounding odd if not already. Practice requires overcoming stupid obstacles to gain skill. ;) Tossing around one "George" in our conversations a day will eventually soothe the itch that has me squirmish. Right?

Moral of the story:
Name changes are fine and dandy. Family will find it weird. Be kind to your grandchildren! ;)

Dark Chocolate Dipped Gram Crackers

2009-01-23T20:50:00.000-08:00

Did you know if you buy a pound of dark chocolate and a box of gormet cinnamin gram crackers to dip in the gooey stove-top-melted chocolate you get the best treat in the world...ever? Ya, I didn't know either but tonight while shopping for cowboy boots I stumbled apon a bakery which offered dark chocolate covered gram crackers and they were SOLD OUT.

Lo and behold I had to have one so a friend and I decided to re-do the scrumptious dipped cookie goodness. We had the messiest fun melting, dipping, and crunching our own makeshift treats. I have chocolate in my hair. Playing with chocolate has me giggling like a kid and I don't want to grow up. Make some... you'll laugh your pants off.

Enjoy! Yum!

Santa Barbara Film Fest

2009-01-23T20:05:00.000-08:00

While at the International Film Fest gala last night I saw a woman dancing solo (meaning she was the only one on the dance floor) thrusting and flailing her arms with a huge smile on her face. Chances are her wild dance moves were vino inspired and she was dancing freely, unaware of all the eyes on her. The words, "What is she thinking?" slipped my lips and I stood there still... shocked by my own ass-hole-ness. What was I thinking?

I threw my jacket to my friend and my hand bag on the ground. On my way to the dance floor I promised myself never again to poo-poo on someone elses parade. I grabbed the giddy woman's hand and we flailed and swirled together laughing. A pinch of salsa, a dash of swing, a cup of fearlessness, and a big fat who cares. I'm sorry dancing lady person for making fun of you for having fun. I'm happy we had a dance together and I'm glad we didn't care who cared.

The song ended and in all her overflowing happiness she hugged me and said thanks. I looked at all the people looking, took a bow, and my buddy threw me my jacket. Maybe perfection is served in a wine glass.
Enjoy your spontaneous fearlessness.

FYI: The other woman in the photo is Angellica, not the flailing dancing lady.

Alberta Peach Old Fashion

2009-01-15T22:22:00.000-08:00

While In Portland I bartended some amazing holiday parties and needed to brush up on my drinks. I stumbled onto the coolest montage of bartending videos ever! An awesome bartender who goes by the name Flighty instructs oh so well how to make killer drinks using oh so fresh ingredients! I had to show ya'll her Alberta Peach Old Fasion recipe which I can't wait to concoct! She's a master at muddling drinks... check her out!