First aerial performance

By kate on October 19th, 2004

A few months ago, I started taking aerial classes with Lara from Circus Contraption. I just took to it and it turns out I can pick that stuff up pretty fast. Maybe sometime I’ll write more about what a revelation it’s been to find a physical activity that I’m naturally good at, not to mention thrillingly fun. I’ve been playing soccer for almost 6 years and am still not that good (and that’s more the norm for me).

Anyway, in September, Lara put together a new aerial troupe and asked me to be in it! She made a deal with Seattle Center for us to perform in the Center House (accompanied by the Circus Contraption band) at the end of December, and since then we’ve been practicing three times a week for three hours at a time.

We’ve got one number finished, and will be performing it at Circus Contraption’s big Halloween bash on Friday, October 29th.

CIRCUS CONTRAPTION’S HALLOWEEN BLOWOUT!!

Friday, October 29, 2004

Doors @ 8pm

Building 30, Sand Point Magnuson Park

7400 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle WA

21 & over only/Full Bar

Tickets- $12.00 Adv., $15.00 day of show

Contact info:
General – 206-442-2004
Tickets – http://www.brownpapertickets.com – 800-838-3006

Circus Contraption is going to freak your rotting corpse with an evening of Madness, Music, Mayhem and Apocalyptic Mirth! We are taking over an entire airplane hangar at the old Sand Point Naval Base and turning into our Halloween Blowout.

Very special ghouls who have kicked open the doors of their coffins for this event are:

INFERNAL NOISE BRIGADE

Back from their “arresting” performances at the Republican National Convention.

THE AMAZING RUBBERBOY

Contortionist extraordinaire — Guinness World Record Holder and featured performer on the hit HBO series “Carnivale”.

http://www.therubberboy.com

THE BUTTERSPRITES
Japanese pop Seattle-style, by this five-piece all-female troupe.
http://www.buttersprites.com

THE AERIALISTAS
A sultry, sensual aerial cadre of naughty nymphs certain to make parts of you rise from the dead.

And of course,

THE CIRCUS CONTRAPTION BAND
Doing the voodoo that they do so well

There will also be roving performers, a pumpkin shrine carved by local artists, a beheading at the stroke of midnight (Gee Whiz or G.W., who could be losing their head?), a D.J. to provide spooky dance tunes throughout the night, and our annual re-creation of Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance!!!!

Darkness Falls Across The Land, The Midnite Hour Is
Close At Hand, And Though You Fight To Stay Alive, The
Masses Start To Shout, For No Mere Mortal Can Resist,
The Evil OfCIRCUS CONTRAPTION’S HALLOWEEN BLOWOUT!!�

Filed under: circus | 4 Comments »

Keep your eyes open for me…

By kate on October 7th, 2004

Because of some recent changes at my company, I’m less content to stay there indefinitely than I was before. So, I’ve polished up the old resume and am sending out some feelers to people.

Know of any good tech jobs out there?

I’ve got a varied resume of different tech jobs. My ideal position would be something requiring troubleshooting, like a system analyst (server, network, or desktop). I have also done testing, support, HTML work, CRM database management, configuration management, documentation/tech writing, and training.

If you know of anything, send it my way and I’ll send you my resume. Thanks!

NOTE: My immediate boss knows about this (if you know me, you know who that is). Even so, please don’t mention it to anyone you may know that’s associated with my company. Much obliged.

Filed under: work | Comment now »

Presidential debate

By kate on October 1st, 2004

I watched the debate last night with some friends, and we all felt that Kerry had a definite edge. He managed to state his position consistently, while phrasing it in different ways. Bush merely repeated stock phrases. Kerry addressed every question, and I counted two that Bush completely ducked. I was glad Kerry got a chance to confront the “flip-flopper” issue, which I think he did well. I appreciated his resolute stand on nuclear proliferation – his answer to a question about our greatest threat, to which he could have waffled and tried to cover more bases. Admittedly, I’m biased toward Kerry and agree with him on most issues.

So, I was interested in how the coverage played out in today’s paper. I read all the articles with interest, but one of them pissed me off: a public-reaction piece about two young, single women who are still undecided.

I was fuming when I finished reading it. All they could talk about was how the candidates (and their families) looked! They never got to any real issues, just how things “felt” and “sounded”. They barely mentioned any issues by name, except to admit their ignorance on them.

In the end, they both concluded that they liked Bush best because they felt he was talking right to them. Ack! I don’t want people thinking that all young women are this fucking shallow!

Filed under: current events, media | 1 Comment »

Quick Kate Update

By kate on September 12th, 2004

First, a general announcement: September is the busiest week of the year at my job. Last week, I worked over 50 hours in four days, and the next week or two will probably be at a similar volume. So, if I don’t respond to emails or hang out with you as much, nothing’s wrong! I’m just really busy.

Our trip photos from Mongolia are online. You can view them here.

There were a few stand-out movies from the Seattle International Film Festival, and one of the ones that just stayed with me is “Love Me if You Dare”, which has now opened in Seattle. It didn’t get the greatest review in the Times, but I highly recommend it as a very dark movie that you can’t stop thinking about. (My review)

Also, I turn 30 on Tuesday. I might write more about that later, but the short version is that I’m very happy with where I am at this point in my life, so you won’t hear any moaning from me about getting older.

Filed under: life, travel, work | 1 Comment »

Back in UB

By steve on August 27th, 2004

We’re back in Ulaan Baatar! We have officially survived our 18-day road trip — now let’s see if we can make it back to Seattle.

18 days of squatting over pots and pans finally caught up to Kate this morning and she threw out her back while washing the breakfast dishes. A pharmacy gave us something called Diclofenac to treat the pain (no codeine in this country!), but it doesn’t seem to be working (yet).

Tonight we’re going to have some much-deserved showers and try to squeeze in a bout of laundry. Tomorrow we’re going to do some souvenir shopping and have one last dinner with Tsogo and Ganba. The day after that, we’re on the train back to Beijing!

Recent highlights of the trip include:
– riding camels!
– drinking vodka with Mongolians!
– blessings from a Lama!
– eating lots of strange food!
– listening to people talk in Mongolian and not understanding a word of it!
– many, many, rounds of Moshik! (a card game)
– actual paved roads!

Overall the road trip was great and (aside from a few bouts of illness) we both had a wonderful time.

Recent pictures here (#126 – #157).

We’ll probably check email once again tomorrow, and then we’ll be offline until we get back to Seattle on Aug 31.

Filed under: travel | Comment now »

Bayankongor

By steve on August 22nd, 2004

We’re now in Bayonkongor, a provincial capital in the south-central part of the country. We’re got 5 days left on our big Mongolian road trip.

Health-wise, we’re all feeling pretty good. Just a few sniffles going around, and that’s it. I’ve recovered from all my previous ailments.

Two nights ago we spent a night staying with a nomadic family. We played cards with their teenage daughter, made an impromptu seesaw for their sons, and ate some fresh marmot meat. Kate and I slept on a bed in their ger which was TINY. I spent the night perched on the edge. Other than that, though, the ger was very comfortable and it was a neat experience. When we left they gave us a big bag of dried cheese to eat. Kate likes it, but (sadly) I can’t stand the stuff.

Recent pictures here (#83 – #125).

Hope everyone is well at home. See you soon!