Adventures of a tribal dancer...

The weekend went well. Med Fest. Torrential rains. Good friends. Back pain lessening further still.
Saturday morning rain was threatening, but held off while we were setting up, which was great. Renee and I opted to do a big closet cleaning and sell off as much of our old costuming as possible. I was selling pantaloons for $5 apiece and 10-yard skirts for $15. I even sold my brocade Flying skirt for $15. Just let it allllll go. Got rid of all my old VHS videos, and most of the new ones. Sold half my CD collection at $10 a pop. It was liberating.

As a result of the "purging" theme, I was hardly interested in any buying. I bought a few bindis and a top. That's it. Probably the least I have ever spent at any festival. I don't even think I looked in every booth. No urge.

The rains came. Oh boy did they. It was a soggy day. But warm, too. In the low 70's. So the mugginess kept us feeling sticky all day. Fab. It was a brisk sales pace all day, and most everyone we spoke to wasn't planning on returning on Sunday. We wondered if we even should have plans to come back outside of performing...

My students performed at 4pm inside. They are gaining so much confidence and joy in their performance, and it is a pleasure to witness.

Chris spent the rest of the day home trying to clean and prepare for the party. By 6pm we were talking about leaving. The rain was keeping people under shelter or leaving, and Chris needed help at home. So we took off at 7pm, closing up, praying the rain wouldn't get into the tent all night long. The Gypsy Fire girls followed us back, and we all pitched in to set up the deck some more, add some mood lighting, and then tuck into some snacks and drinks. The tarp Chris (with a small help from me--mostly him) set up over the deck worked great. It needed occasional dumping out of accumulated water in one area we just couldn't get a good slope for runoff, but everyone stayed pretty darn dry and happy throughout. The extra 10X10 near the fire on the lawn was much appreciated and warm and cozy. I still was stunned I was wearing a comfy skirt and tee shirt all night long, while it's pouring rain. It was just so nice and warm.

Many convened to the living room for a full concert with Guitar Hero followed by Karaoke Revolution. I got to sing a couple wicked-awesome duets with Amy, and Amy W and Erik sang a lovely duet. I even got to sing and play guitar with Befu and Krystal!

As is the custom these days, we ended up with a "final four", with Krystal and Jen, who left at about 3:30am. We plopped into bed by 4am, ready to get up the next day to hit the festival, wishing we didn't have to.

11am we hit the festival. Mah inFusionista gurlz were going on at noon, sans yours truly for the first time in our history of performing at MF. We were all feeling tired and soggy and uninspired. But the rain wasn't coming today, and it was still warm, so it was kinda nice. And a lot more people than we expected showed up to see the performance! My chicas hit the stage and did AWESOME. I mean...I was feeling pretty fine about not performing with them--we were all so blah that morning, and it was a real "Ah, who cares anyway," approach to the whole thing (which is rare for us!). But when I saw them light up that stage, rock the crowd who had completely stopped in their tracks to watch, and the audience go nuts for them, I was so sad I wasn't there with them! They were so tight! And all these new combos and music we have been playing with, I STILL haven't gotten to play with! WAH! But they were just incredible, and I was beaming with pride.

We cheered on Gyspy Fire, and then began to pack up. It was sooo slow. People just assumed it was going to be a nasty day and didn't plan to come. We had low inventory, and few people coming by, and we just decided to head out. I ran in to the gym to catch most of Urban Berbers, and then finished packing the tents and head home.

Exhausted, we unpacked the car, and started cleaning the house from the party. Bleh. Everything outside was so soggy. The kitchen was a wreck. But we got through most of it before we got food delivered and we settled in to eat and try to relax. We cuddled on the couch (ah what a treat), and then went to be early. I am exhausted still today.

My back was great all weekend. I expected to wake up miserable after the Saturday party, and all the bopping around with the Guitar and mic. But I woke up feeling pretty okay after all. Just a bit achey. Same today. A little more achey today, due to all the hauling from breaking down the tents, party, and goods. But not the debilitating stiffness I was used to. I am hoping I have come over a hump!! I will be back teaching tonight for the first time in almost 6 weeks, with the assistance of my darling Sarah. I look forward to it and am nervous too. I don't know what my limits will be. Keep sending good energy my way!