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There's an interview meme making the rounds, and I'm doing it in a very leisurely way, with questions from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
angeyja, who is also asking in a very leisurely way.
And if you'd like to be interviewed, possibly a question at a time, comment below! I may move more speedily than that, but can't promise...
Question the first is "Will there be tea? And if not, what?"
In my life there will always be tea, but I think the context of the question was tea as a shared event, which is a slightly different thing. A shared cup of tea is mind, body, and heart. I guess that's why there are Chinese and Japanese and English and Moroccan tea rituals. And in a very different style but with a similar motivation, the American tea ceremony, when it's not a teabag in a microwave: The kettle on the stove whistles, one friend jumps up from the kitchen table, there's a little chitchat on the slection of mugs, the choice of the tea and the teapot (and probably its history), the milk and the sugar (or honey or Splenda...) But still the warm heart and the warm tongue.
Lately I've been a little guilty about tea. I've been giving Bill a hard time about needing to spend a little more and get fair-trade chocolate, but then it eventually got through to me (he was nice enough not to point it out) that tea is also the means by which a lot of human misery comes into the world. I realized that I need to start finding a source of tea that's also a little cleaner. Selective blindness, for sure, because I've been at tea plantations and seen how painful it is to pick the tea tiny leaf by tiny leaf, bent over all day in the heat with a huge bag on your back and another over your arm, while your kids play in the dirt by themselves at the edge of the plantation. I know that a local store probably carries Equal Exchange or some other fair-trade teas--just need to prod myself to go find it.
But if not tea...Scotch. Fair trade is not the issue there!
Second question: What's your favorite yoga pose?
Ah--that's a very changeable thing. I like poses that didn't come easily, but didn't do me damage, challenges I could eventually master. I think the one that I like the best right now is ardha chandrasana chupasana. I was surprised long ago in a beginner class that I could actually do ardha chandrasana (half-moon pose--start in triangle, then go up on one leg with the other straight out in the air). And then a year or so ago, I was surprised again to realize that I could reach back and hold the ankle of the leg in the air, sort of like that thing ice skaters do at the top of a spin (only they usually use both hands! I'm nowhere near that). I like this pose because it took me a long time to develop the strength to stand without shaking, and because balance is totally challenging to me. I still fall out of tree half the time. But it really feels so free and oddly secure to stand in this pose.
I'll have another favorite in a couple of months, probably.
angeyja, who is also asking in a very leisurely way.And if you'd like to be interviewed, possibly a question at a time, comment below! I may move more speedily than that, but can't promise...
Question the first is "Will there be tea? And if not, what?"
In my life there will always be tea, but I think the context of the question was tea as a shared event, which is a slightly different thing. A shared cup of tea is mind, body, and heart. I guess that's why there are Chinese and Japanese and English and Moroccan tea rituals. And in a very different style but with a similar motivation, the American tea ceremony, when it's not a teabag in a microwave: The kettle on the stove whistles, one friend jumps up from the kitchen table, there's a little chitchat on the slection of mugs, the choice of the tea and the teapot (and probably its history), the milk and the sugar (or honey or Splenda...) But still the warm heart and the warm tongue.
Lately I've been a little guilty about tea. I've been giving Bill a hard time about needing to spend a little more and get fair-trade chocolate, but then it eventually got through to me (he was nice enough not to point it out) that tea is also the means by which a lot of human misery comes into the world. I realized that I need to start finding a source of tea that's also a little cleaner. Selective blindness, for sure, because I've been at tea plantations and seen how painful it is to pick the tea tiny leaf by tiny leaf, bent over all day in the heat with a huge bag on your back and another over your arm, while your kids play in the dirt by themselves at the edge of the plantation. I know that a local store probably carries Equal Exchange or some other fair-trade teas--just need to prod myself to go find it.
But if not tea...Scotch. Fair trade is not the issue there!
Second question: What's your favorite yoga pose?
Ah--that's a very changeable thing. I like poses that didn't come easily, but didn't do me damage, challenges I could eventually master. I think the one that I like the best right now is ardha chandrasana chupasana. I was surprised long ago in a beginner class that I could actually do ardha chandrasana (half-moon pose--start in triangle, then go up on one leg with the other straight out in the air). And then a year or so ago, I was surprised again to realize that I could reach back and hold the ankle of the leg in the air, sort of like that thing ice skaters do at the top of a spin (only they usually use both hands! I'm nowhere near that). I like this pose because it took me a long time to develop the strength to stand without shaking, and because balance is totally challenging to me. I still fall out of tree half the time. But it really feels so free and oddly secure to stand in this pose.
I'll have another favorite in a couple of months, probably.
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From:
no subject
From:
no subject
1. Working in a library--makes you crazy or makes you sane?
2. What's the most ambitious thing you've knitted?
3. Which is harder to write, fanfic or non-fan-fic (and part B is what do you call the non-fanfic, other than that?)?
4. What's one thing you're glad you did when you raised your kids?
5. What would be your ideal day?
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no subject
Ummm, it depends on the day. Or who walks in the door. But honestly, I love my job -- and the occasional crazy person makes it never boring, heh.
Part of what I love now is the sense of order about it. I love to shelve and don't get to do it as much as I'd like. Part of what I don't like is having a coworker who's worked in libraries, but does not have a library degree -- she'll go for expediency. Like when she 'decided' that we shouldn't have the paperbacks in alphabetical author order. Yes, it makes it 1000% faster to shelve, but I think that we're sending the wrong message about the paperbacks -- that they're not 'valued' as much as the hardcovers. (Whoa, 'issues', heh)
2. What's the most ambitious thing you've knitted?
Well, the biggest thing I've knitted has been a blanket. The trickiest thing would probably be a cross between mittens and socks (both have gusset dealies). The 'hardest' things for me are certain stitch patterns -- I don't do well with moss or seed stitch as those require you to do a k1, p1 for one row and then p1, k1 for the next. I have a terrible time deciphering which stitch is which when I look at my knitting. (Something that caused
3. Which is harder to write, fanfic or non-fan-fic (and part B is what do you call the non-fanfic, other than that?)?
Hooo, boy. Fanfic lets you take certain shortcuts, I think, especially in description. You don't have to describe Spike's crypt or Buffy's house -- as your intended audience knows immediately what you're talking about.
As for fiction (answer to part B), I've really only taken a crack at one story. But it was set in the Buffyverse, so I could skip over certain things. I found myself having to slow way down and was adding in tons of description, because I didn't have that "And then they went into Spike's crypt" to fall back on.
Each are equally hard, I think. Writing is writing, heh.
4. What's one thing you're glad you did when you raised your kids?
I practiced benign neglect -- so now they don't need to be 'entertained'. Although sometimes their 'entertainment' needs to be broken up before the blood flows, heh.
5. What would be your ideal day?
Oooo! Sleeping in a bit, then having a full pot of coffee all to myself. No fights about anything before school, then not needing to clean or cook or wash or dry ANYTHING for the day -- leaving me free to noodle around all day! (Also, the men would head out camping! Leaving me alone!)
Whoa. I should try to answer all of these in the morning, heh.
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no subject
Love your parenting! Wish more people did that--we might have more self-reliant people around, if more were raised that way.
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smile I like your answers
The pose is a good one. I am a bit backwards here too because of the ballet, so variations on an arabesque? and then the stretch holding the leg came back in slightly first, before the yoga. In fact, I was thinking tonight after your comment, that the yoga is a good balance for the ballet exercises. The other thing, is how much difference doing this free standing is? I am stable with just a touch on a piece of furniture or a counter top but free standing is much different. It does seem like some of that must be mental. I think that's where I am coming to yoga from also, a stretching or work with body and mind that's different.
I'll have another favorite in a couple of months, probably.
Not a bad thing :-) Thanks for these! Very fun to read and think about, which I am sure will keep happening.
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Re: smile I like your answers
A lot of people in our classes come from a ballet background. I did it when young, but not since then. I think one of the biggest differences (in my tradition of yoga, Anusara) is that ballet teaches you to turn your feet out in many poses, but the alignment of yoga is to pull your pelvis back and thus turn your toes slightly in. And that affects a lot of postures! The difference between ardha chandrasana and an arabesque is first that in ardha you have one hand on the ground (that really helps my stability a lot! but also means your torso slants down toward the ground), and second that you're trying to open your pelvis out, bring your foot out to the side rather than behind you. It's triangle with one foot raised, and in the chapansana variation, you catch the foot behind you, like a half-bow pose, and bring your chest forward, tailbone forward, and shoulders and hips back. It turns you even more on the side. But when you go into arha chandransa from triangle, you bend your front knee and move your back foot forward a foot or two, and move your bottom hand forward and out from your body. It helps at first to keep your top hand on your hip. Then straighten the front leg and then slowly raise the back leg, tucking the tailbone hard and trying to open out to the side. Finally reach your arm up.
Balance in yoga is so hard. I can do much better at home than in class, for some reason. I think the presence of anyone else's movement throws me off. But as I grow older, I know it really, really matters to work on it, even if all I can do is stand on one foot with the other foot slightly off the ground.
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Re: smile I like your answers
From:
Re: smile I like your answers
From:
Re: smile I like your answers
Thanks!
A lot of people in our classes come from a ballet background. I did it
when young, but not since then. I think one of the biggest differences
(in my tradition of yoga, Anusara) is that ballet teaches you to turn
your feet out in many poses, but the alignment of yoga is to pull your
pelvis back and thus turn your toes slightly in. And that affects a lot
of postures!
Ah right and makes sense. If we call the ballet "poses" then there something my brain wants to say about different tensions and sinking into "poses" but of course can't get the right word for.
The difference between ardha chandrasana and an arabesque is
first that in ardha you have one hand on the ground (that really helps my
stability a lot! but also means your torso slants down toward the
ground), and second that you're trying to open your pelvis out, bring
your foot out to the side rather than behind you.
(nod) I just tried this one. Feels great to do. :-) And good instructions!
It's triangle with one
foot raised, and in the chapansana variation, you catch the foot behind
you, like a half-bow pose, and bring your chest forward, tailbone
forward, and shoulders and hips back.
Now that is beyond me! Whoa.
Balance in yoga is so hard. I can do much better at home than in class,
for some reason. I think the presence of anyone else's movement throws me
off. But as I grow older, I know it really, really matters to work on it,
even if all I can do is stand on one foot with the other foot slightly
off the ground.
That makes sense also, mamcu. Thanks for the notes here. I have some other things to add in (slowly) and that's very cool.