I'm in a New York State of Mind!

Hello Reader,

A week from today I am taking off for a jam-packed 48 hours in NYC! I am so excited! I need a getaway and this one is working out just perfectly! I haven't taken a spontaneous trip since I went to Cali post undergraduate graduation ... apparently, I catch a spontaneous travel bug pre-graduate school...

(From my summer of '09 trip to California)

NYC will be a great vacation - it will be fun to be a tourist. I think my need for a semi-impromptu trip is a sign that I truly consider AZ one of my homes now. I'm settling in and I know I will be here for at least several more years - plenty of time to get to all the places I want to. When I do travel these days the trips are well planned breaks back to home in ME ... which, to be honest, are anything but a vacation since I'm running all over the state soaking up as much Maine as I possible can from the food to the ocean and let's not forget all those amazing people back east I must spend some quality time with!

So, this NYC trip is going to be a perfect mini-vacation.

Fingers-crossed that I meet my crazy high expectations for this trip!

Oh, and prepare yourself for a slew of NYC related quotes over the next two ish weeks!

Thanks for reading!

- M

Pomp & Circumstance ... and a little bit of dance

Hello Reader,

Confession, I am sort of a higher education dork and I love graduation/convocation/commencement season. I love the mix of emotions, the energy, seeing the students walk across the stage (some who are actually graduating, some who are just going through the motions) and hearing all the speeches (I watch graduation speeches on YouTube for fun). I have heard some great speeches since coming out here - no offense to my Alma Mater. Perhaps it is simply because it is not my graduation I now find some level of enjoyment at it but I certainly wish I had the witty advice shared here as an undergraduate.

While I may not have soaked up the advice given in the speeches at my graduations, I will soak up what I can here and now and apply it moving forward with my MFA in Dance. One piece I'm taking with me this time was shared by our dean who told the students to know and understand that their success will also depend on someone else giving them an opportunity to be successful. I very much feel that way with where I am right now and I am grateful for where I am going within the dance program here.

... Speaking of  dance, there is a super fun graduation tradition here for dancers that I look forward to participating in. All dancers  - undergraduate and graduate - will dance barefoot across the stage as they graduate! I'm already working on my choreography! I may have started mid-convocation because, well, there were a lot of students graduating (700, I think) and I got bored, so I worked out some possible 8-counts in my head. I'm also learning from other dancers' executions during graduation. For example, turns don't work unless that cap is really bobby-pinned to your head quite well, any sort of extension is limited based on what you wear underneath the gown, and if you choose to do something that requires room to move simply unzip the gown. See? I've learned a lot in the four graduation ceremonies I have attended since graduating twice myself.

I love that part of my role as an advisor here is to march with my students at convocation each spring and fall semester. This time, I was sandwiched between my film students and my BAs and I could not have been happier (don't tell them that). While they walked across the stage shaking hands with the deans and directors, I saw some of my hard work to get them to that point pay off - it takes a village, right? The best part was all the thanks yous, the hugs, the handshakes, and other brief moments of gratitude I felt from my students. I was not expecting any sort of acknowledgment especially since many of them I had only met with for a single 30-minute meeting. It was truly a rewarding ending to the semester. 

 

Thanks for reading!

- M

DIY update: My heart's in Maine

Hello Reader,

I finally finished the project I gave you a sneak peek at earlier this week - Check it out!

 

I've realized while Maine is a huge part of me, I don't have anything that really screams Maine around this place. And I believe this says it loud and clear, my heart's in Maine.

Thanks for reading!

- M

The Arts

Hello Reader,

I'm sorry for the inconsistent posting lately. I've been distracted with all the amazing performances in and coming through the valley.

Let's recap! In the past month I have attended ...

... a performance by 2Cellos
... Bill T. Jones and the Arnie Zane Dance Company final residency performance at ASU
... an annual student film festival
... BON JOVI!
... the touring Broadway show Fela!
... the ASU Dance Annual (which I hope to be a part of next spring!)
... a student's tap dance capstone performance
... and more students' film capstone screenings

And this was in addition to other mainstage productions, gallery openings, and other touring shows (like Spamalot)! I keep a bulletin board in my office of tickets and programs to any arts event I attend on campus.

I love the arts - music, theatre, dance, film - you name it, it makes me a happy camper to be around it. I find it energizing and inspiring!

And it reminds me how happy I am to be returning to school for dance this fall and how lucky I am to be a part of the arts community out here.

Thanks for reading!

- M

Starting to feel like summer

Hello Reader,

(I'm posting this one a few days late, but better late than never! )

It's starting to feel like summer around here - and I'm not referring to the triple digit temperatures. For me, a shift in campus climate signifies summer. The biggest indicator is all my students have disappeared to focus on finals mostly, some are in a panic because they have failed their final requirement for graduation, but most are doing well and off to the next step - hallelujah! 

Now, don't get me wrong, I adore my students, it's why I'm in the job I am and why I plan to work in higher education the rest of my life. However, I love when the majority of them leave for summer. There are 50,000 students in this one square mile of campus and it's just a little too cozy for my liking sometimes.

In the summer campus is quite, my schedule is quiet, it's a glorious change of pace. I am able to sit outside on my lunch break in peace and quiet and in shady spots that are hard to find when you're competing with tens of thousands of people. It allows me to truly re-energize on my lunch break. I am welcoming this transition to summer.

I hope whatever your summer transition looks like it is happening smoothly as well.

Thanks for reading!

- M

DIY, continued ...

Hello Reader!

I've mentioned I'm on a go green/DIY/buy local/support your community kick and I thought I would share an update of some of the things I've made.


I've purchased enough raw materials (beeswax, cocoa butter, different oils, etc.) to make a collection of beauty products including ...

... lotion bars ...

... shower gel ...

... soap made with rose petals ...

I've also returned to painting again and have started to decorate my walls with some original work...

... some a little more abstract ...

... and some for inspiration ...

I have another project I'm working on but it isn't quite done ... so here's a sneak peak...

Thanks for reading!

- M

Make way for the ducklings!

Hello Reader,

Have I mentioned there are ducks in this apartment complex? Yes, ducks, in the middle of an urban jungle in the middle of the desert, there are ducks that wander around this place. They also swim in the chlorinated pools ... which, for me, having grown-up seeing ducks swim in a natural lake where I think ducks should be, I find it quite funny to see a mallard duck swimming and diving in a bright blue swimming pool.  (I have a pic of one somewhere, but I can't find it. When I do, I'll be sure to post it.)

So, the other day I was walking back from the apartment complex's main office when I notice eight ity bity ducklings swimming in the streams and waddling down the paths - it was too cute! I was finally able to get close enough to snap a shot of them huddled in the shade the other day. Adorable little fur balls, aren't they?

 

Thanks for reading!

- M