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Other interests, activities and wannabe fantasies...

Dance

Motorcycling

Dogs

Horses

Home Improvement

Miscellaneous, past and future things

Dance
I love to dance. I've taken ballet on and off since I was 23 (which is way over the hill to start ballet), as well as jazz and my latest favorite, hip-hop. These days I take class at Western Ballet and Studio 10 Dance. Though I'm not built for ballet, it gives me technique for my favorite type of dancing: free-style living-room experimentation, to blues, hip-hop and modern rock. Unfortunately, I don't really have a good place to do that kind of dancing in the house we moved into in January 2000.

I attempted pointe classes for a while, but time constraints and the lack of consistent, convenient classes forced me to drop that. I don't have time or willingness to take two classes a day anymore, so if I have to make a choice between pointe class and hip-hop, it's hip-hop!

Motorcycling
I have a whole other page dedicated to motorcycling, so I won't say too much here. Riding and wrenching were such a huge part of my life, dominating my interests in the 1990s, and still is in the way I think and how I developed during that time.

However, new joyous things in my life (house, husband) have removed the angst and need for escape that was a large motivator for weekends away spent riding. I do miss the contact and stimulation from seeing so many beautiful things in California from the unique perspective of a motorcycle, but I've always felt glad for people who found such fulfillment in their personal lives that even the joys of riding and exploring were overshadowed. Lucky me, I fit into that category now.

That said, the weekends that we get away and in which I'm immersed again in the challenges of riding and seeing all sorts of new places are very satisfying. Even before my 10-month hiatus in Virginia 1996-1997, I was getting away from commuting and local sport rides, and transitioning more to a "touring" rider, where most of my rides are weekend trips or long day rides with the BMW club, and this is still where most of my moto-satisfaction is derived.

Dogs
Dogs! I love dogs! As a little girl, I kept the AKC's poster of all the AKC-recognized breeds, and memorized the statistics of each breed. I spent hours dreaming about what kind of dog I'd get as an adult. But, I held it off because of unstable living and travelling situations.

Meantime, a wonderful new sport developed: dog agility. I'd always liked the part of advanced obedience trials in which dogs would jump over fences, but little did I imagine that one day, the amazing fun of agility would evolve. I spectate agility events whenever I can, and am really looking forward to training my own future dog for agility. I always try to make local NADAC and USDAA trials, as some of the "top dogs" in the country are trained right here in San Jose.

My family had several dogs while growing up, enough for me to know that I needed the right living situation before I could consider my own dog. Now that I have a house and a wonderful husband who also likes dogs, we'll soon consider getting our our own (but first we have a fence or two to mend -- literally). When we do get a dog, we'll adopt an older dog from a rescue organization.

Horses
One of my favorite things in life is horses. Like many little girls, I dreamed of horses and even had a pony for a short time when I was 8. As an adult, I took dressage and English classes for three years, with a smattering of jumping.

Unfortunately, I had to stop when I went to UCLA in 1990, and have not picked it up again. I was at a point where I needed to make big committments to advance any further, such as half-leasing a horse and investing in a dressage saddle. Though I haven't ridden seriously in years, it will always be one of my basic loves. It's just on hold for now.

Home Improvement
Never a renter again! I love living in a real house again. Or maybe, for the first time. The house in which I was raised in Brooklyn was really a townhouse, though they didn't call them that in the 1830's when it was built. My now-husband and I purchased our first house in November 1999, and we just love being homeowners. We bought an older house in Sunnyvale, one with character and in need of some attention. It's perfectly livable, but we first needed to address a few things like no garage, and no heat downstairs.

The garage we had built has a workshop area, in which we'll set up a shop with tools so that we can build the zillions of projects our property is calling for. I've always wanted to get into woodworking (furniture making primarily), but now from a practical standpoint, I'd like to learn carpentry also. I have a deep and healthy respect for tradesmen after seeing all the skilled work that went into our garage, so I'm under no illusions (fantasies only) of becoming a carpenter, but I'm anxious to try little things anyway.

Work around the house really sucks up our time on weekends, but it's time spent willingly and happily. When we get tired of working on our home, then we'll gladly hire out more projects and go for a motorcycle trip.

Miscellaneous, past and future things
This is a dangerous category, as it can include anything from fleeting thoughts to longtime fascinations. There are numerous things I'd love to learn. I've always loved watching figure skating, and actually started ballet way back when as a way to gain flexibility and balance to eventually skate (which I never did). I have a pair of rollerblades but never got proficient at it. There's a mountain biker in me bursting to come out, though I also love to see trails on foot when hiking. I love swimming and being underwater; I'd take to scuba instantly. I used to knit and sew a lot; these crafts will certainly re-emerge someday. I'm always struggling with writing and not writing, as I'm cursed with a frequent urge to write, but keep it carefully checked else lose control.

As many things as I'd love to get into, it's a challenge to manage my concentration. If I started skating or mountain biking, there's a good chance I'd get completely swept up and obsessed and take time away from other things I love, and never give enough attention to any one thing to feel good in it. Throughout my adult life, the one activity that has persisted and pretty much always taken priority is dance, and I expect this will continue.

Last update: 4/24/01

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