ABT Weekend

Over the weekend I got to play for 4 warm-up classes for the American Ballet Theatre when they were in town. Conveniently, Case was on spring break so I was free in the mornings. I decided to walk to Playhouse Square on Thursday and Friday since it's not that far away (5.2-mile round trip). This gave me a nice light workout and saved me the hassle of finding parking.

This company is one of the premier ballet companies in the world. The dancers are extremely musical as well as technically breathtaking. It is an honor and pleasure to play for them. The ballet master was very easy to follow, clear and musical, and moved at a super-fast pace. I abstained from caffeine all weekend, knowing the slight adrenaline buzz would be plenty to keep me awake and alert. I played my best stuff, including original compositions, symphony excerpts, show tunes, etc.

Saturday was a master class for advanced-level area students (62 of them, it turned out!) taught by 22-year-old company member Craig Salstein. He was adorable--he looks a little like a young Matthew Broderick. He got very intense and passionate while teaching, never losing his charm. He would signal me to start with varying theatrical gestures that cracked me up.

On St. Patrick's Day, I started the class with "Danny Boy" (which I only play once a year). This turned out to be a big hit with some of the ABT dancers from South America. Turns out they know a pop song that uses the same melody, so on Sunday I got a request to play it again. When I did, a few of them burst into spontaneous applause. That made me feel great. I mean, these dancers have heard it all when it comes to accompanists.

On Saturday night, Paul & I went to see them perform Le Corsaire, a nineteenth-century story ballet about a pirate and his love for a harem girl. Paul and I giggled at the cheesy bodice-ripper plot idea. It sounds like fodder for a role-playing fantasy. ("You be the studly, well-endowed stable boy and I'll be the innocent, busty milkmaid.") In spite of that, the ballet really was gorgeous. Unlike, say, Swan Lake, there was a lot of action for the men in this one. Seeing the men jump and levitate in the air so effortlessly was really something to see.

I've Made Goal!!

Well, technically I am jumping the gun a tiny bit posting this, since I still have 1/4" left to lose on my waist, but I consider that a rounding error. If I were the type to go through life sucking my stomach in (I'm not), I would already be there and then some. At the rate I'm going, I will have lost it by this coming Monday---and then I will be done with this weight loss project!!

I have lost 40 pounds in 6 months! Here are some stats:

Bust: -7.0 inches
Waist: -7.5 inches
Hips: -6.75 inches
Thighs: -4.25 inches each
Total Body Volume: -5.26 gallons*
Percentage of original body weight lost: 21.74. (I'm only 78.26% of the woman I used to be!)

*I read somewhere that 7.6 pounds of fat=1 gallon. Weird thought.

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I have been looking forward to posting my Before and After pictures for months. Here I am Before:

August, 2005. Here's another from the same trip, and you can see better what I looked like without the big shirt. I was probably above what I think of as my starting weight of 184.

Mostly I felt I looked at least okay, although I tired easily and my feet often hurt. However, there were some views I almost never got to see that were a bit eye-opening. This pic of the back rolls was one of the catalysts that helped me decide I wanted to do something about it.

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And now (my favorite part!) the After photos, taken this afternoon. Here I am in new clothes I bought last week, still glowing from my workout:

I saved my biggest pair of jeans just for these next two pics--they are the same ones I was wearing in the Before pic above. (I always wanted to do the Cheesy Weight-Loss Product Ad pose.) They look a little different on me now:




I promise this is the last weight-loss post I'll make. Maintenance is just too uneventful to blog about. I'll still do the same amount of exercise, and I'll eat the same way, just a little more food, like having my sandwiches with 2 pieces of bread instead of one. I know, having learned the hard way, that if I want to keep this up, I'll have to stay mindful of what I eat (at least most of the time) for the rest of my life. But now that I've made the commitment for a lifestyle change, I plan to be successful at it. I'm even giving away all of my old clothes tomorrow, not keeping them "in case I gain." You read it here first.

I'm gonna need a new hobby now.

March is Jam-Packed With Activities

So many things are going on this month. First of all, the Cleveland International Film Festival March 16-26. I love this event--people talk about film while waiting in line, you get to vote on the films, and you can see things you just don't see anywhere else, like shorts, foreign films, and documentaries, not to mention foreign documentaries. (You may think I'm kidding, but I have one in my lineup of films to see!) I received my 12 CIFF vouchers that I won at the church auction last fall, and spent much of today eagerly poring over the festival guide to make my picks. I've learned over the years that, at least for me, seeing more than 6 films in the 10-day period triggers the law of diminishing returns, and it just gets to be too much to digest, so I'll have a few vouchers left to give away.

In the midst of this, American Ballet Theatre will be performing (and I'll be playing for their warm-up classes). I'm not so sure we'll be going, because there is only so much culture one can digest in a week.

Tomorrow, Paul, Sharon and I will be playing some chamber music for the church service. It's a really great piece and we sound good together. Last night we had a rehearsal at our house, with the piano newly tuned, and we were really enjoying ourselves. It's kind of a loud piece and I didn't realize how late it was getting (10 pm) until our next door neighbor rang our doorbell and told us, "Please, please stop!" (This only happened once before and that was 6 months ago.)

Fortunately we were just about done anyway, but my mood deflated like a balloon. Most of the time they're not even in town (and therefore not around to complain) so it's easy to forget that it might bother them. I know it was a reasonable request, but still. When other people are loud, it just doesn't bother me, after spending 20 or so years in apartments next to fraternities and practicing conservatory students. Paul says it's moments like these that are the only thing that makes him consider moving some day. But I think, no matter where you live, there's always going to be something. If we lived in a traditional single-family home, we would have to do yardwork, which neither of us is into at all. I think we've got it pretty good.

"Rate My Life" Quiz

Just for fun, I took this online quiz. Some of these quizzes are off-the-wall ("What Kind of Fruit Are You?") but this one asks questions that actually make sense. My results were pretty much what I expected, except "Friends & Family" was lower than I would have thought:

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	8.3
Mind:	7.9
Body:	8.2
Spirit:	7
Friends/Family:	5.6
Love:	9.1
Finance:	8.5
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

I guess that's because I answered "1 or 2" when it asked how many good friends I have. (Hi, Darce!) I guess it depends on your definition of "good." I have a lot of church friends who I really connect with, but we don't invest a ton of energy in getting closer. Some energy, yes--we go out to lunch, invite each other to our parties, are involved in covenant groups and church activities together, and have occasionally provided support for each other during hard times. But it's not like we call each other or hang out on a regular basis.

I've always been one to invest most of my relationship energy into my significant other. I think I've gotten better but that's still my default setting. Is that so terrible?