As a big coffee nerd, I was so excited when my sister and brother-in-law came back from Indonesia with some fresh beans for me. The crown jewel was a small bag of precious kopi luwak, which has been called the "most expensive coffee in the world." What makes luwak so amazing (and costly) isn't the…
First Climb with My Own Gear!
I did my first indoor rock climb using my own gear today! It felt really good getting back into rock climbing at Planet Granite. Climbing with your shoes and a harness that I chose feels quite different than using rented gear. I look forward to breaking in both, and feeling more comfortable wearing them. Right now…
Getting Tired of This Paleo Diet!
Okay, not really. I'm actually far from tired of eating paleo / low-carb. I enjoy my simple diet rules and look forward to my meals. But I am getting physically tired while following my paleo diet. I have been noticing lately a mid-afternoon energy drop that is not optimal during the workday. Today I could…
Watch the Shimmy Shakers (and FOUR other Bay Area Teams) at Camp Hollywood XX!
Here's my solo jazz team the Shimmy Shakers doing our thing at Camp Hollywood XX last weekend. I could not be more proud of the work that my team presented. I'm so fortunate I got to work with these fine folks and share what we created in Los Angeles and DC. I'm also super proud…
I Should Have Had a V8: Setting up a Young Person To Eat Right
I’m drinking a V8 tomato juice for the first time in years while on a short flight. And a flood of food memories suddenly pour in. When I was in college, I didn’t do a great job at feeding myself. I was living on my own for the first time in an apartment close to…
Learning to Love Camp Hollywood: Sick Dancing, Crazy Energy, Poolside Chilling
I just got home from a long weekend at the Camp Hollywood lindy hop camp in Los Angeles. To be perfectly honest, I have not been a fan of Camp Hollywood. In the past, I found the vibe superficial, clique-ish, and borderline sexist. I felt isolated and inadequate as a dancer at the event. I remember…
My 2017 ILHC: Dance Amazingness, Bay Area Love, Honoring our History
Photo Credit : Maren Marien Henes Finally home after a fantastic trip to DC for the 10th annual International Lindy Hop Championships. I've been coming to ILHC for many, many years, and it never gets old for me. ILHC brings together lots of things I cherish — being around some of the most talented dancers…
Representing at the International Lindy Hop Championships
Yesterday I competed with my team the Shimmy Shakers at the 10th annual International Lindy Hop Championships. I have a lot of feelings, but mostly just feeling grateful and blessed to be here and be a part of this global community. We were one of a slew of awesome competitors in the brand new solo…
Off to DC to Get Weird with the Shimmy Shakers at ILHC!
Tomorrow morning I'm off to Washington DC to compete with my team the Shimmy Shakers at the International Lindy Hop Championships! I'm so excited to share our routine with the world, which is fun, dynamic, slick and weird. And I get to do it with a swell gaggle of shakers. More soon…
Dwarf Quaker Slavery-fighting Activist Benjamin Lay is My New Hero
The New York Times has an inspired write up about Quaker activist Benjamin Lay, “You’ll Never Be as Radical as This 18th-Century Quaker Dwarf.” It really speaks to my condition, as Friends say: “Lay, a hunchback as well as a dwarf, was the world’s first revolutionary abolitionist. Against the common sense of the day, when slavery…