The Excitement of Adventure

San Bruno Mountain Reserve 2012

This post is part of the Open Book Blog Hop (begun by author P.J. Fiala) where you can learn more about authors and bloggers. The theme this week is fun.

My "fun" is limited. I'm a bit of a workaholic and a stay-at-home parent of an active toddler, which means 99% of my time is spoken for. I have to plan every part of my day and week just to make sure I can shower and brush my teeth. When I do get a spare minute, I am usually so tired, all I can do is watch the latest sci-fi creation out of Canada.

That said, when my husband is off work, we do family or date things. This often involves hiking, short excursions, and or movies. Today we went to the beach, took a long walk, and had a picnic. Afterwards we got frozen yogurt at a DIY yogurt bar. That is a pretty typical example of our family time.

Before Kiddo, however, things were a little different.

Halloween Shiny Toy Guns concert, Bako 2011

I really enjoy dancing - salsa, hip-hop, techno, swing, waltz, whatever. It brings me joy. I also love live music, especially funk and folk (though my interests are pretty varied). Dinner and dancing or a concert would be an ideal time for me. I also really enjoy art openings, festivals, and museums for daytime fun. So if I was childless and wanted to have some staycation-style fun, this would be it.

But more than this, I love adventuring. An adventure for me could be hiking, camping, or just exploring a new town. When I lived in the Bay Area, we would go on a different hiking trail every weekend, and often explore a new section of the Bay. Every weekend was a new adventure, and I absolutely loved it.

We try to do that everywhere we live. When we were in Phoenix, we would take a day in different parts of the city. We went to the mountains. We went to Sedona. We went to Tuscon. When we lived in Bakersfield, we explored Tehachapi. We sussed out all the cool spots. We went to Lake Isabella.

Now that we're in Santa Barbara County, it's hard to feel like there is any adventure left, because we've both lived in the area for significant portions of time. Having our son brings an element of newness to the place, but it's not quite the same. I'm still getting used to the change and embracing it. The next big adventure is scheduled for late September when we'll be camping in Big Sur with Kiddo and going to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. While I've been to both places when childless, I am excited to share them with my son and experience them as a family. It is different. There won't be dancing or concerts. Our pace will be slower, but I will get to experience it all through Kiddo's eyes. To see his joy when watching jellyfish tanks or when feeling the tide pool exhibit will be wonderful.

What do you consider fun? Leave a comment below! 

Tracy

Speaking of fun, check out chick lit and women's fiction author Tracy Krimmer. Her new book, Jay Walking is on pre-order on Amazon. You can read about this, her other novels, and check out her blog at her site here! Also be sure to like her Facebook Author page here.

 
Also, if you're interested in joining our blog hop, link up below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Adventures in Bako - The Padre Hotel

Last night I finally got the chance to go out on the town in Bakersfield. Having been urged several times by multiple people to check out the Padre, we decided to give it a go.

There are a few things that a person needs to know upon entering the Padre.

1. It's an old hotel that has been renovated.
2. It's the kind of place that you go to see and be seen.
3. You won't believe you're in Bakersfield.

That's just for starters. We only made it into the downstairs bar and dance club which was enough to give us a general idea of the place. It struck me the number of blond heads present - and the overall height of the clientele. People who go to the Padre are tall - about a head taller than me, and I'm not short. I felt like I had stepped through a portal into Santa Barbara or some other place where tall blond-haired people frequent.

In addition to this, the clientele ran the full range of ages. There were people who looked like they had recently turned 21 (well, at least their IDs said so - though I couldn't believe it judging by their faces) and then there were people who had WHITE hair (looking for a sugar baby?).

The strangeness of the demographics for the location aside, the place was hoppin' and it was cool. I particularly liked the gray paisley seats and the techno music at the bar. The dance club had an unfortunate cover of $10 which made it out of the range of most people these days (think: anyone without steady income or a steal of an apartment rental) especially if you wanted to get drinks TOO. That said, when we did go inside, they had cool laser light shows going and were playing an interesting mix of top 40 from the past and present. Besides the incredibly packed nature of the room, it was perfect for dancing.

This would make it fine for a second visit, except of course, there is the bathroom. I have to mention this because it might be the only trans-gender friendly  bathroom in Bako (I don't know this for certain, but it's worth mentioning). The bathroom has separate stall areas for men and women, but the sink area is unisex. So, don't be surprised ladies if you walk in and see 5 guys at the sink checking their hair - seriously. That happened to me last night.

I will say this - the Padre is not a hipster bar. It is not the kind of place you go if you want a super stiff drink and to look at art (at least not the first floor - but I fully intend to check out the roof next visit). It is however full of great people watching and reasonably fun ambiance/dancing. Plus, the bathroom is weird enough in concept that you need to check it out, if only for the "oh shit" factor. I liked the decor, and I enjoyed myself. I will definitely check it out again. And, if you're in Bako and you have an L.A. sensibility, it is *definitely* the place to be. And that is whether you wear white leather shoes, plaid shirts, shorts, or not. Everyone is there.

ODC - A Dance Show SF Adventure

One of my friends has a sweet job at a nonprofit dance company. Seeing as it is their 40th anniversary, employees got a number of tickets comped for the series of March shows.  My friend, feeling like giving her friends a sporting chance, decided to send a mass email - first to respond got tickets.  So, I responded and got some for the March 18 show.

Well the night was drizzling and a Friday night in downtown San Francisco is generally a hopping place to be.  Streets were still crowded with pedestrians and cars alike.  We finally parked in the SFMOMA lot and then walked over to the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts where the performance was being held.  At the ticket windows there were huge lines of artsy hipsters and the like.  We were running a little short on time, so someone came out and yelled to make sure we were all there for the performance and that we had only 5 minutes.  The lights flickered along with the seating bell.  The woman then reassured us the show wouldn't begin until everyone was seated.  Eventually we got to the window and claimed our tickets.  Inside, an usher kindly showed us our seats.

We didn't have to wait long before the lights dimmed.  The artistic director gave a short speech regarding the anniversary of the company as well as thanking sponsors.  She left the stage and the curtain went up.  The first piece, being performed for the first time, was "Listening Last."  The music went back and forth between a lot of marsh sounds including crickets and frogs, and city sounds such as traffic, sirens, and alarms.  There was some interesting group choreography reminiscent of natural settings, however the majority did not appear to showcase the dancers' abilities.  At least two of the female dancers were unable to hold poses and were slightly stiff.  This may have been because the dance was so new, I'm not sure.  Additionally the piece was a little too modern for my taste - the music and the movements felt inaccessible (and in the case of the music during one portion, physically painful).  Despite that it was a creative discussion of the differences between urban and rural life.  One could go so far as to say it was a compelling emotive argument for rural simple living.  While I could appreciate the interesting discussion of urban v. rural living, I still didn't enjoy the piece (I should note here that Christian did - to each their own). At that point I was a little concerned about the second piece.

Fortunately, "Stomp a Waltz, which was first performed in 2006 was both musically and visually accessible as well as appealing.  The red and black costumes, the acrobatic highly energetic and sometimes romantic movements, were a pleasure to watch.  It was almost overwhelming to watch - each area of the stage had interesting and beautiful dance happening in concert.  I found myself having to look this way and that because I was too close to the stage to see everything at once.  It was the kind of piece I would enjoy seeing again to see the things I missed, and find nuances that may have been hidden to me in the first viewing.

The third and final piece was modern (in that it was strange) and accessible simultaneously. "Waving Not Drowning: A Guide to Elegance" had simple costumes, interesting dancing, and was set to a woman's voice discussing what makes a woman elegant.  It culminated with the female dancers spending a significant portion of stage time dressing the male dancers in paper outfits (some with headbands complete with paper flowers - one even had fairy wings).  The dress time was weird, and even though it was funny, it felt like it was just a really slow punchline to an already elongated joke.  Granted, I did laugh out loud quite a bit - especially when the male dancers began dancing in their new 'girlie' paper outfits.  It was an interesting comment on the nature of fashion and how it relates to femininity.

After the show, there was a small party free to all audience members on the balcony (sorry, this doesn't happen every night!).  Drinks, cheese, and strawberries were in evidence, along with some music (which I think was a CD?) and way too many people.  It was so crowded we decided to leave in about two minutes.

Instead of partying with our fellow audience members, we walked to a diner that was about 4 nice sized blocks away.  Keep in mind it was 10:20pm, and the parking garage closes at 11. When the garage closes, you can't get your car out - you're stuck BARTing it home.  Well considering we needed the car and didn't want to spend the extra cash required for 24hr parking, we inhaled our food and then booked it back to the garage.  Luckily, we got there with time to spare and were home before midnight.

Morals of this story: 1) ODC is an interesting dance company that is worth checking out especially if you are open to more modern dance companies (and can handle more cerebral music and choreography). 2) Always check the time your SF parking garage closes, because otherwise you might have to ride the bacteria infested BART seats all the way home and pay $30 for parking.

Try Something New - Break a Mold, Have an Adventure

As complex as our society has become, I am convinced that people who break out of molds are still considered completely strange, possibly fantastic (in the traditional sense of the word, coming from the root fantasy).  Despite all the different things we are able to do and be, humans have the tendency to put each other into boxes, and allow themselves to stay within them.  So when a person decides they won't be categorized, people can become shocked and frustrated, or they can have a whole new world open to them.

I am thinking particularly of the relatively simple juxtaposition of someone who likes art and football, or fashion and reading the Times.  These things are oppositional by all accounts to our society, but of course, there are people who like to do each set of things, and some who like all four (I'm thinking of myself...strange bird that I am). The more I interact with people, the more rare it is for me to find someone who enjoys multiple types of things, or who is at least willing to entertain something outside their own cultural sphere.

What does it matter? Why push one's self to read a reliable news source while at other times contemplating the far reaching impact of teal on Jimmy Choo?  Well, the less easy it is for someone to put you in a box, the more fun it is for everyone.  Necessarily you run into more kinds of people than you are likely to if you only race RC cars than if you also watch ballet.  You increase your likelihood of adventures, which is always enjoyable for you, and tends to lend some excitement to your varied group of friends.

In this world, it is easy to have varied interests.  Now you can access almost anything from almost anywhere (as long as you can pay for shipping to more remote locations in the worst case). However, it is just as easy to keep yourself in a rut.  You could do the same thing day in and day out, and your life would never get more exciting.  It would never change.  You would continue to read the same books, eat the same cereal, and wear the same bland dress clothes.  It would be predictable.  So isn't it better to change things up? Isn't it better to try something new and experiment with different interests when there is really nothing stopping you from taking a dance class or learning mountaineering?

It's better to try it rather than not.  What can you lose? At the very worst you have a story of adventure.  At the best, you open a new door to all kinds of wonderful things.  It sounds like a win to me.

Come on, let's DANCE!

Pandora is blasting in my ear.  It's good that you can have tailored music along with sun in Hayward.  Even in the morning. It makes a person dance.  Well, the music in particular makes you dance, even if the sun is blocked by your window treatments.

When I was finishing my bachelor degree, and even to some extent while I was pursuing my masters, I would dance in my room. It was a daily occurrence.  This was especially true when I was bored or if I had pent up energy.Growing up in an urban setting, I was exposed to a lot of popular dance forms from the 'hood. This meant a combination of West African folk, pop lockin, general hip hop, and break dancing.  Occasionally you'd see someone swing some glow sticks around for the one techno song.  In college I added to my repetoire by including belly dancing, swing and salsa. I was friends with a bunch of international students and we would conjure a boom box and take it to one of the large halls in a dorm and dance to whatever MP3s we had on hand.  This meant primarily a mixture of Latin and hip hop. At the international parties you could add in some arabic and techno as well as the few select groups that fused various ethnic music (i.e. World).

SF Dance Fest

Since I hadn't been dancing as much as I used to in front of a larger mirror,  I decided to change that.  Since I've been dancing in front of my large mirror in my living room to a mix that Pandora only knows, I seem to be a bit happier (if also more toned).  You see, moving in a beat makes you happy.  It is something your body knows well - everything in the body is done with rhythm.  So when you move just to move in a beat, it just magnifies what your body is doing normally.  Singing along often helps too (again the creation of rhythms has a similar effect to moving in a rhythm). 

I'm sharing this with you because I think the world needs more dancing.  When I was in Punjab some of my friends would randomly break out into Bhangra in cafes, restaurants, and even the street if there was music available. My dad and I used to dance in stores both because we liked the music playing, but also because we wanted to embarass my brother.  This only worked until he started dancing too, which wasn't a loss, because it meant more people were dancing in the store. I like that.  More people should do that. They wouldn't need to take so much prozac.