I DID IT!

I had my first ever public performance tonight. It went pretty well. I forgot all of my choreography as soon as I walked out there, but just went with the music, smiled, and played with the crowd. I know I was the only one to use the whole stage and try to involve the audience and make them care. I didn't fall on my ass and the applause was more than the polite patter, so I must've done something right.

I'm just glad I got that first one out of the way. Geek was great!! He came along with me and took tons of pics of all the dancers. He was really great to have there for the moral support.

Mundane update

Obviously, I'm back from Vienna. The flights back were fairly uneventful, and being in the middle of the plane meant I didn't get as sick as I did going over. This week has been mostly playing catch-up at work.

I started a new Wednesday class, which I went to last night. However, life has intervened and I'm going to miss 3 of the 6. :( I'm going to miss 4 of my other class sessions. Work has suddenly exploded with speaking trips, both for me and my boss. We're going to spend most of October out of the office.

Next week, I'm in Rochester NY, then I get back for a few days, then we're taking a trip to Vermont for a dance workshop/anniversary outing. I get back for a day, then I'm in Rancho Cordova for a few days, then I'm back then off to Atlanta for two days. My frequent flyer card is certainly getting a workout. :)

November is looking busy on the dance front. I've got a couple of shows I'm going to, and there's rumors of a BellyDance Superstars workshop being offered that I'd like to go to. Hopefully work will be a bit more quiet. :)

Good Times

I did end up going for the social drinks, which was good, as I ran into the BIG boss and the company owner. So I was seen Tuesday. Wednesday I went out with a bunch of the work folks and had a great time. Thursday was the Gala Dinner.
The Gala Dinner was the best time. We all (with a few exceptions) dress up to the nines (as in total black tie is what most folks did. I did formal but not too formal. My wedding dress wouldn't have been out of place here) and had a really nice dinner. The food (at least for me) was really good. My only complaint was for the appetizer they sent out a salad with only olive oil, no vinegar, and the olive oil was off. The rest was great. Much alcohol was consumed. They had a full on Viennese waltz demo. Now what that is is think Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austin style dancing. That's what they did. It was so beautiful. The women were dressed in such gorgeous white dresses that were all satin and simple and the guys were in gloves and full tuxes with tails.

There was much gambling. I traded dance lessons with a co-worker. He gave me a waltz lesson, I gave lessons on turns. He's a semi-pro ballroom dancer so that was hugely fun to get a lesson with him. None of us were ready for the party to stop even though it was 1:30. A bunch of us staggered to bed at 3:30 but believe me, they were still going.

Today was the conference close. I ate, and then went out for a wander with a bunch of random folks from the conference. Now, these were all industry big-wigs, and here I am hanging out with them as equals. We walked around for a bit, but then they went to a bar. I was desparate to see some of the city, so I left. I stumbled onto the horse and carriage depot, so I went around the city for 90 minutes in the horse and carriage while he showed me some of Vienna's landmarks. I saw the Imperial Palace, Parliament, the City Hall (which was amazing at night), some gorgeous architecture, churches and statues, the home of Mozart, the second restaruant ever, the first coffee house and other toursit stuff. I had a blast. I met up with some work folk to go out to the bars. Eventually I came back here to chill out. I brought up some wine, and have been taking some time for myself.

Who knows? Maybe I'll get to go to next year's in Ottawa.

It turned out to be a good trip. I've met some great people, folks who are industry leaders. They know who I am and seemed to like me and all said hope to see me next year.

Tomorrow, I get to go home.

Team Fortress 2

I don't get excited about games very often, but if I'm reading this review right, Team Fortress 2 is coming to the xBox 360.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=83375&page=1

Team Fortress Classic is a game I played the hell out of. I loved that game. Sitting up late at night playing on a modem link, then playing in a friends living room at an impromptu LAN party with my keyboard on my knees.

It was because of TFC that I started a LAN party publicly, I just couldn't wait. The game rocked.

But I eventually grew out of it, and gaming. I stopped playing PC games a few years ago, with the exception of World of Warcraft.

Now Team Fortress 2 is coming. It looks great (not at all "gritty" or "realistic", which has been a huge turn off for me). Reviews sound like it's going to be fun to play, fun to learn, and, more importantly, I may be able to rocket jump again!

Can't wait!

Is it Saturday yet?

Ok, I'm so ready to leave. I'm sick to death of being here, having to hide in the hotel room due to pain and having to watch out for more glutening. This sucks more than you can imagine. The "best" bit is knowing I get to repeat the joy of the excruciating 9 hour flight back home. Yippee fucking do.

I met up with my coworkers for lunch. I thought we'd be going just downstairs, but it turns out they wanted to go to the cheaper end of town for food. Which meant I couldn't go. I felt like the kid sister where all the older siblings get to go out and I have to stay home. I did eat (alone) at the hotel restaurant. I had rack of lamb with a balsamic reduction with a side of sauted veggies. The veggies were *swimming* in oil. Ew. But other than that, the meal was tasty, but still. I'm fucking sick of this albatross around my neck. Food is about sustenance but what happens when it's a prison? Try this experiment. Now, my allergies are as follows: No grain (bread, wheat, semolina, rye, etc), corn, rice, soy, eggs, dairy, tree nuts, and peanuts.

Now, think of a place you usually go to eat. You don't usually put a lot of thought into where you go, right? You just go. So, think of a place. Got it? Now...

Italian is ruled out completely. Most places are either pasta based (semolina/wheat based) or have brick ovens for pizza (I'm in the 5% with the airbourne aspect)

Chinese? Nope. Soy sauce has both wheat and soy in it. And rice. So that tends to rule out Japanese/sushi as well. Thai? You might have a snowball's chance there, but they are still a bit tough to come by.

Obviously, all fast food is out, as well as delis. WHy delis? Many cold cuts are cured with wheat or milk based products. So you have to watch out for those.

Mexican? Nope. No corn.

Vegetarian, right? Nope. Soy.

Steakhouse. Yep, if you can find one that understands cross-contamination, and will pan fry the steak or cover the grill in foil to keep it safe for you. Oh and no fries, because the fryers aren't dedicated to just french fries, but usually do multitasking for all fried foods.

See how it works? The next time you go out, really look at the menu. Would you be able to eat there if you were me? I end up on trips having usually two choices - eat at the high end, but safe place, or live on chocolate and gluten-free cookies til I get home again. Sound fun?

I honestly think the worst part is the social aspect. Like today, I couldn't go with them. Cheaper places usually simply can't accommodate me. Cooks don't know about allergen safety or cross-contamination. They just bang out whatever they've been told from corporate on their menus. No thought, no room for change. A few places have been revolutionary by offering gluten free menus, but it's still not widespread.

I read several gluten free blogs, and while I love how they say how freeing it's been to be healthy and eat well, I just don't see it. I see prison bars. To be fair, they don't have the list I do. They only have to avoid gluten.

I'm off, but needed to get this rant off my chest.

Stranger in a Strange Land

Have I mentioned how strange it is to be in a place where English is not a primary language? Signs are in German, the language you hear is primarily German. It's very odd. Now I'm not saying that as "They should speaks English, dammit!!" Just simply voicing some regret that I can't speak their language. I was sitting at breakfast watching people stream past the windows going about their daily lives and wondering what they were doing/thinking/saying. What was their story? And mostly, why weren't they at work. ;)

No idea what I want to do today. I'm still very cranky and ouchie from yesterday's poisoning and it's grey and gloomy here. I'd say I'd curl up with a good book, but I didn't bring any. Usually I don't read, but I also didn't take into account getting ill. I have DVDs to sustain me though. :)

I also learned that Nescafe Gold instant "coffee" is NOT gluten free over here. Won't do that again. Fortunately I didn't drink much, as to me, instant is not coffee.

I've found Celiac Hell...

and it's Vienna.

I'm here in Vienna for a business trip. I left a day early so I could see some if it before work starts. Nope, didn't happen. Turns out United, in their quest to improve the "vomit comet" experience (otherwise known as airline food), they've "upscaled" their menu. And that means fresh bread being heated up in the galley. Now for most folks, this isn't an issue, but a) I'm one of the 5% who is prone to airbourne gluten and b) I was in the rear of the plane. Nine hours is a long damn time to fly in that kind of pain, let me tell you. So today was just resting.

The Austrians love their bread here. It's as much a part of their life as beer and coffee. People have been shocked, dismayed and appalled that I can't eat bread. They even asked why I didn't bring my own from home. :) Or if I had contacted them a week in advance, they would've. They can't entirely wrap their brain around it, but they have been more than accommodating. They have a hotel restaurant called S'Park. When I checked in, they talked to the chef, who has the list written in the kitchen. All I have to do is tell them who I am (Or like this evening, the tattoos gave it away I think and they knew right away who I was) and the chef sorts me out.

For lunch, the meal was uninspired, but a solid choice. He played it safe. I went with veal (medium) and salted veggies, that I think were boiled. Very tasty, if a little ho-hum. The veal was just a touch over-cooked, but was still very moist. The itty, itty micro carrots were a bit silly. He likes his baby veg. The rest was carrots, what appeared to be yellow carrots, and broccoli. Dinner was grilled turbot with cep (porcinis) and potato hash for lack of a better word. Very tasty stuff.

I've noticed prices over here are insane!!! Nine euros for a bloody bottle of water?! I don't want to risk anymore digestive malfunction, so I'd rather pay than drink the tap water, but still... OUCH.

RIP Colin Mcrae

One of my favourite sporting celebrities died in a helicopter crash last night. He was piloting the copter, and his 5 year old son was also onboard.

I started playing the Colin Mcrae series of computer games back in 95 on my PC, and started idly following the World Rally Championship afterwards. His personality made it fun to watch, and sucked me right in.

Now it's 2007, and I've been playing DiRT for the last couple of months (it's not badged "Colin Mcraes DiRT" here, just DiRT", and I guess it's going to be the last one with his name attached now. Thankfully it's really good.

With all the focus on cheating in F1, this is news the motor sport's community wasn't prepared for, as if you ever could. Best wishes go to Colin's wife, who has just lost a husband and her son.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/15/ncopter215.xml

Colin McRae, with his flamboyant driving style, brought such excitement to the off-road sport that the former plumber's name has become synonymous with the sport.

Born into a successful Scottish motor-racing dynasty, McRae became Britain's first World Rally Champion, clinching the title in 1995.

At the age of just 27, he was the youngest world rally champion.

Gym

Would you imagine that I was in the gym at 6:15am this morning? *Monday* morning?

It felt great too. I'm hoping I can keep it up a few times a week.

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12oz Filet Minons done on the grill, fresh salad with rasberry dressing on one and blue cheese on the other.

Perfec'

1/2 cup of kosher salt
1/2 cup of *finely* ground peppercorns
1/2 cup of garlic powder
1/4 cup of onion powder

mix together really really well.

Rub into two 12oz filets, throw on the grill.

Oh yeah.