Voyage Junkie

Here is the latest rendition of "To Live in the Moment Without Fear," from December 18, 2011. I am more "visible" in this video than the one from June, because my hair is flying free in a half-ponytail. It's easy to tell the little white girl from the others when her golden tresses are everywhere. This video is of an extended performance featuring revised choreography on seven dancers instead of the original six, a duet with myself and Shio that I was instrumental in choreographing, and a charming finishing number featuring four young creative movement students. There are moments I dislike, like when the fabric gets caught on the back lights and I have to untangle it (very obviously), but overall it was a good experience and it felt nice in performance.

I had a love-and-friend-filled birthday this year!  I got flowers from a student whose father runs a flower shop, four of us with the same birthday exchanged gifts, and I went out to sing karaoke and eat delicious rice flour crepes!  I ate a green tea cheesecake crepe (amazing).  Below, the karaoke group picture.      L-R: of course us, Sachiko and Io-chan, Shio, Atsushi, and Kiri. My birthday present to myself?  A rice cooker cake!  Skeptics: yes, that's it, in the rice cooker just post.  Recipe: 200 grams gluten-free hotcake mix, 1 egg, 1/2 cup maple syrup, 1/2 cup canola oil, 1/2-1 cup plain yogurt.  I added 3 mashed bananas, 1 small package dark chocolate chips, and unsweetened dried coconut (topping).  You simply mix it all together, drop it in a slightly oiled rice cooker, and start the cycle!  My cooker has a cake setting on it, which runs for 45 minutes (in the winter it takes 2 cycles).  If you don't ha...