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The Ides of March

My mom’s birthday is March 15.  In the ancient Roman calendar, this date was known as the Ides of March.  The Ides of March is notorious because Julius Caesar was assassinated on March 15, 44 BC. 

In the ancient Roman calendar, days of the month were counted back from three points based on the phase of the moon.  The Ides (the 15th of a 31-day month) was supposed to coincide with the full moon.  The Kalends was the new moon (and the 1st of the month).  The Nones was the first quarter-moon and/or nine days before the Ides.  And you thought Roman numerals were confusing!

The Ides were dedicated to Jupiter and every Ides sheep were sacrificed to the god.  The Ides of March was an official deadline for settling debts and the date was marked by several religious observances. 

The saying, “beware the Ides of March,” came from Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar.  But the assassination of Julius Caesar is not the only bad thing (relatively speaking – it was bad for him certainly) that happened on March 15:

  • In 1360 France raided southern England.
  • In 1889 a cyclone in Samoa wrecked three US and three German warships in the harbor in Apia.
  • In 1917 Czar Nicholas II of Russia abdicated.
  • And in 1939 Germany occupied Czechoslovakia. 

Other notable historical happenings on March 15 include:

  • 1493, Christopher Columbus returned to Spain after “discovering” the new world.
  • 1820, Maine became the 23rd state.
  • 1907, Finland became the first European country to give women the right to vote (13 years before the United States in case you are keeping score).
  • 1964, Elizabeth Taylor married Richard Burton (marriage #5).
  • 1972, the film The Godfather premiered.

My sweet little mommy is not the only important person who was born March 15.  She shares her birthday with:

  • Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933)
  • Mike Love of the Beach Boys (1941)

Here’s a little bit of Pieces birthday astrology for those born on March 15: people born on this date cannot comprehend selfish behavior and are put off by negativity. 

The full moon this year will actually be on March 20, which also happens to be the vernal equinox.  There’s got to be some interesting cosmic energy going on with that, I’ll have to see if I can find out anything notable to share with you about it.

The moral of this story is: don’t worry about anything bad happening on this Ides of March and if you know my mom, give her a call tomorrow to wish her a happy birthday!

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Wendy Whelan, Associate Artistic Director, NYCB

Something happened recently that I think is very exciting – Wendy Whelan was hired as associate artistic director of New York City Ballet (NYCB). Together with Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford, she will be helming the country’s largest ballet company as it emerges from years of scandal following #METOO allegations of misconduct by former AD Peter Martins as well as several male dancers.

You might be saying, “yes, but she is only the associate artistic director, big whoop,” or asking, as the New York Times did, “if the AD job is too big for one person, why not make Whelan and Stafford co-artistic directors?” Fair enough.

Research shows that women are often appointed to C-level roles at organizations in crisis. But not because women are deemed the most qualified to turn things around. The underlying attitude with these appointments seems to be, “well things are already a mess.” It has also been demonstrated that women are judged more critically than their male counterparts for their performance and given less credit for creating positive outcomes.

I think that what NYCB is doing here is a really interesting way to avoid this paradigm. The position that they created for Whelan has clearly defined responsibilities focused around her sweet spot – programming and dancer development.  They are elevating her to a leadership role in which she is likely to be successful, not just to serve as a female figurehead or sacrificial lamb.

Wendy Whelan’s Career

Whelan is one of my all-time favorite ballerinas. Seeing her perform Agon when I was in college was such a formative moment – the way that she attacked the movement, the way that you could see the power radiating from her. From then on, I strove to infuse my dancing with that kind of fearlessness and energy.

As an artist, she was fierce and precisely technical. Her lines were always correct, and she owned the stage. I saw her and Craig Hall perform After the Rain by Christopher Wheeldon at USC on March 24, 2011. I had seen this piece before in San Francisco, with Yuan Yuan Tan performing, and had a very vivid memory of the work. For a few minutes, I thought I may have been mistaken, it looked like a different piece. It was Whelan’s clean lines and exacting positions. I was blown away!

She retired from NYCB in 2014 after a 30-year career. I watched the snippets of her farewell concert on the internet, disappointed that I wouldn’t have the opportunity to see her dance in person again. Fortunately for me, retirement was the beginning of her career as a modern dancer, and I was able to see her in 2015 and 2017 here in Southern California.

New York City Ballet Leadership

New York City Ballet has a long and storied history. Founded in 1948 by George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein, Balanchine served as artistic director (and force of nature) until his death in 1983. Jerome Robbins, who had been assistant artistic director since 1948 and Peter Martins then assumed the roles of co-ballet masters in chief. When Robbins retired in 1990, Martins was solely in charge of the company until 2009, when NYBC created an executive director position to oversee the administrative functions of the company. Martins continued to run the company from an artistic perspective until 2018.

I see Whelan’s appointment as the board’s way of signaling an earnest endeavor to change the culture. Beyond her esteemed 30-year career as a ballerina, she has pursued innovative artistic paths and actively worked to cultivate young talent. I am optimistic that the organization will give her the resources and support required and that she will have a significant and lasting impact on the dance cannon beyond her career as a performer.

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Manifesting Kittens

I may have already told you a version of this story, but stick with me here, it’s about to get weird.

We had put down both of our cats, Emma and Clementine, in about a six-month period.  We loved them both very much and this was the first time for both of us of being grown-ups and having to go through that.  Mr. Man was very adamant that he didn’t want any more pets.  I wasn’t so sure, but I wasn’t in a hurry.

Anyway, one weekend when I was traveling up to go to the ballet with my mom and sister, I was sitting on the airplane, flipping through Vogue and daydreaming.  There was a story about the private club in London, Annabel’s, which was going through this fantastic renovation.  The photo of the dining room that was all done in this fantastic floral pattern really caught my eye.  And I thought to myself, Anabel (with one “n”) would be a nice name for a cat.

As I indulged in this daydream, it got really specific: I would get a kitten that looked like a little Clementine (brown tabby Maine Coon).  I would name her Clementine II and call her Tutu for short.  Then, I would get another fluffy, brown tabby kitten, but this one would have some white on her.  I would name her Anabel and call her Belly for short.  They would be sisters and grow up together and get along and we would all live happily ever after.

I was so happy about my plan!  I put in my order with my animal rescue friend because I knew that she would have access to all sorts of wonderful kittens and also because I knew that I would be better able to stick to my plan if I wasn’t going kitten shopping myself.

It was around four months later when she sent me a photo of this precious little tabby/white kitten with the sweetest little booboo face.  It was my Anabel!  She had a tabby littermate, but he was a boy.  Mr. Man had already put the kybosh on naming a cat Clementine II, so I wasn’t that worried that he didn’t look too much like Clementine.  The rest is history.

Ok, so here is the weird part: maybe three or four weeks later, after I had brought Anabel and Sally home and everyone was all settled in, I was changing purses and I pulled out my old make-up bag.  I had bought this thing probably at least three years ago, maybe longer.  It had Anabel’s face on it!  Ok, not EXACTLY, but close enough.  I hadn’t really used it much, certainly not recently.  It was a very weird moment.  Was I subconsciously manifesting kittens based on objects that I already had around me?  Or was it just a coincidence?

Is there a moral to this story?  Be careful what you bring into your life?  Little things can lead to bigger things?  Only buy make-up bags with cute kittens on them? It’s hard to say…

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New Moon Sound Bath

My first experience with a sound bath was at a yoga class in downtown LA years ago.  During shavasana at the end of class, suddenly there was this incredible, roaring hum.  It pushed all of the random thoughts out of my mind and filled the now hollow cavity at the top of my neck.  It was amazing.

After class, I learned that the big gong in the corner wasn’t just for show, it was the source of this wonderful, mind-clearing noise.  I would make a point of going to that class even when I really wasn’t in the mood just to experience the gong at the end.

If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.  – Nikola Tesla

Last month I joined my dear bar (method) friends for a new moon sound bath event.  The organizers schedule these events to coincide with the moon cycles – either the new or the full moon.  I made sure to get myself on their email list so that I would always know when the next one is coming up and was so thrilled when they did it again last week.

The organizers are these really lovely women, Consuelo and Arvindjeet.  Consuelo leads us through the yoga postures at the beginning with her sweet, smiling voice.  When she speaks, she sounds like she is just so full of love and happiness for her fellow human beings that it can’t help but pour out of her.

Arvindjeet is very soft-spoken, but in a very grounded way.  She leads us through three oms with power and confidence and is responsible for all the sounds in the sound bath.

Side note: the practice of chanting om in yoga class has fallen out of fashion in recent years and I wish that it would come back into style, it really is centering and helps to focus the energy of the group.

The workshop begins with a bit of restorative yoga – just a few gentle postures held for a while, yin style.  Interesting things happen when you hold an easy, comfortable yoga posture like child’s pose for two minutes or longer.  The poses help work out some kinks, relax the body, and quiet the mind.  Then into shavasana for the sound bath.

Arvindjeet has these beautiful singing bowls, different chimes, this wonderful drum that sounds like rain, and an amazing gong that she will use to make different sounds.  It’s called a sound bath because the sound feels like it washes over you.  You don’t just hear the sounds, you feel vibrations all throughout your body.  Consuelo and Arvindjeet refer to the sound bath as, “giving sound healing.”  If you go back to what Tesla said about frequency, vibration, and energy, these sounds could be the keys to the secrets of the universe.

I know that I always feel different/better after one of these experiences.  Keep your eyes open for an opportunity near you and don’t be shy to check it out!

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That 70’s Closet

It turns out that my gym throws a big party every year.  This year’s anniversary party had a 1970’s theme.  I love me some disco!  So even though it required more effort than I usually put into getting ready for the gym, I was up for it.

There was a lot of scuttlebutt around the gym about what folks were going to wear for the party.  It was fun to hear about all of the outfits that people were searching for on the internet and at the local thrift stores.  I try to be a good sport when it comes to a theme party, but I’m not big on costumes.  I didn’t need to worry.  Somehow, my whole 1970’s-style outfit came from things that I already had in my closet.  I didn’t even need to dig very deep to be honest. 

Aside from the obvious – that I have not jumped on the Marie Kondo bandwagon yet – I’m wondering what that says about me?

There were a lot of options in my closet: actual 1970’s Gunne Sax prairie dresses, an assortment of Mrs. Roper caftans (I really love any opportunity for a caftan moment), a wrap dress of course, and an Altuzarra for Target dress that I had worn to a work function a few years ago.  The Altuzarra dress won.  There is something about shiny nylon, a deep V-neck, long sleeves, and a slit skirt that just seemed right.

Last summer, I did conduct a brutal edit on my shoe collection, but I still managed to have multiple appropriate options.  Gold, platform sandals were the winners.

Don’t forget the accessories.  I did go for a deep dive to pull out this great tooled leather handbag, but on my way there, I came across a green, snakeskin clutch who has been waiting for her moment of greatness.  A crocheted shawl just in case (any excuse to add fringe).  And my favorite Wendi Grant fringe-y earrings.  Perfect!

The greatest challenge I faced with my look was my hair.  Not what to do with it – big and feathered obviously.  But if I could make it happen.  Guys, I haven’t owned a curling iron in years.  I managed to create a decent Jaclyn Smith/Kelly Garrett look with my blow dryer and a round brush!  With a little help from my neighbor’s flat/curling iron, I had a disco-ready do.

My friend showed up wearing a fabulous, red, halter jumpsuit.  Thankfully, she also brought the blue eyeshadow and we were ready to hit the town!

Although I’m sure that it would be nice to have a streamlined closet, it is incredibly satisfying to know like I can go in there and emerge with something appropriate to wear for almost any occasion.  It isn’t that my closet is overflowing, there is just a nice, eclectic assortment of not-for-everyday pieces ready to be put into service at a moment’s notice.  That’s called being prepared, right?

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Cat Careers

You guys thought I was kidding about “Take Your Cat to Work Day.”  I wasn’t.  There are so many examples of cats who have been successful in a wide variety of fields.  Here are a few examples of cat careers (in no particular order):

Bookstore cats

When I was a little girl, there was this great bookstore in our neighborhood.  It was the kind of place with piles of books on the floor, hot tea and places to sit.  The bookstore also had a cat who would wander around and make sure that everything was in good order.

It turns out that bookstore work is a huge industry for cats.  The Electric Lit website has a great list of Instagram-able bookstores cats.  It has been several years since I have been to Ojai, but I am disappointed that I did not meet Princess Reya while purr-uzing at Bart’s Books.

Train Station Cats

The Kishi train station in Japan had a cat stationmaster named Tama who started running the station in 2007.  Tama had two feline assistant station masters: Miiko and Chibi.  Together, the three cats turned the train station and town of Kishi into a popular tourist destination.

*Nekonomics is the term to describe the positive economic impact of cat mascots.

The King’s Cross station in the UK also has a station cat in residence, PC (Police Cat) Tizer.  Tizer is the Chief Mouser of the station and has his own office.  In addition to his mousing duties, Tizer also helps to keep up the morale of the human employees of the station.

Hotel cats

The Algonquin Hotel in New York City has had a cat in residence since the 1930s.  The current cat-in-residence is Hamlet VIII.  Since the hotel began the tradition, there have been eight Hamlets (named after the signature role of actor and famous resident, John Barrymore), and three Matildas. 

Yoga cats

I think that cat yoga will surpass goat yoga in popularity one day soon.  Cats make great yoga helpers.  When I was regularly doing yoga at home, my Emma cat would come to help me.  She would lay under me when I was in downward dog and I would have to step over her to lunge or whatever.  Basically, she ensured that I was practicing with mindfulness because I had to move slowly and carefully around her.

The last time that I attempted yoga at home, Anabel made a point of getting up from her nap to help me in the same way.  I didn’t even have to ask her!

Police cats

A police cat  known as Pawciffer Donut works at the Troy, Michigan police station.  Pawfficer Donut is on the public relations beat, her main responsibilities include growing and entertaining the department’s Twitter following as well as bringing happiness to people who find themselves at the police department.

The Kyoto, Japan police station also has a pawciffer.  His name is Lemon.  Among his many important duties, Lemon makes calls with his fellow human officer to help put witnesses at ease.

Politician Cats

Talkeenta, Alaska elected a cat named Stubbs mayor.  Named for his lack of a tail, Stubbs served in this capacity from 1997 until his death in 2017.  He was however, not the only politician cat.

A cat named Sweet Tart was elected mayor of Omena, Michigan in 2018.

Hank the Cat ran against Tim Kaine for Virginia’s Senate seat in 2012.  He received nearly 7,000 votes, coming in third in the race.

A black and white tuxedo cat named Morris, ran for mayor of Xalapa, Mexico in 2013. And another tuxedo cat, Tuxedo Stan, was a candidate for mayor of Halifax, Novia Scotia, in 2012.

Museum Cats

The Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia has a staff of 50-75 cats (reports vary).  Unfortunately, the cats no longer wander the galleries as they once did, but they do have their own kitchen and hospital on-site.

When I worked at the Long Beach Museum of Art, we had cats on the property.  There was a mama cat and her four kittens that I used to see pawtroling the grounds in the evenings.

Clearly, cat careers are a large and under-appreciated sector of the workforce.

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Flabdominals Follow-up

Flabdominals (noun): flabby abdominals, particularly the kind that jiggle when participating in high-impact exercises and/or solicit congratulations on a person’s non-existent pregnancy.

A month ago, I wrote about my quest to vanquish my flabdominals. My daily exercise plan was not overly ambitious but potentially effective.  I’m sure that you are on pins and needles for a flabdominals follow-up. So, how did I do?

I have a six-pack of course!

Or not.  Sigh.

The blame doesn’t lie with the plan or the exercises.  It falls squarely on the execution.

What?  Am I telling you that I didn’t go from never doing ab work outside of exercise classes to doing it on my own, at home, on a daily basis?

Yes, that is exactly what I am telling you.  Sad, but true.

Things started off well.  The series that I had prescribed for myself was challenging but not overly strenuous.  It was quick but I felt like I had accomplished something when I was done.  All good things. 

One bonus benefit that I hadn’t expected was that it required more articulation in my spine than I was in the habit of doing.  Of course I had to engage my abs to do that.

The first five days were a piece of cake!  I was going to be un-flabdominal-ified in no time.  I was adding reps an feeling the exercises more deeply.  I felt like I was standing taller.  My shoulders were more relaxed because my core was more solid and they could relax on top of that.  This was going to be great!

And then…

I don’t know.

The bottom line is that I didn’t accomplish my goal.  All told, out of 28 days, I’m going to say that I did eleven days of abs.  Not even half. 

What now?  I could decide to tell myself that I’m a failure and give up on my quest to vanquish my flabdominals.  Why even bother?  I didn’t do it perfectly the first time.

Or, I could give myself credit for trying and acknowledge the difference that I noticed from just doing a little bit.  Something is not everything but it is more than nothing after all.  I didn’t do everything that I wanted to, but I did something and I noticed the difference.

This next month, I’m going to see if I can double that number.  I know that eleven days of ab exercises make a difference, let’s see what happens.

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Risotto is My Jam

One of my cycle class friends likes to say this song or that song is his, “jam.”  I finally realized what he means is that whatever song it happens to be really makes him happy, like he wants to dance.  Based on that definition, risotto is my jam.  I don’t know why I like it so much, but it makes me so happy.

For years (many, many years), I was too intimidated to try to make risotto.  It was things like keeping a pot of hot broth going and the constant stirring.  Finally, about a year ago, the mantra I had been using when I would drive to work every day, “there is no fear, there is only love,” (thank you, Stevie Nicks) kicked in to my cooking zone and I decided that I would make risotto!

I found a great recipe on Pinterest for mushroom risotto and I started feeling like this was going to be not only possible, but successful.  I love that she has you use a cast iron skillet.  I love that you roast the mushrooms in the dry pan before doing anything else (it creates so much flavor, what a great step), and I love cooking with wine (even if sometimes you have to put some into what you’re cooking).

I was still not on board with the pot of hot broth and ladle thing, so I decided to use my tea kettle.  I feel very smart about this little maneuver.  And you know what else, the stirring isn’t that bad really.  I’m not saying that it’s because you have a bottle of wine open, but I’m not saying that it isn’t.

  • mushrooms before
  • mushrooms after
  • just getting started
  • almost ready
  • time to eat

After my mushroom risotto success (which has been replicated a few times), I decided to branch out and try shrimp risotto.  I had found a recipe for jambalaya that includes making a quick shrimp broth with the shells and decided to try that technique again for the risotto.

What you do before you get started with the risotto: shell the shrimp, put the shells in a pot with 4 cups of water, bring it to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.  Use a colander over a bowl to remove the shells from the broth and tada!  You should have this pretty pink liquid that is just waiting to give your dish extra shrimp flavor.

I followed the same procedure as for mushroom risotto only without the mushrooms.  When the risotto is cooked and you add the butter and cheese, and then you stir in the raw shrimp.  Don’t panic, it only takes a few minutes for the hot rice to cook the shrimp (I may have panicked and put the pan in a warm oven for 5 minutes).

I would like to make this sometime for my vegetarian friend, but since I use chicken stock and she hates mushrooms, I need to come up with a different variation before inviting her over.

In the meantime, I just have to remember my cooking mantra, “there is no fear, there is only love.”

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Take Your Cat to Work Day

I recently found out that my friend took her cat with her to her office one day (she’s the boss, it’s ok) which is pretty much one of the greatest things that I have ever heard.  We were talking about how there should be a national “Take Your Cat to Work” day and then how it should really just be every day, much in the same way that national Margarita day should.

One great thing about working from home is that I do have my kittens at work with me.  Every day is take your cat to work day in my life.  And they are very good helpers.  They both have their spots and when I settle in to start working on my writing, they go to their designated places nearby and get hard to work on their mid-day sleeping.  It actually makes me feel like I need to stay at my computer and be productive because they are making a point of keeping me company after all.

Many years ago, the gal that I worked with suggested that we get an office cat.  It was just the two of us and we were both cat lovers; it was an intriguing idea.  The only problem was what were we going to do on weekends and holidays?  Both of us already had cats at home who were not likely to appreciate company, even if it was only part time.  Around that time, Mr. Man gave me a pair of kitty stuffed animals who sufficed as our office cats.

Here are a few of the great benefits of having your cat help out at work (that I just made up):

  • They make a great paperweight.
  • Cats are good at filing (if you use the floor as your filing system).
  • Free notary and paper shredding service.
  • The heat generated by your computer doesn’t go to waste.
  • I once had an office in an old building that had mice – that wouldn’t be a problem if I had an office cat.
  • Cats are a good judge of character, they could help with interviews and client meetings.
  • Prevents you from having to meet with people who think they are allergic to cats.
  • Getting up to pet the cat ensures that breaks are taken.  Petting cats is also proven to relieve stress and can help to generate great ideas.
  • Reduces absenteeism – workers would miss seeing the cat more than they would want to miss work.

Places that are open 24-7 (or at least every day) like police stations, firehouses, and hotels are good venues for live-in workplace cats.  Other workplaces like shops and offices would probably require a commuter cat – one who is brought to work in the morning and taken home at night, like when my friend took her cat to her office.

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Restorative Yoga

As I get older, I gain more and more appreciation for restorative yoga.

When I was younger it felt like a waste of time.  Why would I want to spend time relaxing in comfortable postures when I could be sweating?  I usually found myself spending those last few moments of class in shavasana (corpse pose, the traditional last posture of yoga class) thinking about what I was going to eat after I left.

In my previous post about yoga, I mentioned that I am more interested in doing less strenuous yoga these days.  I still like my regular yoga practice to include a good sweat and at least a few moments of “yikes!”  But I also have an appreciation for the occasional restorative yoga class.

My neighbor around the corner goes to the same gym as I do and one day we were chatting about our various workouts and the different yoga classes that our gym offers.  He mentioned that sometimes he likes to take this one restorative yoga class that uses lots of bolsters and blankets – it was like having nap time.  I admitted that I have fallen asleep in restorative yoga classes before.  One time I am pretty sure that I was snoring!

Usually restorative yoga classes will move through a few postures in a slow and gentle manner, then transition into an extended shavasana (or, as I seem to think of it, nap time).   Substituting a quick nap for your workout is not the point though.  The ultimate purpose of any style of yoga is to prepare you for meditation.  Restorative yoga just chooses to go about this in a different way than more active, physically strenuous styles.

Props

A restorative yoga class will tend to make extensive use of props such as blocks, bolsters and straps.  As someone who was once young, aggressive and extremely flexible in yoga class, I have only recently developed an appreciation for using these kinds of props.  Using props in various postures as a sort-of bridge to connect your body and to the ground isn’t about making something “easier.”  The connection enables the body to release tension and you can experience a posture more fully, if not more deeply. 

Yin Yoga

One restorative yoga class that I would take from time to time was a yin yoga class.  In yin yoga, you hold each posture for at least two minutes.  Fortunately, the postures are not balances or inversions, but mostly seated and laying-down positions.  It is a really interesting practice because you when you spend so much time in a posture, you really have the opportunity to look into all the dark corners that are easy to ignore when you aren’t holding the position for as long.  I discovered things that I didn’t like about postures that had been my favorites like baddha konasana (aka bound angle pose, or butterfly stretch).  Even holding child’s pose for two minutes can be intense.

When I don’t fall asleep in shavasana, I do still find my mind wandering.  But another advantage to restorative yoga for me is that it doesn’t have to be done on an empty stomach, so I can often coax myself out of obsessing about food for at least a few minutes.

Wisdom, kindness, and love. Namaste.