Weeknotes 8/14
Table of contents
Put up my pole and started playing on it
I spent some time watching beginner pole tutorials. The beginner tricks on the internet are more complicated than the beginner tricks I learned in class. Probably because there’s a large spectrum of beginners. I’m surprised inversions are considered beginner!
I also learned why people are so naked on the pole. It’s because of grip. You need to grip with your skin: your legs, your arms, and even your torso for some complex tricks. You can only grip with whatever skin is exposed. I kept having to change into shorter and shorter shorts.
The stripping jokes are annoying me
I’m getting annoyed at all the jokes about my pole and stripping. None of them are clever, and it’s so passé to me to associate pole with stripping. It makes me feel like people think I’m trying to be sexy by doing pole. But my being sexy is purely accidental. I also have no idea how to strip, which is a completely different skill.
It’s like if I wore high heels—which are loosely associated with stripping—and someone was like, “Oh, can I watch you in the heels *wink*?” It reminds me of a joke someone gave once in a TED talk where he said, “And the notes were in computer files. Now don’t get too excited ladies, these weren’t nail files. They were computer files.” If the audience doesn’t have the same strong association as you, the joke can be very cringe, which pole stripping jokes are to me.
Another one I’m getting sick of is any joke about my stud finder, which I use to set the pole under a joist. Yes, I found you, you are the stud, I am the stud finder… blah blah blah. Enough!
Continued working on my ledger
Continued working on my ledger with the help of my new output style. I am constantly reminding Claude to rewrite her last message following the output style!
Prepared to take data again with my anti-acne electrode setup
It’s been a few weeks since I collected data, which I paused due to getting acne and irritated skin. After researching what to change a few weeks ago, I started setting up my hardware this week but didn’t actually take the data. Staying up too late before starting is why. I need to set a goal and stick to it!
Continued planning Psychedelic Synagogue
Finished writing out the Eventbrite and preliminary plans for the event.
I also reached out to previous attendees asking for clarity on some of their feedback from last year. Several people said it wasn’t spiritual enough, or that they wanted an explanation of how each part related to Yom Kippur. I thought every activity was spiritual, and I provided a lot of materials and verbal delivery of how each thing related to Yom Kippur. So I’m hoping to get some clarity here, but I haven’t been able to get more info yet. I have a suspicion that a lot of people have more narrow definitions of spiritual and Yom Kippur, and they were looking for whatever that was for them.
Continued to help Dr. Karen Konkoly with her lucid dream experiment
I helped Karen with setting up her project. This week she ran the same experiment she ran last week, but instead of her being the sleeping subject, she had a house guest sleep. She was up late in the UK, so I kept her company over a video call.
Reengaged my accountabilibuddy
I reengaged my accountabilibuddy last week but didn’t talk about it in last week’s post. We have been accountabilibuddies for about 9 years? We never met in person. I mostly need her to help with my delayed sleep schedule. My spouse going to bed late does not help!
Saw The Notebook with a friend
I saw the musical The Notebook with Vanessa Yousheai, founder of Petite Ave and a friend I made last year whose brother went to middle school with me. It was fun to have a night out downtown with a singular friend. It’s not a thing I often do, especially with newer friends. I keep reading about older people who regret not keeping friends and community, so I am actively trying to keep up with friends even though I enjoy solitude for long periods of time. I remember telling my Bubbie when I was 4 to close the door and leave me alone in my crib so I could stare at the stickers on the crib and think.
The show had interesting choices, like playing with time blending in a way that the movie didn’t. I also appreciated the focus on the older couple’s romance vs just the young couple in the movie. The play might even be better than the movie. I don’t fully remember the movie though.
My biggest critique of The Notebook was that the songs were completely forgettable. They were pretty though, and the singing was good. The only concrete thing I remember was one song that had a repetitive lyric: “the mouth, the mouth, the mouth,” which I found kind of funny. But I guess some people really like it, since it’s highlighted on their Instagram.