Square Dance Convention: LJ tip

I have never seen a convention so blogged about.

One interesting bit was the LiveJournal specialty tip. (A "tip", to explain for the non-square-dancers, is a unit of square dance activity about fifteen minutes long -- the thing any other dance activity would call "a dance". In between "tips", usually, are breaks wherein people can gossip or get a snack or visit the restroom.) Here caller Andy Shore is spreading the word about it; here is a group photo; here is the sign-in list. (The photo was done at the beginning and the sign-in at the end, so some people don't show up in both.) More photos here.

It's wonderful to me how strongly I feel at home at a gay square dance convention. Sure, there are ways I'm invisible in that world, but they're not the same ways I'm invisible in the straight male computergeek world, so it's more comfortable if only because there's no spot rubbed raw by the poking of it. This feeling of at-home-ness -- of being among my people -- was magnified immensely in the LiveJournal tip. If there was anything I wanted photos of, from the whole convention, it'd be that group. I still haven't quite figured out why it felt so right. Two subcultures colliding? Perhaps. In any case, I really enjoyed being there.

[Oh, and the other specialty tip people tend to ask about? The no-clothing one? I didn't do that this year. The organizers were thoughtful enough to remind me that the "no watchers" rule simply meant everyone shucks down, not that you absolutely had to dance, so I could go. I was grateful for their thoughtfulness, but as it turned out I was simply too tired to stay awake that late. No nekkid square dancing for me this year.]

Feet and Exercise

As expected I walked way too much at the square dance convention. Our room was far from the elevators, so checking out on Monday evening (round trip to room, round trip to car, round trip to Advanced hall for Rob's room key) cost me my last tip with Kikuchi-san (foot budget exhausted). Oh well. I am flared up now, but only on the right foot and not seriously, which means I'm learning. Go me!

I also swam every single day. Now I know why people do it. The hotel pool was comfortable! Seriously - it wasn't excruciating to get into it. It wasn't even BAD to get into it. I was impressed. As for the actual exercise, that was humbling. My record: five laps. (Yes, you can laugh now. I know it's really just relief that you don't have to live in this body.) Fortunately, I feel like I'd get better quickly if I kept it up. And the lovely bonus of swimming was that my feet always felt terrific 'cause I wasn't standing on them.

MRI tomorrow morning and Friday morning, one foot each.

Life without hormonal pain control

A comment I wrote in someone else's journal, on a thread about hormonal birth control and high blood pressure:

If I had to go off hormones I'd... well, maybe I'd save up for surgery, because at that point it'd be my last saving throw. I won't live with pain like that ever again. I'm not strong enough any more.

I think it's true. I've had it up to here with pain. If that one came back full-force it would do me in.