Sometimes people make me very tired.

It's almost here, it's almost here!
I have a lot to do, but a manageable amount. I'm really proud at how well it's coming. I don't feel overwhelmed (not at this very second, anyway. Check with me an hour!)
Getting the program together is an adventure! That's all I'm going to say about that! I gave it to my graphic designers to make it pretty, then I'll get to look it over for a final check and then to the printer by Friday. My printer needs a week to proof it and print it.
I'm picking up the trophies Friday.
Prizes are trickling in. Anybody want to donate something as a prize? Send it to my snail mail at 520 W. 21st St. Ste G2, Norfolk, VA 23517 for arrival on or before May 14.
The show performers are ready! The judges are excited! The vendors are frantically crafting and ordering things!
Weee!
Oh, and Tidewater Women has me on their May cover and www.saborhr.com will have an article about latina bellydancers online as of May 9.
Zuleika
www.zbellydance.com

When it rains, it pours

In the course of a week, an article I wrote was published, I gave an interview about the job I do to support myself (non-bellydance), and a journalist came out to interview me for a cover story about my bellydance business. The timing was uncanny!
First, I realized I'm not as prepared as I should be for these types of contacts. I don't have a press kit pulled together, because I keep thinking "Oh, if someone gets in touch, I'll have plenty of time to get it together." Not!
Ironically, I'm going to be teaching "Primp your Press Kit" this summer at a workshop. So I need to practice what I preach and get that little lady together! (I also want to get a trademark on the title of the workshop, so don't steal my idea, okay?)
I also realized I need to get my little catch-phrases together. There are certain questions that most journalists are likely to ask. It helps to have some responses put together, whether you show them to the writer or not. So I'll be working on that as well!
Planning for the Classic is going well. However, I keep discovering more things to do. I just realized I don't know much about how the digital recorders work. I have them, so do not fear! This is how the judges will record their comments. Any performer that pays $10 will get a CD with her comments on there. This is a great tool because if you also buy the video, you can play the feedback and the video at the same time. If the judge says "Oh, gosh, that was beautiful!", you'll know what she means because you'll be WATCHING that same movement that she's watching. It's pretty darn cool!
I have a lot of volunteers helping me for the two days of the Classic. I wish I could hire an event planner to help me ahead of time. Maybe next year, we'll have so much money, that will be possible?

Zuleika
www.zbellydance.com
www.ecclassic.com

Everyone is so nice!
I am so pleased that the competitors I've spoken to are so nice! Everyone is really sweet. Even some people I didn't think were sweet ended up being nice. Maybe my past encounters with them were not true examples of their character. I really think it's cool.
I have a really bad cold and I'm on medicine, so I feel weird right now. But that's not related to my previous comment; I've been wanting to make this post for about two weeks. (In case anyone was going to suggest the medicine was going to my head...!)
Zu

One day at a time
Well, there seems to be a common theme about coping adages in the bellydance world. Why are people so mean to each other? Why can't people just work their businesses in a professional way? The amount of cattiness is out of control. So I, and other bellydancers I know, have to take it one day at a time. I find this helps. Another bellydancer has done something crazy? I'm just going to work my business for another day. I don't know what will happen tomorrow. It's a choice. Every day, you make the choice (if you're given the opportunity) to go out into the world. Some things might not be worth it, and I might decide not to do it anymore. Of course, you finish what's on your plate. Finish what you've committed to and then re-evaluate. We need some kind of Dr. Phil or Oprah for bellydancers. Serious counseling. Some kind of book about how women sabotage each other. Just venting here. It gets tiring sometimes.

Zuleika

The cupcakes - also known as - To quit, do it more.
I have an obsession with cupcakes. I started eating one a week in December, in anticipation of my birthday. I thought for sure I would be offered some cake for my birthday. To which I would respond: I would rather have a cupcake. My plan didn't pan out (pardon the pun), but the cupcake crusade continued.
I was able to eat one cupcake from the local bakery. I love the mom and pop bakeries who do special order cakes and have handmade signs with rules. Some of the signs are hastily written and proclaim the policies on cancelling special orders. A confusing sign also declares that you must let them know if you're paying with debit before they ring you up. (This one seems odd, but okay....)
So I've been able to eat the cupcake once a week in moderation, which made me very happy. However, I did not know the nutritional value of the cupcake. What if I it had more calories than I thought? Or, worse, what if it had fewer? So I decided to make my own. I also had to make my own icing.
I went with Betty Crocker's Lemon Poppy Seed muffins which come with their own glaze. (To me, that's a cupcake.) They were great. I made them with low-calorie ingredients. I begin eyeing mini-cupcake pans at the store. I ended up buying one to experiment more with the quest for creamy cupcakes.
Next, I made spice cake mini muffins with pumpkin instead of oil. Those were great, too. Visitors to my house eat about five or six at a time. They just push the little ones into their mouth with no chewing. That's not how I eat them. I make one cupcake last about three bites.
The icing I used was Wilton's Ready to Decorate. I picked it because it had nutritional contents listed. I actually measured 1 tsp. out, but I only had a 1/3 tsp. measuring spoon, so it got a bit ridiculous. I chose pink icing since it's close to Valentine's Day, and I even threw on some red sprinkles.
However, I started fearing that I would eat too many since now they're at my house. I kept track of how many I ate, though, so it didn't get out of control. I haven't visited any bakeries since I started making my own.
And last night, two little kids asked me if they could have one of the mini cupcakes. I was thrilled. They think they're cupcakes, too!
But how does this relate to bellydance?
The cupcake crusade reminds me of something I read recently in Oprah Magazine by Martha Beck. Martha Beck is one of my favorite writers. Her basic theory was that to stop doing something, you should overdo it so much that you get tired of it. Eventually, the novelty will wear off and you will moderate yourself.
Every so often, we should evaluate whether things work for us and if we should quit. Ask yourself what your goals are and whether you are achieving them. What outcomes could you be happy with if your original goals aren't being met?
I apply these concepts to bellydance as well. As a sponsor of an extremely large event (the East Coast Classic), I had to establish goals for myself to examine why I continue. Periodically, I re-evaluate to see if I am reaching my goals or not and what I could do differently. I am certainly growing as far as personal development, but there are other factors to consider.
For now, I'm still in the race. This year will definitely happen. What will happen later, I can't say. It's a little amusing that I've had to consult mental health adages in order to find some clarity. (Another adage that occurs to me is this one: one day at a time.)
So, when you're tempted to quit, re-evaluate. Check your goals. Be as prepared as possible. Organize yourself so well that you've thought of every contingency.
And when you see me at the East Coast Classic, come by and say hi. I just might be eating one of those special cupcakes!

Zuleika
www.zbellydance.com
www.ecclassic.com

Planning
I ordered a few albums from Peko Records yesterday. I'm excited to have some new music. I might start selling CD's to my students at the studio I teach at as well. I've sold a few hip scarves there, which people really seem to like.
I'll be working on a new piece for performance in the next month or so, so I'm eager to get my music.
There are so many events going on! It's dizzying trying to keep up with it all. Some of the workshops are very similar. And it seems that it is difficult to get people not to plan events close to (or on) the same date as another person.
Unfortunately, I couldn't, or can't, attend them all. I would like to because I like to support other people.
Now that I'm planning the Classic, I realize how much work it is. Before, competing was enough to focus on without wondering how the event was put on. Although I really had no criticisms of how things were done, which seems to differentiate me from other people. I had an appreciation even then that there was a massive amount of planning. I just had no idea how much.
I don't think I'd criticize someone's event unless they asked for some constructive criticism. But I understand that my point of view is unique now.

Zuleika
www.zbellydance.com
www.ecclassic.com