Author Archives: mathdreads
A Circle Has No Corners
Recently at a party held for capoeiristas, a Brazilian martial art form, I overheard one of our capoeira instructors giving advice to someone who was new to the practice. The instructor explained that each player must travel around the roda (circle) without stopping or else he/she will become an unmoving target. Since capoeira is played … Continue reading
2012 Batizado e Troca de Corda
For most capoeira groups, the yearly batizado e troca de corda is their biggest event. A batizado is a capoeirista’s official induction or baptism into the Brazilian culture of training capoeira. A troca de corda is a change of cords, going to the next highest one as recognition for all the training that a capoeirista as undergone … Continue reading
It’s Better Over There
I attended the Austin Romance Writers of America new members tea even though I’ve been a member for nearly a year. Apparently, there hasn’t been a new members’ tea in four years. Not that this chapter has been dragging its feet. I think it’s a very active chapter and time has just slipped by. At least that’s … Continue reading
Setting Things in Motion
Two things that I set in motion for the upcoming batizado e troca de corda are printing up Tribe of One T-shirts and getting a credit card swiper for my smartphone. Both endeavors have had hidden challenges. First of all, the original credit card processing company I wanted to go with would have given a … Continue reading
Living My Dream
So I first got the heads up that I needed to exit the teaching profession the first year I taught in Austin, TX. That conclusion came to a shock to me since I’d never thought that I would ever need to exit the classroom until I retired. I’d taken so much time researching where I wanted to live … Continue reading
Brazilian Music Weekend
By an extraordinary mix of schedules, I spent the better part of this weekend immersed in some genre of Brazilian music. One of my friends and fellow capoeiristas discovered that a Brazilian band was scheduled to play at one of my favorite dance venues this past Friday. Since that was the day grades closed for the … Continue reading
Death, Taxes & Inspiration
Admittedly one of the words in the title to this blog post doesn’t seemingly belong with the others. Yet, filing my taxes last month inspired me to be a better businesswoman. I think my exact words after filing my combined personal and small business taxes were, “Why am I not a millionaire yet?!” Afterwards, I … Continue reading
Spring Tango Festival 2012
One of the lessons I learned two years ago was that attending dance workshop blitzes only left me feeling like a zombie, too pooped to enjoy the big dance party on Saturday night. So, for the past two dance festivals, I just skipped all the torture and just partied at the Saturday night hoopla! Since … Continue reading
2012 Capoeira Evolucao Fundraiser
For months, I’ve suspected that my capoeira group had become significantly better ever since we moved into our new studio last year. Initially, we all swelled with pride at how beautiful our training facility was: newly installed wooden floor, freshly painted walls the colors of the Brazilian flag and featuring a mural of Mestre Bimba, … Continue reading
Staycation 2012
The one adult thing I had planned to do during this spring break was file my taxes. The rest of the time, I’d indulge my creative passions: writing, dancing, painting, training capoeira, swimming and doing yoga. The last three things may not seem like artistic pursuits, but without the stress from the daily workplace grind, I … Continue reading