* * * Short(er) version of this available here. * * *

This is the first of the Three Days of my Birthday, for 2006. The day didn't have anything special to do with my birthday, but it felt like the beginning of it all. So, what did I do on that Tuesday?

Not a great deal, to start off with: We had Ballet class in the morning, (that's the normal training we have five times a week, just to stay in shape,) and then a rehearsal for the Ballet Studio. (What is the Ballet studio? It's a collection of six pieces, choreographed by different people, which, added together, last one and a half hours. There's much more about them on my website, www.slym.de.vu, and a little more, which I'll tell about with the next day.) So, after this rehearsal, in the sweltering heat; it's about 30 degrees here, I did a bit of shopping, and had lunch. Then I went for a long walk, in this heat, (with an icecream, to be safe, -and happy,) to get more wood oil.

What? Well, my two flat-mates and I have sanded the hallway, and decided to treat it with special oil, rather than lacquer. But it looked like we didn't have enough oil for a second coat, so I went to get some extra. -And discovered eventually that I needn't have bothered; the second and third coats of this oil use about ten percent the amount of the first coat. So we had enough after all.

Back to my day though, (I wonder if this is utterly boring so far...) I gave the floor a good second coat of oil, washed my hands... as well as I could, and left the apartment. -I can't exactly go in and out of there while the hallway is drying, so I was sleeping in an extra room upstairs, in the flat of one of the other dancers in the theater. I then aimlessly spent some hours of my afternoon, doing rather little, and being aimless. At last, I contacted some friends I have, (through the theater,) who I knew were thinking about having a small gathering that evening. Around seven or eight in the evening, while my dinner was starting to bubble on the stove, it was at last decided that we'd all have dinner in my Garden. (The garden of this house, which is shared by seven people.)

So, I quickly got quite a few other pots boiling on the stove, and we were soon having a lovely time of it; sitting out beneath the cries of the swallows, as the evening fell, and stuffing ourselves merrily on stir fried noodles, potatoes, asparagus, beet salad, artichoke, and a fruit and carrot salad for desert. Perhaps there were fresh strawberries as well. At this point, we nearly abandoned our plan of swimming, as there was no more need to overcome the day's oppressive heat. But it was decided that it would still be nice to go and see the river, and contemplate swimming.

And it turned out to be the perfect end of the day; It wasn't too hot any more, but the mosquitos were lively, and I felt more than ready to plunge into the water. And it wasn't too cold, and the current wasn't too strong, -and it just went in circles anyhow in that one bend on the river. It was serene and idyllic.

And then I came home, and went to sleep. (Up stairs, by my neighbour/colleague, remember?)