Don't Stop Movin'

I title this post as such because I had the S Club 7 song of the same name going through my head for most of December.

Unfortunately, I only mean it in the sense that I feel like I literally have not stopped moving for the last month except when sleeping, sometimes not even then. The rest of the song is simply about being possessed by music like a benevolent drug and refusing to remain immobile in it's presence.

I had hoped that my Christmas break may rejuvenate me, but those two full days of unapologetic leisure seem to have vanished into the abyss of time, for I still feel exhausted. There has been a fair share of play amongst work, but that doesn't mean I am not still dying for a life nap.

On the eve of Christmas Eve, I took a bus to Syracuse to join my Mom's side of the family for some holiday R&R. Most of that time was spending eating, drinking, reading "City of Bones" (a new obsession of mine that I highly suggest you take up as well) and playing with my shiny new iPhone (a less healthy habit.) I think I may have put so much effort into doing nothing that I actually exerted energy instead of saving it.

When I returned to work on the following Thursday, I actually thought for a moment that I was refreshed and eager to return to my duties, but after a couple hours on the sales floor I longed to be reunited with my bed again. And even when this reunion did occur, I could not enjoy it for long, for there was stripping to be done.

On the final Friday of 2012, one week after the non-apocalypse, I undertook a challenge that I did not think would come so soon in my career as a burlesque dancer: the Full Monty. Yes. I, along with a handful of burlesque's finest gents, exposed my entire self to a sizable crowd at Jonny Porkpie's annual "Shocks & Cocks" show. Some of you may be surprised or disappointed that I didn't advertise more thoroughly, but to be completely honest, I was very nervous about it. Not about flashing my goodies, because let's be honest, a LOT of people have seen them at this point. It's just that I still get paranoid about the highly sexual nature my various art forms take and any repercussions they may have on my career in the future. I try to make myself not care, and to be realistic there's probably no going back now anyway, but it's always a little demon hiding in the back of my brain. But I did it, and I daresay it was a great time.

That wasn't even the end of the night either. I hightailed it from one burlesque show right to another, a benefit for the hurricane-ravaged Coney Island at the Parkside Lounge. While this show was not as epic  as far as genital exposure is concerned, it was still a great chance to mix and mingle with fellow performers and contribute to a good cause.

And then there was another day at work.

And another.

And another which prefaced the famed New Year's Eve...the dusk before the dawn of 2013.

It was not until the very last minute that I had the slightest clue how I would be spending my transition into the New Year. I only knew that I did not want to spend it in my own home. Thankfully I was promptly summoned to the lodging of Teddy Turnaround, where I sipped libations among delightful company and welcomed a new era into our world.

So clearly, these have been some of the best of times, and some of the not-worst-but-certainly-stressful times. I have enjoyed them very much...but I cannot fucking wait for the few days off I have coming my way.