Thursday, February 11, 2010

Feb. 11, 2010

Public speaking is not a favorite of mine (kudos to all those who make a living at it). My heart always races in anticipation of standing up in front of an audience,knowing that a sea of faces will be watching me, that I will be bearing the pressure of their focus. Okay, well, if I'm honest, I could get into the idea of people thinking what I have to say is interesting. =) I wonder if that is a backlash of being a mother when you wonder if anybody is listening! But, I digress.
I went to the Ruby Room in Hillcrest with some writing friends last Friday to participate in an open mic reading sponsored by Dime Stories (www.dimestories.org) My heart was thumping like mad, and I wondered...does this count as aerobic training for Mt. Kilimanjaro? I posed the question to one of my writing friends and he said it would, if I got up to speak at least four times.(Each reading is limited to three minutes).
Since that wasn't going to happen, I figured the edge of my seat nervousness of waiting for the slip of paper with my name on it to be pulled from the bucket, the walking to the microphone, the actual reading and the breathing in my chair afterwards would have to do. I can feel the increased beating of my heart even now as I relive those moments.

2 comments:

  1. Hey Janice - your blog popped up on my Google Alert for DimeStories. So glad you came to the Open Mic! It's great to see new faces and your piece was wonderful. Your friend is wrong, it definitely counts for strength training. ;) Hope to see you at another DimeStories event soon.
    - Kelli (DimeStories stand-in hostess)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Despite the racing heart, I do love DimeStories and will definitely be back! =)

    ReplyDelete

A final view of Mt. Kilimanjaro

A final view of Mt. Kilimanjaro

It's Official

It's Official

At the Roof of Africa

At the Roof of Africa

Crater

Crater

Glaciers

Glaciers

Barafu Camp

Barafu Camp

Looking back at Karanga Valley Camp

Looking back at Karanga Valley Camp

Morning Send Off

Morning Send Off

Barranca Wall

Barranca Wall

Top of Barranca Wall

Top of Barranca Wall

The Dining Tent

The Dining Tent

Trail to Lava Tower

Trail to Lava Tower

Shira Camp

Shira Camp

Machame Trail

Machame Trail

Machame Gate

Machame Gate

Half Dome cables

Half Dome cables

Towering Tree

Towering Tree
this is a former house plant that I tired of, I didn't want to throw it out, so I dug a hole for it in the dog yard. It's thriving despite me.