Microbes vs immune system: ready, go.

[flexagon]

Am I ever exhausted! Slacking off in CA was lovely but it seems to be over, and now I'm fighting off something. Two things though:

1) I read The Tipping Point while on the airplane to CA last Friday. It suggested an experiment that I decided to do: you list about 40 non-family, non-coworker people that you'd consider your "social circle", then for each person figure out who introduced you to that friend, and who introduced you to that person, etc. For example, I met miyyu all on my own, so I'm the introducing agent; but I met bluechromis through J who I met through H when I posted an ad looking for a subletter for my apartment. Apparently in most cases you'll find yourself discovering the same name over and over again; much or most of your social circle will trace back to the same "connecter" person.

What I found is that this isn't true for me. I met a lot of my social circle all by myself. There are only a couple of cases where I'm now closer to someone than I am to the person who introduced me to that person; heisenbug, who I met in concert choir because Vicky persuaded me to take it, is one, and bluechromis is another. The longest causal chain in my social circle that I could find is this: I met Whiplash Boy through Dark Sister who I met because she was friends with bluechromis, who was going out with J who was best friends with H when I posted that fateful ad. Of course, I just realized that I wouldn't have come to LJ if not for bluechromis, either, so maybe my LJ friends should all reference her. Maybe I'm a little bit wrong and I have a prime mover in my social life after all. :) I have a lot of ex-coworkers though, and ex-roommates and other people I met without help.

2) I went to adult gymnastics at MIT for the first time, and not only do they have actual equipment there but the teacher is so much less insane than the Jamnastics guy. We actually warmed up! He also spotted me a few times on cartwheeling out of handstand, and zowie, it felt weird. No wonder I wasn't getting it on my own. That really helped. I also did a pretty decent negative hs press, tucking down in a semi-controlled way, and that was nice. So that's what I'll be doing on Wednesday nights for now; just have to avoid the evil drill where we did cartwheels from kneeling, because that seems to have done some trashy things to my right hamstring. To make up for the lost yoga class I'll be taking advanced yoga on Mondays instead. Possibly Saturdays too. I really want to get back to doing yoga 3x/week.

Comments

[dilletante.livejournal.com]

did mit come up with a way to let nonstudents into the gym, or do you have a connection of some sort?

[flexagon]

They have a way to let nonstudents (more accurately, non athletic card holders) into the gym. You email Noah at nriskin at mit dot edu and he puts you on the list of acceptable guests. Then, at the duPont entrance, you say you're on Noah's list, and they don't check, and they let you in!

Would you like to come sometime? I'd be happy to meet you and show you the right way into duPont, that sort of thing.

[dilletante.livejournal.com]

yes! that would be very cool!

[flexagon]

cool! currently people are voting on whether it'll be at 6PM or 7PM for the rest of the Wednesdays in January; when I know, I'll tell you and we'll set up a time. :)

[danceboy.livejournal.com]

Hi,

I'm surfing (friends of)^n (currently via dilletante) and I hope you don't mind me commenting.

adult gymnastics at MIT
I am unsure how it is that I don't know about this, and how I don't know you. I'd love to hear more about this (well, after Arisia).

I've been coming into gymnastic type stuff from dance (e.g. at the improv jam I was shown how to spin a one handed handstand) and I would like to at least try actual instruction. Among other things, now that I've been doing a lot of handstands, I've been hearing that there are differences between a gymnastic handstand and a contact handstand.

For a possibly better explanation of where I'm coming from, there are shots of a contact jam in Arlington some time back here (http://ci.baynbrigge.com/Boston/01252004/01252004.html). I'm the bald guy with a beard in some of them.

Be well.

[flexagon]

Nope, I don't mind! As for gymnastics -- it only started up last term. Jamnastics used to teach their adult gymnastics class at MIT, and (what I heard from insiders later is that) they hadn't paid their rent in a long time... so MIT stopped letting them use duPont and they started holding classes at a cheerleading place instead. Shortly after, the men's gymnastics coach started this class very informally at MIT, and now it's growing through word of mouth, just like this.

As for me... I'm not super famous, or especially good at anything. :) I like handstands though. I daydream about starting up a Cambridge handstand club in the spring -- then maybe I'd be famous.

I added you, so that I can remember to bug you about contact handstands at some point post-Arisia. I wonder if they're a little like breakdancing handstands? I don't know too much about dance; the improv stuff sounds really interesting, but as for me, at the moment I'm coming into gymnasticsy stuff from yoga, and I guess also from weightlifting.

[danceboy.livejournal.com]

Arisia over, I'm almost back to a regular human schedule again. I thought of you Friday night (well, Saturday morning) while I spent three hours playing with a friend who's been running a circus arts practice at Hampshire and his girlfriend (who is working on resting her feet on her head while in handstand).

So when/where/how do you get in to the gymnastics practice?


I like handstands though. I daydream about starting up a Cambridge handstand club in the spring

I like handstands too. Tell you what, start the club on Boston Common and I'll show (well, alright, I'll show if you start it on the red line, but I know people who might well show if it's on the green line). It's odd, some days my handstand is just there, and some days it's shaky as hell. I don't know why. Same with my pushups into handstand.


I wonder if they're a little like breakdancing handstands

I'm not sure what breakdance handstands are like, so I can't say how they compare to CI handstands. One of the big differences I've heard claimed twixt ci and gymnastic styles is whether you're looking down or out, and thus whether your spine is arched or straight respectively, thus how softly you can hold your body, thus...

This past weekend has also gotten me interested in levers and planches. Dang those circus people! Showing me cool stuff! How dare they!?


the improv stuff sounds really interesting

The next improv jam is this Monday from 8-10PM, top floor of the Dance Complex in Central. Live music, amazing movement. This is jumping in to the deep end, but I think you'll be fine. If you want to test the waters, every Sunday from 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM there's a contact jam (no music, much slower moving, more explicit intention, far fewer people) at the Arlington Center.

Come play!

[flexagon]

So when/where/how do you get in to the gymnastics practice?

You write to Noah at nriskin (at) mit (dot) edu to get on his list. Then you show up on Wednesday night at 7:00. Sadly, I'm out of town all next week (it's not that sad, really... I'll be in Mexico at a yoga retreat, the first one I've ever done) so I won't be able to meet you and show you where the building is. But it's in duPont on the MIT campus. There are maps. :)


Tell you what, start the club on Boston Common and I'll show (well, alright, I'll show if you start it on the red line, but I know people who might well show if it's on the green line).

So... Park Street, then! You got it. Boston is a better idea than Cambridge, anyway.

I understand about levers and planches. I really want a back planche when hanging from a bar... not even because I do trapeze or anything, just for the cool factor. I love circus people -- they're so like theater people, except cooler because they do cool stuff instead of, you know, theater. ;)

I would love to check out an improv jam -- I don't know, I might be uncomfortable with my lack of dance or improv background, but in certain environments where everyone's doing something I can sometimes slip into it okay. I would try. It'll have to be after my yoga retreat, though.

[danceboy.livejournal.com]

Wednesday night at 7:00

*Sigh* all the cool stuff happens on Wednesdays. The second best dance, silks, and evidently gymnastics... Maybe I'll have to round robin or something. I've promised to go to silks this coming Wed, so maybe next one. Will you be attending that night? I know where duPont is, I'm just hoping to have one face that I know (Hmm, not that I know your face...).

Handstand club

Just let me know when and where and I'm there.

I love circus people

When I don't want to wring a particular neck, I do too. It's just so neat!

As for the improv jam, we have people coming from all over the movement spectrum. There's no commitment, or even much planning necessary. Show up if you want, when you want (the improv jam is the 2nd & 4th Mondays of most months, so you might want to check in that you have a night it's happening), and heck, you can just watch if that's what you want.

Enjoy your retreat. It sounds lovely.

[bluechromis.livejournal.com]

I have one major introducer, hiddenbear. Through his work I've ended up meeting a whole bunch of people, who have then branched out. It's a little weird though because HB and I had a lot of overlap and by all rights should have met years prior.

On the whole though I would say I'm usually the center. I meet a lot of new people on my own and am pretty good about keeping up connections (generally speaking, though not always obviously), and doing introductions. I love meeting new people, so it happens a lot.

[flexagon]

Ha. That's interesting, because I met him through you, and really haven't met anyone through him that I've chosen to maintain a connection with. I consider you much more of a center.

I must just be okay at meeting people on my own because I never knew you could get help with that. :) I haven't done a ton of introducing, but these days I'm not afraid to try.