Tag Archives: about me

Confessions & Collections

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Alright everyone, I’m coming clean.

I believe living alone has made me a tad more strange than I usually am. I’m not sure which is worse, bumbling your words ordering your morning latte because you haven’t spoken to anyone in 18 hours, or admitting to talking to yourself at home. In funny voices. Not that I do that.

I use my appliances in ways that they are not meant to be used. I don’t own an iron or a microwave, so I find new uses for things. Namely hair tools. Wrinkly blouse? Bust out that hair straightener! Is the butter for that cake you’re baking not soft enough? Hello blow-dryer! Just be careful that you don’t have flour in that bowl you’re using. Flour and blow-dryer make for a bad combination. Once, when I was having friends over for New Years Eve, I had purchased some shrimp cocktail from Trader Joe’s that wasn’t thawing as quickly as I would have hoped. I might have sat on the floor of my bathroom blow-drying shrimp for a half-hour.

I have random items that occupy my bed. Or rather, a moving collection of items. Currently, I’m harboring:

  • Some J.Crew catalogs and my current reading materials
  • An empty water bottle
  • A ballet skirt
  • A beanie
  • My journal
  • A scarf

These usually remain on top of my covers, but tend to roam around. I have been, on occasion, stabbed in the knee by a hard-cover book that somehow found its way under my blankets.

I have magpie-like tendencies. Which I can absolutely indulge until I’m blue in the face. It’s only recently that I’ve noticed that I have an unusual amount of bedazzled/glittery/bejeweled items around my house. These were oddly not an intentional aesthetic choice. When I was seven, I made it a pastime to collect little plastic beads. I had no desire to string them together, to make a little necklace or some such thing. I just wanted to enjoy them for what they were, all odd shapes and colors. They were my treasures. I bequeathed them to my parents one day, and they still have them, on display in their house no less.

My adult “bead collection” (or collakshion, if you sound it out, as my elementary school self did) is a tad more sophisticated, but nonetheless random. Each item has a story behind it, many I’ve had since I was a child. Everything is attached to a very strong sense-memory,  and that’s what I love about it.

Processed with Rookie

Processed with Rookie

Processed with RookieI have my Kiehl’s Creme de Corps that I bought duty free in Germany.

Magenta and gold bangles that I bought for an Indian wedding I attended.

A vintage crystal necklace that was once my mother’s. I used to wear it on my head like a crown as a child.

Perfume that perked up a particularly drab Valentine’s day.

Shell earrings from my first trip to Hawaii.

A charm bracelet from college.

My favorite candle, purchased in Santa Cruz. (Capri Blue, the Volcano scent.)

A gold necklace, with charms that were gifted to me when I was born.

Many items were gifts, both from others and to myself. Like the Tiffany’s id bracelet I had engraved with a special message.

It’s my own personal “I-Spy” picture book. A little shrine to all my grown-up treasures. Don’t get me wrong, I like that they’re beautiful to look at, but they mean more to me than their superficial value. I think everyone should have one, in whatever form they like; it might be china in your kitchen cabinet, tools in your corner of the garage, or books on your shelf. Then, maybe one day, you’ll be able to share it with someone who appreciates it as much as you do. They might become their treasures, too. Just a thought.

EVA♥

Occupational Hazards/Kids are hilarious…

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Hello all!

This post is long overdue and highly requested- I’m going to preface this by saying that it will most likely be one of many.

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On some days, working with kids can be exhausting. They can involve “puddles,” runny noses, and attitudes. I’m sure any parent or teacher knows this all too well. On the other hand, it can also be extremely rewarding and so much fun. 95% of the time, it is the latter.   So, I wanted to take some time and share with you some of the highlights of my teaching career. Now, this post isn’t so much about watching my students progress, or getting misty over them growing up. It’s more along the lines of documenting the amusing word vomit that comes out of them on a regular basis.

Now, I touched on the ever-flattering question I get asked frequently: “Miss Eva, are you a kid? Or a grown-up?” Their curious little minds can’t help but pry further. I was 14 when I was first asked if I had any children of my own. I had to make the offending little dancer repeat herself multiple times before I could even begin to grasp what she was asking. I have also been asked the following, usually in rapid succession:

“How OLD are you?” (As in: you’ve been dancing for 20 years? You must be friggin’ ancient.)

“Are you married?”

“Do you at least have a boyfriend??” 

A little redheaded dancer came running in to class one day and asked me: “Miss Eva! When’s the BLAY class gonna start?” Bless their little speech impediments.

This same dancer once forgot my name and chose to refer to me instead as “Ballerina-teacher.” I gladly accept this title.

As is tradition, every winter we put out our vast collection of nutcrackers for the kids to admire. Upon missing them, one dancer asked our director “Hey Miss Michaela! Wherethecrackers?” It took us 10 minutes to figure out that she was not asking for food, but inquiring as to the location of the nutcrackers.

Kids also frequently enjoy volunteering information at random. In the middle of one of my classes a little girl once blurted “My mom’s hair isn’t really blonde!” Like she had been dying to tell someone, and could no longer hold it in. They love to tell on their classmates/parents.

“Susie isn’t here because she had to go to the doctor to have her independence out.”

Appendix. Appendix. I would be frightened if her parents had her independence medically removed.

“My daddy calls me ‘Hot Dog.'” (This was in response to me asking if she had a preferred name that she goes by.)

“My mommy’s boobies are bleeding!” To be fair, mommy had just had a baby. But I believe the other children in class are now scarred for life. Because your boobies can bleed.

“I’ve always wanted to be a dancer, but I’ve gotta be honest. Lately, it’s looking more like journalist or pop-star.” They have lofty career aspirations, don’t they?

One of my favorite classics include a little boy we had years ago, who had obviously just learned the difference between boys and girls. When prompted to go into the men’s room at break-time, he shouted:

“IS THAT BECAUSE I HAVE A PENIS??”

When this was affirmed, he followed this up with: “Good, because I don’t like looking at vaginas.”

…..

To be continued.

(Happy Friday!)

EVA♥

Five Things

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evaitsaboutart

This week’s Five things is going to be a little bit different. I’m sharing five things that not very many people know about me.

1.// I was always made to wear turtlenecks as a child. Under everything. Dresses, overalls, even my Halloween costume in Kindergarten. I was the only gold lamé angel on the playground with a long-sleeved white turtle neck to match my wings. Because we all know that you might get a pneumonia and die if you get cold. I’m slowly starting to warm up to wearing them again, but it’s a love/hate relationship if there ever was one.

2.//I have a co-dependent relationship with my sunglasses. More accurately, a dependent relationship, as I’m sure my sunglasses don’t care if I wear them or not. I hate being without my sunglasses. They’re like my armor against the world on bad days, and they make anything you’re wearing seem more put together. Mind you, I do not own one pair of expensive sunglasses. They usually run about the $0-$10 range. I did recently purchase a pair for $40, and now obsessively guard them.

3.//I’m afraid of heights, but I forget it all the time. It’s usually not until I’m peering out the window of a tall building, or at the top of a rock wall that I realize that I’m totally horrified. Whoops.

4.//I was the most awful leash-child ever. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m probably going to pay for it with my own kids someday. Not only did I try to run away from my parents every chance I could get, but I learned how to unlock every lock on the front door of our house as quickly as possible and make a run for it. This all stopped when they got a special lock I couldn’t reach. They still have it on their door. Too bad for them I’m tall now.

5.//I’m convinced I have a larger imagination than is healthy for a normal adult. Yes, I dance around my house pretending I’m in a field of flowers/on the beach/at the worlds most amazing club on a regular basis. In the kitchen I put on my apron and imagine that I’m Betty Crocker, cooking for 20 people. And yes, when it’s cold out and I have to wear socks inside, I pretend I’m Tom Cruise in Risky Business. I know you all do it too, so don’t judge me!