Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Tag: my life

  • I, the not so fit, attended the Arnold Sports Festival 2019 and survived.

    I, the not so fit, attended the Arnold Sports Festival 2019 and survived.

    Columbus plays host every year to the USA Arnold Sports Festival, because Arnold Schwarzenegger loves our town. The last couple of years we have attended at least one day of the event, and this year we got weekend passes. The passes get you into the expo and into a majority of the days events. There is a common misconception that the Arnold is only for bodybuilders, and that is just categorically untrue. In the past several years we have watched/ experienced jiu jitsu, fencing, cheerleading, pole fitness, art, gymnastics, highland games, crossfit, strongest man/woman and more. I have yet to locate the ballroom dancing, though I know it is an event there.

    This year on Saturday we wandered the expo floor to hit a couple of booths. I got some protein powder to make my morning shakes and a couple of other supplements from NLA for her. We wandered the floor trying supplements and protein bars. We saw Eddie “The Beast” Hall in one of the booths and several pro body builders.

    We spent quite a while watching Jiu Jitsu competitions ranging from children of I would say five or six to competitors of eighteen or so. There were so many amazing bouts, and kids showing off their amazing skills. There was this tiny girl of eight or so in pigtails who was absolutely there to win. She competed against boys and girls alike and won soundly every time. At one point she made a girl cry with a perfectly executed arm bar and she handled the whole situation with such grace.

    We eventually wandered on and watched the professional and amateur highland games. I am a sucker for the highland games, and it is so exciting to see new people are taking an interest. We arrived just in time for the pros to be doing the caber toss. Then there was a break between events which featured Irish step dancing. Then the amateur competition began which started with the stone put. We also watched some double dutch and some power lifting.

    On Sunday we started by watching some more jump rope. Then we claimed places by the main stage in the expo to watch the finals for dead-lift followed by the strongman record breakers. We watched strong woman Donna Moore hit the world record for valkyrie spheres and  Hafthor (Thor) “The Mountain” Bjornsson set the new world record for height on the bell toss. We then moved on to the pole fitness finals. We watched the men and the youth categories, before calling it a day.

    So if you happen to be in Columbus next march, check out the Arnold. There is truly a little something for everyone.

     

  • In which I get my degree and think, “Well now what?”

    It is officially official, I have earned my bachelor’s degree in English and Creative Writing. I received my diploma in the mail, framed it, and currently it is hanging on a wall in my living room staring at me and challenging me to think about what comes next. I know I would like to begin looking for a job that is closer to my career field, but what does that look like and how do I begin.

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    Do I want to teach? If so I should probably begin looking at Master’s Degree programs, because that is almost prerequisite nowadays. Would I rather find a job in the “business” world that will utilize my “new” strengths? That is what I have been looking at and applying for, but so far it seems like they want people who have many years of solid writing under their belt, and I am just getting started. I know I could do the job, and successfully, but if I never even make it to the interview stage how can I show that?

    Life is not all gloom and doom, though, yesterday my family surprised me with a graduation party at one of my favorite restaurants, Mi Tradicion. My mom and sister, my husband, my aunt Gayle and uncle Charlie, my aunt Cathy, my cousin Lynsi and her daughter Kynadey, and my cousin Robby and his fiance Sharon all came together to celebrate my graduation. It was a lovely time, and it was nice to get to see everyone and chat. I got some lovely gifts including an amazing laptop that my mom bought me. My family knows me really well, and they gave me gifts that spoke to my soul, like the amazing book based charm bracelet my sister made me.

     

  • Thank You For The Musicals

    Thank You For The Musicals

    I have a confession to make; I am a theatre geek. I lettered in drama in high school. I was active in my schools drama club as well as many local community theatre programs. I had been a singer since I was a little girl, but I didn’t find acting until I was in sixth grade and they announced auditions for “Reader’s Theatre”.

    The idea of “Reader’s Theatre” was that high school drama club members would direct us in a presentation of a play that would be performed seated with a stand in front of us so all of the acting would be through voice modulation. In sixth grade I auditioned with several of my friends, and I was delighted when I realized I knew one of the directors as he was a friend of my cousin. I was accepted and found myself playing girl 1 in the first short “We Wanted a Hill” and Spring in another play who’s name I cannot remember. I was so excited and after performing I was one of our cast to be rewarded as All Star Cast.

    Damn that girl is proud of that trophy.

    I would do “Reader’s Theatre” for seventh and eighth grade as well. And I made All Star Cast both years. I played the Very Odd Mother in Cinderella Wore Combat Boots and The Evil Stepsister in another version of Cinderella. I can’t remember the title, but I know that one of my lines was to call Cinderella a “strumpety hussy.”

    I continued in drama throughout high school, and started working in community theatre. Some of my “acting credits” include Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof, Laury in Oklahoma, Ermengarde in Hello Dolly, Betsy in Godspell and countless chorus roles in The Wizard of Oz, Cabaret, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Green Heart and Once Upon a Mattress. I also did the occassional straight play, but my love was musicals.

    When I graduated from high school my original plan was to go to college for Musical Theatre, but life just didn’t work out that way. After a while I stopped doing community theatre due to one thing or another, and now it has been more than 15 years since I did a show. Sometimes I miss it so badly that my heart aches, especially when I see a particularly beautiful show. I still miss the warmth of stage lights, and the feeling when you really connect with an audience.

    Why am I telling you this? Well, I actually don’t know other than I compulsively requested 11 musical soundtracks from the library this week: Assassins, Waitress, Once on This Island, Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, Hairspray, Anastasia, Dear Evan Hansen, The Band’s Visit, Rocky Horror Show, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Maybe if I sing and dance around my house enough I can relocate the feeling I used to get. I can at least have fun trying.

     

  • Not Really Resolutions, More or Less.

    Not Really Resolutions, More or Less.

    I have been thinking about setting intentions for the year aside from being Brazen, which I certainly will be. I have decided to set small goals for myself every month and then to give myself a reward for making that happen. For January my goal is to write something, literally anything, everyday for the month. If I make my goal I can treat myself to $31 in fun from Wholly Craft. This blog qualifies as a day of writing, but so would journaling, writing a poem or a story, or even writing a letter.

    Other than that I am creating More and Less lists for the year, so things I want to do more and things I need to do less.

    See more theatre • Sing more • Write more • Read more • Walk more • More friends • Laugh more • Dance more • Travel more • Wench more • Love more • Volunteer more • Make more things • Explore more • Play more •

    Spend less ○ Worry less ○ Less self-hate ○ Judge less ○ Less excuses ○ Fear less ○ Less anxiety ○ Less self-doubt ○ Less procrastination ○ Less perfectionism ○

  • Hello New Year. Let’s Be Friends.

    Hello New Year. Let’s Be Friends.

    Suddenly it is 2019. In my neighborhood it was blasted in by neighbors firing their myriad weapons into the ground until the area sounded like a war zone. Thus is life in the Hilltop in Columbus.

    I have chosen my word of the year and it is…

    I am going to move into 2019 boldly and unashamed. I have big plans for this year and I want to carry this energy with me as I go. To be brazen is to know who you are and to move confidently in that knowledge. To begin my year off on the right path I did a New Years Tarot Spread that I found on Pinterest courtesy of daily tarot girl. Here is the spread:

    And here is what my reading looked like. Position one is the opening message from my guides which is Temperance. I think my guides are telling me that I need to be looking for balance and establishing new structures. I also think they are telling me to look deeper into what direction I want to move in, and then to follow my instincts. Position 2 is the nine of swords in how to achieve your goals and dreams. The message this is saying to me is that I cannot let my anxiety and issues become a wedge in my ability to achieve my dreams. Knowing my own anxiety issues this is actually painfully true. In position 3 actions to take is The Hermit reversed. I feel like I have been in the hermit’s solitude with school and working, but I am finally emerging since school is over. I think part of my next move is to socialize more and to get myself back into the real world. Position 4 departing energies is the Ace of Pentacles reversed. I think that this card in this position is regarding my feelings on money, and how I have not made money a prority in my life, but it is time that I did. I need to stop making this an afterthought. In position 5 is The Heirophant reversed. As the main theme of this year I think it is telling me to continue to set my own path and to circumvent the status quo. In position 6 is the two of wands for future opportunities. It says that currently the world is an open door for me, and the changes I am looking to make this is the perfect time to make them. The High Priestess sits in position 7. To overcome obstacles in the following year I need to trust my intuition and allow it to steer me onto the right path. And to listen to my dreams. Position 8 is the Page of Cups reversed. As talents I will be expressing this year I think this is telling me that I have been neglecting my artistic expression and it is time to break it out again and to use my talents. In position 9 the Emperor is reversed. As a parting message the emperor is telling me to stick to my guns but not to be so rigid that I am unyielding. Overall I am feeling super positive about this year. It is going to be a year of change but also a year of building, and of gearing my life more toward the life of my dreams. What are your plans for the year?

  • Welcome 2019…let’s make this a f@#king amazing year!

    Welcome 2019…let’s make this a f@#king amazing year!

    It is the last day of 2018, and what a wild, crazy year this has been.

    We visited my friends Jen and Chris in Pittsburgh, and they took us to visit the National Aviary. We saw Puddles Pity Party at the Southern Theatre.

    In the Spring my husband and I took a trip to Wisconsin to visit The House on the Rock. I had wanted to see it since the first time I read American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and we decided to head that way to see it. It was amazing and wonderful, we wondered around for almost four hours and still don’t think we saw everything. We also visited the Cave of the Mounds, Mount Horeb the Troll Capital of the World and the lovely little town of Spring Green.

    I took a trip with The Lady Gang to Put-In-Bay. I saw a whole lot of drag shows including: Stadium Virginium Pop, Wonderful World of Nina, Heroes and Villains, Heels of Horror, and Nina and Virginia’s Christmas Pageant. I went to a bout for Ohio Roller Derby. Walked in a Color Run. Went to the Ohio State Fair with my mom and both of my sisters. Helped to establish an Ohio chapter of the International Wenches Guild. Went to a bunch of brunches. Bought a season pass for the Short North Stage, and have seen a bunch of shows with my friend Susan.

    On top of all this amazing I am officially done with school as of December 23, and will graduate with my Bachelor’s degree in English – Creative Writing in February. That is how you move into 2019 in style.

    Tomorrow I will let you know what my word for 2019 is, and maybe share a peek of my year in review Tarot.

    Goodbye 2018.

    Happy New Year!

    Betsy

  • The six year anniversary of the White wedding

    The six year anniversary of the White wedding

    Six years ago at the Olde Gahanna Sanctuary in Gahanna Ohio we gathered together a group of our closest family and friends. It was a gorgeous clear fall day, and other than a minor keg issue (yep there was a keg) everything was going beautifully. We stood in the doorway and grabbed hands as the piano cover of White Wedding by Billy Idol begins and we walked into our wedding together.

    Our life isn’t perfect, but it is perfect for us. So here is to so many more years. I love you, Seth.

    To see more of our amazing wedding. We were featured on the website Offbeat Bride and you can find us here.

  • Will you be my Grandma?

    Will you be my Grandma?

    Recently I was on my assigned week for our company’s Meals on Wheels route. The way our assignment works you run a week every 3 months. We leave the building about 11 am and deliver to between 6 and 9 houses. This week we had a couple of new houses on the route, and had lost a few houses as is common while people lose and gain eligibility.

    The house on Petticoat Ct was a new one, and when we pulled up I was immediately charmed by the well maintained flower boxes, beds, and pots. We got to the porch and I remarked how rare it was to see the old cast iron boot scrapers anymore, this one in the shape of a dachshund. We knocked on the door, and when it was opened the sound of 1940’s jazz/ big band came streaming out. She invited us in and the house smelled like cinnamon. On the wall was an Irish Blessing. She was sweet, and asked me to point to where to sign because she doesn’t see very well.

    I wondered if she has close family. Does she get company often? I hope so.

    One day she came to the door wearing a pair of bright pink shoes. I complimented them and she laughed that her sister said she was spending the big bucks on Sketchers, but “jokes on her. These are from Walmart.”

    Dear Lady on Petticoat Ct. I no longer have any living grandparents and I miss them terribly, so I would like to apply to be a new adopted grand daughter for you. I am very good at being quiet and listening for long periods of time. I love to watch all classic movies and TV shows. I will listen to any music. I love puzzles, crosswords, and word finds. I lived most of my life with my maternal grandparents and it made me really appreciate the wisdom of my elders.

    Thank you for your consideration.

    Betsy

  • She’s an Impostor!

    She’s an Impostor!

    Recently, I was attending a party at my brother and sister-in-law’s house, when a friend of theirs whom I have met a couple of times but never really spoken to asked me what I do. I told him that I am currently working at a bank, and that I am about to finish my degree in English-Creative Writing. He said, logically, “So you are a writer?”. And, my brain froze, I internally stuttered over calling myself a writer. I am roughly two terms away from a degree in Creative Writing and I am hesitant to call myself a writer.

    What the ever loving hell is that?

    Oh, I know what this is, Impostor Syndrome. That feeling that you are not good enough, smart enough, or enough enough. How can I claim to be a writer? Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Charles de Lint, J.K. Rowling, hell even V.C. Andrews are writers, are authors. I am, what, a dabbler, a student, a learner, but not a writer.

    But why not? Why not a writer. I have written poetry and stories since I was old enough to do so. I have hosted a blog on one platform or another since 2008. I have written essays with depth, and meaning. I have grown and learned, and written so much. When do I become a writer then?

    In the end I told him I am a writer. I told him about my blog, and how I had just bought my domain. He loved my “brand” and told me that he works in publishing for companies. We had a lovely talk about publishing, self-publishing, and self-promotion. It was nice to get outside validation of some of my choices as a writer.

    Because I am a writer.

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