RIP Sunny Perkins 1977-2004

I found out today that Sunny Perkins, aka Mia More, who was one of my Burlesquercise! students, passed away this afternoon after a car crash. She wasn't a close friend, but it's hard to believe that she's gone. A mover and a shaker (literally) in the local burlesque scene, and such a vivacious and forceful fireball, it was easy to imagine her to be invincible. But no, life is so fragile.

What is sexier than laughter?

I am so excited! A friend of mine just sent me a mock-up for the website he is making for me. I will finally have my own site! Gawddamn, it's about time!!! This has been a loooong time coming - it's been getting to the point where I've felt that not having a website has been seriously hindering my progress in my career. I mean, who are you if no one can find you on the internet?!? Maybe since he has such a fast turnaround, I will be able to get him to make me other sites for my other projects. Who knows? Someday, I'd like to be able to create my own websites.

Anyway, there is so much going on. I also just started a group at Yahoo! as a resource for all of my students. I am so excited about the possibilities! It's such a wonderful thing to be able to fascilitate so much fun and confidence building sexiness for so many women. Really, it is so satisfying, I can't think of anything I would rather do. Can you imagine watching "shy" women light up with excitement as they let loose and finally flaunt it for the first time in their lives? Can you see the bold ones just get right into it, comfortably in their element and overjoyed to have the venue to express their audacious, vivacious selves? And the laughter! What is sexier than laughter?

In the last class, after teaching the girls the basics of a floor show and chair dance, I had some students get up and do a leg show on the piano! The only girl there who'd taken the class before was a really good sport and has no shame anyway, so getting up there wasn't too tough for her. I mean, she has one performance under her belt already, so she's old hat! ;) None of the other girls wanted to get up there, but I insisted on one more piano show before I took my turn performing for them. As my good friend, dance partner and model student, Sweet Cheeks, says about me: "She has a way of making people doooooo things." Well, one of the new girls volunteered! She was so sweet up there, and Oh! the Cheering! All the girls hooted and hollered and screamed for her, what a wonderfully supportive group! What a dream job, I am so lucky.

So this weekend, Sweet Cheeks and I will show them all a chair dance like they've never imagined! Muahahahaha!

Life is a ... cream pie in the face

Sometimes it's like getting a pie in the face. Laughing, you lick it off, feeding it to your friends, splattering the walls beside you. Then you chase down the guilty pie thrower. Leaping cars and small children effortlessly in your quest for revenge, nothing can stand in your way. You will rub their face in it. No matter that the cream got on your favorite dress and will soon turn sour and start to stink. No, you will burn the dress and keep the ashes in a pretty vase on the mantle as a reminder of the Night of the Cream Pie.

Sometimes it's a song that gets in your blood and pounds and pounds and pounds on your soul until your feet start tapping, your fingers snapping, and before you know it you're dancing wildly, jumping, kicking, shouting. There is no what if, no fear of falling, no fear of discovery. The song comes bellowing out of you in a great roar, your ribcage swelling, unable to contain it as it comes tumbling out of your throat, bouncing off of the walls and into the street, up the steps and into your neighbor's living room. Even though you "can't sing."

Sometimes you've just got to grab life hard by both ears and eat it's whole goddamn face off!