What's In A Name?

Quite a lot, actually, especially when you need a nom de plume or a stage name, something to hide behind on t'internet or to generate interest in your work. Which explains why, over the years, the names I've used on forums and other interweb-based places have been many and varied. Never let them know who you are, after all...it also explains why one of my lovely friends has spent the better part of an hour discussing burlesque names with me (he has the patience of a zillion saints, as befits a GBF). I still say we should have gone with Miss Lucy Lastic, but apparently it's already in use by a rather fabulous drag queen. Dammit. Still, so far we've come up with some crackers...

1) Miss Anna Seizure (this is possibly my favourite so far)
2) Indigo Irae (Epica tribute!)
3) Miss Sugar Shakespeare (cos I'm sweet 'n' literary)
4) Miss Eva Dream (yep, a Nightwish one...)
5) Miss Rae Venn (cos 'crow baby!' doesn't have quite the same ring to it)
6) Cocoa Katy (because I love chocolate)
7) Luna Falls (moonlight and water - two of my favourite things)
8) Fancy Nancy (after my favourite childhood book)
9) Ruby Starlet and Jasmine Shimmer (from the Dulux paint catalogue, of all things)
10)Lotta Legs (because we need the cheese factor, clearly)

We're still going - I keep getting random emails with things like 'Plum Duff!' in them, so this one could run and run. And should any one have any suggestions, feel free to add to the list! So far I'm torn between "Miss Anna Seizure" and "Miss Sugar Shakespeare"...although the more names we come up with, the more names I love!

Maybe I need split personalities...

The Year of Living Dangerously

Sometimes you can really surprise yourself. Sometimes you find yourself stepping outside your comfort zone and doing things that you would never, in your wildest dreams, have ever seen yourself doing. And I know what I'm talking about because this has been my (almost) year of living dangerously...

Ok, so I haven't walked a tightrope across Niagra Falls without a safety rope or anything like that, but since August last year I've done some things that have really forced me out of my cosy little world and I have to say I feel better for it. I'm sure my list of 'achievements' probably doesn't look much to anyone else, but to a girl who would never do anything about anything because a) previous experience made me wary of repeating things, b) it was easier to just stay in my room and c) I was just too plain shy and scared to these are a prettybig deal.

So, in my year of living dangerously I have...

1) Taken a chance on love for the first time since I dated a real bastard at 17, got my heart broken and realised that it's not the end of the world;
2) Gone on holiday by myself;
3) Joined a book club;
4) Joined a writing group;
5) Shown 'real' people my writing instead of relying on the vaguaries of cyberspace;
6) Performed my work on stage;
7) Been persuaded to audition for a play;
8) Discovered that, actually, other people can be quite fabulous and don't mind the fact that I talk complete rubbish 99.9% of the time (this is my way of saying that the new friends I've made this year are totally awesome and I love them);
9) Decided to actually go to New Zealand next year instead of procrastinating and wussing out;
10) Found a buddy for burlesque and pole dancing classes, so now I can't wuss out or Melissa will be disappointed.

There are other things, too, but these are the big ones that have made me realise a lot about myself, other people and the world in general. So here's to the next year of living dangerously...maybe that walk across the falls isn't such a crazy notion after all!

The Art of the Tease...

So I hit the big three-oh in a couple of years (and yes, I'm having kittens at the very thought, because I don't feel 28 and - as anyone who knows me will testify - I sure as hell don't act it!) I always knew that the event would have to be marked in a big way, and from talking to my Baby Forumbat, GemGem, a few weeks ago, I'm leaning towards a full-on Burlesque Bash. All of which leads me neatly into my random babble for today...

I need to do burlesque. I have a deep-seated, burning obsession with it, which is ridiculous because I get stage fright at the drop of a hat and am not exactly Little Miss Body Confident (I need Gok-ing!) but I desperately, desperately want to go and have burlesque lessons. The only thing is, I'm not so sure that I'd want to go by myself, and I don't know that any of my friends would be up for it. But it would just be so much fun, and a big confidence booster; besides, who wouldn't want to get to dress up like a vintage sex kitten and strut around like Dita Von Teese or the uber-sexy Veronica Varlow?

Isn't she a doll? I have the biggest girl-crush on Veronica, and her clothes...I need to save up (or win the lottery or something) so that I can buy the Bonnie dress below, and then I can wear it to rob a bank (or an X Factor judge) so that I can buy all the other clothes and then go to the London School of Burlesque for private lessons. This is the plan...

All this before the big three-oh. Piece of cake. Hey, maybe I could burst out of a cake for the big event...?