potential.

Recently I've been finding other people recognizing potential in me.

No less than three people in as many weeks have told me I should look into having my photography published. Two of these were prompted by the photos I recently hung in my office with three of these fantastic photo ropes. They hold four photos each, and right now I have the following posted: these four of office raptors, these four of Dax and Miss Halo, and these four macros of cats. People seem to like this and this most, and though my boss thinks this one's creepy, I like it.

Thursday after yoga, my instructor asked: "Were you a dancer?" To my "not recently, though I took lessons growing up," she pointed out that I evidently have great turn-out, though she said that can be taken to an extreme. She demonstrated the walk of a friend of hers, toes pointed outwards, to which I replied that I had a coach in high school who had a similar walk, though he was definitely not a dancer. (Mr. Waters, if you're out there, I apologize that this is how you came to mind most recently.)

On Saturday I nearly finished two pieces of jewelry: one bracelet and one choker, both in a half-Persian weave, but vastly different. The choker's a chunky dyed-aluminum in red and black, started while I was teaching Dax how to do it, and the bracelet's a dense silver and may turn into a gift if I'm happy with it. Both just need clasps to be completely done, but I need to make those first. I usually make a bunch at a time.

Yesterday my dad called to tell me about his finds at the Gem and Jewelry Show, and had to give away one of his Christmas gifts to get my address for a magazine subscription which may come very much in handy for the above.

In reading through my other magazines yesterday, I was struck by the work in American Photo: it sparked all kinds of ideas for new work of my own. And the potentiality of it (I don't mind if I created a new word there, I might add): it's this amazing expanding feeling. The almost measurable widening of horizons--it doesn't come around all that often, but I truly enjoy when it does.

Last night at the club I had a trainee. Before, I'd been told I'm one of the best trainers, but that may be a combination of having been there so long and having taught for years as well. In either case, the manager of the club stopped me on the way out to return a couple of the free passes he'd given me (basically, it works such that I get so many passes, put my name on the back, and when people use them, they get returned to me to give out again). He asked if the rumor was true that I was leaving soon. I told him I had no plan to, and he said that was good and returned the passes and gave me about double the number I'd originally had to give out again. Not sure one's a product of the other, but I took it as a compliment.

On a totally different note, an old, old friend from college contacted me recently. He's going through almost exactly the same thing I did a few years ago with his wife. They just separated, and he's working to solve his own problems, as opposed to purely working to get her back, and absolutely going about it the right way. It may be silly, but I was proud of him to hear that. Despite some errors along the way, he's still sensible, overall.

I talked with him on the phone yesterday for awhile. Definitely good to hear from him, and I was glad that my experience--however problematic, of course--could be of some use to others. I didn't give a whole lot of detail about my situation, but I certainly used it to give advice, however minor.

I also have as a major project the making of a few other things (they're surprises to some who read this, so I'm keeping details hush-hush), originally as a gift to an online friend, and I'm giving S. a few of them along the way. When she heard yesterday that the final product has glitter, she was all "they have glitter?" and wanted some of that type too. Another pleasing "I can make things that people enjoy"-type moment.

There's a few other potential projects I want to work on: my own fitness, learning more good recipes, that sort of thing. But the potential for all this is astounding, and I can't wait to start on (or finish) a whole lot of them. Looking forward to it.