Okay, I'm amused.

Conversation last night, at a friend’s place:

Friend: “So, I was invited to a fundraiser play party last week, for charity…”

[A play party is a sex party, usually involving BDSM. For this friend, it’s usually all-female.]

Me: “A play party for CHARITY?!? What charity?”

“AIDS Lifecycle.”

“They’re having a women-only sex party to benefit AIDS LIFECYCLE?!?”

“Yep. I sent them an email back saying they should invite you–‘If you don’t know Tien now, you will by the end of the ride–she’s the one in the tutu.'”

“And did you get an answer?”

“Yep–‘Oh! Tien! I know Tien!'”

So it appears I’ll probably be invited to a lesbian BDSM orgy to benefit AIDS Lifecycle. In November, I’m told.

(Yeah, I’m going. Of course I’m going. How could I possibly MISS something like that?!?”

Meanwhile, I’ve signed off Spin-List, am TRYING (not too successfully) to focus on the book, and have stuck the peacock shawl on hold for the moment. I’m working on another piece, called “Grief”, which is too complex to explain here but which should be pretty cool once it’s done.

I’ve decided (for whatever reason) to spin this one on the Akha spindle that the Akha weaver’s son made for me. It is handmade with “primitive” tools: the whorl was hacked out of a piece of hardwood with an Akha knife/machete, “drilled” using a red-hot nail, and mounted on a shaft of carved bamboo. Technically, it’s not the best spindle around–it is a bit wobbly and the whorl is slightly off-center–but considering the tools and how quickly he made it, it’s a lovely thing. It was sweet of him to make it for me, and I treasure it.

Aside from the sentimental value, I use it as a reminder not to be too fussy about tools–focus and skill are more important–and of resourcefulness. It’s hard to spin on a spindle like this one without being intensely aware that one *could* do many things, with very few tools…just let go of perfectionism and you can do the most amazing things. I couldn’t make a *perfect* spindle with a machete. But this one *works*, and I don’t need a lathe. Or a drill.

I *did* buy an Akha knife…but not sure where it is now.

Tien