Ah, Tuesday.

Ah, Tuesday. How I love Tuesdays. My classes don’t begin until 2:30, and so I have plenty of time in the morning to work on various projects, including my blog.

I decided to mess around with the appearance of the blog. I’m really liking the different fonts and the new background—dress green Drummond of Perth, of course. It just all feels more ‘me’.

So I finally have my kilt—pictures of which I posted in my last entry. It fits perfectly and looks great on me, if I do say so myself. I have realized that I have a perfect kilt body-type: My natural waist is quite a bit smaller than my hip width, meaning that, once I put a kilt on, that sucker isn’t going anywhere. My busty hips keep it perfectly in place. For once, I do not envy those stick-straight bodied boys.

Getting my kilt delivered was a bit of a fiasco. The kilt came from MacIsaac Kiltmakers in Nova Scotia. Canada Post, being awesome, delivered it to the US within two days, after which time it was released to USPS. Now, being an international express package, I should have been able to track my kilt all throughout its voyage. However, probably somewhere around Customs, the package was not scanned and thus vanished from the tracking radar…for nine days.

When I called USPS to ask what had happened to my kilt, they assured me that it had not yet been released to the United States and that it was still in the possession of Canada Post. So, naturally, I called Canada Post, who, not surprisingly, told me that the package had been delivered to the US. In other words, the US told me the kilt was in Canada, and Canada told me the kilt was in the US. I really had no idea what to think about this. I mean, really, who was I supposed to call? It was a very frustrating few days.

Nevertheless, the kilt finally did arrive in all its glory. MacIsaac Kiltmakers did a wonderful job, and I would highly recommend them for any Scottish/Highland attire needs. They confidently walk you through each step of the ordering process and they are very prompt in producing their high quality work.

Kilt, kilt, kilt-y, kilt, kilt

Before I quit swooning over my kilt, I want to note that it is a highly symbolic garment for me. It truly suggests a fulfilling of dreams, of deep-seeded desires. It represents all of the work I put into becoming a dancer these last four years, as well as all of the work I still need to put into my art. For me, my kilt is as psychologically beautiful and profound as it is physically.

Alright, enough about the kilt…well, for now anyway.

I have also been giving some further thought to my tattoo idea. I still want my dance tartan pictured, but I have been contemplating the text. Though, I think that I may have finally found what I want the tattoo to say: Dhachaigh Gu Bràth. It is Gàidhlig for “Forever homeward.” The phrase in and of itself doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but it is symbolic of my (and everyone’s) journey ever towards creating a home, an identity, a haven. I really like this imagery, and I am thinking that if I am to ever have a dance school, this would be the motto. We are forever reaching for home, creating, defining, and redefining our place in this life. And, in the context of a school of Highland dance and culture, this idea of dhachaigh gu bràth would also entail the continual intercourse with traditional Highland culture.

To go off on a tangent: When I mentioned this phrase to my Irish teacher—to double-check that it was grammatically correct—it reminded him of a Gàidhlig song that uses similar language.

The song is Latha Math (that is, ‘A Good Day’) by the band Mànran. I am now quickly becoming obsessed with this band; their music is so catchy and awesome and Gàidhlig and, and…*swoon*. I would someday love to choreography a few pieces set to their music, especially their rendition of Òran na Cloiche.

Well, this has been fun, but I do suppose that I should be off to class. No matter, in a few hours it will be time for dance!