Showing posts with label dance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dance. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Monday, September 8, 2008
Bronze 1 through 4 followed by Silver 1 through 3
A few weeks ago I went to the dance studio for an open house - I'd invited a friend, so of course I went too. They had the usual lessons broken up by experience (newcomers, bronze 1, bronze 2 and above), followed by open dancing.
I asked a fellow to dance and we foxtrotted around the floor. I could tell by his frame that he was early in his dance experience, and we stayed to pretty basic steps. I don't have a problem dancing with less-experienced dancers; it can be more fun dancing with other Bronze 4 and Silver dancers, but I like to meet people and to just dance with different people. Besides, our first teacher told us what one of his coaches told him, which was that you can always work on the "one" (as in, one, two, three, four), and i can always work on following.
After a few steps I asked, "Have you been dancing for a while?" Because I'm not around the studio that much, there are a lot of students I don't know, so I don't know how long they've been coming for lessons. He said yes, and after a few beats asked, "I haven't seen you around here before. Are you in Bronze 2?"
I had to tell him the truth, which was, "I'm in Silver 1." I felt like a snob doing so. I didn't want him to think I would never enjoy dancing with him because he was "just" Bronze 1 (my guess, but I think it's accurate). It also felt strange to say it because I never have before. Zirpu and I graduated from Full Bronze and then started over with dances we didn't know at all, like west coast swing. So it doesn't feel like we're at that level in the syllabus, even though we are.
I asked a fellow to dance and we foxtrotted around the floor. I could tell by his frame that he was early in his dance experience, and we stayed to pretty basic steps. I don't have a problem dancing with less-experienced dancers; it can be more fun dancing with other Bronze 4 and Silver dancers, but I like to meet people and to just dance with different people. Besides, our first teacher told us what one of his coaches told him, which was that you can always work on the "one" (as in, one, two, three, four), and i can always work on following.
After a few steps I asked, "Have you been dancing for a while?" Because I'm not around the studio that much, there are a lot of students I don't know, so I don't know how long they've been coming for lessons. He said yes, and after a few beats asked, "I haven't seen you around here before. Are you in Bronze 2?"
I had to tell him the truth, which was, "I'm in Silver 1." I felt like a snob doing so. I didn't want him to think I would never enjoy dancing with him because he was "just" Bronze 1 (my guess, but I think it's accurate). It also felt strange to say it because I never have before. Zirpu and I graduated from Full Bronze and then started over with dances we didn't know at all, like west coast swing. So it doesn't feel like we're at that level in the syllabus, even though we are.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
A Poem A Day, Week Four Plus Two Days
Welcome to the end of National Poetry Month! I wound up reading hundreds of poems, I'd say at least three hundred, in this project of reading "one a day." Made me kind of miss being an English major, sitting in a classroom discussing them.
Living In The Body - Joyce Sutpen (Tuesday)
Maybe because I'm almost almost forty or because of dance and working out at the gym - which was a direct result of the car wreck - I'm much more attached to my body than I ever used to be.
The Iceberg Theory - Gerald Locklin (Wednesday)
Truth be told, iceberg is the only lettuce I really like. I've only met one other adult who will admit to liking it; a lot of people I know profess to hate it. Water, fiber, crunch: What's not to like?
The Walloping Window-Blind - Charles Edward Carryl (Thursday)
I've never seen this poem before. It sounds like Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky, including the made-up words. What fun!
The Jabberwocky - Lewis Carroll (Friday)
When I was in eighth grade I played the Mock Turtle in a version of Alice In Wonderland that traveled from school to school. We might do two performances a day, sometimes on a stage and sometimes at one end of a classroom (one time we performed in a space that was eight feet long and six feet wide). At the end we performed this poem, reciting in unison and acting it out. In my Mock Turtle costume, I was part of the beast.
Sweater Weather: A Love Song to Language - Sharon Bryan (Saturday)
Another silly word poem.
Romeo And Juliet, Act II, Scene iii -William Shakespeare (Sunday)
Specifically the speech in which Juliet dreams about having sex with her new husband just before learning Romeo has been banished for murdering Tybalt. My favorite lines are
Whew!
Filling Station - Elizabeth Bishop (Monday)
While there are never any people around, this poem makes me think somehow of the gas pumps in front of the general store in Twin Lakes, Colorado.
The Snow Man - Wallace Stevens (Tuesday)
My Norton's calls Wallace "a third great imaginative force" since the deaths of Yeats and Eliot. I think I need more education, or at least more immersion, before I will be able to understand his poetry.
Tulip Field, MacLean Road, Skagit Valley - Sam Green (Wednesday)
Bink suggested I check out Washington State's Poet Laureate, who lives on an island neighboring her island. This is the only poem of his I could find online, and it makes me wish that I had had an interest is looking at flowers when I lived in the state.
Living In The Body - Joyce Sutpen (Tuesday)
Maybe because I'm almost almost forty or because of dance and working out at the gym - which was a direct result of the car wreck - I'm much more attached to my body than I ever used to be.
The Iceberg Theory - Gerald Locklin (Wednesday)
Truth be told, iceberg is the only lettuce I really like. I've only met one other adult who will admit to liking it; a lot of people I know profess to hate it. Water, fiber, crunch: What's not to like?
The Walloping Window-Blind - Charles Edward Carryl (Thursday)
I've never seen this poem before. It sounds like Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky, including the made-up words. What fun!
The Jabberwocky - Lewis Carroll (Friday)
When I was in eighth grade I played the Mock Turtle in a version of Alice In Wonderland that traveled from school to school. We might do two performances a day, sometimes on a stage and sometimes at one end of a classroom (one time we performed in a space that was eight feet long and six feet wide). At the end we performed this poem, reciting in unison and acting it out. In my Mock Turtle costume, I was part of the beast.
Sweater Weather: A Love Song to Language - Sharon Bryan (Saturday)
Another silly word poem.
Romeo And Juliet, Act II, Scene iii -William Shakespeare (Sunday)
Specifically the speech in which Juliet dreams about having sex with her new husband just before learning Romeo has been banished for murdering Tybalt. My favorite lines are
O, I have bought the mansion of a love,
But not possess'd it, and, though I am sold,
Not yet enjoy'd. . .
Whew!
Filling Station - Elizabeth Bishop (Monday)
While there are never any people around, this poem makes me think somehow of the gas pumps in front of the general store in Twin Lakes, Colorado.
The Snow Man - Wallace Stevens (Tuesday)
My Norton's calls Wallace "a third great imaginative force" since the deaths of Yeats and Eliot. I think I need more education, or at least more immersion, before I will be able to understand his poetry.
Tulip Field, MacLean Road, Skagit Valley - Sam Green (Wednesday)
Bink suggested I check out Washington State's Poet Laureate, who lives on an island neighboring her island. This is the only poem of his I could find online, and it makes me wish that I had had an interest is looking at flowers when I lived in the state.
Friday, March 28, 2008
The Six Word Memoir
Have you heard about The Six Word Memoir? Mrs. P., the most voracious reader I know, mentioned it, probably because she's noticed how many memoirs have been turning up on my list of read books. She is a high school English and drama teacher, so she asked her students to write their six word memoirs. Then she asked her sixth grade son. And her parents. For all I know, she's asked the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker to do it too.
Of course I made my own attempts. This exercise reminded me a lot of the assignments in fourth grade to write haikus, counting out syllables on my fingers. It reminded me so much of that, in fact, that I had to remind myself not to count a words like "accidents" or "doesn't" by their syllables.
What I found hard about it were things that were true about me and my experiences, but that I didn't want that to be the whole story I tell of my life. The first thing that came to mind was "I learned: Love doesn't conquer all." Well, that's true, but my life hasn't mainly been about disappointment in love (if I were 20, or 26, maybe). So what has it been about?
To elaborate (in six-words):
College decision made in grocery line.
Fell in love with best friend.
Harry's Mother downstairs, Yellow Brick Road upstairs (I know that's seven, but I can't call it "YBR" here).
Too many men, joined bi group.
Zirpu was Craigslist Bachelor Number Eight.
Started financial aid when college desperate.
Took up dancing on a whim.
Car accident in Fresno literally accident.
Googled food bank, selected wrong one.
Of course I made my own attempts. This exercise reminded me a lot of the assignments in fourth grade to write haikus, counting out syllables on my fingers. It reminded me so much of that, in fact, that I had to remind myself not to count a words like "accidents" or "doesn't" by their syllables.
What I found hard about it were things that were true about me and my experiences, but that I didn't want that to be the whole story I tell of my life. The first thing that came to mind was "I learned: Love doesn't conquer all." Well, that's true, but my life hasn't mainly been about disappointment in love (if I were 20, or 26, maybe). So what has it been about?
All my turning points were accidents.
To elaborate (in six-words):
College decision made in grocery line.
Fell in love with best friend.
Harry's Mother downstairs, Yellow Brick Road upstairs (I know that's seven, but I can't call it "YBR" here).
Too many men, joined bi group.
Zirpu was Craigslist Bachelor Number Eight.
Started financial aid when college desperate.
Took up dancing on a whim.
Car accident in Fresno literally accident.
Googled food bank, selected wrong one.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
America's Ballroom Challenge
When Zirpu and I tell people that we ballroom dance, people immediately ask if we have have seen So You Think You Can Dance or Dancing With the Stars. I've seen one episode of each, and Zirpu hasn't seen either at all. I am only vaguely interested in the dancing, but the "judge reviews" really turn me off and that is the real reason why I don't watch them (and many others, like Survivor and American Idol). The shows have brought people into the studio though; for example, one guy whose background is in traditional Indian dance started about a year ago when he got interested in ballroom while watching "So You Think..."
However, I am interested in America's Ballroom Challenge, which is the broadcast of the World Professional American Smooth and Rhythm Championships shown on PBS. The Ohio Star Ball is a weeklong event in November, including workshops as well as many competitions. Jasmine Guy and Ron Montez (and Marilu Henner and Tony Meredith last year) had to pretend that they were "coming back next week" for the next phase of the competition, when it really happens all in one evening.
SPOILER ALERT:
Andrei Gavriline and Elena Kryuchkova [unfortunately no video from this year yet] won the whole event. I thought that they had relied too much on gimmicky costuming, particularly in the International Latin comp and in the short program, and then for the amazing show dance they did their costumes almost hid their bodies. Andrei, who is quite tall, uses his long legs to create great lines. In comparison Elena seems very short (it's hard to tell if she's short compared to normal-height people), but she can make her legs look almost as long as his. Inspired by Elena, I'm going to work on creating a long-leg look in my own dancing.
I am so uninterested in competing in dance that I can't even imagine why someone would do it. A few of my studio friends compete, and for one of them in particular competing only seems to create stress and take away the fun of dancing. She's one of the most competitive people I know, but she always seems drawn and worried before a big event. I can't imagine competing in front of hundreds of people, even if I were good enough to do so. Of course, I just want to dance well enough to not panic when a stranger asks me to dance - so far, I can follow well enough to get through an unknown step.
I like to watch the professional competitions and the exhibitions, and be inspired by what I see.
However, I am interested in America's Ballroom Challenge, which is the broadcast of the World Professional American Smooth and Rhythm Championships shown on PBS. The Ohio Star Ball is a weeklong event in November, including workshops as well as many competitions. Jasmine Guy and Ron Montez (and Marilu Henner and Tony Meredith last year) had to pretend that they were "coming back next week" for the next phase of the competition, when it really happens all in one evening.
SPOILER ALERT:
Andrei Gavriline and Elena Kryuchkova [unfortunately no video from this year yet] won the whole event. I thought that they had relied too much on gimmicky costuming, particularly in the International Latin comp and in the short program, and then for the amazing show dance they did their costumes almost hid their bodies. Andrei, who is quite tall, uses his long legs to create great lines. In comparison Elena seems very short (it's hard to tell if she's short compared to normal-height people), but she can make her legs look almost as long as his. Inspired by Elena, I'm going to work on creating a long-leg look in my own dancing.
I am so uninterested in competing in dance that I can't even imagine why someone would do it. A few of my studio friends compete, and for one of them in particular competing only seems to create stress and take away the fun of dancing. She's one of the most competitive people I know, but she always seems drawn and worried before a big event. I can't imagine competing in front of hundreds of people, even if I were good enough to do so. Of course, I just want to dance well enough to not panic when a stranger asks me to dance - so far, I can follow well enough to get through an unknown step.
I like to watch the professional competitions and the exhibitions, and be inspired by what I see.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Get Down On It
Raj, Saj, and Dimpi had a bunch of cousins, and there were many afternoons when the four of them, the three Singhs, and No and I would all hang out together even though Raj and the oldest cousin were so much older than we were. I remember very challenging games of "Mother May I?" and "Simon Says" with Raj or the cousin being "mother."
One afternoon, we were all in the living room listening to Earth, Wind, and Fire, The Jacksons, and Kool and The Gang. The Singhs had the coolest stereo cabinet with the hifi in the center. The speaker cabinets had covers on them that lit up in green, yellow, and red with the rhythm of the music. Jindi and Biji never seemed to care how loud the music was.
There was a young woman who had one of those rhyming names who was also often at the Singhs' house. We called her by both names all the time. Raj recently told me that she was a teenager who'd been traveling around the US and wound up working for his parents at the store. While we were dancing spastically the way young kids do, Teri Blackcherry appeared and announced she was going to teach us the Hustle line dance (I think the hustle partner dance would have been beyond us in elementary school). We moved some chairs out of the way and she got us in two lines, smaller kids in the front.
Celebrate good times, come on!
Friday, January 18, 2008
Things That Make Me Happy
Tea wrote a "happiness is" list yesterday and I didn't run with it myself, though I think it's a good idea. In fact, I think it's a particularly good idea since I'm feeling very cranky recently as I'm in the midst of sixth-grade type insecurity, dealing with finding support for the Bi Women's Group, and the fifth week of no heat in the house. I was feeling too cranky to think of anything that makes me happy, let alone twenty-five things that make me happy, but I read the other people's happy things and I'm feeling inspired - and maybe even slightly happier.
Oh, I see that some people just went to ten. Right on! I may add more later but this is the list for now:
Here goes, in no particular order:
Weight training
Dancing the foxtrot
The soundtrack of Singing In The Rain
Being at The Cabin
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band
Bread and butter
Snuggling
Hanging out with my sister-in-law
Laughing (including other people laughing when I'm not)
The first two minutes after getting into bed
The Blues Brothers
Singing
KFOG's Ten At Ten radio show
Band-Aids (the new waterproof ones are soooooo cool!)
Talking with friends about things that matter to me
Oh, I see that some people just went to ten. Right on! I may add more later but this is the list for now:
Here goes, in no particular order:
Weight training
Dancing the foxtrot
The soundtrack of Singing In The Rain
Being at The Cabin
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band
Bread and butter
Snuggling
Hanging out with my sister-in-law
Laughing (including other people laughing when I'm not)
The first two minutes after getting into bed
The Blues Brothers
Singing
KFOG's Ten At Ten radio show
Band-Aids (the new waterproof ones are soooooo cool!)
Talking with friends about things that matter to me
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Behind The List, Part Two
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
Yep, still married to him.
69. Toured ancient sites
When Mom and I went to Paris, we went under the plaza in front of Notre Dame where they were excavating an ancient Gaul village that had been found when a bank was trying to build a vault. That blew my mind.
72. Gotten married
See #68.
I've been shacked up with a couple people too. But I knew when getting married was the right thing to do.
73. Been in a movie
'68. A terrible film I have had the privilege of seeing three times. I was an extra and spent the day in Golden Gate Park dressed like a hippie and dancing to John Cippolina. The movie is unbelievably awful, but not because of me.
77. Made cookies from scratch
But they always suck. I can't even get the famous Mrs. Field's recipe to come out right. I am, however, good at my mom's brownies.
84. Performed on stage
I played Hattie in the aforementioned Laundry and Bourbon. The first sound was my cue to both enter and speak. From backstage I was allowed to ring the doorbell that would start the action. On opening night I saw the slashes of bright lights through the windows in the set, took a deep breath, moved into character, and pushed the doorbell.
85. Been to Las Vegas
I've only been there with Zirpu. The first time we went, not long after we started dating, the person at the check-in counter looked at my ID and asked if my last name would be the same when I came back.
88. Kissed on the first date
However, not Zirpu.
90. Bought a house
We had looked at or driven by over 100 houses, but when we walked into this one, we knew it was the one we wanted. There was a big family room in the back part of the house, and we both immediately thought, "Ballroom!"
92. Buried one/both of your parents
Dad died of cancer in March of 1974. He wasn't buried; Mom scattered his ashes over Half Moon Bay.
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
When Shobi-wan graduated we moved to Portland. It took me a long time to find a job, the first one of which was in a health insurance company. After a few months, the publishing company I'd really wanted to work for called me because the person they'd hired over me had been arrested for stealing credit card numbers when she was taking book orders over the phone.
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
I must have done this. . . haven't I?
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
July 30, 2003
110. Broken someone’s heart
But a piece of my heart broke off too.
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
If the football field at my college is "the wild", yes.
118. Ridden a horse
When we went up to Tahoe in the summer with DeeKay's family, often we would go on a horseback ride at one of those places where you ride a horse on mountain paths. I liked that, but when No and I went to Camp Beaverbrook I liked my Western horse-riding boots much better than I liked riding the horses. I remember that all of the kids in camp dreaded "getting stuck with" one particularly stubborn horse.
127. Eaten sushi
I first had sushi in junior high school when Mom and I went to Fuki-Ya in Japantown. I don't remember what No did on those nights, but it was our time to hang out together. I don't even remember much about those evenings except that they were "our time."
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
Recently, because of a feature on the food bank's new digs and the Food Bank Director and I were both in the shot. My favorite one, though, is the year Shobi-wan and I marched in the Pride Parade in Portland and a photo from above of the Gay and Lesbian Chorus was on the front page of the Oregonian. I knew we had marched ahead of them in that parade and found us in the photo, even though we were small!
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
I started to read The Odyssey after seeing O Brother, Where Art Thou? I hate to say I couldn't get through it so it's still on my list of "Classics I Should Read."
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
I read Giovanni's Room after I graduated from college. I found it full of self-loathing and so I didn't like it. Of course, I may have to read it again, but I think I will read James Baldwin's other books first. I read Giovanni's Room because that was the book from which Baldwin read for Calliope Records, a short-lived company my father had in the early 1960s recording authors reading from their own works onto 45's.
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
I do this at the food bank often. In fact, I talk to people who speak Vietnamese, Cantonese, Korean, and an African dialect on a regular basis. Whenever I have a conversation with someone in Spanish, I start with "Mi espanol no esta muy bueno" and afterwards thank my 10th and 11th grade Spanish teacher, Sr. Crossley, wherever he is. You get a long, long way with good will and sound effects.
146. Dyed your hair
I've done red once and pink twice. I've bleached it. I plan to dye it purple before 2008 begins.
148. Shaved your head
JR shaved my head for me about a year and a half ago. It was really cool and I felt so hip! Mom hated it, but Zirpu liked it.
149. Caused a car accident
According to the other driver, I had come into his lane on 280SB on the way to Tanforan Mall when I was a sophomore in college. I had originally tried to merge right and someone moved up into the space I planning to go for. Supposedly I overcorrected and went into the lane on my left. That's the reason I think I know what happened when the person who crashed into my car did so.
Yep, still married to him.
69. Toured ancient sites
When Mom and I went to Paris, we went under the plaza in front of Notre Dame where they were excavating an ancient Gaul village that had been found when a bank was trying to build a vault. That blew my mind.
72. Gotten married
See #68.
I've been shacked up with a couple people too. But I knew when getting married was the right thing to do.
73. Been in a movie
'68. A terrible film I have had the privilege of seeing three times. I was an extra and spent the day in Golden Gate Park dressed like a hippie and dancing to John Cippolina. The movie is unbelievably awful, but not because of me.
77. Made cookies from scratch
But they always suck. I can't even get the famous Mrs. Field's recipe to come out right. I am, however, good at my mom's brownies.
84. Performed on stage
I played Hattie in the aforementioned Laundry and Bourbon. The first sound was my cue to both enter and speak. From backstage I was allowed to ring the doorbell that would start the action. On opening night I saw the slashes of bright lights through the windows in the set, took a deep breath, moved into character, and pushed the doorbell.
85. Been to Las Vegas
I've only been there with Zirpu. The first time we went, not long after we started dating, the person at the check-in counter looked at my ID and asked if my last name would be the same when I came back.
88. Kissed on the first date
However, not Zirpu.
90. Bought a house
We had looked at or driven by over 100 houses, but when we walked into this one, we knew it was the one we wanted. There was a big family room in the back part of the house, and we both immediately thought, "Ballroom!"
92. Buried one/both of your parents
Dad died of cancer in March of 1974. He wasn't buried; Mom scattered his ashes over Half Moon Bay.
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
When Shobi-wan graduated we moved to Portland. It took me a long time to find a job, the first one of which was in a health insurance company. After a few months, the publishing company I'd really wanted to work for called me because the person they'd hired over me had been arrested for stealing credit card numbers when she was taking book orders over the phone.
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
I must have done this. . . haven't I?
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
July 30, 2003
110. Broken someone’s heart
But a piece of my heart broke off too.
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
If the football field at my college is "the wild", yes.
118. Ridden a horse
When we went up to Tahoe in the summer with DeeKay's family, often we would go on a horseback ride at one of those places where you ride a horse on mountain paths. I liked that, but when No and I went to Camp Beaverbrook I liked my Western horse-riding boots much better than I liked riding the horses. I remember that all of the kids in camp dreaded "getting stuck with" one particularly stubborn horse.
127. Eaten sushi
I first had sushi in junior high school when Mom and I went to Fuki-Ya in Japantown. I don't remember what No did on those nights, but it was our time to hang out together. I don't even remember much about those evenings except that they were "our time."
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
Recently, because of a feature on the food bank's new digs and the Food Bank Director and I were both in the shot. My favorite one, though, is the year Shobi-wan and I marched in the Pride Parade in Portland and a photo from above of the Gay and Lesbian Chorus was on the front page of the Oregonian. I knew we had marched ahead of them in that parade and found us in the photo, even though we were small!
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
I started to read The Odyssey after seeing O Brother, Where Art Thou? I hate to say I couldn't get through it so it's still on my list of "Classics I Should Read."
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
I read Giovanni's Room after I graduated from college. I found it full of self-loathing and so I didn't like it. Of course, I may have to read it again, but I think I will read James Baldwin's other books first. I read Giovanni's Room because that was the book from which Baldwin read for Calliope Records, a short-lived company my father had in the early 1960s recording authors reading from their own works onto 45's.
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
I do this at the food bank often. In fact, I talk to people who speak Vietnamese, Cantonese, Korean, and an African dialect on a regular basis. Whenever I have a conversation with someone in Spanish, I start with "Mi espanol no esta muy bueno" and afterwards thank my 10th and 11th grade Spanish teacher, Sr. Crossley, wherever he is. You get a long, long way with good will and sound effects.
146. Dyed your hair
I've done red once and pink twice. I've bleached it. I plan to dye it purple before 2008 begins.
148. Shaved your head
JR shaved my head for me about a year and a half ago. It was really cool and I felt so hip! Mom hated it, but Zirpu liked it.
149. Caused a car accident
According to the other driver, I had come into his lane on 280SB on the way to Tanforan Mall when I was a sophomore in college. I had originally tried to merge right and someone moved up into the space I planning to go for. Supposedly I overcorrected and went into the lane on my left. That's the reason I think I know what happened when the person who crashed into my car did so.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Behind The List, Part One
Surfing around the NaBloPoMo list, I ran across this blog written by a woman who's raising eight kids with her partner. It's kind of a mommy blog on steroids, but not quite - it's a family consisting of eight children and two lesbians, certainly a unique point of view.
Anyway, she posted this list. There's 150 of them, which is too many. I was much more curious about the ones she had done, so I thought I would borrow the idea and expand upon my own answers. However, I think I have to break it across two posts.
03. Climbed a mountain
Does Rocky Road, aka Corona Heights, count? All of us neighborhood kids took summertime classes at the Randall Junior Museum. Sometimes afterwards we walked up the long, eastern side of Rocky Road to its peak to look over the city and the bay toward Oakland.
06. Held a tarantula
I forget if this was part of sixth grade Science Camp or at the Randall Junior Museum, but we all sat in a circle and the tarantula walked across our hands as we held them close to each other, palms up, to make a path for the tarantula.
A college friend of mine was so afraid of spiders that when they made him do this is sixth grade, he freaked out and threw the tarantula across the room.
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
When I was a kid, the Coos had some property up in Healdsburg, with a cabin that was basically one big room and a sink that had a hose from the creek. There was an old barn, a great treehouse, and an outhouse. There was also a sauna on a deck attached to the cabin. Inside the sauna was an old bathtub in which we would pour about three inches of icy water from the creek, and we'd sit in the tub when we got too hot (DeeKay, as I've mentioned, never did). One night we were all in the sauna with some older kids (I don't remember who they were, except they were teenagers) and they had brought candles into the sauna with us. They had to keep lighting them because there wasn't enough oxygen for them to burn with all of us kids in that little space.
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
Many times.
09. Hugged a tree
I remember a field trip to see some old-growth redwoods. The ranger had some kids in the class hold hands and circle the tree to see how big around it was. We stretched our arms as much as we could and it still took six or eight of us to wrap ourselves around the tree.
11. Visited Paris
Mom called me in January '96 and said, "Round trip tickets to Paris are $400. Want to go?" I arranged coverage at both my jobs, paid for express mail and express processing for my passport, and we spent a week walking all over Paris. Highlights: The Musee D'Orsay and watching a parade of veterans walking up the Champs Elysee to the Arc d'Triomphe, in which hung the largest flag I've ever seen.
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
Several times, in different states and different states of mind.
15. Gone to a huge sports game
Mom took No and me to see the Giants play the Cincinnati Reds at Candlestick Park when we were kids. I may have been ten at the most. It was much warmer than we'd expected and we sat on our parkas. I was rooting for the home team, but probably read a book during most of the game.
19. Slept under the stars
I was in college the first time I slept in a tent. In second and third grade we went on class camping trips and slept under the trees. one year he place we camped had three-sided shelters, which coincidentally was the same year it rained and rained. There were a bunch of parents, but many many kids - two classrooms' worth, plus our siblings.
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
I hated babysitting. Not because of diapers so much as because of babies. Weird to think that the four children I babysat are now about 30 years old.
22. Watched a meteor shower
A bunch of us working on Laundry and Bourbon and Lone Star in the summer of 1990 went out to Yelm to watch the stars fall. It was some big named meteor shower, though I can't remember which one. The assistant director of the show was from Yelm, and she said it would be dark enough out there to see. It was. We sat on a picnic cloth, drank wine, talked, and got home really late.
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
But I can't really see through telescopes because my vision is so bad.
29. Asked out a stranger
Zirpu and I met on Craigslist. We exchanged a few emails and then arranged to meet in real life. Did I suggest meeting first? I don't exactly remember.
30. Had a snowball fight
A few days a year, usually in late January or early February, the college would have to declare a snow day because it was too hard, or too dangerous, for students and professors to get to school.Our house was near campus so lot of people would come over and we would go on walks, have snowball fights, and drink hot chocolate and eat the cookies or brownies or whatever other good things Jujubi baked.
34. Ridden a roller coaster
Willard's Whizzer and the iconic roller coaster at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and The Demon at Great America.
36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking
What does a fool dancing look like? I've done so much dancing that I've probably looked like a fool at least once. I have a still photo of dancing bolero with Zirpu in which I look totally clumsy and graceless.
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
I took acting classes at Attic Theater when I was in junior high school. One evening after class a friend and I spoke in British (or British-ish) accents for the whole ride home. We were in a cab, and were talking as if we were in a production of The Diary of Anne Frank. The cabbie probably thought we were show-offs, which we were.
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
Much longer than a moment, and at more than one time. Like these days, for example, despite crankiness due to work burnout.
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
One night when Bink was in law school, she had a party at her house and Spudwhip, Denver D, and I sat in the backyard and passed a bottle of Three Star vodka back and forth. Denver D was in the middle. Spudwhip really took the lead in making sure Denver D would be all right - and the next morning he felt the best of the three of us, since he'd been so sick the night before.
42. Had amazing friends
More interestingly, I have some friends I don't really like. Well, acquaintances really. But the rest of my friends are amazing. I wouldn't settle for less.
44. Watched whales
When Bink got married in the backyard of her in-laws' house on Orcas Island, at the end of the ceremony the minister asked the guests to remain seated while the wedding party walked through to the deck to line up for photos. When the wedding party recessed, all of us were looking out into the San Juan Straits under a blue sky and a hot sun, with lots of boats on the water.
Suddenly a pod of killer whales appeared. It wasn't just that they appeared, but that they showed up after the wedding but while everyone was facing the water. I think it was a sign of good luck.
47. Taken a road-trip
Washington to Colorado three or four times. Oregon to Colorado once. California to Colorado twice. San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles area several times. The I-5 Boogie many times.
49. Midnight walk on the beach
After graduation from college, a bunch of us rented a house in Seaside for a few days through Jujubi's parents. The house was a block or so from the beach. One night one of the guys who came down to Seaside for the celebration and I went onto the beach and into the water. It was dark, but there was a moon, and it was cold, but he was from Maine and went a little further out than I did.
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
Jujubi and I were walking around the Hawthorne Street Fair and stopped in to the Baghdad for a cold beverage. There were people at all the tables, but we asked a couple if we could sit in the empty chairs at their table and they said yes. Not long after they left, and a couple of men asked if they could sit with us. People had done it for us, so we said yes, and one of them started chatting a lot to Jujubi.
That was the Famous Irishman. We learned much later that he had made his friend follow us around the fair because he wanted to meet Jujubi.
55. Milked a cow
I milked a goat at Camp Beaverbrook in Calistoga during the summer of fifth grade. The different tent groups took turns taking care of the goats, and our turn fell on a Sunday, the one "sleep in day" during the week. The goats couldn't wait, so we were up at 7:30 to milk them.
58. Sung karaoke
"Me & Bobby McGee," twice. Never again. Do I sound snobby if I say that I sing much better, and feel much more comfortable, with a live band?
59. Lounged around in bed all day
When Shobi-wan and I lived together we stayed in bed as late as we could on Sunday mornings reading the paper and drinking coffee.
62. Kissed in the rain
I lived in the Pacific Northwest for twelve years. Of course!
63. Played in the mud
See above
64. Played in the rain
See above
Anyway, she posted this list. There's 150 of them, which is too many. I was much more curious about the ones she had done, so I thought I would borrow the idea and expand upon my own answers. However, I think I have to break it across two posts.
03. Climbed a mountain
Does Rocky Road, aka Corona Heights, count? All of us neighborhood kids took summertime classes at the Randall Junior Museum. Sometimes afterwards we walked up the long, eastern side of Rocky Road to its peak to look over the city and the bay toward Oakland.
06. Held a tarantula
I forget if this was part of sixth grade Science Camp or at the Randall Junior Museum, but we all sat in a circle and the tarantula walked across our hands as we held them close to each other, palms up, to make a path for the tarantula.
A college friend of mine was so afraid of spiders that when they made him do this is sixth grade, he freaked out and threw the tarantula across the room.
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
When I was a kid, the Coos had some property up in Healdsburg, with a cabin that was basically one big room and a sink that had a hose from the creek. There was an old barn, a great treehouse, and an outhouse. There was also a sauna on a deck attached to the cabin. Inside the sauna was an old bathtub in which we would pour about three inches of icy water from the creek, and we'd sit in the tub when we got too hot (DeeKay, as I've mentioned, never did). One night we were all in the sauna with some older kids (I don't remember who they were, except they were teenagers) and they had brought candles into the sauna with us. They had to keep lighting them because there wasn't enough oxygen for them to burn with all of us kids in that little space.
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
Many times.
09. Hugged a tree
I remember a field trip to see some old-growth redwoods. The ranger had some kids in the class hold hands and circle the tree to see how big around it was. We stretched our arms as much as we could and it still took six or eight of us to wrap ourselves around the tree.
11. Visited Paris
Mom called me in January '96 and said, "Round trip tickets to Paris are $400. Want to go?" I arranged coverage at both my jobs, paid for express mail and express processing for my passport, and we spent a week walking all over Paris. Highlights: The Musee D'Orsay and watching a parade of veterans walking up the Champs Elysee to the Arc d'Triomphe, in which hung the largest flag I've ever seen.
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
Several times, in different states and different states of mind.
15. Gone to a huge sports game
Mom took No and me to see the Giants play the Cincinnati Reds at Candlestick Park when we were kids. I may have been ten at the most. It was much warmer than we'd expected and we sat on our parkas. I was rooting for the home team, but probably read a book during most of the game.
19. Slept under the stars
I was in college the first time I slept in a tent. In second and third grade we went on class camping trips and slept under the trees. one year he place we camped had three-sided shelters, which coincidentally was the same year it rained and rained. There were a bunch of parents, but many many kids - two classrooms' worth, plus our siblings.
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
I hated babysitting. Not because of diapers so much as because of babies. Weird to think that the four children I babysat are now about 30 years old.
22. Watched a meteor shower
A bunch of us working on Laundry and Bourbon and Lone Star in the summer of 1990 went out to Yelm to watch the stars fall. It was some big named meteor shower, though I can't remember which one. The assistant director of the show was from Yelm, and she said it would be dark enough out there to see. It was. We sat on a picnic cloth, drank wine, talked, and got home really late.
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
But I can't really see through telescopes because my vision is so bad.
29. Asked out a stranger
Zirpu and I met on Craigslist. We exchanged a few emails and then arranged to meet in real life. Did I suggest meeting first? I don't exactly remember.
30. Had a snowball fight
A few days a year, usually in late January or early February, the college would have to declare a snow day because it was too hard, or too dangerous, for students and professors to get to school.Our house was near campus so lot of people would come over and we would go on walks, have snowball fights, and drink hot chocolate and eat the cookies or brownies or whatever other good things Jujubi baked.
34. Ridden a roller coaster
Willard's Whizzer and the iconic roller coaster at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and The Demon at Great America.
36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking
What does a fool dancing look like? I've done so much dancing that I've probably looked like a fool at least once. I have a still photo of dancing bolero with Zirpu in which I look totally clumsy and graceless.
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
I took acting classes at Attic Theater when I was in junior high school. One evening after class a friend and I spoke in British (or British-ish) accents for the whole ride home. We were in a cab, and were talking as if we were in a production of The Diary of Anne Frank. The cabbie probably thought we were show-offs, which we were.
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
Much longer than a moment, and at more than one time. Like these days, for example, despite crankiness due to work burnout.
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
One night when Bink was in law school, she had a party at her house and Spudwhip, Denver D, and I sat in the backyard and passed a bottle of Three Star vodka back and forth. Denver D was in the middle. Spudwhip really took the lead in making sure Denver D would be all right - and the next morning he felt the best of the three of us, since he'd been so sick the night before.
42. Had amazing friends
More interestingly, I have some friends I don't really like. Well, acquaintances really. But the rest of my friends are amazing. I wouldn't settle for less.
44. Watched whales
When Bink got married in the backyard of her in-laws' house on Orcas Island, at the end of the ceremony the minister asked the guests to remain seated while the wedding party walked through to the deck to line up for photos. When the wedding party recessed, all of us were looking out into the San Juan Straits under a blue sky and a hot sun, with lots of boats on the water.
Suddenly a pod of killer whales appeared. It wasn't just that they appeared, but that they showed up after the wedding but while everyone was facing the water. I think it was a sign of good luck.
47. Taken a road-trip
Washington to Colorado three or four times. Oregon to Colorado once. California to Colorado twice. San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles area several times. The I-5 Boogie many times.
49. Midnight walk on the beach
After graduation from college, a bunch of us rented a house in Seaside for a few days through Jujubi's parents. The house was a block or so from the beach. One night one of the guys who came down to Seaside for the celebration and I went onto the beach and into the water. It was dark, but there was a moon, and it was cold, but he was from Maine and went a little further out than I did.
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
Jujubi and I were walking around the Hawthorne Street Fair and stopped in to the Baghdad for a cold beverage. There were people at all the tables, but we asked a couple if we could sit in the empty chairs at their table and they said yes. Not long after they left, and a couple of men asked if they could sit with us. People had done it for us, so we said yes, and one of them started chatting a lot to Jujubi.
That was the Famous Irishman. We learned much later that he had made his friend follow us around the fair because he wanted to meet Jujubi.
55. Milked a cow
I milked a goat at Camp Beaverbrook in Calistoga during the summer of fifth grade. The different tent groups took turns taking care of the goats, and our turn fell on a Sunday, the one "sleep in day" during the week. The goats couldn't wait, so we were up at 7:30 to milk them.
58. Sung karaoke
"Me & Bobby McGee," twice. Never again. Do I sound snobby if I say that I sing much better, and feel much more comfortable, with a live band?
59. Lounged around in bed all day
When Shobi-wan and I lived together we stayed in bed as late as we could on Sunday mornings reading the paper and drinking coffee.
62. Kissed in the rain
I lived in the Pacific Northwest for twelve years. Of course!
63. Played in the mud
See above
64. Played in the rain
See above
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Identification, Please
I was carded on Sunday at Safeway, for a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream (it's winter - time for hot chocolate "with"). I was more focused on taking some of the cans I'd purchased to the county food bank collection barrel, and actually said, "Are you carding me for the Bailey's?"
Paulo mentioned last week that the bleach makes me look younger, and Zirpu agrees - Zirpu says it's not the bleached hair so much as it is that my hair is so obviously bleached, as I now have almost half an inch of dark brown hair below the straw-colored part. Someone in their late 30's might not be so cavalier about the roots showing, I guess. Well, it'll be purple soon, which should camouflage the brown.
The last time I got carded was a few days before my 35th birthday. The checker asked me if I was 21, and when I said yes he asked, "For how long?" Well, not only did I have to do some math, I first had to remember how old I actually was, because I've been 27 for a long time. After a few beats I replied, "Fourteen years?" and he said something flattering along the lines of "You look so young!" I almost said it was due to laughter and sex, but realized that wouldn't be an appropriate answer in a Safeway, so chuckled and replied, "Laughter and dancing."
Paulo mentioned last week that the bleach makes me look younger, and Zirpu agrees - Zirpu says it's not the bleached hair so much as it is that my hair is so obviously bleached, as I now have almost half an inch of dark brown hair below the straw-colored part. Someone in their late 30's might not be so cavalier about the roots showing, I guess. Well, it'll be purple soon, which should camouflage the brown.
The last time I got carded was a few days before my 35th birthday. The checker asked me if I was 21, and when I said yes he asked, "For how long?" Well, not only did I have to do some math, I first had to remember how old I actually was, because I've been 27 for a long time. After a few beats I replied, "Fourteen years?" and he said something flattering along the lines of "You look so young!" I almost said it was due to laughter and sex, but realized that wouldn't be an appropriate answer in a Safeway, so chuckled and replied, "Laughter and dancing."
Friday, November 30, 2007
Seven Weird Things About Your PAL
On this, the last day of NaBloPoMo, I shall respond to Boegle's tag on this meme (her seven weird things are here). This way I don't (I think) have to tag anyone else. The rules are to link back to the person who tagged you (she tagged me in the Comments section on Monday), tag seven random people, and write about seven weird things about yourself.
Because I couldn't respond right away I've had a bit to think about this. I think "unusual" is a better word than "weird", certainly less loaded. Here goes:
1) I'm bisexual. That's definitely in the unusual-rather-than-weird category. I don't think being bisexual is weird, it's just the way things are. But I recognize that other people seem to think it's a little weird (and I'm not talking about wide-stance Republicans here), and it's a good, sensationalized way to start the list. The rest of the list is in no particular order.
2) Until recently, I could recite (not sing) all of the words on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in order. This is my Desert Island Disc, the record with which I learned how to use a record player, and my instant cheer-up solution.
3) I have never eaten a peanut butter sandwich, but that's because I'm allergic. I have, however, made one. I had a camper who didn't bring a lunch when I was working at the JCC day camp in 1986. I actually made four tiny PB&Js because the only bread we had was Melba toast. I remember it as a singularly unpleasant experience because of the scent, which I find overpowering.
4) I never thought I would marry, up until a couple of months before I asked Zirpu to marry me. In a life marked by so much risk-avoidance and indecision masquerading as decision, marrying him was so right it was compelling and I had to ask. I didn't even shack up with him before asking, and we got married when I'd known him less than two years.
5) I was on TV when I was nine or so (I still had the braid, so I was no more than ten). It was a show on cable TV called "Rainy Days," an educational show for kids a little older than the audience for The Electric Company. I talked to the host (maybe it was a talk show targeting what are now known as "tweens") about my then-current favorite book, The Phantom Tollbooth, which I have given to several children in the last 10 years.
This happened before VCRs came along so I never saw my interview. I don't know if I caused a Fonzie effect.
6) I'm a ballroom dancer. If you're wondering, my favorite dances are rumba and foxtrot. My least favorite are tango (American and Argentine) and waltz, though I would watch the latter anytime.
7) I hate white underwear. I have been known to rant about how difficult it is to buy packs of undies that don't include white ones. I have particular hatred for Tighty (or Tidy?) Whities, and have stopped dating a couple men once I learned of their preference for them.
and. . .Because none of the above are particularly strange, except maybe the "reciting a rock album" thing:
8) I can put my toes in my mouth even though I have never done yoga. I still do it sometimes.
Because I couldn't respond right away I've had a bit to think about this. I think "unusual" is a better word than "weird", certainly less loaded. Here goes:
1) I'm bisexual. That's definitely in the unusual-rather-than-weird category. I don't think being bisexual is weird, it's just the way things are. But I recognize that other people seem to think it's a little weird (and I'm not talking about wide-stance Republicans here), and it's a good, sensationalized way to start the list. The rest of the list is in no particular order.
2) Until recently, I could recite (not sing) all of the words on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in order. This is my Desert Island Disc, the record with which I learned how to use a record player, and my instant cheer-up solution.
3) I have never eaten a peanut butter sandwich, but that's because I'm allergic. I have, however, made one. I had a camper who didn't bring a lunch when I was working at the JCC day camp in 1986. I actually made four tiny PB&Js because the only bread we had was Melba toast. I remember it as a singularly unpleasant experience because of the scent, which I find overpowering.
4) I never thought I would marry, up until a couple of months before I asked Zirpu to marry me. In a life marked by so much risk-avoidance and indecision masquerading as decision, marrying him was so right it was compelling and I had to ask. I didn't even shack up with him before asking, and we got married when I'd known him less than two years.
5) I was on TV when I was nine or so (I still had the braid, so I was no more than ten). It was a show on cable TV called "Rainy Days," an educational show for kids a little older than the audience for The Electric Company. I talked to the host (maybe it was a talk show targeting what are now known as "tweens") about my then-current favorite book, The Phantom Tollbooth, which I have given to several children in the last 10 years.
This happened before VCRs came along so I never saw my interview. I don't know if I caused a Fonzie effect.
6) I'm a ballroom dancer. If you're wondering, my favorite dances are rumba and foxtrot. My least favorite are tango (American and Argentine) and waltz, though I would watch the latter anytime.
7) I hate white underwear. I have been known to rant about how difficult it is to buy packs of undies that don't include white ones. I have particular hatred for Tighty (or Tidy?) Whities, and have stopped dating a couple men once I learned of their preference for them.
and. . .Because none of the above are particularly strange, except maybe the "reciting a rock album" thing:
8) I can put my toes in my mouth even though I have never done yoga. I still do it sometimes.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Elegance
I went to an anniversary party today for Paulo and Dre at Dre's parents' house.
They live in a big house with a big backyard. The yard has a pool with a hot tub in it, but I was more impressed with the stone pond with a fountain and two green copper herons at the edge and the stone patio with the stones all fitted together. Dre said this area had had a jungle gym in it when she and her siblings were kids, and that it took about twelve years for her dad to put in the pond and the patio.
I noticed in the bathroom that the hand towels matched the red and black bath towels that had a Chinese design printed on them. The foaming hand soap and the scent-matched hand lotion stood in bottles next to each other by the sink. In the living room, there were huge silk peonies on the coffee table, and there were ceramic pumpkins as the "fall accent" in every room. Granted, the house was dressed for a party, but the fact is, they had this stuff to set out. . .
When I see a Better Homes & Gardens or Sunset Magazine and I think, "That doesn't look like somewhere people live." But when I go to a house like Dre's parents', that is put together and spacious and pretty to look at, I'm still impressed - especially because it's obvious someone lives there, as I've been invited to come over. This isn't how my house looks! A few sets of owners ago included someone who had an eye for design, and it's clear he did some work on the place, including sponging a wall and painting a few other walls dark colors in otherwise light rooms. But now the little bathroom with green marbled counter tops and green toilet has purple towels in it. The blue bathroom has red towels in it. And we have no "accents" at all, though we have some art and photographs.
Our house is comfortable for us, and people tend to notice that we have a ballroom off the kitchen. It's about priorities, and we don't care about color matching towels (though the next set will be green and blue, if the rooms still are). We care about having space to dance in, so we do. We haven't been using it as much as have, or as much as we will again, but it's there waiting for us to get our shoes on.
They live in a big house with a big backyard. The yard has a pool with a hot tub in it, but I was more impressed with the stone pond with a fountain and two green copper herons at the edge and the stone patio with the stones all fitted together. Dre said this area had had a jungle gym in it when she and her siblings were kids, and that it took about twelve years for her dad to put in the pond and the patio.
I noticed in the bathroom that the hand towels matched the red and black bath towels that had a Chinese design printed on them. The foaming hand soap and the scent-matched hand lotion stood in bottles next to each other by the sink. In the living room, there were huge silk peonies on the coffee table, and there were ceramic pumpkins as the "fall accent" in every room. Granted, the house was dressed for a party, but the fact is, they had this stuff to set out. . .
When I see a Better Homes & Gardens or Sunset Magazine and I think, "That doesn't look like somewhere people live." But when I go to a house like Dre's parents', that is put together and spacious and pretty to look at, I'm still impressed - especially because it's obvious someone lives there, as I've been invited to come over. This isn't how my house looks! A few sets of owners ago included someone who had an eye for design, and it's clear he did some work on the place, including sponging a wall and painting a few other walls dark colors in otherwise light rooms. But now the little bathroom with green marbled counter tops and green toilet has purple towels in it. The blue bathroom has red towels in it. And we have no "accents" at all, though we have some art and photographs.
Our house is comfortable for us, and people tend to notice that we have a ballroom off the kitchen. It's about priorities, and we don't care about color matching towels (though the next set will be green and blue, if the rooms still are). We care about having space to dance in, so we do. We haven't been using it as much as have, or as much as we will again, but it's there waiting for us to get our shoes on.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
...Lest Ye Be Judged
Recently for some reason (maybe because it's on all the time) I've been catching the end of The Next Iron Chef. This show is an elimination competition to select a new Iron Chef for Iron Chef America (the rumor is that Mario Batali is leaving). Because I'm only seeing the last couple of minutes, the only part of the show I've seen is the judging, during which the judges criticize the food. The part that makes me cringe is when they're criticizing the food to the chefs' faces ("Did you even try the cauliflower?"). Maybe it's when I'm tuning in, but I don't remember anyone saying anything nice to the chefs about their food.
This is one of the reasons why I don't watch "American Idol" (which is famous for snarkiness) or "So You Think You Can Dance." The only thing I can imagine worse than being humiliated in front of coworkers is being humiliated on TV, though I recognize that in the case of these two shows, the potential tours are worth the cutting remarks. Still, I can't bear comfortably people saying mean things to each other.
Yet, I realize that judging that comes with remarks is more useful than judging that just gives you a place. Zirpu and I each have learned a lot from post-event meetings with judges. When we went to the Dance-O-Rama in Las Vegas in 2005, we were really inspired and learned a lot from the 400 other dancers, but though we got buttons for each event in which we participated, there were no meetings with judges. All we learned was that we had danced better or worse than people who placed around us, but we didn't know what we had done.
Of course the Arthur Murray Showcase judges are much nicer than these people on TV. However, I must say that our favorite judge/coach is Bill Jacobson, a Canadian Arthur Murray consultant, whose remarks often include the phrase, "That was pretty. . . mediocre." He's always loved our dancing, because even when we're doing it wrong we're dancing together.
This is one of the reasons why I don't watch "American Idol" (which is famous for snarkiness) or "So You Think You Can Dance." The only thing I can imagine worse than being humiliated in front of coworkers is being humiliated on TV, though I recognize that in the case of these two shows, the potential tours are worth the cutting remarks. Still, I can't bear comfortably people saying mean things to each other.
Yet, I realize that judging that comes with remarks is more useful than judging that just gives you a place. Zirpu and I each have learned a lot from post-event meetings with judges. When we went to the Dance-O-Rama in Las Vegas in 2005, we were really inspired and learned a lot from the 400 other dancers, but though we got buttons for each event in which we participated, there were no meetings with judges. All we learned was that we had danced better or worse than people who placed around us, but we didn't know what we had done.
Of course the Arthur Murray Showcase judges are much nicer than these people on TV. However, I must say that our favorite judge/coach is Bill Jacobson, a Canadian Arthur Murray consultant, whose remarks often include the phrase, "That was pretty. . . mediocre." He's always loved our dancing, because even when we're doing it wrong we're dancing together.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Competing and Showing in Dance
Whenever I mention to acquaintances that Zirpu and I ballroom dance, at some early point in the conversation the other person will ask if we compete, and when we'll be on Dancing With The Stars. The Arthur Murray syllabus is supposedly about "social dancing" and not competition, but there are AM competitions for professionals and Pro-Am couples. Certainly there are showcases, small regional ones and big international ones, which I feel, as a student, are how AM can help their students get the feeling of a dance comp without the actual competition.Zirpu hates performing. He is okay with dancing in group events, when there's other couples on the floor and the attention of the audience (and the judges) is split. I like the idea of performing much better than I like actually doing it. It's kind of scary to walk out on the empty dance floor with just my partner. Then the music starts and everything but the music and the counting fade away, and then suddenly the routine is over and I'm smiling, arms outstretched (probably the longest my arms ever are is at the end of a dance routine).
Dancing for fun is, well, much more fun. We can try out a new step, and keep doing it until we pull it off correctly, or just not do it again. We can drop into the steps that we learned a few years ago, and into steps from a difference dance than the song is playing (like kicking in a little swing into a cha cha) and shrug our shoulders afterwards. We can also ignore most of the technique if we feel like it, and laugh if ignoring technique throws us off. Also, I get to hold my husband close, or wiggle with him, and vice-versa, and that's always a good thing.However, when I watch a couple like Ben Ermis and Shaleen Archer-Ermis dance, I find myself drawn to the idea of dancing a show dance. It's a fantasy complete with soundtrack, costumes, skill, elegance, romance, and sex.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Counting, Counting
Most of the time when I am in the car I listen to talking radio (read: NPR) but do occasionally listen to music. And now I'm noticing that I'm counting it.
ONE, two, three, ONE, two, three, hey this is a waltz
ONE, two, three, four, and ONE, two, three, four, and wow a cha cha
Slow, quick, quick, slow this song is a rumba
Little, little, big, do they know this is a bolero?
It might be time to go back to the dance studio.
ONE, two, three, ONE, two, three, hey this is a waltz
ONE, two, three, four, and ONE, two, three, four, and wow a cha cha
Slow, quick, quick, slow this song is a rumba
Little, little, big, do they know this is a bolero?
It might be time to go back to the dance studio.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Two Posts
Humble Pie
Saturday, September 23
We went to Salsa Under the Stars tonight, meeting some friends and friends of theirs for salsa with live bands at Jack London Square. Given the rain this morning, and the fact that Jack London Square is right on the water, I thought it would be cold but actually it was quite nice. The dance floor was pitifully small, even for salsa, especially at a free event, but the Square has a big flat concrete design in the center that a lot of people used for a dance floor.
It's been awhile since Zirpu and I danced and we were definitely out of practice. We didn't really remember steps that we used to know well. The dancing surface was a little sticky, and the shoes I was wearing (not dance shoes) have stretched out so they don't stick on my heels, making spins difficult.
Of course there were some good salseros there, and lots of different styles being danced, as well as some not-salsa being danced. I felt clumsy and uncertain most of the night, and though a woman commented to Zirpu that he was a good dancer, I didn't feel like I was dancing very well. Not that it matters when you're dancing for fun, and I did have fun.
Hot Dog!
Sunday, September 24
I stopped eating hot dogs when I was eight. I don't remember why, but it probably had something to do with hearing that hot dogs were made out of pig snouts and ears. I stopped eating baloney then too, which makes sense since baloney is really like a flattened hot dog (in fact, No used to eat baloney sandwiches with ketchup). I even refused a hot dog at a time when I knew I was being a pain in the butt by insisting on cheese for my bun instead.
The only exception to my no-hot dog rule involved grills. On the stovetop at home, we cooked hot dogs in boiling water rather than other ways. However, if someone was grilling hot dogs I would eat one if it was burnt black and crunchy and if there was was mustard. I like my marshmallows toasted golden but if the hot dog was red I would ask to have it put back on the grill. More often I would opt for a hamburger, if they were offered. I still like hamburgers better but now and then I crave that weird hot dog taste. I think it's the nitrates.
I didn't eat hot dogs for eighteen years. I started eating them, and baloney, again when I was working at Harry's Mother. One night one of my fellow res counselors fried up hot dogs in butter on a pancake grill for dinner for the clients. The browned hot dogs looked promising so I tried one, and am back eating hot dogs from time to time. I prefer them grilled, but I don't require that they be burnt to a crisp. I still like lots of mustard on my dogs and my baloney sandwiches could be considered a mustard delivery system more than anything else.
I am into beef hot dogs, and not all those fancy-pants sausages: Chicken and apple sausage? Please! Those are for breakfast! The former Program Coordinator at the food bank loved hot dogs with lots and lots of ketchup, and she introduced me to some dogs from Trader Joe's (I could recognize the label but I don't remember the brand). On the occasions when I buy hot dogs, it's usually Hebrew National, but usually Nathan's and back east there's a brand called Kahn's which is also good but unfortunately unavailable out here.
At this time we have two bottles of interesting mustards in the fridge: A Jack Daniel's Southwestern mustard I found at Mom's and a (an?) habanero garlic mustard from a local firm. I'm planning to pick up some hot dogs for some mustard eating. Zirpu has the final word on hot dogs and baloney: "It's a random food to eat, once in a while."
Saturday, September 23
We went to Salsa Under the Stars tonight, meeting some friends and friends of theirs for salsa with live bands at Jack London Square. Given the rain this morning, and the fact that Jack London Square is right on the water, I thought it would be cold but actually it was quite nice. The dance floor was pitifully small, even for salsa, especially at a free event, but the Square has a big flat concrete design in the center that a lot of people used for a dance floor.
It's been awhile since Zirpu and I danced and we were definitely out of practice. We didn't really remember steps that we used to know well. The dancing surface was a little sticky, and the shoes I was wearing (not dance shoes) have stretched out so they don't stick on my heels, making spins difficult.
Of course there were some good salseros there, and lots of different styles being danced, as well as some not-salsa being danced. I felt clumsy and uncertain most of the night, and though a woman commented to Zirpu that he was a good dancer, I didn't feel like I was dancing very well. Not that it matters when you're dancing for fun, and I did have fun.
Hot Dog!
Sunday, September 24
I stopped eating hot dogs when I was eight. I don't remember why, but it probably had something to do with hearing that hot dogs were made out of pig snouts and ears. I stopped eating baloney then too, which makes sense since baloney is really like a flattened hot dog (in fact, No used to eat baloney sandwiches with ketchup). I even refused a hot dog at a time when I knew I was being a pain in the butt by insisting on cheese for my bun instead.
The only exception to my no-hot dog rule involved grills. On the stovetop at home, we cooked hot dogs in boiling water rather than other ways. However, if someone was grilling hot dogs I would eat one if it was burnt black and crunchy and if there was was mustard. I like my marshmallows toasted golden but if the hot dog was red I would ask to have it put back on the grill. More often I would opt for a hamburger, if they were offered. I still like hamburgers better but now and then I crave that weird hot dog taste. I think it's the nitrates.
I didn't eat hot dogs for eighteen years. I started eating them, and baloney, again when I was working at Harry's Mother. One night one of my fellow res counselors fried up hot dogs in butter on a pancake grill for dinner for the clients. The browned hot dogs looked promising so I tried one, and am back eating hot dogs from time to time. I prefer them grilled, but I don't require that they be burnt to a crisp. I still like lots of mustard on my dogs and my baloney sandwiches could be considered a mustard delivery system more than anything else.
I am into beef hot dogs, and not all those fancy-pants sausages: Chicken and apple sausage? Please! Those are for breakfast! The former Program Coordinator at the food bank loved hot dogs with lots and lots of ketchup, and she introduced me to some dogs from Trader Joe's (I could recognize the label but I don't remember the brand). On the occasions when I buy hot dogs, it's usually Hebrew National, but usually Nathan's and back east there's a brand called Kahn's which is also good but unfortunately unavailable out here.
At this time we have two bottles of interesting mustards in the fridge: A Jack Daniel's Southwestern mustard I found at Mom's and a (an?) habanero garlic mustard from a local firm. I'm planning to pick up some hot dogs for some mustard eating. Zirpu has the final word on hot dogs and baloney: "It's a random food to eat, once in a while."
Monday, August 13, 2007
Dancing at the Gym
Last weekend when I went to the gym, I was finishing up my stretches in the aerobics/spinning studio when a couple came in carrying familiarly shaped bags and wearing un-gym-like clothes. She was wearing a skirt and he carefully rolled up the legs of his camos after putting on dance shoes.
I slowed down my stretches so I could see what they were going to do. Being an aerobics studio, it has a big wood floor just like a dance floor. I've seen teenage girls practicing a jazz dance routine for a church performance in this space, and I think a friend of mine met another friend here for some tap lessons (or they just talked about it, I'm not sure).
This couple turned on their music and started dancing an Argentine tango. I don't know anything about Argentine tango so I think anyone who is dancing it at all must be pretty advanced, but I think this couple really was pretty good. It was obvious to me that they were practicing a routine, and I watched them for as long as I could get away with doing so. They had several stops and starts, but they looked like very good dancers.
Yesterday I went into the aerobics studio and a couple was in there dancing American tango. I talked to them a little bit and it turns out that they dance at the Starlite Ballroom in San Jose. He's taken tango there before, and they are planning to start a tango series next Friday. She wanted to get some of the basic steps down ahead of time; the classes at the Starlite are quite large, they said, and the studio is busier on Friday nights than on Saturdays, full of new dancers. They were practicing at the gym because access to the floor is free (with membership, obviously), and practice time at the Starlite is $10 an hour.
We talked dance for awhile, and they are learning rumba and salsa too. Both of them complained that she floats to the right (well, her right) when they are dancing. He thinks she steps sideways and backwards at the same time, rather than just backward. I smiled and said that is just a habit to break, but in salsa and rumba, what helps me is to look directly into my dance partner's eyes. I suggested that in tango she look two or three inches to the left of his ear, and toward the ceiling. I know from experience that "toes follow nose" and if your nose is pointed to the left your feet can't go to the right.
I left and they continued their dance practice. When I came out of the locker room, I saw that she was following, her nose tipped haughtily toward the ceiling, just past his ear.
I'm so excited about people ballroom dancing. I think it's so much fun at the same time that it's challenging my mind and my body. When more people dance, more people dance. There's only good in that!
I slowed down my stretches so I could see what they were going to do. Being an aerobics studio, it has a big wood floor just like a dance floor. I've seen teenage girls practicing a jazz dance routine for a church performance in this space, and I think a friend of mine met another friend here for some tap lessons (or they just talked about it, I'm not sure).
This couple turned on their music and started dancing an Argentine tango. I don't know anything about Argentine tango so I think anyone who is dancing it at all must be pretty advanced, but I think this couple really was pretty good. It was obvious to me that they were practicing a routine, and I watched them for as long as I could get away with doing so. They had several stops and starts, but they looked like very good dancers.
Yesterday I went into the aerobics studio and a couple was in there dancing American tango. I talked to them a little bit and it turns out that they dance at the Starlite Ballroom in San Jose. He's taken tango there before, and they are planning to start a tango series next Friday. She wanted to get some of the basic steps down ahead of time; the classes at the Starlite are quite large, they said, and the studio is busier on Friday nights than on Saturdays, full of new dancers. They were practicing at the gym because access to the floor is free (with membership, obviously), and practice time at the Starlite is $10 an hour.
We talked dance for awhile, and they are learning rumba and salsa too. Both of them complained that she floats to the right (well, her right) when they are dancing. He thinks she steps sideways and backwards at the same time, rather than just backward. I smiled and said that is just a habit to break, but in salsa and rumba, what helps me is to look directly into my dance partner's eyes. I suggested that in tango she look two or three inches to the left of his ear, and toward the ceiling. I know from experience that "toes follow nose" and if your nose is pointed to the left your feet can't go to the right.
I left and they continued their dance practice. When I came out of the locker room, I saw that she was following, her nose tipped haughtily toward the ceiling, just past his ear.
I'm so excited about people ballroom dancing. I think it's so much fun at the same time that it's challenging my mind and my body. When more people dance, more people dance. There's only good in that!
Sunday, August 5, 2007
It's Only Natural
We received an invitation from some friends to come dancing at The Starlite Ballroom last night. Zirpu didn't feel like it, but I went. I've been hearing about this place for years, so I was interested in checking it out. It's in a totally unassuming location, part of what looks like a business park, and has only a small sign.
However, the place is quite large inside, with a big main dance floor and two smaller floors as well, one of which was being used as practice space last night.
Zirpu and I have been on a break for a couple months and so it's been a while since I've been on a dance floor. I found myself a corner and did some basics to get warmed up, as it usually takes me about three dances to get in the groove of things. As the Starlite is well air-conditioned and large, I was getting chilled, but I didn't want to ask anyone until I was ready. I didn't want to embarrass myself making mistakes I know how to avoid.
Dancing socially with people I don't know is always an adventure. The AM style is designed to meet adjudicated standards and is very formal in comparison to the dance that people who learned in less formal environments in group classes and from friends. I don't know how to describe this, other than maybe the difference between marching and walking. They both get you where you're going, but one is more purposeful than the other. I can tell within a few moments how much experience my partner has and can usually adjust for that. Styling is different, but if the lead is strong I can follow that no matter what (and I keep count in case I get lost). I figure that can adjust my formality "down" when I'm dancing with non-AM people, if I need to do so, because there are good dancers out there with whom I can have fun.
When the DJ started the last waltz, I asked a man nearby if he would like to dance. You can tell when they do: First of all, if someone is still wearing their dance shoes, he or she is not done yet. Also, the men tend to lean toward the floor, as if they're being pulled by their heads.
I like the last waltz. Not because it's the last dance of the evening, but because everyone who's left wants to dance that dance. People really put their all into the last dance.
However, the place is quite large inside, with a big main dance floor and two smaller floors as well, one of which was being used as practice space last night.Zirpu and I have been on a break for a couple months and so it's been a while since I've been on a dance floor. I found myself a corner and did some basics to get warmed up, as it usually takes me about three dances to get in the groove of things. As the Starlite is well air-conditioned and large, I was getting chilled, but I didn't want to ask anyone until I was ready. I didn't want to embarrass myself making mistakes I know how to avoid.
Dancing socially with people I don't know is always an adventure. The AM style is designed to meet adjudicated standards and is very formal in comparison to the dance that people who learned in less formal environments in group classes and from friends. I don't know how to describe this, other than maybe the difference between marching and walking. They both get you where you're going, but one is more purposeful than the other. I can tell within a few moments how much experience my partner has and can usually adjust for that. Styling is different, but if the lead is strong I can follow that no matter what (and I keep count in case I get lost). I figure that can adjust my formality "down" when I'm dancing with non-AM people, if I need to do so, because there are good dancers out there with whom I can have fun.
When the DJ started the last waltz, I asked a man nearby if he would like to dance. You can tell when they do: First of all, if someone is still wearing their dance shoes, he or she is not done yet. Also, the men tend to lean toward the floor, as if they're being pulled by their heads.
I like the last waltz. Not because it's the last dance of the evening, but because everyone who's left wants to dance that dance. People really put their all into the last dance.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Fun lesson
We had a dance lesson today. Because of the literacy training, I missed two weeks in a row, and I'm still adjusting to having just one lesson a week. Most days recently I've been feeling like I would prefer to have no lessons a week, feeling burned out on dance. And it is hard to go from three lessons to one, when you've had three lessons a week for three years (not counting leading up to the '05 Dance-O-Rama in Las Vegas, when we had five or six lessons a week).
However, I had fun at our lesson this morning. We warmed up with the west coast steps we learned from the video, and danced some foxtrot, and then studied tango and bolero.
We got an introduction to a new step in bolero, which we haven't danced for awhile. Tango is my least favorite dance, because it's too staccato for me. Just when it seems like you're going somewhere, you stop. In fact, I refused to learn tango until after the aforementioned Dance-O-Rama when I realized that if I was ever going to dance in an All-Around I would have to know the six major dances. We reviewed a complex step we learned in a group class a couple months ago, so it wasn't totally new.
This photo is from the March 2006 Showcase (that's my re-purposed wedding dress).
I like learning new steps. Knowing lots of steps makes dancing more interesting to me. Zirpu and I want to be social dancers, not competitors. I tend to lose interest (and on bad days, patience) with lessons that concentrate on the finer points of technique and styling. Since we learned a couple new steps today, and they went relatively easily, it was fun. While we were dancing our foxtrot around the downstairs ballroom, I was thinking to myself, "This is fun, and it feels like a long time since I had fun in here."
I'm still thinking about what I do for fun, or could do for fun, by the way.
However, I had fun at our lesson this morning. We warmed up with the west coast steps we learned from the video, and danced some foxtrot, and then studied tango and bolero.
We got an introduction to a new step in bolero, which we haven't danced for awhile. Tango is my least favorite dance, because it's too staccato for me. Just when it seems like you're going somewhere, you stop. In fact, I refused to learn tango until after the aforementioned Dance-O-Rama when I realized that if I was ever going to dance in an All-Around I would have to know the six major dances. We reviewed a complex step we learned in a group class a couple months ago, so it wasn't totally new.This photo is from the March 2006 Showcase (that's my re-purposed wedding dress).
I like learning new steps. Knowing lots of steps makes dancing more interesting to me. Zirpu and I want to be social dancers, not competitors. I tend to lose interest (and on bad days, patience) with lessons that concentrate on the finer points of technique and styling. Since we learned a couple new steps today, and they went relatively easily, it was fun. While we were dancing our foxtrot around the downstairs ballroom, I was thinking to myself, "This is fun, and it feels like a long time since I had fun in here."
I'm still thinking about what I do for fun, or could do for fun, by the way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
