Spreading the love

So, tonight was the night. White Boy and I have been getting together every Monday night since the end of June (except for that one miserable week I was sick), practicing and refining our nightclub two step. Fell in love with NCTS dancing at the MAC in SLC with Utah Swing Ambassador. Didn't even know what it was then, just that he led it so well, and it just seemed to flow so smoothly.

Anyway, when Minnie asked me about teaching dancing to the mid-singles, I decided that NCTS was the way to go. It's a symmetrical dance, very easy, on the slow side, and perfect for 30-somethings who may not have ever danced a partnered dance in their life except for the dead-boring-high-school-slow-dance-junk that most people never progress beyond.

Looked on-line for a dvd that I could order so that I could get more solid on how to teach the basics. However, most of the easily commercially available stuff looked really cheesy. I did find one dvd by Michael Kiehm that looked promising, but this was much further down the line.

Anyway, after the initial disappointing dvd search, I turned to the next obvious source ... youtube! Again, some older, arthritic looking stuff, and some decidedly country stuff. Then, I found this clip and this other clip of my pal Jeremy with Monica, and I knew that this was definitely what I wanted to teach. Found a couple of other clips of Michael Kiehm and Jim & Katie to review for material, and everything else just followed.

For the class, we had abnout 30-ish people show up. In the end there ended up being about four extra women who were brave enough to stay in the rotation. Of course, some just couldn't stay put, and the rotation got all messed up, but both White Boy and I stepped in as leads, and I think it wasn't too bad. One nice thing is that I was able to get around and look at couples on a personal level, and help out those who were having trouble. Yes, there were at least one guy who was absolutely hopeless, and a couple women who were next to hopeless, but all in all, they weren't bad.

Before we ever got to the actual NCTS, I did a little primer on lead and follow technique. Men: set the direction, pace and moves, also, keep the hands level despite nerves (no chicken wing dancing), and don't squeeze your partner's hands too tightly. Women: follow, and fill the hand, whether it's open or closed position. Really simple tension and compression ideas. All that, and the importance of breath mints! As Steve Garrett says, "Dancing is the one time that a man can tell a woman what to do, and she's expected to do it." To which I like to add, "So don't mess it up."

We taught the basic, an outside turn, travelling crossovers, and the hug-me turns. Ended up leaving out the Miranda Roll with walkabout, and the Spanish Archer. And if you don't recognize the names of all the moves, it's because I didn't know what they were, and just made them up!

After the lesson, there was a lot of standing around and talking. Which isn't unusual, just puzzling. We'd just taught a great lesson, everyone seemed to be excited about what they'd learned, but no one was taking advantage of the large dance space and music. So, White Boy and I took a couple turns around the floor just for kicks. Maybe I should have talked a little about asking other people to dance, but you'd have figured that single people in their 30's would have figured this out for themselves. And White Boy did tremendously, for just having learned the dance a few weeks ago. If he weren't already exclusively dating someone, I'm sure he would have been able to ask out almost any woman at the event, and gotten an enthusiastic yes. If only all the other men were so enlightened about the attractiveness-enhancing properties of a man who knows how to lead and dance well.

Afterwards, Shimai J and Feminist A asked about places to go dancing, and I promised to send some links to some of the fun weekend venues. We also got invited out to dinner with Minnie et al, but I bowed out because of work the next day.

Dancing ... it's all about spreading the love!

Curry and Catan

Reluctantly got up at 0830 to go to church. One hour, I promised myself, then I can come home and collapse.

I've long since decided that being single in a married church isn't bad. In fact, I'm quite happy with my life. I'd like to buy a house, fall in love, get married, and have children, but the first goal is the only one that involves just my own free agency, and I'm hoping to make it happen in the next year or two. However, what I really deplore, is being-single-in-a-married-church-AND-being-harped-at. And although it's bad enough coming from people I actively dislike, it's even worse coming from people I rather like. I really don't need to hear that it will all work, you'll find someone for sure, guys are just stupid, etc etc. Not all men are stupid. It's never a certain thing that I will find someone who wants to marry me AND who I like enough to marry. And don't tell me it's all going to work out, because i think it's working pretty well right now. And that is part of why one hour turned into two. Really, I should have cut the other person off and left, but I genuinely like this person, know that they are trying to help, and didn't want to be rude. It took all of 15 minutes for the pain of my fake smile to fade after I'd made my escape.

Also got to catch up with my visiting teacher. A bit of drama with her twins, who have finally, after a stretch in the NICU, coming home, and emergent CPR and PICU re-admission for one of the twins. Plus, they're moving to be closer to family. She's been so diligent and kind these last few years.

Came home and did indeed collapse into bed for a few hours. Got up and made curry in record time ... two hours from start to finish. I think that's a personal best. Also, I've stopped sauteing everything but the meat ... less oil, and cuts down the cooking time significantly, without loosing any of the flavor.

Smallish group tonight ... just two tables. I taught at the Babes in Toyland table. It's always a bit of a drag; the games are much slower, no one wants to trade, and I miss all the excitement of the the cutthroat games. But's it;s worth it to spread the love of Catan. Of the bunch, I think Feminist A caught on the quickest, although Shimai J seemed to be doing really well. Feminist A won at the beginner table, and Wonder Woman creamed the competition at the cutthroat table.

Who else came? Boss-man ... hardly ever see him, and was very surprised that he came, so it was nice to see him. KY, who's finally feeling better. Lovely Lady.

The best parts of the night were just spent catching up. The Dot and Ballerina came, and B brought the baby, who we all admired. It was interesting to talk with B about how motherhood was treating her, and how her perceptions of motherhood have drastically changed. Talked about movies with The Dot and White Boy. Talked with Feminist A about the exponent retreat. And after most of the people had left, Shimai J, Feminist A, Jbeany and Girl Friday stayed around to chat about all things womanly. I've even gotten an idea for another girl's night in/out, and a couple of more women that I want to start including.

Camp Hollywood: Day Two

Woke up early today. Excited about Day Two, and dancing to the
Jonathan Stout Orchestra. Even got out my steam rollers and did a 40-50’s style coiffure, and got out a vintage outfit to wear in the evening. It’s been a long time since I’ve done the whole vintage thing … it’s time consuming and tiring to do their hair, and dry-cleaning never seems to get the clothes clean enough, but every once in a while, I’ve just got to do it.

Today’s contests: Am and Intermediate Jack and Jill Prelims, Pro lindy finals, and the Showcase division.

Had an interesting conversation with Little Julie about what constitutes Am, Intermediate, or Pro. I don’t like that some dancers are switching their status between competitions. For example, MarkB competed in the Int J&J contest, which was totally appropriate. However, it was unfair that he was competing against the likes of Doug Silton and Debbie Gitt, both of whom compete in Pro divisions at other competitions. I also thought that a lot of the really good competitors in the Am division should have been in the intermediate category. But it was weird, given that the Int division was only available in the J&J category.

The Pro lindy final was, to quote Wade Robson, ridiculous. I was blown away. It’d be worth it to buy whatever dvd that competition is on. The crowd gave a standing ovation at the end. Loved Ben & Carla, Dave & Kim, and Dan & Tiffany.

Showcase was fun. Lots of international dancers … representing Canada, Sweden, France and Italy. Japan was also represented, but not in the showcase competition. The best was probably the couple from Italy … very innovative, comedic, and just fun to watch, incorporating techno and salsa music into their swing routine.

Ended up eating dinner alone at the steak place in the hotel. Could have joined in with some other groups, but I wanted to eat a good meal in a restaurant, not pizza or sandwiches. Had a tasty ahi tuna steak with some scrumptious garlic mashed potatoes. I always try to eat more protein when I know I’m going to dance a lot.

To provide an outlet for the dancers while the ballroom was being set up, Hillary arranged for piano dance jams in the lobby. Glenn Takakjian and friends. And so it was that the rest of the hotel patrons got a good showing of dancers going at it on the slippery main lobby area. Lots of fun.

JSO was good. Lots of great music at variable tempos. It’s a little sad that the Bill Elliot Swing Orchestra didn’t come this year, but the times are a changing. The evening competition was for teams. Really liked Debbie Gitt’s team’s routine. The beginning was great. However, like the Hornets, who are also really fun to watch, sometimes they just didn’t sustain the excitement. I think the best routine of the night was by the 23 Skidoo gang, headed by Dan and Tiffany. Coming out, in corsets and goth make-up, it was an abovious nod to Wade Robson’s zombie routine. They had a bunch of crazy aerials and lifts, that were well choreographed, and the excitement and interest didn’t flag at all during the entire routine.

After the ballroom got really hot, I wandered out and found solace in the remarkably cool blues/westie room. Huzzah! Went and changed my clothes and shoes into what I normally wear, and was ready to go. Had some really good dances, then went to look for MarkB. Took a long time to find him, and he was dancing with someone else. Sat down for a break, and then he was gone. Deciding to just let it go, I returned to the blues room. And not too much later, he came in, and we had a few more dances. There was a little tension between him and his girlfriend. It’s hard when dating dancers are on different levels, and the more beginner dancer isn’t proactive about finding their own dancers. I’ve been on both sides of the fence, and neither side is fun.

When I noticed I was staggering more than dancing, it was time to leave. I never wear a watch when dancing … it just gets in the way and provides an unnecessary snagpoint. Got into my car, and when I turned the ignition, I noticed it was after 0400.

Camp Hollywood: Day One

Headed over to the LAX Marriot for Day One of the Camp Hollywood competitions. See the Camp Hollywood 2006 opener here. On the menu today: Pro and Am Lindy and Balboa prelims, and the Shag prelims

I remember enjoying the lindy competitions. In the Am division, Young Gun was definitely my favorite. Giobfast was good, but his partner was a sub, since Little Flower had disclocated her shoulder the previous week. And those are the only ones that stand out, now that I've finally gotten around to writing this. In the pro divison, Ben & Carla were the obvious standouts, and I remember Dave & Kim, Ben & Sheri, and Marty & His new partner as being particularly good.

Balboa is really a great dance, and I wish more leads would learn to do it … well. Most of what I see these days is really fast bal-swing, but it’s also a fantastic dance to do to easy, moderate tempos. Bal started in Orange County around 1940. Here’s a brief history of bal-swing in Southern California. A gem in the lindy archives is The Beach clip with Hal Takier (in the white Cuban shirt and the dark trousers

More currently, here’s a great clip of aBal-swing teacher’s demo in France. I like Andy & Christelle, and Randy & Kara. My absolute favorite Bal-swing couple was Steve and Denise. They were brilliant when they danced together. They stopped dancing together a few years before youtube started, so I can’t find any clips of them dancing together. However, in this clip of the Bal finals from CH 2005, you can see them dancing separately. Denise is the first girl to dance, and Steve is the 8th guy to dance. Also of note are Ben Riccard (4th), Mikey Pedroza (7th), and Allison Plys (9th).

Really, the shag is my least favorite swing dance, but I’m all admiration for those who do it well, like Sailor Mike and Laura. The best part of the shag competition may have been Ben Yau, who is about 5’7”, dancing with a tall thin woman who was at least a head and neck taller than him. Absolutely fantastic!

But the best part was seeing people I haven’t seen in months to years, catching up, and getting in some dances between the competitions (despite wearing my clogs, and not any type of dancing shoes). Bill and Teresa from Ventura. Little Julie (not JB, but the other one). And MarkB. Oh MarkB … one of my favorite leads to dance with. Not flashy, but really solid, enthusiastic and creative. I never have to worry when I dance with him, it’s all pure enjoyment. Made up for last night’s disappointing dances. Also saw a lot of local dancers. Eli. JoNg and E, who are taking the intermediate track. Manhattan Beach. Claire, Giobfast and Little Flower.

Didn’t stay for the evening dance. I enjoy Mora’s Modern Rhythmists, but there just aren’t enough good and available bal-swing dancers to make the price of the ticket worth it.

There's a first time for everything ...

... even a disappointing night at Lindy Groove.

Work was harried. Unit was busy. I was in a big room, and had a pair. One little thing after another. One patient had a fever and needed to be pan-cultured. The other was pretty agitated, requiring lots of care, and additional pain and sedation meds. Feverish patient also had to get a thoracentesis, and have the fluid sent off for another battery of tests. New batch of residents who need to be broken in. Didn't take breakfast until 1100. Then, thoracentesis-boy had to go down for a hip CT ... since he couldn't fit into the MRI machine yesterday, due to the severe hip contractures that contort his body. Went down for that. When I got back, the resident complained that they hadn't read all of his comments, and we needed to go down for the pelvic CT. Ridiculous, since I think the resident ordered the CT wrong in the first place. Anyway, the fellow SS took a look at the CT on the computer (all of our radiology studies are digital ... I love it!), and said that the hip CT had captured the pelvic info they needed, and cancelled the second CT. Thank goodness!

Spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on thoracentesis boy's quadruple antibiotics (all given via a single lumen PICC line), and was grateful to report off the same nurse I had gotten report from in the morning.

Took a little nap in the staff lounge before heading up to LG. Have to say that it was a disappointing night. Every other year, the Thursday before Camp Hollywood has been fantastic, as all the out-of-towners have been so eager to ge in on the Lindy Groove action. However, I'd forgotten that this was the 10th anniversary of CH, and that they had planned a special event, with an instructor's jack and jill. Needless to say, the crowd at LG was thin. The number of people I wanted to dance with was small. Danced a few numbers with some guys who were eager to impress. Oh, they impressed all right, their thumbs into my forearms so much that the dance was more pain than pleasure! Whatever else it is, dancing should not be painful. I left much earlier than usual, and was glad to escape.

Time with Genie

Went down to Costa Mesa today to have lunch with Genie. We'd planned this several times during the month, but put it off because I was sick.

Got down there, and had a little time to tussle with the nephews. It's been less than three weeks since I've seen them, but Bean 3 is clearly crawling like a champion, and enthralled with all the things there are to discover. Beans 1 and 2 are tanned and fit from hours in the pool. Bean 1 is getting more and more verbal in English, and it's fascinating to hear him talk about through his thoughts and childish desires. Bean 2 is also getting more verbal, but I think he is often frustrated by his inability to keep up with his older brother.

Lunch was at Pinot Provence, reviewed here. Yummy business lunch with three courses each. It was not a lot of food, but it was delicious and filling. Especially liked the duck with fig. Good to have some one on one time with Genie. Find out how the boys are doing, and how she's experiencing motherhood with these rambunctious boys, and how they're learning, growing, and developing their distinct personalities. It's so comforting to see Bork so well-settled in life with such a wonderful wife. Genie helps temper his, well, temper, and smooths life in so many little ways. And they just love each other. We're all keeping our fingers crossed that the summer internships continues to go well, and that the Dragon family will settle down in southern California.

The changing face of marriage in the church

The most interesting thing at church today was the RS lesson ... despite my general narcoleptic tendencies in RS, and notwithstanding White Boy's first lesson as a Gospel Doctrine teacher.

The lesson in RS this week focused on Elder Dallin H. Oaks' remarks on divorce at spring general conference. It was a startling topic for a GC address, and I confess that I was excited that it was being discussed in such a public, church-wide forum. Having reread the address, there are certain things I agree with ... like preventing ill-advised marriages as the medicine against divorce, and that divorce should be the last option and not the first. I don't know that I agree with all the statistics he presented ... some of the sources seem to come from a conservative bias. Then again, I haven't reread all hiss source material, and am unlikely to do so either.

The fact is, the mormon marriage has undergone a bit of aging and face lifts just in my lifetime. When I look at LDS women, I no longer get a picture of a barefoot, perpetually pregnant woman with a surburban and a horde of children. More and more, I see lots of marriages with fewer children. Or divorced couples ... mostly single mothers. Or single women. Or second marriages. Or people waiting to get older before getting married. Or part-member families. That isn't to say that the first image of mormon marriage won't always be a golden haired, attractive couple surrounded by 4-6 children dressed in matching clothes prettily arranged in some pastoral setting. It won't. However, that image is now closely followed by other images that help round out the picture of what latter-day saint lives actually look like.

Making it happen

So, in the spirit of not relying on church leaders, I organized a little girls' afternoon out. Lunch and a matinee movie with some women that I'm interested in getting to know more. Not that I don't like including the guys. Just that time with just girls is rare these days. So, we lunched at Jack Spratt's before going to the new Landmark theatre at Westwood and Pico to see Once, a movie Mr. Giggles had recommended eons ago. I've been listening to the soundtrack on-line, and wanted to see it before it left theatres.

The movie was so lovely. Not a lot of tricks or special effects. Just intimate footage of the two main characters as their story unfolded, and music that seemed to fit right in. On film, some of Glen Hansard's vocals came off a bit harsh, but I still loved it. Marketa Irglova was so charming. The music throughout was tender and touching. The kind of music that makes falling in love easy. Little things, like draggin around a hoover, or nipping hanky-panky in the bud, snagged my attention and made me want the movie to last beyond the standard one and a half hours. Not a standard Hollywood ending, but it brought a tear (or maybe even two) to my eye.

How often do you find the right person? I'll have to get back to you on that ...

In the meantime, I've finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. Loaned my copy to Wonder Woman, whose guaranteed-delivered-on-7/21-bought-on-Amazon.com-copy never came!!!

A nurse's thoughts on being sick

Day 1: Not feeling great today. Good thing I'm precepting, and that E is pretty much ready to go on her own. I can hang on until the end of the shift. Good thing I already told the charge nurse that I'm calling in sick for tomorrow. Hopefully I can go home and just crash. Oops, stop by the store first to stock up on cold meds and stuff for ramen (the cheapy packages and eggs to whip and mix in), which always make me feel better.

Day 2: Bad cold. Didn't sleep. Drip. Drip. Drip. Waiting for the virus to peak and clear. Feeling the fever rage throughout my body. Sometimes it feels good, other times it just feels awful. Advil is my friend. So is Zicam. Hmmmm. Remember to drink lots of fluids.

Day 3: Coughed all night. Not a good sign. Call Genie in the morning and tell her that lunch is impossible; hate to spread the cold to her, Bork or the Beans. Oooh, Bork and Beans. Ha! Definitely not a good night.

Day 4: Awful day. Drugs are not doing the job. Emailed a friend for a blessing. Can come by later tonight. Yay. Grumpy from lack of sleep. Nose still dripping despite constant blowing, feeling chapped. Cool pack on forehead keeps eyelids from getting too hard. No fever, but still having hot periods and chills. Mean to my roommates. Boo on me. Relieved to get blessing. Friend got my HT to come. HT brought his wife, who brought me some Vit C. Feel emotionally better after the blessing.

Day 5: Make appointment to see PMD in urgent care. This has gone on long enough. Ditched the Zicam, holding advil until after PMD visit, drinking fluids and taking Vit C. Actual PMD not in, but saw his partner. Explained and was examined. Does he know I'm a nurse? Bronchitis. Fluid behind the eardrum. Recommend antibiotics. Yes, please. Want some phenergan with codeine? Ooo, yes please! Hurray hurray! I can see long bouts of sleeping in my immediate future! Pharmacy to fill Rx's. Take first doses in parking lot. Good thing it's only twice a day. Need to make a chart to remember when I've taken doses. Sad that a nurse so gifted at giving multiple antibiotics is so awful at taking even one. ...... zzz ... zzz ... zzz ...

Day 6: 0100. Feeling good after many hours of sleep. Should I try to go get the Harry Potter book? Well .... YES! ~~~ Wow, line down the block and around the corner. Doesn't appear to be moving. Maybe I'll wait in my car a little. Or maybe I'll go ask how late they're open. Oops, now the line is moving. Yes, I'm here to get the book. The last you'll let in? Ooo, thanks. Line extends around the whole store. Ho hum. Let's rifle through this book. Charles Lindbergh ... no mention of lindy hop? Outrageous. Let's try this book. Nope ... boring. Anyway, don't buy any books until you can get more coupons off the internet. Mmmm, he's cute. Cough syrup wearing off! And now I'm at the register. Hurray! Book. Free poster. Head home for more quality time in bed and more drugs.

Great Expectations

Posted this over at exponent blog. Some really interesting responses. Am glad to know that many don't mind a bit of disconnect from their marriage partners in terms of interests. As yet I'm unconvinced that it will be something that I have to deal with. Not that I'm unconcerned. It's just that I may never find someone that I care deeply enough about, who reciprocates, to worry about it over.

One thing many of the interest-disconnected people seem to have in common is a really similar (or at least compatible) mode of communication. And therein, I think, lies my problem. I'm a good listener. Or at least when I'm not totally self-absorbed. And it's rare that I feel comfortable enough in a relationship to divulge lots of myself. Parts of myself ... well, okay. But the most important stuff only gets heard by the most important people ... which don't tend to be the people I date. I'm a good keeper, not giver, of secrets.

The talk brought on the tickle?

Woke up with a little tickle in my throat.

Went to church.

Came home and took a nap.

Woke up in a panic around 1600, remembering that Wry-an was going to call. Sure enough, there was a message. Called, updated, planned. Haven't talked on the phone like this in ages. Hung up, tickle slightly aggravated. But excited about going to visit him and Georgia Peach in September.

(Also of note: Stake Counsellor #2 was in our ward today. A day which was like a three hour long eulogy to a former stake president and his family who were moving away. Almost felt like those orchestrated missionary farewells that we aren't supposed to have anymore. Anyway, saw Stake Counsellor #2 in the hallway between meetings. And on the fly, I sweetly stated that he had never called me back a few months ago when he had again requested my phone number, in order to talk about a mid-singles magnet ward. He seemed a little embarrassed, and muttered something inconsequential. To which I (sweetly) replied that I'm learning to be patient. Later on, I found out that Improv-er (one of those "key" mid-singles that they were trying to convince about the magnet ward) had been called to be a counsellor in his ward bishopric. I don't know whether to be happy or dismal. Either they're grooming him to be a bishopric member in a (far-off) future magnet ward, or they've ditched the idea completely. Deciding now that I'm just going to make my own events to meet and make friends, and not rely on church leaders. Being patient in this area is serving no one's needs.)

+ For Theory, - For Execution

Went over to the Geffen Contemporary Museum with the OC LDS feminist contingent to see the Wack! Art and the Feminist Revolution exhibit. Lots of different types of artwork were included ... paintings, drawings, photography, art-installations, etc etc. And yet, the focus of the exhibition was very specific, taking art only produced between 1965-80, and only by female artists.

On the whole I was "underwhelmed." Maybe it's that I'm not generally a fan of contemporary art. While I liked a lot of the theory behind some of the pieces, the execution often seemed shoddy, crude or vulgar. One particularly theoretically interesting piece (a woman charted parallel emotional oscillograms of conversations she had with her mother ... what is so basic as a woman's relationship to her birth mother or motherly figure) was scribbled on 8x11 sheets of paper with pen in handwriting that was barely discernible, much less pleasing to the eye. Very interesting theory, very poor exeecution. Another large painting showed a vanity table with a picture of Marilyn Monroe, cosmetics, fresh fruit and jewelry, with some type in the middle about the first time Norma Jean had someone comment on her looks. The painting was skillfully rendered, and it was apparent that the artist was trying to focus on the temporality of physical beauty, but the whole image looked like a cut and paste collage ... like one would see in a glossy advertisement for CVS cosmetics.

Even less did I enjoy the nude parading of women, either as subjects or self-portraits. And not because I don't like nude art. I have several friends who do wonderful live model sketches, and there are several artists who are able to render the human form as very divine. However, I do have a personal convictions that some things (like pubic hairs, for example) are not ever pretty, and cheapen (rather than alleviate) art.

Whew! That all being said, there were a couple of things that I did like about the exhibit. I liked the enormous red weaving that hung in the antechamber of the museum. It really is massive. And intricately woven with many different threads and yarns and weaves throughout. I imagined it as the collective feminine heart, knit together despite color, race, time or belief. I also liked the room with the crocheted, intertwined pieces. And, I liked some of the really sharp black and white photography.

I want art to be beautiful, and inspire me to live more beautifully. I want to find that touch of the divine. I like portraits better than landscapes. I especially like portraits that tell a story about the subjects. Rembrandt. Sargent. Cassatt. Even Rockwell, and Say. I think that finding the humanity in a portrait makes it easier to find humanity in those I meet.

After the exhibit, a few of us ventured into J-town (Japanese-town, aka Little Tokyo) for some ramen. It was a dead and lifelessly hot day, but who can resist good ramen? Luckily, there was a dish (can't even remember the name) that came with hot broth, but cold everything else on the side ... which was just perfect. Yummy yummy oishi! We then went in search for some mochi. My very favorite type of mochi is green, very soft, no bean paste inside, and served with kinako powder. I believe the name of it is yomogi mochi, but I could be wrong. I last had it years ago in Kyoto. Desperately wanted to bring some home to the US, but was told that it wouldn't last the trip. Since then, I've had green types of mochi, but it's never right. Truly, yomogi mochi needs to be fresh (not refridgerated) to maintain the right texture. I've learned to go without when I can't find the right stuff, which also proved to be today's case.

Came home and napped, then got ready for a night of salsa dancing in the OC. I've never been to Club Promenade, but had heard about it from an acquaintance. Drove down, found the place, and it was totally dark. Again with the poor execution. As I later found out, I'd misinterpretted the week. What a waste of time and gas!

So, to console myself, I wheedled Wonder Woman into coming with me to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. And for once, there was no lack of execution. And I was in a satisfactorily air-conditioned room!

The Endless Summer continues ... 4th night this week

Over to Paseo Colorado for the Hollywood Combo, featuring Big Jay McNeely. Not as many experienced dancers as last week, but just a lot of fun. Best dance of the night was with Joshing. Really, the floor is too small and sticky, and the beginning dancers just don't know enough (or don't care enough) to not bump into other people. But when I danced with Joshing, I didn't touch another person. And he's such a superb leader that I found myself doing double spins with no difficulty. I echo Gene Kelly by shouting, "Gotta dance!" ... except without the hayseed suitcase and hack-glasses.

Why didn't I see it coming?

Funny ...

Got an on-line message from an old acquaintance. Clicked back to see his profile. Hmmm ... new job as a reporter.

Remembered an old friend from way back, who left LA years ago to take a reporting job.

Got curious. Did the most obvious thing ... googled him.

And found this. Matthew "Bad" (as opposed to Goode, who was also in the ward way back when). Why didn't I see it coming? Handsome man with an acerbic wit, driven to perform on camera and paper. Someday, when he becomes famous, I'll be able to say that I knew him back in the day when he ate only Cheetos (or was it Fritos?) and Pepsi, and ran from sheep. That, and my director's cut of The Shopping Cart video ...

Endless Summer: in search of the perfect dance

Drove out to Burbank for the second time in a week. Stompy Jones playing at Downtown Burbank. Parking was a tangles mess of non-available spots. Finally found one down the street, AND it was free. I almost went into a dead faint ... or was it the heat in the oppressive parking structure.

Walking down the street, I skipped the last block, since I could head the band playing. Excitement!

Stompy Jones, aka Swing Session. A favorite band here in LA. However, JoNG delivered the bad news the other day that Pops (lead singer) had retired due to health reasons. It's tragic, since Pops ... well, he's unreplaceable. The new singer is young-ish, but he can't quite shake his Vegas lounge-y roots. Love the fact tha Burbank has outdoor dancing, eventhough I can't make it most Thursdays, and the floor in on an incline! It would seem as if outdoor venues are capitolizing on the uber-popular dancing dhows Dancing With The Stars and (my personal favorite) So You Think You Can Dance to get consumers out and about and ready to spend. Of course there weren't enough leads to satisfy all the follows, so I was more forward about getting dances ...

Which continued over at Lindy Groove later that night. I danced so much that I left before the evening ended! Good dances with StretchJ, Evincerator, Terminator and His Vickness. The up-and-coming crowd was also there. JoNg, E, N and Socrates. They've all become enthralled with dancing, and have really thrown themselves into it.

(And, I might have spent the morning watching all the special features on Tokyo Drift. Lots of deleted scenes that would have moved the understanding of the story along better. But, hey ... it was an action film. I'm just jealous of all the actors who got to practice drifting on a real driving course.)

I wanna drift with you

Over to HSAAL's to watch Tokyo Drift on his projector screen. Note: This was one of the movies I threw out as fun to watch at Arrowhead. HSAAL brought it, and even gave it to me (which made me wonder if it was really that bad, or if HSAAL is just that nice). However, with all the fun we were having, nary a movie was watched at Arrowhead, which I take as a point of pride.

Anyway, woke up this morning and put the dvd in my purse so that I wouldn't forget to bring it!

We all squished into HSAAL's apartment, which was surprisingly put together for a guy's place, and got to know each other. Of note: I met the writer who did the last musical episode of Scrubs, which was just fantastic. I am so feeling the jealousy vibes from Perky right now! Also met Mr. Giggles' writing partner J, who I've heard also plays Catan ...

So, TD was fabulous! Of course the dialogue was pure drivel. Of course we all laughed when the girl said, "... and everything else just disappears" as she's screeching her car down a moonlit mountainside. Of course the bad Japanese accents drove me bonkers. And of course we all hollered when we saw the surprise guest at the end. But the driving scenes were so fantastic that none of the other stuff really mattered.

It was really fun to see the shots of Shibuya. And the houseparty in the garage reminded me of the wackiness in Harajuku and Yoyogi Park.

One down side is that almost none of the principle Japanese characters were Japanese ... Sung Kang is Korean (and paradoxically reminds me of an asian Andrew McCarthy), and Brian Tee is either Korean or Chinese (I think he played the masochist on Grey's Anatomy a while back). And I love that Sonny Chiba, who used to play Hattori Hanzo in Kage no Gundan (Shadow Warriors), the ninja show that kept m family enthralled for years, was the gangster uncle Kamata!

So, if you're looking for some brainless fun and visual stim, I'd absolutely recommend this movie.

Also watched the opening sequence to Casino Royale, which I haven't seen yet. Loved the animation. And loved the X-men-ish chase. Everyone says that it was done without wires (except maybe the high rise stuff), which I find totally unbelievable.

Forth of four

At last! Finally doing my forth shift of four. It's rare that I do more than two in a row ... it just takes a large toll on the body. However, with trying to squeeze in babysitting, et had to be done. Anyway, after today, I'm off work until Monday!!! Sometimes I feel very lucky to have a rather bohemian work schedule. Then again, when I have to work on a weekend on a holiday, there is occassional grumbling. Good thing I'm getting higher on the seniority list, and getting bargained off weekends and holidays.

Went across the street to tour the new mockup rooms. Hospital has been undergoing lots of rennovations and rebuilding ... as is every hospital that's getting retrofitted for the latest earthquake safety codes. New area looks impressive. We'll have one nurses station for every 4 beds, a procedure light at every bedside, suspended rods for monitors, ventlators and IV pumps, and a family space at each bedside. New building is supposed to be finished by 2010, but I'm inclined to be skeptical.

After work, headed up to Paladino's for the first time in years. Paladino's is a dive bar up in Reseda ... famous for being the LA city that the Karate Kid moved to decades ago. Actually, since the remodel, it's not so dive-ey. However, the floor is still sticky and less than desirable. Why go, then? Well, it's where most of the good Hollywood dancers hang out. Dave and Kim still run a fun place ... good music, lessons before-hand, lots of special parties and treats, and good dancers. When I first started going to Paladino's, I was wearing all kinds of vintage and styling my hair in 40's rolls. Nowadays I'm more likely to be wearing pants and a t-shirt, with my hair pulled back and coiled, and it's just as good ... without the drycleaning bills.

Channeling Maria

Lately, I’ve been feeling beautiful. It’s quite a nice feeling, and I’m enjoying it immensely.

Now, I don’t think I’m unpleasant looking. I know that with a blowdrier, makeup and a pulled-together wardrobe, I can make myself look quite good. But I also know that I look just fine on my own. So, because it’s such a hassle for the day to day, I generally go clean-faced, and with functional rather than cute outfits.

But, lately I’ve been feeling beautiful. Almost like I should be dancing in the back room of a dress shop with my best friends, singing, “I feel pretty! Oh so pretty! I feel pretty and witty and gay!” And really, it’s more than just feeling pretty. I feel strong and confident and capable.

It’s rather a mystery to me why the sudden surge of well-being surrounding my 35th birthday. Because I rather expected to feel disappointed and depressed. As a single, LDS woman, who’s not currently dating, and who can sense the ticking of the ubiquitous biological clock, it wouldn’t be surprising to feel a bit blue. But I’m not.

This almost reminds me of that dream I had long ago … when I felt absolutely reassured that I would experience a passionate and all-encompassing love in my lifetime. Except that this current state of well-being is based solely on myself. And, for whatever the cause, I’m immensely grateful. Like Robert Benigni's movie, I feel that, "La vita e’ bella!”

Chasing Beans, Avoiding eyecontact, and Dancing in a skirt

After Lindy Groove last night, I went directly to the homestead. This weekend Bork and Genie are away on a social interview to see if they fit in with the firm that Bork is interning at this summer. So, all three Beans were going to be boy-handled by the rest of the family.

Dad, who was sleeping on the couch downstairs, was very happy to see me. He pointed to a bottle of formula, then the portable crib with Bean 3 in it, then went upstairs to bed. After a short shower, and checking on the other two Beans, I settled down on the couch.

Bean 3 started acting up around 0200. When it became decidedly apparent that he wasn’t going to go back to sleep, I got him his bottle, changed his diappy, and patted his bum until he rejoined Winkum, Blinkum and Nod. Fortunately, he didn’t wake the other two Beans.

In the morning, it was a little chaotic. Beans 1 and 2 up and hungry, and just a tad ornery. Bean 3 having a very different type of stinky diappy this morning. The bigger beans wanting to eat the chips and seven layer dip that I was snacking on, but not quite getting the hang of the layering, and swiping most of the cheese and sour cream off the top. Mom leaving for work. I tried to run out to Fry’s to get some cool stuff on sale, but Bean 3 suddenly got very attached to me, and started wailing whenever I walked away from him. So it was that we all piled into Dad’s car (which had all three car seats) and going over to Fry’s.

I love wandering around Fry’s. All kinds of cool, techie electronics. I positively drooled over the cameras, computers and gadgets, but only ended up getting some cd/dvd sleeves, an organizer, and an 8Gig (!) USB flash drive that I seem to have misplaced as soon as I got back to my apartment.

Rest of the day was uneventful. Back at home there was more of the same. Bigger Beans running around, always wanting something to snack on. Bean 3 wanting to be fed, changed, and held/watched all the time. I did break out the Planet Earth dvd’s for us all to watch, and that held the boys until about lunch time … at which point dad took the big boys over to McDonald’s for lunch and playtime in the kiddie jungle gym room. I stayed home with Bean 3 and tried to keep my cool in the heat.

In the late afternoon, while Bean 3 was sleeping, I slipped away to Lens Crafters to pick up my glasses. The optician who helped me was (to use a completely tired work) cute. Kind brown eyes, curly brown hair, a disarming smile, and a shy and helpful manner. It’s strange … I spend so much of my time avoiding eye contact (An asian thing? An I-don’t-want-to-dance-with-you thing? An I-really-like-you-so-I’ll completely-ignore-you thing?), but feel completely comfortable looking into the eyes of whichever optician is helping me at the moment. Maybe it’s because I know they’re not trying to plumb the depths of my mind, and I can just enjoy looking into theirs. The eyes seem to tell so much. I like looking into others’ eyes when we’re having really deep talks. And I have trouble meeting someone’s eyes when I’m talking about my innermost thoughts and feelings. Indeed, when I’m having a real heart-to-heart (as opposed to being a confidant or trouble shooter), I prefer to be where the light is very, very dim.

Anyway, the guy was cute. And my new glasses look good. He cute optician guy told me so. But even more important, I felt it was so. However, the contacts won’t be ready for a couple weeks.

Back at the homestead, I got ready for dancing. Quick shower and change, all the while praying that it would cool down before the dancing got too far along, then I was off to Paseo Colorado.

If I had to compose a personal, “My Favorite Things,” it would include summer outdoor dancing to live music. In years previous, I was always a little suspicious of outdoor venues … lindy is danced into the ground, and it’s just too hard to do on most concrete surfaces. However, the last week of the series last summer, I went, and had a marvelous time. So, I was ready to start on day one this year. The band was hopping, and the floor was full when I arrived. Luckily, I bumped into Mini-Hulk, and got in two dances right away. Lots of other people around, and I danced almost as much as I wanted to.

Must confess that nowadays I am mostly a groove dancer. I tend to be more partial to the intermediate tempos, and to dance with leads who allow me a lot of flexibility. However, there is something special about dancing in a skirt … I always revert back to how I danced when I was taking semi-private lessons with Erik and Sylvia: a little bouncier, a little more Hollywood, a little more feminine, and a lot flirtier. Plus, as LitheOne articulated the other week, it’s just so much cooler to have the legs exposed when dancing.

Royal Crown Revue was kickstarting the Paseo Colorado summer series. They are such a dynamic band. Eddie Nichols, the lead singer, has a bit of the old-time gangster/pugilist air about him, and all the other band members are young, handsome and vibrant. Think Peter Lawford in the original Ocean’s Eleven. When I first started dancing, they played every week at the Derby, and I went at least once a week. That was where I met Wataboi, Little Flower and GioBfast, and 8-On. Good times, those were. Tonight, RCR played a wide variety of music, a lot of it rather fast. The floor was so packed that people started dancing on the concrete, which was smooth and not half-bad. At one point, it was just the drummer and the basist on the stage. Drummer started beating out a complex rhythm just with his sticks, then moved to drumming on the base, while the basist fingered the strings on the handle. It was amazing.

Anyway, I love it. There’s so much amazing dancing going on this summer … most of it free! Here’s just a taste:

Paseo Colorado ~ Free dancing from 830-2130 in the courtyard. Fridays are swing, Saturdays are salsa. Free lesson by PBDA owners Erin and Tami Stevens. I’m not big on the style they teach, but they are good dancers, and PBDA does feature live music.

I’ve also heard tell that there is swing dancing at One Colorado Courtyard on Fridays from 2100 on. Haven’t been able to find any info, but next time I’ll head over after Paseo Colorado and check it out.

Through July, there is also outdoor dancing to live music in Burbank on Thursdays . Lessons at 1800 by Francisco and Stacey. Music goes on at 1900 and goes through about 2100.

Also on Thursdays is
Lindy Groove for more dancing! $7 admission. Casual. Everyone from high schoolers through retirees.

And, Paladino’s is open every Tuesday in the summer. This is where the cool Hollwood dancers hand out. DJ music in a bar (with pool tables on the side). The floor isn’t great, but the music and dancers are. $7 admission, 21 and over.

Review: Three Cups of Tea

Posted my write-up of Three Cups of Tea over on Exponent Blog. Highly recommend this book. In fact, I've already loaned it to Shimai J. Anyone else interested?

Bearing one another's burdens

Busy day at work. Almost went to Paladino's for dancing, but decided against it because of the ankle. Was settling in for a boring night at home when my phone rang.

Item 1: I rarely have my phone on.
Item 2: I generally check to see who's calling me before I pick up, since I don't really like talking on the phone.
Item 3: Couldn't tell who was calling, but I picked up anyway.

Sure enough, it was Mr. Man. I had a sneaking suspicion it would be. Anyway, he needed help with a problem that I am specifically able to assist in. It's one of the few situations in which I am able to use a very specific skill set to help out a friend, and I'm always glad to do it. So I drove over and took care of it. And since it'd been a while since we'd had more than casual conversation, we settled in for a long chat.

Turns out that there had been gossip about me and a specific someone. Which made me laugh. I sometimes think LDS's are so eager to see people married off that spending time with anyone is an ecclesiastical/dating hazzard. Anyway, I quickly disabused Mr. Man of the rumors. At which point he started giving me tips on flirting with one or two of the gentlemen I am actually interested in getting to know better. It's always interesting to hear the male perspective on this, especially since there is no pressure with Mr. Man.

Talked about a lot of things. And it was getting late. But we kept on talking. Maybe it was the lateness of the hour. Maybe it was having a sympathetic audience. Maybe I just needed to let some stuff out that I'd been holding in for a while. Anyway, it was a very long chat. A lot of confidences and comfort given and returned. And it was good. And I really needed it. With Perky and Wry-an so far away, it was good to unload.

Left around 0200. Friendship is priceless.

New Views

Went up to the valley today for a very special birthday party. Pirategirl ... the one year old daughter of my friend Wendy-bird. A while back, my friend Wendy-bird told me that she was ordering specimen from a sperm bank in order to have a baby. I was completely flabergasted, and secretly thought she was a little nuts. Yes, she was a home owner. Yes, she was a hustler, working many contractual or free-lance jobs in her field, always able to support herself. Yes, she was wise with money. But she was also completely single, had no family living in the area, and I didn't think she'd had much experience with children.

Fast forward two years, during which we were just javascript:void(0)really busy with our own lives, and hadn't communicated much beyond the random email.

It was Pirategirl's first birthday, and I was invited. It was with a little hesitation that I entered the house. Beyond my habitual shyness, knowing that I wouldn't know anyone else there, I was a little apprehensive of what had happened to Wendy-bird and Pirategirl in the interim. I'm happy to say that most of my fears were unfounded. Wendy-bird and Pirategirl are both happy and healty. Wendy-bird has the fulfilled and satisfied look of a woman who had found a safe place to deposit her wealth of love, kindness and creativity. Pirategirl is a lovely toddler who is curious about the world around her, and revels in the love she finds at home. It made me happy to see them doing so well. I'm sure it won't be all smooth trails in the life ahead, but I think their lives will have an abundance of joy.

I was reminded of an episode of This American Life, 183: The Missing Parents Bureau, which focused on absent parents. In Case 1: Better Left to the Imagination, the focus is on single women who use sperm bank specimens to get pregnant. Generally, these are professional women, who don't have or anticipate a mate in their lives, but are ready to be mothers. It's always been hard for me to understand why women would do this. Parenthood seems hard enough when there are two parents, without throwing single (and single income) parenthood into the mix. If there's an accident, divorce, death or desertion, of course it's necessary to be a single parent. But I just couldn't understand why anyone would go to such lengths to be a single parent.

Or maybe it's that I'd never experienced baby hunger? I'm not an aggressive baby fanatic ... I don't like to hold unconsolable children, and I don't go out of my way to be with children who don't want to be with me. But I like children. I work with them professionally. I like babysitting my nephews, and playing with my friends' children. And I always thought that I'd have a couple of my own someday.

Nowadays, the concept of bearing children seems very far away. As I explained to my gyn, I'm not involved with anyone I want to have children with. And while it occassionally makes me feel sad, it's not something that I find fruitful to dwell on.

But every once in a while, I do long to be a mother. It's not very often. But there are times when I think that it would be deeply satisfying to raise a child, to have someone to lavish love upon, to nurture and teach and tend. Most times I fulfill these desires by trying to be good to those around me, at home and work, and it's generally enough. But sometimes it's not. And it's at those times that I wonder about someday becoming a foster or adoptive mother to a child in need. It's a new idea to c onsider. And so I wonder and I ponder.

In keeping with new views, and because it was the last day to use my flexible spending account money, I took myself over to Lens Crafter and used up the last of the money on eyewear. Granted, it was about $1300 of eyewear. Exam. Two pairs of totally souped up glasses. But since it was the last day of the 1/2-off-lenses sale, I still had a lot of money left over. So, I splurged. I got colored contacts. I know it's silly, and vain and pretty ridiculous, but even worse would be not using the money at all. I'll probably use them mostly to wear for nights out dancing. Plus, I've always wanted to get them, but could never justify the expense. I was still pretty conservative ... instead of the green eyes I've always dreamed about, the contact make my eyes a light shade of brown. So, next time you see a woman who looks like me, but with light brown eyes, you might just want to compliment said woman on how interesting her eyes look ... and leave it at that.

More fun at the festival

Lazy day. Not much to do, so I walked up to Westwood to see if I could get tickets to some shows.

After inquiring at the festival office, I ate a scrumptious lunch over at Damon and Pythias ... portobello mushroom and fresh mozzarella sandwich, and their fabulous onion rings. Really, they have the best onion rings I've ever tasted. With the garlic dipping sauce, it's absolutely divine.

Walked over to the Mann Festival, and got into the standby line for 2 Days in Paris, written by Julie Delpy, and starring Delpy and
Adam Goldberg, who I will always remember as the quirky friend in Relativity, which was one of those really good shows that got cancelled.

As I sat down on the ground to wait the hour and a half before the show, I met a professional mime. Of course, I had no idea he was a professional non-speaker. He was just the guy who asked the whole line to move down so he could also sit down unbothered by the prickly vines that spilled down over the short wall we were all leaning against. And really, I had two books to keep me entertained, but after a couple minutes of chitchatting, I decided that Clowning Around was much more entertaining. Turns out that he decided to be a mime while in high school. Went to mime school in Paris. Travelled with Cirque du Soleil as a clown. Lived in Australia for six years as a comedian. And has been living in LA for a few years trying to make it as a screen writer. (For a non-speaker, he was incredibly verbose). Anyway, after talking about how he and his writing partner had been signed by a big agency, and they had a film coming out this year, the actor sitting next to Clowning Around became very interested in our conversation! It was almost comic ... Clowning Around finally having an industry-related fan who was rather impressed, and Actor Dude almost flirting with him in an attempt to make a famous connection. I guess CA must have liked us, since he gave both of us his card.

Well, we all made it into the showing (after seeing Goldberg getting photographed outside), and ended up sitting together. I could tell that Actor Dude wanted to sit next to Clowning Around. I don't blame him ... if I were a struggling actor, I'd try to work every single angle possible. But it was not to be. I ended up being in the middle. Sometimes fate just works that way.

The film was funny. Delpy had some really good dialogue, and I liked the way she had the movie shot. She and Goldberg were hilarious together. My favorite scene was in the apartment, when they're getting hot and heavy. (paraphrasing)

G: Baby, I'm so hot for you. You know why I'm so hot for you?
D: Yes! It's because we have opposite immune systems!
G: Uhh?
D: We have opposite immune systems. The forces of procreation are driving us together so that our children will have strong immune systems. That's why we're so attracted to each other.
G: This is like dating PBS!
...
G: Whatever. Baby, let's procreate.
D: Yes yes! But, before you procreate with me, could you please put on a condom?

Anyway, the movie was hilarious. I don't even remember the ending, but I know that I liked the film. I left as soon as the movie was over, to meet my mother for the next film directly after. Luckily, I was able to buy tickets earlier in the afternoon, and she was free to come down and see it with me.

The next movie was Does Your Soul Have a Cold, a documentary about depression (utsu) in Japan, how it's been perceived, how medications were marketed there, and how perceptions have or haven't changed. Mental illness has such a stigma attached to it in Japan, that I was curious to see what the movie had to see. Interestingly, information was passed by a huge ad and internet campaign by Glaxo Smith Kline. And some of the interviewees in the documentary reported a big improvement after starting drugs. Sadly, the improvements don't seem to have lasted. Some of the people feel the drugs no longer help, but are afraid to stop taking them because they dear falling even more deeply into depression. My feeling is that depression is a multi-factorial issue, and that some sort of therapy or behaviour modification would have helped. However, of the few interviewees who had started therapy, none had persisted beyond a couple sessions. I wonder if this was more due to a lack of hope that it would work, or an east asian prejudice that therapy is totally ineffectual.

Postlude: Being a little skeptical of Clowning Around's verbosity, I later looked him up on imdb.com. Of course, it doesn't tell me about mime school in Paris, but it looks as if his bragging about his work in Los Angeles is legitimate. Makes me wonder how long Actor Dude waited to call Clowning Around after today ...

Phase III

E has completed Phase II on nights, and came back to days to complete Phase III on days before coming on shift. I really like precepting during Phase III ... it's when all the hard work of teaching becomes most apparent. Now that E's mastered all the basics of routine care, we can talk more about physiology, disease process, treatment and management. Today we had a trauma kid with an ICP. Good review of increased intracranial pressure, Monroe-Kellie doctrine, ventriculostomy monitoring and drainage, treatment modalities, how to recognize signs and symptoms of Cushing's Triad, and what to do for impending herniation.

Didn't go to Lindy Groove tonight. Right ankle's feeling a little tender and bruised after I hit it against a dumbell. However, wore a brace today and my new, expensive, ugly shoes, and didn't have any trouble at work.

Running around town

Errands, errands, errands.

Costco for food and stuff (or was it Monday? I can't remember now).

Ophthalmology appointment. Dilated eyes. I'd have been a hit in the 70's. Left the eye doctor's office, and the world outside exploded into painful light until I got my sunglasses on. Thankfully I had my prescription sunglasses, so that I didn't look like a complete geek with the place-this-behind-your-glasses darkened film-sheet.

Over to the gyn office for my yearly check-up. Left sore. Enough said. Was pleased that I'd scheduled the appointment months ago that was so convenient to the theatre were I was supposed to see Resolved, feeling that payinh $8 for parking at UCLA wasn't such a waste this time.

Walked a couple blocks to the theatre to see Resolved. Horribly frustrated to find that the Landmark theatre is NOT the same as the Landmark Regent theatre. Doubly frustrated that the shuttle only came every 30 minutes, which would make me horribly late for the 1700 showing. Trebly frustrated by the slow crawl of traffic down Westwood Boulevard to the Landmark theatre. Parked a block away so that I didn't wast time looking for nonexistant parking in the structure. Quadruply (?) frustrated at the blister I could feel forming on the ball of my left foot. Finally made it up to the top floor and semi-plead with the ushers to let me in to the theatre, to which they semi-joked that they'd held the showing for me in particular.

Walked into the theatre and was enshrouded by the darkness. When I got to the end of the corridor, I could see the screen, but thought that every seat was filled. After half a minute. I felt a hand on my arm. "Hey, thanks for coming out!"

Feeling very embarrassed, I replied, "Oh sure. I'm excited to see the film. But I can't actually see who you are."

Low laughter. "It's Greg." (the director of the film, who I knew a lifetime ago from being in the same ward and from swing dancing lessons before I really got serious. I happily congratulated him, then settled up against the wall, since I couldn't see any open seats.

Another person touched my arm and invited me to have a seat (read: You can't stand her during the show). I confessed that I'd had my eyes dilated and couldn't see any open seats, at which point the guy looked around and found me one that was easily accessible, and I settled in.

Resolved is about high school competitive debating. I'd come in expecting something like Presidential debates, or what I'd seen eons ago in JSA, which I was involved in during junior and high school primarily because of the great conferences and parties, and secondly because of an effort to be more civicly minded. Turns out the style of debate used in JSA is called Lincoln-Douglas debate, which is leagues away from policy debating.

Basically, I was riveted. From the 400 word a minute spewing from the mouths of the young participants, painful sounding mini-breaths, tubs full of information, complex personalities, streams of information, and fabulous editing, my eyes were glued to the screen. The blurb on the festival website:

The fascinating complexity of high school debate gives way to a portrait of the equally complex racial and class bias of American education in Greg Whiteley's riveting documentary.

Initially a portrait of top-flight debaters from well-funded, mostly white schools—like nationally ranked Sam Iola and Matt Andrews of Highland Park, Texas—the film deepens when it changes focus to Richard Funches and Louis Blackwell from Long Beach's Jordan squad. While gifted traditional debaters in their own right, the two decide to challenge the usefulness of the jargon-filled, 400-word-per-minute style of modern debate (known as “the spread”) by steering their debates toward issues of personal experience and dialogue. What is the use of refining an argument, they stress, when it does not affect the reality of a person's locale and particular life? Why must individual perspective and bias be masked? For many, these questions present such a radical interpretive shift that competitors and judges crumble in front of them.

Contrasting Fuches and Blackwell's attempt to challenge the system with Andrews' relentless pursuit to excel in it and win the prestigious Tournament of Champions, Whiteley deftly explores the disparities between the debaters, their styles, and their resources. Alternately inspiring and polarizing, Resolved reveals a constantly shifting sport that is as much philosophy as competition.

The movie was spectacular. More professional than New York Doll. More streamlined and visually and plot pleasing than Spellbound. I have no doubt that this will get picked up and distributed across the country. I'd see it again in a theatre. I'd even buy the dvd. It really was THAT good.

Made it home and started raving about it to both of my roomates. Ironically enough, turns out that Wonder Woman was the state champion in policy style debate, and Girl Friday had competed in Lincoln-Douglas style debate in high school as well. Then I got on the internet to look up the rest of the festival movies. Maybe I'll be able to fit one more in.

And lastly, there was another episode of SYTYCD!!!! Everyweek Wade Robson amazes and delights. Amazingly innovative choreographer. Fabulous dancer. Tall. Hot. And appears to be straight. What more could a tv viewer ask for?

Loved the pieces that Jamie & Hok (jazz) and Sabra & Dominic (rumba) performed. And I even liked Lacey & Kameron's Quickstep. I generally don't like the QS, but Meredith kept it fun and snazzy by adding elements from Charleston and Shag. Hurray for dancing!

Copacabana

No, not that Copacabana. This one. (You can catch the plot synopsis at the LA Film Festival website. Party Girl offered to get us comped tickets to see this documentary by her friend Martin Rejtman. So, after work I jetted home to meet up with WW and head off.

Parking in Westwood was almost painful, until we realized that the structue on Broxton was still open. Tried to get our tickets at Willcall and the theatre boxoffice, but were denied until Party Girl showed up and had a face to face with the boxoffice girl. Thank heavens! While there, I also got a ticket for Greg Whitely's (of New York Doll fame) newest documentary, Resolved

Copacabana was difficult to follow. Unfortunately, the subtitled version wasn't working, so they showed the unsubtitled version. Fortunately, unlike most documentaries, there was very little in the way of explanation or analysis, so it didn't make a big difference in the way we viewed the documantary. The Copacabana is actually a Bolivian celebration of dance that takes place in Argentina. The clips from the actual festival were jumlbed with wild costumes and fringe and shiny gold costumes. What I liked most was the footage from the practice sessions. You could jsut tell how dedicated the dancers were, and how much joy the dancing brought the,. without being distracted by the flash ... although I did love the women dressed in their tall bowler hats, really full skirts and fringed shawls.

Interesting to hear a bit from Rejtman afterward. Apparently he was commissioned by a television station to make a documentary about one of among a selected group of Argentinian topics. He chose the Copacabana because it was the events about which he knew the least. He also specified that he was showing it from an outsider's perspective, not someone who was integrated in the Bolivian-Argentinian community.

I think Film Fan has done a wonderful job with the Los Angeles Film Festival this year. Most of it is centered in Westwood Village, with the majority of the theatres within walkign distances. They've completely taken over Broxton Boulevard, with areas for family activities, larger than life Transformer models. and brights lights everywhere.

NCTS in LA

To mirror the YSA summer dance series, I was asked to teach a night of dancing for the mid-singles. Originally the idea was for a swing or salsa class. However, I had a much better idea. It's so hard to get first time, older dancers (younger meaning teenager and 20-somethings) to look good doing beginning east coast swing. Generally they end up looking a bit ridiculous and dated. And it's not much better for salsa, for which one needs to have that certain latin hop action to make it look good. It's much easier (and useful) for people to learn nightclub two step, which is symmetrical, has easier footwork, and can be danced to much of the contemporary or popular music that people listen to everyday. Plus, change the direction from side to side, to forward and back, add some hippy action, and it's basically the salsa!

So, I asked White Boy if he would be interested in learning NCTS from me, and helping me teach at the mid-singles FHE. Happily, he jumped at the chance. Yes, I could have asked someone from the swing scene, but I felt awkward about it. Most everyone is either married or involved, or live far away, or I'm just not close enough to to feel comfortable with to ask. And White Boy is a good friend, I've already taught him the basics of lindy, he's been taking classes on his own and with his girlfriend, and we can incorporate K into the later lead-up lessons to see how a beginner would understand what I'm teaching.

Tonight I met with White Boy for our first rehearsal. Reviewed frame. Taught the basic. Underarm outside turn. Miranda Roll. Travelling step with all the variations we could think of, and the blues mini-dip. Gave him some personal notes on things to help improve his dancing in general, and notes for NCTS in particular.

I asked WB about the YSA summer series, since he and K have been attending. Unfortunately, it seems that the teachers have fallen in to the major problems of beginning teachers. First, they don't have a set rotation pattern that takes into account the inherent imbalances of leaders to followers. When inexperienced teachers have everyone moshed together, and people randomly switch partners, the shy or non-Barbie/Kens often don't get partners. The best teachers structure their (not too large) classes in a circle, with partnerless danccers spaced evenly throughout the circle. After a couple minutes with each partner, the smaller circle rotates one space. In this way, no one's left without a partner for too long, and everyone gets to dance. Plus, it's just good social dancing practice to dance with a wide range of partners.

The second pitfall is to focus on tons of lifts or dips, instead of good lead and follow techniques. At most camps, they don't even teach aerials and serious dips until the advanced level, and even then, most people have to sign up in couples to make sure that people are comfortable doing potentially dangerous lifts and aerials, and that there are enough spotters. Especially in east cost swing, novice teachers show lifts, aerials and dips because they don't know good L&F technique, and partly because they either don't know their audience, or the class are people who don't really dance (in which case it's even more important to learn L&F).

After all the NCTS, WB wanted to review a little of lindyhop. Taught him sugar-pushes again. He does them a little more circularly than a regular slot would accomodate, but it's not that important at this stage. Also went over inside turns at the start of the whip, combining this with turns at the end of the whip. And showed a really crude reverse whip with a follower's free spin. Fun!

So, WB and I are meeting every Monday until the night of 7/30, which is when the dancing FHE is scheduled. I'm hoping that B will be advanced enough, and K will be recovered enough, that we can start teaching K on the 26th, but we'll see.

Lake Arrowhead 2007 Day 3

Again, I was up early. As tired as my body was, I was just too excited to sleep. Finished my book with tears rolling down my cheeks, and set it aside for Shimai J. I think she would love this book, given her experiences performing humanitarian work in Africa.

Improv-er was up next. Had to leave to be at his ward today. I felt bad, since he'd had so little time with us, and he didn't even want any breakfast. Iasked him if he wanted to take any snacks along. He looked down at his shorts, where my eyes followed, and said, "Of, don't worry about me. I've got a banana in my pocket." At which point his eyes shot up, and he gave a comedic horrified grimace, and at which I burst out laughing. Trust Improv-er to make every moment a funny one.

Cut some watermelon for breakfast, chatted with people as the house slowly came to life, and rearranged the Catan board for any last games to be played. Indeed, we were about to start a game ... had even placed our settlements ... when Music Man wandered down, and I had to excuse myself.

For my birthday, MM had brought up his massage table, and was going to treat me to an hour massage! What a wonderful birthday present: something I really enjoy, by a good friend utilizing his talents at a studied skill. We looked for a place to setup, and had several possibilities, but finally got it going up in the game room as soon as the boys were up and out. And for the next hour ... Mmmmmmm!

After the massage, there was a flurry of activity to pack everything up. Even with hiring a cleaning service, there's still so much to do. In my haste, I didn't eat any of the remaining curry, but we got our group shot in. And with photoshopping in everyone who had to leave early, and editing out people's best shots, the result is this:

Finally, everything was out! We all lingered to say our goodbyes, then separated. Drove the t rash and the key over to the rental office, and met up with Superman, Precious, Shimai J, Gadget Boy, Girl Friday and Drummer Boy at McDonald's in the village. I mourned over the last of the curry, which I'd sent home with Music Man, and settled for an angus burger.

We left the McDonald's in time to get to the Arrowhead ward building. In time to arrive for the non-existant sacrament meeting! Turns out the info on the church website was incorrect, the ward members knew that it was wrong, and yet no one had corrected it. Oh well. As Precious said, "We should get points for trying."

The trip down the mountain would have been uneventful, aside from the walkie-talkies that kept things GB's and Precious' car in touch. I should have yelled "Ruffff-ina!" Oh, and GB following DB onto the wrong freeway exit.

After battling some traffic back to the west side, I was grateful to arrive at home. Kudos to GB who was basically solo after both Girl Friday and I crashed into slumber. I threw a load into the laundry and settled in for another nap, fully intending to get over to GB's to watch Planet of the Apes (point of pride that everyone was so busy having a good time doing other things that we didn't watch a movie this year). Woke up at 0200, and realized it was for the best. (Aside: after a few rounds of post-Arrowhead Halo, no one else was able to muster the ability to stay up another 2 hours for the movie either!)

Lake Arrowhead 2007 Day 2

I woke up early. Couldn't help it. Normally I'm a very good sleeper, having perfected the art over many years of dilligent research and application. However, whenever I'm at Arrowhead, I'm too excited (and it's too sunny) to stay in bed once I've woken up. So I crept upstairs and read a little out of Three Cups of Tea, a wonderful book that I'll blog about at Exponent Blog my next time.

So, originally, the plan was for everyone to be ready to go for geocaching around 1000. Didn't happen. Most people weren't even awake at that hour, much less changed and eaten. However, Shimai J, GB and Laughtear were, and we reached a concensus that Shimai J would make a special type of pancake, for which we needed flour. Quick run to the store, and then we were ready to partake of the deliciousness.


Finally, the geocachers were ready to go. Gadget Boy, Shimai J, Little Red-Haired Girl and Girl Friday in one car, and Drummer Boy, HSAAL, Mr. Giggles, Super Man and I in the next (especially good times for Gadget Boy and myself!). GB had mapped out a bunch of caches in the area, and we'd decided to go for the ones with really good views, so we headed down the 173. The first cache was at a little trail area. We were searching for something just off the trail, near the mini-monument, located between a rock and a hard place. Shimai J found the first cache. We all knew it had happened when she gave a little shriek followed by a triumphant shout. She further distinguished herself by ingenuously unlocking a couple's car ... they'd locked themselves out, and were looking at a long wait for AAA before Shimai J came and rescued them.


The second cache prooved a bit trickier. On a hillside, with paths slipperified by a myriad pine needles. There was much futile searching. However, Mr. Giggles decided to use his noggin, and set about decoding the clues. Mind over matter, Mr. Giggles found the second cache of the day.




As for the third cache? Well, they really tried. However, the caching gadgets were giving widly differing coordinates that just didn't make sense. In the end, we ended up calling it a wash, and heading back to lay in the lake.

Back at the house, I changed into water friendly gear and headed to the lake, Drummer Boy following. Yikes! The lake was really, really low. The lake algae, which we could barely see the tips of last year, were laid out along the lake surface like seaweed grown too tall for the ocean. This wasn't a problem for DB, who only wanted to lay out, but much more problematic for me, since I wanted to get into the water. And while I have no trouble with algae on a theoretical level, I don't like to see it, much less be enveloped by it. So, we trolled along the trail for a deserted dock with a covered boat. Found a conveniently located (and unlocked) one toward the opening of our small bay, and settled in.

I didn't ever actually get in the water, but I did douse myself with water regularly whenever I wasn't hiding under the cover of my beach towel. DB and I chatted about sundry things ... cabbages and kings and how Mormons-who-don't-fit-in fit in the Mormon church. The more I meet MWDFI, the more hopeful I am that the doctrines I have trouble with are temporal and not eternal.

At one point, I thought I saw several people from the house by the trees near the dock. I waved, but they didn't see me, and I doubted myself. Later, we saw SM and GB in the inflatable rowboat launching the speedster remote boat they'd gotten at the electronics store (which boat spent the remainder of the weekend on the mantle of the house).

Hunger then drove us all back to the house, where we found Improv-er, who'd been delayed by church responsibilities. A couple of showers later, and we were all headed to the local ribs house for dinner. Unfortunately, the place was incredibly small ... our whole party would have overrun the place. Fortunately, they had just enough food for us, and we got everything to go, at a very reasonable price. As we were exiting the place to get some more drinks and sides at Jensen's, the last two cars pulled up. After explaining everything, I sent them back to the house to get the tables ready.

When Paintbrush finally pulled in to the house, I heard drumming from the front room. "Good! Everyone's in a fun mood." I thought as we walked to the door. When I walked in, after hearing the thunderous, "SURPRISE!" I almost screamed! Balloons and streamers galore for my birthday! Can't even say how shocked and happy I was. It was totally by accident that Arrowhead was the weekend of my birthday, and I'd long since decided not to make a big deal of it. And aside from some felicities from T-Diddy in the morning, I'd pretty much forgotten about it. But really, it was my Best Birthday Ever. Ribs with all the trimming. Two kinds of cake (WW had called ahead), and then the music.





After dinner, some people headed up to play Halo, but the rest of us stayed downstairs while the boys got out their guitars, harmonicas and percussion instruments. MM had brought up a mini set of bongos, a mid-size modern bongo, a large single drum with an African design, and tons of different shakers and percussion instruments. HSAAL started up an impromptu birthday song for me, during which Improv-er displayed his Skiiilllz, and where WW even took a turn. HSAAL lead Mr. Giggles in a guitar jam by calling out chord progressions. Drummer Boy reprised the Primary Song Blues, and lead in a special Emo primary song medley. We sang old favorites like Hotel California. And everyone just jammed along with all the different things in MM's bag of tricks. Honestly, this was my favorite part of the whole weekend.





Probably the most hilarious and memorable event of the evening was Gadget Boy's creative and innovative towel dance. We'd been bugging him about performing all weekend, and he'd been most coy and evasive about it. However, the wait was worth it. It was the most I'd laughed in ages!

Sometime around 0100, we moved to the kitchen and started playing Catan. With Improv-er there, WW's supremacy was definitely challenged ... he won three of four games. Again, I was contender enough to threaten, but not enough to win. At some point, Mr. Giggles and HSAAL moved their two-man riffing gig to our table, and entertained us until the end with jokes, riffing, and breaking out into song. I didn't uderstand the references for half of what they were talking about, but they were so hilarious that I was compelled to laugh along.

We stopped playing around 0330. Most everyone went to sleep, but MM and I stayed to catch up on year's worth of events. I hardly ever see MM during the year, so its always good to catch up with him in person at Arrowhead.