Friday, January 18, 2013

LVFX 2013



Blues dancing is one of my favorite things to do in the world. The connection with your partner is amazing, and you can dance to so many different types of music! If I could, I would spend my whole life going around the world blues dancing.

In other words, Vegas was awesome, and it renewed a love of blues that I thought I'd lost. I met and danced with a lot of new people, learned a lot, and had a blast. That's what it's all about, right?

Thursday night Nathan and I wandered the strip (M&Ms Store!), rode the roller coaster at New York New York, saw Claes Oldenburg's Typewriter Eraser sculpture, and got to know each other better.

Friday was filled with classes, and I went to bed early (like just after midnight, I think) so I could make classes on Saturday. 

Saturday night was Glam Noir night, and it was fantastic. I swear someone got an amazing shot of Nathan and me, but I don't know if or when it will be posted on facebook. 

Sunday was more classes and a great night out at the Red Square with new people, and some great dances.

We roomed with this guy from Sri Lanka, named Radhika Ranaweera (aka Rad). The final night there, Nathan did an Elmo impression for Rad, and he just couldn't keep a straight face. His reaction caused me to fall into a fit of nigh unstoppable laughter. 

This video is from a choreography class me, Nathan, Amie, and Kember took. Joe DeMers and Mike the Girl taught it.



I can't wait to go to Mile High Blues in March!


Tuesday, January 1, 2013

New Year's Resolutions 2013

1. Exercise at least once a week outside of dancing.

2. Read one book a month outside of required reading.

3. Get all my great works papers written.

4. Save around $50 a month.

5. Get my Honors Thesis written.

6. Graduate.

7. Get an internship.

8. Get an editing job.

9. Apply for Grad school.

10. Cook 10 new things.

11. Have at least a 3.59 GPA by graduation.

12. Crochet something new.

13. Take a recreation class.

14. Eat out less.

15. Manage my time better.

16. Read the New York Times at least twice a week.

17. Go to at least two dance conventions.

18. Index at least 200 names.

19. Scrapbook at least 10 pages.

20. Make handmade cards for all the major holidays.

21. Do something I've never done before.

I hope to do some monthly updates this year. We'll see how things go. If I do things right, I should have most of these goals accomplished by the end of the year.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

On This Winter's Night

This is the song that got me in the Christmas spirit this season. I wish I'd found it sooner.


Happy Christmas, everyone!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

How 2012 Went

Here's an update on my 2012 New Year's Resolutions. In 2011 I was fantastic at updating them. Life picked up for me this year, so I was much less diligent. However, some great things happened.

1. I went dancing at least twice a week. I count that as exercise.

2. I crocheted something for myself. The afghan is still in progress. It got set aside for dancing/social life.

3. I didn't quite get a 3.55, but I think I'll be really close to that. Grades for Fall haven't been posted yet.

4. The dress didn't get touched. Go figure. Parents are moving, etc.

5. I got all of my great works events done. Now I just have to write papers.

6. I got my Honors thesis proposal submitted. I should hear back in a couple of weeks as to whether it got accepted or not.

7. I got two editing jobs and an internship. I have also applied for another one and a bunch of internships.

8. I got at least two great works papers written. I can't remember how many I've started, but I should be finished with them by mid next year.

9. I didn't learn to cook a new thing each month, but I did manage to do a lot of cooking over the summer where I learned to cook new things. I still consider this goal a success.

10. Things didn't get repacked, but they will have to be by the end of this break because my parents are moving soon after.**

11. I wish I could say I spent less time on the internet. Maybe I did overall, since I have been out dancing a lot, but a lot of my interactions for work and school happen over the internet, so that just isn't as feasible as I'd like it to be.

12. I couldn't manage to keep headphones out of my ears twice a week. I did really well until about September . . .

13. Like I said, all great works events finished. It feels good.

14. I think I can say with assurance that I've been nice to my family.

15. I managed to budget well enough that I am using that money to go to a fusion convention in Vegas in a couple of weeks.

16. I competed in DanceSport. Took 6th in Samba, and was in the top 12 couples in Quickstep.

17. Didn't manage to get the scrapbook pages done, and my mom packed up her scrapbook, so this'll have to wait until next year.

18. I was doing really well at going to the temple each week until about May, and then I just went about once or twice a month. I could do better, I know.

19. I completely failed at reading General Conference talks. I did try and read daily thoughts/scriptures, though. Semi-successful at that.

20. I couldn't find a name of a Cherokee ancestor. The records are pretty well lost. It's really sad to think about, so I don't much.

21. I don't think I managed 24 books for fun, but I'm certain I read a lot.

So, total tally: 11/21***

That's alright, I think. I definitely didn't completely fail all of the goals, and I really feel like I grew a lot this year. Next year I intend to set goals again, because I feel like even accomplishing half of what I write down is good and important. And if I look at what I actually got accomplished, that stuff was really important. Especially the Honors thesis.

** I actually got this goal accomplished before the end of the year.
***12/21 is the final total tally.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Have You Ever Seen the Rain



This has been one of my favorite songs to blues dance to. Karen Souza, Have You Ever Seen the Rain.  I love jazz and blues.

LOVE!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

I Believe . . .

It's not about having a lot of people love you; it's about being loved by a few really good people.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

My Dances

I don't think I've ever shown anyone what I do with nearly all my spare (and not so spare) time. So, without further ado, here's my dances. Just remember, I'm really nowhere near as good as this. I just aspire to be.


This is James Cook and Shalay Branch dancing a west coast after a great night of dancing at Westify. I take private lessons from James, and I've taken a few group lessons from Shalay. They're great. I love to watch them dance together.

I'm not so lucky to have a video of the best blues dancers in our community, but I certainly have some favorite youtube videos.

This is how good I aspire to be.


But this is more like what we do.

Blues is far and away my favorite dance. It helps me get all my emotions out and express what I'm feeling. It's all about the connection, the conversation with my partner.

So, this is what I do.

:)