So... fellow blogger, La Tanguera, posted this video on her blog:
and it got me thinking... I usually say I don't like performance because you rarely see something you haven't seen before and it just bogs the the night down; energy et all. Watching this - Fabulous - milonga performance, it just dawned on me why I don't like performances: YOU CAN NOT DANCE LIKE THIS IN A MILONGA! Certainly you shouldn't and/or shouldn't be able to.. although there are plenty of hot-shot-jerks who try, and cause havoc - especially on the ankles of innocent followers. Keep this stuff on Broadway.. why dance like this at a milonga-performance when no one can try the same steps once the floor fills up again.
One of the best performances I've ever seen was performed by Christopher and Caroline of San Francisco.. they danced within one 24" x 24" dance parquet square the entire song to demonstrate that one does not need space to dance well.
Kudos to all who can dance like the kid in that video, but it don't do naught for me.
Showing posts with label Bitching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bitching. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Tango-sick
3-more weeks until Memorial Day festival in Denver and Ms.Spain's arrival. I've been working like a dog last several weeks and miss dancing tango. I've been invited to go to Ann Arbor for no charge (travel fee's still apply, of course), but I just can't afford the travel or lost time at work.
I can do work whilst traveling but sleeping in late and spending 3-6+ hours at a milonga per night takes its toll on my productivity.
Ms.France.. my longtime friend and quasi-training partner often calls me to whine that I don't show up to dance.. she lives 80 miles north in the next town. If I want to dance, period, I'd have to drive up north to her town, where the community milongas are. Sucks to live in a tango vacuum.
Ms.Vegas' friend from Michigan is considering moving to my town/state.. if she does.. that might be a boost to my dancing frequency. It's been limited to dancing during my travels to or with Ms.Spain ever since Ms.Vegas moved to, well, Las Vegas, last year. I feel I'm seriously back-tracking in my dancing abilities not dancing as often as I used to.
Blah..
I can do work whilst traveling but sleeping in late and spending 3-6+ hours at a milonga per night takes its toll on my productivity.
Ms.France.. my longtime friend and quasi-training partner often calls me to whine that I don't show up to dance.. she lives 80 miles north in the next town. If I want to dance, period, I'd have to drive up north to her town, where the community milongas are. Sucks to live in a tango vacuum.
Ms.Vegas' friend from Michigan is considering moving to my town/state.. if she does.. that might be a boost to my dancing frequency. It's been limited to dancing during my travels to or with Ms.Spain ever since Ms.Vegas moved to, well, Las Vegas, last year. I feel I'm seriously back-tracking in my dancing abilities not dancing as often as I used to.
Blah..
Monday, March 17, 2008
DC Tango Marathon, done with
Heads remained surely and solidly lodged up peoples asses.
Attendance on Sunday was about half of Saturday, so there was quite a bit of space to move, but one still had to keep a lookout for the donkey's that possibly shot out towards you from the dark breeches of the floor.
DJ Yulia did a great job at the afternoon milonga but her one and only alternative set was not a very danceable one.. otherwise she did splendidly.
DJ Fredi should crawl under a rock and rot. He played a lot of alternative.. mostly attached to vals and milonga sets thus extending the length of those sets to 5-7. Majority of the alternative was crap. I'm sure he thought his cortina, too, was a cute and smart one as it was about tango, but it was hard as heck trying to figure out what was alternative and what was his cortina, so you ended up standing there for 15 seconds looking dumbfounded whilst trying to figure out whether to embrace or to say "thank you". Later on in the morning, circa 3 am, he started playing his sets in a completely unpredictable manner at one point playing a tango tanda that was 8 song long. You begin with an format; you end with an format. His sucky selections made me leave early.
In the hindsight: Not a festival worth paying $20 per milonga and $45 per class. Certain people will keep making the festival a destination, though. A festival for people who want to do what-the-ever-the-fuck-they-want-when-they-want-to-do-it, though; not a social dance festival.
Ta.
Attendance on Sunday was about half of Saturday, so there was quite a bit of space to move, but one still had to keep a lookout for the donkey's that possibly shot out towards you from the dark breeches of the floor.
DJ Yulia did a great job at the afternoon milonga but her one and only alternative set was not a very danceable one.. otherwise she did splendidly.
DJ Fredi should crawl under a rock and rot. He played a lot of alternative.. mostly attached to vals and milonga sets thus extending the length of those sets to 5-7. Majority of the alternative was crap. I'm sure he thought his cortina, too, was a cute and smart one as it was about tango, but it was hard as heck trying to figure out what was alternative and what was his cortina, so you ended up standing there for 15 seconds looking dumbfounded whilst trying to figure out whether to embrace or to say "thank you". Later on in the morning, circa 3 am, he started playing his sets in a completely unpredictable manner at one point playing a tango tanda that was 8 song long. You begin with an format; you end with an format. His sucky selections made me leave early.
In the hindsight: Not a festival worth paying $20 per milonga and $45 per class. Certain people will keep making the festival a destination, though. A festival for people who want to do what-the-ever-the-fuck-they-want-when-they-want-to-do-it, though; not a social dance festival.
Ta.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Sunday ; last day.
Today is the last day of the DC Tango Marathon. Here's my POV and scoop of experiences.
There's a ton of extra women and lack of dancing is causing even good follows to start thinking that they must suck and that they're not good dancers because they're not getting asked for hours - and this time most of the extra women are not women with "extra" or women "without". They're good looking good dancers.. so go figure.
As suspected, the click/clique crowd is alive and well and flourishing. Fortunately they do not have a central hangout place like the do in Portland, but it is clear they only dance with each others and not with others. Since I don't register on the clique radar I found myself sitting, also, for a hour or so in the middle of the milonga - although I have to say I could have been dancing but wasn't feeling like dancing.
The venue. Main ball at the Trinity College in a questionable area of NE D.C. Music is piped through two large sized speakers at an volume that surely damage your hearing if sitting too close to them. The floor mysteriously seems to go from slick to sticky to slick from milonga to milonga and day to day.
Music. Thorstein; so-so music.. didn't obey energy of the floor but also his milonga was deserted. Robin; splendid, as always, love this man. Laura; does not know at all how to boost or control energy.. kept playing weak stuff right when you need to build it up.. Shorey; very nice job, but too much of the same stuff, although she was the first to play Fresedo with Ricardo Ruiz - viva!! Upcoming: Yulia and Fredi.
Floorcraft. Abominable. It'd be easier to go find the abominable snowman than to find a working line of dance at this festival. People in the "middle" or "inner lane" absolutely had no respect for the outermost lane and kept pushing in or dancing into the tiniest holes possible. Small and few gaps in the tables cause people to plop up on the dancefloor right in front of you if you were not paying attention like a hawk. The """A-dancers"""... those with any national infamy were absolutely the worst and the donkeys asses. They kept dancing in a slow moving circle assuming an aura of space because constant steps and moves back toward line of dance. Width-wise they were taking two lanes. If they weren't, they were zig-zagging and taking any little space possible.. even those spaces that one would assume caused someone else to run into them, of course thus making the person whose space was stolen look like the criminal. Floorcraft is worse than in Portland during the height of the festivals - at least so I think.. I might think quite the opposite next time in Portland... fleeting thoughts, maybe.
Maybe people will pull their heads from their asses today and matters improve.. we will see.
Ta
There's a ton of extra women and lack of dancing is causing even good follows to start thinking that they must suck and that they're not good dancers because they're not getting asked for hours - and this time most of the extra women are not women with "extra" or women "without". They're good looking good dancers.. so go figure.
As suspected, the click/clique crowd is alive and well and flourishing. Fortunately they do not have a central hangout place like the do in Portland, but it is clear they only dance with each others and not with others. Since I don't register on the clique radar I found myself sitting, also, for a hour or so in the middle of the milonga - although I have to say I could have been dancing but wasn't feeling like dancing.
The venue. Main ball at the Trinity College in a questionable area of NE D.C. Music is piped through two large sized speakers at an volume that surely damage your hearing if sitting too close to them. The floor mysteriously seems to go from slick to sticky to slick from milonga to milonga and day to day.
Music. Thorstein; so-so music.. didn't obey energy of the floor but also his milonga was deserted. Robin; splendid, as always, love this man. Laura; does not know at all how to boost or control energy.. kept playing weak stuff right when you need to build it up.. Shorey; very nice job, but too much of the same stuff, although she was the first to play Fresedo with Ricardo Ruiz - viva!! Upcoming: Yulia and Fredi.
Floorcraft. Abominable. It'd be easier to go find the abominable snowman than to find a working line of dance at this festival. People in the "middle" or "inner lane" absolutely had no respect for the outermost lane and kept pushing in or dancing into the tiniest holes possible. Small and few gaps in the tables cause people to plop up on the dancefloor right in front of you if you were not paying attention like a hawk. The """A-dancers"""... those with any national infamy were absolutely the worst and the donkeys asses. They kept dancing in a slow moving circle assuming an aura of space because constant steps and moves back toward line of dance. Width-wise they were taking two lanes. If they weren't, they were zig-zagging and taking any little space possible.. even those spaces that one would assume caused someone else to run into them, of course thus making the person whose space was stolen look like the criminal. Floorcraft is worse than in Portland during the height of the festivals - at least so I think.. I might think quite the opposite next time in Portland... fleeting thoughts, maybe.
Maybe people will pull their heads from their asses today and matters improve.. we will see.
Ta
Friday, January 18, 2008
Airport, Deja Vu
Okey, then. Here I am again, at the Springs airport waiting to fly out. The was a last minute urgent development with a job that I did in Delaware in October of 2006. Some very expensive highly custom low-voltage lighting burnt out and has to be replaced at the cost of me and that of the manufacturers. Honestly majority of the cost is and should be absorbed by me vs. the lighting manufacturer, as I had apparently failed to relay to him how high the ambient temperatures were going to be where the lights where going to be installed. The 5W bulbs laid flat over the electrical wire and had an aluminum "heat sink" shield plate between the socket and the bulbs to protect the wire from the heat of the bulbs. What that shield ended up doing, though, was to concentrate the ambient temperature from the room to the spot where the socket was soldered to the electrical wire and managed to burn themselves off the wire. The new lighting has the sockets standing upright without heat sinks, so I should be safe now. The problem is, the system is now one inch taller than before and is no longer hidden behind the custom wood valance I had created to hide it. I will have to take all the valances off (8- 8foot runs) and create a 5/8" wide groove by one inch deep so make the lighting sit in the material so it doesn't stick past the valance. I got the airline tickets using up 25,000 frequent flier miles out of my 54,000 mile balance. I am now 25,000 short to gualify for an ticket to Finland or Buenos Aires next summer. Taxes to the ticket came to $60, +$50 for over-weight luggage, +1-2 nights in Delaware, $500 for the Xenon light bulbs (old ones were incandescent), rental car, and replacement lumber of $100-200 and the shipping of it $250. In essence, this warranty trip is going to cost exactly whatever profit I managed to make on the project year and a half ago. Oh well.. oh well oh well. Live and learn. Any low-voltage lighting I use from henceforth, though, is sure to work fine and not to fail, as we know what to look out for.
The one bonus to this trip is that I get to go hang out with Ms.Spain for the long MLK weekend before hitting the road to DE. We had somewhat considered meeting-in-the-middle in Houston next weekeend during the Tango Festival there, but honestly, the DJ list for the festival didn't look very exciting. There is a festival in Ann Arbor this weekend with pretty good DJ's, but it was too close to Ms.Spain's trip to see me over New Year's, and now this extra trip came about. Next time I'll travel will be for the DC Tango Marathon in March.
With all the hastle I had at the ticketing desk with my big, overweight, bags, messing with name tags on the new bag I had to buy for this trip, etc, she selected me to go through additional security measures - probably as an payback for the time and effort I made her go through to check me in. Although I do have to say they did a poor job with the additional check, which was mainly to check for bomb residue. Because my second bag also got to be a little over #50 lbs, I transferred a Home Depot bag full of various junk and tool to my carry-on that has the low-voltage lighting, bulbs, and breakers. The bag also included a brand new 1" wide chisel that they didn't notice during the x-ray. Not that I will or would no anything funky with it, but that's beside the point. Last June they found a utility knife inside one of my shoes in my carry-on. I had last minute transferred some items from checked to carry-on to keep the second checked bag under #50 lbs.
I also had the written (LEAB) test for the CSPD this morning. I went through it in record speed because I was tight on time, spending only 45 minutes out of my allowed 2:30. I felt and thought that I did very well though.. I had no problematic questions.. but regardless I only got an 6 out of 10. 5 is a passing grade, but anything below 8 is wasting time to continue in the process..
My section is boarding.. got to go..
Ta.
The one bonus to this trip is that I get to go hang out with Ms.Spain for the long MLK weekend before hitting the road to DE. We had somewhat considered meeting-in-the-middle in Houston next weekeend during the Tango Festival there, but honestly, the DJ list for the festival didn't look very exciting. There is a festival in Ann Arbor this weekend with pretty good DJ's, but it was too close to Ms.Spain's trip to see me over New Year's, and now this extra trip came about. Next time I'll travel will be for the DC Tango Marathon in March.
With all the hastle I had at the ticketing desk with my big, overweight, bags, messing with name tags on the new bag I had to buy for this trip, etc, she selected me to go through additional security measures - probably as an payback for the time and effort I made her go through to check me in. Although I do have to say they did a poor job with the additional check, which was mainly to check for bomb residue. Because my second bag also got to be a little over #50 lbs, I transferred a Home Depot bag full of various junk and tool to my carry-on that has the low-voltage lighting, bulbs, and breakers. The bag also included a brand new 1" wide chisel that they didn't notice during the x-ray. Not that I will or would no anything funky with it, but that's beside the point. Last June they found a utility knife inside one of my shoes in my carry-on. I had last minute transferred some items from checked to carry-on to keep the second checked bag under #50 lbs.
I also had the written (LEAB) test for the CSPD this morning. I went through it in record speed because I was tight on time, spending only 45 minutes out of my allowed 2:30. I felt and thought that I did very well though.. I had no problematic questions.. but regardless I only got an 6 out of 10. 5 is a passing grade, but anything below 8 is wasting time to continue in the process..
My section is boarding.. got to go..
Ta.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Another week gone by
Been a bit since my last post; been pretty busy.
I'm working on a project that is due for completion day after Thanksgiving, and I was essentially given 10 days, including 2 Saturdays and 2 Sundays, to get a job done that I told them as early as 2006, takes me 14-working days -not including weekends- to complete. *sigh*
I DJ'd on Friday and last night.
On Friday the attendance was pretty good since Julio Balmaceda and Corina de la Rosa were scheduled to perform at midnight. Well.. they were late.. and I estimate a good 30% of the people had left by the time they got there and performed at around 1 am. Of course it could not go without another incident: I play off of my laptop but the facility has 2 CD decks available. I had not tested the CD-player other than putting a CD in it with the sound down to see if it played, and it does spin the record. Well.. when it came to crank the volume.. of course nothing comes out *sigh* Had to swap the players while Julio was tapping his foot and whistling in the middle of the dance floor.
Last night we had our annual milonga here in-town, for which they collect money all year round, rent the space, and this year I even got paid a bit. Including me, there were 30 people. Lame. I was so wiped from the previous night and having had to get up early on Sat to go to work, still, that I had a hard time staying awake. My back was killing me too when I danced and my heels have been bruised for a week now from the physical labor. I only danced 3 sets and they were all with my cat sitter; sort of payment for her services.
Went to Lowes today.. I was blogging about my experiences during my last Lowes visit in June on my old blog. The place SUCKS. Ok so I go there for the ONE thing they've got that Home Depot doesn't : Cedar/Cedarwood colored caulk/silicone. I ended up buying all sorts of things, of course, as I usually do.. blades, drill bits, and the sorts. 160 dollars worth. And again, as last time, I get NO HELP what-so-ever. You can't even see associates lounging about as they do at H.D. I would have bought a 260 dollar cordless nail gun, but since I received no assistance and there were none to be readily taken on sale, I took off. They had ONE cashier-assisted register open, and that was at the help desk. Four self-help lines were in-use and I had to succumb to use one of them. I hate them. I pay good money for my tools and crap and expect someone to ring me in and to bag the shit for me. I don't want to do it myself. And then, of course, the machine has to think that you didn't ring something up or didn't put it in the bagging area or some other crap like that, and it's bitching at you non-stop. Sucks to have to rely on idiots and/or crappy organizations/companies.
Relief is just around the corner, though. I'm scheduled to complete my work by Wednesday on this project, and on Thursday I'm cramming my ass on an airplane for an all-day travel excursion back to the East Coast to be with Ms.Spain for 12 days. Finally good dancing and TLC.
Ta.
I'm working on a project that is due for completion day after Thanksgiving, and I was essentially given 10 days, including 2 Saturdays and 2 Sundays, to get a job done that I told them as early as 2006, takes me 14-working days -not including weekends- to complete. *sigh*
I DJ'd on Friday and last night.
On Friday the attendance was pretty good since Julio Balmaceda and Corina de la Rosa were scheduled to perform at midnight. Well.. they were late.. and I estimate a good 30% of the people had left by the time they got there and performed at around 1 am. Of course it could not go without another incident: I play off of my laptop but the facility has 2 CD decks available. I had not tested the CD-player other than putting a CD in it with the sound down to see if it played, and it does spin the record. Well.. when it came to crank the volume.. of course nothing comes out *sigh* Had to swap the players while Julio was tapping his foot and whistling in the middle of the dance floor.
Last night we had our annual milonga here in-town, for which they collect money all year round, rent the space, and this year I even got paid a bit. Including me, there were 30 people. Lame. I was so wiped from the previous night and having had to get up early on Sat to go to work, still, that I had a hard time staying awake. My back was killing me too when I danced and my heels have been bruised for a week now from the physical labor. I only danced 3 sets and they were all with my cat sitter; sort of payment for her services.
Went to Lowes today.. I was blogging about my experiences during my last Lowes visit in June on my old blog. The place SUCKS. Ok so I go there for the ONE thing they've got that Home Depot doesn't : Cedar/Cedarwood colored caulk/silicone. I ended up buying all sorts of things, of course, as I usually do.. blades, drill bits, and the sorts. 160 dollars worth. And again, as last time, I get NO HELP what-so-ever. You can't even see associates lounging about as they do at H.D. I would have bought a 260 dollar cordless nail gun, but since I received no assistance and there were none to be readily taken on sale, I took off. They had ONE cashier-assisted register open, and that was at the help desk. Four self-help lines were in-use and I had to succumb to use one of them. I hate them. I pay good money for my tools and crap and expect someone to ring me in and to bag the shit for me. I don't want to do it myself. And then, of course, the machine has to think that you didn't ring something up or didn't put it in the bagging area or some other crap like that, and it's bitching at you non-stop. Sucks to have to rely on idiots and/or crappy organizations/companies.
Relief is just around the corner, though. I'm scheduled to complete my work by Wednesday on this project, and on Thursday I'm cramming my ass on an airplane for an all-day travel excursion back to the East Coast to be with Ms.Spain for 12 days. Finally good dancing and TLC.
Ta.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Portland Part 1
Ok.. lot's of bithing about things Pacific, as usual.
It's Sunday right now and Ms.Spain and I just got done eating breakfast and are waiting in the lobby for her room to get cleaned. We've got one more milonga to go: We're skipping the 4 to 7 "maestros" milonga and the all-nighters at Alex's: Ramu is DJ - no thanks. Besides, Ms.Spain has a 7:30am flight to catch and the milonga doesn't end until around 8 am, anyway, and she needs to pack and we need more quality time together.
Miles has been posting, as far as I know, in his typical manner so I will keep my whining to what bothers me.
Clique-crowd. The Portland scene is by far the worst - maybe because it is the youngest? Seattle certainly has a good deal of the same going, but it seems so much more and visible in Portland. They only dance with each others and look down upon anyone else not in their midst. They also avoid talking to, making eye contact, and otherwise relating to us mere mortals out of the risk of possibly having to feel obligated to dance with someone not at their (IMAGINED) level. Location: Always as near or behind the DJ as possible.. typically a stage of sorts. PPAA, Norse Hall, Oaks Park.
DJ's. Why are they letting Ramu play twice? Why was the best alternative tango DJ in the country not utilized at all? Vijay is playing twice too, but at least as a traditional DJ he knocks Ramu's socks out.
DJ Dan B. was absolutely wonderful at the Oaks Park all-nighter, but both Ms.Spain and I were suffering from lack of sleep and had to retire at 4 am.
Floor. There has at best only been one line of dance. A lot of people seem to dance kind of on two lanes where you can't pass them on either side as to the left of them begins the whirlwind of the center chaos. I, myself, typically dance always so close to the outside that I touch furniture etc. They also haven't been doing a very good at setting up tables so that the chairs stay off the dance floor and you have walk ways around the dance floor: ONLY Oaks Park was like that, but the floor was stickier than a June Bugs arse.
Other complaints include the typical ones: people not asking for permission to enter the dance floor and cut someone off; more than 1 couple squeeze in-between someone getting on the floor; chatting on the floor past the 1st measure (intro) of music; not clearing the floor promptly during the cortina; taking backward steps (biggest offenders this year have been 'well-known' teachers and dancers who dance alternative on a very crowded floor), etc, etc, etc.
I might go more into detail later but I didn't make any posts after each night so I can't remember in too good detail.
Ta.
It's Sunday right now and Ms.Spain and I just got done eating breakfast and are waiting in the lobby for her room to get cleaned. We've got one more milonga to go: We're skipping the 4 to 7 "maestros" milonga and the all-nighters at Alex's: Ramu is DJ - no thanks. Besides, Ms.Spain has a 7:30am flight to catch and the milonga doesn't end until around 8 am, anyway, and she needs to pack and we need more quality time together.
Miles has been posting, as far as I know, in his typical manner so I will keep my whining to what bothers me.
Clique-crowd. The Portland scene is by far the worst - maybe because it is the youngest? Seattle certainly has a good deal of the same going, but it seems so much more and visible in Portland. They only dance with each others and look down upon anyone else not in their midst. They also avoid talking to, making eye contact, and otherwise relating to us mere mortals out of the risk of possibly having to feel obligated to dance with someone not at their (IMAGINED) level. Location: Always as near or behind the DJ as possible.. typically a stage of sorts. PPAA, Norse Hall, Oaks Park.
DJ's. Why are they letting Ramu play twice? Why was the best alternative tango DJ in the country not utilized at all? Vijay is playing twice too, but at least as a traditional DJ he knocks Ramu's socks out.
DJ Dan B. was absolutely wonderful at the Oaks Park all-nighter, but both Ms.Spain and I were suffering from lack of sleep and had to retire at 4 am.
Floor. There has at best only been one line of dance. A lot of people seem to dance kind of on two lanes where you can't pass them on either side as to the left of them begins the whirlwind of the center chaos. I, myself, typically dance always so close to the outside that I touch furniture etc. They also haven't been doing a very good at setting up tables so that the chairs stay off the dance floor and you have walk ways around the dance floor: ONLY Oaks Park was like that, but the floor was stickier than a June Bugs arse.
Other complaints include the typical ones: people not asking for permission to enter the dance floor and cut someone off; more than 1 couple squeeze in-between someone getting on the floor; chatting on the floor past the 1st measure (intro) of music; not clearing the floor promptly during the cortina; taking backward steps (biggest offenders this year have been 'well-known' teachers and dancers who dance alternative on a very crowded floor), etc, etc, etc.
I might go more into detail later but I didn't make any posts after each night so I can't remember in too good detail.
Ta.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Morning after
Ok.. so I got to DJ last night the whole night with no interruptions from the band.
This of course means I can play a lot more better music but also really have a chance to play with the energy and speed, etc.
No one came to complain about anything last night except for myself. The first set was by R.Firpo and it sucked. I hadn't played it in ages and thought it would be good to start with.. blah. Throughout the course of the night I played 3 tandas of Canaro milongas, 2 of which were new tandas just assembled the morning of.. they were horrible! The second set was actually so bad I had to run back and cut out the last 2 songs and replace with 1 OTV milonga to close the set to move on.
A lot of people came to comment on how good the music was - even the proprietor came to tell me a lot of people had told her they enjoyed my music...
then Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.. I wake up this morning to find this e-mail in my inbox:
"The problem, ******, is that you play the same dreck over and over. Get some new music and we'll show up".
No idea who it is. How do they know what I play if they aren't there? And I've only DJ'd at that event 4 or 5 times ever in the last 5 years. And as far as my music goes.. I play good stuff.. if they don't know how to dance to d'Arienzo, I'm not going to play Di Sarli all night long. And I have 47 gigs of music - I think that's plenty. Pisses me off.
This of course means I can play a lot more better music but also really have a chance to play with the energy and speed, etc.
No one came to complain about anything last night except for myself. The first set was by R.Firpo and it sucked. I hadn't played it in ages and thought it would be good to start with.. blah. Throughout the course of the night I played 3 tandas of Canaro milongas, 2 of which were new tandas just assembled the morning of.. they were horrible! The second set was actually so bad I had to run back and cut out the last 2 songs and replace with 1 OTV milonga to close the set to move on.
A lot of people came to comment on how good the music was - even the proprietor came to tell me a lot of people had told her they enjoyed my music...
then Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.. I wake up this morning to find this e-mail in my inbox:
"The problem, ******, is that you play the same dreck over and over. Get some new music and we'll show up".
No idea who it is. How do they know what I play if they aren't there? And I've only DJ'd at that event 4 or 5 times ever in the last 5 years. And as far as my music goes.. I play good stuff.. if they don't know how to dance to d'Arienzo, I'm not going to play Di Sarli all night long. And I have 47 gigs of music - I think that's plenty. Pisses me off.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Reflections
sheesh.. I just wrote the post but hit side mouse button which acts as a back button on browser.. and for some reason the auto-save draft is no where to be found.
So.. I DJ'd last Friday. In my usual way I send an e-mail out asking for requests and opening myself for feedback if someone doesn't like what I play. Getting 20 people to come to me saying how much they like what I play does little for me. I don't decide when I play; I play when requested.
So one fella wrote asking me to play stuff not often heard, and not to play in tandas. He wanted to hear music played all mixed up like a mix-cd or a live band. Sheesh.
Another fella came to me during the night to say that he didn't like my d'Arienzo/Echague set that had Pensalo Bien as the anchor. I split Pensalo Bien, La Bruja, and No Mientas into separate tandas, because having all three in the same set is like an never-ending orgasm; too much stimulation. Well of all the music I was able to play that night, because the band came, unexpectedly, to play 2 sets of 12 songs (hour long sets), that particular set was, IMHO, the best I played all night. Double sheesh.
Some people...
I'm playing again on the 12th and the following Wednesday I embark to Portland for the 6th year running. This year, though, I will finally not attend the Saturday "elegant", $20 milonga, with shitty live music, shittier line of dance, and no air-flow or air-conditioning. It will also be the first time I've gone to PDX that I've managed to get a room mate to save on expenses.
I miss good dancing.
Ta.
So.. I DJ'd last Friday. In my usual way I send an e-mail out asking for requests and opening myself for feedback if someone doesn't like what I play. Getting 20 people to come to me saying how much they like what I play does little for me. I don't decide when I play; I play when requested.
So one fella wrote asking me to play stuff not often heard, and not to play in tandas. He wanted to hear music played all mixed up like a mix-cd or a live band. Sheesh.
Another fella came to me during the night to say that he didn't like my d'Arienzo/Echague set that had Pensalo Bien as the anchor. I split Pensalo Bien, La Bruja, and No Mientas into separate tandas, because having all three in the same set is like an never-ending orgasm; too much stimulation. Well of all the music I was able to play that night, because the band came, unexpectedly, to play 2 sets of 12 songs (hour long sets), that particular set was, IMHO, the best I played all night. Double sheesh.
Some people...
I'm playing again on the 12th and the following Wednesday I embark to Portland for the 6th year running. This year, though, I will finally not attend the Saturday "elegant", $20 milonga, with shitty live music, shittier line of dance, and no air-flow or air-conditioning. It will also be the first time I've gone to PDX that I've managed to get a room mate to save on expenses.
I miss good dancing.
Ta.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
October freed up
Well.. just got the call. I did not get the job in Tacoma, WA that I was already awarded. I lost it because the builder insisted on using someone local that was licensed in the state of Washington; something that I've never lost a job over before. It pisses me off a little because I went through a lot of time and work to do all the designs and specs that were needed and now someone else comes in and reaps the benefits. I'll have to change how I work details and designs pre-contract.
This also means that I will not go back to the PAT testing with Seattle PD on the 6th. That's fine because I may need to be in NYC that week/end anyway. I will just have to wait 6-months and then retake the written test as well. Least I know how to study for it this time and I'll have more time to get physically back in shape for the Cooper test.
I was thinking about Ann Arbor's anniversary festival 3rd week of this month but we'll see. I'm DJ'ng on the 28th and have a written test and interviews on the 18th. Busy season.
Luckily one of my clients put their home-design-project on-hold so right now I'm only having to juggle 5 plans versus 6. Of course it was the one that wasn't in a hurry to begin with that got put on-hold.. figures.
Ta.
This also means that I will not go back to the PAT testing with Seattle PD on the 6th. That's fine because I may need to be in NYC that week/end anyway. I will just have to wait 6-months and then retake the written test as well. Least I know how to study for it this time and I'll have more time to get physically back in shape for the Cooper test.
I was thinking about Ann Arbor's anniversary festival 3rd week of this month but we'll see. I'm DJ'ng on the 28th and have a written test and interviews on the 18th. Busy season.
Luckily one of my clients put their home-design-project on-hold so right now I'm only having to juggle 5 plans versus 6. Of course it was the one that wasn't in a hurry to begin with that got put on-hold.. figures.
Ta.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Outdoor milonga went poof
So.. we had our second annual outdoor milonga today. I was DJ'ng and it was meant to go from 4 to 8... However.. practically no one showed up. Only 2 people came down from Denver, for a short time, and 1 person from Boulder. So lame. Also.. for some reason the pavilion lights did not come on or maybe they don't come on until 8 pm.. so it was too dark to keep going so we packed it in at 7. I'm sick and tired that the Denver people don't support our small community.
Tango in my town is as good as dead.
I am not a Coloradoan.. I certainly don't want to be considered a "local" anywhere in this state but especially not in Denver (like during the festivals). I didn't dance with as many strangers this labor day as I usually do since Ms.Spain and Ms.Italy and Ms.Ruskie and Ms.Grand all came and I was obligated and pleased and honored to dance with them a lot. Usually when I dance with a lot of new people and they ask where I'm from and I respond.. they inevitably go "Oh.. so you're a local". No, no I'm not. I'm actually wanting to bail out of Colorado; sooner the better. It's too hot and far too conservative here... and what free minded people are here abouts they're all into the Hippie/Rasta culture and I'm not into that at all.
I went to the shooting range yesterday just to go through the motions on the AR-15 and a Remington pump shotgun. Got a nasty paper cut in-between the fingers of my left hand from picking up the targets... sucky. I pay a monthly fee of $25 for the range membership but I'm not utilizing it. Last time I went was months ago. Membership allows me to go as many times as I want and don't even have to buy anything from them, although I always buy my targets from them. You have to buy the bullets from them if you rent guns from them, though. Supposedly they do that so they can keep track of how many rounds are being put through the rental guns, but there's no real way for them to keep track. For example I bought 200 rounds of 9 mm ammo, and put about 75-100 of that through the AR-15 and rest through a Springfield XD DOA pistol. I don't even know the exact count myself.
Been looking at ticket prices for flights to Las Vegas and Ann Arbor and DC, again. LV and AA both have a small/short festival on the same 3rd weekend in September.. and I'd like to go to DC to dance with Ms.Spain, of course. Not finding anything cheap however.. fall prices are much higher than spring/summer prices were.. I wonder why.
Ta.
Tango in my town is as good as dead.
I am not a Coloradoan.. I certainly don't want to be considered a "local" anywhere in this state but especially not in Denver (like during the festivals). I didn't dance with as many strangers this labor day as I usually do since Ms.Spain and Ms.Italy and Ms.Ruskie and Ms.Grand all came and I was obligated and pleased and honored to dance with them a lot. Usually when I dance with a lot of new people and they ask where I'm from and I respond.. they inevitably go "Oh.. so you're a local". No, no I'm not. I'm actually wanting to bail out of Colorado; sooner the better. It's too hot and far too conservative here... and what free minded people are here abouts they're all into the Hippie/Rasta culture and I'm not into that at all.
I went to the shooting range yesterday just to go through the motions on the AR-15 and a Remington pump shotgun. Got a nasty paper cut in-between the fingers of my left hand from picking up the targets... sucky. I pay a monthly fee of $25 for the range membership but I'm not utilizing it. Last time I went was months ago. Membership allows me to go as many times as I want and don't even have to buy anything from them, although I always buy my targets from them. You have to buy the bullets from them if you rent guns from them, though. Supposedly they do that so they can keep track of how many rounds are being put through the rental guns, but there's no real way for them to keep track. For example I bought 200 rounds of 9 mm ammo, and put about 75-100 of that through the AR-15 and rest through a Springfield XD DOA pistol. I don't even know the exact count myself.
Been looking at ticket prices for flights to Las Vegas and Ann Arbor and DC, again. LV and AA both have a small/short festival on the same 3rd weekend in September.. and I'd like to go to DC to dance with Ms.Spain, of course. Not finding anything cheap however.. fall prices are much higher than spring/summer prices were.. I wonder why.
Ta.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Failure
*sigh*
So... here I am.. in Seattle, WA. I flew here to test for the city police department. I was very anxious about the whole process as I had failed (due to lack of sleep night before) my last written exam with the Denver Police Department. I had also left the studying pretty much until the last 1-2 wks as that was when I knew what date the testing was going to be on.
I also knew that the physical agility testing was going to be different from what I'm used to with other departments and at my current physical condition knew it was going to be a challenge.
Since I was not made to sign a confidentiality agreement about the testing process with SPD, I can tell that their test is also entirely different from the other departments I've tested with before. They make you study some material for 2 hours before the actual test and then you are tested on that material during the 1.5 hr written portion, plus some other stuff. About 50-60% of all the questions were directly drawn from the study guide you studied so it's a test on memory retention and recalling specific sentences, policies, reports, and maps.
I became very worried once I learned this because the practice tests and book I have and have taken don't really go too deep into this, as it is something they really can't help you with in that kind of a book. They do recommend other resources that help one improve short-term memory.
Well I got a sneak peak at my score when they were trying to pronounce my name, which they NEVER get right, and saw that I had scored 88.88 out of a 100 maximum. Passing score was 80. Otherwise they just tell you to get in-line. If your name isn't called to stand in-line you did not pass the written and would not be invited to continue on to the PAT portion (physical agility test) half an hour later. Only those that were Lateral (already a police officer somewhere) or from Out-of-State did they score the test for immediately. The rest get their results in the mail in the next 1-2 wks and have their PAT in September.
Unlike the obstacles courses I've gotten used to with other departments, the State of Washington's Law Enforcement Academy has set forth the following criteria/testing:
1) 300 yard sprint, timed with a maximum time
2) Push-ups, not timed, minimum being 21.
3) Sit-ups in 1 minute, minimum being 30.
4) 1.5 mile run under specific time.
I've never been one to place too much emphasis on push-ups or bench press and have not worked out at all in years - Dancing Tango has been my only hobby and exercise. I was actually the most afraid of this testing process than anything else but I did manage 25 which was a personal best for me.
With the sprint I blew all that I had and got my time under the limit to get maximum points - that was good but it really drained me.
Sit-ups.... umm.. another thing I really haven't done much.. I did do some for a few days before my week in DC but during the trip I did absolutely nothing. Minimum was 30 in 1-minute.. and I died at 29.5. Failure. One is given an opportunity to retake this portion after the distance run.
1.5 mile run - I died. My legs were like lead and my liver started hurting as it released cool blood; I hadn't warmed up adequately in an attempt to reserve my (what I knew to be) limited energy. I completed almost 7 laps in the maximum allotted time and needed to complete 8. As I failed 2 events, I was out, and there was no point and definitely no energy left to re-attempt the sit-ups.
So.. I'm out.. for now. I'm allowed to re-take just the PAT portion in 2 months if I so choose, but if I don't do it then, I would need to wait at least 6-months and do the entire process all over including written. This could be beneficial, however, as it would give me more time to get in-shape, lose some weight, re-build some of the muscle mass I've lost in the last 12-years, study and improve my memory. Now that I know what kind of test they administer I could hopefully improve.
I need to get something along the lines of 95% to be highly competitive and closer to the top of the list. Veterans get an automatic 10% added to their score so if they score high plus the bonus they're unbeatable.
I can't really slack off now from depression, though, as the Portland written test is coming up on October 20th, right during the TangoFest there... however passing applicant must travel back to PDX at another time for the PAT test. Portland being one of the few large cities that do not accommodate out-of-staters like other departments I've tested for: Anchorage, AK; Colorado Springs, CO; Denver, CO.
I recently learned of a website that allows you to take a test with the company/agency, and they send your results to any agencies you pick from the list - it is intended for smaller towns that do not have the resources to test/train applicants themselves. Some small towns for example only hire Lateral applicants as they can not provide any testing. This website hosts nearly all of the small towns in Idaho, AK, OR, and WA. You can apply to hundreds of places by taking 1 test. A real time AND money saver.
Well.. I'm going to call Delta and see if I couldn't get on a flight 1 day sooner now that I do not have the oral boards and psychological in the next few days - I fear the cost will out-weigh the 1-day saving though.
I want to stay through Monday into Tuesday so that I can attend the China Harbour milonga on Monday night. It is the (one of the) best in the city and most people I know in this area will be there and not at Sunnie's tonight, where I'm going to also go.
Getting home a day early would allow me to better prepare for my Kansas trip, though, that I embark on no later than noon on Thursday (driving - 8hrs). Right now my flight returns home Wednesday night, late.
Oh well. oh well oh well. I'm not used to failing. It's a bitter pill to swallow.
Ta.
So... here I am.. in Seattle, WA. I flew here to test for the city police department. I was very anxious about the whole process as I had failed (due to lack of sleep night before) my last written exam with the Denver Police Department. I had also left the studying pretty much until the last 1-2 wks as that was when I knew what date the testing was going to be on.
I also knew that the physical agility testing was going to be different from what I'm used to with other departments and at my current physical condition knew it was going to be a challenge.
Since I was not made to sign a confidentiality agreement about the testing process with SPD, I can tell that their test is also entirely different from the other departments I've tested with before. They make you study some material for 2 hours before the actual test and then you are tested on that material during the 1.5 hr written portion, plus some other stuff. About 50-60% of all the questions were directly drawn from the study guide you studied so it's a test on memory retention and recalling specific sentences, policies, reports, and maps.
I became very worried once I learned this because the practice tests and book I have and have taken don't really go too deep into this, as it is something they really can't help you with in that kind of a book. They do recommend other resources that help one improve short-term memory.
Well I got a sneak peak at my score when they were trying to pronounce my name, which they NEVER get right, and saw that I had scored 88.88 out of a 100 maximum. Passing score was 80. Otherwise they just tell you to get in-line. If your name isn't called to stand in-line you did not pass the written and would not be invited to continue on to the PAT portion (physical agility test) half an hour later. Only those that were Lateral (already a police officer somewhere) or from Out-of-State did they score the test for immediately. The rest get their results in the mail in the next 1-2 wks and have their PAT in September.
Unlike the obstacles courses I've gotten used to with other departments, the State of Washington's Law Enforcement Academy has set forth the following criteria/testing:
1) 300 yard sprint, timed with a maximum time
2) Push-ups, not timed, minimum being 21.
3) Sit-ups in 1 minute, minimum being 30.
4) 1.5 mile run under specific time.
I've never been one to place too much emphasis on push-ups or bench press and have not worked out at all in years - Dancing Tango has been my only hobby and exercise. I was actually the most afraid of this testing process than anything else but I did manage 25 which was a personal best for me.
With the sprint I blew all that I had and got my time under the limit to get maximum points - that was good but it really drained me.
Sit-ups.... umm.. another thing I really haven't done much.. I did do some for a few days before my week in DC but during the trip I did absolutely nothing. Minimum was 30 in 1-minute.. and I died at 29.5. Failure. One is given an opportunity to retake this portion after the distance run.
1.5 mile run - I died. My legs were like lead and my liver started hurting as it released cool blood; I hadn't warmed up adequately in an attempt to reserve my (what I knew to be) limited energy. I completed almost 7 laps in the maximum allotted time and needed to complete 8. As I failed 2 events, I was out, and there was no point and definitely no energy left to re-attempt the sit-ups.
So.. I'm out.. for now. I'm allowed to re-take just the PAT portion in 2 months if I so choose, but if I don't do it then, I would need to wait at least 6-months and do the entire process all over including written. This could be beneficial, however, as it would give me more time to get in-shape, lose some weight, re-build some of the muscle mass I've lost in the last 12-years, study and improve my memory. Now that I know what kind of test they administer I could hopefully improve.
I need to get something along the lines of 95% to be highly competitive and closer to the top of the list. Veterans get an automatic 10% added to their score so if they score high plus the bonus they're unbeatable.
I can't really slack off now from depression, though, as the Portland written test is coming up on October 20th, right during the TangoFest there... however passing applicant must travel back to PDX at another time for the PAT test. Portland being one of the few large cities that do not accommodate out-of-staters like other departments I've tested for: Anchorage, AK; Colorado Springs, CO; Denver, CO.
I recently learned of a website that allows you to take a test with the company/agency, and they send your results to any agencies you pick from the list - it is intended for smaller towns that do not have the resources to test/train applicants themselves. Some small towns for example only hire Lateral applicants as they can not provide any testing. This website hosts nearly all of the small towns in Idaho, AK, OR, and WA. You can apply to hundreds of places by taking 1 test. A real time AND money saver.
Well.. I'm going to call Delta and see if I couldn't get on a flight 1 day sooner now that I do not have the oral boards and psychological in the next few days - I fear the cost will out-weigh the 1-day saving though.
I want to stay through Monday into Tuesday so that I can attend the China Harbour milonga on Monday night. It is the (one of the) best in the city and most people I know in this area will be there and not at Sunnie's tonight, where I'm going to also go.
Getting home a day early would allow me to better prepare for my Kansas trip, though, that I embark on no later than noon on Thursday (driving - 8hrs). Right now my flight returns home Wednesday night, late.
Oh well. oh well oh well. I'm not used to failing. It's a bitter pill to swallow.
Ta.
Friday, August 17, 2007
At the airport, again
So.. I flew in yesterday from Washington DC where I'd been for 8 days dancing and hanging out with Ms.Spain. Had many good dances despite the oppressive heat and humidity... was even kind of cool when you're both drenched and still you keep at it.. it's a bit uncomfortable and embarrassing to dance with someone when you're the only one soaking wet or vi ca verse.
Ms.Spain was a gracious hostess and then some and I can't wait to see her again in Denver in two weeks. Too bad I had agreed to share a room with someone else before she made up her mind about going to Denver.. I guess I coerced her in the right way during my visit to DC :P
She's become a dear, trusted friend in a very short time, and I'm blessed to be in her graces.
Muchos abrazos y besos!
I screwed up with my schedule a bit... I had thought I had all of today and majority of tomorrow to lounge around, catch up on errands, etc, before having to fly to Seattle for half a week... By chance I went to look for my arrival time to Seattle to co-ordinate my lodging and to my horror I saw the word "Friday" printed atop the "Departure" times... I had 4 hours to scramble to finish some last minute things and to re-pack to come to the airport. Luckily this flight is out of my own airport that's 15-minutes away versus the large one that's 2.5 hrs away. I had also not really unpacked as there had been no reason to do so; I had done 2 loads of laundry in DC and majority of the clothes I had packed were still good to go.. I just had to add a pair of workout pants, sneakers, and a suit.
I got to the airport a bit early again and just finished dinner at Quiznos's. To my great delight WidowPC had preinstalled all the hardware programs and device drivers on the hard drive, that I hadn't noticed before, and I was able to get my WLAN card to work in no time. I had relied on my Sprint PCS card for connection during the previous week and the speed was a measly 600 kbs (pretty fast for Sprint since I was in a major city). So now I'm enjoying the rare delight of free wireless internet. This airport, like I've mentioned in my other blog, is the only airport I've ever been to that has free WiFi and not merely a hot spot.
I also managed to get some dude's pocket knife impounded.. he was trying to sneak it through on his keychain until I pointed to an TSA-employee the knife. Most of the time when you stick yer keys in that little bucket it doesn't go through the X-ray... kind of like that one movie where an assassin had hidden two bullets inside a lucky rabbit's foot-keychain. Rest of the pistol had been a break-down ceramic one that is hard to detect. I forget the name of the movie now but somehow I feel it was John Malkovich who was the assassin/shooter. I walked into the terminal along side this guy and I almost said to him that he'd better return to his truck with that knife.. I just wasn't 100% certain it was a knife until I got much closer to him in the security line. When I flew to DC in June I had, last minute, shuffled some gear from one bag to the other to make sure I was under #50 to avoid 2x over-weight charges... and I had a utility knife with a nice holder and spare blades stuffed into one of my dress shoes that I had transferred to my carry-on from checked luggage.... they threw it away, of course.
I wish that they'd check the size of carry-on pieces like they used to and still do at London Heathrow... a guy just walked past me with a suit luggage and that thing was frigging huge.
Well.. enough for now..
Ta.
Ms.Spain was a gracious hostess and then some and I can't wait to see her again in Denver in two weeks. Too bad I had agreed to share a room with someone else before she made up her mind about going to Denver.. I guess I coerced her in the right way during my visit to DC :P
She's become a dear, trusted friend in a very short time, and I'm blessed to be in her graces.
Muchos abrazos y besos!
I screwed up with my schedule a bit... I had thought I had all of today and majority of tomorrow to lounge around, catch up on errands, etc, before having to fly to Seattle for half a week... By chance I went to look for my arrival time to Seattle to co-ordinate my lodging and to my horror I saw the word "Friday" printed atop the "Departure" times... I had 4 hours to scramble to finish some last minute things and to re-pack to come to the airport. Luckily this flight is out of my own airport that's 15-minutes away versus the large one that's 2.5 hrs away. I had also not really unpacked as there had been no reason to do so; I had done 2 loads of laundry in DC and majority of the clothes I had packed were still good to go.. I just had to add a pair of workout pants, sneakers, and a suit.
I got to the airport a bit early again and just finished dinner at Quiznos's. To my great delight WidowPC had preinstalled all the hardware programs and device drivers on the hard drive, that I hadn't noticed before, and I was able to get my WLAN card to work in no time. I had relied on my Sprint PCS card for connection during the previous week and the speed was a measly 600 kbs (pretty fast for Sprint since I was in a major city). So now I'm enjoying the rare delight of free wireless internet. This airport, like I've mentioned in my other blog, is the only airport I've ever been to that has free WiFi and not merely a hot spot.
I also managed to get some dude's pocket knife impounded.. he was trying to sneak it through on his keychain until I pointed to an TSA-employee the knife. Most of the time when you stick yer keys in that little bucket it doesn't go through the X-ray... kind of like that one movie where an assassin had hidden two bullets inside a lucky rabbit's foot-keychain. Rest of the pistol had been a break-down ceramic one that is hard to detect. I forget the name of the movie now but somehow I feel it was John Malkovich who was the assassin/shooter. I walked into the terminal along side this guy and I almost said to him that he'd better return to his truck with that knife.. I just wasn't 100% certain it was a knife until I got much closer to him in the security line. When I flew to DC in June I had, last minute, shuffled some gear from one bag to the other to make sure I was under #50 to avoid 2x over-weight charges... and I had a utility knife with a nice holder and spare blades stuffed into one of my dress shoes that I had transferred to my carry-on from checked luggage.... they threw it away, of course.
I wish that they'd check the size of carry-on pieces like they used to and still do at London Heathrow... a guy just walked past me with a suit luggage and that thing was frigging huge.
Well.. enough for now..
Ta.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Saturday Morning
It's been a while.
Still doing the diet although I've been bad a few times. Last week went to the movies a lot and had nachos a total of some 3 or 4 times. Had 2 slices of pizza from Wild Oats too.
On Wednesday and Thursday I was working really close to some restaurants and since I had not packed a lunch I couldn't resist. I had Indian food on Wed and Chinese on Thu. First restaurant food.
Last night on the way to DJ a milonga I stopped at a Taco Bell and had some tacos - first fast food in two weeks.
So yea I dj'd last night. Little over 5 hours. I've a question, though. I've always been super self-conscious about smelling.. be it sweat.. my breath.. or my clothing (one of my cats peed on one of my shirts once and I didn't notice it until I started sweating and the odor started coming out). Several of the very few women I did dance with had very bad breath. Nice ladies I've known a long time.. but I just can't get around to telling them that their breath makes me nauseous... how could I? How could I let some of these ladies know of this problem in a politically correct way that doesn't offend them and before it gets so bad I don't want to dance with them anymore.
Out of the 26 full sets and half a dozen alternatives I played I only danced 8 sets myself. It's lame how slim my pickings are in my home state. I've danced many times more out-of-state this year than in-state. Many times more. Portland, Alaska, New York, Atlanta, W.D.C...
One good news was, though, that one follow that used to date someone, that effectively placed her outside the radar of acceptable follows, now no longer dates this person, and is again available to be asked, and she isn't half bad.
Gawd.. trying to tolerate my mom on an IM.. she doesn't get it through her head that caps is yelling.. it raises my bloodpressure to read all caps all the time.
Ta.
Still doing the diet although I've been bad a few times. Last week went to the movies a lot and had nachos a total of some 3 or 4 times. Had 2 slices of pizza from Wild Oats too.
On Wednesday and Thursday I was working really close to some restaurants and since I had not packed a lunch I couldn't resist. I had Indian food on Wed and Chinese on Thu. First restaurant food.
Last night on the way to DJ a milonga I stopped at a Taco Bell and had some tacos - first fast food in two weeks.
So yea I dj'd last night. Little over 5 hours. I've a question, though. I've always been super self-conscious about smelling.. be it sweat.. my breath.. or my clothing (one of my cats peed on one of my shirts once and I didn't notice it until I started sweating and the odor started coming out). Several of the very few women I did dance with had very bad breath. Nice ladies I've known a long time.. but I just can't get around to telling them that their breath makes me nauseous... how could I? How could I let some of these ladies know of this problem in a politically correct way that doesn't offend them and before it gets so bad I don't want to dance with them anymore.
Out of the 26 full sets and half a dozen alternatives I played I only danced 8 sets myself. It's lame how slim my pickings are in my home state. I've danced many times more out-of-state this year than in-state. Many times more. Portland, Alaska, New York, Atlanta, W.D.C...
One good news was, though, that one follow that used to date someone, that effectively placed her outside the radar of acceptable follows, now no longer dates this person, and is again available to be asked, and she isn't half bad.
Gawd.. trying to tolerate my mom on an IM.. she doesn't get it through her head that caps is yelling.. it raises my bloodpressure to read all caps all the time.
Ta.
Friday, July 20, 2007
It's Friday but not an Aloha one
Been up in the mountains last two day.. Heading back up there in a few hours after a chiropractic adjustment and another of those Active Release Technique rub-downs.
My AC unit smells like someone is smoking right outside.. wonder if I'm burning the bearings, lol.
It's been hot here.. mid to high 90's.. even peaked past 100 just south of here.. and I'm trying to keep this wee dark house at 72.. it's usually 85 in here if it's 95 outside..especially right by 3 running computers; they put out some heat.
Pleasure trip. I'm making a pleasure trip purely for tango back to the East Coast next month. Found $99 tickets each way and with tax that's still under $240.00. This is only the second time ever I've made a trip purely for tango that wasn't for a tango festival, per se.
Trying to see if I can also get to DJ during this trip to assure high music level :)
My left arm and hand are constantly tingling. Been doing so ever since that first ART appointment I had on Monday. Quite annoying, it is, I can assure you. But he did pop the shoulder and that did increase the range of motion a little bit. He said that if by 4 or 5 appointments there isn't a noticeable difference then that technique won't work. At that point it better have worked since I will have paid enough to fly twice to dance with Ms.Spain and back (at the current web-only buy early enough in advance tix prices I found).
Denver milonguero festival is also only 5-6 weeks away.. can't be having a sore-ass shoulder again then.
I'll be driving to Wichita Kansas either just before my E.Coast trip or right after. Got a job there. The same builder wanted to do two homes on the same trip but they don't seem to get the homeowner to make any decisions.. or understand I have a 6-8 week lead-time.
Oh well. Got to take off.. Chiro in 40 mins.
Ta.
My AC unit smells like someone is smoking right outside.. wonder if I'm burning the bearings, lol.
It's been hot here.. mid to high 90's.. even peaked past 100 just south of here.. and I'm trying to keep this wee dark house at 72.. it's usually 85 in here if it's 95 outside..especially right by 3 running computers; they put out some heat.
Pleasure trip. I'm making a pleasure trip purely for tango back to the East Coast next month. Found $99 tickets each way and with tax that's still under $240.00. This is only the second time ever I've made a trip purely for tango that wasn't for a tango festival, per se.
Trying to see if I can also get to DJ during this trip to assure high music level :)
My left arm and hand are constantly tingling. Been doing so ever since that first ART appointment I had on Monday. Quite annoying, it is, I can assure you. But he did pop the shoulder and that did increase the range of motion a little bit. He said that if by 4 or 5 appointments there isn't a noticeable difference then that technique won't work. At that point it better have worked since I will have paid enough to fly twice to dance with Ms.Spain and back (at the current web-only buy early enough in advance tix prices I found).
Denver milonguero festival is also only 5-6 weeks away.. can't be having a sore-ass shoulder again then.
I'll be driving to Wichita Kansas either just before my E.Coast trip or right after. Got a job there. The same builder wanted to do two homes on the same trip but they don't seem to get the homeowner to make any decisions.. or understand I have a 6-8 week lead-time.
Oh well. Got to take off.. Chiro in 40 mins.
Ta.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Yucky Breakfast
I just had a bowl of "Bear Natural's Granola". The bag was unopened but was swollen with air inside. I didn't check the date on it but I did check to see if the soy milk I used was still good, which it appeared to be. But the granola tasted like I was eating tree bark and I actually sort have eaten tree bark having worked with wood as long as I have. It must have gotten heated up and gone bad somehow. My kitchen can get so hot in the summer that for example if I left some butter on the countertop, which stays hard and solid in the winter in the same spot, melts to a point where it's running all over and I've got a lake of butter on the table >.<
Sucks not to have choices for food at home but the solution isn't going shopping either. Last time I did.. of those groceries... an entire 12-pack of eggs and a big bag of grapes have gone bad.. probably the cheese too. Great portion of what I bring home that's fresh goes bad either because I go out of town or because I eat out or because I simply don't feel like cooking.
Blah.
Sucks not to have choices for food at home but the solution isn't going shopping either. Last time I did.. of those groceries... an entire 12-pack of eggs and a big bag of grapes have gone bad.. probably the cheese too. Great portion of what I bring home that's fresh goes bad either because I go out of town or because I eat out or because I simply don't feel like cooking.
Blah.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Friday - tired
For some reason I did not take the pain meds before going to bed... I couldn't sleep well all night but rather tossed and turned all night to try to get comfortable... every movement was felt in the shoulder - it's been aching all day long now, even after taking Norco and Aleve. Fking sucks.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
>.<
Ok I have to post. This is too fucking stupid not to report.
So... the house that I turned down last month due to not having time to draw it.. then meeting the homeowner and him stating he still wants me to draw the house.. fine.. so we meet again and I come up with a 1st draft in no time, but it has a portion to it that doesn't flow, and it's about 400 sq-ft too large.
Well I e-mail it to the builder (the homeowner never e-mailed me so I couldn't send it to them directly as well) on what.. Tuesday, for review, and he just called to ask how I was coming along with the plan... well I FUCKING E-MAILED IT TO HIM! He never e-mailed it forward to the homeowner so now I'm meeting them all again tomorrow morning and no one has reviewed the plan ahead of time... >.< AArrgh
He is an idiot! And then he is one of these people that never seems to get into his head, that I have two phone numbers.. I accept calls into one number and dial out of another.. he ALWAYS call me at the wrong number.. ALWAYS. Also.. the local building department... REGIONAL.. for 2 years he's been calling it "region". He just somehow can't get his mouth around that "-AL" part.
He is one of these guys that used to work for one the big missionary organizations and after supervising/building his own home, that I designed, he decided to become a homebuilder with the scant knowledge he has/had.. and well.. it shows, in everything. In quality, lack of organization, etc.
Pisses me off, this shit does.
.
So... the house that I turned down last month due to not having time to draw it.. then meeting the homeowner and him stating he still wants me to draw the house.. fine.. so we meet again and I come up with a 1st draft in no time, but it has a portion to it that doesn't flow, and it's about 400 sq-ft too large.
Well I e-mail it to the builder (the homeowner never e-mailed me so I couldn't send it to them directly as well) on what.. Tuesday, for review, and he just called to ask how I was coming along with the plan... well I FUCKING E-MAILED IT TO HIM! He never e-mailed it forward to the homeowner so now I'm meeting them all again tomorrow morning and no one has reviewed the plan ahead of time... >.< AArrgh
He is an idiot! And then he is one of these people that never seems to get into his head, that I have two phone numbers.. I accept calls into one number and dial out of another.. he ALWAYS call me at the wrong number.. ALWAYS. Also.. the local building department... REGIONAL.. for 2 years he's been calling it "region". He just somehow can't get his mouth around that "-AL" part.
He is one of these guys that used to work for one the big missionary organizations and after supervising/building his own home, that I designed, he decided to become a homebuilder with the scant knowledge he has/had.. and well.. it shows, in everything. In quality, lack of organization, etc.
Pisses me off, this shit does.
.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Saturday Morning Groggynes
So... I got them drugs.. some Norco for pain and Cyclobenzaprin for spasm. I've taken quite a few of the Norco's but only 2 Cyclo thus far. I took the first one at lunch on Thursday.. and I don't know if it was that or if the weeks just caught up to me, but I barely made the drive home, I was so sleepy. When I did make it home I hit the bed right away at 7:30 pm and slept until 6 am. Woke up only once shortly at 3 am. The next morning I felt like I was drunk for several hours.
Last night as I got back from the Milonga I took one at 3am and I slept until 1 pm. I started moving around just now and feeling that groggyness again.
So yea... went to the milonga last night. DJ Nick was playing... a lot of good stuff but also some weird tanda compilations and way too many alternatives. He did a 4 song set of alternatives and that completely sapped my energy.. I wasn't able to recoup after that. Dances? Not a single good one.. but I wasn't feeling all that great either.. was very tired.
I'm supposed to be working in Breckenridge next week but I so would not want to... another case of me not being able to say no. And another example of not saying no.. on the way to the Milonga last night I stopped at a house where they want to design a remodel.. it's already a nightmare and I haven't even drawn a single line. She keeps wanting impossible things and doesn't seem to hear or understand why she can't have some of the things she wants. "Can't we just do <><><><>"?. "Well no... because <><><><>". "Why not"?. *sigh*
Felt bad for the husband too.. she kept putting words in his mouth and putting him in a bad spot. Wisely he kept his mouth shut the entire time, lol.
I think I need a real good massage to try and release my trapezoid/rhomboid. The muscles are hard and swollen like a coconut. Even with the Norco I don't at all feel like sitting here in front of the computer.. at least not to work. When I work I have to scootch forward and squint at the screen to make sure I start the line from the right spot, etc. When I'm writing I can sit back and just watch the screen from a distance. Keeps the shoulders more relaxed.
I hope Ms.Spain is getting some good dances. She's in the Mid-West enjoying a Tango Festival. I miss dancing with her.
Ms.Belgium had a water pipe burst above her living room ceiling and ruin most of her condo; bummer. I guess she didn't have specific renters insurance either.
I haven't heard from Ms.Vegas since the Denver Tango Festival. She left me a voicemail the day she made the trip saying she had just heard a song that reminded her of me, but I never caught the title of the song.
I might drive up to Boulder tonight for a Milonga there. It is the early-arrival milonga for the Gustavo & Giselle workshops to be held there next week. Some people are coming clear from the east-coast for the classes, although I don't see the point. Hoping for one or two good follows to show up, though. Maybe that one really tall girl that lives in Boulder will be there. She almost never drives down to Denver and she's getting to be really good. Maybe she moved though as she got done with college.
Waiting for my breakfast to arrive. I debated whether to clean the pan and to scramble some eggs (that would just have gotten stuck to the pan I ruined) or to order a meatball sandwich and two personal sized pizzas from Extreme Pizza, and E.P. won.
I'd like to go see a movie today but I don't think that'll happen. If I go to Boulder tonight I have to get a move on right after breakfast. I'm to pick up a friend from Denver on the way if I decide to go.
I'd also like to go to the Renaissance Festival; Haven't gone in 5 or 6 years, but I don't want to go alone. Got no one to go with me, though.
Ta for now.
.
Last night as I got back from the Milonga I took one at 3am and I slept until 1 pm. I started moving around just now and feeling that groggyness again.
So yea... went to the milonga last night. DJ Nick was playing... a lot of good stuff but also some weird tanda compilations and way too many alternatives. He did a 4 song set of alternatives and that completely sapped my energy.. I wasn't able to recoup after that. Dances? Not a single good one.. but I wasn't feeling all that great either.. was very tired.
I'm supposed to be working in Breckenridge next week but I so would not want to... another case of me not being able to say no. And another example of not saying no.. on the way to the Milonga last night I stopped at a house where they want to design a remodel.. it's already a nightmare and I haven't even drawn a single line. She keeps wanting impossible things and doesn't seem to hear or understand why she can't have some of the things she wants. "Can't we just do <><><><>"?. "Well no... because <><><><>". "Why not"?. *sigh*
Felt bad for the husband too.. she kept putting words in his mouth and putting him in a bad spot. Wisely he kept his mouth shut the entire time, lol.
I think I need a real good massage to try and release my trapezoid/rhomboid. The muscles are hard and swollen like a coconut. Even with the Norco I don't at all feel like sitting here in front of the computer.. at least not to work. When I work I have to scootch forward and squint at the screen to make sure I start the line from the right spot, etc. When I'm writing I can sit back and just watch the screen from a distance. Keeps the shoulders more relaxed.
I hope Ms.Spain is getting some good dances. She's in the Mid-West enjoying a Tango Festival. I miss dancing with her.
Ms.Belgium had a water pipe burst above her living room ceiling and ruin most of her condo; bummer. I guess she didn't have specific renters insurance either.
I haven't heard from Ms.Vegas since the Denver Tango Festival. She left me a voicemail the day she made the trip saying she had just heard a song that reminded her of me, but I never caught the title of the song.
I might drive up to Boulder tonight for a Milonga there. It is the early-arrival milonga for the Gustavo & Giselle workshops to be held there next week. Some people are coming clear from the east-coast for the classes, although I don't see the point. Hoping for one or two good follows to show up, though. Maybe that one really tall girl that lives in Boulder will be there. She almost never drives down to Denver and she's getting to be really good. Maybe she moved though as she got done with college.
Waiting for my breakfast to arrive. I debated whether to clean the pan and to scramble some eggs (that would just have gotten stuck to the pan I ruined) or to order a meatball sandwich and two personal sized pizzas from Extreme Pizza, and E.P. won.
I'd like to go see a movie today but I don't think that'll happen. If I go to Boulder tonight I have to get a move on right after breakfast. I'm to pick up a friend from Denver on the way if I decide to go.
I'd also like to go to the Renaissance Festival; Haven't gone in 5 or 6 years, but I don't want to go alone. Got no one to go with me, though.
Ta for now.
.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Dreams of an Insomniac
What is it like getting a full nights rest?
I have forgotten. Hard as I try I can't remember when I was consistently getting 7-1/2 hours of sleep each night - it's been several years for sure.
To an extent this can be credited to my lifestyle.. Tango dancing is a nocturnal pleasure. But I often also legimately work until the wee hours trying to get designs/specs/quotes done on-time.
Last 2 weeks I haven't been able to sleep due to the pain in my neck/shoulder. 2 weeks before that it was my trip to the East Coast and with the Tango dancing I was getting 3 hours per night (6 hrs few nights but in 2 shifts of 3 hrs). So like I mentioned before, one of my clients is an MD, and he finally called in 2 Rx's for me this morning. I put in a full day at work today and afterward drove down to the Safeway where I had him call them in at. I arrived at 18:15 and because it is "holiday" they had closed at 6 pm vs. the normal hour of 8 pm. The guy was standing there behind the cage playing "Eye of the tiger" from a cassette player into a telephone.... >.< Another night of no sleep incoming because of 15-minutes. Gay.
I'm sure Ms.Spain will blame me for keeping her up until 4:15 am (2:15 my time) talking on the IM and hence not getting more than 4 hrs of sleep, but even within that 4 hr timeslot I woke up once because I had to shift off of my bad shoulder - any longer would have only gotten me a sorer and stiffer shoulder this morning than what I got.
I'm glad it's raining outside.. I hope it keeps up.. it'll keep most of the people inside that run around blasting fireworks (they're illegal inside the City-limits anyway).
.
I have forgotten. Hard as I try I can't remember when I was consistently getting 7-1/2 hours of sleep each night - it's been several years for sure.
To an extent this can be credited to my lifestyle.. Tango dancing is a nocturnal pleasure. But I often also legimately work until the wee hours trying to get designs/specs/quotes done on-time.
Last 2 weeks I haven't been able to sleep due to the pain in my neck/shoulder. 2 weeks before that it was my trip to the East Coast and with the Tango dancing I was getting 3 hours per night (6 hrs few nights but in 2 shifts of 3 hrs). So like I mentioned before, one of my clients is an MD, and he finally called in 2 Rx's for me this morning. I put in a full day at work today and afterward drove down to the Safeway where I had him call them in at. I arrived at 18:15 and because it is "holiday" they had closed at 6 pm vs. the normal hour of 8 pm. The guy was standing there behind the cage playing "Eye of the tiger" from a cassette player into a telephone.... >.< Another night of no sleep incoming because of 15-minutes. Gay.
I'm sure Ms.Spain will blame me for keeping her up until 4:15 am (2:15 my time) talking on the IM and hence not getting more than 4 hrs of sleep, but even within that 4 hr timeslot I woke up once because I had to shift off of my bad shoulder - any longer would have only gotten me a sorer and stiffer shoulder this morning than what I got.
I'm glad it's raining outside.. I hope it keeps up.. it'll keep most of the people inside that run around blasting fireworks (they're illegal inside the City-limits anyway).
.
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