Unrealized

Photo a Day: Day One - Breakfast

2007-03-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

I know, it's been a super long time since I blogged - I was blogging elsewhere (Vox).

But I'm back. I'll probably post at both places, but right now, I want to start a new project - taking a photo a day. I know this has been done to death by others but I've always wanted to do it and never did. Lots of excuses - camera isn't slim/compact enough so I can't carry it with me, camera phone isn't good enough, amount of natural light isn't sufficient, people will stare at me taking photos, etc etc etc. Of course, I never considered that it was my technical ability (or lack thereof) that cause bad pictures, not the environment or equipment.

But anyway - here is my photo for today. Breakfast - a mix of Kix and Cocoa Puffs (exactly 34 of each. Yes, I actually counted). A little obsessive to count, but I wanted the two to be exactly the same amount, not just a ballpark estimate.

And this (the breakfast) brings me to my next topic : panic attacks /anxiety disorders. My mom saw a segment about it on the news and she was asking. Sometimes I think I get mini panic attacks - but they're usually not just out of nowhere (like panic attacks are supposed to be). So I guess it's nothing serious, but sometimes my heart will race and my stomach will churn. Like earlier this morning - it kind of happened while I was looking up panic attacks.

Either that or I was just hungry... which is a possibility. But could hunger pangs also trigger a panic attack? I wonder...

Happy New Year

2007-01-01T16:26:00.000-08:00

It's been quite a while since I've posted... happy new year and all that jazz.

Let's see, how was 2006? Well, there were some good moments (e.g. performing a solo in Coppelia), there were some disappointments (e.g. what i was cast as for the Nut, but it ended up okay, so I guess it wasn't a real disappointment).

Did a little christmas clearance shopping... not as much as last year, though. Got a Dilbert desk for $2 from Target. And some mini ceramic mugs from Walgreens... not that I have a need for mini mugs, but they were like 12 cents a piece, so what the heck.

Everything changes

2006-11-16T21:45:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged in like forever. I miss it but sometimes I just don't feel like putting all my thoughts into words.

It's kind of funny - I just watched The Office on NBC (which is like one of my favorite shows) where Jim and the Stamford people join the Scranton branch. And it was sad how Pam was so excited about seeing Jim again but then after he got there, it was awkward and not how she wanted it. I sent a couple of emails to my old boss (the one who moved away) and he didn't respond for like ever. So I sent him another one today (thinking like "why the heck doesn't he answer?") and then he did respond. Before I left for the day (around 3pm), I checked my voicemail and I had a message - from him at like 11am! Hearing his voice - though it's NOTHING like the Pam and Jim situation - just made me feel a little sad... I kind of feel bad these days when I'm not there to answer the phone. I mean, a lot of times, I prefer to leave voicemails, but what if people want to talk to me?

Over the weekend, I was watching some old ballet videos of me... I was so gangly and awkward, it's funny.

Names

2006-10-13T23:39:00.000-07:00

I was thinking the other day, about baby names. Not particularly names for babies, but the names of my classmates. We didn’t have those new-age names like Caitlin and Lindsey, Trent or Cody.

We had five Jonathans (or John), four Chrises (Chriss?) and three Michaels. Not all of them were my classmates at the same time, except for the Jonathans – all five of them went to middle school with me, and to the same high school. Three of them were in my 8th grade science class. One of them was my partner for the baby project, and the other two (since there were more boys in the class than girls) had to be partners.

So I decided to look up popular baby names from 1970 to 1979 (the year I was born). # 3 on the list was Jason. I knew only 1 Jason growing up – he was in my 4th grade class and he had diabetes. Well, he was diagnosed with diabetes (I’m assuming Type 1, since kids weren’t getting Type 2 back then) sometime during the 4th grade and the teacher had him explain to the class about testing his blood sugar daily, insulin shots, etc. Add that to reading the Baby-Sitters Club books, where Stacy McGill talks about her diabetes – could really get impressionable young kids freaking out when they have to use the bathroom too frequently. By the way, only 1 classmate named Stacy and I think she eventually transferred to another high school. That Jason was a big fan of Snoopy and the Peanuts gang.

Brian is number 8 on the list. No Brians in my class. Or Kevins. Nor Richard, Timothy, Mark, Joshua, Charles, or Anthony.

I knew 3 Mikes (technically Michaels, but who’s being technical?) Mike the jock (basketball, football), Mike the baseball player and Mike the kid who frequently broke his arm or his leg, fell out of trees and the whole bit.

For girls, we had 3 Jennifers. 1 Amy, 1 Melissa, 1 Michelle (though technically Shelly was a regular student, not one of us gifted and talented kids, so I’m not counting her within my classmates list). No Angelas nor Kimberleys.

1 Stephanie, 1 Jessica, 1 Katrina, 1 Jill, 1 Elisabeth, 1 Megan. No Rebecccas, Marys or Julies.

Things like this interest me. I truly believe I would have had a different personality if I had a different name (oh, sure, I might have still been quiet and awkward, but things would have been somewhat different).

Lunch - Gerber Graduates

2006-09-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

I love eating Gerber Graduates. They're yummy. Not like the other baby food (the mashed up veggies and junk). I'm eating Chicken Stew w/ noodles (it's rich in protein and provides zinc!). And just 120 calories.

The spaghetti type ones are the best - like the spaghetti and mini meatballs. Yummm.

Work space

2006-09-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start a little game at work (similar to Angela's Pam Pong on The Office) - I'm going to keep track of how many times a day people ask me:

1. Where is Room 4460?
2. How do I get to the library?
3. How do I get to the 8th floor conference room?
4. Where is Room 4523?
5. Where is the restroom?

And some other "favorites":
6. Is (one of my boss's) researchers here yet?
7. Do you know when he'll be coming in?

I need to get a big posterboard and write in the answers:

1. It's the door right there to your right. If you just looked, there's no way you could miss it.

2. Walk down the hallway to the next elevator, not this one right here, and take it up a floor. There's a map on the bulletin board just outside the door you walked in to ask me this question - how about you take a look at that?

3. Walk down the hallway, make a left at the next hallway and take the elevator at the end of that hallway up to the 8th floor.

4. Walk down the hallway, make a left.

5. It's just past the stairs (which is right outside my area).

6. No (or yes, depending)

7. I don't know. I am not his keeper. So stop asking me inane questions.

Another thing - I hate it when people walk out of Room 4460 (which is this room with a few offices and a conference room) and stand in the hallway and talk. I want to yell at them "hello, I'm trying to work here?!" But I don't think that would be too classy.

Out of the 3 spots I've sat in at work (a cubicle, an office and this), this has got to be the worst yet. It's the reception area so people assume I'm a secretary. Well, I'm not. And then lately, facilities people have been asking to borrow my phone because this, that or the other. It annoys me.

And I call the space where I sit a "work space". It's not really an office because if it was, I should be able to close the door and not hear people talk. Like I need to hear about how people in San Francisco get really offended if you call it "Frisco". Or how it's different in Los Angeles, because anyone can call it "L.A." and nobody cares. Uh, maybe if you called it "S.F.", no one would care, but it's not like anyone calls it "Geles". Seriously.

I long for my cubicle days... as crazy as that sounds.

Panda Express

2006-09-13T20:01:00.000-07:00

Note to self - if you get Mandarin chicken from Panda Express, ask them for the sauce on the side (do they do that?). Otherwise, part of the fried rice will be swimming in not-so-yummy sauce.

The Office DVD

2006-09-12T19:43:00.000-07:00

I just had to run out to Best Buy and get The Office Severance Package Gift Set. It comes with Season 1 AND Season 2, plus Dunder Mifflin branded notepad, sticky notes, pen, etc. This shows you how great The Office (on NBC) is - I never buy dvds of anything. Seriously, I have 1 dvd in my collection (other than the ones I just bought today) - and that dvd is of the Nutcracker performance last year.

The other day, my friend was talking about going to Office Depot to get some school supplies and I almost said "Office Depot is running Dunder Mifflin out of business", except that she'd have no idea what I was talking about and I'd have to explain it. I finally saw the Take Your Daughter To Work episode two weeks ago(?), where Michael Scott tells the kids that.

The ballet season is back up and running again. Every season, it's a drama. Lots of drama over casting. Well, there's always lots of drama over casting, but this year already, we've had people cry because of what they did and did not get, other people upset over who knew what and when.

I don't blame them - I would have liked to have been Sugar Plum again (I recently watched the DVD of myself and found stuff I could definitely have done better) but sometimes TPTB like to spread the lead roles around. Sometimes. Of course, certain people get to repeat roles over and over again, basically until they themselves decide they want something else, but I'm not certain people, and life's not fair - that's just the way it is and that's how it will always be.

I am in 4 things this time around. Two of them, I've been in before, and 2 are new. So at least it'll be a new experience. (I'm trying to be mature about this, but believe me, I myself was quite upset).

What else... it's been so long since I've posted. I need to get back into doing this. My computer at work is still broken - one of my bosses wants me to get a specific model/brand that's the newest & fastest, but we're having difficulties purchashing it... either way, I would really like to get a new computer set up because I'm tired of checking my email through webmail and not being able to save stuff to the hard drive.

Anyway, that's about it for now. My knees are quite bruised from this modern piece we're learning. I don't know if they're going to hold up by the time we're seriously rehearsing this piece (and having to do the floor work over and over again)... right now, there's some pain when we do the floor work and it's definitely an eyesore, but if it comes to the point where there's pain even when we're not practicing the piece (e.g. when I'm doing normal things like walking), then I just might have to beg out. I've had knee issues before and I'm not going to mess up my knees for that piece.

2006-08-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

Whew, I'm still tired from Disneyland! Friday night, I went to sleep around 11:30pm. I wanted to go to sleep earlier so I'd be well rested, but I was running around getting stuff ready to go (e.g. charging camera batteries, cell batteries, etc).

I woke up at 2:15am to check the camcorder batteries (they finally finished charging) and put in the backup battery to charge. Then went back to sleep. Woke up bright and early at 6am.

I was having trouble deciding what to wear (I usually plan this way in advance, as I do with every detail of a trip/adventure) - I finally decided on a spaghetti-strap tank top and jeans. Then it was more running around getting stuff together, eating breakfast (eggs and toast). We left at 7:05am (stopped by Walgreens to buy some erasers - not for DLand but it was the last day of the sale).

We got to DLand at about 7:40am and parked outside in Pinocchio 8C. Last year, we parked in the structure, but I guess since it was earlier, we parked outside (which is counterintuitive if you think about it. You get there early, you have to leave your car in the hot sun. You get there late, and it gets to be covered).

Then we took the tram to DLand - people were standing at the entrance waiting for the doors to open. So we took a few pics by the DCA sign. Finally, DLand opened and we went through security (the guy just glanced in my bag and sent me along). Then we headed towards Fantasyland (I swung by Autopia to get FastPasses). Gepetto was in the circle (where they have that Walt & Mickey statue).

After riding on Matterhorn (short wait), we went on Storybook Canals and Small World - both had short waits. We also rode Dumbo (1st time!), Alice in Wonderland and Mr. Toad's Wild Adventure. We also rode Teacups and the Carousel. We were zipping along until we got to Peter Pan. The wait was 40 minutes, for a short 2 min? ride. I was disappointed, since my friend CK told me that it's the best ride but I felt like I had already experienced it from watching one of the DLand resort videos.

While we were waiting, we did get to see the whole Merlin and the Sword in the Stone thing, and also saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and maybe Donald walk by.

We finally got out of Fantasyland (stopped to take a pic of Snow White's stepmother) and headed towards Adventureland (to get FPs for Indy and to ride Jungle Cruise). We stopped by the restrooms and then got separated from each other - my mom, sis and me started walking but then my mom thought maybe my dad was still in the restroom so she wanted to stand and wait. My sis wanted to get some pressed pennies so she went into one of the stores there and I went to go get the FPs (return time was between 2:20pm and 3:20pm - I think the standby time was 1 hr). Well, then I walked back to where we were and couldn't find either my parents or my sis. We finally caught up at Jungle Cruise (I stopped to take a pic of Pocahontas). So we rode that took a couple of pics of the hippos with my stuffed hippo (pics to be posted).

Then we went to Haunted Mansion (passing by Pirates which was closed). The CMs for Pirates was telling everyone to try again later - they weren't sure when the ride would open. Haunted was a bit of a wait but it's one of my mom's favs so its worth it.

After Haunted, we walked to Splash Mountain - the wait time was 1 hr, so we decided to sit down near the Rivers of America and eat lunch. We brought homemade sushi (I know, so Asian) and fruit. It was 12:25pm when we started eating and then after we finished, we went to stand in line for Splash (12:50pm). The line was moving fast at first, but then it was gridlock. The FP line was moving really fast, but then that too got backed up. The CMs came over the PA system that there were issues and that the wait time was longer than anticipated. So we stood and waited. Took some pics of Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger by the Pooh and Friends area. Noticed that the Pooh ride had broken down (people were standing on the loading dock but the vehicles weren't going anywhere).

Finally, we got on Splash (at 1:55pm). That ride is seriously my favorite of all time. We were all getting a little grumpy but during and after that ride, we were re-energized. I took some video clips with my camera and also got a shot of the view from right before the drop. I was sitting in the 2nd seat and my pant legs were wet from the knee down and my hair was soaked.

The Pooh ride was working again, so we went on that (listed wait time was 8 minutes - that was about right). I took two videos of that. That part where Pooh has his face all covered with hunny is so cute.

After that, I wanted to get FPs for Big Thunder (sis went to buy some more pressed pennies). I tried getting the FPs, but nothing happened. On the Indy FP, it said I could get another FP at 1:05pm, and it was clearly past that time, but I don't know why it wouldn't work. I did pick up a FP that was stuck dangling from the machine though.

The penny press my sister was using got stuck - after she put in the money, nothing happened. So they went to get a CM and she said to go to the cashier to get a refund. Then my mom pushed the coin slot thing again and the lights lit up - my sis pushed the button and the penny came out! Yay!

Since the wait time for Big Thunder was only 25 minutes, we decided to ride that. That's a fun ride - I don't remember riding it when I was a kid.

Then we headed over to Toontown. It was 3:10pm and I was hoping all the kids and their families would be watching the parade (at 3:15pm) but no such luck. Roger Rabbit was a 70 minute wait. We opted for Gadget's Go Coaster (which was a 25 minute wait). I enjoyed that ride last time, and this time too, but there's only 10 people per train and only 1 train at a time. The whole ride lasts for what, 1 minute? So it's not quite worth the wait, especially since we just went on Big Thunder before it and the rides are similar.

After that, we headed over to Tomorrowland - Space Mountain was closed (CMs weren't sure when it would reopen but told everyone, including the people with FPs to try back in a few hours). We went on Autopia (with our FPs, we still had to wait about 10 minutes). Then we stopped by the store next to Space Mountain and bought souvernirs. We were trying to get $50 worth of stuff so I could get a 10% discount with my Disney visa card, but ended up only getting $28.40 worth - no problem, I still got the discount! Yay! I got a Sorcerer Mickey keychain and a mouse ears charm (I noticed they didn't have any teacup charms, which I got last year).

Then we went on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters - I think the wait time said 20 minutes, but it seemed like nothing. First time riding and it was fun. I had my hands full trying to shoot the targets, spin the rocket and film. My dad's final score - 1700. Mine - 3300. On our way out, we stopped to send the pics to ourselves.

Then we went back to Adventureland and rode Indy. Wait time was about 8 minutes. It's an okay ride - nothing great. I think I kind of got a little whiplash, but it's fine now.

After that, my parents went to go stake out spots for Fantasmic (it was only about 6:40! at the time but they were a bit tired anyway). My sis and I went to Main Street for pressed pennies (I stopped to take a video of the Dapper Dans performing). One penny machine got stuck - my sis put in the coins and pushed in the coin slot thing. But it got stuck halfway and nothing would happen. So she flagged down a CM and the CM told her to go to the cashier for a refund. We stood in line for at least 5 minutes and then the cashier had her fill out a form (on a receipt) with her name, address, phone, etc and sign. Then we got a few more pennies (there are a lot of machines at the penny arcade place) but then another machine got stuck (this time, the penny was wedged just to the left of where it was supposed to drop down). So this time, I stood in line and got my refund (the cashier, this one was a gal, just handed me the 51 cents and crumpled up the receipt that came up).

We headed back to the Rivers of America and sat down for a nice rest - we were on the left side, near Haunted (but not too close to the smoking section). And we sat and ate and waited. And waited some more. Then my mom and I decided to refill our water bottles (we asked some CMs where the water fountains were and they couldn't remember - the guy sweeper pointed towards the smoking section but then they turned around and there it was). We got back to our spots just in time - a CM was telling the people to sit up (some were lying down) and consolidate so more people could fit in the section. He said that there was no saving spaces 30 minutes before the show - it was a good thing we got back right then (it was only 8:31pm).

Fantasmic was great - my sis videotaped with the camcorder, I videotaped some clips with my camera and my mom took pics with my sis's camera. It was kind of funny because I was filming but also wanted to take pics, so I had to hand the camera to my mom (still filming) in order for me to get out the other camera. You can hear me on the clip saying "just hold it - it's videotaping" and my mom saying (in Chinese) "is it recording? Are you sure you're getting it?" Then I gave my sis's camera (for pics) to my mom so she could take pics and I went back to taping.

At one point, I noticed that the batteries on my sis's camera was low so I had to switch cameras with my mom again so I could replace the batteries. It's a good thing that when we were just sitting there earlier, I decided to get out the back up batteries, in case MY batteries got low so they were in the shoulder strap pocket on my bag - super easy to get to.

I tried to pan around when the Mark Twain boat came out and got video of all these different characters - old Mickey, Prince Eric, Ariel, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and Prince Charming, Mary Poppins, the penguin, Mulan, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, the cow, Buzz, Woody...

After that, we stayed put for the Remember fireworks - the people in front of us (they were closest to the Rivers, we were right behind them) stood up after Fantasmic like they were leaving but then they didn't go. So when Remember started, people (us included) started shouting at them to sit down (which they did).

We headed to Pirates afterwards (last year, as we were leaving, we noticed people heading for that - there was practically no wait). This time, maybe it's because we were sitting farther away. By the time we got to Pirates, there was already a line. We waited about 15 minutes, which isn't bad, considering the line when we passed by earlier (around 7pm) was 45 min long.

Then we got a few more pressed pennies (the ones that were broken on Main Street were working now!) and went on our merry way home. Stopped to buy burgers at Jack in the Box.

Yum!

2006-08-10T20:29:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days - everything (almost) that could go wrong, did go wrong. Computer crashed (hard drive is most likely dead) and then the door on the bus got stuck and we had to get off.

*Sigh* But at least I'm going to Disneyland on Saturday! Yay!

My Space

2006-07-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally broke down joined myspace. I did it mostly because one of my friends at ballet just joined. So we've traded a couple of comments but texting on our cells is still the preferred method of communication for us.

I can't stand the design of the typical myspace profile (let's not even get into the messed up CSS templates that so many myspacers have) so I did some searching on google and found a couple of tutorials on using a div overlay to cover up the default tables. Took a bit of tweaking, but I've gotten it to work. It covers up the friends' pics and the comments, but that's fine since I don't really want other people's profile pics on my profile. (I know, it sounds mean, but it's true. I can't control what they put up but I sure as heck want to be able to control what goes on my page).

Anyway, so after I set up my profile, I sent my aforementioned friend a friend request, which naturally, she approved. And after I appeared on her profile, I've gotten several friend requests from people at ballet. Some I am friendly with; others, not so much. It makes me laugh though because are they really that attention-starved that they would ask people who aren't really their friend to be their friend?

I guess so, because aside from these ballet people that I'm now linked to, I've also received friend requests from random people, bands and a salon. For me, it's simple - if I don't know you, I'm not going to approve your friend request. I've only sent out 2 friend requests (the other one was to one of the characters on a tv show that I love), and I now have 15 friends.

It seems quite self-explanatory to me. Stop being so needy. But I guess most people want to "up" their friend count (including some of the ballet people) so they just add everyone who is even the least bit connected to them.

2006-07-04T08:34:00.000-07:00

I decided to start my day off with some exercise (I slept until about 7am and decided to get up). Yoga or jogging on the trampoline? Um, yoga, since these days I have to walk about 30 minutes each day anyway. So I start doing some sun salutations and on the simplest move (reaching your hands overhead), I apparently have overextended my back and it kind of hurts now.

Fabulous.

Oh, well, at least I can relax, sit on the couch, watch the World Cup. Which brings me to my next point - why isn't ABC showing the Germany-Italy game? Yes, I know, Americans just aren't interested in soccer (I say that sarcastically) but it's a holiday. Most people have the day off - why not show it? Instead, they're showing The View, News and something else that no one cares about. (They are showing it on ESPN). Guess I'll have to watch it on Univision. ABC stinks sometimes - like how they no longer show the World Figure Skating Championships. What's up with that?

Got my first paycheck yesterday! Well, my first paycheck for teaching at least... yay!

2006-07-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, now I'm interested in the World Cup (with Brazil and Argentina out). Yay! Although I would have rather the quarterfinals be Italy, Germany, France and England. Actually, Netherlands, USA, Norway (who didn't even qualify) would have been fine too.

Juergen Klinsmann looks like a little boy. Like a four-year-old. It's cute.

Tall European soccer players stand out. England's Peter Crouch (known for his post-goal robot dance, kind of like a soccer-version of Mark Madsen). And Germany's #17 (forgot his name).

What's with the German team bowling thing? Hey, they won, I don't have a problem with it, but a bit funny.

Who are the players on the US team? I think I know maybe two players (McBride and Donovan) and the goalkeeper (Keller). That's it. I could probably name more veteran players on other teams (Zidane, Henry, Barthez)... okay, they all happen to be on France, but my favs from Norway and Netherlands (1994 & 1998) aren't there anymore.

I am so glad Ben is off SYTYCD. He had such a poor attitude (remember during the auditions when his friend didn't make it? And then he criticized the other dancers who were let through?). Or when the judges said he and Ashley (because they didn't do well, during week 1) that they better prepare their solos and Ben says "that's okay, I like my solo." Maybe you do, but don't say that. And then when Cat the host interviews him, he has one word answers (mostly "no") or "I don't know". Come up with something else to say, for crying out loud.

Just leave me in my misery

2006-06-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

I woke up with a massive cold. Probably actually started yesterday (after lunch, my nose kept running and no matter how many times I blew my nose, it just kept going). On days like this, I want everyone to go away and leave me to sneeze and blow my nose in quiet misery. Okay?

People can be annoying. Like a gal who says "I wear a size 4 now. I used to wear size 0". You gave birth 6 months ago and haven't lost the baby fat, get over it!

Or the person who keeps asking me if so-and-so will be here today. How am I supposed to know? I'm not a fortune teller.

Gawd, I'm cranky. But I can't even work because every time I look down at whatever I'm writing, my nose starts to run.

Newies

2006-06-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

A couple of new girls at the studio - probably around 14 or 15. I don't really like it when new people come. I know, it's not really fair to say that, since I was a new kid at one time and the others were probably thinking the same thing about me. But that's how it is, you know?

These girls left their old studio because two of their main teachers have left. But the person taking over is an ex-pro herself and very well known. Why not at least give it another try?

And the other girls at our studio - they keep goofing off and talking in class (the few of them who are still here; their summer programs start later). They should watch out or the new girls are going to surpass them on the totem pole. I mean, I really shouldn't be bothered by new people - I have seniority over every single person there, I'm now "officially" a ballet master (meaning I get to run rehearsals and set choreography; not that exciting since I've already done this before), I'm also part of the faculty (yeah, teaching adult classes in the summer, yay!). And I have such a special place in the directors' eyes (I'm the girl who knows everything, prepares everything, etc). I'll get the parts I get (and those that I don't). It's the dancers that are in between (e.g. SJ and others) that should be concerned. Sooner or later, the directors will be like "you know what, we're wasting our time with her, she doesn't even try. Let's try to develop the younger group."

So yeah, it's going to be a long summer (which is fine since I like summer). Just when ballet was getting good (with KH and CH leaving) but that's the way it goes...

2006-06-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

Dear CK-

I can't believe that we only became friends like in January or February. We've known each other for at least 3. I never knew you could be so much fun. Well, maybe I did, but I also thought you were a bit of a cut-up. You know, outspoken, loud, goof-off. But then I got to know you and it was like "what?! She's a toe-the-line kind of girl, like me?!" Which makes me like and respect you a whole lot because you know how to have fun (hey, you're not exactly the quiet, wallflower like I am) but you also know the boundaries.

Which is why everyone (even the teachers) likes you, Caitlin. I know it doesn't seem like it at times (esp with the popular aka mean girls) but it's true. Those aforementioned girls (that's a big word, just for you) are just like that. For some reason, they have to cut other people down just to make themselves feel better. They think they are so mature and sophisticated, yet they act like five year olds.

You have a good heart and a good head on your shoulders. And now you have a good friend (me!). So don't worry, just keep plugging along and we'll continue our conversations about why people are so mean, and how you over-pronounce words like "else" and how I can't say "mine".

Someday we'll take over the studio. Until then, try not to be nice to people... I bet you can't.

Alter ego

2006-06-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

I feel like Superman. Well, not Superman but his whole Clark Kent/Superman alter ego-type thing.

Ballet is probably where I feel most comfortable around people. Even though I don't have the ballet body or this or that, once it's time to dance, I don't care. It doesn't matter if you have name-brand clothes or perfect hair. Technique, artistry and overall ability levels the playing field (although some people have more than others and people like me have to work to match the natural talents).

Plus, through ballet, I get to do fun and exciting stuff. Like travel (though it's only once a year, and it's usually to Washington state, Arizona or Utah). Or soar through the air and spin like a top. And performing on stage - there's nothing like it.

And then, after the weekend's over, I go back to being Clark Kent. Boring desk job. I really need to find something that I have a passion for, but still pays the rent. I'll have to start looking since my days as a on-the-side dancer are probably dwindling. Something other than this - I often feel like I'm a metronome (you know, marking time), just going through the motions, waiting for it to be time for ballet. (I wasn't like this, about my job, a year ago, but now it's just dull).

[How long have I been waiting to get that "metronome" comment into a post?]

This was a bit of an interesting horoscope for yesterday (I always read horoscopes the day after, or at least, in the evening when the day is over - don't want it to influence my day): Always choose quality over quantity. You've been focusing on the number of compliments or acknowledgments you get. Concentrate instead on how many of those compliments actually focus on what you're trying to do.

Hmmm, that is true. I got several compliments yesterday (you dance so beautifully, you get better and better, etc) but only one of them (Teach's) really addressed what I've been working on (my artistry, or lack thereof). He said that my variation in the 2nd show was right on, just what he was waiting for. Awwww.

Learn to say no.

2006-06-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

One of my biggest faults (I have many, I know) is my inability to say no to people. It's terrible - I end up with more work than other people, just because I am efficient and because when people ask me to do something, even if it's not in my job desc, I'll do it.

A couple of months ago, a fellow staffer asked to borrow some money (we're talking G's, not just like $5). Out of the goodness of my heart (and the aforementioned problem), I loaned her $2K. Less than two weeks later, she needed $1K more (which I loaned her). Then she said she couldn't start making the payments because this or that broke down, and she needed an additional $5K.

Well, gee, I'm not made of money. I said fine to the repaying and loaned her only $1200 ("only" - hah!), saying that it was all I could part with this month and we'd see next month.

So it's the next month. And she wants a check for $1500. I consulted a couple of friends here and my sister - all who say do not lend her any more money. I took their advice and emailed the lady back saying that I had to borrow the money to lend to her and that person who I borrowed from wants their money back ASAP. So the lady emails back and is like "are you kidding me, we already worked out that you'd be loaning me $1500 this month". What in the world - I said "we'll see", I never said definitely.

She's sent me a few (four?) emails today, asking me to please lend her the money, etc. What's a girl to do? How come I feel like the bad guy, when I'm the one whose lending the money? Interest-free, might I add?

I'm being extorted. Hostile work environment! Help!

Think for yourself

2006-05-31T16:39:00.000-07:00

One of my pet peeves: People who need others to explain everything to them. Sure, if it's complicated, ask away. But there are those people who don't even bother trying to take a guess - they automatically want someone to figure it out for them. I don't know - last I checked, ineptitude was not that great of a trait.

It doesn't take much skill, actually. For example, if there's a comment next to your name that you aren't sure what it means, try to guess what the abbreviations mean. And then think about what it could possibly be referring to. The only reason why I seem so good at this is because I actually use my brain - instead of asking someone else to do it.

I don't care if you're the richest person in the world - you can't pay me enough to do your thinking for you. Although, if you really want me to, we can negotiate...

(I tried having a good attitude at work for about a week - but I can't stand it! Someone tried to offer me another position today, which I had already turned down. It would be better in some respects than this, although not everything. But I need the flexible schedule... I'm apt to flake out at times.)

Get me out of here!

2006-05-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

Dude, if I understood any of what you were saying, or if I had any artistic talent as you so believe, I would definitely not be working here.

So stop asking me to help you with stuff that you would be better off doing yourself or asking one of your students to help you with.

Seriously.

It doesn't take you long to make me reminisce for the days when I had no idea who you were.

Which begs the question - if your boss asks you to do something (within reason, of course), can you say no? If s/he asks you to make a graph and you don't really want to because you don't know the material, are you supposed to just try anyway? I mean, even as he was explaining what he needed, my mind started to wander and I had to stop from bursting out laughing and saying "what the heck do you need? You think I have a clue what you're talking about?!" Well, too bad, I'm not up for that, this being Friday. Actually, for other people (whom I like), I would be willing to help out (in whatever way I can) - but for this person and others like him, I do just the bare minimum.

So yeah, I told him that it would be beyond what I can do (he insists that it's not) and that I don't know how to use the software needed (which is ridiculous since it is a MS Office product and they are all basically the same). He found another graph that could be modified for this, at which point I told him that I didn't understand what he was trying to show (with the graph) and he said something like "it's very simple/clear, blah blah blah." Which I responded "well, it's clear to you because you know the material. I don't."

I know, I'm a brat. But seriously, why ask someone else do something you could do yourself? Stop being lazy. Finally, he says "oh, well, since I have this (old) graph, I could probably do it myself and then give it to you to improve upon." A compromise - okay, then. I can *help* with editing stuff but I have absolutely no creativity - so don't ask me to make something.

Indecisive

2006-05-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

I hate it when people are indecisive. Like choreographers - sometimes they spend five minutes grappling over the decision whether the arms should be up or down. Sometimes (most of the time) I want to grab them by the shoulders and shake them. Just pick one or the other and go with it. It's not set in stone, you can change it later if you want.

That being said... I am quite indecisive myself. It's a good thing I usually bring my lunch (yogurt, fruit) because otherwise I'd be spending 5-10 minutes each day trying to decide what to buy. It just seems that whatever decision I make, I end up regretting. Sometimes I have to go back and say "oh, just kidding!" And sometimes I have to say "oh, just kidding!" to the "oh, just kidding!".

It's much easier to have someone else make the decisions. Although sometimes I don't it when people think they can speak for me.

Back pain

2006-05-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

Is it normal to feel nauseous after (over)stretching your back?

In class yesterday, we were stretching in splits and Teach decides to help me stretch more by twisting my shoulders/back and pulling me backward a tad. It was not a comfortable position (but hey, stretches never are for me) and to the left, something went "pop". Not sure what it was, but I don't think it was anything major because there was no pain.

I did start to feel nauseous though (which I mentioned to KitKat) and she said "you do look pale. Please don't pass out. Go eat some (birthday) cake - it'll make you feel better."

Anyway, this morning, I woke up, everything was fine. Did some tummy crunches - still fine. But then when I stood up to change my clothes, my back started to ache. Nothing major (not like the spasms back on March 31/April 1) but still, when I bend forward, there's a dull ache. I don't know if it qualifies as the lower back (it's around my waist/belly button area), but I think it'll probably get better on its own.

Other than that, it was a pretty fun day at ballet yesterday. The first class only had 6 people - which is nice because there is a more relaxed atmosphere (if it's a big class, you pretty much have to be structured or else the whole class will just fall apart). I wore semi-new Fuzi pointe shoes (2nd class in them) and they're okay. Not great, but okay. Practiced my variation after class - didn't go so well (I'm blaming the pointe shoes).

In the 2nd class, I could barely keep my eyes open during center. But I knew I wanted to do my variation again - so after that class, I put on my Sansha pointe shoes (which are dying) and ran the variation again. Much better. And then I subsequently lost those pointe shoes - I'm hoping I left it in the dressing room, or at least if they fell out of my bag, that they're still in the studio somewhere (not like on the street, getting run over by cars or something). They could possibly be my performance shoes so I need them desperately.

2006-05-20T19:58:00.000-07:00

I was watching The Office last night (even though the season finale was last week - I was in WA at the time). It was a hilarious episode, as always.

Michael says: Tonight, the Scranton Business Park is having Casino Night, and we are converting our warehouse into a full-blown gambling hall. And I know it's illegal in Pennsylvania, but, uh, it's for charity. And I consider myself a great philanderer.

I just found out I didn't know what the word "philanderer" means.

Yup.

I guess I thought it meant a con man or charlatan. Like the exact opposite of a philanthropist, which, if that was the case, the line would have worked anyway.

But yeah, now I know that it really means. See, you learn something new everyday, even from television.

Being needed; English as a national language

2006-05-19T10:49:00.000-07:00

I need you.

Is there any more powerful sentence in the English language than that, other than possibly "I love you"? Someone needs me! And not "I need your help", but me the person!

Of course, when the person saying it to you is your guy friend, who happens to be gay, it just doesn't have quite the same effect if it were, say, a guy you were interested in. And basically, he needs you only because he is "inspired" and wants to dump choreography on you, for a piece that may never come to fruition. Another waste of rehearsal time.

Nonetheless, those simple words pack quite a punch.

Unfortunately for me, the people who I would jump at the chance to help are the ones that don't need my help. And the helpless ones are the ones I can't stand helping.

On to another subject - immigration. Today's hot button topic is English as the national language. I am all for it. Why is it that immigrants from non-Spanish-speaking countries must learn English in order to survive and thrive in the US, yet Spanish-speakers (primarily those living in Southern California) do not?*

If we are going to accommodate the Spanish speakers by providing Spanish versions of everything, do we not also have to provide other versions? And not just Korean or Tagalog, but what about those obscure languages that only a small percentage speak? If we require them to learn English (or at least, another more prominent language, for example, Spanish), are we not creating a double standard?

Despite living in the US for over 24 years, my parents' English is not perfect. They have to continuously work to improve it (by watching American tv shows, checking out ESL books at the library, etc) but they do so because they know it is the only way to succeed.

Or at least, it SHOULD be the only way - people who take shortcuts or cheat should never prosper. The idea that because English may be difficult to learn is not a valid reason (I'm inclined to think that it is more difficult for immigrants from Asia or Africa to learn English, than it is for a Spanish-speaker - given the similarities between English and Spanish.

You don't get better at something by avoiding it. Unless, of course, you're one of those people who believe that if you can't do a cartwheel to the left, you'll miraculously learn how by continuing to practice them to the right.

*Don't get me wrong, there are non-Spanish-speaking immigrants who do not know English, but it is vastly more difficult for them to function in society. And I'm not suggesting that English be the only language - you can speak whatever you want at home, with your friends, whatever. Just not for governmental purposes (though providing other versions would be nice, it should not be necessary). Or to become a citizen - you should at least be able to carry on some kind of conversation.

2006-05-18T13:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Nick-

What's this I hear about you leaving your ballet company and going to college? And I'm apparently the last one to find out!

I thought I was your friend, Nicholas, and as such, you should tell me these things. Well, then again, it's not like we really kept in touch after you left but still. I had to find out from L, of all people. He just got back in town a couple of months ago and he already knows more than I do!

Anyway, so you're going to college. Congrats on getting in to the school up north. Well, since you're going to a JC for a year until you get residency, why don't you come back to SoCal? You could rejoin company and it would be like good ol' times - you and me, talking while pas de deux-ing. Remember when we were trying to think of a college major that starts with the letter F? French, firefighting, forestry... And how you'd always hand out Altoids before pas?

I have so many memories of the times we had, the good, the bad. When I had a bruised rib from the fish in Trios. When you told me to be nice to Kai before emerging because we were performing your piece and you wanted her to be in a good mood. When you, me and Adam went out for ice cream. When I told you the story of the two crazy ladies from the bus (where the black lady slapped the Asian lady and told her she hoped she (the Asian) died of SARS) and you laughed because you know how it is on the bus.

Since you left, I've had a few guy friends (as Ken calls it - my obligatory gay friend), but no one could ever replace you. Aw, how sad is that?!

Besides, since you left, pas has been just okay. I stopped taking it completely after you left (for about two years?) and then I started taking it again last June. I don't have a problem dancing with any of the guys in company but these days, Teach makes us switch partners after every step. So I inevitably have to dance with the random old guys who don't know any ballet. That never happened when you were around, 'cause Teach didn't make us switch partners. Heck, he even pretty much let me pick (you, of course)... I miss those days.

2006-04-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted in so long. I started a weight loss blog over on www.extrapounds.com which I was into for about 2 weeks. And then that kind of fizzed out.

Now I'm into making felt toys after seeing some online. I have a problem with delusions of grandeur. I see other people make things and I think, I can make that too. This happened with the marble magnets - got the marbles, glued some to pictures and then never got around to getting the magnets. I have two bags of marbles in my closet.

Anyway, I made one plush yesterday (supposed to be a mah jong tile) which took 2.5 hours and then two today (a strawberry, about 1 hr, and a dumpling, about 1.5 hrs). Click on my textamerica moblog or the flickr one to see pics. They're not as good as other plushies I've seen online but that's about the best I can do... :)

Eating like the students

2006-03-15T13:56:00.000-08:00

I just had a really filling lunch. We ate at one of the residence halls and I got: ziti pasta w/ sauce, turkey & rice soup (although it was more soup than anything), french fries and Pepsi. Then one of my friends and I shared a hot dog (there were two dogs per bun) and small slice of pepperoni pizza. And I had another serving of fries. To top it off, I ate a small piece of chocolate marble cake and a small chocolate soft serve sugar cone. Yum!

I kind of miss eating on campus... though with all that food, no wonder I gained weight when I was a freshman!

2006-03-04T09:59:00.000-08:00

Ugh, I hate it when our landline goes out. Last night was the 2nd time (the other time was around New Year's Eve) - both times, it was windy and a bit rainy.

And then we request a repair technician to come out (but of course, it takes them a couple of days) and by that time, the problem has (possibly) fixed itself. Last time, the tech came out, check the line and couldn't find anything wrong with it.

I don't really care about getting phone calls (no one calls us on our landline anyway) but not getting the internet? That's like living in the Dark Ages!

I watched some stuff I had videotaped over the week - Stars on Ice on Family Feud again (it was hilarious as usual) and Jimmy Kimmel Live with Sasha Cohen and Naked Chef Jamie Oliver. I think Jimmy Kimmel is the funniest late night talk show host. Seriously.

Finally got around to putting some more music on my iPod Shuffle. I've been listening to Kelly Clarkson, The Calling and Ryan Cabrera so much that I was getting tired of their songs. I've had other songs (e.g. Backstreet Boys, Sarah McLachlan, etc) on CDs but I never got around to adding them to my iPod.

I see other people with iPods, iPod Minis, iPod Nanos and I've come to the conclusion that I prefer the shuffle. Not sour grapes, but the shuffle is so small and space-efficient. Sure there's no screen but I don't really need one anyway. I don't like the earphones though - they're too big and hurt my ears...

What time is it?

2006-03-03T08:54:00.000-08:00

From my desk, I can see four clocks - the clock on the computer, the clock on my phone, the clock in the hallway and this small clock from Taiwan. As of right now, the phone says 8:52am, the hallway clock says 8:54am, the clock from Taiwan says 8:56am and the computer says 8:59am.

A little synchronization would be nice.

2006-02-28T21:47:00.000-08:00

I miss the Olympics... no, seriously, I do. I was one of the few people who actually watched. And I miss it.

Something I realized the other day - after Chad Hedrick won the 5000m, he cried and talked about his grandmother, who passed away 13 years ago to the day (or something). And then for the rest of the Games, he (or NBC) never mentioned it again. He went from sympathetic champion to bitter athlete. Iruka says it's because his grandmother passed away 13 years ago, on the day of the 5000m so once that day was over, it wasn't relevant.

Those conspiracy theories about NBC trying to stir up viewership is starting to look a little plausible.

I watched the Closing ceremonies too. It was fun. But kind of sad after they interviewed Sasha Cohen and then when she rejoined the athletes, she was like "I lost my team!". Or something like that.

Olympics coverage

2006-02-25T08:42:00.000-08:00

A lot has been made over the fact that ratings for the Olympics on NBC are down this time around. Some cite the tape-delay as a reason why. I was thinking about the past Olympics and even when the Winter Games were in Salt Lake City, I don't remember watching the coverage every night. And I realized that it's for that very reason - Salt Lake is only 1 hour time difference (or is it 2?) from Los Angeles. To be honest, I like knowing the results of sporting events BEFORE I see them on tv. How else will I know if I want to watch it or not? So, in fact, the time difference between Torino and L.A., and the tape delay, makes for great tv for me.

I know, it's bizarre.

Sometimes I'll still watch even if the person or team I'm rooting for doesn't win... oh wait, that's just in figure skating (because even if someone doesn't win the gold, it can still be nice to watch their program). But for like skiing and those sliding events... um, no thanks.

2006-02-24T09:51:00.000-08:00

Watched the Ladies' free skate last night. I felt so bad for Sasha Cohen. At least she pushed forward and didn't let her two slip-ups ruin the entire program.

Finally, the US wins a medal in the Alpine events! Sure took long enough. I know, I'm so spoiled - as Americans, we expect our athletes to do super well. If I still lived in Taiwan, well... they only recently got their first gold medal (two actually, in the 2004 Games).

Chad Hedrick gets silver in the 10000m - so see, not winning a gold medal in the team pursuit was nothing. He didn't win 3 of the other 5 events he was in anyway.

And yay, the US men win a bronze in curling. Curling, of all things!

I watched Family Feud last night with the skaters from Stars on Ice (from 2005) - Sarah Hughes, Kristi Yamaguchi, Jamie Sale, Kyoko Ina, and Yuka Sato vs Scott Hamilton, Kurt Browning, David Pelletier, Todd Eldrege and John Zimmerman. It was the funniest thing in the world - I laughed so much that I was coughing really badly afterward. Like when Sarah was asked to name one thing in the house that women use more than men and she answered "mascara". There's a couple more episodes (airing tonight, Monday and Tuesday) - will have to remember to record those.

2006-02-23T14:26:00.000-08:00

And thus was the story of the US in these Olympic Games. Sasha Cohen falls twice in her long program. Lots of promise and potential, little results. Well, she did end up with the silver medal, so that's good. Not exactly what she was probably aiming for but c'est la vie.

As the Games are winding down, let's recap:

US Ski team - with the exception of Ted Ligety (yay!), very disappointing results.

US Speed Skating - with golds in the 500m, 1000m and 5000m, plus silver in 1000m and silver & bronze in 1500m, a strong showing by the US men. We could do with the feud though. The women fare poorly.

US Aerials team - what a disappointment, only 1 of the 4 men qualified for the final and he finishes 7th.

US Moguls team - another disappointment, another over-hyped athlete. Except for Toby Dawson who wins the bronze.

US Snowboarding - pretty good with golds and silvers in the Mens' and Women's halfpipe, and the gold in the Snowboard Cross by Seth Westcott. But Lindsey, what were you thinking?! And a bronze in the women's parallel slalom.

US Figure Skating team - pretty good showing by all (top 7 for all 6 singles skater). Weir and Cohen weren't able to skate to their potential in the free skate,
Plus a silver for Belbin and Agosto and a first (throw triple axel in the Olympics) for Inoue and Baldwin.

2006-02-22T14:41:00.000-08:00

Bode Miller injures his ankle while playing basketball. He is becoming more and more infamous each day.

Sasha Cohen's short program was great. It's crazy wild how, on her last spin, she goes faster and faster as she pulls her leg in. I like her skating more than Irina Slutskaya - Sasha's more free in her movements. And her extensions - sigh.

I think Shani Davis is an idiot. Don't get me wrong, Chad Hedrick is definitely not an angel, but Davis should take the high road and not stoop to Hedrick's level (and someone is going to whine and ask - well, why can't Chad be the bigger person?) Instead, Davis comes off rude and arrogant in his interview with NBC (I know, I've mentioned this before), and in the press conference following the 1500m race, he actually whined about Hedrick not shaking his hand or congratulating him after the 1000m. Are you kidding me? That's like when I was little and my mom's friends would nag me about not speaking Chinese. There was one time where I was a bit cranky about it, and when my mom asked what was wrong, I chickened out and couldn't tell her. I told her that I was mad because I did a cartwheel and no one clapped (or something completely stupid like that). I was five years old. Davis is how old?

Athletes don't have to like each other. They're not even actual teammates (as they've continuously pointed out) - so why pretend like they don't dislike each other and that it's just their competitive nature that pits one against the other? Just come out and say "I don't particularly care for him." Kobe and Shaq basically did that (of course, now they're friends again). How difficult is that? Or don't even mention it at all.

Anyway, back to pretty stuff - watching those figure skaters made me long for the days where I enjoyed dancing. Like when I was working on Sugar Plum. I mean, I'm enjoying classes these days but rehearsals are a pain. Mostly because the stuff we're doing is fairly easy (for me) and I get bored and being bored makes me miserable. I like challenges.

I think I would have been a good athlete. One of the biggest problems I have is my laziness where there's no one to push me. If I was an athlete and winning is the goal, I would have done so well... ballet, however, is not a sport and it's supposed to be pretty and everything and everyone in the company is supposed to support each other and be one big happy family. Whatever.

Sigh - the Olympics are almost over. You can tell because there's really not much to watch anymore. Oh well, at least I won't have to stay up late anymore...

Home stretch

2006-02-21T10:57:00.000-08:00

Wow, all those couples falling in Ice Dancing. Unbelievable. And even though I knew some of them fell, actually seeing it was still a little scary.

To be honest, I found almost all of the free programs to be a bit uninteresting. Even Belbin and Agosto's. Although the costumes were a bit less hideous - except for the Ukranian couple. She looked like a show girl, which is fine if you like that kind of thing, but it didn't really go with the music.

Have you noticed how close to the boards the ice dancers get? It's wild.

Let's see, what else? It's been a pretty disappointing weekend for Team USA. Although I heard that we've already gotten more medals than at any other past overseas Olympics. So I guess that's good.

I think Bode Miller looks like Brian Williams of NBC. Anyone agree?

Men's 1500m speed skating - was hoping either Derek Parra or Joey Cheek would win, but even I knew that was unlikely. NBC was making this big deal, not only of the Davis - Hedrick thing but also, of the fact that the US had 4 gold medalists in the same event. I said "just watch, it'll be someone from another country." I am psychic.

Speaking of Davis - at first, it was like "oh, he's such not a team player for not being in the team pursuit." I mean, that's what Chad Hedrick said and he's (Chad) a gold medalist, he must be right. Especially since Davis says something like "I don't care what other people think of me." That may be true but to say it makes you sound super arrogant.

Seeing Hedrick's reaction after the US lost their match up with Italy, though, changed my impression of Hedrick a bit. Particularly because the team pursuit is a new event - if it was like a relay in swimming or track where the US has had a long tradition of doing well, well, then I could see the importance of the US putting out a strong team.

Fast forward - Davis wins his race. Fine. Could you imagine if he hadn't? But did you see his post-race interview on NBC? He was awful! Not making eye contact with either the interviewer or the camera, giving 1 to 2 word answers... when the gal asked him if he was angry, he says "no, I'm happy". Which is just lame.

So yeah, I've decided that I'm not big fans of either Hedrick or Davis. Hedrick seems to intent on winning gold medals (which, fine, you're an athlete, maybe that's what floats your boat) but Davis isn't doing much to redeem himself either.

I don't fault Davis for being a loner - I'm not part of the IN crowd at ballet. I'm not much of a leader but I don't like to follow so I just do my own thing. So I know what being on the outside feels like and some people (like me) just like it better that way. And to pretend that you don't care you at all about not being part of the group? So untrue.

Davis reminds me a lot of this guy (I think he's 16 or 17 now) who used to dance at our studio. He's a momma's boy too. His mom thinks he's the greatest thing since sliced bread - he did/does have a lot of potential, but due to his mom's sheltering of him, doesn't take corrections well. And she tends to get on people's nerves. She'll make friends with people depending on what standing they have in the company. The others, she'll ignore. The situations are quite similar (though this kid wasn't from a single-parent household).

Speed Skating and more

2006-02-16T13:35:00.000-08:00

I really am an Olympic junkie. Even though there wasn't anything great on last night (seeing the Chinese lady win the 500m short track speed skating? Not my idea of fun), I stayed up until just past 11pm to watch the relays and moguls. You'd think that after the opening weekend bust of NBC's star darlings (Kwan, Miller and Ohno) that the network would learn something and stop hyping up certain athletes as though the only they need to do is step out onto the ice or snow and they'd automatically win the gold. But no, they just kept going - how many times do we need to hear that Jeremy Bloom is trying out for the NFL after the Games are over?

As for speed skating - the US losing to Italy in the team pursuit was a disappointment. Perhaps Hedrick should have gone to the back of the pack and pushed the other two forward? It was so sad seeing the last skater struggling to keep up. Whatever happened to "no man left behind"?

Short-track speed skating relay is so crazy to watch. There's 16 skaters on the ice all at once, instead of passing a baton, one skater pushes the next skater forward for the "exchange", skaters flying everywhere. Wild stuff. Except that for the final, there are 5 teams so that's 20 skaters out there all at once. That's insane.

Back to the regular (i.e. long-track) speedskating - okay, so Shani Davis doesn't want to skate in the team pursuit. But he was named to the team in Janaury. It didn't occur to him that he just might want to tell someone of his decision? And I was also wondering why Joey Cheek wasn't part of the pursuit - but maybe he would have been (for the semifinals and the finals?) Davis wants to focus on his individual events and doesn't care if people think he's not a team player. Hmmm, I wonder, where could they possibly have gotten that impression? What if he just happens to stink at the individual events? Then what?

I finally noticed something about the speed skaters - two things, actually. Firstly, it's come to my attention that apparently the long-track skaters don't wear socks. Now, I don't know if the short-trackers do specifically, but their skin suits appear to be long enough to cover their ankles and hence we don't see any skin showing. And secondly, in long-track - skating the fastest time is the key to winning. In short-track, skating faster than the rest of the skaters during a given race is what wins you the gold. So it's kind of the same thing for both but then again, slightly different. But what's with those random gray circles on the US's skin suits?

FS - Men's figure skating

2006-02-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

What's the deal with the guys in figure skating? They're just all so... girly. No offense, but they are. I personally don't care if they're gay or not (hey, I have several guy friends in ballet - some are gay, some are not) - not that there's anything wrong with that if they are. But still, I could do without the sequined costumes and a little less, I don't know, girliness?

Plushenko - was okay, I guess. I really don't remember his skate, even though he was "oh so fabulous!" I can't even remember what music he skated to so that goes to show how much I really cared for him.

Weir - skated okay but the one glove was weird (ditto with the 007 guy). Yeah, I know it's supposed to be the beak of the swan, though I think beaks are usually orange, not red. The program was just bizarre. Bourees in ice skates just don't quite give the same effect as when they're done (by females, mind you) in pointe shoes. Quietly. He looks like he's trying to stomp on ants. And I don't care for his "I'm a rebel, I'm not a perfect little figure skater" attitude. Be a rebel or whatever, I don't care. But when you constantly try to point it out as though you're trying to get people to believe you, well, you've got problems. Alas, he's the only American in medal contention and I would love to see Plushenko lose, so I guess I can't make too much fun of him.

Savoie - I really liked the music and choreography. And the fact that (as Sandra Bezic pointed out) his costume was simple and understated. Let your skating (jumps, spins, edges, footwork) speak for you, not flashy costumes or techno music. He reminds me a bit of Todd Eldrege, the laconic, introspective type.

Lysacek - skated okay but both him and Savoie seem so out of it at the end of their programs and when they bowed. Of course, they were both disappointed at the mistakes they made in their programs but still - put on a little smile and enjoy the fact that you're at the Olympics. In the top 10, might I add.

Anyone notice how the guys seem really short? I'm not sure they are actually short (although one guy is 5'4" and has legs like tree trunks, according to Dick Button) but they all seem short. Maybe it's because they have longer torsos than legs? Costuming reasons? I can't figure it out. With the exception of Savoie and Lysacek, of course (they appeared to be about the same height but Lysacek is apparently taller).

As for the commentators - I love Scott Hamilton as a skater/entertainer and all, but he does talk an awful lot, compared to Dick Button. And Button's criticisms are entertaining - like when he points out that someone has an awful foot-catch position. Though there were times where the skater(s) were in terrible positions and he didn't mention a thing about it.

There was one skater from some European country (yeah, I know, that narrows it down) who spotted on his jumps. I didn't notice it on the axel but it was definintely noticeable on his other jumps. What's bizarre about it (aside from the fact that it slows him down, per Button's comment) is that he seems to be spotting in the wrong direction. It's a little hard to explain if you don't really know what spotting is, but try this - stand up and look at a spot on the wall. Then turn your body around slowly to the right, keeping your head and eyes on the spot as long as possible. At the very last moment (before you are facing back), whip your head around and look at the same spot. That's what spotting is. It helps dancers from getting dizzy when they do multiple turns (though I know one guy who does triple and quad pirouettes consistently and he doesn't really spot).

Anyway, in ballet, we spot where we will land - that pretty much ensures that you will end up there. For this skater, his triple axel seemed ok (though I didn't notice the spotting) - you take off facing Side A, you land facing Side B (3 1/2 revolutions). On the other jumps (toe loop, loop, salchow, flip, lutz), you take off and land facing Side A. However, he appeared to be spotting Side B which doesn't make any sense. If you are going to land facing the same side you take off, why change spots? Only if you are doing an axel would it be logical to change spots like that. We do this in ballet - if you do a triple pirouette (facing front), you spot front. If you're doing a 3.5 pirouette, you change spots immediately after you start the pirouette and spot the back (you can also spot the front for 3 revolutions and then just do an extra 0.5 revolution at the end but it's more difficult and most people don't do turns this way).

So it looked very odd (conjured up images from The Exorcist, though I haven't seen that movie) - maybe someone should mention that to him?

And yeah, Al Trautwig, we noticed the empty seats in the stands. Though there were still plenty of empty seats towards the end of the competition. Guess fans subscribe to the "arrive in the 3rd, leave in the 7th" philosophy of baseball fans, eh? Gotta beat that traffic.

Oh, one last thing - when they showed the final standings for the short program, they showed the top 6 and Lysacek in 10th. Perhaps NBC forgot the fact that another American (Savoie) was in 8th?

Men's Alpine

2006-02-14T12:32:00.000-08:00

How fitting, that on this Valentine's Day, I hate everyone.

Well, not really - I just want people to stop bothering me. Is that too much to ask?

But yay to Ted Lightley, who won the Men's Alpine combined. I did see that he was 3rd after the 1st slalom run but I'll admit I didn't have much faith in him. I mean, how could I - I've never even heard of his name. Thanks to all that shameless promoting of those other athletes who were/are supposed to hit the jackpot in Torino.

Winter Olympics Part 2

2006-02-14T09:35:00.000-08:00

And one by one, Bode Miller's chances at gold medals (or any medals for that matter) get cut down. Lovely. How about we stop the bigshot talk before the Games and wait until you actually do something before the media crowns you the next __________ (fill in the blank with your favorite athlete of all time).

I actually stayed up until after 11pm last night to watch the end of the prime-time Olympics coverage... even though I already knew the results. Those two falls in the Pairs (well, one was actually a video clip from Skate America 2004) were pretty bad. Although when the Chinese gal fell on her throw quad - that was a bizarre fall. Did they not teach her how to fall properly? It's not like the guy threw her and she landed on her left knee. Her right skate/foot actually made contact with the ice first and then she went towards her left leg but instead of tucking the left leg in so she'd fall onto the outside of her thigh, she turned her leg inwards and ended up on her knee.

Did anyone else notice that it appears that someone is shouting out directions during the routines? I noticed it with the Russian pair (who won gold) and with two of the Chinese pairs. Is it their coaches, actually calling out corrections? That is just too weird.

And lastly, NBC-4 in Los Angeles ran a graphic with photos of Michelle Kwan and Emily Hughes, with a caption that read "Figure Skating Fallout". As if there was a scandal... um, hello, one skater pulls out due to injury, another skater takes her spot. Why would you use the word "fallout"? And they dispatched some reporter to the figure skating rink in Artesia to get local fans reactions. This is a whole 48 hours after news broke that MK was withdrawing. Not really breaking news, is it? Must have been a slow day in news around Los Angeles.

Winter Olympics

2006-02-13T15:00:00.000-08:00

I'm kind of out of it today... too much Olympics-watching over the weekend. Men's downhill and the 1,500m speedskating were disappointments - I went online to find the results just moments after NBC finished showing Bode Miller's run. And then I turned off the tv because it was just pathetic.

The snowboarding was nice to watch, though, especially since I already looked up the results... see, I knew there had to be a plus to living on the West Coast, despite seeing stuff on tv later than the rest of the US.

Opening ceremonies were okay, though I drifted off to other stations at the beginning of the parade of nations. Didn't get to see the Danish team march in, but that's okay. Besides, NBC kept focusing on Bode Miller and Michelle Kwan... way too much. And they'd pan over other US athletes without even a mention of who they were. There was one funny moment where someone was interviewing Chris Witty about carrying the US flag and the athletes/coaches behind them were eating sandwiches. And they seemed quite interested in the sandwiches.

Pairs' figure skating - Russians and Chinese. Boo. I thought Inoue and Baldwin should have gotten higher marks for their throw triple axel and I thought they were very much in sync... but you know how it goes - no one likes the Americans.

Cross-country skiing - that was exciting but boo on the Russian for coming out of nowhere and winning. I was rooting for the Norwegian or the Italians.

Luge - once I found out (online) that Tony Benshoof did not medal, I didn't even bother watching his run.

Ski Jump (K95) - I like the ski jump. It's fun to watch. I was rooting for the Japanese, but it didn't really matter to me who won (except for Russians).

Speed-skating - Yay to Chad Hedrick for his win in the 5000m. And to Joey Cheek who just won (well, like 2 hours ago) the gold in the 500m - I kept refreshing the live results page on the official Torino website.

And what's with all these guys crying? Have you ever seen an NBA player cry after winning a championships? Of course, the championships are every year (not every four), but still...

Preachy people

2006-02-03T08:36:00.000-08:00

Why are some people so unbelievably annoying? They think it's their way or the highway. Stop preaching already and get off your high horse.

There's someone at work (not in my dept, thankfully) who is so adamant about people using signatures in their email. I've received 2 emails from her recently where she stated "please always sign your name with tel # and Fax # , email address." You know what? Maybe I don't want to sign my emails. Maybe I don't want people to contact me. What, is it too hard to just go to the directory and look me up? Sheesh.

As long as we're talking about pet peeves and signatures, how about when there's an ongoing email discussion (with multiple replies from this person or that person) and the signature shows up like 10 times? That's annoying, especially if you're printing the email.

So yeah, you do things your way and I will do them my way. In fact, the more you tell me to do something one way, the more I'm inclined to do the opposite - just ask anyone who knows me.

2006-01-21T20:21:00.000-08:00

Dear New BigWig -

Regardless of how many times you or anyone else ask me, my answer is going to be the same - I do not want the open position. Yes, the extra K is very enticing (think of everything that I could buy with it), but for more stress? I'm sticking with my answer (thanks but no thanks, I don't have enough experience to take that job).

But also, I prefer being a contract person - working for one or a few professors - fine. They might have their quirks but at least you'll get used to it. Working for the department - too many people, too many personalities.

Besides, I am really not the best choice. Don't be lazy and stop searching. I mean, yeah, you have had 3 months and done pretty much nothing but don't give up. In the words of Dunder-Miflin's Scranton Regional Manager, Michael Scott - never give up. And if you don't know who Michael Scott is, you really need to watch NBC's The Office. You might even learn a thing or to.

Regards,
The only staffer who really does any work around there.

2006-01-14T23:50:00.000-08:00

Wow, first post of 2006. Things have been good - well, ballet is okay. I'm really enjoying class now (hey, everyone gets to dance and perform in class, doesn't matter who you are), though rehearsals are very trying.

Work is crazy busy. There was 3 of us in the accounting area - one left for another dept, I'm on my way out and then the other person is out on leave. So now I have help out, which basically means it's just me doing the job of 3 people. Fun.

Went to the dentist today - I'm getting a crown (I think?). So the dentist practically shaves down my tooth (bicuspid?) to this skinny ol' thing. What?! A little advanced notice would be nice. I didn't know it would involve deforming my perfectly healthy teeth... okay, maybe not so healthy, but still.

New Year's Eve

2005-12-31T15:45:00.000-08:00

It is rainy and windy right now... lots of fun. It's New Year's Eve - I'll be staying at home, watching tv... my kind of fun. No, seriously, I would rather be at home than party.

I've invented a new holiday - it's the Quarter Holiday, where the stuff you buy (Christmas and other seasonal items) are 75% off, so you pay only a quarter of the original price. Target is the best place for this - the day after Christmas, prices are reduced to 50% and then a week later, it's 75% off. And even to 90% off but the pickins' are slim by that time.

It's been a week since I've been to ballet (will be 1.5 weeks by the time I go back)... I can't say I really miss being there but I do miss dancing. How about we keep the dancing and get rid of the drama? Okay? Great idea, it's a deal.

By the way, anyone who doesn't take casting personally is not a real dancer. You should want to be challenged and take on roles that are difficult - and when you always get passed up for those roles and end up in the corps, well, you HAVE to take it personally. Because essentially, they're not giving you the opportunity to grow as an artist... I'm really good at being in the corps... a little too good, if you ask me. And okay, I know that if you get a lead role in something (e.g. The Nutcracker), you will get a smaller role in the other shows (in pre-professional companies). Have to spread around the wealth and give opportunities to other dancers and all that. But why do certain dancers get a multitude of opportunities (e.g. lead role in Nutcracker AND a soloist role in a repretory piece AND a solo in a story ballet)? Oh right, life's not fair.

I have never complained about casting to The Powers That Be. Some people do (either they "confront" TPTB or they fuss enough that everyone knows). That's not to say I'm happy with what I get (believe me, 95% of the time, I'm not). I get bored easily so I like to be challenged. I just know that no amount of complaining will get me what I want (besides, do I really "deserve" something better?). So why bother? I mean, other than to annoy people? I have plenty of other ways to annoy people...

Burbank and Artesia

2005-12-30T22:19:00.000-08:00

Took a little road trip down to Burbank (to pick up a raffle prize from the Star 98.7 office). It was fun taking pictures from the car, of stuff like the NBC studios, Warner Brothers, etc.

The prize I won (the Grand Prize!) was an Atari Flashback2 system and a 20" tv... yeah, try jamming the tv into a Honda Civic. We ended up taking the tv out of the box. But 10 minutes spent carrying the tv from the Star offices to the car (Iruka and I carried it together, sometimes she carried it by herself) and then trying to figure out how to get it into the car... hilarious.

For lunch, we went to the New Kwang Na Ru restaurant in Artesia. We've been there 4 times (I think) and we always order their special lunch combos. For about $8.95, you can get a lunch box with rice, salad, potato salad, chicken teriyaki, sushi and tempura. And miso soup and the table gets about 7 to 8 small Korean dishes (like kimchee, tofu). There are other combinations too - like pork cutlet or beef teriyaki. It's sooo good :) I could live off of tempura...

Nutcracker 05

2005-12-19T09:04:00.000-08:00

I learned a couple of things over the weekend:

1. Anyone who enjoys Secret Santa really needs to see the Secret Santa episode of "The Office" - they're going to rebroadcast it this Tuesday. You must watch.

For this year's ballet secret santa, I bought a travel mug from Starbucks and a small package of chocolate-flavored (Ghiradelli) coffee (that I put in the mug). Total cost - $11. The price range was around $10 to $20.

Would you like to know what I got as my SS gift? It's difficult to get me a present (well, not that many people do) because people don't really know me that well... heck, even I don't know myself that well to know what to buy as a gift for myself. Anyway, a guy bought me earrings (fair - since I told a couple of girls that if anyone asked what they should get me, they should get me earrings). Except that I doubt this pair of earrings from Claire's really cost $10. And the earrings are nice but kind of ho-hum.

So yeah, that's why Secret Santa is stupid.

2. If you act like you know what you're doing, everyone will believe you.

AK and I moved out of the Ladies' Dressing Room (on the bottom floor) and into the Band Room on the middle (stage) level. For several reasons, 1) because the band room is closer to stage; 2) there's more space to spread out; 3) so we wouldn't have to push through hoards of people just to get to our stuff. And though I would think being in a dressing room with little kids (ages 5 through about 13) would drive me crazy, it actually was much better than being in a smaller room with 30 teenage girls. At least you could tune out the little kids.

And with more space, the noise level wasn't a factor. Only downfall was that there was no bathroom - we had to go down to the Ladies' Dressing Room for that. Oh well.

But anyways, we didn't bother to ask anyone if this was okay and no one stopped us. A couple of chaperone moms asked out of curiosity, but not like "who gave you permission" or anything like that.

I honestly think it was the best decision I've made this year. I was in the Ladies' Dressing Room getting my makeup applied by AM (as a Xmas present, she bought me makeup - and then said "I can help you put it on", because basically ya stink at it... ). And it was just too much for me. And AM - although she probably doesn't mean to, can be condescending sometimes. I left the dressing room with my makeup on, feeling sad. She's too intense at times and can make me feel completely lame.

Not really a good way to start a performance (I really needed/wanted a hug, but there was no one to hug...)

But anyway, the shows went pretty well. For me, some stuff was better in the afternoon show, some better in the evening. In the 1st show, I did a double pirouette pull-in from the fouettes in Waltz, and in the 2nd, I only did a single. And then in the 2nd show, I did a triple pull-in from the fouette sequence in the apotheosis! Yay!

After the shows, we went out into the lobby to talk to people and sign autographs for the little girls. It was so cute! Of course, there was one girl where her mom was saying something about getting Clara's autograph and the girl says "she's (me) not Clara!" I almost laughed. It was okay, though, because I had already signed the girl's program.

I felt like one of the characters at Disneyland...

Flying through the air

2005-12-17T09:10:00.000-08:00

Iruka took this picture... it's fuzzy, but I still like it.

New theater

2005-12-16T08:47:00.000-08:00

Taking the day off from work... there's just too much stuff that's been going on (I mean, really, someone told me on Monday that he wanted to bring in a visitor Thursday and Friday, even though there were 3 other visitors this week - a little advance warning would have been nice). Too crazy.

Plus, we've had tech rehearsals at the theater Tues, Wed and Thurs night, which means I haven't gotten home until past 9:30pm, and then I eat dinner and don't get to sleep until 11. And traffic is horrible.

Tech rehearsal tonight, tomorrow and then the show on Sunday. I still don't feel quite ready yet. The stage takes some time getting used to. It doesn't seem that much bigger than what we're used to, but the audience seating is much bigger (and a balcony). It's kind of fun because you feel like you're performing at Lincoln Center or something.

I just wish the floor was more uniform - there's a ridge that runs across the stage and some other spots where the floor underneath the marley seems loose (when you jump on it, it sounds very hollow). Some of the other girls complain that the floor is too sticky (they mop it each night) but I don't mind - I'd rather it be sticky than slippery. Except that their pointe shoes squeak an awful lot which is a little distracting.

Ah, well, c'est la vie!

2005-12-08T19:50:00.000-08:00

Guy- So how's the schedule coming along?
Me- Good!

It looks exactly the same as when you gave it to me, but it's going great.

Look, dude, there are 4 other visitors coming before your person, I can't deal with his schedule now.

2005-12-06T20:19:00.000-08:00

Work is crazy.

2005-12-03T09:02:00.000-08:00

Oh, yeah, today's going to be a great day. I'm already sleepy and tired (and cranky) and it's only 8:55 in the morning. I ate way too much food last night (but that's nothing new) - I did do some yoga this morning (~30 mins worth) so it's not a complete waste.

We have rehearsal today w/ FG (gawd, I'm going to look awful) from 1:30pm to 4:30pm, and then I have to go to the fundraiser dinner. I wasn't going to go ($25? I don't think so) but then AD asked if I wasn't going because of money and I said "yes" because it kind of is. Not completely (hello, I make $40K a year, $25 is not a big deal) but it's not the kind of thing I'd spend my money on.

Anyway, she said that she had some extra tickets to give to "deserving dancers" and I guess I qualify. So I'm going. Myrtle's giving me a ride home - we live in the same city.

It's supposed to go from 4:30 to 8:30pm, but I hope Myrtle doesn't want to stay that long. And then we have rehearsal tomorrow (until 5:30pm), with FG. More fun.

Dentist

2005-12-02T08:41:00.000-08:00

No work today - have to go to the dentist to get my molar refilled... it's the same one that had the root canal back in August... fun.

Oh well, not having to deal with office craziness - priceless.

Easily distracted

2005-11-30T09:18:00.000-08:00

I get distracted way too much. I have a ton of things that I need to finish this morning and I haven't even started. (Note to self - need to buy gum).

Need to focus... seriously. I'm like a three year old at Disneyland. BTW, if you've been to Toys R Us lately, you'll notice that it's becoming more and more like Disneyland. Kid songs playing in the background, toys that light up spontaenously, things to ooh and aah over. Could drive a person crazy...

Anyway, I didn't used to be like this. Or maybe I just didn't realize it.

2005-11-26T22:58:00.000-08:00

Super windy outside. After dinner, we walked over to Von's, Walgreen's and the 99 cent store (do you realize how difficult it was to find coffee filters?) and boy, was it windy and chilly.

Just watched two Wallace and Gromit films (on video). They are so cute!

I also watched The Terminal on Thursday. It's a cute movie, although I guess I wish the ending was more fairytale-happy. That's the problem with me and movies - I never like the endings completely, so they're a bit disappointing to me.

Black Friday

2005-11-25T22:11:00.000-08:00

I am stuffed silly... like a turkey. Yesterday, we had some turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, soda ... and then today, we went out to a buffet place for lunch. It's our Black-Friday tradition.

So I had the usual Chinese fare - egg roll, egg custard tart, chow mein, orange chicken, etc.

And then afterwards, we found out the car battery was dead (my dad left the lights on all morning). So we had to wait for AAA and while my parents were at the Honda dealer getting the car fixed, Iruka and I were loitering around Toys R Us, Party City and Albertsons.

They must have put a ton of msg in that food 'cause we were super thirsty. Alas, our bottled water was in the car...

So yeah, that was fun. And let's see - I only bought one thing - a pair of pj pants from Kohl's. It was only $5. Yay, black Friday.

Photo shoot pictures

2005-11-12T22:36:00.000-08:00

Got my pictures from the photo shoot... I don't know, I guess they look nice.

Today was a pretty nice day at ballet. I was a little tired in the morning but as the day went along, I woke up a bit. Sugar Plum variation (during the run through of the show) went really nicely. Yay!

Tomorrow's dress rehearsal... should be interesting.

Crafty

2005-11-11T15:11:00.000-08:00

What happened to my 2nd post on November 9th? I wrote about stealing some fried rice and broccoli from the trays of food that were in the hallway for the people in the meeting...

Anyway, no work today. I spent this morning doing some yoga and then making a card for my soon-to-be-former boss (see my moblog at Textamerica for the pic). I was actually making a different card, with a drawing of balloons but it didn't turn out too well, so I decided to start new.

The pink part (pinwheel-type thing) is made up of 8 squares folded into parallelograms and you can shift it into a ring or keep it as a pinwheel (well, not this one, since I glued it down). Here's a diagram. I learned to make this a long time ago, maybe in the 6th grade? Whatever grade it was, I do know it was math class. We also made those dodecahedron (and other) paper models.

And for the inside, I needed to make a little pocket to put the Nutcracker tickets so I was thinking of making a little jeans pocket out of blue paper. And then I thought, well, what does jeans have to do with flowers? Nothing, right? So then I was like "oh, it should be a flower pot!". Unfortunately, I don't have any reddish or maroon paper (which are the colors I think when I think flower pot) so I'm using pale purple. And rather than just cut and paste, I decided to fold a paper cup. And turned it backwards to make it look a little more like a flower pot.

I'm waiting for the glue to dry right now - after that, I'll stick the tickets in and also write a little note to add to the flower pot... hope it doesn't look too crappy...

2005-11-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

I'm still here...

2005-09-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged here in a while (well, technically since last week, but even before then, not with much consistency). That's because I've been venting about ballet on another blog (anonymously). And not much else has been going on.

I also kind of stopped taking pictures with my digital camera. That would have been fun to have at the photo shoot last Sunday. Take pictures of people waiting around to take pictures. Ah, well, I thought about doing that but I got lazy and didn't.

Well, the cast list went up (a couple of weeks ago actually). I'm Sugar Plum! Yay! I'm so excited. It's going to be a challenge though (it's quite different from the types of variations that I usually do) - a good challenge. Thanks to Teach for giving me the opportunity (and if AD didn't agree with him, thanks for changing her mind).

Klutzy

2005-09-13T22:10:00.000-07:00

People who leave comment spam need to stop. Very annoying. I will drop-kick anyone who tries. Or at least delete the comment spam.

It's taken 4 days but the reality that I am the Sugar Plum Fairy has finally set in. Around 4:45pm, to be exact. And then I was so excited about it that when I was walking down the stairs, I slipped. And landed on my behind and skidded down a couple of steps. A bit scary but luckily nothing's hurt (except my right foot is a little funky - but probably will be fine).

I even consider myself a bit lucky - I could have fallen forward and gone tumbling down the stairs... metal stairs, by the way. Instead, I fell backwards so damage (if any) was minimal...

Wouldn't that be just my luck? Finally something good and then... but, curse that. Good thoughts, good thoughts.

Pointe shoes that fit!

2005-09-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

I love these pointe shoes (So Danca Performance EF26)! They're slightly big (I got size 4D, should have tried 3.5C, which was what I tried on at festival but it felt a little short then) but they feel very nice. I even tried doing fouettes in them and they are okay. Rolling up and down is fine - I still have to get used to balancing in them but jumping is good.

I bought them for $38.40 plus shipping - someone's selling them on eBay for $13.75... got to remember to bid for that. But I think the Sanshas will still be my primary rehearsal shoe. Maybe I'll switch off the two styles...

Highs and Lows

2005-09-09T21:39:00.000-07:00

Good news, bad news. Which do you want to hear first?

The bad news - my mom was let go from her job today. Some of the people there have had it in for her since Day One, so it's not a complete surprise. And not just sour grapes - it really is a terrible, hostile work environment. So hopefully this means something better will be coming along for my mom soon. Just kind of makes me mad that my hard-earned tax money is being used to employ these character assassins who don't do any work (you know how it is, working for a gov't agency? Ever been to the DMV?)

So now my good news... except I can't tell anyone. I've been instructed not to, until the list is posted. But I'll give you a little tidbit - I'm not going to be the Snow Queen again... and I'm not getting demoted... so you do the math (this only works if you know what roles there are in the nutcracker).

Anyway, I was in a pretty good mood for class today. Despite my mom's news, that is. Actually, my main goal today was to dance my heart out, because she really enjoys watching me dance (she thinks I'm the best, but all moms think that about their daughters). So I've decided that I need to dance my heart out, for her. (Excuse me while I wipe my tears... I know it's kind of a good thing for her not to work in that hell-hole anymore but all I really want is for her to be happy... even if I don't get a good part in ballet - I mean, really, ballet casting? This is what I whine about?). As long as she's happy, I'll be happy.

Thoughts on Disneyland

2005-07-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

Did you know you could bid on the seats from Disneyland's Space Mountain? Oh, sure, the starting bid is $2,995 but if you're a real fan, it's a must have. For me, I've only been on Space once in my entire life, despite having been to Disneyland Park several times (more than five, less than ten). Needless to say, I'm not a Space aficionado. Not to say that I don't like it, I just don't particularly care for it (or truthfully, I don't remember the ride, from five years ago).

If it were a log from Splash Mountain, well, now we're talking. Although I still wouldn't shell out money for that. Where would I put the log? And the money ... assuming the bare minimum to visit DL is $200 (tickets for 4 adults plus $10 parking), I could go 15 times. And bring 3 people with me! I'd be the most popular person in the world. Well, maybe.

It sure would be an interesting thing to have in your living room, though. Quite a conversation starter.

Guess how old I was when I visited DL for the first time? I was not yet two years old. Probably didn't ride on much. And we didn't stay to see the Electrical Parade (according to my mom). I was too young to remember any of it. Back in those days, they still had the A-E tickets (my mom remembers them).

I know I've been talking an awful lot about Disneyland these past few days... that's how I am, though. Once I get stuck on a subject, I just keep going and going, like a broken record. Give it some time, it'll pass. Iruka has been to DL once more than I have - back in high school, her English teacher won the teaching award that the Walt Disney Co. sponsors(?) and the teacher's students (and of course, the teacher) all got to go to DL for free. On a school day. Lucky ducks! If only the teacher had won the award two years later... then I would have been able to go. Pooh.

Anyway, just in case you were wondering, which obviously you weren't, but whatever - my favorite rides are: Splash Mountain, Matterhorn, Tea Cups, and Astro Orbitors (I know, how geeky of me). Pirates, Haunted Mansion and Indiana Jones are okay, though the first two are a bit too slow moving for me, and the latter has too long of a wait most of the time. I've only gone on Splash three times (twice in 1999, once this time) but it's so much fun. My mom recognized a lot of the characters from America Sings, which was one of her favorites.

And I've only been on Astro Orbitors once (this time) but that's a lot of fun too because you get an aerial view of Tomorrowland. My mom thought it went around one too many times (she claims she was about to yell "Stop!", but I don't believe it was quite that drastic). I suggested that she ride Dumbo - I've never been on that ride, but I imagine it is less intense than Astro. Oh, and I like Gadget's Go Coaster, over in Toon Town. Don't know who Gadget is, though.

Yesterday's Disneyland trip continued...

2005-07-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

7:55am Arrived at parking garage

8:05am Boarded tram ("Wait, where did we park? 4E? 4D?" Iruka emphatically says it's 10E and she has the photo to prove it.)

8:13am Arrived at front gate, see Queen of Hearts and Tweedledum (or 'dee). The Queen ties his shoe lace for him.

8:28am Matterhorn - 3 minute wait (sign said "40 minutes")

8:36am It's a Small World - no wait. After we got off, we went back through the nonexistent line to ride again (the CM exclaims "you're back!").

9:14am Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin - ~ 5 minute wait (like the sign said).

9:24am Gadget Go Coaster - 9 minute wait

9:39am Disneyland Railroad train - no wait because the train enters the station as we walk up.

9:40am Autopia - 30 minute wait

10:29am King Arthur's Carousel - 6 minute wait

10:50am Big Thunder Railroad - ~ 10 minute wait

11:11am Pirates of the Caribbean - 14 minute wait

11:54am Haunted Mansion - 15 minute wait

Got FastPasses for Splash Mountain - had to wait for the person in front to get FP but otherwise no wait.

12:21pm Winnie the Pooh - 1 minute wait

12:47pm Mark Twain River Boat - 9 minute wait (we could have boarded the Columbia, which would have only been a 5 minute wait but didn't).

1:20pm Tea cups - 22 minute, and then 7 minute for CM to come fish out something that a boy dropped (and the item got lodged under a tea cup). The CM announced that it might take 10 to 15 minutes and that we might want to come back later, but no one got out of line.

2:06pm Monorail - about 7 minutes (maybe 5 if you estimate walking up to the platform took 2 minutes).

2:43pm 50th Anniversary exhibit on Main Street. It's nice and air-conditioned in there.

3:04pm City Hall - stopped to get Happy Birthday stickers, even though it wasn't any of our b-days.

CM- What can I help you with?
Me- We wanted to get Happy Birthday Stickers?
CM- Sure. *pulls out stack of stickers* Who's birthday is it?
Me- Um, no one's.
CM- No one's?
Me- Well, we just want to get them for the future? In case we don't come back before our birthdays?
CM- O...k...a...y... (Pulls out pen and starts to write the names as I recite them).

3:25pm Jungle Cruise - 8 minute wait

3:51pm Indiana Jones - 44 minute wait (sign said 75 minutes). Lots of people had FastPasses.

We still have plenty of time before our Splash Mountain time so we go sit in the resting/eating area under the Hungry Bear Restaurant.

5:20pm Splash Mountain - maybe 30 second wait? Even with FastPasses

~ 5:55pm Pinocchio's Daring Adventure - maybe 10 minute wait?

6:16pm King Arthur's Carousel - ~ 2 minute wait

6:56pm Astro Orbitors - ~ 10 minute wait

7:08pm Parade of Dreams (had to stand on one of those planter things to take pictures). Afterwards, we headed to Main Street and New Orleans Square to get more pressed pennies.

Then we went to the Rivers of America area to stake out a spot for the shows.

9:00pm Fantasmic (we sat on the steps which had been cordoned off).

9:25pm Remember... Dreams Do Come True (fireworks). I took some pictures of the fireworks but they just didn't come out well. So I stopped taking photos at about 9:40pm. After the show, everyone was shuttled towards Main Street (we literally had to shuffle since there wasn't room to "walk").

10:10pm Boarded tram for the parking structure.

Here's the wait time listed in descending order: (Ride, Actual (minutes)/Listed)
Indiana Jones 44/75
Autopia 30/45
Tea Cups 30
Haunted Mansion 15
Pirates of the Caribbean 14
Big Thunder Railroad 10
Pinocchio 10
Astro Orbitors 10
Gadget Go Coaster 9
Mark Twain River Boat 9
Jungle Cruise 8
King Arthur's Carousel (1st time) 6
RR Car Toon Spin 5/5
Monorail 5
Matterhorn 3/40
King Arthur's Carousel 2
Winnie the Pooh 1
Small World 0
Disneyland Railroad train 0
Splash Mountain 0.5 (w/ FastPass)

Disneyland!

2005-07-09T23:50:00.000-07:00

My mom is forever changing her mind. After I bought the tickets to Disneyland on Wednesday, she said that we would go next Saturday (the 16th) since we weren't "prepared" to go this week.

So okay. But then last night, she said that because it wasn't going to be too warm (low 80s) today (the 9th) and may be warmer next weekend, we should go. So we did. Got to the park at about 8 am, left the parking structure at about 10:30pm - we stayed to watch the Fantasmic thing and the fireworks.

My feet are killing me. Took lots of pictures (350) w/ the A75, but my rechargeable batteries died and then after I replaced them, I ran out of memory. So then I had to switch to our backup (only 32MB) so I had to conserve on the picture taking.

I'm so tired... more about DL later.

A step closer...

2005-07-06T19:47:00.000-07:00

Eek, I got the tickets! Yay! I like the commerative 50th designs... although a Small World one would have been nice (not a big fan of that Tiki Room).

I feel like creating a separate page just for our trip to Disneyland... but I'm too lazy right now. We'll see.

Planning a trip to Disneyland (still planning)

2005-07-06T12:59:00.000-07:00

What I plan to bring to Disneyland:

Wallet w/ ticket and money (duh)
Water bottle
peanut butter and jelly sandwich
fuji apple
Lip Smackers lip balm
Wrigley's Winterfresh gum
Canon Powershot A75
cell phone
pennies to press
allergy pills and Advil (just in case)
extra batteries for camera

Anything else?

I've had to make several (3 last week and 2 yesterday) phone calls to see if and when they would get discounted tickets to Disneyland. And the price has gone up (to $47 or $47.50). Well, that's still a significant discount from the regular price ($56).

Which ride is it that it gets really hot near the end? Is it Mr. Toad's Wild Adventures, where you go through "hell"? Or something?

Off-topic: Bush Falls Off Bike in Scotland [AP via Yahoo! News]... Reminds me of "The West Wing" Season One where POTUS crashes his bike into a tree.

Disneyland postponed...

2005-06-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

I'm kind of bummed - on a whim, we decided to go to Disneyland this weekend. Unfortunately, discounted tickets through work are sold out... pooh (no pun intended). I was so hyped out on going. (I have no idea what "hyped out" means but it sounds good).

Hopefully they'll get more tickets next week (or through my parents' work). No way I'm paying $10 more than I need to.

Oh well, at least we won't have to face the 4th of July crowds.

This is what I want to go on: (in no particular order)

Pirates of the Caribbean
It's a Small World
Haunted Mansion
Splash Mountain
Matterhorn
Tea Cups
Merry Go Round

I know, it's a short list, but those are just my "musts". Space Mountain wasn't going to be opened this weekend anyway (unless those rumors of an early opening were true) but I've only been on Space Mountain once (about 5 years ago) so I don't really have an affinity for it.

When I was a little kid, we used to go about once a year (when relatives or friends from Taiwan would come visit). But then they stopped visiting (Europe was more exciting) so we stopped going. And ticket prices were (are) so expensive. I remember one visit, when I was about five years old. After we rode the tram up to the front gate, I leaned over and threw up. Nice memory, isn't it? Well, it sure beats puking near the Van de Kamp's bakery section at Von's (also around age 5).

Yes, I was a puker when I was little...

BTW, www.mouseplanet.com is a great site with tons of info about Disneyland...

2005-06-27T12:49:00.000-07:00

Ballet day

2005-06-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

I skipped work today (I've got plenty of vacation time anyway) and spent all day at ballet. Three classes, baby. (I don't know where that "baby" came from... just felt like it fit there).

So I'm really sleepy since I didn't get a nap (I usually take naps on the bus, both to work and from). I did a lot of talking today, with people at ballet. Interesting stuff.

And I got some lemonade after the 1st ballet class (around noon), but I let it kind of sit and since the ice cubes melted, it was a little warm. I only drank like 1/3 of it.

Anyway, yeah, that was about it. Those conversations I had today, with a number of people, makes you kind of think... very interesting stuff.

Incomplete

2005-06-19T20:23:00.000-07:00

I’ve tried to go on like I never knew you
I’m awake but my world is half asleep
I pray for this heart to be unbroken
But without you all I’m going to be is incomplete
--- Incomplete (Backstreet Boys)

I don't care what the reviewer in People magazine says - I can't wait to get the new Backstreet Boys cd, Never Gone. So what if they aren't technically "boys" anymore? Barenaked Ladies are neither bare, naked or ladies. Goo Goo Dolls are not inanimate toys. Black-eyed Peas are not peas, much less black-eyed peas. No one in Destiny's Child is still a child.

Seriously, it's just music. It doesn't have to have a deep, intellectual meaning. As long as it sounds nice, that's good enough for me.

Besides, People magazine is just a fluff publication. I wouldn't waste my money on it. I read less than half of the so-called articles in there. Who really cares about those celebs? Oh, people who read People magazine, I guess.

Mac uninstall code

2004-11-19T10:48:00.000-08:00

Just in case you were wondering- if you need to uninstall VPN from your Mac Powerbook, open up a terminal and type in the following:

sudo /opt/cisco-vpnclient/bin/vpn_uninstall