Shortcuts don't exist

Usually bulletin messages don't flatter me, but this latest one was interesting. The way it works is you go down to the month you were born, and it reveals 'mysteries' about yourself. Really, I don't like fortunes that 'predict' who you are. When someone can guess my age that's not impressive, I already knew that. However when someone can tell me the future and turns out right.. I may start thinking they're on to something.

"Trustworthy and loyal. Very passionate and dangerous. Wild at times. Knows how to have fun. Sexy and mysterious. Everyone is drawn towards your inner and outer beauty and independent personality. Playful, but secretive. Very emotional and temperamental sometimes. Meets new people easily and very social in a group. Fearless and independent. Can hold their own. Stands out in a crowd. Essentially very smart. Usually, the greatest men are born in this month. If you ever begin a relationship with someone from this month, hold on to them because their one of a kind."

I was at a bar with a few friends and a girl came up to me and started chatting. It was fun, then her boyfriend came over. This is where I usually leave, however she then asked me something like how tall I was... 6'1" I replied and she flipped out. Apparently her psychic she uses to talk to her husband who passed away in a car accident predicted me, and that I would marry her friend. Needless to say I left before I even met that friend and the moral of the story is that you always need to help your friends realize that psychics are not always right. Could I possibly meet that 'friend' in the future because it was 'destined to be' and even marry her? Possible, but unlikely.

Friends don't let friends pay psychics.

January 2006

I've been dancing ballroom styles now about three hours a night five days a week and already I'm feeling ready for competition. The girl I dance with is from Placer Theatre Ballet's 'The Nutcracker' and so I find myself with her more then anyone else these past few weeks. Hopefully I can convince her that we will do alright in perhaps International Standard Waltz in a Newcomer division of the San Francisco Open Dancesport Championships, and prior to that just view what ballroom competition is like at the City Lights Ball in San Francisco earlier in March.

Dances I've learned and feel good at performing are International Standard Waltz, Argintine Tango, Salsa, East Coast Swing, Rumba, Cha-Cha, Foxtrot.. have a taste of a few others but Salsa and Swing remain the hardest not due to difficulty, but the amount of moves you need to know to keep things fresh and not repeat the same few steps over and over. I can quickly blaze through all my moves in Swing in a minute of dance, and in Salsa things are so complicated I end up doing things simple then busting out some complicated maneuvers that I run out of after a few minutes of movement.

Chad and Marie (http://www.chadnree.com/) from the Ballroom of Sacramento (http://www.sacdance.com/) remain the strongest inspiration to me and the girl I've been dancing with, and if you are in the Sacramento area, a class from them is amazing. If you are not interested in the International Standard dances for competition then I'd say grab the best Salsa teacher in the Sacamento area for a lesson who is all over the place. Fahad (http://www.salsasacramento.com/) is amazing and the Monday night advanced Salsa class at the Ballroom consists of a 'battle' of moves old school break-dancer style between guys and girls, then a blazing set of moves that form 1-3 minute long Salsa routines. Great stuff.

Besides Ballroom I've enrolled in some cheap dance classes at local colleges to save money on studio fees. So far I've seen one girl I've danced with in 'The Music Man' and another that used to teach at Hawkin's School of Performing Arts who I run into from time to time in the dance world. That girl is starting a High School dance program somewhere that slips my mind, and is still trying to get together 32 units of dance under her belt to fill requirements for the teaching program she is in. I sometimes consider the path she has taken.. but crossing the line into becoming a dedicated teacher could sap away my chances at still dancing professionally.

Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Tap, Pilates, social styles (listed above), all together I'm taking 5-6 hours of dance a day, plus fitting in JUST enough work to keep my job at the California Arts Council and pay some bills. I only wish I had more time in the week to continue partnering at Hawkins' School and also Deane Dance Center (http://www.deanedancecenter.com/) which I was told I am always invited to help in partnering classes and then take a free class as well. I'd also love to teach more at the new school that replaced the Roseville School of Dance that I taught partnering at, but again time is the enemy.

This weekend is auditions for Alice in Wonderland for Placer Theatre Ballet, but they have my number and I will dance for them if they need a guy and call me. Again time is the enemy. Sad really.. next month I'll be starting a diet I was on in the past and have no idea why I stopped. Proteinfactory.com is the best place to get your powders from, and I'll be on a custom mix of many sources of protein forming a 200 cal / 50g protein drink that I can intake 3x a day and balance with 1500 cals of carbs from pasta drenched in olive oil for my fats. Pair that up with some flax and fish oil, a multivitamin and Glucosamine... why eat anything else? Can't wait to order that and start Feb 1st.

Performances. Next weekend on Saturday I have two tickets to Carmina Burana that is a sneak peek at the Sacramento Ballet (http://www.sacballet.org/) training studio, and then Sunday is a performance by my brother in the morning and Swan Lake performed by The San Francisco Ballet in the afternoon. I still have tickets to the actual theatrical performance of Carmina Burana which I received as a Christmas present as well, and two weeks ago I saw Corteo from Cirque du Soleil (http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/corteo/intro/intro.htm) in San Francisco so performance wise I'm content. I only wish I could get my teaching bug out of me somehow, but training people the ballroom moves I've learned is working out somewhat in that area.

Until Febuary..

Lack of Grandparents

Found out today my last remaining grandparent died on Monday. This was my grandmother on my father's side.

The last time I saw her was a few short weeks ago in LA, in good spirits because my father mother and brother were all there with me talking to her. Visit was short, a few words spoken and small conversation outdoors.

I would have liked to talk to her about her life and my grandfather's, history and events to write down for the family tree. Keeping a good history is good for future generations like that. Besides that note, I'm happy for her. Old age brings medical issues and pain, but the greatest pain must be the loss of your spouse after decades of marriage, and seeing all your friends leave this plane of existence.

Now she is free to join a world some fear, and some look forward to.
I survive, and only after then do I think. For to live is to suffer, and to survive is to find meaning in the suffering.

Today was my friend Dan's birthday. Twenty-Five he joins a few others in our group in the quarter century club. Private event at his house, and fun times were had by all.

We were kids, we were in high school, and most now married. We live and suffer. We die. Time is short, but I enjoy loose planning and the ability to go with the flow of life and down any path that I am led. Death would be an excellent adventure, and I look forward to the next opportunity to be set in front of me before that moment comes.

Birthday and Ballet

November 23rd was my birthday and while I seem to be going back each year to ClaimJumpers for happy hour with close friends. Last year Ken lit his hand on fire in glory that hasn't been seen since Rick shot off a fireball in San Fransisco one year and showed us all that you should never douse your hand in lighter fluid and then set it ablaze.

Thanks to Dustin and Ashley, Ken, Tony, and Tanya who came by for drinks etc.
Recently I've been given tickets to many ballets in the area, and have been able to sit center orchestra in some expensive venues.

Dracula at the Sacramento Community Center Theatre was excellent although I enjoyed The Illuminations and The Four Temperaments better then the main event. Thanks to Tiana for going with me, almost wasted a great seat!

Ballet Hispanico at the Davis Mondavi Center was excellent and I have to say that their performance of Nightclub was incredible. I've never seen a ballet-modern mix like that and probably some of the greatest dancing I've ever seen. The use of smoke and lighting stands out in my mind, although I preferred the 1920s and 40s scenes much more then the last 'modern' act.

Alonzo King Lines Ballet in San Francisco's Yuba Buena Center for the Arts. What can I say? Alonzo King creates the most unique choreography you can ever see. Each movement and pose you can grasp, but the movements and speed make everything an artistic blur that really shows the skill of the dancers and strength of the choreography. Thanks to Tim who I convinced to go down to SF with me under the promise of stopping by the pier and getting a bread bowl of chowder. Clear, warm, and light crowds made it an excellent day in the bay.

So far I've gone through three of the six performances I have for Placer Theatre Ballet's Nutcracker, and with a cast of over 100 dancers, it really is amazing. I'm lucky enough to have my makeup applied by my fellow Arabian Victor who did makeup for Star Wars and many other high profile studios in the bay area and around the world which is neat.

Next year I hope to do Placer Theatre again with a small role in Sac Ballet as well as doing cavalier and choreography for Roseville School of Dance which is now something like 'Lines' or a name with the word 'Line' in it. Hopefully I can start teaching there again after Christmas break as well as gain my weekends back to rejoin my group at Dean's Dance Center which is potentially Sac Ballet's dance school, but for now only a type of 'partnership' exists between the two entities.

Yet Another Friend Married

High School buddy Randall Plank got married on October 8th here in downtown Sac so this post is a bit delayed.

Excellent wedding... I'd almost say it was the best one I've ever been to as far as flow went. You had an amazing father of the bride speech, a sweet father-daughter dance, mother-son dance... it was all amazing.

The other thing that was amazing was the amount of alcohol those two gathered for the wedding. I'd say twenty or so handles of hard liquor and dozens of bottles of wine and champane. To top it off they also had a keg of Bud Light.

Randy's new wife Jes is a perfect match for him and can handle the booze like him too. Her father in the afterparty did something like an 18 second keg stand, then some young female right after did a 20 and laughed at him. After that he did a stand that lasted 32 seconds and earned the respect of everyone and had Randy screaming about the best father in law ever to walk the planet.

Good times.

Another One Bites the Dust

So on Friday the 9th (9-9-2005), my friends Dan and Andrea got married (finally) after being engaged for something like six years. Highschool sweethearts, their story is a great one, and this past year there has been some rough times which just show that being together through it all their love is strong.

Congrats Dan and Andrea.

Great wedding... small group in a large cathedral in downtown Sacramento... the RECEPTION on the 15th floor of the Hyatt overlooking the capital park that night... WOW.

So open bar right? Okay yeah after that it gets fuzzy... j/k. Great times had by all, dancing with cute girls and great food just added to the whole experience. Even FIREWORKS in their honor. Gotta love that.

The way they looked together made me almost wish I could hold a relationship longer then a few dates... then I realize I can't afford a steady relationship.

Curse of the dancer: Being poor.

August 2005

Last post was July so I thought I'd describe my August.

Missed the tryouts for Sac Opera doing some dancing. Would have been neat to do an opera now that I've done a musical, but had probally the worst knee pain I'd ever experienced. Life of a dancer right? Went to the doc who did nothing as usual, and the pain that was powerful enough to wake me each night lasted about a week (don't do pain killers). Over that now though. I hurt my knee in '95 snowboarding that led to pain every fall or when it gets cold. I hurt it again in 2000-something in a motorcycle accident, and most recently hurt it dancing. Same knee each time... what abuse! I should turn myself into peta for abusal of the species Kneeus Maximus or something. Yeah, peta... enough of them.

Just got back from the Infineon raceway with Doc Mandigo where I saw the Indy Grand Prix (IRL) which was pretty slick. Started up with Miata racing too which wasn't bad either.

I'm burned now, and wish I didn't wear a sleeveless shirt to the race... none at all would have led to a great tan.

The Music Man - July 2005

Eight weeks of practice and now the first weekend of my performance in 'The Music Man' is over. That's right, I'm in a musical, and can you keep a secret?

I can't sing.

I'm not one of those people that has an amazing voice and just goes around saying, "I can't sing," either. I really just can not sing at all. So what landed me in a musical?

Beverly Stewart, an ex-teacher from Hawkins School of Performing Arts played the queen in Snow White at Placer Theatre Ballet which I was a part of. She called me up after the show and wanted a danseur for Runaway Stage's (runawaystage.com) production of The Music Man in downtown Sacramento where she was going to do all the choreography. I went down, did some basic walking around, and then the next rehearsal she was gone. I still haven't talked to her to this day, even though I've tried asking around for her phone number to get in touch (I'm terrible with numbers).

So there I was, in a musical with no music experience, no musical experience, and no ability to sing. Every dance number I was expected to sing in a chorus, and there were non-dance numbers that I was supposed to sing in as well. I end up mouthing most of it due to the fact I'm a dancer, and not some tripple-threat theatre junkie.

The new choreographer is an amazing guy Ron who danced in Mary Poppins. We even have a step that he did in the movie. Incredible amount of dancing as well, nothing hard so I'm not sore... just the equivelant of doing jumping jacks for 5 minute bursts over the course of two hours with stage lighting scorching you.

All in all not a bad experience. I say that now but question why I ever continued without Beverly. With her, I felt I was helping out, now I'm just in the show because they paired me up with a girl and I'd hate to ditch out and leave her alone perhaps not able to get a chance on stage. I even danced beside her in Snow White, I forget what role she was, but don't think she was on pointe in the production even though I know she's in a pointe class up in Rocklin. Interesting how this girl I'm 'with' in the show is fourteen while some other boy who is fourteen is paired with a college girl. I think they wanted to balance out ages so we all looked like teens. That's my official role: Teen Ensamble.

My old friend Tristen Rumery is also a principal character in the show playing Tommy Djilas. His commute is about 45 minutes from something like Shingle Springs to downtown Sac (whereas I'm just a few blocks down). Met that kid through Hawkins School of Performing Arts, his sister (fourteen) I danced with a lot in partnering class, and his younger brother was in Alice in Wonderland with me as a frog. Seems Tristen is writing musicals and trying to get big (he just graduated HS) like his brother who is down in Disneyland doing lighting. He's also in a quartet, and has a good voice so I think he can make it a bit further.

Anyway, performances of The Music Man go for all of July: Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 2pm. Tickets are $12.

Newell Wedding

Everyone has that one tight knit group of friends that has been though everything together. Same group you've known for years, and still act different when you're around, dropping all facades you need to 'fit' in the 'real world'.

One of those guys I know is getting married.

That's this Saturday and I slid into my tux today feeling good when the worker girl comments, "Are you sure YOU aren't the one getting married?"

Having just been swimming over at the college standing there with slick chlorine coated hair and a clean shaven face and dressed in a fine tuxedo... I just had to ask her out at that point.

However the ice on her finger prevented me from asking.

Are you at the end when the only girls that give you time... are married?

Saturday I'll be acting the role of 'best man' which entitles me to a cute speech and perhaps a pat on the back. This has been built up over months, and last weekend was the calm before the storm.

The bachelors' party.

A complete surprise planned out, it was so secretive that the man himself thought I had completely blew it off and he started calling up other friends begging them to contact me and get something planned. The Saturday of the party I toyed with him, saying we'd get together to watch TV that night or something... broken, he was in a disappointed mood as he thought his big party chance was completely forgotten.

Without going into details a five door limo with 10 of his friends and the greatest driver around appear and we take a two hour drive to SF and party in the Ruby Skye VIP booth after which the limo brought us back home.

That's all the detail I'll ever mention.

Saturday April 16th 2005.

Another friend married. This is just the start of 2005 and there are four members of my group getting married this year, with another that just got engaged a week or so ago.

This is the time I guess. An age we all are finally settling down. Gone are the times of late nights, college, reckless activities, all replaced by... family?

I refuse.

California Arts Council

I saw in my description back when I was really ambitious I quit my corporate job and went all into dance.

Reflecting back on that decision...

What I didn't anticipate is how poor one could actually get being a dancer, and how not being able to afford food to eat really affects your performance in a bad way. So after losing enough skill from basically wasting away and starving, and after being poor for a long while I got a job over at the California Arts Council where I still am today. A special thanks out to the pastor of my church for giving me the leftovers after every Sunday's college age kid discussion deal which helped me not die. I guess I'll thank God as well for looking out for a poor starving dancer.

I'm still a dancer by night and weekends... being able to afford food helps though, I think I'm increasing more in less time just from being able to work harder.

MySpace

Ending my Xanga obsession only brought about a new one that must be conquered.

I've convinced myself that I will only make one post per show I'm in so perhaps I'll be safe.

MySpace.comhttp://profiles.myspace.com/users/13278579

Xanga

So ends a saga of epic proportions which started Saturday, August 24, 2002.

So much has happened... so many posts...

107 posts to be precise.