Orlando

Hey everyone,
So---I moved to Orlando! After just over a week in Michigan I packed up my car and my dad and I set off on the long journey down to Florida. The day after we arrived we checked out of the hotel and I took my dad to the airport. I had no place to live and spent that day riding around checking out different apartments, using wireless internet at various Starbucks and Panera's and trying desparately to find a suitable place to sleep that night! I ended up finding a room rental at a very nice complex in an area called MetroWest. It's near to everything in Orlando but especially close to Universal Studios. It's also near the dance studio that I am studying at. I really thought I lucked out because the apartment is super nice and in a good area. Anyways. My frustration kind of came to a peak today because of an easy situation that turned complicated. Because I didn't get hired at Disney I decided to email the scheduler from NCL to see if there were any short term contracts that I could do to make a little cash. I have had the hardest time finding a job down here because high season for the parks doesn't start for another couple of weeks and then there's the fact that I am going to be gone for the summer so no one wants to hire me just to have me peace out 4 months later for their busiest period. That's why I didn't get hired at Disney as well. Anyways- I've been really frustrated because I really want a job so that I have at least some income and something to do besides workout and dance. So anyways- I got an offer to work on the same ship that I used to be on (The Norwegian Dawn) for two weeks so I decided to take it. So before he could confirm me he said I had to prove that I was a resident of Orlando so that they could change my home airport. He says I need a copy of my lease. So I go to the leasing office yesterday knowing that all this is very time sensitive since the contract starts in less than 2 weeks. Anyway-the office is closed all day. SUCKS! So I go today and ask and this crazy leasing lady says she can't find my paperwork. I'm like ughh ok. She suggests to have my roommate print out a lease and then have us both sign it. I'm like huh? But ok I decide to give it a try. My roommate first can't find his leasing agreement then finally finds it as a digital file on his computer. His printer is broken so he can't print it out. I'm like just use mine it's on the wireless network. He tries and can't connect. So we get the USB. He tries and his computer says it can't find the driver. So instead of just emailing me the file as an attachtment (since I know I can print from my computer) he decided he's going to try to find the driver on the internet and install it.......ughhhh. Just the stubbornness I'm talking about. Anyway nearly an hour later he finally gets it to print. So immediately I scan the files and send them off to the scheduler. He replied that the files are too blurry....ugh so I send them again. Finally he confirms me for the Dawn 2/20-3/6. Ugh---he says the admin will let me know what else I need before I sign on....I hope its not anything too difficult to get! I did so much to get on last time I hope I will be good to go! Such a crazy business. I hope I get my flights ASAP because I wanna announce to my friends onboard that I will be back! They will be so excited! Maybe--some of you are reading this and will get a sneak peek ahahah! Anyway--I seriously hate when things that shouldn't be complicated become complicated because of other people being stupid........its frustrating when you want to get something done but other people are getting in your way. Ugh thats the theme of the day. My body is sooo exhausted because I have been dancing and workout so much this week! Just gotta make it through Saturday then I'll have a rest! I'm also doing personal training and it starts next week! SO excited! She's gonna give me a bunch of workouts for the two weeks I'm on the ship so that I can pick up where I left off when I get back. Ok thats all for now. Comment on this post if you read it so that I know if anyone actually looks at this thing!

2011

Yes everyone it is time for the return of BLOGGZKE-LAWS!!!

Life has been absolutely crazy. In short, after leaving my ballroom dancing gig and an amazing return to Interlochen for the summer, I spent 2 months in Ann Arbor living in my parents house. I worked at a few local pools lifeguarding while I practiced dancing and zumba and got my Lifeguard Instructors Certificate from the Red Cross. I got offered a job as a youth counselor for NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) and by mid-November I was on the Norwegian Dawn sailing away from Miami for the most crazy experience. I met the most amazing people and learned to deal with some of the craziest bull shit. I think I came back 20x more patient and understanding than before in every way. I also rediscovered my passion for dancing. I'm home now in Ann Arbor trying to take it all in, missing my amazing friends, and trying to figure how to spend the next 4 months before I head back to Interlochen to be Waterfront Manager. I've been resting up for the last 3 days but just can't seem to shake this stupid cough. I can't wait to start dancing seriously again and then audition to get back on ships as a dancer. The winter weather is throwing me off as well! It's weird to just be plopped back down in to Michigan! I want to travel so many places now and I'm having my mom help me remember my french so I'm more employable abroad. Life is great!!!!! More later ya'l.

I hate bad ice skaters

Hello peeps! This is not going to be a full length entry BUT I just had a sudden urge to share some thoughts. So here's the deal people. I'm sitting here on my ass of course because I have mono and I have NO ENERGY--ANYWAY--I'm sitting here watching ice skating. There are just some skaters that I really do not like. I thought ice skating was supposed to be fast graceful fluid beautiful and athletic. Some of these skaters look SLOW and do not have good posture. Its crazy. Lame. Thats all. : )

Horrible Sickness

Hello everyone.

Today I write to from the most boring and painful place. I have tonsillitis. I guess tonsillitis is just like a really bad sore throat but let me tell you why its even worse. I can't fucking swallow. For the past 4 days every time I swallow it feels like I am trying to swallow a brick and then it scrapes the entire inside of my throat. Then- after I've tried to finish swallowing my throat makes a little click-like noise and half of the saliva comes back in to my mouth. The pain when I swallow is excruciating. Not to mention my entire throat is swollen up so I look like a freakin' monkey. I've heard that some people like to be sick because they just get a chance to laze around the house and I have to say that is definitely not how I feel. The pain is so horrible every second that I can barely even watch a TV show or surf the internet. I can't sleep either because I wake up basically every time I have to swallow. Last night it got so bad that I actually started crying in my sleep--which woke me up. Honestly I hope this shit goes away soon or at least starts to get better because I don't know how much more I can take. Meanwhile- I can't possibly go to work because I can barely open my mouth let alone speak. My jaw is so swollen and as one of students put it last week--I look hit. I know that I shouldn't take a lot of time off work and I already took at sick day in January but there literally is no one I could do my job right now. I can't even project my voice so that someone right next to me can hear it. Hmmmm. Anyway- on a lighter note I taught an all time high number of lessons last week and all my students signed up for performances in March. Things at the studio results wise are going well but I just feel like with everything that I put in I have nothing left for myself. Obviously my body has had enough because now I'm ultra sick and I think my mind has had enough as well. Its time to start spending time and effort on things that I want and not just what the studio wants or what my students. As my friend put it- I need more balance in my life. I would love to not be plagued by TONSILLITIS so that I could start doing those things for myself. A lot of the things I want to do have to do with dancing and exercising so after a 12 hour day of dancing and teaching you could see why it would be hard to have anything left for myself. Anyways---I think thats where I'll stop with this entry. Hope you are all doing better than I!!! Happy February!
PS- the pic is an old one but soon I'll have some more recent pics with my latest posts : )

Return of the Bloggyyyy!!!

So hello everyone! It has been a seriously long time since I've written a blog entry! Almost a year I think. Anyway- I'm glad to be back blogging because I am once again in need of a mindless hugely unimportant time waster hobby. I guess I'll start by doing some catching in from the last entry which was almost one year ago. Ironically enough--- in that entry I was super bored. So if you haven't got it by now I'm a little bored these days. Its pretty fun and hard to explain because my job is SO time consuming and energy sapping however in the little time that I do get off work I find myself extremely bored. Its almost like I am running at 110% while I'm working and then when I get time off and have nothing to do with that energy I just don't even know what to do with myself. How now brown cow? So thats the dilemma. I do indeed spend time with my good friends and we have a great time. But even then I feel that we want more fun things to do. I have realized that I am a huge people person and when I have time by myself all I want to do is schedule the next time I can spend with other people. However- there are also times that I really want alone time and then I can't have it because my mom is always around. Oh yeah- there's a big update from last year. In March 2008 I moved out of my parents house to a beautiful apartment close to the dance studio. Then in December 2008 after almost starving to death I finally sublet my apartment and moved back in with my parents. I guess it wasn't such a good idea for me to sign a year lease on that expensive apartment. I loved that place but at the same time I really couldn't afford it and it would have been better if I was sharing it with someone. Now living at home is alright--atleast cheap--but my cats are miserable and I would much rather be living somewhere where I could take care of myself. Just today I found a really awesome new place out in the country that only $300/month. Hopefully that will work out and I can move out in February. Other news since last January-- I started working at Arthur Murray as a dance instructor...my dream job. I am enjoying it so much and I seriously put everything I have in to my job and my students. I'm starting to really build myself up and climb the ladder to success and I'm doing it at a quick rate. I have personal goals for how fast I want to get better at dancing, compete, earn new teacher certificates, and I'm on target with most of those but also behind in some on them. However- the rate at which I am getting better is faster than anyone in the area and I made the companies national news because of my accomplishments in the last quarter of 2008. I'm happy to get some recognition but I am still driven to work much harder. So thats kind of the latest Arthur Murray news. There's some more but its confidential so perhaps I'll post at a later date. I no longer teach swim lessons or work as a lifeguard--which I am SO happy about! I teach dance full time now so I don't have to do any of that stupid shit. I guess the only other big news since last year is that I am currently single, and unfortunately so. I could write a whole blog on that but I think I'm gonna keep that stuff a little more private for now.
I think I'll end this blog so I don't burn myself out at it! Phew! I'd love to see some responses to know that you bloggzke-laws'ers are still out there....and hey I'll even throw in a question to answer. The first official Bloggzke-Laws of 2009 question is: How long would you wait to be seriously recognized for your hard work?

What a BORING DAY

Today is a real true blog entry just to discuss today. Today is Monday, January 21st and it is Martin Luther King Day! Go non-violence and equal rights! I totally wanted to do something MLK related today but I didn't really know of anything that was going on so I decided to overeat on fabulous cookies, clean the basement, and do a ridiculously hard workout instead. The day started when I woke up at 11am to find that my mom did not go to work! I was SOOOOO looking forward to having a day all to myself without her in the house. I guess she didn't have class because of MLK Day! She was SO stressed out when I woke up that I thought I was going to die. As a member of the Lecturer's Union at UM Dearborn she had to undergo an annual review. Apparently there was some form that she needed to fill out that she was looking for that she could not find. This led to her bedroom, her study, the dining room, and the living looking as if a tornado of paper went through! I woke up to this and just like OH MY GOD! So apparently her supervisor gave her the form that she needed to fill out but it was from 2007 instead of 2008 and so she thought she could find the updated version online somewhere. Well- yeah I don't know if anyone remembers this but seriously my mom and computers/the internet DO NOT get along. She had some website that she thought it would be on but she couldn't figure how to enter the website in the web browser and pull it. Seriously- the woman has 4 degrees, including a pHD, and she doesn't know how to use Safari? OH MY GOD! Anyway- eventually I asked her what her supervisor said to do and she said- well he just told me to fill out the form that he gave me. I guess her telling me that convinced her that she could stop trying to look for a new form. Anyway- I'm getting worked up just talking about this. So whatever- Gina and I made cookies and brownies last night and it was super fun! So of course this morning I had these amazing looking cookies-would take a pic but my camera is broken : (- staring at me so I ended up eating 5 of them with breakfast! Awww they were so good but they kind paralyzed me from starting my day because I was so full! Totally worth it though. So then I got to thinking about my podcast and how I really want to have new episodes! Especially because several people have expressed interest in it! So! Be on the lookout for new episodes because I am planning to film one this evening and then another one tomorrow! I will try to keep them coming! I feel like I have a shit load of free time! I'm starting to figure out my schedule but it still leaves me with a lot of down time with which I have NO IDEA what to do. If anyone needs anything done for them I would totally be up for it because I really have the time on my hands! So I ended up working out from 330-5 which pretty much killed my legs becasue I used ankle weights for the first time in a long time! It felt amazing! Still though I'm pissed because I can't get enough cardio because I can't go running outside and I don't exactly belong to a gym. I mean technically I can workout at the rec center whenever I want but I feel bad doing that because I only work one day a week. Yeahhhhhh ok I have more to write but I'm gonna save it for the opening of my podcast episode! Which you all should watch. That is all. Sorry no pic. : (

random poem from summer '06?

So I was doing a little bit of cleaning this morning in my basement because I ate too many happy colored cookies for breakfast to even think about working out.....and I came across this poem that I wrote. I believe I wrote it during the summer of 2006 at Interlochen but I can't be sure. It really struck me and inspired me to begin writing again. Here it is:

[untitled]

and you're gazing
pigmented petal road
beams up
wedges of light
peer in through that passengers
side window
and you can't help but
look directly at the sun
wind rushes around your
thin pjs
like the flapping
of an owls cheeks
at mitime
and I wonder
why I remember only
sometimes that I can
see your beauty.
where
where
where
where
where
where
where
I couldn't see you
and now I feel you
in my heart
and my smile can't hide
and your serentiy
somehow manifests itself
in the softness of your
pink clouds

where we

I'm in love with this poem right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tell me what you guys think!

I'm feeling SO WEIRD!

It is totally time for another blog entry because my life is SOOOO weird right now. The new year started with a bang and then suddenly took a wrong turn. As a student at my ballroom studio I had the opportunity to compete to be a part of the Dancing With The Stars Touring Show in Detroit. My partner and I practiced our asses off for the first round of competition which was held in Northville on Jan. 3. We danced a Cha-Cha and a Swing against about 40 other couples. Of those 40 the judges and audience participation (signature DWTS) selected 10 couples to move on to the finals. My partner and I were selected!!!!!!!!!!!! So a few days later we went to Joe Louis Arena and danced again in front of 20,000ish people in the Pre-Show of the Touring Show. We did not move on to the final round but it was amazing to dance in front of so many people and we got seats on the floor for the entire show. It was the most amazing show I'd ever seen! Anyway- because of the amazing performance experience I developed a whole new attitude toward life. Basically I realized that I was living my life in somewhat of a reserved mode and life was so much more enjoyable when I let my crazy self out all the time and didn't think about what other people were going to think of. For the first time I felt really alive! I found this new way of living that was so much better I felt like I was reborn. Then all of a sudden I started getting self conscious about it and shy. Now I am in the weirdest mood ever and I have been for the past week. I'm hard core self-conscious and afraid of what people are gonna think and how they are going to react. I feel so out of my element all the time now and it fucking sucks. I don't why I feel so strange but it seriously needs to stop soon!! I am not even motivated to dance or workout or anything. I mean I'm still doing things but I just don't have the same passion. Its so screwy. Anyone have any advice?

Longest Travel Day Ever!

Welcome back to my blog! I hope everyone had a relaxing and fun filled holiday! My holiday was sufficiently full of overeating and being lazy and I am now completely convinced that the holidays are a major conspiracy to make people gain weight! Honestly- if you don't overeat during the holidays you are like a misfit of society! Anyway- I'll talk more about my specific holiday events in another entry, for now I want to talk about my day which was THE LONGEST TRAVEL DAY EVER! Ok- so maybe it wasn't the longest but today I spend over 12 hours in an airport or airplane. It all started with a restless last night at Cys house in Minnesota. We got up at 7:45am to catch a taxi to the airport at 8:30. The taxi was late but we still made it to the airport by 9 and Cy made it to his flight to New York City at 10. I, however, had to wait until 12:30 to catch my flight to Chicago Midway. I stared out the window at Cys gate for 2 hours after his plane took off then I made my way over to my gate in another Concourse. I reached my gate only to find that my flight had been delayed by 30min. I got some coffee and then came back to the gate to find it was delayed even more! I finally boarded the plane and we took off at about 1:30pm! I got to Midway STARVING and headed to the food court for some lunch. Midway has the best food court because it has Potbellies and Ben and Jerry's-- both of which I indulged in for lunch. I had a 5 hour lay over in Midway which turned out to be 4 because of the previous delay. I ate lunch, walked around a little, and then settled down in the phone booth/travel area to plug in my computer to watch "Shall We Dance" (the original Japanese version) which Cys mom got me for xmas. It was such a good movie!!! I liked it just as much as the 04 version with jlo and richard gere. I finally boarded my plane to detroit at 6:07. I got in to detroit only to find that my 2 checked bags did not make it to detroit with me!! I waited my the carousel for 20 min and then stood in line at the "Luggage Information Office" for another 30 minutes. They told me my luggage was not there and all I could do was file a delayed luggage claim and give them my home address. Meanwhile my parents were circling the airport for over an hour waiting for me to be done! I finally got done and meet them outside for the ride back to snowy Ann Arbor! Apparently Ann Arbor got 12 inches of snow!!! One of our electrical wires that was mounted to the house got dragged down by the heavy snow and is dangling over the back porch! Its scary looking! Anyway! That was my boring day of airporting in a nutshell. Now I feel like I can let it go and relax and go to bed! I hope I get some sympathy comments for my 12 hour airport day! Hope everyone had better travels then me and did not lose their luggage! Take care everyone and be on the look out for some post-holiday fat blaster podcasts!!!!!!!!!!!

Snow Storm

So today is a perfect day for a blog because it has been such a weird day! Apparently today is Monday but I swear it seems more like a Sunday or a non-day or a holiday. Ann Arbor got a shit load of snow yesterday and that fucked everybody up. My dad ended up not even going on his business trip and my mom skipped UM Dearborn's commencement ceremonies. Anyway, the snow didn't stop me from going out and having a good time. I walked with my dad down to Conor ONeils where I met up with Joe and Roger. Joe and I have been rehearsing for a few weeks on some folk tunes. He plays the banjo and I am singing and playing the tambourine. Its been a fun and relaxed way to get back to singing more regularly and have an opportunity to teach my friend Joe a little bit about music. Only problem is that I think he wants to do it a little more seriously than I do and he's been pushing for a lot of rehearsal time and gigs. The truth is I only want to devote as much time to that as is left over after I exhaust all the dancing I can do in a day. I think he gets that but I'm not quite sure why he is being so pushy. Anyway- we played our set and a few people clapped including my dad! It was cool that he came to hear me sing. He thought I sounded good but wished I had used my body a little more so that I was a "full performer". After the gig I stayed at Conors for quite a while and chatted with Roger and Joe for a while and then with my friends Brandon and Ian (the Conors Sunday Regulars). It was a good time expect that I ended not getting very much sleep at all last night!! So today seemed kind of like a waste of a day because I napped for most of the morning, after watching the Top Chef Holiday Special!!!! It was so good to actually watch a show on TV that I wanted to watch! There has been such nonsense on TV these days! That writers strike needs to resolve like woah. After sleeping the morning away I got up and went to the grocery store and finally got some good fruits and vegetables to eat! The other big happening of the day was that I got my kitties back from their temporary cat sitter! I hadn't seen them since September and its so nice to have them at home again! They are adorable! Kluhia looks like a lady cat now! And Tigger respectively looks like a handsome but large 4 year old cat. I also went to the gym and worked out which felt amazing! I have been eating like shit and not doing as much dancing (because most of the sessions are over) so it felt great to just run and lift weights like a normal exerciser! My dad and I grabbed dinner at Jeruselum Garden and it was tasty! We even got a free baklava! We had an in depth conversation about my New York vs. Dance Instructor job dilemma albeit no decisions have been made yet! Thats all I got! The image is a pine marten that Cyrus saw at one of his winter excursions because he was winter camping this weekend!

Thanksgiving...a little late!

Welcome back to my blog! This entry is going to be dedicated to the details of my beautiful Thanksgiving weekend with Cyrus and his family. I know its a little late for the Turkey entry BUT it is worth it because 1) the weekend was awesome and 2)its been long enough that i miss him a lot and I need to recount the good times with him! So, I spent Wed-Sun with Cyrus, his brother Frank, Frank's girlfriend Ellie, his mom and dad, his grandmother Maudi (spelling?) and her dog Rosie. We were at her country house in Virginia (right at the foothills of the Appalachians! We all flew in to Dulles and I met Cyrus and his gate because my plane got in a few minutes before his. Cyrus came out first and I ran up to him and gave him a big hug and kiss! It was almost surreal because I hadn't been able to touch him in so long and also because my ears were plugged up from the airplane. So after squeezing the 6 of us in to a mini van and driving almost 2 hours we finally arrived at the country house at about 10pm. Cy and I got to stay in the 'guest house' which is a log cabin separate from the main house. The log cabin was plently warm and the bed was comfy (although cyrus thought it was too soft) but it was infested with flies and wasps which was slightly scary at first. Our days consisted of being fed way too much food by Abelle (Maudie's live in servant), sitting around the wood burning stove, and watching movies. On the actual day of Thanksgiving Pat and Dick, two of Maudie's friends, came for Thanksgiving brunch with their live in nurse Corina. I really liked Corina and I wish she could have stayed longer. Later that afternoon, Alicia joined us and she stayed for most of the weekend. Cyrus and I entertained the masses after the meal by sight reading some clarinet duets. On Friday we took a trip in to Culpepper (the closest piece of civilization) which was pretty fun depite the fact that i got carsick on the way there. Saturday we went hiking on "Little Devils Staircase" which was really fun even though it took us forever to find the trail because Maudie was leading and she didnt' have a map. She kept insisting that we stop and ask the mountain people!! Sunday we left for the airport a little late and it turned out being a huge crunch to make it to my flight on time! I got to the gate about 5 minutes before boarding!!!! Over the trip was very relaxing and enjoyable. It was sooooo good to see my baby and to spend some time with his fam who I hadn't seen for over a year. I will be spending New Years with them and I am super excited! Thats about all I've got! The pic is the view from the side porch the the country house! It was beautiful!

I am a dancer

Hello! First, seemingly usual now, I'd like to apologize for the time that had gone by without an entry! I appreciate those of you who do read my blog and I'm sorry I haven't been keeping you guys up to date. My life had been getting busier and more fun and its been hard to find time to blog! I'm even having trouble finding time to call Cyrus these days! I have been very focused on dancing and I am loving every moment of it. My teachers have inspired me more than I can say and I am working so hard. I want to be the best dancer I can be and I am doing everything I possibly can to do so. Every decision I make in my life hinges on whether or not it will make me a better dancer. I think about dancing pretty much every moment of the day. Even silly things like what to eat, what to wear, when to get up, when to go shopping, etc...are based around how they will effect my dancing. Our house currently is emptied of most of our staple foods because in the time I usually go to the grocery store I practiced dancing instead. I practice dancing or workout whenever I am not in actual dance class or eating!! Ok- so I think you guys get the point that I have fallen in love with dancing. But its bigger than that. The truth is, in my life I have always had many passions, clarinet, singing, playing tennis, working out, swimming to name a few, but now, for the first time, I just want one thing, and that is to be a dancer at with a particular company whose name I will not mention. It feels so amazing to pour all my energy toward one goal, and for once not be thinking about other passions. When I dance all the time I feel more like myself all the time. I really identify as a dancer and I want others to as well. I want people to look at me and my body and KNOW immediately, wow- she must be a dancer. Dancing brings me pure joy and when I'm doing I have so much fun, when I'm not doing it I think about doing it. For example last night, I came home about midnight, after grabbing a drink and some dinner with Emily after dancing, completely exhausted but instead of falling asleep I laid in my bed for 2 hours going over my dance lessons in my head and picturing myself moving my body (since my body was too tired really move!). Then once I finally did fall asleep I dreamed about dancing in a beautiful big ballroom in a gorgeous dress and smiling and the audience cheering, and loving the audience. These kind of dreams happen pretty much every night now. Sometimes I even wake up in the middle of the night because I am dancing in my sleep! I think I mentioned that before. Anyways thats pretty much what has been on my mind in the past couple of weeks. I will write another entry soon and talk about some of the fun events that I've attending such Thanksgiving with Cy and his family, Holiday Spotlight Performance, and some upcoming singing gigs! Hope everyone is having a great December!
ps- this pic is from dec 05 but i think it shows my current mood! more recent pictures to come once i get organized!

I dance in my sleep!

Hello everyone! First I want to apologize for how long its been since I have written! I have to say that the reason for my lack of blogging is that I have been having a lot of fun! As I think I mentioned in a previous entry, I have finally started to understand how to practice dancing. I have been practicing a lot at home. All I want to do is dance. I wake up in the morning and can't wait to start dancing, I go to dance class and when i get down I want to practice dancing, and when I go to bed at night I dance in my sleep! Seriously sometimes I will just have to sit up in bed at 3am and say outloud RELAX! I am loving dancing so much I just can't get enough. I am also starting to get really excited about moving to NYC because there is a really good chance that I will be getting a job as a dance teacher. This is the most excited I have ever been about a job oppotunity because it seems like a perfect fit for me! Not only do I want the job more than anything, but I think the job will want me. I am looking forward to solidifying that and I am definitely going to throw some sort of party if I do get the job! In other news- this past week I took a trip to Toronto, ON to audition for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. I travelled there via car (to Windsor) and train and I stayed with my 2nd cousin, twice removed in downtown Toronto. My cousin took me out to a fabulous dinner and we had great conversation including a mutual understanding of feeling like you are living single when your lover is just a few thosand miles away! (Her fiance lives in Yellow Knife and she is in Toronto) So I spent the night at her house and got up at 7am to travel to the audition in the morning. I took the subway about 5 stops east to Metro Movement Dance Center. When I got there I got a number which I had to fasten to my chest. I was early so I took the time to stretch out in a cramped and intimidating waiting room! I had a great strech though and I was happy because I got my right split and other girls seems to look over at me with jealousy. When the time came we all gathered in the dance studio and learned a short combination (4 counts of 8) that went with Britney Spears song "Slave". The combination was just above my comfort level so I didn't quite have it when it came time to perform. It was really hard to focus because there were so many people and I made the mistake of standing in the back of the room when he was teaching the combination so I coudn't see the first few steps. I'm sure I would have done way better if I had stood in the front and really focused and the steps and didn't think about all the other people around me. Anyway- it was a good time and I had fun dancing even though I didn't have quite enough time to learn the combination well enough to perform it when the time came. i am going to wrap this up but I'd first just like to apologize for those of you who follow my podcast! I have really dropped the ball on my podcast and I hope to get in some really great workouts and episodes after the Thanksgiving break. Have no fear Podfit will return strong after this short hiatus! Also- Podfit is now available on iTunes so you can subscribe to it and have new episodes automatically downloaded in to your iTunes library. Just searh for "Podfit" in the Podcast Directory, or Browse for it under Health and Fitness. More to come on syncing your computer with my podcast after the holiday! Hope everyone is enjoying their life as much as I am! AND- I get to see Cyrus in 56 hours!!!!!!!!
PS- the pic is the black and white version of my headshot! What do you think?

rebirth of the socialite

Hello everyone! I'm sorry it has been so long since I have written! Things have been getting busy and I am happy about it! Just when I was starting to feel really down things started getting better and I finally feel OK being in Ann Arbor for a few more months. Several of the friendships I have been trying to maintain/work on are becoming more meaningful and reliable. My dancing has really begun to take off and I am practicing dancing all the time in my dining room (which I have pseudo-transformed in to a dance studio with several full length mirrors and by moving the dining room table in the corner of the room). Ballroom dancing is taking a big place in my life now as I decided to invest a HUGE amount of money in to the Bronze level. I did it for several reasons but the main one being that, if I complete my Bronze certification now, then when I get to New York I am almost guaranteed a job teaching ballroom dancing at one of the New York locations of my current studio. My studio director talked to the studio director in New York and he is anticipating hiring me come January! So- that is really exciting! In addition, on Friday I got to participate in something called "Medal Ball" at Meadowbrook Country Club in Northville, MI. It was a lovely catered event with food (although not much for vegetarians) and drinks available in a fancy ballroom with cyrstal chandeliers. There was plenty of open dancing and then I also got to perform 2 dances (the Tango and the Cha-Cha-Cha) with my awesome teacher Nick! We had a blast performing in front of nearly 100 people from all the nearby MI branches of the studio. To get in more practice time I also joined the Michigan Ballroom Dance Club for the remainder of the term for only 20 bucks! I took Gina to the the Michigan League for a tango lesson and open dancing last night! We had a great time and she learned to Swing! It was fun to dance in such a huge ballroom which so many different guys...although there was one that tried to monopolize me the entire night. Luckily, I my friend Geoff was there and helped save me from him a few times and eventually ended up walking me to my car at the end of the night. After dancing I got out to Conor's to wind down with a glass of wine and the company of Conor's Sunday regular's Brandon and Ian! Shelly was there also and I met another nice girl named Lauren. They are all (except maybe Ian) involved in "A Mid Summer Night's Dream" with Ann Arbor Civic Theatre which goes up Nov. 15th! I am looking forward to seeing it! Another thing that added to my good spirits is that Michigan beat Michigan State in one of the most exciting games of the season! I watched the game at my uncle's house in Canton and got stuffed with appetizers, tailgate food, and several game day bottled beverages. I am introducing a new feature to my blog that is meant to encourage a more interactive use of blogger and it is called "What's on My Mind?" Each entry will include a question fo discussion starter derived from something I have been milling over in my head. Then- you all can think about it too and respond by posting comments at the end of the entry. So- the first question is: What time do you get up, on average and how many hours do you sleep? So I want to know about your schedules- as mine has been late to bed late to rise and its not working out so great for me. So with that, I am out. Stay warm in this brisk fall-y weather!

happy day

Today is a happy day for a lot of reasons! First of all, my lovely friend Lindsey is in town and she asked me to hang out not once but twice! We enjoyed 1/2 Martini's at Cafe Felix last night and we are meeting up again this evening for dinner at the Red Hawk with Emily Junck! I have to say that I really love that Lindsey and I have maintained a friendship since high school because she is such a sweet girl. She is a great listener and she its obvious that she really cares about our friendship and does everything she can to hang out with me when she's in town. So thanks Lindsey for being such a great friend. Another happy thing is that Cyrus is home from his canoe/camping trip in the wilderness of Northern MN and is once again reachable by phone, email , video chat, and other forms of technology! I got to talk to him on video chat today and he is real scruffy! : ) Also- I had ballet today and I felt like I actually looked like a ballerina for the first time! I was dancing with really good technique and I was connecting with the music! It was so much fun! My teacher still had tons of "constructive criticism" but I really am starting to see a change in my posture and articulation of my body! Lastly, today is just a beautiful fall day! The sun is out and the leaves are turning and its not freezing cold. I don't have too much more to say right now other than that I am in an excellent mood. I do want to put a plug out there for commenting on my blog. If you read my blog, I want to know about it!! Also- if you haven't joined the fan club on facebook please do that soon! I may write a little more later tonight. Have a happy fall afternoon everyone!

my wishful weekend

its almost midnight and i am officially sad. I have tried extremely hard to have fun times and keep myself busy but the reality is that I just don't enjoy my life nearly as much when I am not with Cyrus. Everytime I start doing something that should be fun I think to myself, this would be so much better if I was doing it with Cryus. Example of that this weekend were going to a swim meet at UM, going out to dinner, going dancing, going to a ballroom dance lesson, making dinner, drinking wine, going to a dance concert, and going to see a movie. All of these things should be fun, and they are fun to a degree but in the back of my head all the time is "Damnit I wish I were doing this with Cyrus". And then there's the stupid everyday things that I am used to doing with Cyrus that I long to do with him again like eating breakfast or coming home after a long day and just being together. The only thing that makes me truly happy is to fantasize about those times and hope they come soon! Anyway- on a happier note here are some funny things that happened this weekend: 1) my mom got up in the middle of dinner to get clothes from the dryer, my dad and I were slightly annoyed that she just left the table (she does this often) so I decided to put her plate away, she came back to the table to find no more food for her! 2) i went to see "Across the Universe" for the second time (and I hope to see it at least one more time in the theatres because it is SOOO good) and there was a couple in front of us that was chewing Nestle Crunch Bite-Sized Snacks so loud that I thought they were eating teeth! 3) i walked from my house to the Power Center to see the Hubbard Street Dance Company and I coined a term called "Block and talk" where I went through my phone book and called one person per block, regardless of whether they picked up or not (which no one did) I would spend one block on each persons voice mail (or talking in person) or until their machine cut me off. 4) my dad bought Vegan friendly wine, enough said. Thats all I got for you guys for the weekend. Sorry its a short one. Hope every one had a good weekend! PS- what is everyone doing for Halloween? I have no plans or costume and its making me sad!!! Shoot me an email!

my first drunk post

hello everyone! so now i am intending to complete my first drunken post. i just got home from dinner with my parents where I comsumed quite a bit of wine because it was the first time I didn't have to drive! It was great to get some good food and drinks and chit chat with my parents. They are so much more bearable when they are drunk! So mom wants to write a piece....

Actually, it is much easier to deal with my ,as mMYmother would say, sainted daughter, if I am drunk. Later, PT

Yeah sorry about that guys! Anyways-- here is the dilemma...its 9:15pm and I am supossed to meet this kid at a bar in 15 minutes to go dancing. I don't really wanna go but I feel really bad if I stand him up! He is a nice guy but somehow I feel like its a date and I dpn't want to go if its a date. I am so in love with Cyrus and I would never want to jeapordize that! I know that I need to go out dancing to improve my dancing but this kid is just weird! He said he is going to the Navy in a week..wtf right??? Anyway- I gotta go I'll write ya'll more later!

cherry pod-tart day

So this is blog number two and suprise suprise I am writing it late at night. I have been on the most fucked up schedule recently and I can't seem to break it! I wake up at 10am every morning, I do stuff all day, and then it gets to be 12 or 1 at night and I'm still not tired!!! Usually by 2am I decide to turn out the light and try to go to sleep but I usually end up lying awake for at least another thirty minutes! It's so annoying because no one else is awake and it just adds to my lonelines. If I could just fall asleep at a reasonable hour then things would be so much better. I think part of the problem is that I do not eat dinner until after dance, which usually ends up being around 9 or 10. But seriously how can you do 3 or 4 hours and not be hungry afterwards? I eat at 10:30AM and again sometime around 2 and again sometime around 5 and then again sometime around 9. This isn't too wacky except that all the meals are late. Then again, last Saturday I got up early and finished all eating activities before 9pm and I still was not ready to sleep until 1am! Does anyone have any advice? Anyway- that was a total tangent, I meant to talk about my day. Wednesday mornings are relax morning because my mom is at work (she only works 2 days a week so when she does it feels amazing to have the house to myself). I always have a huge leisurly breakfast and watch TV because I can't watch it when she's home. Today I had Cherry Pop-Tarts and a banana. I chilled out on the couch and watched "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway" on the Style network which used to be a fun show to watch but now I'm sick of it. Plus- I'm not getting married anytime soon so whats the point? Next I did some research about New York which lead to no good results because I am a terrible researcher. Then I decided to record a podcast workout. I did that all afternoon because getting the camera angle just right was real hard this time! Unfortunately, there is not enough space on my computer to import the movie so I have to go buy an external hard drive! Any suggestions? Anyway- I finished up recording and tried to do the dishes before I left for dance but I ran out of time. I went to ballet and lyrical jazz and then I came home and practice dancing for a little over an hour. It was 10:30 and I decided to make some dinner. I had a lovely salad, a protein bar, some almonds, and a strawberry juice bar. Then it hit me that I had many more hours during which I would have no one to talk to. My baby is on a long weekend camping/canoeing excursion with his dad and is out of cell range until next Monday! : ( My mom is glued to the tele whenever she's not at work...so its just me and my little old computer. Luckily enough I did get to talk to Lara on the phone and online today and that was fun even though she's not feeling well and we haven't been able to carve pumpkins together like we had been planning. I also briefly talked to my mom for awhile about random stuff which was fun. That pretty much sums up my day. Hope you guys had a more eventful day than I did! PS- notice the picture---this is what I look like when I am bored and lonely at night and start taking photos of myself trying to look sad and desperate.