princessjami's Xanga

Firecrackers, By Golly.

Thu, 08 May 2008 04:04:41 GMT

9:20pm I'm halfway through my choreography for tomorrow's Atomic Rhythm tryouts. I have given myself another hour to work on it. All I have left are a few remaining steps to piece into place with or against the music. The only problem is that the longer I listen to this song, the more sounds I hear and the more things I want to try. So exciting! /jump, jump!

11:00pm update. Okay. All the way done. I dunno if it's cool enough to get me into Atomic, but it's cool enough for me!! Now for some sleep (hopefully without dancing) and then a few hours of practice, tomorrow. Night night!

DU's Big Swing, Preliminary.

Wed, 07 May 2008 03:21:37 GMT

Tonight, I will be paired up with an athlete from University of Denver. He will be learning a choreography that I have designed to a minute and a half of a song that I have chosen. Folks, I have 45 seconds of a routine, barely a skeleton of a choreography, and an hour and a half before I leave my house to go downtown! Ack! We will perform this as-yet-incomplete routine at a benefit dinner for the Kempe Foundation on Friday. Yep. Three nights from now. This will be a Dancing With the Stars-type competition, against 9 other couples. 9 other DU athlete "stars" with 9 of my Charleston Chasers buddies. Should be interesting, and I'm beyond excited!! More details, later, including if I end up with a hockey player.

Go, Pioneers.

And so, tonight, there was no "star" for me. Sadly, we ran out of male athletes, so I didn't even get to try out my half-a-routine on some newbie stranger, hockey player or not. I'm really bummed about that, actually, and I know Josephine is disappointed, too. We were the extra two Chaser girls, just kind of hanging out, 'til she went to pick up her mom at the airport.

While the event coordinator called and called around for willing heroes to step up, I occupied myself by taking pictures, offering choreography ideas and practicing other guy's routines. I enjoyed the freedom to walk around wherever I wanted and help out. I even got to show Joe a little bit of my routine, and he gave me some ideas. He also chopped my song at exactly the right point, so if I do get matched up with a lead on Thursday, I'll have my song all prepared. At one point, a possible substitute lead was found, and then he "had an errand" and never came back. I was feeling satisfactory and loving everybody's work, but then I looked at myself in the full-length mirror and felt very fat. People, you know how that can ruin an evening. /sigh

I think we Chasers will perform Al & Leon's routine as a group, so I'm still hoping to be able to attend the dinner, even if I go solo. Maybe I'll get to showcase my Atomic Rhythm choreography*. I'd better get to work on that, and possibly eat something, this evening.

Oh, hey! If any of you want to attend the dance on Friday, and watch the terrific Swing Dancing With the Stars competition, the dance starts at 7:30 and costs only $5!! Our performances should start around 8:40ish. All of you are welcome to attend!! Please do!!

Beloved is happy to see me, tonight, and hopes I will take it easy, so I get well. He doesn't like the sound of my cough.

Sunny Jami will return, soon.

***** Please bring a 2-phrase (eight 8-counts) solo or duet with another dancer that is trying out. ****
We'll use "Firecrackers Explode In a Minor Mode" by the Firecracker Jazz Band

Dance Quote of the Moment: "Remember that dance has a dimension beyond the physical. The body-as imperfect as it always is-is only part of the picture. Your energy, the quality of your movement, your feeling about the world, your dance spirit-that is what we see under the lights" - Dance Magazine 3/05

"Dancy Pants" is my Middle Name.

Tue, 06 May 2008 17:28:13 GMT

This is Al & Leon's Shim Sham, performed by some of the Charleston Chasers to Glenn Miller's "Tuxedo Junction."

I'm the one squashing her full womanly figure into the capri pants. I flub the last bit, but, hey! I'm cheerful! Also, those are NOT moon boots, though that's what my white legs look like.

Al and Leon, performing their shim sham.

Picture Time: Of Course There are Cats.

Mon, 05 May 2008 00:49:38 GMT

Time for more pictures from my phone.

Chunk, asking for a spanking.

Beloved, from our Texas trip a few years ago.

Katja. Territastic has a new hypoallergenic kitten. She's so small and fuzzy.

Katja and the lamp.

Who couldn't love that little kitty face?

Katja fell asleep on Erin.

Gold. Just an intersection. I thought that the Gold was appropriate, given the rundown appearance of the general area. That's actually a hotel being built, but it looks like it's just kind of falling apart.

Snow outside the Turnverein a couple of months ago, for the Rocky Mountain Balboa Blowout. There were painters working on the exterior that weekend. They looked very cold out there.

My new haircut.

A Peek Into My Dance Journal

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:30:26 GMT

Some of my notes from my dance journal, so far.

"The chick got off her rusty dusty."

"Rhythm *is* repetition" - Niki Amundsen

Insurance policy number, from the night I got pulled over.

"body lead legflinger"

leapy thing stomp

arms up for snake hips

Practice bounce

"Dark Eyes" - Andrew Bird?

*limp left arm -- need to raise it and set in on the lead's arm*

follows, be even more relaxed than the lead.

*Be grateful for job* 2/10/08

Keep the bounce. When in doubt, dance/bounce

view core, steal moves

train your muscles to do 2 weird things at once

apple jacks - "Danger, Will Robinson" (The Egyptian)

keep in time w/the pulse (chest)

hips are free to wiggle how I please

Walking is controlled falling, contrabody motion reduces falling. Then the walking becomes dancing.

can connect emotionally to the music, but that doesn't mean you'll be emotionally connected to your partner.

fancy up the spins

be stepping on my forward foot

use floor w/hands

"this is just to bring the flavor of the meat, so when you fry it, it smells soooo good" - Filipino beefsteak recipe, as told and demonstrated by my mother-in-law.

"I've got to report back to work before they report me AWOL!"

*be a conduit for the music*

follows - keep absorbing "wait" backwards/sense "gravitational pull"

"Green Onions" - Booker T & MGs

arm of DOOM

*Shim Sham is a rhythm & move (tap)*

LET THE LEAD SET THE PULSE

*get your "hug" on!*

connection - axis to axis

"Hold on, pray & follow...that's not the lady's reason for being on this earth!!" - Sylvia Sykes

lilt! finger out, making flat infinity

"Look pretty, first. Then follow" - Denise Whelan

"Feet are there to keep your butt off the ground. Be more conscious of your hips than your feet." and "Leads, don't DO anything to your follow, do it to yourself. Protect her. Do what's best for the partnership." - Sylvia Sykes

<Bal></Bal> Geekswing.com

3/6 Big Apple "angry Viking on skates" - Dan

3/27/08 - The WHOLE Big Apple!

bago = new

4/5 Uncle Sammy "We're not asking anything painful, just for your rejects."

go wild from there

Your body is an instrument.

*keep feet more precise*

*When it feels like crud, you've gotten better. Good enough to realize how it should be, not that I've gotten worse*

pulse of bounce & pulse of kicks

Big Apple w/Purpose

Dallas Arboretum 9-5

2nd house end blue two-story

Matthew 3:13-17 - Baptism of Jesus

Still feels like the pastor is looking directly at me, when I look at the big screen.

Our judgment will be replaced all the way back to Adam

"Whole Thing" - Peter Gabriel

"Alfalfa's" - Leftover Salmon

You've been monkey bread mugged!

"It's a little rough, and could use practice. No matter how smart you are, dancing always takes practice." Dan

NEW SHOES

Judging other people's dancing while I'm having a stupid follow night, is not very nice. But sometimes it does make me feel better.

Chasers 4/10 - We waltzed, today.

Chips & guac, Pepsi

Miss V - I went to war and all I got was this lousy baby. (Yes, the Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story was quite craptacular)

Beloved - You nibbled my strudel, you Sun Chip Killer!

Aerials 4/10 - A-Frame, wrap legs behind lead
lean forward when lead has my hips, "bounce" back up. fall back.

My Weekend Starts Today.

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:19:35 GMT

No, I don't mean that I'm off work today and Friday, but I do mean that the non-stop busy-ness starts this afternoon.

Thursday: Leave work around 2:30-2:45 to drive to Denver for Charleston Chasers. NOT attending aerials class after Chasers. I have learned some lessons about last week's experience. Let us discuss them, right quick:

1. I knew I should've trusted my instincts about my body. I KNEW I wasn't ready for aerials class, but I went, anyway. Then, I had affirmation all WEEK that I was right about myself. You know, I'm never going to doubt myself about this in the future, ever. I keep wanting to add "if I can help it", but I know I can help it. This strength of mind to stick to my decisions about dancing is very surprising to me. Through my surprise, I'm a bit proud of myself.

2a. I'm not ready mentally. Frankly, I feel like I'm too hefty, that I'm going to snap some poor fella like a twig. As I described it to a friend of mine, "I sense that I'm just going to squash a guy, like when the Ringwraiths ran over the gate at Bree, and the gate door squashed the gatekeeper flat." That is the visual in my mind. I do not trust some guys with me, but, mostly, I don't trust myself.

2b. I want to lose some extra pounds of jiggle, for sure.

3. I am not ready physically, because I don't use my quads enough, and so I foresee some squat and lunge exercises in my future. My core will be getting stronger, too. It's already tons better than just 7 months ago.

4. Doctor Scott is a great base. He was strong enough to lift me when my core or arms or legs failed wavered. He also was considerate to his follow, meaning that he eased me back to the ground, instead of letting me just fall back and slapping my feet hard on the floor.

5. Perhaps I should exercise a little bit more fully by extending my movements more during Chasers, because I think I could be using that time to work out just a tad bit more.

Hm...I think those are all the aerials issues I've been pondering this week. I'll add more if I think of them.

After Chasers, drive on over to Miss V's for Buffy Night, only it's Anne of Green Gables night, this week! We're watching the 3rd movie, which sounds craptacular. It's departed so far from the books as to have no similarity to them, whatsoever. Maybe just Anne and Gilbert. I think we will have a perfectly enjoyable evening of movie mockery and knitting and eating. Because we are THE Party.

Friday: Eating dinner with some friends, and then watching Expelled. You are welcome to join us! We are attending the 8:10pm showing at the Highlands Ranch AMC 24.

Friday 12:06 p.m. UPDATE: "EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed starring Ben Stein follows his journey around the globe where he discovers that scientists, educators and philosophers are being persecuted in a modern day witch hunt because they dare to go against the theory of evolution. These pillars of education are being fired, ridiculed and ostracized for merely challenging Darwin's theory; proposing that life on this planet could be a part of some intelligent design and not random chance.

This thought-provoking documentary not only forces us to question what we have been taught but challenges us to ask- what else is being kept from us?"

BunGirl and MInTheGap have some more info.

Saturday: Ezrae Jen's birthday. In the morning, we are attending a 5K race for Ryan Elementary. At 8am. Whee! She will be running and I will be walking. Then, she will be wiped out from the running and plans to nap and knit and watch TV. I may do the same, but I'm also tempted by the Advanced Beginner's Workshop at the Merc that day. Napping may overcome my desire to drive downtown, but we shall see. Then, there is dinner at Red Square Bistro and dancing at Vinyl for Ezrae's birthday.

Sunday: StarFest, baby. (No, it's not just Star Trek-based, like my boss was assuming. "Why are actors from Heroes showing up?!") As you know, I'm excited for StarFest. We're actually going, this year! Hiro (Masi Oka) will be attending on Saturday, so we will miss seeing him, but I'm still looking forward to seeing Nichelle Nichols. I'm pretty sure I'll lose Beloved Prince Frenzy in the anime room allllll day, since anime shows start at 8am, and runs through 6pm, or so. Also looks like we may have another early morning. He doesn't mind so much, but I sure do!

My proposed schedule for StarFest:

Autograph sessions - VERY tentative, considering tickets have to be purchased for each celebrity autograph.
11:00am Adam Baldwin - Nichelle Nichols - Nana Visitor
11:30am Zachary Quinto - Cliff Simon

Main events
2:15pm Nichelle Nichols
3:15pm Cliff Simon

Panel Room 2
12:00pm Battlestar Galactica Costuming

Panel Room 4
3:00 pm - The Starfest Panel

Superhero Cinema
1:00 pm - I'm pretty sure beloved would ROCK the Marvel Scene It! competition.

So, there are lots of holes during that schedule, but we are meeting up with some friends, we hope, so we'll see what they want to do, too.

Monday: regularly scheduled dance practice in the mailroom with Dance Practice Buddy T. I might ask for the day off, but still try to make it to practice. I will let you know.

I can't believe I'm thinking about next month, already, but the tentative swing dance plan for May is:

Monday: regularly scheduled practice - I love these, because then Dance Buddy T and I get to work on what I've learned on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I like feeling like a competent teacher, truth be told. This is only possible because he has a desire to learn and has been taught well, already.
Tuesday: no dance class, attend dance. This is my only night of social dancing, so I should keep it.
Wednesday: no dancing whatsoever. AKA "preventing burnout/muscle healing day". I'd really like us to attend church more often on Wednesdays.
Thursday: Chasers, then Charleston class (/happy squeal)
Friday: 1st Friday of the Month, free dance at the Turnverein, otherwise, nothing. Hooray for another rest day!
Saturday: Dance Practice with Miss V, Ezrae, Angie, for our Big Apple, Trankey Doo, Shim Sham and whatever else we need to practice. I love how we are so focused, which is tricky in larger classes/practices, with people and their opinions and strong personalities competing for attention.
Sunday: If I get permission to join, attend Sunday Advanced class. If I do not have permission, I will keep Sunday as another practice/rest day and go to the Intermediate class on Tuesday nights, instead.

Friday Update: I'm seriously considering attending Camp Jitterbug, this year, in Washington. Depends on airline ticket prices and if Mister Prince Beloved and I are planning vacation for that weekend.

Camp Jitterbug & the Jump Session Show 2008
Memorial Day weekend
May 23-26th 2008
Seattle, WA
Campjitterbug.com

"The 9th Annual Camp Jitterbug & the Jump Session Show are right around the corner. Join us this Memorial Day Weekend for an unforgettable event that will inspire you with workshops, top talent from around the world, competitions, spacious evening venues for the dances, live music, and the Jump Session Show-a theatre production celebrating the history of Lindy Hop and Jazz dance. Camp Jitterbug is truly an experience...don’t miss out!" - This would be my first time for an out-of-state workshop weekend. /gasp Frida and Skye will be there. And Laura Keat. I liked Jeremy from the workshop last November.

Frida Segerdahl - Stockholm, Sweden,
Skye Humphries - Washington DC
Nina Gilkenson - Baltimore, MD
Andy Reid - Washington, DC
Ramona Staffeld - New York, NY
Peter Strom - Minneapolis, MN
Naomi Uyama - Washington, DC
Todd Yannacone - Sacramento, CA
Annie Trudeau - Montreal, Quebec
Max Pitruzzella - Montpellier, France
Mike Faltesek - Seattle, WA
Casey Schneider - Seattle, WA
Sean Morris - Los Angeles, CA
Mikey Pedroza - Orange County, CA
Nikki Marvin - Orange County, CA
Shesha Marvin - Orange County, CA
Giselle Anguizola - San Diego, CA
Laura Keat - Orange County, CA
Jeremy Otth - Orange County, CA

Then again, Mister Beloved Prince Frenzy and I may just go to Nebraska.

Dance Quote of the Moment:On with the dance! let joy be unconfined;
No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet
To chase the glowing hours with flying feet.
- George Gordon, Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

"And then sleep in, far past the glowing morn, and take plentiful naps" - Jami

This Shtuff is Bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:13:24 GMT

From this afternoon.

QuizTime: Caffeine Level Click Test

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:28:26 GMT

Created by OnePlusYou, seen at Sleepy Beth's. I don't even like coffee.

Songs, Lyrics Listed Alphabetically.

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:05:29 GMT

How many of these can you figure out?

"And Great Lyrics Quiz Rock Roll The

You may rock the karaoke, you may even have impressed the judges on American Idol, but you don’t know lyrics until you’ve seen them in alphabetical order. Matthew Baldwin wants you to name that song.

Each of the items below consists of the complete lyrics for a well-known rock song placed in alphabetical order, with each word appearing no more than once (regardless of how many times it appears in the actual song). Try to name the corresponding songs.

a and baby be become can come couldn’t fire funeral get girl hesitate higher i if in is it know liar light lose love mire much my night no now on only our pyre say set that the through time to try untrue wallow was we would yeah you [Answer]"

There are 49 more songs to figure out, thanks to Matthew Baldwin at the The Morning News, who is THE Defective Yeti.

I have one and three figured out. I'm pretty sure you will be able to beat me.

Aerials Class

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:05:38 GMT

Remember how I was going to take a mini-break from swing dancing, just a couple hours a week? Remember how I wasn't going to take any class after Charleston Chasers on Thursdays? Well, my friends, I only made it a week with that promise. I lasted about 50 minutes into the hour-long aerials class, tonight, before my legs nearly gave out. I doubt I will be walking very well, tomorrow, but I do believe the wobbling will be entertaining to watch.

I wanted to help out Dr. Scott, who didn't have a partner, so I stayed. I learned a couple of aerials that are really, really fun, so that was productive. Unfortunately, I disappointed myself, by being too wimpy to make it all the way through the class. I let Dr. Scott down, though he was gracious enough to say that I didn't disappoint him. I wish I could've made it the entire hour. Sad. Then again, I'm glad my legs didn't lock up in Charley horse cramps on the drive home. Still, I'm sad, a bit.

The bright spots during the class were learning the first couple of moves, successfully (yay!) and then Tiff complimenting our A-frame aerial. "It was really good," she said.

"But why wasn't it excellent?" I asked, to Dr. Scott's surprise. "What can I do to make it better?"

I sincerely want to know what to polish during practice, how to improve. Who better to ask for advice than a Champion??! She said it was my core that was a little wobbly, at first. Tiff let me know that I will learn which muscles to engage and when, but that I would figure it out with practice. So, that made me feel much better. I'm also encouraged to work on my core more than 3 minutes a week, ie only during Chasers. I definitely need to be doing more exercises to strengthen and stretch my center, so I will be able to control my own weight more efficiently. After all, I don't want to be just really good. I want to be excellent.