Doing Something, Something Doing

Remember when I said I was going to hang my pictures forever and a day ago?  Yeah, it finally happened, to some extent.  I got tired of the bare walls in my living room, but the packed mantle.  In the process of getting hooks to convert the tabletop frames to hanging frames, I found this:

And this:

The We Can Do It sign is a metal lithograph.  I thought it was kinda cool (better than the laminated posters you can find other places), and now it’s hanging on the wall by my fridge, waiting for the day when I have an overflow of magnets and papers.  And the Cute Boys Always Welcome magnet caught my eye, and, since it was the last one, I decided I should grab it.  -___-;;

My Amy Brown print is still leaning against a wall in my bedroom, and I still have all those other pictures on the mantle.  But it’s a start, right?

Back to the Grind

Ah, I was looking forward to my nice, large, comfy bed that I didn’t have to “share” (read: fall off of/smash between the wall and the bed) with another person. . .  And I didn’t go to bed till 4:00 in the morning.  And still got up at 7:00AM.  *sigh*

It’s strange being back at work, but not as strange as I thought it would be.  Things had blown up at work (literally; a building UPS that had about half of our servers on it went out over the weekend) and things had changed, but not much of it affected me.  The zoo is now tobacco-free; there’s only about 5 designated smoking areas for employees now.  It’s after Memorial Day, so we should be on our increased hours, but the weather is cold and wet and not zoo-visiting weather at all, so it’s like an early spring day.  I spent most of the day sorting through the photos I took on the weekend (and discovered that I never uploaded the few sightseeing pictures I did take) and adding them and links to my posts.  I did have a nasty surprise though; I had been hedging on using two days’ worth of sick time for the trip, but HR won’t let me.  Luckily, I got 8 hours of holiday time for Memorial Day, but it still leaves me 8 hours short of paid time off.  I should’ve lied and said it was because I knew I wasn’t going to feel good the day after the event.  (And it’s true.  It’s just that that day is today, I’m sore, and I still went into work.)

Probably the strangest part is being around people who don’t care at all for dancing.  They ask me what I saw, and when I say I didn’t see much because I was at a huge dancing event, they look disappointed.  Which is a contrast to all the swing dancers that make up that other part of my life, who eagerly wonder who I danced with, what I learned in the classes and presentations, what the scene was like. . .  It’s a social re-adjustment.

One thing that’s bothering me is how quiet it is here.  I didn’t really notice the increase in noise levels when I went out there, but suddenly not having it is strange.  So is being idle.  Despite how annoying it was, I got used to running around to where I had to be next.  I kind of liked it, even.  I have nothing planned to do tonight and it annoys me greatly.

And proof of how much I’ve changed over the last couple of years: Kate was surprised when I said that I could see myself living out there, that I liked it.  She figured it would be too many people for me.  So, I think it’s the quality of the contact with people that gets me, not the being with people in general.  The difference of being “with” a crowd of people and being “a part of” a crowd of people.  I’d rather be with than a part of.  If that makes sense to anyone else.

Frankie 95, Part 7: Final Thoughts About the Event and the City

• My favorite band of the event was the Blues Vipers of Brooklyn.  George Gee and his Make-Believe Ballroom Orchestra was a close second though.
• I think I’m framing my contest number from the World’s Largest Jack & Jill contest.
• I’m amazed that I’m as good a blues dancer as I am, considering how rarely I dance it on a regular basis.  I may have to look up blues dancing back home.
• I didn’t get to social dance with any of the big names, but I did get to dance in classes with Nick Williams and Warren Hayes.
• I think I can consider myself an advanced Lindy Hopper.  It’s a little strange to think that. But I was comfortable enough in those classes.
• I think I lost at least 5 pounds.  Maybe more.  An inch around the waist for sure.
• I could see myself living in New York.  But I think I’d have to move out here with someone, like a boyfriend or something.  Someone I can stand for long periods of time.  I’d probably stay in Brooklyn.
• I think 3 days is my average for spending time with people and still be in a good mood.  Past that, I start to get anxious and want to get away and spend time on my own.  Especially when we’re having to bunk together.
• The only real “sightseeing” I wanted to do was to go visit Frankie Manning’s grave in the Bronx.  Never made it out there though because of timing problems (and Jillian didn’t really want to go).  But it’ll be there next time I come out here.
• So, I don’t get pressure headaches from all plane flights, just ones where they suck at pressurizing the cabin.
• What’s even worse is flights where you’re stuck sitting next to someone with horrible B.O.
• I’m avoiding JFK if I ever fly out to New York again.  It’s confusing as hell.
• It’s strange driving a car again.

I think that’s everything I can think of right now.  I’ll be uploading video to YouTube over the next few weeks, and probably adding photos to posts if I remember have added photos to past posts.

Frankie 95, Part 6: The End

Final day of classes.  I’m very tired at this point.  And all the classes are all levels.

Class 1, 11:00AM-12:10PM:

Chazz Tap

Lance B Charleston

Warren Hayes Lindy Hop

Daniel & Asa Shim Sham

Sing Lim Big Apple

Lennart Jazz Steps

I kinda wanted to take Chazz’s class, but I really don’t like tap.  And I knew I wouldn’t be able to get the Big Apple in a 1-hour workshop (considering I couldn’t get it in 2 1/2 hours of workshops a few years ago).  And the Big Apple workshop was in another building altogether.  So, I took Lindy Hop with Warren from London.  I kinda like taking these classes because they make me aware of the bad habits/things I’m doing wrong that are so horribly basic that they aren’t touched on in upper level classes.  Like the fact that I have too much tension in my right arm.

 

Class 2, 12:30PM-1:40PM:

Catrine Black Bottom

Paul Grecki Peabody

Jerry & Kathy Blues

Sakarias Solo Charleston

Dawn Bhangra

Sing Lim Charleston Stroll

Ryan & Jenny Technique

So many good classes, and an unofficial picnic at Central Park...  I wanted to take Dawn Hampton’s class and Ryan & Jenny’s, but they were both in other buildings and couldn’t overcome my love of the blues.  It was nice, taking this class with what I know now of the blues.

 

Class 3, 2:00PM-3:15PM:

Chester Chester’s Bag of Tricks

Steven Jazz

David Dalmo Instructor’s Choice

Paul Grecki Lindy Hop

After seeing Chester’s performance in the show last night, I really wanted to take his class.  He brings humor into the dance.  He taught us a Savoy Lindy routine, made up mostly of stuff we already knew, but did toss in a few new moves or variations on ones we already knew.  He ran 15 minutes over, in a small, crowded, hot-as-hell dance room, and we loved it (or I did, at least).  It was a good way to end the workshops.

 

Jillian and I went back to the dorm, changed into our outfits for the evening, then hit a Japanese restaurant that she was telling me about.  We weren’t too concerned about the presentation that night, about rediscovering Frankie and Lindy Hop in the ‘80’s, but we managed to make it with time to spare.  The crowd was significantly less, and I didn’t dance much, to my great disappointment.  I tried to push my way through the crowd to be one of the 95 girls Chazz Young would dance with, keeping the tradition of his father dancing with as many girls as he was years old (as soon as I got up to the front, it was over with).  Doing so gave me an amazing front row view of the jam circle right afterwards (so close I nearly got kicked in the head several times).  Then a Shim Sham, where, despite being towards the front, in the middle, I managed to be the only one in the area without a partner and had to weave my way off the floor.  I preordered the videos of the event ($75! And it’s going to go up), and Jillian and I left the dance and the event around 1:00, where we proceeded to crash.

Frankie 95, Part 5: Classes, Day 2

So, what did Sarah do today?  Besides enjoy the late start to the day that allowed her to catch up on computer stuff?  Like uploading pictures?

Class 1, 11:00AM-12:10 PM:

Nick & Carla Hesitations (I)

Matt & Laura Lindy Hop (I)

Max & Annie Powerful Lindy Hop (M)

Steven & Virginie Waltz/Foxtrot for Lindy Hoppers (I/A)

Daniel & Asa Fast Lindy (A)

Sylvia Whatever Sylvia Does (A)

I had been planning on taking Sylvia’s class, just for the hell of it, but after taking Nick & Carla’s classes yesterday and getting fed up with the heat at La Guardia, I went over to Alvin Ailey Dance Center to take the Hesitations class.  Which was Carla-less.  So, Nick had to grab random follows for demonstrations.  And he pulled me out twice.  And said he liked my Jitterbugs t-shirt.  ^___^  He pulled Jillian out once too.  The material though was very similar to what I had done in Skye & Frida’s Movement class and also had the same Matrix-esque slowdown in the swingout from yesterday’s advanced class.  So, nothing new there, unfortunately.

 

Class 2, 12:30PM-1:40PM:

Chazz & W Lindy Hop (I)

Lennart & Catrine Jazz Steps (M)

Sylvia Footwork Variations (I/A)

Sing Lim Ol Skool Lindy (A)

Sugar & Peter Sugar’s Big Apple (A)

I didn’t really figure out what I wanted to take for this set of classes until last night/this morning, I think.  I had been going between Lindy Hop, Footwork Variations, and Ol Skool Lindy, but since I really wanted to take a Lindy class with Frankie Manning’s son (and because I’m lazy), I stayed in the same building.  The class started out with something similar to an aerobics class, with a few jazz moves.  He then moved on to a little move he called the “Come On” (right heel tap, left heel tap, kick-ball-change on the right with a “come on” motion with the right arm).  We did that for at least 10 minutes (it felt like forever), and my left calf was killing me by then.  Then they separated us lead/follow, paired us off (instead of letting us pair each other off), and started the bulk of the lesson.  Chazz went over what it meant to dance Savoy-style.  Then we started with a little routine that was pretty easy at the beginning, a little swingout thing followed by a little Charleston thing, and then came the hard part: a small jazz routine.  And of course, the one day that I don’t bring my camera, opting to let the battery charge instead, I have a chance to use it in the classes.  Chazz demonstrated a couple of times how to do the routine, and I didn’t think of using my Blackberry for video.  I might have to record myself trying to do it at some point.  But I can say, that was the one of the most physically-demanding, but most fun workshops I’ve done.

Class 3, 2:00PM-3:15PM:

Sylvia Momentum (I)

Sugar & Peter Stops (M)

Sing Lim Busting Out Without Busting Your Partner (I/A)

Matt & Laura Lindy Hop (A)

Rob & Diane Lindy Hop (A)

Probably, if the printed schedule I had said something more than “partner” for Sing Lim’s class, I would’ve gone there (Jillian and I thought it stood for “Partner Charleston” but we were wrong), but since it didn’t, I completed being lazy and stayed at Alvin Ailey for Sylvia’s momentum class.  That woman’s crazy in a wonderful way.  It was probably a better class for the leads than the follows (I can’t really say that I learned anything in it), but it was great just for her personality.  But I’m a little glad I didn’t take her classes all day like I had been planning on doing; not entirely sure if I could take that.  Again, I didn’t have my camera with me and she gave a demonstration at the end, but this time, I thought faster and grabbed my Crackberry to uploaded it to YouTube.

 

It was the big show tonight.  Considering the lackluster attendance for the previous nights’ panels and such, Jillian and I didn’t think too much about it and got to the Manhattan Center a little before 6:30.  Where we found out that there was a line stretching around the corner.  It wasn’t too bad yet, just there by the diner, and not long after getting in line, it moved up a bit and we were back around the corner, on the same street at the Manhattan Center again.  The line moved slowly for the next half hour as they shuffled people around, with a long stall for us about thirty meters from the doors.  That’s when we found out that there were two lines for the silver/gold groups (full weekend passes like me and Jillian and the VIP members with better seating) as well as a third line for the other groups to be able to buy the tickets for the show, since their passes didn’t come with them.  Finally, around 7:10, the doors opened.  After a brief decision in whether to take the elevator or climb up seven flights of stairs (made unfortunately easier by having the elevator doors shut in our faces), we made it up to the ballroom/theater and found not too bad seats in the back, stage left, in one of the aisles.  The show’s start was delayed another half-hour, in which I learned that flash photography and videos were prohibited (though I may have taken a few pictures anyway).  Finally the show started.

And it was amazing.

Some of the scenes were representations of Frankie Manning’s life, like when his mother (played by Dawn Hampton in this) said that he’d never be a dancer, the first airstep, his rediscovery in the ‘80’s, and a few others.  Some were recreations of famous Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers routines, with the big finale being a recreation of the Hellzapoppin’ scene.  Others were just dancers showing off or having fun, like Herräng in New York, where a few of the Swedish Lindy Hoppers just got to have fun and wear strange outfits (which might have been my favorite part of the show ~.^).  At the end, after all the cast had come out on stage, Ryan Francois explained what this show was, how it came about, that they only had a week to make this (and it did show in the bad transitions and technical difficulties), and Chazz Young led us all in a Shim Sham.  Which was made interesting by the chairs (thank goodness I grabbed an aisle seat) and that somehow, the push-crossovers were skipped in the first half.  (It was disconcerting when I looked around and saw everyone else is doing something different than I am, but then listened to the music and realized they’re off.)

The show lasted to about 10:15PM, then it was dancing.  I figured the late start would help keep me and Jillian awake, but not long after the Jack & Jill semi-finals (60 people out of the 410-or-so that were in the prelims.  And no wonder I didn’t have much of a chance, since several big names in dancing were in the semi-finals) Jillian and I called it a night and headed back.

Frankie 95, Part 4: Classes, Day 1 (In Which Sarah is a Dancing Dork)

So, I didn’t do the master class.  Which was a good thing since Jillian and I overslept anyway.

First set of classes, 10:00AM-11:10AM (the one I took is highlighted):

Erin Stevens Frankie’s Footwork (Intermediate)

Nick & Carla Jam Routines (Masters)

Skye & Frida Hustle & Flow (Intermediate / Advanced)

Max & Annie Lindy Hop by Frankie (Advanced)

Lennart & Catrine Jazz Steps (Advanced)

Lindy Hop by Frankie was a couple of mini-routines made famous by Frankie Manning.  The ones was a swingout, followed by 8 counts of knee slaps, 8 counts of shimmys back and forth, and finally, a pimp walk backwards.  The second one was kicks and points, a move I learned from Dan what feels like ages ago.  I can say that I like Max & Annie as teachers, but I’m not sure how practical that class was for me.  I’d have to remember enough of the lead to teach it to a lead, I think.

 

Second round of classes, 11:30AM-12:40PM:

Max & Annie Ninja Techinique for Lindy Hop (I)

Steven & Virginie Swing Walk (M)

Sakarias Rhythmical Authentic Jazz (I/A)

Sylvia Balboa (A)

Skye & Frida Movement (A)

I remember taking a performance Lindy Hop class by Skye & Frida at Cowtown a few years ago.  That’s where I picked up the swivels I put at the end of swingouts.  So I was excited to see a movement class by them.  Of course, I had forgotten how hard they were as teachers.  The building I had been dancing in for this class and the last, La Guardia High School, has very poor air conditioning.  I had already gone through all the water I had brought with me by the beginning of this class.  By the end, after all the swingouts, I could barely stand up.  This class was mostly things you can do on the 7-8/1-2 of your swingouts.  I was laughing when they taught the combination of 7-8 swivel with 1-2 kick-ball-change; that’s my default way of doing swingouts anymore.

 

Third round of classes, 1:00PM-2:10PM:

Ryan & Jenny Lindy Hop (I)

Skye & Frida The Art of Finesse (M)

Nick & Carla These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things (I/A)

Steven & Virginie Partner Cake Walk (A)

Sakarias Jazz (A)

 

My first venue change was also one of the longest ones.  Jillian and I were late getting to this class, but luckily not by much.  I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this class, but it sounded more interesting than any of the other ones I could get into.  (The Art of Finesse was one of the Master classes that I really wanted to get into.)  I was glad to see that this venue, a small gym under a church right by the Manhattan Center (where all the evening dances are held), was air conditioned better than the high school.  Nick & Carla taught a type of swivel-stop (I’m not entirely sure what to call it), that you could end with a spin.  I’ve done it before, but this class was able to improve it just a bit more and made me a lot more comfortable with my spins.  I’ve never quite felt that I’ve been able to spin well.  One of the things that surprised me was the difference in dancing levels between the advanced classes I had been taking and this intermediate/advanced class.  I didn’t expect as big of a difference as there was.

 

Fourth set of classes, 2:30PM-3:45PM:

Skye & Frida Styling (I)

Sakarias Solo Charleston (M)

Max & Annie Couples Charleston (I/A)

Ryan & Jenny Lindy Hop (A)

Nick & Carla Swingout Styling (A)

 

And back to the hot high school.  Despite me and Nick & Carla leaving at the same time, they got there a significant amount before me.  I have a feeling that the way Jillian told me to go isn’t the quickest way.  Or they have taxis or something.  Which isn’t fair.  ;__;  I was wondering if I should even bother with this class after all the styling in the Skye & Frida class earlier, but I was so glad I took this class.  So far, it’s my favorite.  (And I was also very glad I took a couple ibuprofin while heading to this class.)  While most swingout styling is done on 7-8/1-2, this class also concentrated on things you can do in between.  For the follows, it was stretching 2 into 3 for a bit, then continuing with the swingout as normal.  For the leads, it was slowing it down for the 3-4/5-6 (or however long you want) for a type of Matrix bullet-time effect.  I did find out that I can’t do new 7-8/1-2 variations and still be able to catch the slow-down later.  Not without a lot more practice.

 

I finally had time between the classes and the nightly dance to sit down, upload pictures, and upload the posts I had written to here.  Then, it was off to the black tie birthday gala.  I’m glad that a couple of leads are remembering me from the previous dances and/or classes and are asking me to dance again; it means I’m not one of the worst dancers there.  And it really boost my ego when I was told that I was one of the better follows that a couple of leads have danced with.  ^___^  The two highlights of the evening (for me, at least) was when Chazz Young, Frankie Manning’s first son, lead the entire room in the Shim Sham.  I think that was more the world record-breaking Shim Sham than the one we did in Central Park.  A giant dance floor, full of people, dancing the Shim Sham…  The other highlight?  The three bands of the evening, George Gee & His Make-Believe Ballroom Orchestra, the Harlem Renaissance Orchestra, and The Loud Minority all got together and played “Shiny Stockings,” Frankie Manning’s favorite song, with the composer of that song, Frank Foster, conducting.

Frankie 95, Part 3: Memorial, Central Park, and Satanic Swing Dancing?!

Somehow, despite Jillian’s bed resembling a sheet of rock, I managed to get a decent night’s sleep and was able to get going to the memorial service that was supposed to start at 9:00 AM.  Of course, this being a Lindy Hopper’s event, everything starts late.  I was one of the first ones to get in to the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church due to that.  I cried during a lot of the ceremonies.  I again found a new respect for Dawn Hampton.  But not even halfway through the service, I ran out of room on my memory card.  I knew I should have bought a couple more back home since they were on an amazing sale (4GB SDHC card for $10).

We ran an hour late.  Jillian, who had to go to school in the morning, was wondering where we were at.  We started the processional to Central Park at 1:00, led by the Gully Low Jazz Band.  It was amazing, being in a sort of parade, everyone on the streets looking at us and wondering what was going on.  Unfortunately, I wore the completely wrong shoes to this thing, to both walk and dance in.  My feet were killing me by the time we got to the bandshell.  During the processional, I ran into Nate, so we’re only really missing one of the local crowd. I didn’t dance much because of my feet and the heat, saving my energy for the World’s Largest Jack and Jill contest.

In which I was contestant #666.

(The registration folks raised their eyebrows at me, wondering if I really wanted that number.  When I grinned at them, they said, “A number like that has to be a winner.”)

I was wondering if they were going to do it in heats or all at once.  They chose the all-at-once method.  Each of the six or seven judges (I think one of the judges didn’t do this) had to choose ten dancers each and grab their number while they were dancing.  Most of the judges stayed on stage and just picked people out of the front.  A couple did go through the crowd, but it was at the end.  So, none of them picked my number.  And here I was hoping that the number would draw their attention to how awesome my dancing was.  -___-;;

Before the contest was the World’s Largest Shim Sham.  I managed to be in the front couple of rows, so I might make it onto video.  ^___^

But after the contest, my feet were dead.  We headed back, grabbed some Chinese, and headed out to the nightly dance.  They changed the ballroom to the one on the ground floor instead of the one up eight flights of stairs.  I got to try out my newly resoled Converse sneakers; they work pretty well, but I think if I’m going to do it again, I might just get hard leather on the bottoms for more slide (and I don’t have to worry quite so much about taking care of them ^__^;;).  I’m also finding out that I’m not half-bad for a dancer.  I’ve had a couple of leads who remembered dancing with me last night, and others who commented on how good my dancing was.  My favorite exchange was with a lead from London:

London: So, what types of dances do they do where you’re from?
Me: Oh, Lindy Hop mostly.  Some Balboa and Charleston.
::dance to a blues song::
London: I guess you do a fair bit of blues too back home.

I didn’t quite have the heart to tell him that I didn’t really learn blues with the Jitterbugs.  ^__^;;

Jillian and I lasted past midnight this time, but not by much.  The dance floor had gotten too crowded around 11:30, and the whole room was too hot by 12:30.  But we stayed around long enough for the Hellzapoppin’ (Couples) semi-finals.  They added some “special” couples to the competition at this round, ones who didn’t compete in the prelims the night before.  It was fun, getting to watch people dance in real life that I had only seen previously on YouTube, like Kevin St. Laurent and Max Pitruzzella.  (In fact, I had almost asked Kevin to dance earlier in the evening.  He had been dancing close to where I was standing.  I never got the nerve to go up when he didn’t have a follow.  There should be time to try again though, right?)

But, I’ve decided against the master class auditions.  A lot of the other classes look more interesting than those.  And, in the fluke case that I did make it, I’d feel obligated to take all the master classes.  -___-;;  So, extra hour of sleep/goofing around for Sarah.

Frankie 95, Part 2: Day 1

Despite my usual misgivings about mornings and airplanes, I managed to get to the airport on time, go through security, get my bag checked in without paying the fee again, but wasn’t able to get a first-class seat without talking to five different places.  Which I wasn’t awake enough to do.  So, coach it is.

Things for me to note for the future:

• I get really bad headaches from the pressure, especially in the smaller planes
• I do get nauseous
• I hate turbulence
• Sunrise from the air is actually pretty cool.  I was starting to wish I had gotten a window seat; most of the people at the windows on that side were either leaning up against it or drew down the “blind” or whatever that’s called to sleep.
• Sitting in the first row behind first class isn’t too bad

I arrived at New York only a few minutes late (after getting to fly over Manhattan and see most of the famous New York landmarks from the sky), managed to not have my bag lost, and, fortunately, didn’t have to wait as long for Jillian to pick me up as I expected.  After running a few errands, I did a little sightseeing (Brooklyn Bridge), got my first insult by a New Yorker (“stupid”; I really have to try harder), checked in at Frankie 95 at the Manhattan Center, then ran back to the apartment to change and head back to the Manhattan Center to go to the first event, the premiere of Frankie Manning: Never Stop Swinging, and the dance that followed (after climbing the endless stairs to the ballroom).

I’ll admit this: I’ve never met the man, this was going to be my first time at a Frankie event.  And I cried throughout the documentary and everyone’s recollections of him.  I felt like a dork, but at least I knew I wasn’t the only one in tears.

Since I’ve been up since 3:00AM, and Jillian wasn’t much better, we both unfortunately tuckered out right before midnight.  We got to see some of the performances (and I got to take video with my new camera!  Too bad I’m a horrible videographer: it’s jerky, blurry, ugly…) thankfully and got a few dances in.

But now, sleep.  Tomorrow is the memorial service, followed by the Central Park dance and the world record biggest Shim Sham and Jack & Jill contest (wish me luck!).

Frankie 95, Part 1: Northwest Airlines FAIL

Timeline of events:

• 3:15 PM: get to the airport and check in my bag ($15)
• 3:50 PM: get through security, everything’s looking alright, I take the picture that you see to the left and start writing a crafty post about leaving town
• 4:00 PM: Delta/NWA says the 4:35 flight is delayed to 5:15
• 4:05 PM: Mom texts me saying that NWA’s site says the flight’s delayed till 5:53.  Keep in mind that my connecting flight to New York leaves at 6:45.  I stand in (the significant) line at the counter at the gate to find out what the hell’s going on and can I change my connecting flight
• 4:30 PM: The people at the gate counter send everyone on this flight downstairs to the check-in counter saying there’s three people there who can help rebook flights.  We all go back to the check-in counter, to find out that while there’s four people at the counter, only two of them could rebook our flights, and one of those two keeps leaving the counter.
• 4:40 PM: They hand out slips of paper with a 1-888 number to call to rebook.  I call it while waiting in line.
• 5:00 PM: I finally have my flight rebooked to tomorrow morning.  I’ll be leaving at 5 in the morning (ergh!) and arriving in NYC around 11 tomorrow morning.  But I wait in line to get my checked-in luggage, get a refund of the check-in fee, and get my boarding pass for tomorrow morning
• 5:30 PM: I finally make it through the line, only to be told that they can’t refund the $15, but if I keep the receipt, I won’t be charged a check-in fee again.  I get my boarding pass and my luggage, and leave the line.
• 5:35 PM: I realize that I forgot to ask about getting an upgrade to first class at the counter (they wouldn’t give it over the phone).  I look at the line and realize that I’d be in it for another hour if I go back.

At least I’ve already found something to do tonight.  But, since this is the second time I’ve rescheduled this flight, needless to say I’m pissed at Northwest Airlines right now.

Future Band (or Blog) Names

I always think, "Make note: future band name" whenever I see or hear something cool, but when it comes time to actually do so (Rock Band bands count, right?), I always forget them.

NOT ANY MORE!

• Lilies & Lemons
• If I ever start a new blog, this will be the title. Oh look, a new blog.
  
• The Viborgs
• I always got a kick out of the name of this town.
  
• Electric (Yellow) Eggs
• I have to give credit to Eric and Merinda for this one. Eric for ordering said eggs, and Merinda for saying it in such a way to make it hilarious.
• Murderous Moose
• Added 11/28/2009 after a news article about how a moose is suspect is a Swedish murder case.
  

Ranting and Raving, a Lonely Lunatic

NWA sent me a final e-ticket confirmation last night, one that I was supposed to print out and use to check in to the airport. I scanned through the information, reaffirming when and where I was supposed to be, when I noticed that suddenly, I had an eight hour layover in Detroit, when before, I knew it was only 1/2-1 hour. Instead of getting into New York at 3:30 in the afternoon, it would be 11:00 at night. I tried following their links to change my flight, but nothing was coming up. "Well," I thought, "surely they can change this at the ticket counter at the airport. Might be the easiest way." I drove to the airport, walked in... and found out that they can't change flights. I could only do it online or on the phone. (So, how do they deal with overbooked flights then?) Frustrated, I left the airport and met up with Mom for lunch. While there, I thought of something: I was accessing the website on Firefox on my Mac. I started up a virtual installation of Windows XP, fired up Internet Explorer... and changed my flights so I was still getting into New York at 10:30 at night, but I would only have an hour layover in Detroit. No where on their site that I could see does it mention that you can only use Internet Explorer. Bad web design, NWA.

It might be the PMS, but I'm in a really bad mood. This trip is frustrating, work is frustrating, friends are frustrating, and my messy, empty apartment is frustrating. I almost want to take my car and drive, no destination in mind, away from everyone and everything I know. Leave it all behind, and maybe, just maybe, never come back. I'm not entirely sure that this is a good state of mind to go to NY with. I'm likely to be miserable there the entire time or be miserable when I return home, yearning to be away. But I can't leave home, not now. I have nothing to support myself with, financially or emotionally. At least I have something resembling stability where I'm at now. I guess, if I really want to attack the root of the problem, I just want someone to greet me with love when I come home, but I know I wouldn't be able to deal with the life of the person that comes with it, not now. Damned if I do, damned if I don't. I can't really think about that much anyway, not till next January.

*sigh* I hope New York is the restart I need on my life. Even if only a partial one. I need to get out of this rut of self-pity and self-loathing.

Oh Noes, Swine Flu! And Other Things

A little over a week ago, I woke up with a sore throat. It's turned into a cough and nasal crap, and I've been joking that it's swine flu. I'm kinda wondering if it's not a joke anymore, except that I'm usually knocked out more by the regular flu than I am by this. I keep telling myself I'm going to go to a doctor and get a check up, but it hasn't happened yet. -__-;

I heard yesterday that my best friend Kate is engaged to the guy she's been seeing for... a hell of a long time? (Their's is one of those relationships that has a few different points where they can say they started dating. I'm not sure which one they consider to be the start.) It's strange. Didn't think any of us were going to get married till our late twenties.

I'm still heading to NY for the Frankie 95 festival next week. The plane leaves a week from today, and I'm no where near prepared for this. I still have to do laundry, still have to figure out which outfits and shoes I'm taking. I finally took in my pair of Converse sneakers to a cobbler to get dancing suede put on them. Hopefully they'll be done next Tuesday. ^__^;; I'm a little anxious; this is the first time on a plane since I went to San Francisco in 2003. (And in looking back for a link, I see that I put the chronicles of that trip on a separate website that has since died. Sad.) And this is my first major out-of-town swing dance event, and it looks like it might be the biggest one ever. Considering how I'm usually so out-of-place even at Cowtown when all the out-of-towners show up, we'll see how I deal.

Last Sunday, Mother's Day, I took my mom and aunt to see Star Trek. How this came about: I mentioned to my mother about how I was going to see it with friends at the IMAX. Her eyes lit up, and I started looking for tickets for Sunday. I was surprised it wasn't sold out. I was a little disappointed about how they didn't really take advantage of the IMAX screen, and that the print had bugs all over it, including a smeared one in the center of the screen. (At first, I thought it was a projector booth problem. I talked later with a coworker who also saw it there the next day. He also saw the bugs, so it was on the actual film.) I might see it again, if someone wants to go, but I might encourage going to a regular theater, maybe one with digital projection (and no bugs).

After the movie, I headed out to assist in an attempt to beat the Endless Setlist 2 in Rock Band 2 and get the Bladder of Steel achievement (play with no pauses) for a couple of friends (somehow, I've become the main drummer in my group of friends). It was a good time. I stayed on drums for the most part, trading out to take breaks, eat, and try my hand at bass and vocals. It's funny; I hadn't played any of the guitar parts for so long, that I forgot how to hold the controller. It was handed to me with the strap going the wrong way, so the song started, I'm thinking, "This isn't right" and ended up flipping the guitar around and playing without the strap. (In my defense, I played bass again right afterwards and got 100%. So I can brag and say that I got 100% at least once on all the parts I played.)

I was on drums for the last hour and a half, I think. I might have been relieved once because my wrist was hurting a bit. I know "Chop Suey" was the last song I did on another part (singing). The song I was worried most about, "Battery" (because the drums are the only insrument on the off-beat), was no real problem for once. And I had never played the last song in the list, so I was caught off-guard by the fact that it starts and ends with drum solos... but I aced both of them (and it's on video! I think. Haven't seen it yet). We documented parts of it. I know on my breaks, I usually picked up the camera and goofed off. It probably looks weird though since I'm constantly looking off-camera and at the screen. -___-; So now that we've gone through that with no real problems except a goofy microphone (even though I never noticed any problem with it, everyone else did) and getting perfect 5 stars on every song (barely in a couple of cases), I think we've graduated from medium levels on the instruments (or at least our primary ones). I'm going to have to play hard level drums from here on out. -___-;;

It's strange. Ever since I moved out, and especially this last month or so, I've had something going on most nights of the week, whether it's dancing or gaming or what. It's gotten so that I don't know what to do with myself on the nights that I don't have anything to do. I almost want to be around people now, which was unheard of as little as five or six months ago. Maybe it's due to the fact that I'm living on my own now. I need to clean this place up so I can have people over. To do what though? The TV isn't in the best of shape, everything's yellow, so movies and the Wii aren't of the best quality (can't say that it's really stopped me before though). And I don't have the collections of board games (or the room, really) to have those gamers over.

I don't know. Time keeps going forward, and it seems to be speeding up, leaving me behind.

*grumblegrowl*

Oh my goodness, does this look delicious?  I may have to take advantage of a grill and a washer/dryer that doesn't need quarters...

^__________^

IT: A Man's World?

I ran into an article today about reactions to a presentation at a Ruby conference titled "CouchDB + Ruby: Perform Like a Pr0n Star."  Despite being unfamiliar with Ruby and its "rock star persona," it's interesting to see the reactions to this.  A few call this offensive and misogynist.  Others repeat that sentiment that because that's what they feel they should say.  And yet others are offended that these "feminists" are offended, saying there was nothing wrong with the presentation and who cares about women in IT anyway?

I watched the presentation.  It's unprofessional and gave me a low opinion on the conference, the presenter, and the technology/company in question.  (My opinion of Ruby/Rails itself is still largely nonexistant due to my unfamiliarity of it.)  If I were one of the six women at the conference this was presented at, I would have been highly uncomfortable, but if the technology was worth it, not enough to leave.

But some interesting comments about women's role in IT have come up in this.  One of the comments (from the presenter of the presentation in question, in fact) was this:

Ask women why they are not interested in joining the IT world. I seriously doubt the main answer would be because people talk about sex from a male perspective or make macho jokes.

Things I've heard from female friends not in IT:

• "I can't work without other girls."
• "Isn't it weird working with all men?" (One of the most frequently asked questions when I moved from gift shop [mostly girls] to IT [all guys].)
  
• "All the computer nerds I know are creepy guys."

So, some of the girls are leaving or not even getting into IT because of some of the men they know in these departments.  But if asked directly, they'll say because it's boring (nevermind that they likely use computers all the time anyway).

Another comment:

This is exactly the reason why women are treated in another way than men are in the workplace. Women have this ‘woohoo, look at me, i”m a woman” attitude which is generally just a way of drawing attention to itself.

I try not to bring up the fact that I'm a girl at work.  Usually it's other people who work here, who laugh at them "making the girl do all the work."  I don't complain about doing heavy lifting or getting dirty.  Sometimes the guys in the department (especially when I first started) are very polite, catching themselves when they curse, apologizing for any small impoliteness, making sure they carry the heavy stuff and do the heavy work.  Othertimes they're all sitting around, talking about relationships or crude jokes.  I'm fairly insensitive to this, though I do know that I probably should be offended at some of it (really, I just see it as an interesting look at the male mind).  Sometimes they'll realize what they're talking about and apologize.

Honestly, I'm glad I'm "one of the guys" in this case; I don't want to be treated differently because of my gender, either for better or for worse.  I'd rather be seen as a competent IT worker instead of a competent female IT worker.