Swing in the Park

I had been fairly jealous of David's California stories of outdoor, live band, swing dancing twice a week.  To the rescue: Sugar Swing! 

After dinner, Drew and I head out to Borden Park for their Swing in the Park event.  A little searching later, we arrived on site - a large patch of grass and concrete next to a fountain with speakers set up on the side.  The lesson started not long after and we danced.  

Beth, John, and Patrick arrived after the lesson.  There was a birthday jam, some dancing on the picnic tables, and even dips and tricks! 

It wasn't the best dance floor (poor grass!), but it was great to be outside. A couple barefooted steps into the fountain solved any overheating problems. And an unexpected bonus: No bugs!

Light hearted and joyful, it seemed another perfect way to enjoy the sumemr - I hope there's another outdoor dance soon. 

Make it! Mooch it! Swing it 'round!

The busy and exciting Saturday started with Na, Kirsten, Beth and I meeting at the Arts Barn for the Make It! craft show.  Billed as "The Handmade Revolution" and "Not your Gradmother's Craft Show", I was excited to see just what it was about. 

The lobby of the Arts Barn was filled tables.  At one, a tree branch was used to display jewelry, at another a tableful of "handmade monsters" (cuddly, stuffed toys made of reclaimed materials by Belua Designs, remincient of Ugly Dolls but so much more adorable [one reminded us of a friend]).  There were pendants made of Scrabble tiles (hm... can one buy just the tiles in bulk?), jewelry pieces that looked like orchids and seahorses dipped in silver, head pieces and accessories in the swing style... Jenna (of swing) was there too with Sushi Papercraft. 

I felt fairly inspired after seeing all these diferent projects, but was surprised in the end that it was just the lobby... did we miss a room? 

We headed out into the heat.  Not long after decided it was time for ice cream.  Onward to Block 1912!   

Even with the shade, the fans, and the ice cream, it was still too hot.  We called Erik again (earlier, we called and convinced him to join us for swing dancing that night), and invited ourselves over. 

Erik didn't seem to mind too much that we had decended with such little warning and served us cold drinks.  We talked about this and that, including the Watchmen movie (I must read graphic novel first).  And then Beth and left early - time for aerials! 

Lana: Beth and I will be doing dips and tricks.

Erik: Right, look for you guys turning tricks. 

Andrew (and later John) met us on a patch of grass outside Beth's building and we started working on aerials.  Beth and John had gone to a couple of Sugar Swing's aerials workshops and insisted these were possible.  I was doubtful, but willing to give an easier one a try. 

John lead me and jumped.  He directed my body and I swung my legs... in the end it was possible!  Though many of the attempts did have me landing on my butt.  I don't think I could get the nerve to do what Beth does, whatever it's called (it looked like a complicated cheerleader move where at one point she's upside down). 

Soon it was time to go.  Beth and I "pretty up".  We met all the people Beth had managed to persuade for this swing extravaganza (Erik, Kirsten, Na, Dennis, another friend...) and danced! 

CRASH!  A fan that had been keeping us cool fell to the ground along with a folding table.  Though it was still fairly hot and muggy, there had a been a gust of strong wind.  And another, which knocked over the fan again.  It was getting late, so Erik, Na, Kirsten, and I left.  We got into the car, backed out of the parking stall, and it began to rain.  Almost at once the rain turned into a mixture of hail and buckets of water.  Erik waited, then drove slowly.  Not long after, the rain tappered off and stopped.  

Everything seemed to glisten, and I didn't think much of it, glad for it to be cooler.  But soon it became apparent that the storm had been much worse than what we experienced.  Streets lights were out, and there were tree branches and other debris in the streets, large undrained pools of water blocked walkways. 

After delivering Na and Kirsten safely home, Erik started on the route to my place.  On the way, we saw flames in the distance.  Of course we had to check it out.  (Fortunately, it just turned out to be a refineries' general burn off.)  It was a small detour, and when I got home I found out our power was out too.  Mom had found candles, but had been in a bit of panic because neither Dad nor I was home.  Dad showed up a little later, having to take a detour himself since a road had been blocked by branches. 

Some time in the night we regained power.  The news reports I've heard indicated quite a bit of damage, but no one was hurt. 

All that in a Saturday. 

Swing in the New Year / Review

I avoided it at the mid-year point... so why not another night? So, instead of quiet reflection, I went dancing at Sugar Swing's New Year's Eve Soiree.

Erik and I arrived early for the beginner class. Beth, Madeline, arrived later (the three of us sparkled in our black dresses - but no photos to post, again on pain of broken limbs). We danced. We watched some good demos. We sat and listened to Swing Manouche, the live band, as sometimes their numbers would be too fast for us. In a tempo changing version of Caravan, the clarinet player wandered among the dancers. I got one Viennese Waltz (with Jim) among all the swing, and danced the blues with Beth. Before I knew it, we were toasting the new year with plastic glasses of bubbly and enthusiastically mumbling / lip-synching through Aud Lang Syne.

Now, more than a whole day later (and back at work), it really is time for reflection. A whole year's worth. I checked, I didn't talk about resolutions last year in the blog, but I did mention some goals to friends in emails. They were the amorphous: "Be more adventurous", "Try new things", and "Challenge personal boundaries." Which I had to admit looked pretty easy that point in time since I was looking forward to a trip to New York (adventure!) and feeling optimistic (romance in the air). However, after the trip, and feeling pretty antisocial and withdrawn for months later, I'm not sure I got back on track.

On the plus side: I was a driver on a bike tour; I helped take down and then put up a wall; I completed another CGA class...

However, with all this activity (plus more movies, art, and dates than any year before), I still feel as thought I'm spinning my wheels and not getting anywhere. This feels like another period of transition (maybe they all are?).

Great highs, great lows, and some really good friends along for the ride... that last point certainly makes me feel lucky. I think I will need more direction in the coming year. More later.

Girls just want to have fun?

"He was like “twinkle, twinkle”, and I was like “No, this is not happening”." ~ Morgan

On the way to Feast: Obviously in for some stunt, guys in costume descended onto the LRT platform with a boom box. They cue up the music, Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", and start strutting their stuff. The goal, I gathered, was to try and get as many women as possible dancing with them. But why, and what for - not sure. I joined... with my camera. In the end I believe the bikini-ed group won... though I enjoyed the costumes of the superheroes (?) group more. I wondered what the parent-looking-couple said when their little girl pointed to the groups in what seemed like confusion. Moments later, the guys were gone. Hm... I'm not sure if that kind of radomisation is exactly my sort of fun. These things are:

"Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ZUCCHINI PHONE!"

Feast!

The most of the lovely found-zucchini of last week had been transformed into many tasty dishes. The remaining stem portion served well as an improv phone receiver (Who's Line is it Anyway?-style). Rem was chatty, but Kathy didn't to want to talk.

New restaurants, New sights, Anarchy, crashing baptisms

Next day I go to Circle Ring for lunch with Rockstar Kelso. I'm still not sure how the restaurant name came about (it's located right next door to the Lucky 97 Market) when it directly translates into Sichaun Flavour Place. The menu was challenging for me with its poetic dish names and a lot of simplified characters. And the fact that northerners have a different words for things I would recognise (e.g. northern: earth gourd/melon, southern: sweet patato).

It was quite funny when the waitress greeted me in Mandarin, only to have me turn to Kelso to order. He's actually been there and to this restaurant. We ended up eating deep-fried red chili peppers with chicken, along with fish-flavoured eggplant. Apparently mixing chicken with eggplant is not a problem for others (Mom's told be many times before this is a poisonous combination).

After eating we head towards the Anarchy bookfair being held at the Ukrainan Cultural Centre, but not before stopping at St. Josaphat's. I've never been inside, and it seemed like a good enough day for it. Its brown and white brick exterior was completely different from the inside. It was an oyster's inner shell of blue, white, and pink, with shimmers of gold and stain-glass windows. (Andrea's told me before that the "icons" there weren't icons - I still thought they were lovely.) And there was a babtism in session! I was fairly quiet in my observations, and then we left.

Dance!

And then later that night Beth and I head over to McKernan hall. We met up with Erik, and swing danced the night away. And when she could tear herself away from Shakespeare, Krystal led me for a bit.

So much already for this weekend. And more to come. Onward to see Jackie's demonstration!

"You are exactly my brand of heroin."

or "So that's what they're talking about."


"Lana, you're dumb." Catherine was right. I had confessed: I started reading Stephanie Meyer's Twilight at 11:30 p.m. on Thursday night. And that was dumb. I really had thought myself immune and would only read my usual 10 pages or so before going to sleep... but 2 hours later I was still reading. By the end of Sunday, I had completed Twilight, and found at the library and read New Moon (the second book of the series). I'm sure it's now time for a break and some reflection: Was it good? Was it more than what I expected?


It's a high school vampire romance... it's intense, and a little bit disturbing... There are good vampires and bad vampires, and they all seem to be incredibly good looking... but it is not Buffy. And between vampires that can actually go out into the sun, never sleep, with no fangs, and turn people with "venom"... it doesn't follow "canon" (as much as I understand it). However, when I mentioned the plot (and angst) and the werewolves involved, Morgan said, "Wasn't that in Underworld?"


The book did work in an interesting idea about prey and predators. One successful predator strategy: be highly attractive so prey doesn't even recognise the threat (I think of carnivorous plants with their sweet smelling nectar bait). Anyway, an added benefit, more of the the Flair makes sense. And so can you!




In between my little book obsession:


The new school year has started! The campus is teeming with students. And the U of A launched its Centenary. Morgan and I visit the Business Quad Day 1 to take part in some cake. Around us were students in, what Morgan coined, "First Day Fashion". This involves people actually thinking how they want to look - and then having time to excute it. An example: Mohawk hair fully sculpted a foot high. She asked me, "What do you think it would look like by day 10?". On our way back to work, she went to one of the tents and calmly, cooly, passed herself as an Arts student (I suspect the trendy tights and ballet flats helped). So jealous. Now with official agenda in hand, she has the dates and a pass to all the good parties (and a way of tracking things too).


Friday night, Catherine and I went to the AGA for another opening. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was when I saw Ted Kerr there. He was one of the artists with the EDMONTON: Explored exhibit. His set asked "Where are you from?" and "What is your role in society?" with some interesting answers to accompany his Polaroid portraits. What really drew my attention here though was the graffiti exhibit created in part with ihuman. I was across the room, but two people started setting up drop sheets and paint cans, and they began painting over the wall. I heard remarks of "I like the colour they picked." But I was intrigued, asking Catherine in half whisper - were they trying to make a commentary, wanting us to protest and thus exposing our hypocrosy? Catherine replied, "No one wants to be played."


I for one was sad to see the colours reduced to a grey green wall, but if you visit, there are still holes in the wall, and if you look inside there are scenes from the creation of the original.


We moved on to the main attraction: Works of a Rennaissance Master: The Prints of Albrecht Duer. We stared and marvelled at the detail of it all, leaning close to see in the dim light. Crowd scenes were so incredibly dynamic, and even the animals had expressions. They kicked us out before we got to finish.


On Saturday Sugar Swing had their Sock Hop. It was fun to see people dressed up. A Twist contest in the middle called for "Energy, Fun, Magic!" A blown kiss to Krystal got me into the individual finals, but didn't get me any further. Next day, people were talking about bruised ribs and abs. Intense!

Paper, Plasma, and Plastic

Sunday:

"I'm in a bookstore with Lana." Unspoken, but apparent in the tone was a desperate "Save me!". O.k. this was the second bookstore Jeff and I visited today, but he was the one who said he wanted a to find a book on how to learn Mandarin (rare)... and to ease heartbreak (overly abundant). Anyway, shortly after, Vince vrooms by and they make an escape. We all met up later for a family dinner in honour of Mom's birthday. The kids love their cousin (and cousin x-removed?) if not only for their cell phones and games, then for their card playing abilities. We eat, and after some awkward attempts at family photos in the parking lot, Angela, Patrick and Jeff head back to Calgary. I was exhausted and glad to go home too.

The day before:

Three cookies (by George) eaten in a row and almost fully excusable after donating blood. Through the whole (slightly changed again) donating process I was pleasantly entertained by a new edition of National Geographic.

Michael met up with me and we headed down Whyte Ave. The sun was shining, my camera was ready, and I had energy. We didn't have was a plan... but it was Whyte Ave! Soon we were in the Junque Cellar. Michael endured as I tried on (and bought), yes, another dress. And we laughed at some of things that are now considered vintage. It was then a short walk to Happy Harbor comics. A skip and a jump away was Sanctuary - and they were having a sidewalk sale! So much plastic! So uncomfortable in the heat... but curiousity won out. Michael tried this supervillian look, but decided not to add it to his repertoire. Naturally, thoughts ("PVC", "sale", "supervillains"...) turned to Erik - so we called him up for dinner.

I still went swing dancing that night. Jeff came out too despite a hurting foot and having only arrived a couple of hours ago. I suspected it was to get away from the family as much as trying out the dance. It was so incredibly hot and soon hands were slipping from the sweat. I had a great time, hardly noticing that a rainstorm had started.

Jeff, Beth and I start heading home, but end up at the Dream Tea House. It's then past midnight and questions are still unanswered/unanswerable. But Jeff talks and Beth says the things that need to be said. I look at them and feel for a moment it's all right.

From Saturday Afternoon

Just finished 5 hours of overtime. It went by pretty fast. Statements steadily moved off of my desk into the completed folder and I got to listen to CBC at the same time (Go was in Edmonton and DNTO was about the voice). Lidia predicts we'll only need one more Saturday before the deadline to be done! My fingers are crossed.

Yesterday's Feast was a lot of fun. It was too bad that Steph wasn't there. Instead, the fuzzy pink hat made an appearance. And amid the Math jokes there was also shop talk on cameras and photography (exposing me as a total fake)... and then wrestling. Beth at one point commented that the conversation wasn't slipping into the usual gutter... eventhough Malcolm was there (he who suggested sending me a pizza delivery at work, at tea earlier in the week...) So we mused: Is Stephanie the actual culprit?

Tonight there will be more swing dancing! People from Feast have agreed to try it out. Until then, I still have a few hours to enjoy mild breezes, blue skies, and Whyte Avenue. A part of me though itches to be home cleaning... getting rid of things... definitely not studying. Thirty-five days until exam. I still have time.

Scenes from the weekend

A supervillian walks into a bar...

Rem passed his candidacy exam on Friday! We went to Remedy to celebrate. (Right: Rem plots his next move. / Left: A math joke I'm sure.)



Doug Hoyer presents...

Later, met Catherine and Jaclyn at Axis Cafe for Doug Hoyer's CD release party. Standing-room-only became sitting-on-the-stairs-at-the back-entrance-only. Was laughing, charmed by:


a) the ukulele (electric - who would have known?)
b) Quirky lyrics and subject matter (e.g. worries on blind dates "Dress too slutty? Nails too fake?", and "Tattoo" a love song which apparently started as a sociology essay)
c) Mild squirming from Catherine and Jaclyn (it's not easy seeing family grow up... and sing about making-out with their girlfriend).


Overall a fun show. I hear he plays the accordian too. Look forward to seeing that.



And then at Dim Sum the next day...


"I wish you'd never get married so you can spend more time with us." Oh, Celina. *sigh* At least someone is benefiting...




Then onward to books!


And more books... and even more books! It was the Raise a Reader booksale in one of the airport hangers at Kingsway. Volunteered to help out for a shift and was just amazed. *dinner-plate-sized-eyes expression* Tables and tables covered with books. Boxes and boxes of books (donated from all over) sitting under the tables and next to the walls. Steph and I were to restock and tidy the tables as books were being taken away. Sorting came along pretty naturally. Aside from ocassional helping people with a "Ah-ha! I know exactly what you're looking for" moment, it wasn't exactly exhilarating work... unless you saw the misfiled books as commentaries. "Beowulf" is Adult Non-fiction and "Drop Dead Gorgeous" a book of Religion and Spirtuality. Silliness can get one through so many things.




"She's thinking of a stratagem." ~ Amelie in Amelie


Beth sling-shots me onto the dance floor carefully aimed (that girl is strong). Seconds later, our target starts dancing with someone. Seeing this, I veer off, returning to our side of the room. Regroup. Second attempt: Aim, shoot... target leaves the room. Slightly relieved, I tell Beth it's just not meant to be. But she has another plan. In the end, it was set. Travis was confused. But he is coming to Feast.

Still Saturday, and we still have an engagement with Math and Music. To Allendale Hall we go for the Martingales. We witness the debut of Rem on washboard. And Troll on mic.



Well what do you think?


Celina invites me over for lunch. She cooks spaghetti with a tomato chicken sauce. Kind of goopy, but tastey. A promising start.



Back to the book sale this time to comb through and buy. I buy trash, none of the good stuff I was recommending just yesterday to other customers. Why is this? Deep down am I a commitmentphobe?

Must be clumsy hand syndrome...

Red eggs show up at the Chinese one-month-old celebrations for babies... and for Orthodox Easter dinner! Sophie's and her mom have created a wonderful meal (though no Battlestar Galatica). When we're ready to start, the red wine Eugene brought goes missing (Apollo wine no less). We find the wine (having disguised itself as a bottle of vinegar and fooled at least one of us), and start, with a game: Egg smashing! Well, a little more civilised than that. Each, with our chosen egg, are to... um... tap with vigour our egg to our partner's egg. The one with the uncracked shell is victorious. Steph and her super egg wins at the table and will be blessed with good luck for the rest of the year (that's my interpretation at least). We all suffer a little from clumsy hand syndrome. But even with nearly tipped wine glasses and flying broccoli, we manage to not make too big of a mess...

Afterwards we look at photos from Eugene's trip to Hong Kong. Turns out his sister knows cousin Daisy. And we take a couple of pictures of our own.

Orange Hall and bowling balls

"The Lana I knew was a good dancer." ~ Former student from UADC

The snow continued to fall, and our shoes were wet when Beth, John, Patrick and I made it to Orange Hall. The Sugar Swing event included a beginner lesson that taught some moves of "Jitterbug Jive". The instructors (Julie and Birkley) were laid-back and enthusiastic. After the lesson, we were left to our own devices to dance in the social. I was caught up in the atmosphere. Looking at the crowd, I fantasized slightly that I had stepped into a different era (feeling a nostalgia for an time I never lived or knew): The hardwood floor and wooden benches against the walls; the yellow glow of street lamps only mildy muted by the tall windows; a few men in fedoras and suspenders (my favourite); and the music! Big band, swing, some blues, and a sprinkling of what I considered foxtrot and quickstep songs. All melded together in this free spirit of dancing. This is how it could be. The laughing, the energy... I felt too upright and stiff, and tried to will myself to emmulate their relaxed grace. Two people strapped on tap shoes and I was delighted for the show they put on in the corner. Surprisingly I recognised and was recognised by some other (former?) UADC members. Travis took me under his wing and tried to teach me additional moves along with the West Coast Swing basic (Clarence had tried before, I can still cannot do it), and the Lindy Hop. I have much, much to learn. I've reverted back to

staring at feet... and realised I also needed to learn how to talk. Went home feeling, if somewhat inadequate, excited and inspired.


Next day: Snow has finally stopped! I scrambled to collect all the VIPs involved, and navigated through the slush to make it to Gateway Lanes for Celina's birthday party. This bunch was super energetic at playing 10-pin bowling, and suprisingly skillful too (the bumpers did help). There was definitely a change in the group. Instead of the shy and slightly scared of last year's Chuck E Cheese adventure, many of Celina's invited were attention-grabbers, were pretty savvy... and maybe even a touch mean. I wondered if this was because they were now on the cusp of teenage-hood. She, herself, had just turned 11.

Celina opened her presents after the group had a pizza lunch in a private party room. And then everyone was sent home after ice cream cake. I gladly took Celina and Kevin back home, and sank, completely tired, into their couch. Celina went through her gifts again and I tried calmly to talk to her about "What to say/do if you get a gift you don't like" (O.k. this is an area I need help with too... but her comments at the party did leave a bad taste in the mouth, though no tears). And then we watched Naruto, and played Scrabble (yay!) until I finally admitted I was getting sick and needed to go home.

I wonder now what will she'll think of next year... and if Auntie Lana will still be cool enough to be a part of it.

Pi Day!

The walls have stopped moving. Now I just need to figure out where things are.

Week 2 at the office has been a little more comfortable. I know how to complete simple requests, I got a Research lanyard for keys (which I wave as ID when people give me the "who are you?" look), and most importantly: I have a safe escape route. This was not the case last week. At Friday Feast I was lamenting how I was stuck in a literal maze of cubicle walls due to renovations. Stephanie, Ben, and Malcolm came up with these ideas for the future:

- Carry mountaineering gear in my backpack always so that I could always scale the walls
- Carry rope ladder for similiar effect
- Stand up (and be 6' tall - this was from Ben) - and in such case as not having the natural advantage to scope out the maze from above - to carry a portable / foldable step ladder...

I'm glad it didn't have to come to that. But they may have a point - what would I do next time walls moved? :P

Friday Feast was a lot of fun. Rem decided to treat us with his Taiwanese cooking. The food was great - even that bittermelon soup! I had another one of those strange feelings of nostalgia for something that I've never experienced myself. But it all felt right. And then there was the tea service... *happy sigh* I half expected him to tell us the story of how he hiked up a mountain in Taiwan, met with a monk, and the monk gave him a scroll ;) Anne was very brave and tried all the dishes despite feeling under the weather (hope you're better Anne!). And I got to use the motar and pestle to do some smashing (the math people seemed to like that very much), and doing the dishes was again very therapeutic.

The rest of weekend was filled with book club (we're undecided about our next one), more dance practice, and large amounts of eating (ugh). Again, will write about Calgary when I get the pictures - it won't be long now! In the meantime - since it's Pi Day - Happy Birthday Christiana!

Enjoy the Muppet's quiz: (my love for sparkles and Kermit all make sense now)

You Are Miss Piggy

A total princess and diva, you're totally in charge - even if people don't know it.You want to be loved, adored, and worshiped. And you won't settle for anything less.You're going to be a total star, and you won't let any of the "little people" get in your way.Just remember, piggy, never eat more than you can lift!

The Muppet Personality Test