Laugh, Cry - Get Back To Work

Thanks again to all my fantastic friends who have asked about this and came out to support me.A summary of the 2011 UADC In-House Competition with videos and photos here.

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"Two numbers?"

"I'm a lucky guy - dancing with two ladies."

In the marshalling area, I stretched.  St. John's Cultural Centre has this nice "bar area" (positively luxurious compared to the squished hallway at Polish Hall - with just enough space to dance a little) where competitors queue for their event.  Tony and I had warmed up on the floor earlier, testing the routines to make sure they fit with all the chairs, but here waiting, I was struggling to calm my nerves. 

He asked me: Is this your first comp?  "Nope.  But I always get this nervous."  Especially, I thought to myself, because we're in a semi-final, and I can see exactly who we're up against.  

They called our number (64).  He gave me a half smile and presented us.  We danced. 

In what seemed like no time, we were back in the marshalling area.  It was there that Tony finally cracked his composure with a high-ten and full smile.  He had done great!  I was cautiously hopeful, remembering all the mistakes I made. 

The call back was a surprise.  There wasn't a posting - Jim simple called our numbers in order, inviting us back onto the floor. 

We danced.  We returned to the marshalling area.  Tony was even happier.  I was happy too - yes, I messed up a couple of times, but was a million times better than the first round.  We returned to our chairs to wait for the awards results. 

"You were robbed!" 

The two of us stood alone.  I was a bit confused.  When Jim shuffled some papers and spoke off-mic to the scrutineers, I thought, "Oh, they did make a mistake - how else are we last?"  But there wasn't a mistake. 

The return to our seats after photos was a bit strange.  Frustration and empassioned comments followed us - most notably from Brian and Kevin.  I could only smile and thank them.  I think I was in shock. 

Tony prepped for his Latin event with Ashley.  I cheered with Paul, Beth, and Wendy for my students and friends.  It was fun, though half of my brain was still on our Standard results.  Tony and Ashley did an amazing job, but before we could find out how they fared, the rumoured first (and unscripted) Jack and Jill Competition kicked off. 

A chaotic 45 minutes later, (where by the grace of the audience my randomly matched partner, Steve, and I got a few more exciting chances to dance), we were back on the program.  Tony and Ashley were crowned Silver Latin winners and we cheered and cheered from our section. 

Later, at Aunt Linda's birthday dinner, Mom said it was good we didn't win - if we did, it would mean me spending more time dancing (an unproductive thing).  Kevin and Celina unknowingly shamed me by asking, "What do you think about Japan?"  I'd been so self-centered about the Comp, I haven't given Japan much thought at all. 

It was actually another couple more days before things were feeling a bit more real.  There was still a little disappointment, but there was the realisation nothing that bad had happened as a result.  Tony hasn't declared he never wanted to dance with me again (in fact, seemed eager to work some more).  My standing in the club seems to not have changed.  And Paul still says he's proud of me.  I do, however, need to have a good think about what it is I want from dance.  In the meantime, back to work-work, and more dance-work! 

WTF, Q & V

Was that, "It's Not Unusual" put to a samba beat?  Maybe it was just too early and my brain was playing tricks on me.  But then later, I swear I heard a Christina Aguilera song as a quickstep and then Alicia Keys' "Fallin'" done as a Viennese Waltz. 


Anyway, along with some very interesting costumes and great dancing, this was another fairly successful year for the Northern Lights Classic. 

It was fun to see the new group of competitive dancers and catch up with some of the old (TA) group.  Eventhough I have been dancing, the competitive scene is so separate that much of it was a surprise.

Alice (no longer competing) now does competition makeup.  Ryan (Pib) volunteers as a marshaller during the day (and humours me with a social dance).  Linda and Clarice continue to dance, but with new partners I've never met before.

The little diva, Mishel, is the crowd darling. 

Dominic (judging again this year) played with his son backstage.

I volunteered for the evening show and was given an extra treat at the Latin Championship awards: Mayor Stephen Mandel and Mrs. Mandel were guest presenters!  How did they manage that?! 

Mayor Mandel did a small twirl on the floor and said a few words before handing over the trophy.  It was definitely an unexpected, but nice cap to the night. 

More photos here.

Clip of Diana Lemeshko and Mario Acosta-Cervallo's Rumba in the second day's winners showcase (unfortunately cut short when memory card ran out).

In-House Comp 2010

After a disasterous practice session yesterday, I told Ken, "Don't worry, I won't leave you at the marshalling area."  Ironcially, that's exactly what I did. 

Paul and I stepped out to pick up some lunch.  When we returned to St. John's Cultural Cetnre, the first person I saw, Divinia, told me I had missed my event.  What?!  How did that happen?  We were supposed to compete at 1 p.m.  Ken explained: They moved our event; Instead of being the fourth on the list, they ran our event first at 12:30 p.m. 

I was choked.  The morning had not gone well for myself and Dan, but I had thought Ken and I would do well (or at least have fun out there on the floor).  On top of that, his wife, baby, and some friends had showed up to cheer him on... Thankfully, Ken didn't seem disappointed or upset (about that).  He went back inside to watch the other categories.  Paul and I sat in the men's change room and ate our lunch.

Maybe next year will be my chance for gold.  Or maybe, this is just a sign...

In other news, Andrew and Cara placed second in the Newcomer II category - dazzling with the Swing translated into Jive moves (above).

Also, there is one less couple from the old crew eligible to compete next year (unless In-House starts opening up new categories): Christiana and Ryan won in Gold (above). 

It was nice to Christiana again - in the dressing room she showed me her new lovely new Standard gown, and we chatted briefly.  Not sure when I'll actually get to see her dance in that dress, but hopefully before another year goes by.

Northern Lights Classic 2009

Almost everyone from the old guard was now a night competitor.  Though I couldn't volunteer at night this year and see them in action, I still signed up to be a day time runner.  

Pro-Am events dominated most of the morning.  It was another case of the same people in the same categories dancing the same dances.  There was one pro (Alex) that I thought was mezmerising, but the couple she's in wasn't terribly inspiring.  I'd awake from the blur to run the score sheets or to eye a particularly fabulous (or awful) costume. 

I'd encouraged my students for weeks to come and see Don compete.  When Adult Standard Bronze came, I was pleasantly surprised to see that some of my TAs were in the same category.  They all made it to the finals, but it easy to see who would win. 

At lunch we were treated to a performance showcase done by a group that encouraged dance for all abilities. 

During lunch I got to catch up with some old time volunteers and Tayo (fellow runner and UADC instructor), before getting ready for the afternoon Latin events.  Perhaps this is when caffiene kicked in: It all seemed so much more lively. The Pro-Ams sizzled.  The floor was filled during the breaks for social dancing (Tayo even lead me through a couple). 

The much anticipated Adult Latin Bronze was tight as it could be.  The judges somehow managed to decide between (what I thought) were extremely evenly matched couples for the finals, while there seemed to be too much happening all at once on the floor (below).

Then, another surprise: Seeing Darren and Amanda compete in Adult Latin Silver B - which had been strangely scheduled for the afternoon.  As I was not supposed to show any partiality, I cheered for them in my head. 

Not volunteering for the night shift made the day seem strangely short (eventhough I returned next day for a morning shift).  I miss seeing these friends more often and being with them in their and at their finest, competing. 

For more photos visit the NLC site or for some behind the scenes stuff here.

Candy and NLC

The kids were really cute. Kevin was a bandit with a dark bandana covering his face and a plastic gun. Celina was a zombie princess (?), her elaborate dress covered by warm fall coat.

We didn't start out that late, but the newer houses with bright lighting already had signs saying "Out of Candy". In the darker, older area of the same neighbourhood there was plenty still. I wondered if this was a supply side issue, or also a demand one.

No spectacular wipe outs this year, only the "burden of cuteness" that the kids had to bear (overflowing bags of candy that they eventually had to drag [my bag wasn't nearly as troublesome]). And though Theresa said they could stay out later because it was Friday, we went home after a couple of hours to start sorting and trading. Out were the foil-wrapped chocolates that we were warned might be from China and contain melamine, allergic items, and broken wrappers. Then the trading began (the best part). I'm always so impressed that neither of them seemed to hoard, and the trades were relatively fair. I kept a bag of "no one wants" for my friends ;)

Next day this bag was used to help fuel the volunteers at NLC!

The competition has grown again! This time to fill two days. I arrive the first day early for my shifts to see set up. Ken (above) operates the camera on a moving arm (I kept watching for the weights), which is new this year. There was also alot more seating. When the judges came out, I found Delphine was one of them!

I was running again this year, and was on for all day and all night. At one slower point judge Pierre Allaire asks "Why "runner"?" I had to admit it wasn't the most poetic name, but it did convey the basics of it: Run/deliver the score sheets from judges on the floor to the scorekeeper to key on the stage after each dance/category - and running while doing it so as not to interfere or distract from the dancing. He said from now on, he'll call me "stewardess". I kind of like that.

The morning events were mostly dominated by Pro-Am competitions where Dominic and Celeste were the sweethearts. Christiana, Ryan, and Darren (and most of the people I danced with) had graduated to become "evening competitors". So I was happily surprised to see Leslie (my girl crush / favourite TA from years ago!), dancing and winning her category.

In the afternoon a girl named Agnes joined me in running. She was new to ballroom, but was clearly hooked and serious. She was taking private lessons from David at Elite Dance Studio (D&D's new studio) while waiting for an appropriate competitive partner, going to school, and working part-time to afford dancing (sound like someone else we know?).

For dinner the Andrew, Kevin, Agnes, Mark and Mark's girlfriend broke to the Mundare House of Sasuage. Wow, what a heavy (and very tasty) meal. It was extremely low on vegetables, so I was stealing the uneaten cucumber garnishes off of everyone's plates to balance things out. I apparently was also very amusing because I had to "take care of" the box of noodles I had originally planned for dinner and managed to throw out my fork too. Yes, that, and me trying to retrieve the fork, counts as entertainment (the lesson: I should never throw out food). So does Mark's girlfriend's jokes that she's a Zimbabwe millionaire (though with inflation, this might be true).

We return with time to spare for the evening events. During warm up was my chance to take photos. Amanda and Christiana are so hot! It's the first time I've seen them in these latin costumes.

The championship levels again took my breath away, but it definitely lacked something now that the Rizers are gone (rumour has it one of them went away for school).

Other realisations:
- I do not love the Pirate as I once did.
- Though it is fun to watch Denis Tremblay (judge) sway and bop to the music, he's wanderer. Keep an eye out for him.
- There is another song for paso doble

Instead of massive cleaning up and tear down (since there's another day), volunteers were invited to the competitors' reception. This was very nice (though few sparkles were collected). I got to sit down and actually chat with Christiana, Ryan, Darren and Amanda. Turns out the gold in Standard Block B is Darren and Amanda's first (with no rule tie-breakers involved) - I know, I shouldn't feel proud necessarily, but I was very happy. Christiana told me to slap my bug bite to show it who's boss. We laughed over "upside down nanimo bars". Also caught up with other competitors: Grace (from Calgary) is pregnant (and still competing)! It's Olya's birthday!

Went home and could hardly sleep. It was a pretty spectucular day.

NLC III

"Almost anyone can become comfortable in a skirt."

~ Stuart McLean, "Sam the Athlete"

I did head home early on Friday, but not before visiting Rem & Steph's for Friday Feast. It's seems like such a long time since we were all sitting together, enjoying the food and company... away from the cold. I had to do a triple take (?) to register the changes: new artwork, the table, couch and television moved... the new spice rack... Simony showed up and talked a little about Vegas, while shuffling cardboard coasters from the Edmonton Arts Council. And when it was time for dishes we challenged each other to remember where everything went... I jump out of the kitchen brandishing part of a spatchula "Grr!"... yes, very frightening. Both Na and Chris brought computer speakers (the rest of us must have missed the memo). There was cake as promised for Jen and Reese's birthday, and eggnog (*making face*). Malcolm revealed a grand idea involving the Heritage Ampitheatre, dressing up, and dancing... and if we don't cheap out, a portable cello and grand piano... all to go over the fence :)

Spent the rest of the night getting ready for the competition. Did the little things that Pib mentioned... though not the same areas... And tried to get last minute details sorted out. Come morning, I was nervous and jittery.

Darren picked me up and we headed to the Polish Hall. He saw it the night before while helping with setup, but he didn't prepare me for all that was there. I walk inside and see: chandeliers, large windows, and spot lights! Beautiful. Great vantage point from the balcony, and awesome lighting... um... where's my camera? Dang! I forgot the camera! And I had planned to bring two - so that I could try film photography again. Argh. Oh, well, Darren was nice and lent me his for some shots.

Went downstairs to the change rooms, and was hit with a feeling of fear. De ja vu again... and this time it made me worried. Something in a dream had me in this basement (same wood panelling, same checkerboard tiled floor) and doing massive moving of chairs, and tables... Got ready despite the feelings of foreboding, and danced.

The next part, Pib described as a gong show. I would have to agree. More couples than in Calgary vying for the same amount of space. And there was all this dust. The conditions really tested the competitors' floor craft. And amid all the stopping, starting, and slipping, Darren and I didn't do our best in Standard - and didn't make the finals. It was disappointing, but it felt pretty special to have Olga (TA for our Wednesday class) shouting our number, and Clarice cheering all the way.

Break for lunch. Went to Tim Hortons with Darren, Vienna, Sylwester, Ryan, and Dexter. I drowned a bit of my sorrows in green tea and Timbits. But still didn't quite want to go back. Wanted a nap... or to go shopping with Vienna. Yes, my focus was gone. But, in my absence, after considering costume fit, height... we realised that Dexter would have to take my place and dance with Darren. Not everyone was happy with this idea, though, so I went back.

Latin portion was just as crazy. This time quarter finals, and 14 couples on the same slippery floor. Surprisingly though, Darren and I had probably our best Latin performance ever, and made the first cut. There was barely a pause before the semi-finals started. Didn't go as well this time, I got kicked and stepped on... and again didn't make the finals. We both agreed though, that it was a good run, while it lasted :) It'll be a while before we compete together again.

The day events ended, and when we returned for the night the harshness of the spotlights was intensified without the warm light from the windows. It was not flattering at all. But to compensate, the costumes and dancing were magnificent! I was a runner that night, which meant a better than front row seat... though I wasn't allowed to be so entranced by the dancing to forget my duties. The judges had a little fun with me - I guess I run like a duck?

The Champs really knew what they were doing, and I saw their secret - To avoid slipping: apply Liquid Vitamin E.

The Pirate was there, and during general dancing, I did think maybe, I could ask him for a dance... a Standard one? But I chickened out, so again, no new gossip, peoples.

D&D's show was wonderful starting off with a bunch of the guys carrying Dominic onto the stage as though he was a statue (Dance Machine to be exact) for a waltz, and ending it all with a super fun "How to Exorcise you Partner" jive to "Devil in a Blue Dress." Wow!

So the official night program came to an end. But for the volunteers, there was still the matter of clean up. Mark with the fractured rib, stuck around to move the risers ("Back go cracky, snappy.") Darren and Clarence too. Amanda and I were "fellow-fellows". She moved risers, while I mostly concentrated on collecting sparkles. And around 2 a.m. I finally get home, scrub off the makeup and sleep. Sleep. I like that.

Wobbly, Wobbly

"Oh, Lana. Have you been eating a lot of carrots?" ~ Lidia, concern regarding my "tan"

Thank you people for all the good luck wishes for Wildrose! Between Blogger outtages, getting ready for Wildrose (and now NLC), sporadic internet connection, and being lazy, I haven't had much of a chance to write. But I took notes! Here was our trip to Calgary:

Friday, 20-OCT-2006

"It might take me 6 hours to get to Calgary, but I speed through yellow lights." ~ Darren

Darren and I both took the day off. We head over to Dance Central in the morning to practice some of the last minute tips Delphine gave us at our last minute lesson. I was worried about my arms, and the "Chicken Wing" position they gravitate to. She said it very much suited my dancing... hm...

All sweaty and tired, we eventually call it quits around 1 p.m., and go pick up Ryan. He was armed with lots of treats for the trip, and his laptop for entertainment. A stop at McDonald's for the traditional "lunch of champions" and then we're on our way! For the next hour we're singing and grooving along to hits such as "I Will Follow Him". Ryan then plays 2gether's U + Me = Us. Darren and I sat stunned for a moment, and then burst into hysterical laughter. Who'd of thought "calculus" would be worked into a "love" song?

The sun broke through the clouds when we reach Red Deer, and the city looks beautiful. We didn't just skim past Gasoline Alley, we drove through, and made a stop at Ryan's home. We met the infamous Putter, Cuddles, and Pinta - adorable cats that almost immediately set off my allergies. I played with them anyway, while Ryan showed off some of his mom's nature photographs.

We make it to Calgary and the Sheraton Cavalier around 6:30 p.m. Start unpacking, and I check my messages. Jeff had been phoning and text messaging to figure out where we were. He comes to pick me up. It was a tight schedule - the only time we both were available to go and visit Uncle Raymond and Auntie Grace.

Uncle Raymond is not doing well. He's moved from an upstairs room to one on the mainfloor. He's even thinner than before. I sat next to his bed, and we talked. About nothing really. It was tough seeing him like this. I was mostly quiet... but then he made me laugh. He said he's been watching out for us - he gave his collection of coins and stamps to my sister, just so she'll have something to do rather than calling us up all the time, and trying to interfere with our lives. He also told me he had no regrets, and was actually thinking how lucky it was that he got to do all the things he's done. And told me to remember to do the things I love while I can. He was getting tired, and told me to go and talk to his daughters (from Toronto and Hong Kong). His way of saying that life goes on? We ate apple-pie and watched "What Not to Wear" with Auntie Grace, as her daughter Amy worked on transforming vintage scarves into brooches. They were smiling, and laughing. And accepting.

Jeff took me back to the hotel after picking up Jack. They were up to some "night on the town" activities. Jack still bugged me with some crazy math in his head, he concluded that we took 6 hours to get to Calgary. And thus again, complained about how slow my friends drive. Yeesh!

Seemed that Darren and Ryan didn't have a light night either. I got back to the hotel room finding they were talking about "Ultimate" and "Perceived" realities, and 9/11. I took a shower as they continued talking. I concluded as the "Speakman" showerhead made awful squealing noises, that it did not like me. Then onward to sleep!


Saturday, 21-OCT-2006

"He's got a name in his click!" ~ Darren

I remember dreaming about another city, with another dance competition. Rem and Steph were there. I awake from loud exploding noises, I amble to look out the window, I see an airplane had crashed in nearby. Sudden flurry of action as everyone started to evacuate the hotel. It was daylight, and definitely not Calgary.

Wake up for real this time from cell phone alarms, set the night before by Darren and Ryan. One was a march, followed by something else, and something else after that. We were all awake, but no one wanted to get up. I snuggled deeper into the sofa bed, and I told them to go first. Smack! I was dive bombed by Ryan's teddy!

Eventually they get ready, and I start my monopolization of the washroom for hair and makeup. Delphine had done this for me the other times. This time I was on my own. Almost break a mirror in my acrobatics with the hairgel bottle. And everything seemed lopsided... and the makeup... arg. But when we got to the Polish Hall, Delphine said I looked good. Thankyou, thankyou!

The next part of the day was all about dancing. And waiting... and then more dancing. Heard "Banana Phone" song done as a quickstep... finally I understand what Steph & Rem have been singing! Jeff showed up with a friend to take pictures. His first look at me: Does your mom know you dress like this?! *laugh* And then instructions: Uncle Raymond expects a gold. But Darren and I didn't make the finals in either Standard or Latin. I got to take my fake eyelashes out before heading out to dinner - Bliss! And afterwards sat down to watch team Edmonton take most, if not all the syllabus categories. Ryan and Mel did awesome, winning their Latin category, and placing third in Standard.

At some point I talk to the Pirate! And watch a dazzling / inspiring professional show by Andre & Natalie Paramonov (Latin), and Alexandre Chalkevitch & Larissa Kerbel (Standard). My eyes wanted to pop out when Paramonov steps onto the floor with this "Exsistenz" / organic like dress, which had crocheted dangles, and before you know it she was back on stage again, this time in a diamond fishnet dress. Wow! But I was most estatic when Chalkevitch & Kerbel ended the show with a fusion of tango, waltz, I think there was some QS as well, to a piece by Gotan Project!

We head back to the hotel. But the night wasn't over yet! First to shower and get rid of all the make up (Ryan: Good, you look human now.) And then to watch Russell Peters. I now understand! After many treats, past 2 in the morning now, we head to bed.

I ask: Did you guys brush your teeth?
Silence.


Sunday, 22-OCT-2006

"Aren't we cool?" ~ Darren as Russell.

Sleep-in but still feel... ugh. But still all manage to pack up and get ready to go. The guys indulge me by posing for pictures. And lots at that. After lunch with Darren's friends, we head back. Stop in Red Deer again, but this time to visit Glenn's - the big pink teapot. We try some "Jazzy" Rooibos tea. We take some trick photos. But the main goal: to write some postcards and use the stamps I bought in Edmonton especially for the occassion. Oh, they probably sell stamps in Calgary, but I wasn't taking any chances... The answer to "Are there post boxes in Red Deer?" is yes. And despite knowing they are involved, and looking hard for them, there were no pixies, elves, or gnomes around. They're sneaky.

I fall asleep in the car for the rest of the way. Darren takes me home first, and I pop in a country CD as I leave. World back to normal... or is it?

Love from Calgary

"It's the good girls who keep diaries; the bad girls never have the time."
~ Tallulah Bankhead

When I went to Calgary for the Alberta Winter Classic, I made notes *blush*. Atleast have some reminders for what happened on the weekend :P Here's the long awaited play by play of the trip in various styles and non-styles:

Friday, 03-MAR-2006

Darren comes to pick me up at the allotted time... and I'm late again. After spending most of the night worrying and not being able to pack properly, I wake up early and continue the whole packing regime. All the while mom tries to hide bags of fresh fruit in my luggage.

We finally make it off to meet up with Christiana. She shows us the goods: home-baked Bailey's trail mix cookies! We head to her house to pick up her bags and then it was to meet up with the rest of our caravan. We share the lunch of champions:

Christiana confesses to a not-so-nutritous past (is a hamburger a day considered an addiction?) Final preparations with collaborating the walkie-talkies, and topping off the washer-fluid... And then we're off!

First leg of the trip we see a sign for Ponoka. Did everyone know that there was a psychiatric hospital there? We considered stopping for a visit, and maybe visiting the even bigger attraction: Tim Hortons! There was little chance of Lana ever using her bikini in Alberta (no tropical beaches) - but Ma-Me-O Beach was just around the corner - would that suffice? Christiana and Dexter deftly use the walkie-talkies. I was a slow learner: Press the button, pause, and then speak - who knew it was so complicated? :P Nova Scotia and Quebec license plates, flat snow covered fields, cows, horses, and then... ZOOM! D&D in their silver car pass by our cars (pausing of course to give us a wave). From then on they were code-named "Speeding Ticket". And it didn't seem to make too big of a difference - we all ended up meeting at Tim Hortons in Red Deer.

Armed with coffees and doughnuts we headed out again. On this next leg we passed two trucks transporting cows. The radio crackled: "Say moo!" And of course we all looked the window and made mooing noises at the cows. The truckers seemed highly amused, and smiled and waved as we passed by. Hm... were we and truckers on the same frequency? All this talk of cows must have influenced Dexter's thinking, because before long he was wondering outloud how much it would cost to buy a cow... and how great it would be to have fresh milk everyday... and what if we could genetically engineer a cow to not feel pain... then we wouldn't need to kill our cows and just slice steaks straight off, and let the cow regenerate... um... *pause* And a cow would also mean fresh milk everyday... Admittedly the car was filled with laughter. There were some good ideas there, and maybe some not so good ones. So the rest of us proceeded to be the wet blanket and dampened those ideas in Dexter's head. After deciding that we shouldn't pick up the hitchhiker, we reached Calgary!

Ah, the lovely Mariott, where the bellhops were cute (Christiana and I really need some help with the whole "tipping" thing) and bottled water was expensive.

We headed down to Milestones for dinner that night. And Dexter and I made off with a small farm of plastic animals (the drink favour variety).

After exploring a bit of the +15 pedway system, we decided to call it a night and go back to prepare for the competition.

*laugh* It's tough sharing a room with 3 other people. Christiana warned me early on that she kicks in her sleep... hm... that's not encouraging.


Saturday, 04-MAR-2006

A night of tossing and turning, waking up intermittedly to snoring, overheating, and general anxiety (but no kicking!)... the alarm rings. Christiana and I woke up extra early to start hair and makeup. Extra, extra early. (Thanks Christiana for going with me). Being semi-awake and highstrung, the two of us headed out to terriorize our teammates and meet up with Delphine for my appointment (the boys were just waking up).

After makeup and changing into costumes, and picking up the boys... it felt like a whole day already, but it wasn't even 9 a.m.! We made a stop at Starbucks (Christiana's coffee place of choice and right downstairs), and went to register and pick up our numbers.

The rest of the day was blurry. There were quarter finals for the Adult Standard Newcomer category - which was nearly unheard of. This meant Darren and I were dancing a lot more than what we anticipated, and we to the marshalling area again and again for our other dances.

It was an amazing experience. And I can see how someone could easily get addicted to the blaze of flashbulbs as in old Hollywood movies, the cheering, the excitement. And eventhough were competitors on the floor, it didn't matter - we were at first friends. We relied on each other as a team. You had to - With those fake nails, some of us couldn't even eat withough help! In the end, Team Edmonton made a grand sweep of the medals.

Tension all gone - headed back to the hotel room for a much needed shower - gel (and helmet head) be gone!

The whole team then headed out to Earl's for dinner before heading back to watch the pre-champ competition. Great, fun dancing, with just enough social dancing in the middle to keep things in perspective. I even got to salsa with Dominic! (Yes there were pictures for this, but better not shown). And I had my heart stolen away by the "Pirate" from the Calgary team :)

Now nearing midnight, we still weren't ready to rest. D&D bought us pizza for a job well done and we hung out in Lynn & Albert's hotel room. I headed back to write postcards. And soon it was time to call it night. Rumour has it though that at 4 a.m. the hotel manager had to get the remainder of the group to quiet down.

Sunday, 05-MAR-2006

Woke up, and yes, there were many pains. We packed up and headed out for Dim Sum. The question was then - where do we put the trophies! We can't just leave them in the car :P Dexter couldn't leave without sampling more of the fun fare and we picked up some more goodies from the Chinese sweets / junk food store - provisions for the way back.

We finally made it back on the road and headed back to Edmonton. Most of us fell asleep exhausted. Good job for the drivers who managed to stay awake and alert when all we could think to entertain them was singing over the walkie-talkies "99 Bottles of Beer on the wall", and my personal favourite the Arrogant Worms' "Rocks and trees... and trees and rocks..."

I fell asleep part way too, and didn't wake up until reaching Edmonton. And realised that we'd be late for Formation Practice! Yikes!

Yes, we're crazy :P But it was a great kind of crazy. And a great weekend of dance. Formation practice went as well as could expected when we had over half of the team travel-weary from Calgary.

Darren can hardly wait until the next one... I think I need another nap first.

Photos from NLC 2005

For that awesome Saturday at the Nisku Inn, we also had some great friends on site taking pictures and cheering us on. Big thanks to Clarence, Amber, Dianna, Maria, and Brad. Here are some of the photos from Darren's camera (Thankyou Darren for uploading them so soon).

Left: Rong and Mel. Delphine met up with us newcomers very early in the morning (my appointment was at 6:45 a.m.) and she did us up all proper in makeup and hair. She said we're her "mini-Delphines".




Right: Christiana and Dexter in their first competition together. They're looking good and they made the Standard Newcomer finals - with only 6 hours of practicing together!


Left: Slyvester, Vienna, Lynn and Albert take a break during the social dance portion.



Right: Dominic and Nigel

D&D did marathon dancing that day. Their students (Jeff and Marie) competed against each other in the ProAm categories. They each did over 62 dances - and didn't even break a sweat!

Left (photo that I can't seem to post): MelMel and David, Lana and Darren, Amanda and Brian - Adult Newcomer Latin - TA Lockout

Brian had predicted that the TA's would take the Newcomer Latin category... so the deck was a bit stacked (there were only 2 non-TA couples with us), but we were still happy with the results.

It's over?

Darren probably described it best - now that the last Jive has been danced and the whole floor pulled apart... it's over. The Northern Lights Classic that was our first big competition - is part of the past. I think I'm suffering from what people feel after the Christmas and New Year's rush. The January blues, but in November... doesn't help that it started snowing yesterday too. But there is some good news from this. Darren and I did well :) We placed 3rd in Newcomer Standard (Waltz), 2nd in Newcomer Latin (Cha-Cha), and made it into the finals for Bronze Standard. There must have been some cosmic forces supporting us - we were couple 42! I hope to have pictures soon (and you can play "Find the mini-Delphines"). Thank you so much all of you who wished us luck and cheered us on. And as Jim Jenkins said - we've caught the bug. We want to do another one, and soon.

But before that my body definitely needs some time to recover from all of last week. I fell asleep at today's meeting / training... Ryan did too :P Lorena was nice enough to say "Must have been the projector fan bothering your eyes." And D says the most exciting part of the whole thing was watching the two of us doze off :P I hope I wasn't twitching *blush* Really, what I need is more sleep and less thinking.

The office feels so empty now. C went on maternity leave, and there was as tearful goodbye on Friday. Lorena the sweetheart got us all gifts as "the beginning of the end" kind of idea... I'm now the puzzled owner of a beanie baby (I still don't understand the craze, but he is sort of cute). C promised she'd tell us the truth about labour when she comes back to visit. I'm not sure if I'd be able to handle it...

For Steph, Chris, and Char - Thank you guys so much for your resounding support of me not growing up :P I am feeling better this week. So, what's next? (Aside from guilt-free eating of Hallowe'en chocolate?)

I'm looking forward to dancing tonight. And then going bed. Bug was trying to tempt me with clean sheets. And my sister was tempting me with a trip to Beijing. I know they're both teasing... but they both sound very delicious... probably means it's time to change my sheets.