An alert meerkat

Dancing geniuses

Years ago, I started taking swing dancing lessons.  I had tried to take them with the husband, but this was quickly halted because he discovered what was easily foreseen: he loathed it.  But hey, I love dancing, so I went alone.  And took classes for several months: the basic swing stuff and eventually some Lindy.  I even signed up for a private lesson, which seems weird now.  The private lesson revealed a fundamental flaw (dancing? personality?): I didn't know how to follow.  I was learning to do what the teacher said but ignoring completely what the lead was trying to get me to do.  Trying to follow was like trying to switch to writing with the other hand: a brain trial.

I eventually stopped going, because I found it so stressful and overwhelming.  Not just the trying-not-to-be-such-a-control-freak part, but the music, the jumble of people, dealing with just the sensory overload.  But.  I still love the music and sometimes think of trying it again.  I love dancing, perhaps if I just got more comfortable it would be better?  Don't know.

But I was looking on YouTube last weekend and found Dorry Segev and Sommer Gentry.  I found their dancing to be absolutely my ideal of swing dancing: smooth, playful and with the appearance of almost being lazy even though they are moving fast as lightning and doing really hard stuff.  Favorite clip here.

Although this one is also quite good.

I think they are adorable.

They also have a website, in which I found that they were also BRILLIANT.  Man.  Humbling!  Anyway, a big ole bow to the Dorry/Summer dancing pair.  You've at least got me considering dancing again.

Movie scenario implausible

Okay, you know how in movies, there is the following scene: a typically young woman has some sort of dramatic event, let's say the new swell boyfriend kisses her on the porch of her family's ranch style home (I associate this mostly with old movies, but it continues on).  So, the girl rushes (alone) into the house and closes the door behind her.  She then leans her back against the door to look dreamily off into the distance.

Now, does this happen?  I don't think this happens.  I've tried this gesture out, just to see if it was plausible.  And I maintain it isn't.  When I enter a room, I enter the room.  The impulse when entering one room is to continue on.  To close the door and lean back on it is completely unnatural.

That's what I think.

Yet another

I AM: waiting for the Tylenol PM to kick in.
I WANT: another job.
I WISH: I made things, like quilts or paintings.  I wish I could amuse myself better with something productive.
I HATE: inappropriately violent sexual insults in blog comments when discussing politics.  I'm no fucking prude, but it seems like stumbling across a sociopath when someone is over the top.  Very creepy.
I MISS: working with law enforcement.
I HEAR: the air conditioner.
I WONDER: if there are major changes ahead.
I REGRET: not getting a real degree.
I AM NOT: very good at thinking on my feet.
I DANCE: rarely, but I love it, love it, love it.
I SING: badly, terribly off-key. 
I CRY: when I am overwhelmed by my surroundings. 
I AM NOT ALWAYS: kind at work.
I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: pesto.
I WRITE: many mistakes in my e-mails at work.
I CONFUSE: being safe with being bored.  Kind of like that guy in Catch-22, but none of the dangerous-lifestyle justification.
I NEED: to continue running or I will lose my mind.
I SHOULD: go back to school, but argh, no...no!
I START: many things, finish few.
I FINISH: boxes of cookies, damn it.

Meme #4

Four things I hate:
1.  Conspiracy theories
2.  Liars
3.  The weird, gristle part of meat
4.  Magical, new-age thinking (example: 'I took it as a sign when blah blah blah') 

Four things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Buy houses around the world.   Move around them throughout the year, following the good weather.
2. Travel.
3. Buy the husband a recording studio.
4. Some kind of philanthropy.

Four things I would change if I could:
1. My tendency to give up quickly on things.
2. My tendency to complain.
3. Get rid of the heat in Austin.
4. Ditto the mosquitos in Austin.

Four songs I can't help but sing along to:
1. Bye-Bye Love, by the Everly Brothers
2. Black Water, by the Doobie Brothers
3. Crazy Love, by Poco
4. Half a World Away, by R.E.M.

Four movies I would be a different person without:
1.  Audrey Rose - it scared the shit out of me as a kid
2.  Children of a Lesser God - Loved it, even tried to be a sign language interpreter
3.  The Black Stallion - Dreamy
4.   Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Four of my Favorite Things:
1.  The Husband
2.  Walking and listening to music after going for a run
3.  Chocolate chip cookies
4.  Dorothy Sayers' mysteries

Four Reasons I Can't Stand the Idea of Being A Teenager Again:
1.  Self-loathing
2.   Self-consciousness
3.  Roller coaster emotions
4.  Inability to interact with other humans in any kind of satisfying way

Four Songs I'm Putting On Rotate Lately
1.  Fair, by Remy Zero
2.  The Long Way Home, by Norah Jones
3.  Evening on the Ground, by Iron and Wine
4.  The Man Who Loved Life, by the Jayhawks

Four Things That I Can't Drive Without
1.  Gasoline?
2. Shoes?
3. Uh.
4. My car has no sound system, but music would be nice...

Four Things That Make Me Smile
1.  The Cat being ridiculously cute
2.  www.cuteoverload.com
3.  Sheila O'Malley
4. A Dress a Day 

Four Things That I Watched and Loved
1.  Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2.  The summer Olympics
3.  The Bloodhound Gang
4.  The First 48

 Four of My Most Prominent Heritages
1.  Not staying in contact with relatives
2.  Being stand-offish
3.  Being moralistic
4.  Irish

Four Things I Routinely Lie About
1. That I enjoy working with you, ya weirdo
2. That I am not home
3.  That I was working, not reading a blog at work
4.  That I can't remember what I ate for dinner the last five days, Mom.

Four Things I Wish More People Knew About Me
1. I adore the Husband.
2. I am easily overwhelmed and need much alone-time.  But there is no need to take it personally.
3. I am more into light conversation.  Let's talk about tv, make fun of Scientology, discuss clothes or something.  I'm sick to death of heavy, self-analyzing crap.  That shit should only be discussed on occasion.
4. Don't push me.
 

All of me

Okay, this may be my favorite part of any movie.  It is hardly even part of the movie - it is shown as the credits roll - it is the end of 'All of Me' with Lily Tomlin and Steve Martin, where they are dancing to the song.  They appear to possibly not even be in character anymore, but just two friends playing around, but it fills me with joy everytime.  The silliness, the unself-consciousness, how they goof around separately then goof around together.  It is LOVE is to me, I'm sorry, but that is what it is.  I would love to have just that clip so I could watch it over and over...

My major

My degree is basically a joke, from a mail order place.  I call it the Unicorn college.  Accredited, but c'mon.  Not exactly something to hang on the wall.  But it helped me get a job, so that's what I wanted.  I'm not completely stupid, but I can't stand school.  But now I know - I should have majored in DANCE!  Or...engineering?

You scored as Dance. You should be a Dance major! Like a lithe ballerina, you dance because you believe there is beauty in expressing the physical form. Dance 67% Art 67% Engineering 67% Mathematics 58% Theater 58% Biology 50% Sociology 50% Philosophy 50% Chemistry 42% Linguistics 42% Psychology 33% English 33% Journalism 25% Anthropology 25% What is your Perfect Major? created with QuizFarm.com

What I've consumed this evening

Six tamales and a Tylenol PM.

Auntie Meme

Four jobs I've had:

1. Book repair technician for a Fine Arts Library
2. Part-time sign language interpreter
3. Dog walker at a kennel
4. Computer forensics technician

Four movies I could watch over and over:
1. The Black Stallion
2. The final dance scene in the Steve Martin/Lily Tomlin movie All of Me - sweetest scene ever.
3. Office Space
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which isn't really true, although I loved it.  We own the DVD and haven't watched it again.

Four places I've lived
1. La Porte, Texas
2. Santa Barbara, California
3. Austin, Texas
4. Austin, Texas.  I'm boring.

Four tv shows I watch
1. Forensic Files
2. The First 48
3. What Not to Wear
4. The Dog Whisperer

Four places I've vacationed
1. New York City
2. Portland, Oregon
3. Nashville, Tennessee
4. Melbourne, Australia

Four of my favorite foods
1. Chocolate-chip cookies
2. Pla duk pad ped
3. Hazelnut pesto with goat cheese
4. Mole enchiladas

Four sites I visit daily
1. Bloglines
2. Gmail
3. The Sheila Variations
4. Mr. Sun!

Four places I would rather be
1. In a new city with my husband, walking around downtown in nice weather.
2. In a swimming pool on a warm night, by myself
3. Walking after a run, listening to a fabulous song
4. Chilling with groovy girlfriends