Another year’s behind me…
Somewhat surprisingly…
it looks like there’s another one in front of me…
The celebration of said year’s passing was good. Low key picnic by the Charles then Shakespeare on the Common.
It was interesting to note who remembered my birthday (or, at least, wished me a happy birthday) and who didn’t.
Previously I mentioned that I didn’t / won’t go to a C3A dance. Since this is a public forum, I should clarify / mention that it is not Tom Rinker’s weekly C3A group. Quite to the contrary, Tom and his dancers are great. Other than the distance I need to drive, it’s the ideal place to learn. The material is challenging, but not overwhelming. Tom is an inventive and fun caller. Both he and the dancers give me a chance to fix the many mistakes that I do make. Their attitude is great. They are teaching me to smile at my own mistakes as I correct them. Everyone is friendly. I may be concentrating too hard to notice otherwise, but everyone seems to be dancing with either a smile, or a light scowl of concentration.
There are no direct spoilers in the post
itself. If you know me well enough you may intuit a small, unimportant
one.
Stayed up ’til 5:30 last night, and am about 4/5 of the way through the book.
I’ve never wanted to be Harry Potter (or any of the characters for that matter) before… now though… I wouldn’t mind being Harry.
Update: 2005-07-23: Eh… back to not wanting to be Harry Potter.
I’m angry / frustrated at myself for not going to a dance I really want to go to.
I am cowed by the possibility of a repeat of other dances where dancers have been angry / snippy at me while in a square.
Basically, I’ve stuck myself into the situation where I’ll only go to a C3A dance (i.e., dances at my highest level) when I know the dancers are friendly / I know that people I’m scared of won’t be there. I’m assuming this will last until I feel more confident at C3A.
A big part of my mind snarks at me, telling me that this is not a way for me to learn, or to feel confident about anything.
Met Chris M., an old friend that I had a falling out with about 12 years ago. We did ice cream, coffee, and buskers in Harvard Square. So much / little to say about it. I guess I’m glad it’s done with.
This brings up the subject of how full, at least schedule-wise, my life is. Makes me wonder how to balance the good a use of scarce resource (time, ability to be social).
I called for Late Nite at Tech Squares yesterday. Did a tip, 10 sequences, of the A1 As Couples concept. Notable calls included:
I was a bit disappointed that we only had 3 squares as people had to leave to get sleep. Mind you, it was the first time I really called to more than one square. At first, I was sighting off only one square, which turned out to be one of the stronger ones. I had to adjust and try to watch all of them. Difficult when you’re reading off prepared sequences.
A secondary goal was to play different / interesting / atypical music. Genres included dance, techno, grunge, metal, and rock. It went much better than expected. The songs seemed to work, and the dancers actually seemed to enjoy the music… I wasn’t really expecting that. I also played the music one song per sequence, flipping to the next one during / after the promenade home. Next time if I have the time, I’ll mix it. Anyway, the play list was:
I think, on the whole, people enjoyed it. I got a bunch of constructive criticism for things to work on. Mind you, I’m prolly going to ratchet way back on calling this year, hopefully to a few more late nite concept workshops like this one. Preparation takes too much time. Besides, enough people have expressed dismay at my calling / tried to dissuade me from doing it (not bitter).
Music to remember for next time:
I’m a bit disappointed about the lack of input / suggestions for goals for next year. Seriously… y’all don’t want to me to be exactly the same next year… do you? My list can’t have covered everything… I know I have introspective blind spots.
To the one new reader I’m now aware of… I’m impressed by your subtlety.
It’s that time of year when Nick’s mind turns inwards. Some people think about resolutions around New Year’s. I think about them about this time of the summer.
For the first time in a number of years, I’m feeling aimless… I’ve always had long term goals… For some reason, this year, I don’t. I feel I’ve been in survival mode for the last little bit.
So… it’s time to brainstorm goals… I’m not going to do all of them… but here’s a list to start off with… These are things to consider. I’m not necessarily going to do all of them. In fact, I’m going to specifically not do some of them. Since this is a public blog, some things are censored. If you want full details, email me.
I’m very open to suggestions. Any feedback, anonymous or onymous, serious or snide, big or small, on pretty much any subject. Anything you want me to improve on? Anything I do that bugs you? Now’s your chance to have me fix it.
Our office has mice.
On another note, it doesn’t seem like people are hungry to make money at the current company.
Went to Baltimore this weekend to hang out with the guys and see three Red Sox vs. Orioles games. Lots of things to say… maybe I should wait ’til I’m in a better mood to write… maybe not…
Happy Canada Day.
A friend notes that:
“The highlight of my day so far: watching someone (who must be at least 60) instruct others (age 20-something) on the finer points of iChat. Ho ho ho, indeed.”
I occasionally share the same mirth at situations such as this (where someone who belongs to a stereotypically technophobic group is instructing one or more people who should again, stereotypically, be technophilic).
I think at some point, in an attempt to overcome my fear of getting old, I’ve stopped buying into these stereotypes. I’m me… and hope to be mostly this way whether I’m 20, 30, or 70. I’m assuming that I won’t change much (other than being older, slower, and hopefully wiser).
A couple of incidents in the last year or so helped me solidify my thinking.
they noted that the crowd was predominantly middle-aged. Not who you normally picture seeing that movie. Duh. Who says tastes have to change over time.
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Been looking at business plans where everyone promises that revenue will “hockey stick” n months out.
Which gave me an idea for a The Onion-style article…
Swedish Inventor Designs New Ergonomic Hockey Stick
Business analysts worldwide at a loss.
Of course, the hockey stick would have an appropriately oddly curved handle.