Michigan Classic - This dream is only getting better

Well we just got back from the Michigan Classic Swing Event in Detroit and I must say, it was the best event I have been to so far. It was probably the smallest event I have been to, as far as the number of people attending, but it was by far the most fun I have had at an event. There was lots of room on the dance floor to dance, there were plenty of very good dancers there to dance with and, man, were they friendly. I met some awesome people over the 3 days. But the highlight of the weekend was meeting Jill Demarco. What an amazing lady!!! She is one of the top pros in the West Coast Swing World and definitely one of the nicest. I had asked her to dance the week before at Liberty in New Jersey (I actually asked her twice - don't know where that nerve came from *L*) and when I got to Michigan, I walked into her Workshop and she actually remembered me, gave me a wonderful greeting and a hug. That alone would have made my weekend but it gets even better. I love doing the Pro-Am events but since my Pro partner Shelley was not there, I asked Jill if she would do the Pro-Am with me and she said she would if she didn't have to judge (it ended up being a YES!!!!!) Ok, need to pinch myself, check to make sure I do not have red slippers on that have landed me somewhere outside Kansas, and rewind her answer in my head. It even gets better from there. Normally when you go to these events, someone at my level of dance would be very lucky to get one dance with one of the pros at the event, well I got to dance with Jill, I don't know how many times but it was absolute heaven. I am getting to meet all these wonderful people in a world I am so fascinated with, it's just unbelievable. It still gets even better. Jill is such a warm and caring person, she even took some time so we could talk and get to know each other a bit and for that I will forever be grateful. Jill, I know you will never read this but I have to tell you, you are one absolutely wonderful person and if I were single, 20 years younger, 30 pounds lighter and ten times the dancer, I'd be done knocking on your door *LOL* I so hope I get to dance with you again, it was such a pleasure, you are such a wonderful dancer but an even better person.

Have a wonderful day

Larry

Pet Peeves (aka Things that piss you off)

Hey everyone:

I was driving home the other day and was cut-off by this vehicle that had one of those yellow stick-on plaques in the back window that said "Baby on Board". I was a little pissed about being cut-off but more pissed that it was done by someone who expects us to be aware of them. So this got me thinking about all the little annoying things that people do that make me shake my head in wonderment. Me thinks we call them Pet Peeves - You guys have any of those? - your lying if you say you don't *L*. So here is the lengthy list of my Pet Peeves *L*:

- People who are always negative
- Service People that do not smile
- People who interrupt you and direct the conversation to themselves
- Drivers who do not signal or just signal as they are making the turn
- People who don't look at you when they are talking, or you are talking to them.
- When someone with a full cart of groceries gets into the 10 items or less line
- Fingernails on a blackboard
- Larger Ladies who insist on wearing spandex and a halter top
- People who go into places like MacDonalds order 2 Big Macs and a Diet Coke
- When there are no hot dog buns left and you have to eat your hot dog on a folded piece of bread
- Pee anywhere other than in a toilet
- Grocery shopping carts with a bad wheel
- People who stop right in front of you when your walking through town
- Hotel Pillows
- People trying to enter an elevator when people In the elevator haven't left yet
- Free offer that always have a catch
- Airlines - to many to mention individually *L*

If these are all the things that I have to complain about, I guess life is pretty good. Now I know there are many more pet peeves I have so I will have to start making a list and do this again

Larry

On the Road Again - Final Thoughts

This was the first time I have had the pleasure of going to such a large event as MadJam and I must say I had a fantastic time. The company I had for the weekend was incredible, the people I met was fantastic and I got to dance with my favourite pro Angie Cameron. Now saying all that, I do not think I would go back again. With all the great things to be said, I still found it very impersonal. There were way to many things going on at the same time, there were way too many people dancing during the social dancing and it was hard to find a place to dance and new people to dance with. I think I really prefer to go to smaller events like SwinginNiagara.

Have a wonderful day

Larry

On the Road Again - Day 2 - The Comps

Hey there, back again:

One of the neat things they have at the dance events I go to are the competitions. They give you a chance to compete against other dancers at you level. They have, what they call, Jack n Jill competitions in which you enter on your own and they pair you with different dancers on a song to song basis (you are being judged as an individual for the preliminary rounds and then as a couple in the finals). There are different divisions so you are only competing against people that are close to your caliber. They also have Strictly competitions where you enter with a partner and your judged as a couple. The other one that is of interest to me is the Pro-am where you enter with a professional, usually your Instructor. At this competition I entered all 3 and had a great time. I enter the Jack n Jill and thought I danced great, but it wasn't good enough to make finals. I entered the Strictly with my wonderful new partner but were unable to make the finals even though I thought we danced great. I also enter the Pro-Am with my instructor Shelley and we placed second which was awesome. I do not enter these competitions to win, I enter the Jack n Jills to meet new people, the strictly so I can dance with my incredible partner Marianne and the Pro-Ams because I love to dance with Shelley and Julie. If I, or we, make the finals that is a bonus. This was the first week I was able to compete with Marianne and it was a fantastic experience and a wonderful time. I am really hoping that we can dance together for a long time, she is a wonderful dancer (and getting better everyday) and an absolute joy to be around.

Well enough boredom for now, be back later

Larry

On The Road Again - Day 2 - Meeting the ONE!!

Good Afternoon:

If you have read my blogs up to now, you know how much I have fallen in love with West Coast Swing. I just can't seem to get enough of it, through practice, lessons, dances or events. I first saw the dance on You Tube after watching Benji Schwimmer winning So You Think You Can Dance. I found this video with John Lindo and Deborah Szekely and was amazed. Right then and there I fell in love and had to do it. So from that point on, I watched every video I could find on You Tube and came across this one that just blew me away. It was a WCS video of Angie Cameron and Troy Reed winning at Boogie By The Bay. Angie was amazing, so I started looking up more videos on her. I did not find that many but what I did find I absolutely love. From that point on I fell in love with Angie (from a dancing point of you *LOL*) and I knew I had to eventually meet her and maybe even get up enough nerve to dance with her (Ok picture this - this old guy learning WCS sees the gorgeous young fantastic dancer and makes it his goal in WCS to meet and dance with her - yeah right!!! *LOL*)

So where is this all leading anyway?? Ok, I am getting to that!!! Shelley S. who is one of my dance teachers happens to know Angie and Angie happens to be coming to MadJam this weekend. So Shelley was planning on telling Angie about me and how much I wanted to meet her and to dance with her. So now my nerves and anxiety are going through the roof. Here is a 57 year old (I want to think mature but many would disagree with that *L*) acting like a 14 year old groupie - How sad is that??? *L*

Well Shelley did talk to Angie and she said she would love to meet me and have a dance with me. Ok pressure is mounting here - Do I run and find a corner to hide in and miss the opportunity I have hoping to get for over a year, or start acting my age (well at least a little older than 14) and go up and meet her?? Well someone had already taken my corner so there was only one choice left!

So Friday evening I started looking around the dance floor and hoping she would come down to dance. Around midnight she did show up and with my heart going a mile a minute I actually went over, introduced myself and asked her to dance. And she said Yes!!!! And you know what?? It was amazing, everything I had hoped the dance would be and hopefully I did not make a fool of myself. Unfortunately,I did not get much of a chance to talk to her, would have loved to get to know here a little better, but the chance to dance with her was the best. I wanted to dance with her again that weekend, but really felt like I was imposing on her. I am hoping there will be another chance at another event, because I would love to dance with her again. She is still, by far, my favourite pro dancer.

I had 3 goals in West Coast Swing when I started:

1. Become the best dancer I could
2. Dance with Julie Epplett ( a local teacher)
3. Dance with Angie Cameron

I have accomplished 2 1/2 of those - still got a long way to go to be the best dancer I can. But I have added a 4th goal now.

4. Dancing with Angie Cameron again *LOL*

Have a wonderful day

Larry

On the Road Again - Day 2 - The Saga of the Amazing Race Shopper

Good Morning Everyone:

It is Friday, Day 2, at Madjam. I guess we got to bed around 4pm settled in around 5 and slept to around 10. One thing I find with going to these events, the adrenaline starts to flow when you arrive and keeps you going until you are ready to leave. Once the event is over, you crash and burn *L*. It usually takes me a week to recuperate, but it is worth every minute. Friday is usually the first day of an event and it does not get started to around 1 or 2pm, so I had promised Marianne that I would take her shopping in the morning to her 2 favourite U.S. stores, Marshalls and TJ MAX. Now, I have to tell you, this was an event on it's own. The girl loves to shop, shop and shop and when she is tired of shopping she would go shopping again *LOL*. To watch her shop is amazing. In her words shopping is like the Amazing Race. She will never pay full price for an item and scours the sales racks for all the great bargains. She whips through the racks at lightning speed. I am trying to see what she is looking at but my eyes and mind just do not work that fast to take it all in *L*. But I must admit, she does find some real neat stuff at a very bargain price. I think by the end of our first Safari though Marshall's, she bought about 10 items that ended up costing a total of $28. Now that is Amazing (well from a Guy's perspective anyway *LOL*). But the funny thing about all this is; I actually enjoyed the morning a lot *L*. Not sure if it was because it was my first Safari or the company I was with. I am leaning more to the latter but I am sure it was a little of both :-) Be back with more thoughts of a great weekend soon.

Have a wonderful day

Larry

One the Road Again - MadJam Day 1

Hey Everyone:

Well it has been awhile since I have written in here, not for lack of words or thoughts but for lack of time. But I just got back from dancing at an event called MadJam in Washington DC and I must say it was a fabulous 4 days spent with incredible old and new friends. This was a very much anticipated weekend for me for many reasons. It was the first time that my new dance partner (Marianne) and I would have a chance to spend 4 days dancing and competing together; it was 4 days with 4 of my most favourite people in the whole world; a chance to dance with Shelley S. in the Pro-Am; and an anticipation that I might meet and dance with my absolute favourite professional Angie Cameron.

So now on to Day 1. It had been decided we would fly out of Buffalo into Baltimore, rent a car and drive to Washington DC. Reason behind this was, we got flights on Southwest Airlines for $39 there and $59 back, so even with the renting of the car and the parking at the Buffalo airport it was still cheaper than flying out of Toronto. Now when I say we, I was travelling with 2 incredibly gorgeous ladies in Marianne and Shelley, it was like I had died and gone to heaven *L*. Marianne is my new dance partner and I am praying we can stay together for a long time as she is a fantastic dancer (especially since she only started West Coast Swing last September). She is also extremely pretty and a wonderful person. And on top of all that we think very much alike which is really neat in itself. And then there is Shelley. Shelley is one of my professional dance instructors/hoping to become good friends down the road. This lady can outright dance and on top of that is also gorgeous. She has incredible knowledge and stories of WCS and events and we picked her brain as much as we could.

OK, we had an 8:00pm flight but there actually was a flight at 5:30pm we were going to try and catch. We raced to the airport only to find, Yes, we could take the early flight - if we wanted to add an extra $85 to the flight - NOT!!!!! So the 3 of us found a neat little restaurant, had dinner, watched some dance videos and picked Shelley's brain *L*. It was a very enjoyable dinner and time went quickly but next time, I will stick the original flight and travel time *L*. The flight and the drive were quite uneventful and we arrive in Washington around 11:30 pm just in time for all the good social dancing to begin. I enjoyed a wonderful 4 hours or so of dancing mainly with Marianne(which is a treat in itself and worth the trip) and with a wonderful group of people we had not met before. The evening ended around 3:30am and off to bed for a few hours sleep before the real weekend and fun starts *L*

Be back soon with the "Saga of an Amazing Race Shopper" and the "Meeting of the dancing goddess"

Have a wonderful day

Larry

Happy New Year!!

Well a New Year has started pushing out a wonderful 2008. A lot of great things happened to me over this past year and I can honestly say there were no major (or even minor) catastrophes. As the song says "Life Don't Get Much Better Than This". Most of the good things happened around dance but not all.

Let's see:

- I took up West Coast Swing (I am so thankful to Willa for getting me started)
- I met a wonderful teacher in Julie
- I went to my first WCS event (and placed second in Newcomer JnJ with the gorgeous Shelley A.)
- I met another wonderful Shelley in March, danced with her and hated it cuz I was not ready to dance with someone at her level, and then re-met her in July and have loved dancing with her ever since
- Joined the group at DoverCourt for Tuesday night dances - have gained a new circle of friends that I cherish very much.
- Went to my first out of country WCS event called SwingNiagara. Had the time of my life and even made finals (didn't deserve to but still - how kewl is that *L*)
- I met the most wonderful person in the world (well they are to me *L*) and hopefully this person will become my dance partner for a long time - I'm working on it *L*
- Had my knee operated on Yuck!!! - But it was needed, Everything seems to be fine
now

There were many more great things but I will leave it at that. I just hope 2009 brings me as much joy and pleasure.

And to cap off the wonderful year, I am sitting in a motel room in Syracuse New York after spending a fantastic evening of dancing with my friends from Toronto and my new friends from around Western New York and writing this blog at 5 o'clock in the MORNING!! Why am I writing this at 5 in the MORNING???? Because I have a roommate that SNORES!!!!! so loudly even putting in my headphones from my Itouch and turning up the volume I can still hear him!!!! Man, I wish the ear was a switch. I was walk over and turn down the volume. *L* So as the saying goes "No Sleep for the wicked" *L*. If that is the worst thing to happen this holiday, I have been pretty lucky. The only thing I have missed on this New Years trip is my new found friend and hopeful dance partner. If she ever reads this (which I am sure she never will) know I was thinking about you

Have a wonderful holiday

Larry