The Greatest Gift any person could be given

Merry Christmas Everyone:

I hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday, enjoying family, friends, the spirit of the time, the parties, and drinking sensibly of course *L*.

For me this is the first Xmas that both my children have not been home and it definitely feels a little weird. I have not talked very much about my kids in these blogs as they have mostly been about dance, but they are the 2 most important and wonderful things I have in my life. I remember when they were born how scared to death I was. What kind of parent would I make? Could I raise them to be good and successful people? Could we afford to have kids? Well, 28 years later I am so happy to say all has worked out better than I could have ever imagined. Now, I honestly don't know how much I had to do with it, but that doesn't really matter as both my kids have turned out fantastic. My son Chris (28) is living in Newfoundland and loving it, I don't think he has any intention of returning to Ontario. He has just completed his Master's Degree in Bio-Technology with his specialty being Cancer Research. He has met this wonderful lady, Sarah, and with any luck she may become a daughter-in-law. My daughter Erin (26) still lives with us but is planning on buying a house soon. She is a recent graduate of Sheridan College and is on the fast track up the corporate ladder at Robert Half.

The greatest years of my life have been spent watching them grow up and turn into wonderful young adults. From the hockey, to the horseback riding to the vacations to the family get-togethers life could not have been better. I cannot express how proud I am of both of them or how lucky we have been to see how they have turned out.

For those of those who have young children, I want to pass on a little word of advice. Time flies and the kids grow up so fast, do not waste any time, make every minute count. Enjoy them like you have never enjoyed anything else in your life because before you know it, they have flown the coop to start their own lives. And if you are not sure about how to raise them, listen to Harry Chapin's song "Cats in the Cradle: and take your cues from that.

I am sure I will write a ton more about my kids in the future but for now that is enough boredom for you *L*

Again Merry Christmas and a very Happy Holiday

Larry

I kneed to get out of here

Well it has been a little over 3 weeks since I have had my knee operated on and I am going absolutely crazy. I so miss my dance and cannot wait to get back to it. I miss my friends, the music and I miss one person in particular but they shall remain nameless *L*. The doctor says I am to wait until the beginning of January but there is a special dance at Dovercourt on Dec 16 that I really want to go to. But until that time is will be video after video trying to pick up any new things I can to make me a better dancer. Not much more to add at this time. So go in peace, Live long and prosper *L*

Have a wonderful day

Larry

Ottawa - What a Blast

This past weekend I had the great pleasure of going to Ottawa with 2 wonderful ladies to a John Lindo West Coast Swing workshop. John is one of the most wonderful people in West Coast Swing. He is very approachable and gives great workshops. I really have to give props to the great people of Ottawa who put on the event. It was really well run and they are all so friendly and accomodating.
But the best thing to happen on this trip was I got to know this incredibly wonderful lady who came with us to Ottawa. It was kind of a fluke she even went as I had only met her a week or so before. During the workshops we usually rotate partners to allow us to get to know other people as well as for those that do not have a partner, they get a chance to try the things being taught. My new friend and I decided not to rotate (she being new to all this felt a little uncomfortable moving between the group)and it was the best thing to happen for that weekend. It relly gave me a chance to get to know her better. We did a lot of dancing and talking that weekend and I found out I really liked her.

I know right now I have a competitive partner but I do not have a practice partner. I wonder if this new lady would be interested in partnering up with me for both practice and competition. For someone just starting out in WCS she is a fantastic dancer. We seem to have a lot in common including our ages and I think it would be a great fit. Now all I have to do is get up enough nerve up to ask her.

Have a wonderful day

Larry

What's Important to you?

First off, If you are not into thoughtful, philosophical bullshit then you may want to stop reading right here because I am sure this blog is going to get very sappy and syrupy *LOL* and probably will be very long. I was driving home from my dance class (yeah that’s what I said – Dance class *L* - covered in a few other blogs) very content and started thinking what has been important to me in my life (told you – Canadian Maple Syrup at its best *L*) – So what is the most important thing that has moulded your life over the years? If you say money, I am going to smack you on the back of the head, if you say sex – smack!!!! – now don’t get me wrong , winning the lottery would be incredible and offer me sex and it will never be turned down *LOL* but to me those things are a great addition to my life but if I don’t have them I will survive. What keeps me going are people - people that have influenced and mentored me in my life, people who have become life long friends and companions and even people who were friends and either through distance or conflict are not friends any more, people I look up to for their achievements and would love to strife to be like and even people I loath (not many but there is a few) and of course those people that make you shake you head and wonder what planet they were rejected from.

Over my lifetime I have met some incredible people and there doesn’t seem to be a day that goes by where something happens and memories come flooding back. I may also be doing something and the memory of how I got started or who helped me in the beginning comes rushing back – always brings a smile to my face.

Not all relationships or friendships work out and in many cases the ending to these is usually very painful for all involved. As humans we have a tendency to remember these relationships or friendships by what happens in the very end, meaning most memories become bad memories. But if you think about it in most cases (not all cases) the good outweighed the bad so why not concentrate on what was good. I try very hard to put the good memories of any relationship or friendship to the forefront and definitely try not to hold a grudge or ill feelings towards anyone. Trust me, in most cases if a friendship or relationship goes tits up (*L* a saying from way back) you can be sure you are more than partially to blame so don’t try to put the onus on the other person and make you come out smelling like a rose.

For me, I think I can classify my friends into 4 categories:
1. True Blue Friends
2. People I admire and look up to and who I respect dearly who I would like to make True Blue Friends
3. Acquaintances that I have a good laugh with and maybe do things with
4. Ex Friends (Some I would love to be friends with again and the others well *L*)

I have in my life very few people that I would call true-blue friends or lovers, the ones that I would trust to the end or do anything for and know they would return it to me. These people I cherish and am so thankful I have them in my life.

Then there is the people I admire and look up to who I would like to make True Blue Friends. You may hear me use the phrase “Love them to Death” in my blogs; these are the people that I admire and look up to and respect dearly. A few have become the life long friends and the rest I would love to make that way. In a lot of cases my admiration is one way only but that’s OK. They give me something to strive for and look forward to when I do get to spend time with them.

So more than anything in my life, people have made it what it is - and that is Very Good!!!

Have a wonderful day

Age is definitely a state of mind

I got thinking the other day about age and how it is reflected on by others. I remember being in my 20's and 30's and meeting and knowing people who were in their 50's and I thought "Man they are old" and wondering what it would be like to be that old. I could not see myself being friends and hanging around with people that age. Hell, that was my parents age!! IT was like I thought life ends at 40 and you get old and put out to pasture *LOL*. Well I turned 57 a few weeks back and you know what; in my mind I do not feel any older than I did when I was in my 20's and 30's. I got the nicest compliment the other day from a young friend of mine at work who said that I "Do not act 57" *LOL*. I took that as a great compliment but still wondered, how was I suppose to act at 57?? I really believe the saying "Youth is wasted on the young" is so true. I feel so young at heart but also realize that I am getting older and the number of years left is getting less and less so I want to enjoy every minute there is, no wasted time!!! A gentleman who had just turned 100 was asked on his birthday how his life has been and he said "It was like I layed down for a nap at 6 years old and woke up at 65". Time passes you by very quickly so enjoy every waking minute you have on this earth. I also realize now that once people to become adults that age really is only a number and has no significance in one's friendship or relationship with each other. People can talk to each other on the same level no matter how old (or young) someone is as long as there is respect from both sides. I have been blessed over the past 7 months to meet an incredible group of people ranging anywhere from early 20's up to the 60's. I believe, that not one of them sees age but sees a friend for life. I know, it sounds sappy that is just the way it is.

Have a wonderful day

Larry

Friday night at Chalker's

If you have not gathered by now I am hooked on West Coast Swing and can't get enough of it. I must admit I am starting to get a little frustrated with myself as I am not progressing at the speed I would like to. The only chance I get to dance are usually on Tuesday nights and now a few times on Friday and of course I cannot forget the great lessons I have with Julie. I did have a practice partner but I am not sure where that is going. I would love to find someone to practice with a few times a week who is as passionate about the dance as I am. I have all these things I want to try when I do get to dance practice but always forget them. I need to go over and over and over these things before I get to dance practice. Ok rant and feeling bad for myself is over, I feel much better now *L*.

Anyway, onto last night. Nick (Laura's Nick - I have mentioned them in other posts) is starting to put together these gatherings at a place called Chalker's on Friday nights (Hopefully Nick this is going to become kind of a regular thing). Chalker's is kind of a neat place. It is a bar with many pool tables, a dance floor and a live band. So last night there were 8 people who show up; Nick and Laura, Giselle, Wij, Linda, Dave and Shelley and myself. We basically have the dance floor to ourselves and it was fantastic. All 7 that were there are far superior dancers to me but I love this because I get to dance with 4, not only incredible dancers but wonderful people as well. I want to try all these new things I have in my mind but not tonight - I just want to enjoy the great dancing and fantastic company.

A little story (and I regress here a bit) When I first started West Coast Swing in February, there were 2 ladies I defintely put on a pedastal when it came to WCS and that was Julie and Shelley S (and come to think of it the pedastal is still there *L*). Anyway about 2 months into my dancing I was at my first dance at the Lithuanian House and Shelley and Dave were there and I believe Dave was the DJ. I had already danced with Julie a few times but had never danced with Shelley so I got up the nerve to ask her to dance - not good!!! I was not ready to dance with Shelley. She was so far above me in her dance I could not keep up with her. I kept losing the beat and forgetting the few steps I knew and did not enjoy the dance. From that point on until about a month or so ago I would not ask Shelley to dance because I was afraid it would be the same. But I got to know her a little better at the Toronto Swing Championships and afterwards finally got up the nerve to ask her again. This time I really enjoyed the dance. I guess that really showed me I had progressed a fair bit in the dance and was defintely heading in the right direction. I danced with her many times last night and I loved every minute of it. End of story -anyone still awake!!!! *L* Like someone is ever going to read this *LOL*.


Have a wonderful day

Larry

If anyone wakes me from this fantastic dream - I am going to smack em!!! The Saturday

Ok, Saturday morning has arrived, (well later Saturday morning since I didn’t roll into bed until 4 am). It is 7:30 and I am wide awake (you know that adrenaline thing). My mind is saying let’s get up and get going but my back and feet and the rest of my body is saying “Get a grip, shut up, close the eyes and get back to sleep”. After an epic struggle, the mind wins out and up I get and off to the shower. The eyes were definitely in protest mode and decided they did not want to help me find the shower. I think the toes were a little pissed at the eyes for their lack of co-operation. A nice warm shower seemed to calm everyone down and we all started getting psyched for the day ahead which included none other than more workshops, competitions and of course more dancing until you drop *L*.
More great workshops today!!! I took 2 from Larry and Heidi Mongeau (from the Boston area I believe). They were great as we did some Intermediate patterns and leads we could use in our social dancing. They made the class fun and easy to learn. I would definitely take classes from them again. Oh yeah and Heidi is pretty hot too (sorry Larry but she is *L*). Then there was another fantastic workshop with Kyle and Sarah. I am going to try my damndest to get a private lesson with Kyle this weekend; I am such a fan of his dance style. The best workshop all weekend was with Mario Robau Jr. From what I have gathered, Mario is very much old school and likes to keep the dance within the dance (not sure if that makes sense to anyone) which is what I would like to do. His workshop was on different ways to anchor and I found it fascinating and something I could practice on my own. Great morning for workshops, now onto the competitions *L*.

The Competitions
Ok, today is a big day for competing. I have the Novice Jack and Jill, Novice Strictly Swing and Team competitions. The novice Jack n Jill is where you dance in prelims and if you are good enough you move into the semi finals and if you are in the top 10 you move into the finals. When you start you do not have a designated partner, you actually dance with 3 different partners in the prelims. You and your partner are marked as individuals for this level and for the semis. In the finals you get a single partner and you are judged as a team. You also have no idea what music is going to be played and there is an extremely good chance that you would never have danced with these partners ever before. Sound like fun *L*?? Well it is, scary but a lot of fun. My goal this weekend was to make it into the semi finals. I am very new to this dance and I am not ready for this level of competition, but what the hell *L*. Well, I had 3 great partners in the prelims and was so happy when I found out I made it into the semi finals. I had reached my goal and I was happy just to dance with 3 new partners in the semis. A few hours later they posted the results from the semi’s; I hadn’t had a chance to check the list when Julie came up and congratulated me for making the finals; thought I was being punked *LOL*. Wow, never dreamed at this size of a competition I would ever make the finals. Finals are tomorrow, so will let you know then what happened *L*. The second competition entered was Novice Strictly Swing. In this competition you chose your own partner but you have no idea of what music is being played. Well I have this incredible partner (I must have been a real good boy cause the swing gods have blessed me with an incredible partner). Her name is Shelley and this will be our second competition together (and I hope there are many many more to come). This girl is the prettiest, most wonderful, best partner anyone could ever ask for. She is a great dancer, an incredible person who is always smiling and having a great time. Do you get the feeling I love dancing with this young lady *LOL*??? Well, we did awesome!! There were a lot of couples and we placed 11th (first alternate into the finals). With a little more practice, we just might make the finals. Ok, afternoon competitions are over and it is time to practice for the team event that evening. They clear the ballroom and all the teams that are competing start running through their routines. We did ours about 3 so I think we are ready for tonight’s competition. The name of the team is Ripple Effect and there are 10 members (5 ladies and 5 guys). The routine was choreographed by Julie and it is really kind of neat. Do you remember at the beginning of this blog I mentioned the fight between the mind and the body and how the mind won with protest from the body?? Well right after our routine practice my body decided to go on strike and I started feeling very ill. I was so tired and hungry I had no clue how I was going to even perform tonight. I had decided as soon as the routine was over, I was going to sleep for a few hours. I went and got something to eat and went to my room to go over the routine (I had it on video). Once I ate, I started to feel a little better and figured I would make it though the evening. Competition hour arrived, we did the routine, everything went awesome and when the smoke cleared and the results were in WE WON!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!. That was so awesome. I was so happy for Julie and the rest of the team; they had put so much into this. Just a little side note here, as much as I love being on the team and really do love the people on the team, it would not bother me if they found someone to replace me. They are all much better dancers than me and I am just afraid I will bring them down a notch or two moving forward. I seem to have trouble picking up the choreography. I think I concentrate so hard on remembering the steps, I forget to have fun.

The Dance:
Alright!!! the fun part of the evening. Even though there was open dancing, there was still a show with all the pros getting up and doing a demo routine. It is always awesome to watch these guys and hope someday you will be able to dance half as well as they do. Ok, shows over, the main dancing starts, I get to dance with two ladies I met in Toronto, Kris and Lynda and met some other wonderful ladies especially Rachel from Rochester (beautiful big eyes and a great dancer) and yes I danced again with Jamie and as many times as I could with Livaline. Unfortunatley, Julie is a very popular lady when she hits the dance floor so my chances there were limited (no worries though, I get her all to myself for an hour during each private lesson *LOL*) And of course, a majority of dances were kept for my incredible dance partner Shelley. I just love dancing with this lady. I am so glad that Wij is not the jealous type. *L* Oh my god, look at the time 3am??? Wasn’t I supposed to go and take a nap after the team comp??? Oh well time flies when you are having fun. Ok legs, walk me up to the room and plunk me in bed, sleep time!!!

See you tomorrow

Larry

If anyone wakes me from this fantastic dream - I am going to smack em!!! The Friday

OK, Friday morning around 9, second day Swing Niagara, very little sleep (adrenalin you know) and pumped for what is to come. I meet Julie for a quick breakfast before she is off to meetings and I am off to be introduced to a floor (more on that later). Have you ever seen Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Coockoo’s Nest where he tries to order a Chicken Salad Sandwich (I believe that was what it is) – well meet Julie Nicholson wanting a Bacon and Tomato Sandwich. The restaurant in the hotel does not have B&T’s so Julie N and the waitress concoct a scheme where Julie goes to the buffet gets her bacon and toast, the waitress goes back to the kitchen and slices up a tomato and voila – Julie concocts here B&T right there at the table – just like magic (Wij – you would have been proud *LOL*) . Now that is the way to start a morning *L* - Ok, Julie is off to meetings and I am going to lay a floor. It seems that the floors used for dancing are brought in from Boston by Bill Cameron (another elite WCS dancer) and they must be laid and screwed down. There were not enough people to help do this so I volunteered. I know this sounds stupid, but I really want to know all I can about this West Coast swing phenomenon I have dove into and why not start from the ground up or in this case the floor up. Well with an almost complete Canadian crew (yep Canadians to the rescue again!!!) we took about 4 hours to lay and screw down the floor. About 3 hours in I discovered (in the words of Danny Glover – Lethal Weapon) I am getting to old for this shit and was starting to wonder what kind of shape I would be in for the rest of the weekend. Well I persevered and with back aching, shirt soaked and running out of time I bid adieu to my colleagues and up for a shower I go, just in time for 6 hours of workshops!!!!

The workshops:
This is my second event and you would have thought I would have learned from the first event that doing 6 workshops in a row was not one of the smartest thing in the world to do, well whoever said I was smart does not know me very well *LOL* (definitely not my feet or my back – I think they were pretty pissed with me). This might not mean a lot to you but how often do you get to take instruction from some of the best in the world?? I had a chance to learn from Kyle Redd and Sarah Vann Drake, Arjay Centano and Melissa Rutz, Mario Robau Jr, Parker Dearborn and Jessica Cox and many more. Granted, I do not remember everything we were taught but there were a lot of great tips and technique that came out of all the workshops and just as important, I got to meet some really neat new people who were taking the workshops with me. (One especially, her name was Erin who I only got to dance with once the rest of the weekend; she did some competitions with her boyfriend (her significant) other and did fantastic – I hope I get a chance to meet her and dance with her again). The workshops ended up being fantastic and I will put myself through the same regiment at all the events I go to.

The Competition
Workshops are over just in time for the dancing and competition. After my first event, I kind of got hooked on competing. Like everyone I would like to win, but that is not the main reason I do it. I just want to try and get better and dance with as many different people as possible and you get this by competing. This event, I had decided to compete in 4 different categories, Novice Jack n Jill, Novice Strictly Swing, Pro Am Leader and the Team Division. Well tonight was the Pro-Am Leader Division and I am really looking forward to it cuz I get to dance with Julie and that my friends is the best. Now, you get called up to the floor with your partner and there is only 8 couples dancing and there is like a thousand people watching (Ok I exaggerate a little, maybe 500 but it felt like 10,000 *L*). I was pretty nervous and don’t remember too much about it other than I had a great time, don’t think we made too many mistakes and I would do it all over again. We ended up placing 7th, but that is alright being I am just starting out and I did get up and try – So thank you Julie – it was so worth it!!!!!

The Dance
Now that all the floor laying, workshops and competitions are out of the way for the evening, it is time for the social dancing, the real fun part of the night when you get to dance with all those fantastic people that have come for the weekend. One of the really neat things about West Coast Swing people is that they all love to dance and are willing to dance with you whether you are an advanced dancer or a beginner. So it is pretty easy to go up and ask anyone to dance (even the pro’s – I got to dance with Sophy Kdep – it was great) and it is not unusual for the ladies to come and ask you to dance. If you want you could dance all night without sitting down *L*. So tonight I danced with as many ladies as I possibly could right up until I ran out of gas which was about 3:30 am. All in all the day could not have gotten any better, on top of all the great dancing; I met 2 really special people tonight. When the evening first started, there was this very pretty young lady by the name of Jamie (a professor from Texas I found out later) who asked me to dance. Now Jamie is no beginner and to dance with her was fantastic. She had this great smile and was extremely friendly and came down to my level of dance which made even more enjoyable. Man I could have danced with her all night (don’t think her significant other would have approved *L*). Anyways, I did ask her again and it was another great dance, unfortunately I stepped on her foot – oops (Jamie, I know you will probably never read this, but I am still sorry I did that). I was hoping I had not blown my opportunity to dance with her again (luckily I hadn’t – I did dance with her on Saturday and Sunday). Now the other person I met was this absolutely gorgeous young lady with beautiful red hair and big beautiful eyes. Her name was Livaline and I didn’t know but she is also living in Toronto. What a beautiful dancer she is and a wonderful person, I found out from talking with her. I probably should not admit this but I tried to catch her every time she wasn’t dancing and get her up. I had the pleasure of dancing with her a lot and I hope I get to again tomorrow and Sunday.

Well all in all, you could not have asked for a better day, I got to dance with my favourite people and met some wonderful new ones as well.

Have a great day

Larry

If anyone wakes me from this fantastic dream - I am going to smack em!!! The Thursday

Ok, it is Thursday – mid September and I have been looking forward to this weekend for about 2 months now and it has finally arrived. Oops – sorry - Of course I am talking about Swing Niagara in Buffalo. Since I started West Coast swing dancing in February I have been completely hooked – you know – “You had me from the first step” *L*. The weekend was supposed to start on Friday but with a stroke of luck and blessings from the “Gods of the Swing” I am driving down with Julie E today (I know acting 6 years old in a candy store – what can I say – GUILTY!!!!*L*). I get a chance to pick her brain on all things West Coast Swing and just to spend some time with somebody I admire very much. And man did I find out what a fantastic adventurous life she has lived (if we all could be so lucky we may have a different outlook on the world out there).

The drive down was very relaxing - for me anyways. I do not think I stopped asking questions about Swing Events, the different pros, about Julie E. and whatever else I could think of. I am pretty sure there was a lot of eyes rolling and “Doesn’t this guy ever shut-up” going on when she turned her head away but bless her heart for putting up with me. A couple of neat things happened that evening, first, after all was settled and all meetings were taken care of, we went out to dinner at a place called Olivers. We drove by this place and it was not too impressive from the outside, but once you walked inside it was gorgeous and the staff was fantastic. We had a great meal and conversation and I would recommend this place to anyone (though it is a little on the pricey side). After dinner we went back to the hotel, off to our separate rooms for a quiet relaxing evening before the big event started tomorrow. Around 10:30, just getting settled, the Fire Alarm went off – Makes sense right – Buffalo = Fires = Fire Alarms = All Leave the Hotel = Meet Arjay Centano and Melissa Rutz. Are you following the progression here??? You mean this does not happen every time you go to Buffalo for a Swing Dance?? Standing outside, Julie spots Arjay and Melissa and knowing them, I get introduced – Now that is what I call right place, right time, right connections *L*. Well, we are let back into our rooms, into bed I go and I am fast awake the rest of the night – adrenalin you know

Have a great day and talk to you soon

Larry

Circle of Friends - A Bird’s Eye View

If you have read my blogs, you know that I value people and friendship above all else in my life and over the past few months I have had the absolute pleasure of meeting and watching a circle of friends from a bird’s eye view. I only get to see this group on Tuesday evenings, at special events and the odd Friday but to watch how they interact, support and help each other would make you wish you were part of this group or had a group like this of your own. I am sure this wonderful group has many things in common, but the one thing that I see is West Coast Swing. They meet every Tuesday at DoverCourt House in Toronto and dance the night away. They go to dances all over the area including Toronto, Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Ottawa and probably a hell of a lot of places I have not heard of yet. They travel all over North America going to Swing Dance Championships and from what I see and hear, having the time of their lives. And we are not talking about 2 or 3 friends doing this; we are probably talking into the teens or more, maybe not all at once but always a core. I have not met them all as of yet but the ones I have met are all incredible people and have left a lasting impressions with me.

Their ring leader is a lady named Julie E. and you will not meet a more wonderful, caring, enthusiastic person anywhere (and she is pretty hot as well, and man can she teach – West Coast Swing that is*LOL*). To me, she is the face of West Coast Swing in Toronto and she does everything she can to get the word out about this amazing dance. She recently had a milestone birthday and decided to throw a party for herself (West Coast Swing style of course) that included workshops with the fantastic Mike Topel, as well as a talent show and dancing. You would not believe the number of people who showed up for the weekend, it was amazing, and it was not because of Mike Topel, it was the respect and love they had for Julie. She is an amazing woman who I have the utmost respect for and since I am married I will leave it at that *LOL* (oh yeah – she is amazing to dance with even though she makes me nervous as hell, cuz I don’t want to screw up *LOL*).

Now this fantastic group does not stop with her, all the people I have met are incredible. There is Laura, one of the nicest people you will ever meet. She is so supportive, laid back and has the most genuine caring smile you will ever see. She is one of my favourite people, and a favourite to dance with. Her significant other is Nick, who I do not know very well, is always extremely friendly, a great dancer and must be a really good guy – cuz, hell – Laura picked him *LOL*. Then there is Wij (the world’s greatest magician – just ask his mom *LOL*) and Shelley and I must say I love these guys to death. Wij is one of the best male West Coast Swing Dancers in Toronto, but on top of that he is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. He is extremely friendly and helpful to everyone he meets and just a great guy to be around – and Shelley, I don’t know where to start, she is amazing. Wij – you are one lucky dude my friend. She is a very pretty petite young lady who has an incredible personality and on top of that she is also a great dancer. I just love dancing with her and we just recently decided to compete together at the Toronto Open Swing Dance Championships next week. Not sure how we will do but it will be a blast finding out. And then there is Rita, my conscience on the dance floor; "Stop moving your shoulders", "you are off the beat", "that move doesn’t work", "that was great", "I enjoyed that" *LOL*. I cannot say enough about Rita, I love her to death as well. Thank you so much for getting on my case.

There are many others in the group I have met but have not gotten to know very well, but I hope that changes over the next few months especially Shelley S (soon to be a very proud mom for the first time) Linda and Christina.
To have a group of friends like this is totally amazing; you guys are the luckiest people in the world.

Have a wonderful day

West Coast Swing - Just maybe

There is a website called www.dancepartner.com that I joined last year looking for a Salsa partner. Well my focus has now changed to West Coast Swing and the other day I received an Email from this lady who is looking for a West Coast Swing Partner. I gave her a call and it turns out she has been doing West Coast Swing for a few years but there are very few male WCS dancers so she said she is willing to take on a beginner (now reading between the lines that says she is willing to take me on if I show I can pick up quick - if not dumped like a sack of potatoes *L*). We are going to meet this Sunday and have a lesson with a WCS Instructor here in town. Will let you know how it goes.

Have a wonderful day

And you thought Rocky had the only Stella

Hey, I have to tell you about this fantastic evening I had last night. There is this group, NALD (Newmarket Aurora Latin Dancing Group), they get together every second Sunday to practice Latin dancing. Well I joined this group a few weeks back and last night was my first time going. I was a little apprehensive before I got there but the minute I walked in the door I was greeted by the organizer Rob who made me feel like I had been going there for years. He introduced me to a group of people that were just coming in and then gave me a quick tour of the facility. It didn't just end there, all through the evening he would come over and just check to make sure everything was going well. And it wasn't just Rob, there was another lady kind of acting as a hostess, I believe here name was Irene (I am terrible with names so I hope I have that right). She too made sure that I was comfortable and enjoying myself. You could not ask for 2 more wonderful hosts.

Now on to the evening. I am not sure if it comes across but all in all I am a pretty shy person and not knowing what level of dance I was to the others here I was wondering how I would interact. Luckily there were 3 dance teachers at the meet and one of the instructors, Terry, started off the evening by giving a Salsa lesson. Guys lined up on one side, ladies on the other. I am thinking, wow this is great; I will get a chance to dance with a few people and should be able to break the ice.

And now the best part of the evening. I had the opportunity to dance with a few ladies as we were asked to dance a little and then move to our left and dance with someone new. On about the 4th lady, I met this very pretty petite lady (her name is Stella), beautiful smile and gorgeous figure (Hey I'm a guy - We notice things like that - so sue me *LOL*). Well I danced with her, practising what we were taught and actually trying a few more things that were not taught. She picked up really well and seemed to want to learn some more, so instead of switching we just continued dancing. I really enjoyed dancing with her and wanted to a few more times before the evening was over. Unfortunately, after the lesson was over, Stella had to go and do something and I was back to watchng the others dance. It is not that I did not want to dance with others, it was they were doing the Merengue which I have never done before so I was trying to pick up what they were doing. Well Salsa music started to play again and Stella had returned and I wanted to go over and ask her to dance again but I didn't want her to think I was trying to hit on her so I kind of just continued to watch looking for someone else to ask. I know it is pretty stupid of me to think that way and I am sure I have missed out on a few good things because I am pretty shy, but luckliy for me Stella was not and actually came over and pulled me up to tht floor. We basically ended up dancing the end part of the evening together practicing both Bachatta (which I had never done before but was easy to learn with her) and Salsa. We tried all kinds of new steps and had a ball doing it.

Now, I have to tell you, I have been dancing Ballroom and some Latin pretty consistantly for the past 7 months and before that a fair bit of Salsa and I have had many partners that I have enjoyed dancing with but I have not enjoyed dancing with anyone as much as I enjoyed dancing with Stella last night. I am thinking to myself, this is the kind of person I would love to take lessons with and practice my dance with. She was just a real joy to be with. But of course, being me I would never say anything to her of what I was thinking. Luckily again Stella is not me and asked me if I would be interested in going to a dance with her. I told her I would have to let her know. So now after such a wonderful evening I have to find a way to break the bad news to her that she is going to be stuck with me as her Tag-along, date, excort, adminsitrative assistant, Dance by numbers, Fill a chair, partner for the evening *L*. Hopefully she hasn't had a chance to sleep on asking and changed her mind; I am kind of looking forward to it.

Stella had also mentioned the possibility of getting together on Wednesday evenings at some Bar for Latin practice. I would love to do that so again, I hope she hasn't had a change of heart.

Hopefully when I get a chance to talk to her again she will give me her phone number so we can talk about the dancing.

Anyways, to make a long story just a little shorter, last night was the best time I have had dancing since I can remember, so if you can hear me Stella - Thank You!!!

Anyways, enough for now, I am sure you are thoroughly bored with the account of my evening events. Take Care and we will chat with you soon.