Been a few days since my last entry, but things have been pretty busy around here. Me and the boys are getting set to move into our new place, a sweet house over in Falcon Heights. Best thing about it: we all get our own bedrooms! Finally! I think if I had to listen to Andrew and Kristen cackle at the top of their lungs at 1 AM one more time I would have taken them both down with throwing knives the following morning. The place also has an awesome yard, kitchen, and main rooms, but the bedrooms are definately the high point. Me, I'll be livin it up in the master bedroom (which has its own bathroom). Go ahead, feel the jealousy :).
The dance season has officially come to a close and Fusion's spring performance (aka: recital) is looming large. Overall it was a very successful year and our kids made some great improvements as dancers. It's always such a joy working with them, but the commute to Red Wing is such a killer that it makes the job hard. Last night, Kev, Andrew, and Rory came down to the studio and helped me teach which was awesome. It's always fun when they come down because it adds a novelty to the experience that is hard to match and because the guys are hilarious around the kids. Definate high point of the evening had to be watching Rory do sit-ups with Andrew; Rory, the military machine just pounding the reps out and screaming at Andrew to do the same. Hilarious.
Megs has been having a great time in Venezuela so far and everybody should check out her blog that she is keeping (there's a link to it in my links section). Additionally, it looks like Ta is having a great time in Denmark, and is doing a real good job documenting it so far (again, there's a link to his blog in my links section). The two travelers, off exploring new locales and cultures. Anyway, I miss you both deeply and hope you are having fantastic experiences abroad. Take care everybody.
Friday, May 27, 2005
Friday, May 20, 2005
Driving thoughts
Alright, I'm fully into missing Megan. It just kinda hit me on my way home from work tonight as I was screaming "Running On Empty" into my windshield. You see, Megs and Jackson are the two people that I really tell it all to, and Mr. Browne never has much to say back. I guess I just miss calling her on my way home from work and listening to her struggle to stay awake and talk to me, even though she's tired and probably hasn't slept more than 3 hours a night for the past 4 nights. I miss ending over 50% of my phone conversations with an enthusiastic "Buh Bye!!!" Most of all I miss coming home from a long night at the studio and snuggling up against her and smelling the intoxicating scents of her hair as they waft through my dreams, giving me a primal feeling of rightness and goodness, something that just can't be duplicated. Miss ya Megs.
On a different note, there can't be an artist that has written more honest, meaningful, and true songs than Jackson Browne. I mean, Running on Empty has got to be one of the most poetic songs I've ever heard, capturing perfectly the feelings of a young man in transition. I could go on about others, but whats the point. They're all amazing. Guess I'm writing about this cause listening to his music always makes me feel good in a sad kind of way, which is undoubtedly how I feel about Megs right now. I'm glad that she's out adventuring and I have every faith that she is having a fabulous time, but it's sad to be away from my best friend. It's sappy, I know, but it's the truth and there's no avoiding it.
On a different note, there can't be an artist that has written more honest, meaningful, and true songs than Jackson Browne. I mean, Running on Empty has got to be one of the most poetic songs I've ever heard, capturing perfectly the feelings of a young man in transition. I could go on about others, but whats the point. They're all amazing. Guess I'm writing about this cause listening to his music always makes me feel good in a sad kind of way, which is undoubtedly how I feel about Megs right now. I'm glad that she's out adventuring and I have every faith that she is having a fabulous time, but it's sad to be away from my best friend. It's sappy, I know, but it's the truth and there's no avoiding it.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Rain and stuff
How does my room get so messy so fast? It's crazy. I'm normally a clean guy, I keep things picked up and put away. Then all of a sudden, I wake up one morning and realize that my desk, both above and below it, is completely covered in junk. Furthermore, I have no place to put said junk, which makes it difficult to alleviate the situation. Argh, more cleanup I guess.
Been three days since I dropped Megs off at the airport and I already miss the little trouble maker. I've gotten 2 phone messages from her so far, and it seems that she made it to Meridia just fine and is making lots of new friends. Of course, this is exactly what I expect; I mean who wouldn't want to be friends with a cute, charming girl like Megs?
Been raining here non-stop over the past 3-4 days. I know I know, the flowers need it, its good for the crops, yadda yadda yadda. Bottom line: those greedy flowers don't need this much rain, and damnit, I need some sun. Makes for some nice sleeping though; the soft patter of descending moisture, sprinkling soft sustenance onto the earth and washing away worries with a wet wand. Alright, enough of this bumbling entry, I got stuff to do.
Been three days since I dropped Megs off at the airport and I already miss the little trouble maker. I've gotten 2 phone messages from her so far, and it seems that she made it to Meridia just fine and is making lots of new friends. Of course, this is exactly what I expect; I mean who wouldn't want to be friends with a cute, charming girl like Megs?
Been raining here non-stop over the past 3-4 days. I know I know, the flowers need it, its good for the crops, yadda yadda yadda. Bottom line: those greedy flowers don't need this much rain, and damnit, I need some sun. Makes for some nice sleeping though; the soft patter of descending moisture, sprinkling soft sustenance onto the earth and washing away worries with a wet wand. Alright, enough of this bumbling entry, I got stuff to do.
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Bye bye baby!
This morning I dropped Megan off at the airport for her six week adventure in Venezuela. Six weeks without her sure will take some getting used to, considering she is my best friend and my closest confidant. Yeah, it may be a little rough not having her around, but I'll survive. Hopefully.
Anyway, before she left, Megs was pretty anxious about the whole thing, worried about coming back, being safe, liking her host family, and meeting friends. Seems to me that all of this is perfectly normal stuff to be worried about, especially the night before you leave. That's because, after you step through the terminal, the choices basically stop and you get into autopilot mode. Flight attendents tell you where to sit and when to get off the plane, hotel clerks tell you where to sleep, school directors and representatives tell you what classes to take at what time and in what rooms, etc. etc. But the night before...the night before is the time you question whether any of it will be worth it, if everything will be ok, if everyone will still love you when you get back...its endless. It's a maddening experience, but in many ways, it's a good experience. It isn't often that we thoroughly question what we are doing and why, what our motives are, and what all the possible outcomes could be. Undoubtedly, that seems like a good thing, questioning who and what you are and what you want or why you do what you do.
Maybe the real revelation in this though is that such questioning can't be done all the time because it is simply too stressful to put up with consistently. Kinda puts a big hole in the whole "live life to the fullest" and "question everything all the time" decrees that are so often uttered by individuals that haven't even got a clue what life is, much less a plan on how to fully enjoy it. Seems like living that way would get really stressful and confusing really fast. Is that why im always so stressed and confused? :) Anyway, at the end of all this, all I want to say is that this morning I had to drop off my lovely girl at the airport and that I'm going to miss hanging out with her for the next six weeks. Adios.
Anyway, before she left, Megs was pretty anxious about the whole thing, worried about coming back, being safe, liking her host family, and meeting friends. Seems to me that all of this is perfectly normal stuff to be worried about, especially the night before you leave. That's because, after you step through the terminal, the choices basically stop and you get into autopilot mode. Flight attendents tell you where to sit and when to get off the plane, hotel clerks tell you where to sleep, school directors and representatives tell you what classes to take at what time and in what rooms, etc. etc. But the night before...the night before is the time you question whether any of it will be worth it, if everything will be ok, if everyone will still love you when you get back...its endless. It's a maddening experience, but in many ways, it's a good experience. It isn't often that we thoroughly question what we are doing and why, what our motives are, and what all the possible outcomes could be. Undoubtedly, that seems like a good thing, questioning who and what you are and what you want or why you do what you do.
Maybe the real revelation in this though is that such questioning can't be done all the time because it is simply too stressful to put up with consistently. Kinda puts a big hole in the whole "live life to the fullest" and "question everything all the time" decrees that are so often uttered by individuals that haven't even got a clue what life is, much less a plan on how to fully enjoy it. Seems like living that way would get really stressful and confusing really fast. Is that why im always so stressed and confused? :) Anyway, at the end of all this, all I want to say is that this morning I had to drop off my lovely girl at the airport and that I'm going to miss hanging out with her for the next six weeks. Adios.
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Excitement and Exhaustion: A weekend at a dance competition
Dance competitions. Alternatively referred to as 'Soul Stealers', 'Day Destroyers', 'Daylight Obliterators', and 'The Edge' (of human sanity). There are very few things crazier than dance competitions. An entire weekend of mothers obsessing about their spoiled, snobby daughters, dressing them up in various stripper outfits, and joyously celebrating when all this nonsense is rewarded with a piece of plastic made for eight sixty-thirds of a cent in some factory in Taiwan. Kinda hard to understand in some ways; completely natural in others. Amidst this debachery and buffoonery, there are moments of genuine artistry; moments of tenderness. Kinda makes it all worthwhile, those moments.
This weekend was the first time I had seen a number that actually revolted me, no small task considering some of the routines I've seen over the years. The number was the 2005 rendition of 'International Playboys,' Larkin's annual guys number that wows audiences and judges alike and usually leaves with a top award. This years number featured boys from the ages of 6 to 17 wearing Chippendale inspired bowties, white tuxedo jackets, and tight black pants. During the routine, all boys girated, stripped, and wriggled in and out of their coats provacatively, ending up in a large group of half naked boys posed for the audiences delight. The show alternatively drew cheers from the boys' parents and disgruntled wives glad to see some fine flexing and headshaking, muttering, and raised eyebrows from a much larger segment of the audience that found the routine to be simply too much. Call me old fashioned and prudish, but I find it hard to accept the sight of a 6 year old child performing what amounts to a strip-tease on stage to the drooling cheers of parents with no thought other than that plastic first place trophy on their mind. What's next? Is next years edition going to feature an interactive feature where the audience gets to place play money in these boys' g-strings? How about some naked mud wrestling, or a little bondage? Why is Michelle Larkin choreographing this garbage? What is her obsession with naked 8 & 9 year old boys? Hard to understand. Seems to me that an event designed to provide child performers a venue to show their skills should feature just that, children performing. Again, I'm all for artistry and pushing the envelope, but watching a 7 year old child strip provactively to a tight pair of pants is not artistry, it is perversion. Please parents, make it stop.
This weekend was the first time I had seen a number that actually revolted me, no small task considering some of the routines I've seen over the years. The number was the 2005 rendition of 'International Playboys,' Larkin's annual guys number that wows audiences and judges alike and usually leaves with a top award. This years number featured boys from the ages of 6 to 17 wearing Chippendale inspired bowties, white tuxedo jackets, and tight black pants. During the routine, all boys girated, stripped, and wriggled in and out of their coats provacatively, ending up in a large group of half naked boys posed for the audiences delight. The show alternatively drew cheers from the boys' parents and disgruntled wives glad to see some fine flexing and headshaking, muttering, and raised eyebrows from a much larger segment of the audience that found the routine to be simply too much. Call me old fashioned and prudish, but I find it hard to accept the sight of a 6 year old child performing what amounts to a strip-tease on stage to the drooling cheers of parents with no thought other than that plastic first place trophy on their mind. What's next? Is next years edition going to feature an interactive feature where the audience gets to place play money in these boys' g-strings? How about some naked mud wrestling, or a little bondage? Why is Michelle Larkin choreographing this garbage? What is her obsession with naked 8 & 9 year old boys? Hard to understand. Seems to me that an event designed to provide child performers a venue to show their skills should feature just that, children performing. Again, I'm all for artistry and pushing the envelope, but watching a 7 year old child strip provactively to a tight pair of pants is not artistry, it is perversion. Please parents, make it stop.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Brrrr...
Wow, today was COLD! And not in that kind of "Oh gee, isn't it a chilly spring day?" kind of way where you can still find pockets of sun that provide those tickles of warmth but in the "Someone is attempting to exterminate all life in Minnesota again" kind of way. We have wayyyyy to many of those extermination days for my taste. I always feel sorry for those flowers, trees, birds, and bees that have had the gutts to peak their little noses out only to be slammed down hard for their unparalleled courage. Seems kinda like a natural course of events though, those who are willing to take a chance are often punished for it. Flowers or humans, winter or society. Pick your party and your poison, the net results are the same.
On to cheerier things! Got to go to applebees and eat chicken fajita rollups. Is there anybody out there that does't love these little rolls of joy? If there are I have yet to meet them. Alright, Megs is kickin me off the lappy in a desperate play for some sleep, so this is the end of entry 1. Ciao.
On to cheerier things! Got to go to applebees and eat chicken fajita rollups. Is there anybody out there that does't love these little rolls of joy? If there are I have yet to meet them. Alright, Megs is kickin me off the lappy in a desperate play for some sleep, so this is the end of entry 1. Ciao.
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