Just a quick update from me, as I need to get to bed. I compete at Desert Classic on Thursday, but I have to work tomorrow and that means a 5am wake-up call! I still wanted to drop in and say hello.
The big question I assume you have is “am I ready?”
I have about 10 minutes before my lesson starts. I got to the studio really early, so I’ve already done my stretching, drills and a little choreo review. I thought I would take a brief break to check in with you guys. I know it’s been over a week since I last posted, but I have been thinking about you!
I know it’s been longer than usual since I last posted. Searching for a place to live has been stressing me out of my gourd, which has left me with some major writer’s block. Some other things have been adding to the stress level too, and with Teacher out of town last week, I didn’t have any dance lessons to provide relief. So when this inkling of an idea pushed its way to the front of my mind, I jumped on it. The block has been alerted to its presence though, so hopefully it survives long enough for me to create something worth reading. (I have this image of this dark shadow slowly creeping toward the tiny glowing creature that is my inspiration inkling.)
When I first spoke with Nicholas Barkley and Elizabeth Thomson about doing an interview for the blog, I also proposed a second set of individual interviews. Their stories of how ballroom became the key to coping with their PTSD were incredible and deserved their own spaces, separate from their shared story of becoming an amateur couple.
Liz was kind enough to make time for me during one of her visits down to Orange County. We met at my studio after one of my dance lessons and talked for over an hour. While we sat stretched out on the floor of the teachers’ break room, Liz shared her journey, from enlisting in the Army to getting diagnosed with PTSD to finding relief in ballroom. Although she still struggles, ballroom has been Liz’s defibrillator. It brought her back to life and saved her from becoming “just another PTSD statistic.”
Hello my lovely readers!
Just a quick post tonight. I just finished up some work for the main day job. It’s been a busy week (and it’s only Wednesday!) with an extra project for the main job plus side work from the second job. That did not stop me from getting to my dance lesson tonight though.
As promised, I’m returning to share the details of my first post-Beach Bash lesson and my plans for what’s next. I would have normally had my lesson on Friday, the day after we competed (no, I wasn’t going to take the day off), but Teacher asked if I would move to Saturday so he could fit in other students’ lessons he had to cancel on Thursday. No problem, I’ve been there! So I took the opportunity on Friday to go out to a celebratory dinner instead (if I have to take a break, it may as well include delicious food!).
I’m officially a competitor again! Ballroom Beach Bash was a success and a wonderful start to what will hopefully be a long competitive season.
It’s the final countdown! My day at Beach Bash is this Thursday, only 4 days away!
I am excited! Mostly…
I had this whole thing written about my second rhythm lesson this past week, but as sometimes happens, I realized after writing it that I actually wanted to focus on something else. So I started over.
So remember the awesome new line of communication with my body I was discovering? Well, I think there’s a short.
We worked on rhythm in today’s lesson, specifically rumba and cha cha. Teacher wanted me to focus on foot pressure and core. I did…ok.
The Girl with the Tree Tattoo 