Gearing up for the 3rd season this week.

So I found out that Multiply will be gone before the year ends. Got pretty bummed when I found that out, as I've been using the site for almost 7 years. Almost all my blogs, and lifetimes of photos. Photos of workshops, different circles of friends, family, and yes, boyfriends, and lots of other crazy moments. Even the blog has seen me through different stages and moods.

Oh well, I don't really mind losing the blog, as most, if not all, of the entries were cross-posted on LiveJournal and Tabulas. At least I have good archives in the latter platform. But I sure do hope that Multiply will migrate our stuff elsewhere.

Quite a few sampling classes were held at Big Shift this past week. When I checked out the schedule, I noticed that there will be another ballroom teacher this season. Curious as to how he will teach, I decided to check out his sampling class this past Thursday. I gathered from Olivia that Julius is her friend's coach, so he sounded pretty good.

When I reached the 3rd floor of A Venue on the actual day, Olivia was there at CCF with her boyfriend Angelo, so we managed to chat up a storm. While we were still talking right there in the middle of the floor, the teacher arrived and said hi to Olivia, then headed inside the Big Shift office. I didn't get to meet him until class was about to start, when I was already inside the studio. Micha introduced me to Julius when she ushered him inside. He was also with his dance partner, Belinda, who assisted him during the sampling class, plus Belinda's husband (I forgot his name, though).

There were only four of us who attended the sampling class. There was Hannah, plus a couple of beginners, one of which apparently knew both Hannah and Julius. Anyway, we tackled the basic chachacha, which was pretty easy for me, so I easily managed to follow, even though my New York still looked a tad messy. We also tackled a bit of samba, which I still couldn't grasp quite well, but I didn't mind.

Got to talk to Julius and Belinda and her husband after the class. I had mentioned that I'm a student of Ian's, plus I knew his brother as well. I even mentioned that I got to watch the midyear ranking and enjoyed the whole-day experience of it. I told them that I just started taking up ballroom dancing this past summer, and knew a lot of the basics from then, and they mentioned that I already picked up some advanced moves (like when Hannah told me to do the melt). I had no idea that that was already for an advanced level. Anyway, in the class, I noticed that Julius had a more formal approach to the class, which kind of piqued my curiosity as to how he will teach.

Took Ian's sampling class the next day, Friday. He ended up arriving an hour late, so Hannah (who was supposed to attend the class as well), couldn't wait and had to leave. Considering it was just me, and Ate Helen (who arrived with Ian), plus Bernard (who initially just went to return a couple of costumes that he borrowed from Ian) in the class, Ian then tackled way advanced techniques. Combination of the high hip and Cuban motion. I swear, my upper torso hurt the entire day the next day. But I actually enjoy the fact that every class brings a new challenge. After the class, Bernard had told Ian that I had attended one of his basic jazz classes during the previous season. Alone. It was only the 2 of us using the biggest studio for a full hour, and despite the fact that it was tiring, and my entire body ached for 2 days, I had a blast stretching my body to its limits. It made me consider taking a foundation class, such as yes, jazz, or even ballet, if only I had the budget for it.

Two teachers, two different and distinct approaches to teaching ballroom. I've been so used to dancing and taking class under Ian's wing that I forgot how refreshing it is when there's something different comes along. So right now, I'm thinking of taking both Ian's and Julius' classes. That would be 3 days a week. Plus I'm still considering taking that jazz class that Howie had recommended. If I do sign up for that class, it would mean dancing 3-4 days a week. Not bad. We'll see.

Out of sheer curiosity and boredom, I even attended Alvin's contact juggling sampling class yesterday afternoon. I was the only one who did, so I got to learn a lot. My goodness, it takes months to master all those moves, but it was fun learning the butterfly, plus that illusion of moving around a suspended ball, and the palm circle. Heck, if I had budgeted my money to include other classes, I would've signed up for contact juggling this season as well. Plus, those clear acrylic balls look so pretty, hahaha.

Oh, and finally, I managed to break in my new ballroom dancing shoes. I was planning to buy them after getting my referral incentive, and Ian knew I was planning to buy new shoes. He recommended getting a pair from a supplier he knows, so I managed to buy my shoes (including heel guards) through him. After using those shoes during a couple of classes, I developed super huge multiple blisters on both feet, that I was so grateful for the season break. But after bending the shoes this way and that to stretch them, it didn't hurt as much when I used them in class this week. Considering I loathed them during the first couple of times I wore them, I love them now, hahaha.

Blog update on a crazy rainy day.

The weather's been pretty lousy, and today's the first time in a long time that I had to call in from work because my commute routes were impassable due to all the flood. It's high time I should update this baby.

Saw this post on Clyde's Facebook a couple of weeks ago:

"ang saya istalk ang satili mo kapag nakatimeline ka. mamili ka lang ng taon, maaalala mo na lahat ng nangyaro sayo. HAHAHAHA."

After seeing that, I randomly checked out my Facebook back in August 2008. It was the year when I actually started logging into Facebook sporadically, then more regularly.

Then I saw this post on July 28th of that year:

"is dreaming to be a competitive ballroom dancer."

I actually said that? Huwaw.

Intrigued, I wanted to recall why I was thinking that, so I checked out my blog posts from that year. It was the time of my 2nd year as a stage manager in the Virgin Labfest, then I acted in Tartuffe, a thesis production in CSB. There was also this post that began with how I met one of Rosa's officemates in Glorietta, who in turn had asked me how Rosa and I became friends, and how I got interested in theater. The 2nd half of that same post was a meme I had answered, sort of like a "back on this day of that year" kind of thing. It ended with a little rough forecast, and I had mentioned that I wanted to focus a little more on my other interests, and yes, I had mentioned that I wanted to take up ballroom dancing.

Interesting how fun it is to discover these trivial little things from way back when.

Speaking of way back when, I remember being super busy during this time last year. I had work in Makati during early mornings, then rehearsals for Noli Me Tangere in CCP in the evening, regardless of what the weather would be like. I felt like a boarder in my own house because I only come home to sleep for a couple of hours and shower and change clothes. I did most of my sleeping in our office lounge between work and rehearsals. This year was the complete opposite. I actually had enough time to catch the Cinemalaya festivities in CCP. This was actually the first time I managed to watch almost all of the films in the New Breed category. There were days when I'd even watch 2 or 3 films in a row. I actually enjoyed watching them by my lonesome, because I don't have to worry about getting good seats for another person or group.

During one film (I believe it was for The Animals), I distinctly remember a group of 3 or four girls who sat behind me. They were still decked out in their school uniform. Before the film began, I was actually amused while I somewhat eavesdropped on their conversation (heck, they were loud enough for everyone in the MKP to hear, anyway). They were raving about how fun it would probably be to work in CCP. Cute, I thought. But when the film began, my goodness, they still wouldn't stop talking. Sure, they would comment on the film, but it was just too loud for people to bear. I shot them looks a couple of times, and they were already shushed twice by other people, but they just wouldn't stop. Kids, mahiya naman kayo. Naka-uniform pa kayo, nakakahiya naman sa school ninyo.

Another season in Big Shift just ended. Well, technically. There are extended sessions for some of the classes for about 2 weeks. Too bad our class isn't one of them. So I really can't wait for the new season to start. I'm still considering also taking a basic jazz class, but I think I might have to wait for my next payout before I do so. Ballroom is still my priority.

My goodness, this rain is crazy. I heard that the current amount of rainfall (and still going) had already surpassed the amount of Ondoy's rainfall from 3 years ago. Stay safe, everyone!