Of changing things up, improvements and good karma.

As I type this, I'm just chilling out in our hotel room here in Bacolod. Yep, we're on our third leg of Little Boy Productions' Children's Letters To God. We have 3 shows tomorrow at the La Proa Ballroom of L'Fisher Hotel.

Will blog about the whole trip in another entry when I get back to Manila. I just want to use this quiet and vacant time to blog about other stuff. Playing some ballroom tunes as well while my roommate, Jill, had stepped out.

Sometimes, I don't really like posting shoutouts on Facebook. Ever since I got myself a Twitter account, it's been easier to rant and rave as much as I can there. There's too much gossip going on in Facebook every time you post something online, and some people assume they already know what you're talking about even though they really don't. And then when it reaches the wrong or right person, misunderstanding and fights ensue. Then there's also the somewhat judgmental type of folk, who, because of certain history, talks and gossip, would have so many things running in their mind that they would assume other people's objectives would be their prime obstacles. Sigh.

But I have to say, even if I somehow lost a friend, life seems quieter somehow now. And there's also the matter of good karma. More on that later.

During the last 2 sessions of my ballroom class, I enjoyed how Ian had changed things up a bit, depending on who's attending the sessions. And I'm so glad that there are other students now instead of just me. Don't get me wrong, I like it a lot when I'm the only student, so Ian can easily focus on cleaning and polishing my technique, plus adding more advanced stuff. But it's nice that there are other people as well that I could dance with, and I love it when more and more people learn to appreciate ballroom dancing. It's not as matronly as most people would think.

I was so glad that Hanna has been attending almost every session now, including last week's class. We also had a new addition to the class. Mark had purchased an unlimited pass, so he said he's maximizing it, attending as much classes as he could. Anyway, because there was a new student, Ian decided to teach us the jive that day. Thank goodness I always have my iPod ready with songs/remixes for 4 of the 5 Latin competition dances (rumba, chachacha, samba, jive), so we always have music to dance to. It was fun learning the jive again, as we only covered it during one session in the summer, and then I completely forgot about it. Ian had said that it's good for me to change things up instead of just working on my rumba and chachacha.

This past Tuesday, I managed to get Dingdong to attend the class. Hanna couldn't attend because she had mentioned that her parents were visiting her here in Manila for a while. But nice to see that Mark was also there, as he had said that he had enjoyed last week's class. Ian had also brought Bruce that day as a recruit. I had expected that we were going to do the jive again, because Ian had told me to download more jive songs, plus mambo and salsa (but I couldn't anymore as I was already out when he had texted), but he decided to teach rumba to the boys. So I got to relax in class, and it just served as a refresher so I could observe my technique on my own while I danced with each of the boys as Ian taught them the basics. Somehow the tables had turned between Dingdong and me, as I remember that I couldn't keep up with his Sh'bam choreography during the couple of times that I had attended his free classes, and then there he was, looking awkward doing the Cuban rock.

I remember that I always get stressed or pressured whenever Ian asks me to dance with him to show an example to the other students in the class. During this last class, I wasn't feeling all pressured, probably because it's just the basic rumba that I've been doing over and over again. Of course, I still have my flaws, and sometimes Ian jokingly points it out that it took ages for me to coordinate my arms, or to have more flexible hips. And I've been enjoying the parts of the class when I had to dance with Ian and I just had to read his gestures as to what step to do next. It surprised even myself that I already know how to do so.

He even mentioned in front of everyone that I'm really going to compete soon, which means it's more or less a sure thing that I'll be competing in March. Ack.

Sure enough, I get a text from Ian on the first hour of yesterday morning...

U improved a lot tin. im proud of u. hehe. march sure compete ka 2 dance ako sponsor costume and free workshop ka sakin. pag igihan mo pa tin ha. pls practice everyday tin. tyty

It was one of the best messages that I received in a while. To know and be acknowledged that I had improved a lot in a matter of a few months was a big thing for me, considering that I had no dance background when I started a few months ago. Yes, this is the good karma that I had mentioned about earlier.

This is it. The only dancesport competition that I know that will be in March is the DSCPI 1st quarter ranking and competition. And the 2-dance event? I have to research more on that, as the only thing I know about it is that the 2 dances are the rumba and the chachacha. And of course, I still don't have a dance partner.

My goodness, am I really ready to compete? I'm excited but scared at the same time!

Anyway, so how are you, dear reader of this blog? I'd love to hear from you again.