Been a few days...

It has been rather busy lately. I've been working a fair amount at Smith Ranch. Since we cut the 24 hour schedule at Starbucks, hours have been low. Alas, once school starts on Thursday I will only be able to work Saturdays at Smith Ranch.

Saturday I went to ballet at the silly little studio down the street. I am by far the best dancer there, and I feel bad for the other students when I show up. However, it is the only class I can make on occasion, and sometimes at my level it is more what you make of a class then the class itself. At open classes at San Francisco Dance Center you are likely to get no attention at all. So in either case you just have to know what it is you personally need to work on. Although combinations that have no musicality and an onslaught of "American" ballet terminology can wear on me immensely, I have to just ignore it and think about those things I am doing wrong.

Saturday we also had a casual game night. I got to hang out with Natalie a bit more, and got to meet her boyfriend Christopher. They are cool people. I also got to meet Zack's girlfriend, Cynthia, she is very likable. Sunday we wandered the town and found (among other things) a cool little cafe called Cafe du Soleil. It was a relaxing atmosphere. The last couple evenings have been spent playing Dungeons and Dragons. It was a lot of fun tonight. I think I understand 3.0/3.5 better than I thought I did.

Well I am sure there is more to say...but it has been a long day and I am working in the morning. So I shall get back to it then.

Class

I did get tips and so therefore got to go to class. Today I attended company ballet class at Westlake School for Performing Arts in Daly City. I have never attended such a great class which was so poorly publicized. It is not a small studio, but nor is it well advertised. I prefer it over San Francisco Dance Center for the home studio atmosphere and more individualized feedback. Although they teach a number of styles, the ballet students are remarkably, uniformly strong. The teachers are great, they rotate just enough that you get used to learning to adapt on the spot. At the same time there is enough consistency that the training is not interrupted. If you are ever in the area and need a good class you should give them a call. All that aside, class felt really good today. I have improved since last week, my body isn't rejecting ballet quite as much. My turns are a lot stronger (back to consistent triples and my pirouettes in attitude surprise me) and so is my turn out and extension. I really need to watch my arms (elbows especially), leg rotation in a la seconde, and my beats are a catastrophe at the moment. I am doing alright with remembering combinations though, something I'm always afraid of.

One of my new years resolutions was to eat better. This isn't so hard for me since I enjoy healthy food as well as the not so healthy. One of my favorite places to find tasty alternatives is Trader Joe's. They have a number of intriguing and healthy snacks. Today I stopped by after class for some food and ended up spending more then I wanted to. I ran out of joint supplements though , so that was important to buy. I can feel my joints way too much sometimes so I better do what I can for them now. Anyways I found a great chip while I was there. They are corn chips with flax seed (I love chips), and taste quite like Fritos. The flax seed means that there is 1000mg of Omega 3 in every serving and they are only $0.49 for a 1lb. bag! They were definitely worth the 2 quarters.

Lastly, a blog which I enjoy. I found this by chance while searching for info on the Flexi Stretcher. Interestingly, this girl also writes for The Winger. Her blog, Off Center, is interesting to read, especially if you like dance.