Movies
Just saw a movie called "A Day without a Mexican." The premise is that all the Latin Americans in California disappear. Hilarity ensues...until violence breaks out. The point is that Latinos comprise 1/3 of the state of California and the presence should not be taken for granted. Good movie, but it takes a really long time to get the point. Sorry if I ruined it.
Another good movie, but much better, is Pirates of the Caribbean 3. It has violence, wenches, and science! ("It's a cepholopod, actually!"). Good stuff, nuff said.
West Coast Salsa Congress Wrap Up.
Damn, that weekend was a total blur. Basically, I danced until at least 4am in the morning and woke up at around 9 or 10 the next day to do it all over again. During that time, I even got to meet up with Sister 1 and Alma for breakfast. Can’t remember which day. The entire hotel was completely trashed. Essentially 80% percent of the hotel population for that weekend was comprised of young salsa dancers and you can imagine how that went. Nine floors of after-parties after the main dance floors closed at 4am. I personally got the upturned nose treatment from the concierge one time, but whatever. Things to note for the next salsa congress: (1) don’t take the dance workshops—complete waste of time b/c they’re too crowded and the teachers teach too fast, (2) skip most performances—only see the people you want to see if you can. Friday night was a complete waste b/c I watched performances for 4 hours! I was so stiff and tired after that that I went to sleep! I’m debating on whether I should go to the S.F. congress. Should be fun since the rest of the team is going…
West Coast Salsa Congress Day One
All right, so I checked into the LA Radisson about 2 hours ago. The hotel room is pretty decent sized b/c it's going to be Laura and I along with Javier and Carla. The restaurants available to us are freaking expensive. 22$ an entree or more? Come on, you're kidding me. And already I'm bearing witness to the creativity--or is it pretense--of the salsa crowd: you're overly-made-up girls with their crazy slinky outfits and the guys with their carefully distressed clothing and wildly gelled hair. It's all good; it doesn't make you dance any better. I'll see what these clowns are all about on the floor. And I'll probably look the same as them. Heh!
Critical decisions.
Well...not really. But, what to do? I’d like to continue on with my dance group for the summer quarter (July through September), but I’ve also got to study for the surveying exam in October. That takes some extreme dedication and contrary to what some fools believe, surveying is not a subject to be taken lightly. I took the test for giggles last October. Granted, I didn’t study very much for it, but it was not fun. Practicing for group and studying for the test would really suck up my time. I fear that I would not be able to focus and do well in either if I did both. Grr…need some advice.
A crappy day.
Today is shaping up to be a pretty crappy day. I tried downloading this huge instructional file from my dance instructor with this really complicated turn pattern on it. I foolishly waited for the whole thing to download and ended being late in leaving for the office. Traffic is crazy if I leave too late and I ended up being 15 minutes late to work, which gets on my nerves.
Why could I not wait to download this file? Because I’ve been obsessing over it since Sunday when we first learned it, and I hate being behind in class and looking like I suck.
And then, it turns out that one of my contracts has been disapproved by my office’s legal department and a contractor on another project has delayed the delivery of parts for a critical emergency project…for another three weeks! Ugh…I’m glad I’m leaving for L.A. tomorrow for the annual West Coast Salsa Congress, but I hope I can get into a better mood before then.
Random encounters...just like in Final Fantasy!
Yay! I love it when I randomly bump into people I know and like that I haven’t seen in awhile. Today I was at the post office in downtown Napa when I ran into my old buddy J9 from my middle school, high school, and college days (yes, she followed me!). I haven’t seen her since the 10-year high school reunion I wrote about earlier. It was really nice. After we both got done at the post office I walked with her back to the office where she bore witness to the disaster that is my cubicle. Along the way, of course, we chatted about the latest goings-on with our lives. She’s down here for her little sister’s graduation. Apparently her husband is almost done with his PhD at UC Boulder and is looking for careers in genetics in the Bay or San Diego. Good luck to them…those aren’t easy places to live. Ironically, my family owns property in both areas (heehee!). We’re really fortunate. So now I have a date to go out and eat breakfast with her on Saturday. Hooray! I luv my J9.
Must...think positive.
I have got to get out of this funk. CalTrans is still holding up my paperwork, which is causing me to get all despondent and moody. Not good. Not only are the bureaucratic mechanisms of CalTrans ruining my productivity, but so is my attitude. I mean, I have other projects to work on, too. But the way I’m getting the runaround from these people is painfully reminiscent of the military. I have to remember that the overall quality of my life right now—job and personal life—is exponentially better than what it was before. Time to cheer up and look ahead!
