Dancing to the beat

Being able to really "hear" the music is very important in any dance, but it can be especially difficult when dancing to salsa music. This is because the music has layer upon layer of instruments that can sometimes make it hard to hear the percussion in order to derive the "one" beat. A friend on Facebook recently posted the Salsa Beat Machine which I have been using to strip the rhythm down to only the clave and congas. It really helps to discern between the 3/2 and 2/3 clave when trying to find the one. In any case, if you love latin dancing like I do it should help out your dancing so check it out!

Quotes

Beyond Just Dance

Grand opening is this weekend!!! Check out the calendar on their site. I put it up using Google Apps and Google sites. It was just setting up a template, but it was so easy I didn't have to write a lick of code. Good times. Anyway, check it out! BeyondJustDance.com

Dilbert

I changed Mordac to NMCI. If you know what NMCI is, you know what I mean. If not, enjoy my mad photoshop skillz.

Things I barely remember on my 31st birthday part

1. Wondering if anyone was actually going to show and being happy that even if no one did that Megan was there and that's all that mattered.
   
2. Dancing a cha cha with Alina.
   
3. Kerri doing a chin up in my bathroom pull up bar.
   
4. Raul and Teri tearing up a bachata
   
5. Watching others dance some bachata and salsa in my small living room.
   
6. Starting up the hookah, but can't really remember smoking it.
   
7. Kevin's feet. It was all I saw as I was hurling into the toilet
   
8. Doing shots of Patron with every new comer
   
9. My niece coming over early on in the night, and being glad she wasn't there at the end of the night.
   
10. Eating only 6 wings for dinner.
    
11. Cracking open my Aquilon and wishing I wasn't so drunk and that I would have let it decant longer.
    
12. Wishing I hadn't been doing shots of Patron and had been able to enjoy my wine more.
    

Coming up next entry: Things I don't remember, but was told happened.

DJay and djay remote for mac

I love my mac and my iphone. I also love dancing and music. Enter djay software. I'm not a professional disc jockey, far from it. I just wanted an easy to use application that can offer me some fun mixing of music. The other thing it offered was that it allows for tempo control, which is really useful when learning steps for a particular song. You can just slow it down when you first are learning, then gradually take it up to speed. I don't use that feature, but my girlfriend does for her studio, Beyond Just Dance Studios, when she is choreographing. The only downside is that it requires OS 3.1 or better on the iphone, which I don't have because I love tethering too much. But that just means I have to get an ipad! I knew I'd find a use for one eventually!

Dreaming about the stars

I was reading some old posts when I was doing my natal astrology research last year and though that they were an interesting read. It was also fun to read about how I told myself I was going to only date the signs I was "compatible" with and now I'm with an amazing gemini. Anyway, I looked up my old natal astrology chart as well as uploaded my analysis of each of the sections. I'm a fire sign stuck in an earth sign's body.

Rising Sign is in 00 Degrees Sagittarius
You are known for being open, frank, outgoing and honest. At times, though, you are also blunt and quite indiscreet. Others have to learn not to take everything you say personally, because you usually do not mean any harm. You appreciate living your life in a straightforward and simple manner -- you dislike social niceties and consider them to be hindrances to real communication. You have lots and lots of energy and tend to become quite restless if you feel confined. You demand the freedom to do as you choose -- you must be self- directed or you feel trapped and anxious. With your abundant energy, you enjoy being outdoors, and you should be attracted to physical exercise or to those forms of sport which can help you burn off some of that excess energy. Very gregarious, you love to socialize -- your innate enthusiasm livens up any gathering.

Sun is in 19 Degrees Taurus.
You are known for being patient, slow moving and careful -- you love to prolong and savor enjoyable times. You appreciate and need comfort, ease and warm surroundings. Be careful of a tendency to become placid and self-satisfied and to overeat (especially sweets). You require strenuous situations in order to grow and mature properly, even though you try to avoid them. Affectionate, even-tempered and slow to anger -- when you do become emotionally upset, you are also slow to forgive and time must pass before your calm returns. You demand real results from any situation -- abstractions are very difficult for you to comprehend. Very artistic, your hands love to mold and shape things. You portray an earthy, physical sexiness that others find quite seductive.

Moon is in 29 Degrees Libra.
Affectionate, warm and friendly, life must be a "beautiful" experience for you. Unpleasantness should be avoided at all costs. You tend to overlook other people's faults and you would rather give in than fight. You are uncomfortable with strangers, but at ease and sociable with friends and associates. Indeed, you would rather socialize than work -- you can use your prodigious charm to avoid unpleasant tasks. You need the support and assistance of another in order to get you started on any new project -- you are not a self-starter. Be careful of a tendency to be overly self-indulgent (i.e., lazy). Your refined aesthetic sensibilities attract you to music, dance, art and any other cultured activity.

Mercury is in 29 Degrees Aries.
Very quick-witted, you are known for being an independent thinker. You love to debate and argue, and are excellent at repartee and battles of wits. At times, however, you act too fast on hastily formed opinions and thus waste a lot of energy defending your rash and sometimes incorrect conclusions. It is perfectly acceptable for you to defend your beliefs with your usual vigor, but try not to take the opinions of others as personal insults.

Venus is in 20 Degrees Aries.
You are a very affectionate person but you hate to be tied down. You are more than willing to be the aggressor in initiating new relationships. Indeed, once you have set your sights on someone, you tend to pursue him or her ardently and passionately. But you do demand your own way in a relationship. Try to give in to your partner's needs and desires once in a while.

Mars is in 25 Degrees Aries.
You are very independent and self-assertive, and you have lots of physical energy. You are not satisfied unless you can be the first to do something. As such, you are more comfortable in leadership positions than you are as an underling. When you are challenged by anyone for anything, you delight in the competitive process and will fight long and hard for your beliefs. You are bold and courageous and often act without thinking. At times, in your zeal to get ahead, you are tactless and offensive -- learn that cooperation with others can often bring you nearer to your goals quicker because of the support you will get.

5/9/2009

I wrote this 1 hour before I officially turned 30:

My last minutes in my twenties

My twenties were okay. I fucked up all my relationships every which way, especially my last one, but everything else turned out okay considering the end of my twenties could have been a lot worse. Namely, the end. I have everything I need to move forward into my thirties with confidence. Everything except for a woman to love me. Maybe it's because I'm about to be 30 in a matter of minutes so I'm bitter, lonely, and cynical, but I miss my ex. We fucked that one up good. That her and I didn't work out is my only regret going into my thirties. I hope that I get over that before my forties. Anyway, good bye twenties and happy birthday to me.

Focus!

I just now put in a sell order for some options instead of a buy order because I was rushing to put the order in. I like to think I pay attention to the little things, but this is the 2nd screw up in the last 2 weeks.

I wonder if it's because I'll be turning 31 in less than a week. My mind has been every where as of late. I have been extremely critical of my dancing, to the point where I don't want to dance at times. I feel down a lot, unhappy with many things in my life and I am unsure what to do about it.

The answer itself is pretty easy. Just do it. Make sure I pay attention to every order I make in stocks, spend more time dancing in the studio, spend more time just taking in all the info to make the best decision. I rushed into a decision in cards last week when all I was focusing on was hitting my card, when in fact, one of my outs was not an out after all. I usually am on top of all that, but not lately. I don't know what I can do to focus better. ADD? Don't think so. I've focused plenty before, just not as of the last month or so. I'm a little pissed and need to get my shit together soon. Hopefully drinking some good wine and spending time with good friends this weekend will calm my mind and let me think more clear. Hopefully.