Square Dancing last night

kent4str and I were calling for Baltimore's regular club night last night.  For the most part, our Mainstream and Plus tips keep getting better & better, although my single A2 tip was something of a minor disaster:  absolutely nothing worked well.

I'll take the blame for one figure which looked good on paper but clearly didn't on the floor; the other figures, however...  Seriously, folks, "switch the wave" should not crash a square, not from a standard right-handed wave and several years' experience dancing A2.  It just shouldn't.  Half the club could really use an intensive A2 refresher workshop.  I'm not sure I'm qualified to conduct such a workshop, but I'm qualified enough to see a desperate need.

We did have a pleasant surprise, however:  the club presented us with a Visa gift card for $300 in gratitude for working with them at "Pass the Ocean, Hon" in May and the Baltimore Pride festival on this past Sunday!  I sense a large chocolate sundae in my near future...

Square Dancing last night

kent4str and I were calling for Baltimore's regular club night last night.  For the most part, our Mainstream and Plus tips keep getting better & better, although my single A2 tip was something of a minor disaster:  absolutely nothing worked well.

I'll take the blame for one figure which looked good on paper but clearly didn't on the floor; the other figures, however...  Seriously, folks, "switch the wave" should not crash a square, not from a standard right-handed wave and several years' experience dancing A2.  It just shouldn't.  Half the club could really use an intensive A2 refresher workshop.  I'm not sure I'm qualified to conduct such a workshop, but I'm qualified enough to see a desperate need.

We did have a pleasant surprise, however:  the club presented us with a Visa gift card for $300 in gratitude for working with them at "Pass the Ocean, Hon" in May and the Baltimore Pride festival on this past Sunday!  I sense a large chocolate sundae in my near future...

Going slightly retro today

I accidentally forgot my glasses and contact lens case in Toronto last week when I visited for my aunt's funeral.  John & Chris, bless their hearts, have sent them via courier but they're caught up in customs at the moment.  Apparently only terrorists send prescription eye wear to the US so I have to fill out the appropriate forms proving I'm not a terrorist, will only use them for personal & peaceful purposes and complete a loyalty oath to "W" before I can get them back.

In any case, until they arrive, I've been wearing my contacts per usual.  They're daily wear disposables and I have plenty of other lens cases so forgetting a set in Canada wasn't a big deal, and they're my normal mode of vision correction anyway.  Still, I prefer to wear contacts for only 5-6 days at a time, then wear glasses periodically to allow my eyes to rest.

Fishing out my prior glasses, I'm now shocked by both how large the lenses are --both in surface area and in thickness-- and their weight.  These really are coke bottle bottoms!  The extra weight on my nose is striking:  the nose pads are leaving noticeable marks in my skin.  They always did so in the past of course, but I had forgotten since the marks vanished shortly after acquiring my newer pair last December.

My old glasses were with me faithfully for 16-17 years --my prescription hasn't changed-- so I'm sure I'll survive until my newer ones are returned to my loving if absent-minded care.

Going slightly retro today

I accidentally forgot my glasses and contact lens case in Toronto last week when I visited for my aunt's funeral.  John & Chris, bless their hearts, have sent them via courier but they're caught up in customs at the moment.  Apparently only terrorists send prescription eye wear to the US so I have to fill out the appropriate forms proving I'm not a terrorist, will only use them for personal & peaceful purposes and complete a loyalty oath to "W" before I can get them back.

In any case, until they arrive, I've been wearing my contacts per usual.  They're daily wear disposables and I have plenty of other lens cases so forgetting a set in Canada wasn't a big deal, and they're my normal mode of vision correction anyway.  Still, I prefer to wear contacts for only 5-6 days at a time, then wear glasses periodically to allow my eyes to rest.

Fishing out my prior glasses, I'm now shocked by both how large the lenses are --both in surface area and in thickness-- and their weight.  These really are coke bottle bottoms!  The extra weight on my nose is striking:  the nose pads are leaving noticeable marks in my skin.  They always did so in the past of course, but I had forgotten since the marks vanished shortly after acquiring my newer pair last December.

My old glasses were with me faithfully for 16-17 years --my prescription hasn't changed-- so I'm sure I'll survive until my newer ones are returned to my loving if absent-minded care.

Visiting Portland, OR

kent4str and I will be flying out to Portland, OR, to visit his clan for a few days before heading to the IAGSDC convention in Anaheim on Sunday.  Anything/anyone in particular we should see in Portland?  Our plans are relatively unclear at the moment as we're at the mercy of his family...  :-)

Visiting Portland, OR

kent4str and I will be flying out to Portland, OR, to visit his clan for a few days before heading to the IAGSDC convention in Anaheim on Sunday.  Anything/anyone in particular we should see in Portland?  Our plans are relatively unclear at the moment as we're at the mercy of his family...  :-)