A Quick Update

kent4str, rlegters and tdjohnsn are off grazing for breakfast while I'm at the lobby of the convention hotel here in Anaheim, finally caving in to pay $10/day for wireless access.

( Wireless Internet Charge Rant )

In a short while, we'll begin the second day of caller school here at the IAGSDC convention. I'm not here as an attendee per se, just as a human checker for the callers.  In essence, I get most of the gain of the class without the pain or pressure.  On the flip side, it can be somewhat tedious, especially since these sessions run 9 AM to 8 PM.  Today's session schedule has more interesting topics on the list, but since the instructors may simply jettison the proposed lesson plan because (a) it doesn't meet the students' requirements, or (b) they simply feel like it, who knows what will actually happen.

I'll attempt to write more when I have a bit more time.  Or if the sessions turn out to be really boring.

A Quick Update

kent4str, rlegters and tdjohnsn are off grazing for breakfast while I'm at the lobby of the convention hotel here in Anaheim, finally caving in to pay $10/day for wireless access.

( Wireless Internet Charge Rant )

In a short while, we'll begin the second day of caller school here at the IAGSDC convention. I'm not here as an attendee per se, just as a human checker for the callers.  In essence, I get most of the gain of the class without the pain or pressure.  On the flip side, it can be somewhat tedious, especially since these sessions run 9 AM to 8 PM.  Today's session schedule has more interesting topics on the list, but since the instructors may simply jettison the proposed lesson plan because (a) it doesn't meet the students' requirements, or (b) they simply feel like it, who knows what will actually happen.

I'll attempt to write more when I have a bit more time.  Or if the sessions turn out to be really boring.

Anaheim, Day #2

The first day of caller school began with disappointment:  no free internet access.  My laptop doesn't have a network port so I couldn't test the 10baseT in our room and the only wireless network we could latch onto was the secured back-office network of the hotel administrative office.  The Marriott has two wireless networks, both secured... one was a conference-only network for a HUD convention, the other was a pay-per-use via the Starbucks.  Boo.

I was ready to assist Tim McNamara running the caller school in any role or task he required, but as usual, he was completely prepared:  everything was in order and merely needed a gentle nudge to set everything in motion.  I settled into the advanced hall:  all halls needed checkers but I've been a student in both the beginner & intermediate halls prior so this seemed a good opportunity to audit the class for future attendance.

Todd Fellegy with TA Barry Clasper largely ran the 12 students through their sample patter & singers, making notes & critiquing.  Some folks needed vocal work, some resolution issues, some programming questions.  The bulk of the day was spent fixing these & other discovered issues, and answering general questions from the floor.  I had fun, dancing a great deal but otherwise keeping my mouth shut.  There were lots of familiar folks:  Warren Jaquith, Dave Decot, DC Cronyn, Mark Benoit, Allan Hurst, JP Slater, Chi-Chi Stolarick-Hoffner, John Oldfield (*drool*) & Michael Maltenfort.  I didn't know Diana before, but she's lots of fun too.  We also had checkers Bill Hunter, Pam Clasper, Kate & Kent.

I had decided last year not to be a student at caller school this time around:  the hours are brutal and the work can be a little tedious.  I was also concerned I wouldn't be good enough to attend an advanced class as a student while repeating intermediate wouldn't be useful.  After a session with the advanced folks though, I find I would fit in well, kinda.  We are all very much alike although since I only call from cards for A2, I don't have the same sight-resolution issues others have at MS or Plus.  Still, I wish I had the range of novel get-outs many of the others have.

Oddly enough, now that I've been through a portion of the advanced class, I'm less inclined to attend in future:  I think I need a harder class to make it worth the money in time.

Anaheim, Day #2

The first day of caller school began with disappointment:  no free internet access.  My laptop doesn't have a network port so I couldn't test the 10baseT in our room and the only wireless network we could latch onto was the secured back-office network of the hotel administrative office.  The Marriott has two wireless networks, both secured... one was a conference-only network for a HUD convention, the other was a pay-per-use via the Starbucks.  Boo.

I was ready to assist Tim McNamara running the caller school in any role or task he required, but as usual, he was completely prepared:  everything was in order and merely needed a gentle nudge to set everything in motion.  I settled into the advanced hall:  all halls needed checkers but I've been a student in both the beginner & intermediate halls prior so this seemed a good opportunity to audit the class for future attendance.

Todd Fellegy with TA Barry Clasper largely ran the 12 students through their sample patter & singers, making notes & critiquing.  Some folks needed vocal work, some resolution issues, some programming questions.  The bulk of the day was spent fixing these & other discovered issues, and answering general questions from the floor.  I had fun, dancing a great deal but otherwise keeping my mouth shut.  There were lots of familiar folks:  Warren Jaquith, Dave Decot, DC Cronyn, Mark Benoit, Allan Hurst, JP Slater, Chi-Chi Stolarick-Hoffner, John Oldfield (*drool*) & Michael Maltenfort.  I didn't know Diana before, but she's lots of fun too.  We also had checkers Bill Hunter, Pam Clasper, Kate & Kent.

I had decided last year not to be a student at caller school this time around:  the hours are brutal and the work can be a little tedious.  I was also concerned I wouldn't be good enough to attend an advanced class as a student while repeating intermediate wouldn't be useful.  After a session with the advanced folks though, I find I would fit in well, kinda.  We are all very much alike although since I only call from cards for A2, I don't have the same sight-resolution issues others have at MS or Plus.  Still, I wish I had the range of novel get-outs many of the others have.

Oddly enough, now that I've been through a portion of the advanced class, I'm less inclined to attend in future:  I think I need a harder class to make it worth the money in time.

Anaheim, Day #2 (con't)

kent4str, tdjohnsn, rlegters and I shared a table with every cuddly fuzzygruf and double_ohstevenfor a chinese dinner ce soir.  Much food, reasonably priced.  Even tasted non-lame.

The last caller session of the day was to be --according to the schedule-- to cover calling/cuing round dances, contras, etc..  Mike Desisto & Barry Clasper declared they had absolutely no qualifications to discuss the topic so they asked for suggestions for topics from the floor.  The consensus was to do team calling.

In this portion 2-3 callers would be teamed spontaneously to call a single square dance tip with little/no prior preparation.  This was probably the most intense dancing of the day and was lots of fun; Kent & I do this regularly during our club night calling sessions but I see where we could probably do this a little better.  More study required here.

I tried to record portions of this session but the batteries in my pocket recorded died after about 10 minutes.  Figures.  At least I now know my batteries are fresh before recording other tips later in the convention.

The other GCA callers are heading out to Buca di Bepo (sp?) for dinner tonight, however since italian cuisine is heavy on pasta & breaded items, we're going to head to a nearby indian restaurant instead.  If it's good, we may return again before our trip is over.

Other square dancers are gradually trickling in:  I've recognized a number of folks who have come early for the public tours.  I expect the numbers will pick up dramatically tomorrow prior to the Disneyland tour.

Speaking of which, I've learned through LA friends that the LA bear group will also be joining the IAGSDC dancers at Disney on Thursday... yay!

Anaheim, Day #2 (con't)

kent4str, tdjohnsn, rlegters and I shared a table with every cuddly fuzzygruf and double_ohstevenfor a chinese dinner ce soir.  Much food, reasonably priced.  Even tasted non-lame.

The last caller session of the day was to be --according to the schedule-- to cover calling/cuing round dances, contras, etc..  Mike Desisto & Barry Clasper declared they had absolutely no qualifications to discuss the topic so they asked for suggestions for topics from the floor.  The consensus was to do team calling.

In this portion 2-3 callers would be teamed spontaneously to call a single square dance tip with little/no prior preparation.  This was probably the most intense dancing of the day and was lots of fun; Kent & I do this regularly during our club night calling sessions but I see where we could probably do this a little better.  More study required here.

I tried to record portions of this session but the batteries in my pocket recorded died after about 10 minutes.  Figures.  At least I now know my batteries are fresh before recording other tips later in the convention.

The other GCA callers are heading out to Buca di Bepo (sp?) for dinner tonight, however since italian cuisine is heavy on pasta & breaded items, we're going to head to a nearby indian restaurant instead.  If it's good, we may return again before our trip is over.

Other square dancers are gradually trickling in:  I've recognized a number of folks who have come early for the public tours.  I expect the numbers will pick up dramatically tomorrow prior to the Disneyland tour.

Speaking of which, I've learned through LA friends that the LA bear group will also be joining the IAGSDC dancers at Disney on Thursday... yay!