I’m watching week 8 of So You Think You Can Dance (US version) while watching videos of favourite dances from previous episodes on Youtube. A couple of weeks ago (June 25, 2008), the show featured a lyrical hip hop dance to Leona Lewis’s “Bleeding Love”, choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha and danced by Mark and Chelsie:
It’s hands down one of my favourite dances of this season.
I just noticed on Youtube tonight that So You Think You Can Dance (Australia version) also featured the same song and dance style (but a different choreographer) on its top 20 show, which aired on February 17, 2008: [Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOGxE4e0Id0]
It’s not nearly as compelling as Napoleon and Tabitha’s choreography for the US show. In fact, it wasn’t compelling at all.
Tonight’s Napoleon and Tabitha choreography to “Control” by the Vitamin String Quartet was also awesome. And it showcases Chelsie yet again as a pretty credible hip hopper:
I don’t mean that they can fly or stop bullets or read minds, or even that they can rival David Copperfield. But strange and magical things happen when my parents and I are about to come together. As soon as a decision has been made and tickets bought, something in the Universe starts moving. It affects my life…and it affects the weather wherever we are going to be.
Shortly after they’d announced their trip and bought their tickets for their first visit to see me here, my endless, dreary slogging away at a call centre came to an end with the sudden and unexpected call about the government job that just ended. We had a running joke that they needed to schedule a visit whenever my contract was due to expire. Sure enough, shortly after they scheduled each subsequent trip and bought their tickets, I got notice that my contract was being extended. It happened every time they came for a visit. They didn’t schedule a visit this time and look what happened — an unexpected layoff.
Here’s the funny thing. Now that my ticket has been bought and everything for my quickie trip home in August, the same thing is happening. The work for the existing client is gearing up again, a possible new client has unexpectedly appeared on the horizon, and on Friday I got word that I’d gotten the contract job I’d interviewed for on Thursday. It’s with a company that I’ve been having a hell of a time getting a nibble from by applying the ordinary way so I’m really excited to get started. The job apparently is as a Junior Project Manager, which I think is a hoot. (M, if you read this, you’ll understand the humour in that.)
Oh, yeah, the weather. Almost forgot about that. While the magic surrounding me and employment seems to require only that they book their trip, the magic surrounding the weather happens when they’re here. It’s not always nice magic. Their first trip heralded one of the worst heat and humidity waves I’ve ever experienced here. It arrived with them and left with them. A subsequent trip occurred during Winterlude, one of the warmest Winterludes we’d had — they brought -35 degree temperatures with them that left with them, messing up their plans to walk around but saving the final weekend of Winterlude. Another visit brought with it terrible wind storms that caused severe damage — it also stopped when they left. I wonder if the weather thing works in reverse, too. Better make sure the cat has extra food and water in case I’m snowed in there. LOL
Should be a very happy day but today, not so much. People keep driving me down. Had one friend “hang up” on me in IM because she thought I was being a downer. Well, I wasn’t down until she accused me of it and then disconnected. Had another tell me that people think I’m out to get them.
Suppose I should take it all as a sign that I need a break from those places where people are having that kind of an effect on me. I have a lot I have to do over the next little while anyway so the fewer distractions the better, I suppose. Doesn’t stop the sudden crying jags, though.
It’s interesting that my Cainer horoscope for the weekend says:
“Some obstacles exist to guide us from an ill-chosen path. Others are ‘challenges’ to test our determination. We can get round them if we are willing to try hard enough, long enough. The big question is, into which of these two categories does your current difficulty fall? The answer is: whichever you most want it to. Here comes the chance to create big change. If you’re looking for a way out, here it is on a plate. If you are not, well… all you have to do now is… carry on.”
One of the biggest sources of my mood swings today falls into that category. I haven’t decided yet what I will ultimately do about it. Big change is tempting but I’m not sure if I’m actually looking for a way out or just a break. So I’ve opted, for now at least, for a forced vacation. (I’ve blocked access to the site in question in my hosts file.)
And his forecast for the week ahead says:
“By nature, you are a deep, sensitive person. This does not mean that you have to respond to everything you feel, or that you need to fully explore everything you think. You have a right to relax, a right to ignore what you don’t want to get too involved with, and a right to put your sensitivity on hold, especially when you suspect it is being taken advantage of. If or when it becomes truly important to pay attention to what your heart is telling you, the urge will become irresistible. Till then, allow yourself to relax. What’s seemingly a big issue this week is really only a small one. “
Very similar to the weekend one, isn’t it. And also very relevant to that same situation. It appears I gots me some thinkin’ to do.
You have to wonder at the first yobbo who, after striking several cars and then a pole, decided that it made sense to accelerate, causing him to start sliding again and crash into another pole, a wall, and (backwards) into even more cars — trailing his bumper and a headlight as he did.
(I keep watching the video because the snow helps me to pretend that it isn’t hot and humid here.)
I really like the new series of AT&T “More bars, in more places” Alter Ego commercials, where you hear what the person’s phone would be saying as the phone owner misses a critically important message.
LindaBeth at The Reaction doesn’t appear to like them, but I do, stereotypes and all. Let’s face it — they’re not meant to be paragons of political correctness. But they are funny (to most people I know, anyway) and they certainly stick in your head. Then again, I did go “parking” (and lie to my parents about what I was up to — we weren’t alone up there so I presume loads of the rest of you were doing it, too, unless you really *were* watching the submarine races) and I did have massive crushes on celebrities so maybe I just see some of myself in the two Mary and Kelly commercials. Personally, I would take the lack of strong female characters in those commercials as a good thing since the featured people are, well, idiots. The lesson I learn from the series of commercials is that girls apparently stop being idiots when they grow up but boys , not so much.
Miquelon.org also something to say about the Brad/no-star-hotel commercial, namely that it seems to be French-bashing. I didn’t get that from the commercial at all, but then I’m not looking for that kind of thing (and I can’t claim to have been a fly on the wall while they were brainstorming the commercial, either). IMO the location was really irrelevant. Think of it as “Not the US” instead of “France”, with France being a fairly safe country choice to represent the Rest of the World. I’d’ve laughed if they’d used, say, Nova Scotia instead.
Ian Swenson is sort of a fan of the commercials. Good to know I’m not alone, though I actually like the Ronnie commercial. Granted, I think it was the first one I saw and you always remember your first fondly. 😉
Other people’s reactions range between the two polar opposites — liking and loathing. Some are offended at people who don’t use AT&T being called “idiots”; others are disturbed by gender or sociological repercussions; some just think they’re entertaining. Your mileage may vary.
No winning millions in the lottery, but I did win $10, something that hasn’t happened for years.
No full time job, but a very strong lead on a freelance writing contract through a current client.
Had a chance to take part in the inaugural version of a 6-month writing course but not the money — or the promise of money — to pay for it. But today brought with it more work (several weeks’ worth) from that current client just in time for the course registration.
All small examples of abundance at work, but glorious, inspiring examples.
A few years ago, the company that I’d worked for for the previous 6 years decided to pare down its local office prior to closing it down completely a year or so later. At least half the office, myself included, was laid off. Very few people that I worked with have chosen to keep in touch with me. Can’t say I’ve made much of an attempt myself so I guess we can consider it a mutual avoidance.
Did I not mention before that you find terrible things on Facebook? Someone has apparently started a Facebook group for former employees of the company. And it appears they’ve been having regular (or semi-regular) get-togethers over the years. I still live at the same place, same phone number as I did way back then. Yet no one has even apparently considered inviting me. Strangely enough, I’m torn between pique that I’ve been overlooked and gratitude that I’ve been overlooked — I don’t really want to see anyone and I certainly don’t want to relive the glory days, but you want to feel loved. You know?
I’m watching old episodes of Top Gear right now. Episode 2-09 (2003) features the most marvelous vehicle I’ve ever seen, the Carver. It’s a three-wheeled cross between a car and a motorcycle that actually leans into corners. It gives you the thrill of riding a motorcycle with the safety of being enclosed in a car. And it seats two.
It’s not available yet in North America yet — they’re estimating late 2009. It cost 22,000 pounds back in 2003. They haven’t sorted out prices for the future North American release yet. Like the Smart Fortwo, it looks like they’ll have to tweak the European design.
So, I need to find a really good job really quickly so that I can save up the money to buy one of these when they roll off the cargo ship. 😉
Life Begins at 41...or maybe 43 