Work, Tango, more Tango

Good morning, world!  Happy Friday.

Seven consecutive days with no dancing; this is not life!  We couldn't get reservations at any of our practice locations on any days except early on Saturday and Sunday morning.  I spent many evenings this week working instead.  I told my manager that I would be willing to change my schedule to continuous (to teach lessons consecutively without 15-minute breaks after every hour), and this small change has affected the way that my students book my available hours in such a way that I now have almost twice as much work.  Good, and also a bit exhausting.  A LOT exhausting.  It's very cognitive, communicative, active work, and it requires quite a bit of diplomacy.  It's always an interesting experience to be in a position of power (as teacher) over CEOs of large corporations, world-famous digital animation gurus and geophysicists.

I've also done quite a bit of writing this week, with pen and paper.  It has gotten easier with time and practice and doesn't feel nearly as futile as it did a week ago.

In other news, Caspian and I had our first Argentine tango lesson last night at my friend Alain's studio.  It took us awhile to find, as it was nestled away a few floors up inside a warrenlike, incense-charged old building off of St. Laurent.  But find it we did, A greeted me warmly, and we began our group lesson with about 6 or so other couples ranging in age from mid-twenties to fifties or sixties.  I was the only woman wearing high heels, in the form of latin shoes.  Most of our classmates were completely bilingual, but some were francophones and others anglophones, so the class was taught in an awesome mix of French and English that is unique in the world.  I love this city, I love its people, its tensions, arguments and swirl of differences.

Being a bit of a dominator, Caspian is completely comfortable with directing my movements and physically imposing himself upon a dance partner; ergo, he is a natural at tango.  He's a musician and his rhythm is spot-on, and he is more aware of his position in space than most men, probably because of previous dance and figure skating experience.  I think we will be a beautiful Argentine tango couple, although it was baffling at the beginning to dance with him.  He is significantly taller than Felix and broader in the shoulders.  The attitude, movements, positions and figures of Argentine tango come easily to me.  For now.

This evening, I'm going with Caspian and a bunch of his colleagues and friends to a "sugar shack" (cabane à sucre) - a place that harvests maple sap and transforms it into maple syrup, sugar and other confections and flavorings.  There is restaurant as well, and much of the food incorporates maple harvested right there.  Many of these sugar shacks are very, very old.  Maple is my most favoritest taste!  I'm excited.

Felix and I will be spending a lot of time together this weekend to make up for the dearth of dance during the week. We have a new tango routine to puzzle out!

Me and the Dances

Life is so sweet right now.

My birthday present from Caspian was ordered today:  NEW STANDARD SHOES!  My first pair in four years.  You should see the plastic heel protectors on my current pair - worn completely through to the actual heels.  And the heel is becoming detached from the body of the shoe, causing my heel turns to favor my left foot.  So, my shoes are coming!  And rhinestone buckles!  And suede heel protectors for both latin and standard shoes because I am mortified about my uncouth clomping!

Tomorrow I have dance for 2.5 hours with one of my best friends and one of the neatest coaches I know.  I love, love, love to dance.  Why didn't I start this sooner?  Why wasn't I motivated to devote so much of my life to it until this past year?  It's romantic and physical and challenging and musical and everything I want my life to be.  If my life were a metaphor for dance, I would die a happy woman.

And Caspian!  So much love and excitement.  He is so entertained and enthused about his career, which is taking off.  He's so interested that he adds extra hours to his workdays simply to have time to pursue the creative ideas he has for his projects.  I spend my days doing work that is not particularly financially rewarding - but I am able for the first time in my life to witness the changes I am able to make in peoples' lives around the world.  My students have accredited me with their promotions.  They send me gifts of their favorite songs in e-mails, and write me ecstatic notes and reviews every day.  French classes have started again, and I've graduated to the intermediate section.

I finally have time and energy to devote to my passions.  I invent new recipes almost every week.  I have time for a quick nap at lunch, and for pleasure reading in the evenings.  We eat dinner by candlelight.  I don't dread the mornings, I don't despise Sundays, I'm rarely irritable or discontent.  It may be time for some evolution regarding my career, but I've only had this position for five months.  That's not very long, in the scheme of things.  Regardless, I have a meeting with the job hunter on March 3rd.

Last night after our astoundingly good practice was rudely interrupted by the arrival of an obnoxious womens' choir, Felix dramatically took my hand and made up a little poem in English, "You and the dances are my romances."

Every Little Thing He Does is Magic

So I'm pining for Caspian today.  It's been two weeks since he left.  Totally lame!  And distracting!  Little stupid things remind me that we are apart, as cheesy as it sounds.  My gramma said the simple words "oh, this" at a particular pitch, which reminded me of a duet from The Mikado, and of course I had to look up the news spot covering last spring's show on YouTube and watch him rehearse.  Twice, my heart all a-flutter.  Such clandestine research sounds like the domain of a hopelessly-in-unrequited-love, starry-eyed young high school student obsessing over an out-of-reach crush.  I guess our love has been unrequited for about two weeks.  Heh.

Not like I haven't kept busy here in my homeland - I've run probably about 25 miles, walked probably 5 and biked maybe 20.  I've eaten close to a lb. of candy, studied French diligently, read books, explored the deserted town all through the night by bike while the cicadas scolded us, ventured through the cemetery, ridden through Duncan's Woods at 1 AM in total darkness.  I've stayed up until the wee hours playing a Sega Dreamcast turned original Nintendo - Kirby's Adventure, of course.  Lovely, G and I have visited our favorite haunts, like the jewelry store, the ice cream stand, the waterfront, the pier at sunset, the candy and liquor store (twice), the coffee house (three times), R's store downtown.  I spent "a bit" of money on a clothing-related shopping spree for myself and for Lovely's birthday.  We visited the kitties in the pet store.  We watched the meteors streak over the distant, watery horizon, standing on the beach at midnight with our heads craning upwards and the waves lapping at our feet.

What the heck are we going to do for the rest of the week?!