Yes!

This just in!!! Oh sweet mother, we were not so bad after all! What a relief!

Oh wtf, who am I kidding, another anonymous unhappy female dancer just ripped us a new one. On one hand, what's with all the hatred, women of tango? On the other hand, I think I know what exactly is with it... and, honestly, I thought we were not as good as we could have been. Then again, I don't think we were that bad. Well, I just don't know what I think, ok!

Valentango 2007

So R., my dance partner and good friend, got invited to teach at Valentango, and asked me to teach with her as the organizer of the festival asked her to bring a partner to teach together. Needless to say, I was excited beyond belief.

I came back on Monday, still excited after a weekend of classes, practicas and milongas. I did not dance nearly as much as I hoped because teaching really wiped me out. I danced enough to enjoy it though. Everything was just dandy.

That's until the reviews started popping up on the Valentango feedback blog. We got owned by some angry woman posting anonymously. I am assuming this was a woman because of the frustration with too many women and not enough men to dance with them, etc. etc. I mean, there was a guy posting with similar sentiment but there was just too much pure fury to come from a guy sympathizing with the women who didn't get to dance much... Regardless, we got slammed. Her precise words were that we 'should have been taking classes, not teaching them'. The only thing that saved my sanity from getting lost was the amount of positive feedback we received personally from students in classes we taught. I guess it is only a question of time until those positive words show up on the blog because - oh God almighty, no! - Clay (the organizer) decides whether to bring back a certain teacher based on the feedback. So far we are down 2 -0 (yeah, there was another 'nice but not up to snuff' comment). Come on people! Bring in the good stuff!!!

Yeah, I am not really worried, honestly... I have so much ahead of me. For the next couple of years I will be preoccupied with balancing work, school and family life so this stuff really takes a spot below the aforementioned priorities.

I had a good time. Inna (my girlfriend) had a good time. That's all that matters. Next festival, I am dancing, not teaching :)

Rediscovering Tango

There is no other way to call this. I am re-discovering Tango for myself and it has been breathtaking. Literally, half the time I find myself on the dance floor breathless as I lead my follow through the simplest of steps. It is as if all my senses sharpened tenfold and I can feel her heart beat inside of me and her breath feel my lungs with oxigen. We dance through tandas, inseparable. And it repeats over and over again. I have never believed in tango trance and here I am, experiencing something that I think is exactly it.

I am addicted to tango as it is but now that I have felt what it is like to be one with the follow, music and the dance floor, I am pretty sure this is for life. A fantastic feeling, sending tingles down my spine even when I just think about it. I can only wish that every tango dancer experiences this in his or her life. This is worth all the pain of being a beginner, all the money spent on airfare, hotels, workshops, privates, and shoes. This is worth the wait and it is definitely worth the dance!

UN Security Council

As we all know, the 60th UN General Assembly has commenced in New York. One of the important discussion topics will be expansion of the Security Council. Two seats will be added to the Council, with Germany and Japan being the candidates. Not many people know that Iran and North Korea tried to nominate their representatives for the Council seats saying: "At least we got the BOMB!"

Fortune cookie

Word to word: "You have an unusual equipment for success, use it properly."

I mean, are there still doubts why men rule the world?! Remembering The War of the Roses: "Honey, you are not equipped!" It's all about the penis. Even the Chinese food industry is catching up.

How sad...

Bustling Saint Louis

To say the least, our tango scene has been buzzing the past few months. So buzzing has it been that I had to take a break. We would have 3-4 milongas a week. Great, one would say. I would tend to agree if we were speaking of, say, Portland or Denver or Seattle or the likes. We are speaking of Saint Louis where the whole tango community is about 50 souls tops. Yes, we have newcomers and people who hang around for a while but the ones who really stick are not as numerous.

So I had a major burnout and had to get away right when Susana Miller was in town. From what I heard, there were about 40 people at her classes due to space limitations and the organizers had to close the registration completely a couple of days before the start of the workshop. Strangely, I don't feel that I missed that much.

Not to be critical of the folks from the community I belong to, but I just feel that the couple that organizers all the events are out to put Saint Louis on the map at any cost. While the intention is nice, the implementation leaves a lot to desire. First, they managed to turn a lot of people against them or at least made them stop wanting to help, by behaving like they were the gods of all. Then, they brought an asshole of a teacher (not my opinion but rather that of the followers that danced with the guy). They have brought him twice since and are bringing him again soon. They bring good teachers as well, I have to give them that. The ugly thing about them is the exclusivity. If they brought someone, noone else can bring that teacher anymore. Jeez, good luck maintaining friendly relationship with all of us! Everyone they bring, they bring for close embrace, even though some of the teachers have and can teach amazing open material (thank god they didn't get to Alex Krebs first!!!).

Anyways. I feel like this post went every possible direction and didn't have a single underlying idea besides the fact that I am at a loss for words when I see how poorly people do things and how easily they alienate themselves from others.

Gotta say though that people I hang with are super nice and all pretty good dancers. So if you pass Saint Louis on your way somewhere or go there on a job (it is an unlikely tourist destination), drop me a line and I'll be happy to introduce you to our little tango gang.

Relationships

So my friends and I have been talking a lot about people and relationships and chemistry and what/who we are looking for in life. While at it, I have developed a theory of a perfect relationship that can last a lifetime (I only say I've developed it because it is a product of my own thinking but by saying so I don't assume someone else haven't thought like this before or thinks like this now).

I think it takes three things for such a relationship to exist:
1) friendship
2) love
3) being in love.

Absence of one or more of these three makes a relationship different and, in my mind, imperfect. Let me explain.

Friendship implies trust and openness to each other. True friends can tell each other everything and expect true, unbiased reactions from one another. Friendship is not a dependency but rather a fruitful union of minds and souls that carries no sexual tension and therefore lets a person share all his or her experiences, thoughts and feelings with the other. True friends for me cannot be jealous because part of a true friendship is allowing the other person freedom of personal choices and enjoying such freedom yourself.

Love is a desire to be a part of another person while allowing them to be a part of you. If friends, albeit sharing their lives with each other live them separately, love makes people live one life together. Life for them becomes about them. I and You dissolve in We. Love consumes and rewards. It is sensual and sexual.

Finally, being in love is a euphoria that is sometimes instilled in us for some reason in relationship to something or someone. Being in love doesn't implied loving or being love. We can be in love with a pop star or a TV personality, or even a certain car (jeez!). It doesn't mean much in and of itself but, when added to the mix, makes it powerful and long lasting.

So what happens when all three ingredients are present? As friends, the two people share each others emotions, feelings and any other experiences outside the relationship. At the same time, as lovers, they let these things be a part of their union, enriching it and letting both of them live this life of Us. The part of each of them in one another becomes more colorful and exciting as more things are shared. They trust each other ultimately, with their minds and bodies. There's nothing in between the two people. No barriers, no walls, no checkpoints. Finally, if they are also in love with each other, they live in a world that is just better than it really is. They may not have a job/income/parents/house, etc. they would like to have but all those things are diluted by the fact that there's a person in their life that makes them smile when they wake up in the morning or come home thinking of him or her. Being in love with a person can make us fly. If that person also shares love and friendship with us, we fly together and nothing is more exiting.

Is this possible? I hope so. I also hope it's possible in my case. Time will tell.

Sad news

It seems that our rueda group is falling apart. Some changes are temporary as one of the girls will be back in September, some are more permanent with another girl most likely moving to Chicago or elsewhere in August. And given that the third girl is generally flaky and have been out with a injured pec for two months by now, that leaves our group with one last girl and three guys. For practice sake, it's ok, we all have been taking turns leading and following, but bye-bye performances and other fun things...

Sad... Very sad. We just seemed to have found a nice groove.

Of course, on the bright side, we may find new people who will bring their unique personalities and fresh perspective to our little company. Let the search begin!

Shitology

Ain't that some shit!

Monsters

My cat is a fucking monster from the Underworld.

One night he'll be sleeping on my chest as he always does and his dark side will prevail causing his sharp teeth to rupture my coronary...

My brother is a fucking monster from who knows where.

One day he'll come by my place, see me dead and half-eaten by my monster cat and join him in his bloody feast before finishing off and eating the cat itself as well.

Boy I got it good... But then, whadd'ya expect! I am a fucking monster myself!


Well, not really... Damn! I am doomed.

Financial Assistance Corporation

FAC bonds are trading under ticker FIASCO. Must be a marketing gimmick.

Appartment Number 50

Appartment Number 50

If you think the last name is a coincidence... Think again.

Flocking

There's an interesting thing I've noticed quite a few times. I call it "flocking". It is a phenomenon that involves a hot woman and her male friends. And when I say friends, I actually mean a purely platonic relationship, no quotation marks or connotations. I've known a few very good looking women that had different good looking men escorting them to different events. And guys would always be introduced as the woman's friends. My first thought was, of course, that they were just saying that but after observing for a while, I concluded that those guys were really nothing more than friends. Whether they wanted to stay that way, is a different question which I can't answer.

Not to bring up the whole When Harry Met Sally theme, but it got me thinking why men do this. Do they line up hoping they'd get some or is it sincere friendship on their part with no ulterior motives in play? Are they too shy to express their real feelings thus having no other option but to become a friend just to be near the adored object or are they greedy predators trying to conquer their victim from within? And if they want to be more than friends, then why, seeing that she has a lot of men just like them around her, do they stick to the same strategy?

When I was in college, I remember being a confidant to a lot of female friends of mine. Later, when I was dating this one girl, I found out that quite a few of my female friends had thought that I was gay before they saw me in the street with her. That would explain why our friendships had been so comfortable and never too awkward. But in the case of a clearly heterosexual woman, what makes a dozen of men so eager to be friends and no more with her when they can have other relationships, possibly more fulfilling and less platonic. It's unlikely all of them are gay, although some may be... So for straight guys, what's in it?

Chase

I am just chasing my brother around. I have some ideas though so this may end up being a fruitful undertaking.