In reality, I have very little clue what twitting is all about. I heard it’s one-liner and I heard Paris Hilton is doing it. Not quite sure if that is a good sign. Come to think of it though, this might be ideal for me. I really don’t have a lot of time to blog. If you look at my entries, they’re about 4 months to a year apart. As my son would say…EPIC. I’m not a consistent blogger and I’m not even sure what prompted me to write today. Probably, Michael Owen. There are actually people reading my blog?! I somehow think of blogging as an extension of my journal. My journal is where I express my frustration and angst…at least my private ones. My blog is the public face.. my tempered angst and toned-down frustration.

I’m not good with transistions. Given my one-liners and lack of time of write consistently, it sounds like twitting is good for me. Don’t you think? But I’m not good with transitions and I would let something as easy as signing up for a new account, a hindrance. Which is why I still have a Kindle and not an iPad. Which is why I’m still not using my husband’s fancy new coffee machine…

To twit or not to twit?

No, thanks.

With Janine in daycare and Eon in ski school, we decided last year that it would be better for us to stay right at the foot of the slopes. We choose Mammoth Mountain Inn. The pictures were deceivingly clean and description was inviting. Little did we know. After 9 hours of driving (due 4 hours of to LA traffic), we finally arrived. The Lobby looked nice but once we head to our “suite” we were greeted with a smelly and stained carpet on the hallways. The elevated was in a similar state of neglect. The 2 bedroom “suite” with kitchen was an equal let-down. The sheets and curtains were worn and old-fashioned. The beds were squeaky… and my litany of not-so-great things about this place goes on and on. The only highlight was that it was on the slopes. But what is that worth if you go home exhausted from a day of skiing to a dump?

We decided to explore the village and found that Westin was at Mammoth. We looked around and decided that we have been…screwed!!

This year, we learned. We stayed at Westin and the brief gondola ride to the slopes was a breeze. Westin and their Heavnenly Beds was such a great upgrade from tawdry Mammoth Inn. This time around, I actually felt like it was vacation.

We ate, skied and went to the jacuzzi to soak our tired muscles. Everyday was a routine… in a nice way. It was Janine’s first year of ski lesson. It was a horror morning on the first day but somehow things worked out. Eon is out-skiing me but on our last day chickened out on a blue slope, fell and we had to make a trip down to the main lodge with the ski patrol. Eon was fine and back skiing soon after the ski patrol dropped us off at the bottom on the slopes.

I was up for more challenges and decided to cajole my littlest one to ride Chairlift 7 with me and Eon. She was fine on the lift but started freaking out as soon as we got off. She started crying and declaring that she was NOT going done the hill and “skiing was ugly.” After some threats of abandonment, we finally skied downhill. Call me a despot but that was actually quite fun.

Apparently, you can’t have tint on your front windows. It’s against California law. Out of nowhere while driving within speed limits, a policeman in a bike mysteriously appears and starts to trail after me. I was baffled and I wondered if I missed any STOP sign. I didn’t.

I pulled-over.

Mr. Policeman informs me that I have tint in my front side windows and I need to take corrective action (How formal!) I got a citation and I’m suppose to have another police officer to sign it off after I take…corrective action. I had some 30 days to have it fixed.

I went to PepBoys and looked for the right tools to remove my tint. I left with a spray that was suppose to soften the adhesive.

Taking the tint turned out to be more laborious that I expected it to be. After 3 hours of working, my glasses were finally tint-free. My arms were aching and my back was tired. Sign of old age?

I’m just glad to have it done and over with.

Janine specially LOVES the belly dancer and imitates her every single move. (Free lessons?)

The food is okay. I especially like the appetizers! My personal favorite is the gyro.

I haven’t visited my site. I suppose, I’m lucky it’s still up! every year I make a resolution to write more but I always fall back into the lazy habit of nothingness. Too vegetative after 10 hours of day at work and 2 hours of busy home life. I’m often at lost for words and groping for eloquence. How sad is that?

Let’s turn this into a habit. Again. I try.

I was heading to our company dinner in Downtown San Diego. I was driving my husband’s car. I was on the phone talking to my step daughter when I heard a siren. I glanced at my rearview mirror and saw a car with weird bright lights and lighted rearview — I thought, what an odd car. Then came the realization that it was police car and I was being asked to pull-over.

I nervously hung up and slowed down. I lowered the passenger side window and waited for the police to approach me.

Totally unaware of what my violation was… I asked the policeman. He told me that I have been driving on the left-most lane for the part 3 miles at varying speed of 65-78 mph. “Ma’am did you know that the left-most lane is only a passing lane?!”

I profusedly apologized and pleaded ignorance. He asked for the car registratin (which I couldn’t find!) and then asked for driver’s license (which was still with the old address). He asked if I updated my address with DMV and left to verify my driving history…

Thankfully, he only gave me a warning saying that since I have a clean driving record, he’ll let me go without a ticket. Whew!

I’ve already moved twice since I came from the Philippines. First to San Francisco where I unsuccesfully connected to any Filipino communities and most recently to San Diego where I finally found UP Alumni Association San Diego. But for some weird reason (or not), the connection I was looking for was just not there.

So what was I looking for? I was hoping to find a sense of belongingness… A feeling that you DO have something in common besides your alma mater. I attended the first event but help incredibly out of place. Perhaps it was because most of the alumni were older than my college professors… and perhaps it was also because they were so unlike my college friends. I was struke with the realization that sharing the same language doesn’t necessarily give you a pass to belong to a group.

Maybe I didn’t give it enough time to grow… What I do know is that I haven’t found what I was really looking for.

Which just makes me nervous! Here I am, a graduate of the best state university in the Philippines with top honors. THAT ofcourse is no big deal here. You don’t get any pogi points for that. I have 4 years of account management experience which has proven to be useful in getting my foot in sales positions.

I had a prospective employer who even pointed out that I might want to leave out the fact that I am bilingual as some employers might be concerned that I have an accent. I’ve been to so many interviews, received both job offers and got rejected as well. I guess, the key is to just treat job search as a job. I’m currently doing odd jobs with a financial management company and it helps to atleast regain the work confidence that is shaved off after years of being at home… Opps, another tip from a friend is to never say I’m without a job. Because, really, I’ve been running a family business for 2 years. I have child care, catering, taxi, cleaning services, pool and garden care services… mommies, you know the drill.

I may be 29 but I’ve had a wealth of experience.

THE APPLICATION FEE
$35 prepaid by Nov. 10 for guaranteed ‘Acceptance’

THE BENEFITS
Fun, Dinner & Dance, & A Most Unforgettable Evening

THE SPONSORSHIPS*
$100 sponsorship for guaranteed “Local Star Status”
$500 sponsorship for guaranteed “National Star Status”
$1000 sponsorship for guaranteed “International Star Status”

THE HIGHLIGHT
50′s Dance & Costume Competition
(with participation from LA, OC, SD Who’s Who)
Celebrity Judges

THE DATE
Saturday, 17 November 2007
THE PLACE
The Champion Ballroom Academy
(Home of Fox’s ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Judge Mary Murphy)
3580 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 291-7722

THE PARTY ORGANIZER
Beatrice Bael, UPAASD
ArtsyGutsy Affair: A Fling With Elegance

http://artsygutsyaffair.blogspot.com/

Deadline of Ticket & Sponsorship Payments : Nov. 10, 2007
Checks payable to: UPAASD
Mail to: Ann Napolitano, 5552 Genesee Ct. East., #230, San Diego, Ca 92111

REWIND THE FIFTIES
Some Favorite 50s Dances
Author: Sherril Steele-Carlin
It’s funny how dance crazes come and go. Some it seems, like swing and jive, will never really go out of style. During the 50s, there were several dances that were “it” at the school prom, the high school homecoming dance, and anywhere a band could play a tune. So, now’s the time to kick back the rug, remember some of those old dances and how to do them with us. Put on a record on the record machine and have yourself a sock hop! The Bop. When you dance the bop, you usually dance separately from your partner. It’s a lot like jive or swing, but there’s a lot of toe tapping involved, and you don’t hold hands. Usually you alternately tape the heel and toe of either foot as you dance. The Bop is still popular in many dance clubs and events, and is especially popular in many areas of England. The Stroll. The Stroll was often done only by girls, but that isn’t a “rule” in this classic 50s dance. The Stroll is basically two lines of dancers with a large space in the middle. Lead dancers are on one side, their partners on the other. Dancers do a step pattern to advance the line, and leaders do a solo routine though the line, joining it at the end. The dance continues this way through the music. The Stroll was one of the most popular dances of the 50s, and many nostalgic 50s movies feature a scene featuring The Stroll. Swing. Swing was popular during the 50s, it was a holdover from the 40s jitterbug and swing. Swing is one of the few dances of the fifties that is still practiced today, and still inspires many young people to learn how to dance. The Hand Jive. “Oh Can You Hand Jive?” If you danced during the 50s, chances are you still remember the Hand Jive; in fact, you probably can’t get it out of your head all these years later. This is one dance you can even do sitting down, as that famous dance scene in the film “Grease” shows! Basically, the dance is a series of hand and arm movements done in a pattern. The song “Willy and the Hand Jive” came out in 1958 and stayed at the top of the charts for 16 weeks, so if you were anybody in 1958, then baby, you can hand jive. The Madison. The Madison first started in the late 1950s and gained popularity in the 1960s. This dance was a little more complicated, and it was done in a group, rather than by a couple. There were several dance sequences with specific steps, and some of the sequences referred to some very popular television shows of the time, like Jackie Gleason. The Cha Cha. Although the Cha Cha first appeared in 1949 or so, it really hit its stride in the 1950s, when it became quite a popular nightclub dance. The Cha Cha is a blend of two Latin American dances, the Puerto Rican Danzonette and the Cuban Danzon, and evolved into many different forms of Cha Cha here in the U.S. Rock and Roll. Of course, by the end of the 50s, rock and roll was making news all over America, and dance was changing. Partners no longer danced together, but gyrated to the powerful beat on their own. Swing and The Bop gave way to 60s dance crazes like the Twist, the Mashed Potato, and the Hully Gully, but that’s another story!
Sherril Steele-Carlin is a freelance writer and researcher in Reno, Nevada. Her work has appeared in numerous national publications including American Profile, Highways, Pool & Spa, and many more.

Need ideas for costumes? Click:

http://www.clicket.com/costume/costumes.asp?group=50s

come, hop into

with us on
november 17…
limited seating. reserve now!