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I don’t have much to say, except this: EEEEEEP!

For the Advanced level, they made us do the Quickstep and the Paso Doble; two of our weakest dances. Fingers crossed that this is an accurate predictor for this year’s Gala Ball (in mid-March)!

Besides getting the routine and the technique down, one of the biggest things I have to battle with whenever I dance in front of an “audience” is (understandably) the haywire nerves; it’s my natural tendency to get all fearful, nervous and what-ify. However, one thing I believe made a huge difference tonight was the mentality I had going into it.

Fear disappears when you’re grateful.
Anthony Robbins

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I wish I had something grand and profound to write here, but alas, I do not. Perhaps this is what happens to a person when they spontaneously disappear off the face of the earth, bury themselves in work, spend every evening punishing their feet and still manage to watch three complete seasons of Hannah Montana, like crazy picture talkin’ pseudo blogger with a blank mind say whaaaaa?

Oh sweet nibblets.

In any case, I’ve included faux-polaroids of Winkers to make this post, well, post-able. Doesn’t he looks so very grinning middle-aged mexican missing a sombrero in the second picture? And so very dumbfounded in the first? He’s such a trickster, Winkey is. Do you see that mess in the left side of each photo? HE DID THAT. And then he pulled cute faces to distract me. Smart cookie, he is.

(Much thanks to Ev’Yan for introducing me to Poladroid!)

For what feels like an eternity but may actually be a week or so, Vancouver has been playing host a meteorological phenomenon known as an inversion. You may not know what an inversion is. That’s okay; it’s also known as the second ring of HELL.

Official definition of “inversion”:
In meteorology, an inversion is a deviation from the normal change of an atmospheric property with altitude. It almost always refers to a temperature inversion, i.e., an increase in temperature with height, or to the layer within which such an increase occurs. A layer of warm air sits on a layer of colder air, slamming the cold down like a meat locker door, making life perpetually cold, damp, foggy and supremely unfair. (You’ll see why in a second.)

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“—and then I saw the pastor’s wife on Facebook—”

“WHAT?! What is she doing on there?!”

“Well, anyone can be on there…”

“Put my face on there and see who will be my friend!”

“… Oh my god, I am so blogging that!”

“What? Why? It’s called Facebook, isn’t it?”

(scribble scribble scribble)

“… Are you writing this down?!”

(scribble scribble scribble)

“Chanel, you better not put this on your blog! It makes me sound really stupid.”

Note: This conversation took place on August 17th, 2008 at 2PM. I was cleaning out my desk today when I found this written down on a piece of paper. Since then, my mother has actually managed to sign herself up for Facebook and add her friends. This is how I found out (approximately 3 months ago):

Best friend: Your mother has Facebook?!
Me: MY MOTHER HAS FACEBOOK?!
Best friend: Apparently.
Me: DONT ADD HER.

“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.”
Buddha

“A man stood inside a Metro station in Washington, D.C. and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Many minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the bucket and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

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One thing an appalling amount of snow is good for? Pictures!

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As a conscious citizen of the Northland, I would formally like to alert you of Prop 10478347, also known as Use It Or Lose It: The Appreciation of Livable Winter Weather Act.

This is what it looks like in much of the northern part of your great country right now:

This photo was snapped by government spies last week in San Jose, California:

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With 2008 officially behind us and 2009 officially begun, general consesus is that we have officially begun a “new” year.

… But just who exactly says its a new year?

The calendar? Your friends? The rest of the world? The fact that you will now date your notes with “January” instead of “December” and “2009″ instead of “2008″?

What makes yesterday any different from today?

New beginnings don’t just “happen”. You need to make them happen, and no amount of cheering, glitter, alcohol, counting backwards from ten, change of dates, new resolutions, renewing of the calendar year or lucky kisses with the ones you love at midnight will change that.

What defines a new year, then? Perhaps not the renewing of the calendar, but a renewing of the mind.

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