This just came in the mail today:

Check out the issue date.

I think the title says it all, but in case it doesn’t, the following photo should:

We ranked 5th in Advanced Latin, 3rd in Jive and 3rd in Paso Doble, bringing home two trophies and two gift certificates each to JC Dance Co’s Rising Star Squad (Standard Technique). More photos here.

I won’t lie and tell you that it wasn’t “OH MY GOD I’M GOING TO DIE” terrifying, but I will tell you this: It was totally worth it in the end. Sure, I might have made mistakes in every dance and danced the Samba at twice the speed of the music in front of my friends, family, and TEACHERS, but I survived it.

In fact, forget all the dance experience of training, preforming, and not dying, and forget about the two shiny trophies I kiss every night before I go to bed… The very fact that I voluntarily decided to be judged on my dancing—in public no less—and survived to want to do it again next year has set the bar a notch higher for the next bigger and scarier thing that will no doubt come my way in the near future. Like public speaking. Or fish.

This “coming out of your comfort zone” thing? Hard, but awesome.

1. Trashy celebrity magazines and blogs. I never buy them, but flipping through celebrity news at the checkout is another reason why grocery shopping is, hands down, my favorite type of shopping.
2. Food. I love to shop for it, make it, bake it, and eat it. Basically, this vice sounds like a recipe for obesity. Thankfully, the four factors that stand in the way of me and obesity are: 1) I’m vegetarian, 2) and a fairly healthy eater, 3) very active, and 3) not American. (Kidding about the last one, of course.)
3. My ability to take something small and make it huge. My upcoming dance competition is an excellent example of this. I freaked out, thought up the most lucrative worst case scenarios and made a small competition into a huge OH EM GEE IM GOING TO DIEEEEE event, but after a couple practices, I was actually looking forward to it. Overeact much?
4. Pride. I have a certain pride in my independence. I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing, but definitely something that can run a little too far at times. I like to do things by myself. I have a particular inability to ask for help, especially when it’s something I’m adamant about figuring out for myself. I refuse to date, partially because of my pride in being my own person and above all that typical non-committal, toxic nonsense.
5. Being too analytic. I examine things. I have this particular fondness for picking apart my life, both my current situation and my planned future. While I know that it has definitely contributed to me being more aware about my behavior and every last aspect of my life, it also has the tendency to drive people crazy when I do it out loud, my family especially.
6. My ability to do nothing and still feel as if I’ve done so much. I don’t even think this one needs explaining, but I can tell you one thing: I’ve had days where all I do is sit in bed and read or sit in bed and work on something useless for HOURS, and after all that I can still have the sheer audacity to feel as if I’ve ran a marathon.

Things that might be happening in my life over the next two weeks, a list:

• Work.
• School.
• Dance practice.
• Work.
• School.
• Running!
• School.
• Work.
• Dance competition?!

I’ll leave you to guess which one out of that list is most terrifying to me. (Hint: It’s not work.)

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Remember that goal I set in the beginning of November? I did it! As of November 30th, I’m officially a 5K; I made promotion - and as a very lovely by-product, increased my monthly income by at least 10-15%. It took a lot of hard work, sacrifice and overtime, but it paid off in the end.

And around 12am MST, just after the office closed, it finally hit me: This is actually happening. I actually own a business network. I can take a month off (which, ironically, is what I’ll be doing for most of December), and money will still come in. It actually works. And this is just the beginning.

You know, as crazy as this may sound, I can’t imagine not reaching my goals; like, the idea simply does. not. exist. In fact, I actually sat down one time and tried to imagine myself going to a “normal” school, going to college like “normal” kids, getting a “normal” 9-5 job, and working for the greater part of my life like a “normal” adult, but try as I might, I simply couldn’t see it.

And right then, I knew it: If I couldn’t see it, It. would. not. happen.

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I love it when people try to ruin my day.

While I usually try my best to live my life as if the world is conspiring in my favor (as opposed to conspiring against me), there are often moments when it is clear that certain individuals are not - it’s in their words and actions; in the sly venom or double meaning of ill intent encapsulated within seemingly neutral statements.

One big decision that not only forever changed my life but also brought a lot of negative opinions was the decision to leave the public education system forever. Suddenly, people were popping out of the woodwork everywhere to voice their “concern” - What about socialization? Don’t you miss the school system? What about your friends? Isn’t homeschooling for “special education” kids? How will you learn?!

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It was early. Perhaps not “early” for most, but early for me. The air was crisp, cold, and the town was quiet. Undeniably quiet. Eerily quiet. Peacefully quiet. I can look outside my window and see Quadra Island, a place I’ve spend several summers at years ago. Sometimes, if I’m lucky, I can catch sight of the cute little BC Ferry that services the two islands.

For the last couple days I’ve been in Campbell River, a small town off the coast of Vancouver Island. Coming from a city of one million plus, a city of 30,000 is small. Undeniably small. Eerily small. Peacefully small. It’s like an acquired taste, almost. There is something relaxing about it; and yet, I miss home. I miss the noise, the crowds, the traffic, the good, and the bad. Most of all, I miss my bed. And my silky sheets. And speaking French to my dog.

As I walked the streets from my hotel to my work location, I couldn’t help but wonder: What would I have been like if I’d grown up in a small city like Campbell River? Would I have “turned out” differently? Would I have had the same ambitions? What kind of friends would I have had? How would I have been like? What kinds of things would I have enjoyed doing?

It’s such an odd thought, trying to imagine yourself as someone completely different. Every little bit of everything we’ve done, experienced, learned, been taught, been exposed to… all of that makes us who we are today. Change anything, and you wouldn’t be the exactly the same person.

Have you ever thought about this? Say you grew up somewhere completely opposite to where you did: how do you think you’d be different? (Or would you?)

Since the lovely Aisling tagged me for “seven things we don’t know about you”, here goes seven things you wish you didn’t know about me. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. ;)

1. When I was a kid, I hated running and did everything within my power to avoid it. I’d refuse to play tag. I’d make my parents sign a note basically telling my school (back when I went to public school) that I was “unfit” to run. I quit playing volleyball when they made us do push-ups (see below) and run before training… Ironically enough, I started forcing myself to run in the summer of 2006 and ended up training and completing the 10K Sun Run in early 2007. And now? Now I love running - on my terms, of course.
2. I can’t do push-ups. Now, I don’t believe in saying “I can’t” (whether you think you can do it or think you cannot, you’re right!), but in this case, I literally mean it: I can’t push my own body weight. I can do maybe 20 “girl” push-ups, but regular push-ups? Forget about it. It’s not that I’m overweight, but rather, I’ve always done activities that built up my leg muscles and not so much my upper body.
3. I have a love affair with tweezers and the things I can do with my favorite pair of them. I always feel so satisfied and accomplished when I use them to pluck my (or someone else’s) eyebrows or pop pimples (not after sterilizing them, of course!)… Gross but true.
4. I adore Disneyland. To me, no matter how old I get, Disneyland will always hold my childhood magic. I can’t even explain exactly how much Disneyland means to me, but ever since the first I went (when I was five), my daydreams have regularly included frolicking around Disneyland in a princess costume, never aging, always being happy and having the moment frozen forever.
5. I have a very lovely best friend named Roxy (Roxy and Chanel - Ironic much? The fact that we’ve both got clothing company names must signify true love!) whom I’ve been friends with for 12+ years. We’re so opposite, yet somehow, despite our differences, we’re very much alike. Oh yeah, and she’s crazy talented in the art and songwriting department!
6. When I was seven years old, I had the tip of a seam ripper lodged in my foot for an entire year. It all started when I got angry, kicked a door and somehow, in the process of doing so, stabbed my foot with a seam ripper that was lying on the ground (my room was messy!) - the entry wound wasn’t even visible, and at the time I had no idea what had happened, but soon a bump started to form at the site. 12 months later, my mom (the nurse) took a sterilized hot needle, poked at the bump, and out came the tip of a seam ripper.
7. I have a pair of handcuffs hanging from the headboard of my bed, but I assure you, they’re purely for decoration. (They’re not the real kind, but were actually bought for a totally different Halloween get-up: a badass vampire costume! I keep them there because they look good.)

People I’m tagging for this… Daddy Dan, Amber, Brian / Luther / The Dad, Chantelle, Crystal, Regina and V. Why not spread the fun around? I’ve learned a lot of very odd and funny stuff from those who’ve done it already. :)

With life being as insane and all-demanding as it is, few of us take time to stop and “smell the roses”, as it were. What are you thankful for? What little things do you appreciate the most? What are you daily pleasures? (A spin-off idea inspired by Regina’s latest post.)

For me, the list looks something like this (in no particular order):

Doing nice things for others. I love to do nice things for others. Sometimes it’s going the extra mile, sometimes it’s doing a random act of kindness, and sometimes it’s doing something that everyone should, by default, be doing, but either way, I love to do nice things for people. I don’t even have to know them—they could be complete and utter strangers for all I care. It doesn’t matter.

My neighborhood. I love my neighborhood. It’s nothing special, just your average nice east side neighborhood, yet it has almost everything I need within walking distance - ice rink, track, gym, swimming pool, community center, public library, two grocery stores, two Chinese restaurants, a bakery, two Starbucks (though I don’t ever go there, it’s helpful when I want to meet up with someone there), several forests and parks, etc. I love it.

Walking my dog. Walking my dog around my neighborhood is among one of the most relaxing and enjoyable things ever. He likes it, I like it, we take almost the same route every time, but it’s delightful. Walking, running, or just about any other form of exercise (with the mp3 player, of course) is also a surefire “pick me up” - endorphins can definitely account for part of this daily pleasure.

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This just in: Contrary to what you might believe, talking on the phone will not kill you.

Me and the phone have a hate/hate relationship. You see, I’ve always avoided talking on the phone with most (read: 99.9%) people. It’s awkward and weird. You can’t see the person’s expressions. There are uncomfortable pauses. You might run out of things to say. I also get somewhat nervous when I’m about to call someone, especially if I have no particular reason for doing so (i.e. “just for a chat”).

I can make conversation in real life, but on the phone? No. Because chats about the weather don’t go over as well when the other person isn’t in the same vicinity as you.

“Lovely weather today, eh?”
“… Did you call me just to say that?”

So maybe I’m exaggerating a bit. I can make conversation over the phone, but it’s usually forced and my brain is always in “must think about what I’m going to say next” mode. I’ve even written down lists of possible conversational material before calling someone. Yes, a list of possible conversation material. Always prepared for the worst, I am.

However, as of lately, it’s become apparent that my fear of talking on the phone is holding me back. My occupation requires lots of phone calls, and my network’s growth has been somewhat hindered (though I have tried my best to delegate the task of phone conversations off to my mother) because of it. Simply put? I need to get over it. It’s a “suck it up, princess!” fear.

I know I’m not the only one who doesn’t like talking on the phone. Why is that? I mean, really… What makes it so different from talking to people “in person”, face to face (don’t even get me started on webcams - that’s for a whole other entry), or over IM?

Of course, being the ever-prepared person I am, I’ve already developed a plan of action to conquer and dominate this irrational sillyness head on. I’m going to force-dive myself into this phone business and bring out my list of people I should have called months ago. Clients. Friends. Clients. Clients. Clients. Dear god. What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger!

This stepping out of your comfort zone stuff ain’t easy, but it isn’t as bad as I thought. I’ve already started on The Plan and called a few clients. Surprisingly, the world did not stop spinning and my head did not explode. It went well. Very well, actually, and the fact that I survived the experience to blog about it says it all. I’m alive, aren’t I?

Hi, I'm Chanel, a Vancouver-based entrepreneur, writer, photographer, life-long student, sister, daughter and lover. Welcome to the place where my free time goes to die. Follow me on twitter and tumblr.

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Ate enough cotton candy at the fair to throw up a whole sugar cane. Rode the coaster enough times to make that a reality. Survived both. 1 week ago