Top Ten - Week of 1.10.11

Last weeks top ten (in order of occurrence):

10) Wayne- Last weekend I hung out at my brother's apartment and watched The Others with him and his friend.  It was nice to be around family and just relax for the night.

9) Harkness Institute- On Monday, I went to a FREE injury prevention assessment for dancers.  I met with a physical therapist, one-on-one, for about an hour and a half.  She had me do all kinds of exercises and stretches, and she identified areas of potential danger in my current alignment.  She also gave me a list of stretches to do work on my existing injuries and help improve my general performance.  My hamstrings have extensive damage after tearing one and pulling the other many years ago.  I've re-injured them many times over the years, and a great deal of scar tissue has built up as a result.  Recently they have gotten so tight, that I was feeling pain when I would bend over to put my shoes on.  This is heartbreaking for someone who used to roll in and out of her splits and almost touch her nose in a high-kick line.  I still don't know if I'll ever make it back to that degree of flexibility, but after just one week of doing the recommended stretches and using my foam roller before and after every class, I'm noticing significant changes.  It's exciting to watch the transformation.

8) Chelsea Community Group- Monday night I went to that community group that Sue recommended the night before, and it was awesome.  Everyone was extremely welcoming, and it was a great time of worship, discussion, and prayer.  I'm planning on becoming a regular.

7) HEAT!!!-- I went throughout the entire fall and half of winter (including the Great Blizzard) without heat in my apartment.  I used to lay in my bed for hours after the alarm went off because I didn't want to leave my comforter.  And when I would try to read of use the computer, I would bundle up in my winter coat and blankets, but my fingers would literally go numb since they had to be exposed in order to turn the pages or type.  It's a long, stupid story as to why we didn't have heat, but I finally have it, and it's glorious!  A whole new world!

6) Intermediate-  I started taking some Int and IntAdv classes and not psyching myself out at the label.  At BDC classes progress through Basic, Beginner, Advanced Beginner, Intermediate, and Intermediate Advanced.  I've mostly been taking AdvBeg classes and being sufficiently challenged at that level.  But for the past 2 weeks, I started trying to step out of my comfort zone, and push myself.  I still look a hot mess in those harder classes, but I'm picking up the choreography so much faster than I was at the beginning of my program, and I'm starting to let go more and just dance. 

5) Lyndsay- On Tuesday, I had drinks with Lyndsay.  She and I went to high school together and were officers on the dance team.  I haven't seem her in over 5 years, but she just moved to NYC this month, so we met up and were able to pick up where we left off.

4) Hillstone- Work went really well this week.  No one blew up at me; I made good money; and I even helped to encourage my co-worker who was struggling with some of the same issues I was dealing with at the beginning of my time there.  I also learned a new trick: even if I screw up with my table, as long as I leave a good LAST impression just before they're signing the charge slip, I get 20%.  So now I slide the credit card on the table, make direct eye-contact, give a huge smile, bat my eyelashes, and say, "Thank you soooo much!  Enjoy the rest of your evening!" Boom- 25 bucks. :)

3) Trader Joes- FIIIIINALLY went to Trader Joes, a grocery store that eeeeveryone's been talking about.  And now I get why they've been talking about it.  Everything is crazy cheap!  They have a lot of inexpensive organic products and they sell cheap pre-cooked meals.  I bought my groceries for the week for $36!  It was insane, and I am in love. 

2) Katie- Holy smokes, I love this girl!  I met Katie through Erica Stewart, who Facebook connected us when I first moved to NYC, and promised that we would get along well with each other.  What an understatement.  Since moving to NYC, the hardest I ever laugh is when I'm around this girl.  On Saturday, we went out for 'breakfast for dinner.'  I had blueberry pancakes at 8:30 at night, so it was already a great night.  But to top it off we went out for drinks.  We decided to look for "manly bars" as we called them, so our first stop was the bar on the corner that had at least 7 neon beer logos in the window.  Guys like shiny things and beer, so we figured we had the right spot.  And we were right.  Just to get to the bar, we had to push through about 12 guys-- probably the most straight men I've seen since I've moved to NYC.  Although we had a blast, we decided we're both awkward, and we're just going to have to live with that.  :) Our homework is to continue researching 'manly' bars and frequenting restaurants that have 'breakfast for dinner' options on their menu. 

1) GLEE- I'm working on a GLEE medley dance performance.  Jorge, one of the dancers in the program, is helping me choreograph it, and this morning we had a great rehearsal.  By the end of it, we were both grinning from ear to ear, so excited about the choreography that we came up with! Every week that I watch GLEE, I think about how that's EXACTLY what I wish I was doing, so I'm excited to put together this number and hopefully channel some of that inspiration. 

That's it- overall a great week! Looking forward to another one!