Why I Love My Job:

If it wasn't obvious enough...


1) My body aches every day when I get home, but it hurts so good. Those aches and pains mean I'm dancing daily and I wouldn't have it any other way.
2) I have an excuse to spend lots of money on iTunes without feeling guilty.
3) It is hard. Each hour, day, week, presents new challenges to work through and overcome. It's invigorating.
4) I got paid today. Oh, sweet salary, how I love you.
5) There is plenty of daily, personal pondering time a.k.a a long commute.
6) I get to say the Pledge of Allegiance every day. :) It's a constant reminder, "Oh yeah-I DO love America!"
7) I have the opportunity to do butt-loads of choreography. Nothing stimulates my brain more.
8) Everyone around me thinks I'm an amazing dancer. I love the times when the dancers finish a combination going across the floor, and look to me for approval. It makes me want to be better.
9) It makes me laugh. Have you ever seen a beginning dancer who's learning how to spot and do chaine turns? It is hilarious, and terribly endearing. Just ask me to do an impression of one of my favorites...
10) For this reason alone: I was a little worried about starting my beginning dancers with barre work, thinking they might get bored with it. There are also a few girls in one class who are little tom-boys so I didn't think they'd get too into it. But then I noticed something when we were at the barre going through the ballet positions. I told the dancers to look at themselves in the mirror so they could check their alignment. With her arms in fifth position above her, one of the girls peeked around to the mirror, smiled to herself and held her head just a little higher. I knew at that moment that she felt pretty. My heart swelled.

These last few weeks have already been full of ups and downs, but this blessed job is so worth it.

--For those of you who don't know, I teach dance full-time at a charter school. Seven classes, two times a week, an hour-and-a-half each. Three day weekends, every weekend and all the regular school breaks... I could go on and on about all the perks to this job... :)

Information Overload

I have logged onto this beloved blogger.com almost every day since my last post, just wondering what I would do for the next one. I feel like my brain is saturated with information, none of it really ready for sharing, or worth the time it would take to explain.


So--what are the thinks that I have been thinking lately? I think it goes something like this...

new car or used car? class plans. student schedules. mpg. cost of living. dental insurance. commute. costumes. show themes. choreography costumes. class uniform. discipline. structure. example. meetings. new rules. friend. tears, Celine Dión, more tears. pp 100. rates. kelly blue book. jd power. 2011 ratings. New or Used? I hate Vegas. make that better. out of shape. poster. overall presentation. technique organization. moving. not moving. calling. test-driving. dirty. hot. slurpee. distance. efficiency. debt. financing. taxes. saving. time. weddings. unpack. childhood. estimated worth. scam. diploma. New or Used? payments. salary. ten months. conference. emotional breakdown. grades. transportation. pick and choose. out of the box. eat. insurance. retirement. grad school. craigslist. classifieds. dealership. strange sound. automatic. upholstery. talking. trying. boy? New or Used? new language. decoration. image. understanding. money money money. too much information. decisions. storage space. wardrobe. waste of time. assignments. emotional level. state standards. seth. New or Used? budget. new or used? tickets. new or used? denial. Information Overload.

Someone save me from all the decisions, and the research I need to retain in order to make educated ones.

...you might be a dance major.

My brain is overflowing (even more than usual) with dancing. As I prepare to teach dance full-time in the Fall, I am constantly thinking about important information I want to share with my students, dances I want to do, music I want to use, and techniques I want to teach. In this constant state of brainstorming anything and everything dance. I remembered a list that I wrote my last semester of college (feels so weird to put college in past-tense) that illustrated what life was like as a dance major. I am now learning that was only the beginning...

1) If you realize that Sunday was the only day you wore something other than sweat pants...
2) If you use a leotard as a back-up when you can't find your bathing suit...
3) If you get hungry every two hours...
4) If you know the meaning of RICE, and you do it at least once a week...
5) If work and play have the same description (dancing)...
6) If you always have a stick of deodorant in your back-pack...
7) If the lady giving you a pedicure rolls her eyes before getting to work...
8) If you wear your hair up every single day...
9) If you are always the first on the dance floor at a wedding or party...
10) If you change your clothes in front of people without thinking twice...
11) If your professor has ever kicked you in the face...
12) If you get cascades of compliments on your appearance whenever you shower, put on make-up, do your hair, or wear jeans...

...you might be a dance major.

And you wouldn't have it any other way.

*I lovingly dedicate this post to all of my dance homies in the program or on Dance Alliance. Miss you! And feel free to add to the list! :)

Deutchland Do's and Dont's..

...as in, Things I DO and DON'T love about Germany:


1) I DO love the pretzels. Soft pretzels are everywhere and they are a delight! I often dipped mine in Nutella. Terrific decision. I also loved the lemon Fanta found in Austria... I could never drink my fill.
2) There is so much to do and see! There is definitely something for everyone.
3) I love the colors in the cities... such a broad spectrum. 
4) The parks are bangin'. Much of the equipment is too dangerous for parks in the U.S. but they are the most fun. (Can you say, zip-line?)
5) Everyone seems to notice each other more... You rarely see people absorbed in technological gadgets as they walk through the streets. It was really refreshing.

Passau

1) I DON'T like how all the drinks are served without ice. Not so refreshing.
2) Everything is so expensive. It's depressing.
3) I don't like the "trophy shelf" found in many German toilets. They are made so your business lands right onto a flat surface. It's much more fragrant and I don't like it.
4) The service is not very good at restaurants. Servers don't have to refill beverages or really tend to you at all during the meal. (Did I mention refills are not free and cost about four dollars? Boo.)
5) I don't like the old trains that shut their doors on you prematurely and don't open, even after much force, calling for two other people on the train to assist you.

A surprising trend in European streetwear...

I have been baffled by many different public displays thus far in my time in Germany. These may include any of the many PDAs: Public Displays of Affection, Awkward-ness, Articulation, Air-bending, or Awesome-ness. (Yes, I may have just thought alternate options for the "A" in PDA, but look around you--you'll see that these options are truly realities.)

Short Vocabulary Lesson:

Public Display of Affection/Awkward-ness: Self-Explanatory


Public Display of Articulation: Someone purposely shows off their extensive vocabulary in a casual conversation in order to impress you. Sometimes can result in incorrect use of a word.


Public Display of Air-Bending: Just as bad as the movie, someone audibly breaks wind in a public area, causing a visible reaction...(Crinkled noses, hands over the face, scattering of crowds, etc.)


Public Display of Awesome-ness: When something happens in real life that you feel could, or should have been a scene in a movie.


After that outrageous tangent, here I finally reach the true point of this post. 

Ahem... I have been baffled by many different public displays thus far in my time in Germany. However, the public display that has confused me the most, and eeked its way into my wandering thoughts, is that of the manpris. Yes, you read me right. Manpris! They are everywhere, and on all ages. I'm not talking long shorts, I'm talking full-on, "check-out-my-ankles," manpris. When I see them, my brows instantly furrow as consideration sets in. "There is a man standing there. He is wearing capri pants. Those are manpris."

 Where are they coming from? 

What guy is purchasing these pantalones cortos and what girl is telling them that they look alright?

Why does this feel so wrong? 

Europe is supposed to exemplify the height of fashion, street-wear at its finest. Why then, oh why have resorted to this? Perhaps this is too much thought focusing on a matter so trivial as the clothing options in Germany. But after two weeks of seeing the streets of multiple cities dotted with such a visual, I've become concerned. 


Please, oh please, manpris. Do not reach your short little legs over to the men of America and entice them with your easy-breezy lifestyle. If you belong anywhere, it is here, among the Lederhosen.

...and after careful consideration, a new blog is born!

I have been thinking about starting a blog for many months now. Because of recent changes in my life and location, I thought this would be a good place to keep people informed. However, I'm not quite sure what sort of blog this will morph into. I don't necessarily want to document everything I'm doing, but I did want a place where I could share my thoughts about... whatever I want. :) Movies, music, people, places, fads, fashions, actions and alliteration--You get the idea. Will this blog be boring? Perhaps. But that's a risk I'm willing to take.

The start of this blog was most recently put off because of my lack of inspiration when it came to a name. Do I try and be funny? Deep? Witty or clever? Instead of trying to reach any sort of creative standard, I just went with one of the first things I thought of. I don't know if my chosen title deserves any sort of acclamation, but it I'm happy with it. The full influence on my title came from a book written by Dr. Seuss entitled, "The Thinks You Can Think."

"...think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think if only you try!"

So here I am, thinking, and wanting to share my thinking with anyone who cares to read. I guess it's a way for me to know myself even better, as I attempt to share what goes on in this random brain of mine. Strange opinions, tendencies, likes or dislikes... everything's out on the table. Tune in.