Time with Laetitia's Babies

I guess as of tomorrow, Laetitia and I get to spend time with her "babies," Newton and Kepler, since Laetitia's parents are taking a vacation. The good news is that she gets to spend time with her dogs and there's a pool and Tivo. The not so good news is that we have quite a commute to work and especially far to the ballroom, but at least we have a 3-day weekend, eh? Stayed tuned for lots of dog photos in the days to come.

What will his fate be?

I'm fairly certain that Sr. Bolero will end up being picked up by Econo Auto Parts. I'm putting off making any appointments till I clean him out "well, get my things out", and make my last good-byes. Even if I were able to get him running for 25 bucks, I'd have to smog him in order to make a sale, and that's all too much work. He's around 20 years old, and if his parts can make one of his brothers last longer, his sacrifice will not go un-noticed. I'll keep everyone posted on the final decision.
Any suggestions?

Porfirio Enters the Matrix

Well, we spoke of vacation for Señor Bolero, but it seems we'll be giving him a permanent one, since we went out this morning and after going to a few dealerships, picked me up a 2005 Toyota Matrix XRS. We knew we wanted another hatchback, and we knew we wanted fold down seats and good gas mileage, so this car seemed to hit all the important stuff along with being kind of fun "170HP, 6-speed manual, sporty ground effects". So, we don't completely know the fate of Señor Bolero "the 1986 Ford Escort 'L'", but we do know that he put in a great 5 years for me and he will be honored and missed.

Señor Bolero Needs a Break

I guess Señor Bolero is as tired as we are and did not want to start up this morning, so I had to walk part way to work and Kristin came to my rescue. It's something electrical, maybe as simple as the battery... I could have given him a push start, but then I could have had him stranded at work, or even worse, the middle of the street where I tried to start him. I guess I'll walk for a few days till I get a chance to take him to the mechanic. Maybe he just needs to catch up on his sleep like me and Laetitia.

Dancing Video from Nationals

I've posted some video clips from our performance at the 2005 USA DanceSport Nationals in St. Paul, MN. It was a semi-final event, and Laetitia and I ended up winning the silver medal in the final. We're still pretty burnt out, but excited to look at our video with Michael, and come up with a strategy for this next stretch of competitions. I'll post our new calendar soon, but for now, enjoy the video!

Back from Nationals

I think I can speak for Laetitia and say that we are soooooooo tired. Friday night, we went to bed after midnight, and got up at 5am, only to miss our Saturday flight because we got there 1/2 hour before check-in instead of 45min. We still made it to St. Paul 11 hours later than planned, but getting there a day before we dance is all that counts. The dancing on Sunday felt pretty good. Laetitia and I got 2nd place, so the extra work and determination paid off. I got to meet her aunt Nancy and family, and it was nice to dance in front of some family smile
We socialized after the event, and then had John and Klair in our room till pretty late... Laetitia and I ended up with probably an hour's sleep before needing to leave the hotel at 5 -15am, but at least we caught our flight home okay. We were back in San Diego by 10 -30am.
Anyway, I just thought I'd make a blog quick entry, since I'm so tired that we blew off our trip to LA and my trip to seeing "So you think you can dance", live. Thanks to Michael Mead for his help throughout the year, and our friends and family for their support, and for our competitors for making this such a challenging field!

Short week, but for a reason...

I'm taking Friday off, because we have our U.S. Championships this weekend. Laetitia and I dance in the ballroom championships on Sunday in St. Paul, MN. We've had a great year improving and working hard, so regardless of the results, as long as we perform at our best, we'll be happy.
We looked at some old videos and compared them to more recent ones, and see quite a contrast. Michael has been a great coach over the last two years, so we'll do our best not to disappoint him wink
I got to catch up with an old friend from Santa Barbara this weekend. Brian came down with his girlfriend, Manija. They went to Seaworld, and then we met up with them for dinner, and then they came with us to a local ballroom dance. Brian and I met in the Ota's Aikido Dojo "slash" Ballroom Dance Cotillion when we were in Jr. High, so he was able to show Manija a few steps.
So, I'm going to try to concentrate on my work now, even though I keep going through my dance routines in my head.

Wake me up before you go go!

So, three fans have been drying our apartment since Saturday morning. They have them tucked under the edges of the carpet so that our floor looks like it's waving and hovering. We've been confined to living in our bedroom to escape the noise.