Wine and Love [Vol. 11].

hosted by Nora!

Filling my wine glass...

• My allergic reaction at the end of last week. It was so terrible, to the point that I wondered if I'd ever feel better again because it was going away so slowly. Plus, it completely ruined all of my weekend plans, which included a Devils game on Saturday with E and dress shopping with all of the bridesmaids for BFF Wedding #2 on Sunday. Such a bummer.
• Chipped nail polish. It's a stupid little thing, but this pretty purple nail polish I used is chipping like crazy!
• Feeling unmotivated. The allergic reaction sapped all of my energy, so the job hunt I was supposed to resume, the journaling I was supposed to do, and the general reorganization of my life never happened. I've been busy so far this week so nothing productive is getting done and I just feel incredibly lazy.

Filling my heart...

• On Monday, E and I were texting each other and realized we both didn't have anything to do, so I suggested he come over and he did! We usually plan things in advance and rarely decide on a whim to hang out, so it was nice - plus, I'm glad he's so close by that we can have impromptu date nights.
• Going to the So You Think You Can Dance tour on Tuesday night with Ashley and Cortney! The show was fantastic and, as usual, we waited outside to meet the dancers afterwords. So much fun.
• Dress shopping with Danielle. For Natalie's wedding (which is in April), we got to pick between three different styles for our bridesmaid dresses. Since I missed Sunday's outing and Danielle was still undecided, we met up at the David's Bridal near us yesterday afternoon and picked our styles.
• This weekend, my parents are going away, so I'm throwing a (small) house party for E's birthday. It's going to be your typical house party, but since I wasn't an avid party-goer in high school and my parents rarely go away, I've never done this before. I feel very rebellious. But, I'm mostly excited because I think it's going to be a lot of fun.
• Finally being able to take hot showers again! For the few days when my hives were really bad (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday), I had to take cool-to-lukewarm showers or baths because I didn't want to the hives to get worse. I typically take really hot showers, so when I finally got to turn the temperature back to my 'normal' level on Sunday, I was so happy.
• Getting Melissa's save-the-date in the mail yesterday!

Playing Favorites.

On the list of BEDS topics, the first few are about our favorite things. Since I like common themes and I didn't use any of those topics on those days, I'm going the first five prompts.

Your favorite song
My love of music is far too expansive for me to only pick one favorite, so here are three: Only the Good Die Young by Billy Joel; The Middle by Jimmy Eat World; Keep Breathing by Ingrid Michaelson.

Your favorite movie
I'll list my top five, just for kicks -- Ferris Bueller's Day Off; Dirty Dancing; Grease; Anchorman; Centerstage.

Your favorite television program

So You Think You Can Dance?

Your favorite book
It's a tie between the Harry Potter series (if I had to pick a favorite, I'd go with Deathly Hallows) and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Your favorite quote
"Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." -- Ferris Bueller

Share some of your favorites in the comments - pick one or answer them all! I'm curious.

you can't stop the beat.

In the summer of 2006, I started watching a little show called So You Think You Can Dance. Being a dancer, I had a whole network of friends who adored any and all things related to dance, and they were all urging me to watch it. I actually skipped the first season (which was on during the summer of 2005) and didn’t really get into the show until the middle of the second season. And then it was all over.

Season two was, by far, the one I obsessed over most. There were two dancers I absolutely loved (Benji and Donyelle, for anyone who watched), but even the whole Top 10 was amazing. When it was announced that they would go on tour, I was ecstatic. When I found out (from the forums – yes, I’m a forum junkie) that they would stick around to meet fans after the show? I just about died. Normal people would get this excited over celebrities; I was freaking out about dancers.

Meeting Donyelle and internally freaking out.

That first year, the anticipation of meeting these people was overwhelming. I attended two shows that year because at the first show, I couldn’t stay late and didn’t get the opportunity to meet everyone. At the second show, I was with a group of girls whom I had met over the internet and we had an absolute blast standing out in the cold, waiting for the dancers. It was an experience I’ll never forget.

The Waterbury Crew with Ryan (one of the dancers).

Since then, my passion has died down from a level of obsession to one of enjoyment. I’ve been to the tour every year since, although there were a couple shows where I skipped out on the meet-and-greet afterward. This year, though, I was back at it. I attended the show on Sunday with my two best friends from dance, and it was fantastic. They even brought back* the traditional "surprise" encore to You Can't Stop the Beat!

When the show let out, we took our familiar spots behind the barricades, waiting for an hour in the middle of Newark to meet some amazingly talented folks. And you know what? As casual as the waiting felt and as calm as I was for most of it, I still freaked out when my favorites approached.

Billy Bell! Oh my freaking goodness, this kid is ah-mazing.

My family thinks I’m weird for getting so excited over something that seems so irrelevant, but I really don’t care. Judge me all you want, but I’m a huge dance geek and so I'm going to obsess over some dance "celebrities."

*Here's where my obsession comes back into play: You Can't Stop the Beat was one of my favorite dances from Season 2 which they then used for the encore that year on tour. It was also used for the Season 3 and 4 tours, but then last year, they didn't use it! I was so pissed. So I was very happy to have it back. #geekmoment

friday is for lists.

Friday! I'm exhausted! Exclamation points and bullet lists! Ready, go!

• I am totally that person who turns up the air conditioning, then realizes it's too cold and puts on a sweatshirt. It's kind of ridiculous. My brother is always commenting on it, but I can't help it! My computer desk is right across from the AC unit, so when it's on, the cold air is coming directly at me. Some might say, well, then just turn it off - but then it's too hot! #firstworldproblems #usinghashtagsoutsideoftwitteriscool
  
  
• Alex freakin' Wong, my favorite dancer on SYTYCD of the past three seasons, is officially off the show because he ruptured his Achilles tendon. Yes, I cried. But his little face! He was so! sad! Okay, that's enough now.
  
  
• Why am I playing Animal Crossing for Gamecube on a daily basis? Why? I should be looking for a job. Effing mindless video games sucking my life away.
  
  
• I've only been out of my relationship for three months and already I'm feeling those shitty "I'm going to be single forever and become a cat lady" feelings. I think it's worse now that I've actually been in a relationship; at least beforehand, I didn't know what I was missing.
  
  
• Speaking of my past relationship, in case anyone was still wondering, I'm pretty much over it. Mark and I have entered the friend zone and I don't really think I'm going to budge. We've had several discussions in the past few months and every time we disagree on something, it just solidifies in my mind that we really don't match up.
  
  
• I know I'm way late to the party on this one, but I am in love with this song. I mean, come on - it's begging to have a dance choreographed to it.
  

video friday.

My weekend kicks off in about fifteen minutes, by which I mean, that's when I'm going to hang out with my friends for an hour before they go into the city, where I will not be joining them because my body is a hot mess and I have about ten varieties of cramps, so instead I'll be coming back here and finishing my grandmother's scrapbook.

Right.

So now, I'll show you some awesometastic videos that graced my presence this week.


(I am not responsible for any pants-wetting that may have occurred during the viewing of this video.)

I may or may not have giddily jumped up and down after seeing this video. I am beyond excited and am now on a quest to re-read all of the books and re-watch all six movies before November. Which would be in progress already IF WE HADN'T MISPLACED OUR COPY OF BOOK ONE.




Everything about Maroon 5 is sexy. Including this video. If I could trade places with that girl, I would be the happiest person alive. Adam Levine is a yummy, sexy man.


NOW. Before you watch this one, let me preface it. Yes, it's a dance video. Yes, it's from So You Think You Can Dance. The dashing man with the clipboard and glasses is Twitch, who came in second place on the fourth season of the show (we're on to season seven now) and is now the male Hip Hop All-Star for this season. The kid in the jacket is ALEX FREAKIN WONG, contestant on this season and the most perfect technical dancer I've ever seen in my life. He came straight from a ballet company and has barely touched hip hop in his career. Not going to lie, as amazing as he is, I kind of expected him to bomb. HE DID THE TOTAL OPPOSITE OF BOMBING. See for yourself.

alex 9 @ Yahoo! Video

I KNOW RIGHT? Have fun picking your jaw up off the floor.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend everyone!

it's baaaaack.

Another summer, another season of So You Think You Can Dance. I promise not to talk it to death, but I can't help myself from the occasional plug.

Even if you're not normally drawn to dance shows, you should watch this. Why? Because this season they're bringing back ten of the BEST dancers from seasons past to help this year's contestants compete. The talent level is really high - this isn't like Dancing with the Stars where most of the people suck. Plus, SYTYCD is all styles of dance, not just ballroom.

There's hip hop:


Contemporary:


And yes, even dancing zombies (from the genius mind of Wade Robson).


If that doesn't give you a reason to watch, well, then I can't really help you. Well, I could post clip after clip (and would happily do so, because I have about ten billion more favorites), but that would be overdoing it. So, I hope you watch. I mean, what else is on TV anyway? Nothing good, I'm sure. (That's not true, I really have no idea because this is all I watch.)

why i love/hate sytycd & love glee.

Is it sad that watching two television shows has emotionally drained me?

First up tonight was So You Think You Can Dance? and two extremely talented dancers were completely robbed by some mediocre dancers with a sob story. Seriously. And yes, I know it's not their faults. I would honestly love to find the people who picked up a phone and voted for a girl who didn't even dance last night over a girl who actually danced and did so AMAZINGLY. Don't even get me started on the guys' results, which simply have me in total shock.

However.

Glee came in and saved the day by bringing me a wonderfully dramatic fall finale. Of course, dramatic usually means I'm crying my eyes out, because whether it's something happy or sad, I melt into a puddle. And oh, this episode. I was a sobbing mess by the end.

What can I say? I love television that can really pull me in.

Here's my Day 9 photo, which was taken a few days ago when we started unloading all the family decorations. I used the color isolation feature on my camera (which I adore and don't use nearly as often as I should). Other than that, it's nothing too special.

so you think you can dance?

I love dance, there's no doubt about it, and I realize I have what some may call an "obsession." I tend to get a teensy bit over-enthusiastic about it, especially when talking to friends. I'm particularly enthralled with dance shows on television, like America's Best Dance Crew and So You Think You Can Dance.

The latter of those two is my favorite TV show of all time. It beats out Grey's, LOST, even Jon and Kate plus Eight (yup, it even beat Aaden and his adorable glasses. I'm sorry, it was a tough call.)

So why am I bringing this up? Well, because this is my newest outlet, so now I'm going to babble to my readers about how amazing dance is. If you haven't already started watching So You Think You Can Dance (affectionately known as SYTYCD), I'm going to give you a couple reasons why you should definitely check it out.

First of all, it's the summer. There aren't a lot of new shows out, especially on weeknights, so it's great mid-week entertainment.

Second, dance is amazing. I'm not just saying that because I'm a dancer, but seriously, think about it. There are such a variety of styles, from ballroom to contemporary to hip hop. Dancing expresses any emotion and can tell many different stories.

Third, these people are pretty freakin' talented. I can understand not likely Dancing with the Stars, because some of the people downright suck and it's always ballroom. On SYTYCD, dancers are challenged to (and succeed at!) mastering all the styles given to them. Plus! This season is really, really good. Trust me. I've watched since Season 2. These people are good.

Still not convinced? Okay. Now I'm going to have to bring in the big guns - videos of some breathtaking performances.

A contemporary routine about addiction, choreographed by Mia Michaels and danced by Kupono and Kayla:



Another contemporary routine about friends deciding to hook up, choreographed by Travis Wall (a Season 2 contestant!) and danced by Jason and Janine:



And for all you disco lovers, a routine by Doriana Sanchez performed by Jeanette and Brandon:



So there you have it. I hope this convinced at least a few people to check it out if they haven't already. Performance night is Wednesdays at 8pm EST, and the results show is Thursdays at 9pm EST (although if you're not super concerned about who's going home and only wanna see awesome dancing, then you can probably just stick with the performance show).

Happy TV watching!

SYTYCD: the top twelve

So, as you already know, I'm an avid fan of anything dance. My favorite TV show of all time? So You Think You Can Dance? It's absolutely amazing. I'm so happy that it brings dance into the spotlight and encourages people to start taking classes and all that good stuff. And since this blog is mine, alllllll mine, I'm going to review the episodes on here. I hope to do this every week, but knowing me, I'll probably miss a few shows here and there.

Anyway, I hope that at least a few of my readers watch the show (besides Ash and Dawnie), so that you're not like "what the hell is she even talking about? This is boring."

The Top Twelve.

So instead of going dance by dance, I'm gonna go couple by couple. I feel like in general this week, everyone either had one or no good dances. From what I can remember, nobody had two outstanding routines.

Let's start with Chelsie and Mark, my favorite couple at the moment.

Their first routine was salsa, and I thought it was pretty good. I felt like Mark maybe didn't have the technique down that well, but the performance was great. That lift at the end was a little weird as well.. and I hate when the ending is weird. I always expect something amazing for endings, and having the lift at the end was just kinda anticlimactic.

Their second routine was Broadway. I was majorly unimpressed. Basically it was me imagining my theater girls from dance doing this routine and not having the same acrobatic-type choreography happening in front of me. The end of the pre-package was cute though!!

Chelsie: That's a W-A-R-P... ?
Mark: Try W-R-A-P. That's a WARP!

Next we've got... Kherington and Twitch! Not my favorites - I can't stand Kherington (for no real reason), but I do love Twitch.

First up was krump. Twitch definitely nailed it, but that's close to his style, so that was no surprise. Kherington did pretty well with it, but I felt like there were moments where she looked really tired or something. And, there was a moment where she messed up the choreography a little bit.

Next they had smooth tango. Kherington was definitely stronger this time around, while Twitch was sadly kind of disappointing. I liked the Mr. and Mrs. Smith theme though and thought that overall, it was pretty good.

Third on my list is Courtney and Gev! These two work so well together, but I'm almost afraid they'll be not so great with other partners. I guess we'll see next week.

They picked cha cha for their first dance AND GOT PASHA AND ANYA AS CHOREOGRAPHERS. So much love. Pasha is on of my favorites from last season. Eee! And oh my goodness, it was fabulous. They both got the footwork and the whole energy of it... yay! I loved the whole "message" thing in the pre-package, too.

Then they had a jazz routine that was completely awesome. They had a map and were dressed like they were on a safari, and it was just amazing. The intricate movements were great and the lifts were effortless. They both had the characters down. They were probably my favorite of the night in terms of me liking both of their routines.

Let's move on to Katee and Joshua, one of my other favorite couples.

First up? Viennese Waltz. My favorite dance style ever on the face of the earth, mostly due to this routine right here. But we won't get into that, or else my crazy fangirl side will really reveal itself, and things could get ugly. Ahem. I agree with the judges who said that Josh was very bouncy, HOWEVER. The emotion was perfect, and the actual footwork was completely there. He just missed the smoothness of the steps, that's all. It was beautiful. Katee was wonderful! And that snake movement at the end came across flawlessly.

Second for them was Bollywood. This is the first time it was done on the show, and I thought it was fabulous. I think I'll even go as far as saying it's my favorite routine of the night. Indian dancing intrigues me - the specific and intricate movements are just wonderful to watch. These two NAILED IT. I was shell shocked, only because I figured that yeah, it's easy for people in that culture because they've been exposed to it all their lives. But this just blew me away. Amazing!

Then there's Jessica and Will. My least favorite girl and my favorite guy (and overall competitor).

Their first routine was contemporary, choreographed by my favorite, Tyce Diorio. I loved it! It was just very raw dancing - the music and the costumes were minimal, with the focus on the movement. It was just so earthy and wonderful. Loved it. My second favorite of the night.

Then they had quickstep, better known as the "kiss of death" on this show. That's basically because it's so hard to get the technique down in just a few days.. although I've gotta say, if NOBODY has been able to do it well so far, maybe the choreographers aren't teaching them well enough. But anyway. It was actually really cute! The downfall of most quicksteps is that the dancers are focusing so hard on getting it right that they just paste this really fake-looking smile on their faces. This at least felt natural and fun. The ending was adorable, too.

Finally there's Comfort and Thayne, my least favorite couple left in the competition and also for this week. They just don't click, but more importantly, Comfort doesn't really deserve to still be there.

They had hip hop first. It was actually really good, which is more than I expected. My eyes were drawn to her, but when I watched him, I realized he was keeping up really, really well. Overall I was impressed. Napoleon and Tabitha are really doing well with all their pieces.

Their second dance was contemporary, which was a big letdown. That dress Comfort had on was really ugly. They had NO connection whatsoever. The choreography was probably lovely, but just wasn't feeling it at all.

*

So those are my reactions from this week. Hopefully some of you already watch the show, but if not, I really suggest that you do. Just take a look at some of the dances (I linked all of them), preferably in high-quality.

And to end this post, I'd like to welcome one of my very best friends to the blogosphere - Ashley! She's over at Confessions of a Giggler (awesome name, isn't it!?), so go check her out!

new and old

Yesterday I experienced another one of my late-blooming firsts in life - I went clubbing. Okay, so I didn't technically go clubbing. I went to a club to see a bunch of awesome dance performances. But it still counts, okay? Because I still got the full club experience of getting carded, buying really expensive alcohol, and getting asked to dance by a creeper.

We spent an hour driving through the city, where we were supposed to be finding a club called Hiro, which was located on 16th Street between 8th and 9th. And yet somehow, we ended up passing by Ground Zero. (Note: I am completely unaware of the geography of NYC, but when I told my roommates this, they were like, "wow, you guys were really off track.") Luckily, because my studio director had reserved a table, we were able to get in without waiting in line and we got an awesome little place to sit on the second floor of the club.


Our view.


Ashley and myself.

I was so glad to actually have someplace to sit, because I made the mistake of wearing really uncomfortable shoes and would've died had I had to stand on the floor. I didn't dance much, except towards the end when they kicked us out of our table area. But I had a blast. Watching my studio director and our friends get buzzed was entertainment enough for me, especially with the drive home and stopping at the diner at 4:30am.


Chris being his typical self at the diner. I'm not capable of repeating the conversation that brought on this picture.

**

It seems that the way I'll be able to stop biting my nails is if I'm constantly distracted. And I mean constantly. Because it took the past two days of back-to-back activities for them to grow. I just sat down at the computer an hour ago and noticed that they had grown out a little bit. Of course, as soon I realize they're growing.. the urge to bite them is even stronger. I've already chewed off a few of them. Here's hoping for more willpower so that they can finally grow out completely.

**

I just spent a half hour freaking out because of my recurring addiction to the television show So You Think You Can Dance? (SYTYCD?). A quick summary of my serious, serious issues regarding this show goes something like this - I watched the second season, got really attached to two dancers that were partnered (whom I also believed WAS COMPLETELY CONVINCED were dating and destined to marry), saw their tour twice (including a secret trip to Connecticut), continued to thoroughly obsess over them, and made a point of going to every event they were at whenever possible. Which included trips to Long Island and Pennsylvania, where I spent my time developing relationships with people I had only known online. Yeah, I had issues.

Finally though, I got over a lot of it, mainly because it was consuming my life and also, I realized I was acting a little crazy. But. I still have an attachment to that pair of dancers, specifically the girl, Donyelle Jones. Because she's the fiercest dancer I've ever seen.

ANYWAY. Tonight was Idol Gives Back, which I totally forgot started at 7:30pm. I meant to watch because a rumor had it that a few dancers from all three seasons of SYTYCD? were slated to be making appearances. Had I not forgotten, my ass would've been glued to my chair from the moment the show started. However. It turned out that their main performance was the opening act, and I had only realized it was tonight at 8:30pm. Craptastic. But then! I found a crappy YouTube conversion of the routine, I realized that HOLY SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS, Donyelle was in there somewhere. I knew a handful of the dancers would be there, but there were waaaaay more than I expected. So what did I do? Bought the performance on iTunes. And watched it about five times now

..maybe the obsession isn't completely gone yet. A-heh.