Fire & Ice, Part Deux; Bronze Moves progress

The show is coming along pretty well so far in our third week of learning our ensemble routine!!! I hope my skating will do justice for this show. There are 15,000 flyers for Fire & Ice that got distributed to the public doing the Gay Pride weekend. I hope we'll get a full house and raise TONS of $$$ for charity. :) Other than that, it's quite fun doing the group number!!! (Of course, some women had more fun than me. They get to do pair lifts!!!)

Of course, my lower back doesn't think it's fun doing this program... and it was hurtin' after skating the public session Should have gotten off about 15 minute before the end of the session but I really wanted to get a tip on backspins from a fellow skating buddy of mine.

I worked primarily on two things: 1) Bronze Moves and 2) footwork and Chinese spirals for my artistic program! Bronze Moves is doing pretty well. My weak move is getting faster and it's looking quite nice. Hopefully I could get my secondary coach to look at it before I do the test, but I think I'll have to rely on Jay for this Moves test. (He hasn't steered me wrong. Then again, he did make me do the test last year knowing that I would fail it, so...) :(

The footwork for the artistic program is still not quite there yet. I'm still hesitating slightly on a couple of footwork steps and totally bailed entering RFI3 from the speed I'm supposed to go into a Chinese spiral from (though I can do them now at slightly slower speeds.) I skated pretty fast tonight, but it was hard to push for quicker speed when there's at least 30 skaters on the ice with you... EEEEK!!!

Time to hit the showers!!! :-D

My ex-company just got acquired!!!

... by our (now former) competitor!!!

http://www.sdl.com/company/trados/trados-faq.htm#titan-faq-What%20does%20this%20mean%20for%20customers%20of%20TRADOS

It's interesting news but not that much of a surprise. The company hasn't been in the best financial shape since at least a year ago now. We kept missing our numbers quarter after quarter since Q2 2004 (which is why I was laid off in Jan 2005) and I didn't really see any real effort to try to fix the problem after that. I was told by a source (when pointing out that you're being acquired by a competitor) "Well, what can you do when your investors wanted their money back?" This part was also no surprise if you think like a VC...and physically worked there as a engineering grunt with an ear for gossip... *evil grin*

I suspect as with all mergers that eventually there will be another round of layoffs to figure out the "redundant" resources. I'm concerned about some of the friends who are still working for TRADOS. Some of them came halfway across the world (from Germany) just to work here at TRADOS!!! And of course, the Chinese contingency too b/c of their immigration Visas. And definitely accounting too!!! The after-sales deployment team should be safe on the short term!

A couple of recommendation for tea rooms

Time to put on my foodie hat!!!

My favorite one is this little place called LoveJoy's Tea Room in the Noe Valley district of San Francisco. I've been going thru since it was at his old locale at 24th St. and Church! It has since moved down the block to Clipper and Church, but the tea and food is still the same!!! This is probably the closest I've seen to British High Tea here in SF. Very feminine and relaxing environment. I know that a couple of my women friends wanted to do their bridal showers at that location...

However, I would also like to recommend another place for tea for the MEN who appreciates tea but not the frilly feminine feel of LoveJoy -- Samovar Tea Lounge over at 18th St. and Sanchez in the Castro district (also in San Francisco.) British High Tea, it ain't!!! The feel is more woodsy and Asian! It also has a lot more choices for the type of tea you could try too. It does have less choices for sandwiches but makes up for it in other foods offered. Best part (especially for your computer geeks out there...) -- WIFI HOTSPOTS!!! (I see lots of guys sitting with their tea with their laptops!!!) And it's open a lot later than LoveJoy's too! Very relaxing environment!!!

HP iPAQ 4000 Pocket PC

Good news: I got a (sorta) new toy... an HP iPAQ h4000 series Pocket PC!!! :D (Or at least this one's the closest picture to what I physically have in my hand.)

Bad news: it's not mine's to keep! It belongs to my company!

More bad news: I'm going to be testing software for the iPAQ and I have no experience in this area at all!!! And they want a quick turnaround time to test this thing. EEEEEK!!!! =8-O

Nevertheless, this toy should be fun to play with though. I never had a pocketPC before, never mind test software on those, so this should be an interesting experience. :)

Caberet On Ice: Fire & Ice (Part Deux)

We started rehearsals for the ensemble number for "Fire & Ice" this week. It's gonna look REALLY good when it's SHOWTIME, BABY!!! We got our 20 ensemble skaters now... and we don't know if there will be some that will end up in the transitional group. (They're just skating and hold flags and going around. They will probably show up just for the final four rehearsals!) But as far as I know, I'm in the ensemble numbers and my name might on the website soon as a member of the ensemble cast on the cast list. (There's at least 3 skaters that signed up on the same day I did and their names are not up there yet. Probably Thom's waiting for the check to clear first.) ;)

I'm happy to announce that tickets are now officially on sale (will go thru PayPal...) Also, Caryn Kadavy will be our elite skater star for the show! There is also one more elite skater that is being signed to the show, but until it's official... (And if you don't know the locale, it's at the Yerba Buena rink in San Francisco.)

If you are planning to be in the San Francisco Bay Area, please go to this show!!! It's for a worthy cause and it's gonna be SMASHIN'!!! WHEEEEE!!!! :-D

"Stalker Kitty!!!" :-P

I have a neighbor's cat which is totally adorable... but getting totally annoying!

He's a grey and white cat by the name of "Buddy" We thought at first the cat was a girl b/c of his affectionate nature, the size of the cat and the fact that the cat has a little bell on his collar, but it turned out to be a boy that likes to take on fights with cats much bigger than him!!! (I never said that cat is smart...) ;) He's a very nice kitty... until it starts eyeing the prize, which is getting into our garage!!! We try to keep all cats and dogs out not just b/c of the smell but also b/c my husband is allergic to the dander from both cats and dogs. (But if the cat or dog is outdoor, his allergy doesn't act up as much.)

These days Buddy is getting more "daring" trying to get into the house. It actually tried the last couple of times of hiding in the bush... until our garage doors opens and Buddy sees that the car is out before it tries to sneak into the house thru the now opened garage door!!! And then when we catch him trying to get in, he goes into "affectionate kitty" mode, all the while eyeing the open garage door prize.

A neighbor of ours suggested a water pistol. *sigh* as much as I hate being cruel to Buddy... lately I have been resorting to "target practice" with the water gun whenver the cat either tries to sneak in the house or get too close to the garage door so we feel weird about closing the door on him. (Alright! My sadistic side LOVES the target practice, given what Buddy puts us through.) *evil grin*

Hell, if we could just get the kitty to stay away from the door when we're closing it, we'll be happy! We (everyone in the neighborhood) loves Buddy, but... we have to go work!!! :-P

3 Phrases that guarantee a happy marriage...

I got good chuckle this Sunday from Dear Abby...

DEAR ABBY: From time to time in years past, you have offered your readers tips for a happy marriage. Have you any to share today? -- ENGAGED IN OHIO

DEAR ENGAGED: As a matter of fact, I do. At the wedding of his youngest daughter, my friend John P. McMeel offered the following "three phrases that guarantee a happy marriage":

"I was wrong."
"You were right."
"I love you."

What an uplifting story!!!

(Don't forget your tissues!!!) ;)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/bkh_ryan_s_shot

Looks like Jay is having fun...

... at the ISU Adult Open Competition... Can't wait to get the results!!! :) (Scroll down to bottom of page on link to see a picture of Jay. He's the one with the loud leopard spot green shirt!!!) *rolleyes* :-P

Edited to Add: Looks like his overall skating is great but his jumps are lousy. :-(

Take a gander at the score for his event (using the fairly new "Code of Point" system.) It's pretty interesting to watch to see that everyone's overall skating is pretty similar. (Jay is about the same if not better overall than Burton Powley. See all but the Performance/Execution score, then look at the Performance/Execution and the Total Element and Segment score, and you'll see that his "technical difficulty" wasn't as high as everyone else. I think he took some falls... which is possible given what I saw in his practice. The judges detail notes also tells me the same too!!!

Given what I've heard about Burton Powley and his skating (and seeing the scores...) I think it's time he moves up to compete as a Masters Men skater! I think his skating is good enough to challenge most of the Master's men.

I'm an ESFJ!!!

I just took this Myer's Briggs Personality Test. I'm an ESFJ!!! :)

Your career personality type is ESFJ

That means that based on the standard measure of personality traits, you are a strong team player and believe the needs of the group come before the individual. You generally care about the people around you, which allows you to provide a
personal touch at your workplace. That sense of caring allows you to feel personal accomplishment and acceptance from your co-workers who know they can turn to you for help.

You are generous with your time and spirit and look to make the present moment better for everyone. Your emotional strength combined with a pragmatic approach to work makes you a strong asset. You have a strong work ethic and inspire others by your example. Because of this, you are a strong leader on any team.The reason employers and recruiters might be on the lookout for you is that only about 11% of the U.S. population shares the unique characteristics of your personality type. Research shows that businesses succeed when employers create a good balance of personality types in the office. And since only 11% of the U.S. population shares your type, that means employers are looking for you.

Good luck to my primary coach...

No lesson today with my primary coach, Jay! He is currently preparing for his competition in Oberstdorf, Germany at the International Adult Figure Skating Competition this weekend. This competition is dubbed the very first "Adults World" competition. Of course, we also have the Mountain Cup competition in Villard -de-Lans, France every year, but it's not officially sanctioned (that I know of) by the ISU. Skaters ALL over the world are going to be at this competition, including my good (online) skating buddy, Annabel Smyth! (Go, Annabel!!!)

Gay Games in Montreal, Canada is also coming up! Seems just like yesterday that I watched the videos for the Gay Games 2002. The guys at the rink are bugging me to sign up for this event. Of course, the only comment I could come up with was "Ummm...er, but I'm straight? I don't have to be gay to be in the Gay Games?" (Answer is "No you can compete even if you're straight.") And of course, there's the Winter Games in Turin... (But I'm saving up for Adults Nationals 2006 in Dallas!)

In any case, GO JAY!!! Go kick some ice butts out there!!!

The move to "Bronze"... so far so good!

It's looking good as of last Thursday's lesson with my primary. I still had a couple of "gotchas" but for the most part, he's nodding his head and saying that it's looking better and better each week. He's very optimistic about my testing in Sept. In fact, he's showing his confidence by making me do spins in the reminding 5-10 minutes of the lesson.

Here are my current status for Bronze Moves:

Forward Power 3's: I still occasionally fall back to the bad habit of steping and then turning my foot onto the FO edge for the FO3, but I'm doing them a lot less now. LFO3 are still kinda slow but getting faster each week. Of course, knowing my secondary coach, she's not gonna be happy with it b/c it's not fast enough for her. (She wants to see LOTS of speed! You should be zipping along...) Primary coach says that he has seen one of his students pass Bronze Moves with LFO3 slower than my LFO3... and my RFO3 is my STRONGER side. (RFO3 is this particular student's weaker side.)

5 step mohawk: Occasionally I'm clunking the FI mohawks. I'm not wide stepping as much now, if at all... but it's still not a perfect FI mohawk. Otherwise, he's happy...

Everything else is pretty much steady, with the forward perimeter crossovers essentially the move that has to be extra strong in case one of the other moves on the test is weak. But I better build everything else too so that doesn't happen though.

Now the problem... I have not been working on jumps in a LOOOONG time!!! My loops and flips are now consistently on two foot landing status. And here he is working on my backspins and not my jumps. I guess he's particularly nervous about them since currently it does spin more than 5 revs (and probably more if I wanted it to)... but I'm not crossing the leg and making it look like I staying on the BO edge. (Occasionally it rocks back and forth between the BO & BI edge!) So...I trust that he has a reason for his madness. But even with those spins, he thinks I'll have a good chance passing with those backspins. (He reminded me that he has seen people passed Bronze FS with backspins a lot worse than mine.) My worries now is my "third single jump" for the test. All the other requirements for Bronze FS I could do almost in my sleep...

We'll see... this will be a close one.

"Cat Laptop Bypass" indeed

Okay, this is WAAAAAY too cute!!! Check out this picture!!! LOL!!!

Julie Andrews' "Favorite Things" for her 69th Birthday

This was forward to me from a friend. I just had to share this. Especially if you 1) have grew up watching "The Sound of Music" as a kid and 2) have grew up SINGING this stuff as a kid!!! (I wanted to do pop or Rock N Roll!)

To commemorate her 69th birthday on October 1, actress/vocalist Julie Andrews made a special appearance at Manhattan's Radio City Music Hall for the benefit of the AARP. One of the musical numbers she performed was "My Favorite Things" from the legendary movie "Sound Of Music." However, the lyrics of the song were deliberately changed for the entertainment of her "blue hair" audience. (Sing the song as you gooooo....)

Here are the lyrics she recited

Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Cadillacs and cataracts and hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favorite things.

When the pipes leak,
When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.

Hot tea and crumpets, and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heat pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Back pains, confused brains, and no fear of sinnin',
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,
When we remember our favorite things.

When the joints ache,
when the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I've had,
And then I don't feel so bad.

Ms. Andrews received a standing ovation from the crowd that lasted over four minutes and repeated encores.

Caberet On Ice: Fire & Ice

I have just signed up for the Fire & Ice show!!! I will be part of the ensemble group. It's gonna be FUN!!! (And no, I will not be doing a solo. I'm getting better, but still not THAT great a skater... yet!!!) :-P

Paige Scott, who's doing the choreography, also is the choreographer for our Tremors synch team... and she's GREAT!!! Knowing her, she might let some skaters have solo parts within the group number. (i.e. possible skaters will criss-cross thru as they're doing some interesting move like a split jump or a spiral, or maybe a group of people will do spins or something...)

The cast for the ensemble doesn't have the list of skaters who just signed up. My name should show up with those people once tickets go on sale June 15th and they annouced the headliners. :)

I don't think I'll have a problem with my skating coaches letting me do this. But you never know since this year is particularly busy with 1) Bronze Moves test, 2) new artistic number, and 3) revamp/new(?) Bronze FS program before the end of the year. Should be interesting... :-P

Looking for more technical challenges...

Need to start talking to my boss after my current project about getting a project that's more challenging for me. I would like to see if I could persuade him to at least let me try a couple of UI test automation and I could start building up some test automation for the company...

Don't get me wrong though... except for this, I love my new job!!! The commute is a dream and the people there are just wonderful!!! I have the luxury doing the school year of taking off in the middle of the day to skate at a quiet public session.(Well, except for last week and this week!!!) And it's a lot more sane than my last job (as much as I enjoyed working at that last job too... and I do miss my friends there...as well as my ex-boss.) :-(

I don't know... *sigh* Part of me thinks it's not a good sign if I'm bored and not challenged on things that I think are marketable in the real world... And right now, I'm technically bored!

Other option I have is to start playing with the freebie stuff. (i.e. start learning LAMP... I got the M part of LAMP so far on my own...)

Need prayers for my artistic program...

Oh, dear! Secondary coach wants me to skate MUCH, MUCH faster than I'm comfortable with for this program. (And keep in mind, this is a 3 week old program and we were still adding on to it too!!!) She gave me this lecture when I wasn't pushing as hard as she wanted me to..

I intentionally designed this program knowing that you have these weak spots in your skating, so I can make you do them. The intended purpose is to make you take risks to make yourself get over these obstacles. I expect to see you PUSH yourself and FALL a lot!!! If you have to get wear protective pads, do it, but I expect you to take MORE risks and FALL a lot!!!

Uh oh!!! (Murder scene music inserted here!!!)

But WAIT!!! There's MORE!!!

I've also intended for this beautiful program to look
nice...but ONLY if it's skated fast.

Oh, man! Now I wonder if I'll ever live to see myself pass my Bronze Moves test... or even Peach Classic! :(

Well, at least now I AM allowed to wear those SkatingSafe pads (YAAAAY!!!!) ... BUT only under the case of that I take those risks to push myself to do those footwork the way she wants me to. Since my old SkatingSafe pads disappeared with my first pair of purple skates... (My skate bag with my first pair of purple skates and all the protection pads disappeared back in November! WAAAAAH!!!) I went and spent over $220 to get another set of those SkatingSafe pads! The one extra for myself is that I got myself the glove pads also... so I don't screw up my hands/wrists...as much!!!

Of course, if I'm fortunate enough to stay alive thru this and actually get thru the skating obstacles in this program, it may actually turn out pretty nice! Until then, please pray for me!!! *whimper* :(