I am on a new resolution of trying as many new activities as I possibly can within walking distance from home at reasonable times of the day. The thing is I find it hard to find information about classes and performance arts in Buffalo downtown in one place. Maybe there is some list out there but I haven't found it yet. It's almost the same as the downtown Buffalo grocery scene when I first came here. I know getting groceries is probably not a very good comparison to dance classes... but I am going to follow a similar approach and scope out things I am already into or want to do in the near future in downtown Buffalo.

Looking for: Newer physical ways to challenge my body.
Criteria (1): Walking distance within or around downtown Buffalo.
Criteria (2): Neighbourhood that is not creepy or uncomfortable around the time of the class/activity.

• The first on the list is of course Salsa by Sarah Hooper and Sean Ortiz. Thursdays. 6:30PM to 9:00PM, Configuration dance studio at the corner of Lexington and Ashland

I am in love with this class. I pretty much like everything about it. The teachers are the best, the most patient and probably the most talented you can ever hope to have. The music selection is amazing and very fresh (intermediate class). The studio is large, inspiring, covered in mirrors and filled with light. It just inspires you to dance. The floors are a bit sticky so dance shoes help a lot. The sound system is very interesting - because it separates channels and you can actually hear the percussion separately from the harmonies. Sometimes it helps you to dance better, but sometimes it can get confusing.

A tiny annoyance stems from the nature of the dance itself. It is, in the end, a partner oriented dance. So if your assigned partner is not the most positive of people, is not there to really learn the dance but for goodness-knows-what-purpose, is whiny/controlling or or doesn't get the concept of constructive criticism or is excessively self-obsessed and couldn't care less about whether you learn or not or is just an irritating combination of all of these, it can cast a shadow on the proceedings. Or you could end up with a partner who is so magical you feel like you are the best on the dance floor, it feels just right and you are floating on salsa wings. I have been incredibly lucky of late and classes have been nothing short of perfect but that doesn't mean I haven't experienced these annoying elements in the past and reconsidered the class.

My newest dance teacher can dance fluidly in any pair of boots at insanely cold temperatures on treacherous amounts of snow and ice in front of City Hall smack in the middle of the legendary Buffalo winter.



Can yours?!

We learnt a 30s routine in around a hour this past Monday and had too much fun doing it. Half my office and extended office contacts made up around 85% of the class. To what end, you ask?

We hope to be able to star in Missy Elliot's latest video and replace the Japanese blokes in around a year.



Watch out. The 345-BMR-Bloc* is learning some serious Hip-Hop!

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NB: That's our kewl office nick if you didn't guess already.

I just realized that I have been tagging all my yoga posts as "dance". That was because I started doing regular guided yoga to get better at salsa. My categorizing OCD kicked in recently and I wanted to re-label everything as "yoga" or maybe "fitness". But it's too late.

The yoga classes have somehow evolved into sessions of extreme performance art and creative mental dance. Yesterday, for instance, we tried to become one with the sinuous forms of this exotic looking flower called the bird of paradise...


Too bad, none of us ended up quite like this bloke:


Even secretly-super-yogi-power-(e:Paul). HEHEHE


But I maintain that I could have totally done it if I were at that crazyawesome beach in the background. You shouldn't believe anyone if they tell you that it depends on the extreme flexibility of hip joints and core balance. It's so obvious that you need to be at the beach.

Oooh, there is more. Erin also demonstrated to everyone how to stand on our heads.


This time everyone in the class ended up like this.


Except me. I was stuck in Figure 31 for an eternity...


before this rather unfortunate image made its way into my head: "And yet you incessantly stand on your head - Do you think, at your age, it is right?"

I wimpily decided it probably wasn't, at that particular time and gave up.

But hey, all was not lost. I was able to do the exclusive "Erin-asana" - an inspired soulful yogasana conceptualized and breathed into life by the one and only Erin at Hand to Heart. It's so exclusive, I can't even find a google image!

After class, Paul and I got a bottle of vodka (if you are thinking that it was probably to drown our mediocre birds of paradise hell, you would be wrong), had some delicious sautééd mango in sauce, crispy noodles, sushi and rice delicacies at Blue Fin (arguably the best Asian fusion restaurant on Elmwood Avenue), bitched about tech stuff, got some smashing groceries, including an out-of-this-planet olive bread, talked conspiracy theories and discussed housing markets, in that order. If you had not been at some crowded beer club, you could have enjoyed the Yogi's choicest...

Too late. It's time to honour your practice now. Or come to another adventure with us next week! :-)

Does anyone else have their recently updated chrome pop-up a javascript dialogue to set time out (s), whenever it starts up for the first time? I thought it was a linux-related problem (amidst all my zillion other linux problems) but now this pop-up javascript dialogue has started appearing on my windows terminals as well... Wonder what it is...

The incredibly sad news about (e:joshua) reminded me of the last time I had a substantial conversation with him, in person. I think it was a couple years back at (e:Drew) and (e:Janelle)'s labour day breakfast (or was it July 4?) I remember it was a classic American holiday and (e:Drew) was making delightful pancakes. Obama had just been elected or maybe he was about to be elected... I am not very sure.

In between a mash-up cross conversation about current research and medical management of early-onset hypertension and where to get the freshest coffee beans in Buffalo, I was asking (e:Joshua) what he thought were the redeeming qualities of being a Republican and he said, "Fiscal Responsibility". He also gave me quite a run down of all the different ways that the US would not do well under the Democrat-led spendthrift government. He made a special case about how the debt of social security payoffs and public health programmes such as medicare and medicaid would cripple the economy in the near future. He stressed on how important it was for governments to focus on being debt-free as a long-term strategy instead of trying to bail out of trouble short-term and abandon ship after their elected terms were over.

I am not quite sure that I understood all the nitty-gritties of his argument. I remember thinking that he was being rather severe on the Democrats but I do agree that fiscal responsibility has been and will always be a crucial cornerstone to not only the success of governments but also individuals who make up the population that is being governed. I continue to believe that being responsible with our money shapes several aspects of our lives and makes our toughest of choices easier. Looking back, I think that was the core idea that (e:Joshua) was trying to explain to me over breakfast.

(e:Joshua), that was an interesting conversation and it has remained with me since. I didn't always agree with your ardent support of Republican policies across the board and your relentless criticism of a large number of ideas slightly left of centre, but I think we did agree that day over cilantro and mint chutney with crispy rice and raw onions. Hope you are having a swell time, wherever you are now! I always thought you looked awesome smiling (and resembled Major Healey from I dream of Jeannie). :-)