I got lemons

So yesterday I found out I didn’t get that job / new position I applied for.

H.R. (somehow) left me a message on my work phone w/out calling – I guess so they could personal, yet non-confrontationally, break the news to me.

Now I told myself I wasn’t gonna get too worked up over not getting it, but I’m a little bummed about the whole situation.

I’m planning on channeling all my negative “bummed” energy into working towards my new goals (which I do have, just so you know) as well as getting feedback on what I did wrong / could’ve done better.

After all - "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" right?

Dance Ever-y Day

So I dunno if I've been getting too annoying about this, but it feels like I’ve been blogging an awful lot about swing-dancing. Probably because it’s how I’ve been spending a lot of my free time. (cuz of the upcoming Camp Hollywood so expect to see at least one more after this weekend) 

But what's a couple more blog posts here & there, right?   

Speaking of which - did you know that, if you wanted to, you could go out dancing here in L.A. EVERY NIGHT?

Sundays: Maxwell DeMille’s Cicada Club (Downtown, LA)
$10 cover / free with a dinner reservation
Live bands / Formal Dress code (enforced!)

Mondays: Memories (Whittier, CA)
$3 cover
DJs / all ages

Tuesdays:  Dance @ Joes (Burbank, CA)
No Cover!
Live Band / also on Mondays / 21 & over only

Wednesdays: Strutters Ball (Orange County, CA)
$10 cover
DJ? / tons of workshops & classes

Thursdays: Lindygroove (Pasadena, CA) 
$7 cover
DJ / where I go to dance / all ages

Fridays: Atomic Ballroom (Irvine, CA)
$8.00 cover
DJ & live band (depending)

Saturdays: Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association (Pasadena)
$15.00 cover
Live band / free snacks / all ages


That’s A LOT of places to go to dance – and I don’t think I covered all of them…..! How many other cities (in the world) can even make this claim? 


ALSO – here’s a video I took this past Saturday of some friends who competed in a “Strictly Lindy” competition to prep for Camp Hollywood. (they’re the guy in the white shirt / girl in the blue polka-dot dress)

Also – the gray-haired guy standing in the middle with his arms folded (one of the judges) is our dance teacher.

But as good as they were, I don’t think they were able to compete with some of the pros who were also there. Below is a video from the semi-finals. (Take a look at some of the aerials they do)

I have yet to see a video of me dancing (and show it to me) but I hope one day to get caught on camera…..and look good.

Thanks again, EIT!

If the new "Karate Kid" movie were more like this,
I'd have gone to see it. 

This is what happens when kids learn martial arts -

THEY BEAT PEOPLE TO DEATH! 

Spinning Cat Illusion!

You may have seen the "Spinning Dancer" Optical Illusion, but have you see.....

.....THE SPINNING KITTY??? 

Taken from Mighty Optical Illusions:

This one's a little more difficult to make spin in the opposite direction.....for me, at least. 

Wait, is it even spinning? 

Ah !@$%^amp%&# - just go to the link.  (Might Optical Illusions) and see it there. 

It's really cool!  You gotta trust me on this....!   

In Person vs. On Paper

Here's a weird contradiction / paraodx I noticed one day while I was talking with someone about how to be persuasive when in a debate. 

This is based on what I learned in High school / college ("on paper") and what I picked up from just talking to people / keeping tabs on elections the past several years.  ("in person") 

HOW TO ARGUE ON PAPER

- USE STRONG LANGUAGE
Stating things as ‘fact’ rather than ‘opinion’ strengthens your argument.
Ex. “Murder IS wrong,” not “I think murder is wrong.”

- DON’T REPEAT YOURSELF
Using the same words / phrases over and over again disrupts the flow of your essay. Keep a thesaurus handy and find ways to say the same thing using different words / phrases.

- KEEP IT IMPERSONAL
Never say “I” or “you” in an essay – it implies bias which the reader may not be able to relate to. Your paper will come off as more subjective, than factual.

- BE AS IN-DEPTH AS POSSIBLE.
The strongest argument is the one with the most evidence supporting it. Use it to the fullest.

HOW TO ARGUE IN PERSON

- USE “I” STATEMENTS
Ex. “I believe, I think, I feel” because you don’t want to sound too judgmental.

- REPEAT YOURSELF
Repeating Key words & phrases in your speech will help your audience remember what your argument is. (Plus, it’s catchy!)

- MAKE IT RELATABLE
A personal story will help the audience relate to you (and sympathize with your argument) better.

- KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID!
People have short-attention spans. They’re not going to remember everything you say unless it’s short (and catchy!) so make sure you don’t go on for too long.

What do you all think?  Am I right?  Wrong?  Did I miss any other similarities?? 

Outlook not so good?

So rather than tell you about my recent battle with the stomach flu (an exciting, yet graphically 'T.M.I.' story that I'm sure will haunt you for years), I thought I'd let you in on my recent attempts to move up the corporate ladder. 

See, last week I heard there was an opening in the department that works closely with mine (and pays better) so I applied for it, thinking I had a good shot at getting it. 

I'm assuming they were very interested in hiring me because they interviewed me right away (the very day I turned in my application).  

And at the time, I thought I did okay (I'm never really sure how well my interviews go) but now I'm not so sure. 

They initially told me I'd get an answer (good or bad) "by the end of next week."  (i.e. this week)  But they just called me and said they're still interviewing and will have an answer by the end of the week after this. 

That's not a good sign, is it? 

So I guess my interviewing skills need work.  Any tips?? 

Playing Cards

Back when I was little, the cool thing to do (to pass the time) was play cards. So as a kid, I always had a deck handy. It never really got boring because there were so many different games we all knew how to play - Kemps, Trumps, Speed, Frustration, Rich Man / Poor Man, B.S.   – it was just one of those things we all learned growing up.

So I was really surprised when I went over to play cards with some friends at Brian’s house that no one knew half the games I was talking about! And the one they did know how to play (B.S.) they were playing INCORRECTLY! 

See, THIS is how you play:

- The deck is dealt out so each player has an equal number of cards.

- Whoever has the 2 of Clubs goes first.
- The first player puts down some cards (face down) and claims that they’re 1 or more of the same rank of cards. (ex. “I put down two 7s”)
- Every other player then has to put down cards either of the same rank (7s in this case) or bluff and just say they are.
- this can go on for a while. (Ex. There can be up to 52 claimed “7s” in a pile if no one calls “B.S.”)
- If one player thinks another one is lying on their last claim, they can call “B.S.” on it.
- if they lied, they have to take the whole pile of cards up until that point into their hand
- if they told the truth, the person who called “B.S.” has to take all the cards.
- Object of the game is to get rid of all your cards without anyone calling “B.S.” on you.

But everyone there had this crazy idea that every player had to claim a different rank when they put down cards. - Ex. If I claimed “two 7s,” the next player would have to claim (at least) “one 8,” and then “9s,” etc. etc.

SO CRAZY, AMIRITE??

But I went on Wikipedia to look it up and apparently there are variations on how the game is played. Wikipedia calls the way I play it – “the Hawaiian version.”

If you ask me – my variation on the game is WAAAY more fun.

Then I tried looking up the other games I knew – but they weren’t there. I can’t believe no one else knows how to play Rich Man / Poor Man, Trumps, or Frustration.

Frustration my favorite to play as a kid! 

So to end this post, I’m gonna write out how to play in hopes of ‘keeping it alive’:

HOW TO PLAY "FRUSTRATION" 

DEALING CARDS:

- 2 person “card-shedding” game of speed.

- Each player is dealt half the deck evenly and keeps it in their hand without looking at it.

OBJECT OF THE GAME:
- To end up with the least amount of cards in your hand by the end of the game.

HOW TO PLAY:
- Both players line up facing each other, mirroring each other, and each put down 4 cards in a row face-up. (so there’s two rows of 4 cards)
- Whenever either player sees a pair of cards of the same rank (i.e. “two jacks”) in these rows, they have to place another card on top to “cover them”
- Both players can’t cover the same card. Whoever puts a card there first gets to keep it there.
- This continues until a player has no more cards left in his hand  this player yells “Frustration” and gathers all the cards in their row up to form a new hand.
- Repeat (indefinitely?) until both players decide someone has a significantly smaller hand than the other. This person is the winner.

STRATEGY / HINTS:
- It’s helpful to look for pairs that are both in your opponents row because you will get rid of more cards that way.

ANYONE ELSE HEARD OF THESE GAMES??  WHAT (CARD) GAMES DID YOU PLAY AS A KID?? 

Not-so-shallow Thought 24

So July hasn't been a particularly blog-worthy month so far. 

My Fourth of July was pretty tame....and the rest of the month looks to be that way too.  I've just been doing lots of reading - which leads to not doing much else. 

And after blogging for so long, I'm afraid I might be getting to that point where I'm starting to repeat myself.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I have (on Xanga). 

But here's one of life's ironies that I hope I haven't touched on yet. 

It strikes me as funny that, in an age as socially progressive / culturally aware as ours, the people who often get offended by different opinions are the very ones who try to preach open-mindedness & sensitivity. 

I am aware that this is a huge generatlization and that the reason for this is probably due to how much these people encounter ignorance / stubborness.  (i.e. "burnout") 

But snapping at someone and labeling them as "ignorant" doesn't exactly help expand their mind. 

I-Phone vs. Evo 4G!

So I wanted to write a Fourth of July / America post today (even though it’s now the Sixth of July), but I don’t actually have all my thoughts collected on that yet. So I’m just gonna post a bunch of videos that people have brought to my attention regarding the whole I-Phone 4 vs. Evo 4G battle going on.

If you haven't heard - the new I-Phone came out / is coming out.  There's also a similar device, called the Evo 4G, that is also coming out, but it wasn't advertised as much.  There's apparently some debate over which phone is "better." 

This video was created by a Best Buy Employee who was later fired for creating it. (Don’t worry about him, though – I hear he got offered a job at Gizmodo after this hit the web)

This next one is obviously a “rebuttal” video from an I-phone fan that does it’s best to paint the Evo 4G in a not so flattering light:

And this one is obviously just some kind of satire on the whole fiasco.  Oddly enough, this video makes the least amount of sense.