Sketch-town

Ahhh...

Meeting is done, that mega dance grant is off my desk, and I'm finally back to this blog. It's been a little crazy since I got home from Kelowna late Saturday night. (dance choreography, cutting holes in our walls for renos...more on that later..., wedding planning, etc.)

K-town was great, as it always is. Gen's fab parents let us stay at their house again, and we mostly lounged around, ate a lot (hello nachos!!), shopped, wandered around downtown, jumped on the trampoline (I miss it so much!) and went out for drinks. I may have found my wedding dress too! I'll know as soon as I do a whole shopping day with Mom, Nat and Tara on the 13th. Then I'll make my decision.

Most of the trip was uneventful, at least until the very last night. It sure made up for it! It all started at Gotcha's, where a girl dropped her cell phone in the bathroom. I found it after she left, and Natalie said she knew which girl had it. She also said this girl was easy to pick out because she was obviously on something. And oh my, was she ever! She was so drugged up she couldn't speak and could barely walk. We asked her if she had dropped her phone, holding it up to her face, and she choked on her words, growled strangely, and then ran off. So we had a nice, new blackberry. I think it eventually ended up in the hands of a bouncer (I hope).

A few minutes after that, someone told me Sean Kingston was there, and sure enough, I spotted him standing by the bar. I went to find Gen so we could talk to him, but by the time I found her he was gone. Damn.

After that, us three decided we needed a drink, when a guy tried to grab Natalie. I shook my head no when she said "please don't." As I continued walking, he tried to grab me, and Natalie repeated (and she was still polite about it) "we said don't." And with that, he exploded. Screaming at us the worst of all swears and names, shaking his hand at us, arm above his head to hit us. His buddies all started yelling at us too, absolutely spastic and angry. I was completely baffled...were they yelling at someone else? It couldn't possibly be us because we did nothing wrong! It was us though, and they continued to freak out. All five of them were right up in our face, until a bus boy ran into Natalie, and she told him we needed help. Two seconds later, about six bouncers hauled them all out. They fought, and were still yelling names at us. One coward shut up and turned his back, so he didn't get thrown out. We were afraid they'd be waiting outside for us since it was close to closing time, but thankfully, we didn't see them the rest of the night. I've never, ever had someone speak to me that way. EVER. I was so angry. At least we took the high road out.

And the night only continued to get crazier...

Once outside, we struggled to find a cab. In the meantime we grabbed some pizza and warded off several creepy dudes (one who insisted his buddy got a $250 speeding ticket simply from TALKING about speeding). We were waiting on the street, and a few sketchy guys (FUBU jersey's, chains, the whole bit) started asking us to go to their pool party. I felt safe because a cop car was parked on the street right next to us. We politely refused, but they were persistent, and as they continued to ask, a second car came whipping up with its sirens on. All the cops jumped out from both cars and shouted "you're under arrest!" They threw the guys we were talking to onto the cars, searched them and shoved them into the back. It was crazy! I'm still wondering what those guys did...they seemed to know exactly why they were being arrested.

After that, a couple of somewhat normal guys chatted with us as we were waiting. Soon enough, one of the FUBU guys (who must've managed to hide while the cops were there) came up and started bugging us again. Long story short (and it was quite amusing), he had his shirt off and was ready to fight. Natalie called the police and was on the phone for 20 minutes. FINALLY, we saw a cabbie, waved him down, and got the heck out of there!

And that's my story of sketch-town.

Back from k-town.

Work is busy, wedding planning is in full-force, and vacation is over! That's okay though because I like to be busy. I'll fill you in on adventures of K-town as soon as work stuff dies down a little. All I can say it was a relaxing trip with a few twists!

Until then...

One summer afternoon.

I return from the weekend...

ENGAGED!

It was perfect. Fabulous. And unexpected! I mean, I knew it was coming at some point this year. Even Christy at work predicted it the day before...but I was like "Nah, it's not gonna happen this weekend." I just wasn't feeling it, but apparently I was very wrong.

On Friday, Trav called me in the afternoon and told me that Brown wanted to cover his shift on Saturday (Trav was covering for Simpson.) So I said, sounds good (how awesome is an unexpected day off!?), what do you want to do for the day? Trav suggested going out to my parents to borrow the Chino and drive down to the river, but I really didn't feel like going back out there...and they weren't home so I negated the idea. Trav sounded really disappointed about that and now I know why! He was just trying to plan something romantic, where'd we be alone. But anyways, I suggested a plan B (initially suggested by Christy), which was to check out the Farmers' Market in Strathcona and then take the High Level trolley across the bridge and hang out at the Ledge Grounds.

The day was gorgeous. Sunny, warm, with a bit of a breeze. We walked up to the trolley, saw that one was to arrive in five minutes, and Trav said we might as well go now. I agreed and off we went! It was fun – I had no idea that Edmonton had the highest trolley. It put me on edge a little, being that high. Trav said his stomach was turning from the granola bar he had that morning (I think that really, he was nervous even though he insisted he wasn't!) The trolley is an old car from Australia, circa the 40s, refurbished. I just love antique things!

We arrived at the Ledge Grounds, which were oddly quiet that day. We walked past a couple of wedding parties taking pictures, and then went past a few fountains. I was leading the way when I heard Travis very seriously say my name (Ariana instead of Air!), and I turned, and there he was, on one knee! I hadn't suspected a thing, even with the bulky ring box stuffed into the cargo pocket of his shorts. (I hadn't noticed.)

I was so surprised and overwhelmed, but finally mustered "of course!" Trav says he was surprised I didn't cry...c'mon! I'm not really an emotion girl...my girlfriends can attest to that. Anyway, it was such a beautiful afternoon...I will always remember it. We headed to the market after, shared some hotdogs and just strolled around in the sunshine. It was a strange, fluttery feeling to walk around there and have a little secret that we soon would share with everyone. But for those couple of hours, it was just our moment. And that's one of the coolest feelings in the world.

Friday Afternoon Lull.

I didn't watch SYTYCD last night...I just googled the winner this morning (so unlike me!)

Josh won. And I'm very cool with that. I know in my last post I ranted about him, but it really was a rant about Nigel. I can totally relate to Josh in the sense that I feel like I've missed out on a lot of training and that my technique – especially in ballet – lacks. So it was great to see him come out on top. And he's such a little explosive ball of vibrating energy! But Katee...what happened? Yes, she got 50 grand, but I still think she should've been number one.

So last night I went and checked out Nat's new place...so cute! Nice and spacious, with a beautiful green yard with mature trees. It's an older building, but well taken care of, quiet, and has a cool kind of quaintness to it. She's also allowed to paint it or renovate it however she wants...which is such a great opportunity! Granted, those types of things cost and add up quickly, but I've got some leftover paint that could give the place a new look in a jiffy. If I lived there I'd be all over that! I suppose though I have enough to do with my own house judging by the 'home and garden' portion of my list. Possibly a little too ambitious? We'll see.

 The best part of our visit is when we went into the building and opened up "her" door...it was someone else's suite! (The three buildings are identical.) The young guy looked absolutely petrified, probably thinking someone was busting to kill him! It was truly priceless. I couldn't stop laughing.

Travis ended up getting tomorrow off unexpectedly. Hooray! We've planned a day date...which is quite unlike us! We plan to explore Whyte Ave, hit up the farmers' market, and then trolley to the Ledge grounds and have a mini-picnic with some hopefully delicious fruit we snag at the market. We've haven't done anything like this before, so I'll let you know if we actually go through with this perfect-sounding date!

All Things Dance.

Last night I burned home from boxing bootcamp and missed out on my usual catch-up sesh with Tara to make sure I caught So You Think You Can Dance. Although I missed the first 15 minutes, I think I got the gist of it. And to be honest, I was a little disappointed. I was looking forward to some unreal numbers. 

Of course I realize how exhausted they must be; I cannot fathom learning an upwards of five or six (add to that tremendously difficult) routines a week! Overall, I love the show, but some things this season have got on my nerves. For one, Nigel's long spiel last night about how Joshua has set the bar for dancers with no training irked me a little. He's had training!! It may not be as intense as the others, but there's many photographs of him taking classes and practicing and proof in the way he moves. There's a big difference between that and truly no training. Courtney...she's average. I feel like I could dance next to her and measure up. She should've left awhile ago. I think Chelsie Hightower should be in her place. That girl has so much spunk and her personality just absolutely radiates. Twitch...eh. He's decent. He's cute. But annoying! When taking the advice from the judges last night, he was making my skin crawl! Especially when he did his whole James Bond imitation...ick. So all in all? I think the title has got to go to Katee. Her technique, consistency, ability to dance almost any style or difficulty, and strength just blow me away.

My Dance Challenge

There's nothing like SYTYCD to get me in the dancing mood. Choreography season is quickly approaching. In fact, I need to start this week on Jenna's lyrical solo. We picked "I'm Scared" by Duffy, which I'm very excited about. I'm glad I get to dabble in lyrical again. It definitely doesn't come as easy to me as jazz, but it's a style I adore. I'll be really getting into it this weekend...wish me lots of creativity!

As well, I hope to start my own lyrical solo. After all, it's one of my goals. I still have the same vision with the pillow and the Kelly Clarkson a capella song. I hope I can transfer it to the stage in the way I'm picturing it in my mind.

Paperwork

And lastly, the crappy part of this dance business. Grants. It's amazing we have opportunities to apply for so much money...but it is a lot of work, especially when I get very little help. I hope the work pays off and I get launch Bon Bon and get "Melt" to become an amazing show brought to stage next year!

Chino Time.

I'll say it off the top – I didn't paint the dresser or fan. And that's okay! Travis and I did put up the kitchen shelves though late last night, which knocks my goals down to 100! They look great; now I just have to fill them up with pretty dishes and things...lol.

The weekend was relaxing. Truly. The parentals are always fabulous hosts, and Mom's such a whiz in the kitchen. It was such a nice surprise that Lizzie and Justin and the crew of kids visited too! I hadn't seen them since Nanna's funeral...which I means I've only ever met Halle! Tyler was such a bubbly little guy, and Liam...well a two-year old cutie (his birthday was Sat, which Lizzie forgot...lol) but with a bit of temper. He told off Trav a couple of times when Trav changed the channel away from 4 Squares (so is that what kids are watching now? What a terrible cartoon!)

Sunday brought on our 4x4ing adventure. The rhino and chinos are a pretty good time...though the chino Trav and I rode got a little plugged with mud after the whole crazy trip back, so Dad and Ryan had to come back and rescue us. We were gone five hours in total I think. I was a little freaked out by the narrow trails (Trav would probably argue a lot freaked out), but glad we got to go. I think Dad likes to see us playing with his new expensive toys. Put 'em to good use!

PS – the pic is obviously before the muddy adventure.

Shifting into neutral.

Whew. It's Friday! Of a long weekend! Yah!

Haha. The only problem is I have no plans tonight or tomorrow night. Trav is on nights covering for Simpson (and I already haven't seen him in days), Tara's gone back to DV to see her lover, and everyone else I know is headed off to Big Valley. That's all right though. It might be a perfect chance for me to catch up on a few things around the house...paint the dresser, which I've been meaning to do for months. Paint the fan. Plan out the next reno step. And maybe I can throw in a bit of movie-watching, magazine-reading and scrapbooking!

On Sunday Trav and I are planning to head back to my parents' place for two days. Hopefully it's nice enough to make a trek down to the river in the rhino. I haven't got to yet this summer, and it's already August! How does summer disappear so quickly?

I'm a little sleepy today...stayed up late every night this week...not sure why! Last night I caught SYTYCD. Although stupid telus kept cutting out; we seem to have a unfixable problem on our hands. So I missed the opening number. I was hoping that Courtney and Twitch would go instead. I love Mark's musicality and out-there style, and Chelsie is just too cute! And much more dynamic than Courtney.

Good thing I'm jetting early today for my hair appointment...I don't think I can hang on till five. Not sure what I'm doing with the mop, but I'm sure it will sort it self out. It usually does.

PS - my car is STILL not ready. Yeesh.