Ballroom Dancing

When I was still living in Beach City, I flirted (briefly) with the idea of getting into ballroom dancing. I found a studio in north county and attended a couple of classes that were terribly boring--we only learned two 8-counts of basic choreography in an hour. I just couldn't be bothered to spend the money and make the drive to the studio to accomplish so little.

After six months in LA, I decided to give ballroom dancing another try. I did some research (so many options here compared to Beach City!), chose a studio, and went in for an evaluation/sample class right before Christmas. I immediately liked the teacher--something of a feat since I've become more than a little difficult to please as a student after teaching a different form of dance for a number of years in my early 20s.  He has a solid technical foundation, is receptive to my many questions, and is downright likable.

After the holidays, I was back at the studio and signing up for classes. The studio director gave me a pair of shoes on the spot to encourage me (I still think it was a bit of magic that he guessed my shoe size on sight!) and I have been taking a one-on-one class and as many group classes as possible each week since. I'm having fun and so happy that I gave ballroom dancing another try.

CONS:

• This is an expensive hobby.  One-on-one classes are pricey, but the studio policy is that a student taking a one-on-one class during a given week can attend group classes that week at no additional charge.

• Group classes are hit or miss.  The staffing changes on a week to week basis and very few of the other students are proficient dancers.  I'm no Yulia Zagoruychenko (far from it!), but I know how to move and make pleasing lines after growing up in a dance studio.  Many of my fellow students have never danced before, slowing the pace of the group class considerably.  After less than a month of one-on-one classes, group classes are starting to feel like a waste of time.

• Fitting in with the other girls my age is not coming naturally.  I was hoping that I might meet some friends by attending the group classes.  Instead, the girls my age are giving me the cold shoulder and acting very clique-ish.  I'm not entirely sure what is behind this and am still sorting out how I've managed to put them off.

• Only one student-lead my age that rotates.  There are men my age that attend classes, but, with one exception, they attend with their fiancee (wedding dance lessons appear to provide the studio with a lot of business) and do not rotate partners during group classes.  This is in line with what I expected, I just think class would be even more fun if there were some more leads attending.

PROS:

• My teacher.  It is so much fun to dance with someone who knows how to lead.  Despite all the pas de deux under my belt, I've very rarely had the opportunity to social dance with a strong lead.  I briefly danced with two great partners while in college, one socially at parties and the other as my partner in West Side Story, but that's it.

• Confidence.  After a couple of classes at the ballroom studio, I had the gumption to head over to the Edge for some other dance classes.  The ballet and jazz classes that I'm taking there are helping me rebuild the core strength and flexibility that I once had.

• Reconnecting with my body.  It feels great to move like this again!  It's also encouraged me to get to the gym more often.  In just one month I've noticed an improvement in muscle tone and flexibility.

• Getting out of downtown.  The ballroom studio is 10 miles from home but in an entirely different sort of neighborhood.  It's been great to escape downtown every once and a while to be around people who aren't lawyers.

• Grandma is excited!  Thanks to a philandering grandfather, I have many grandmothers.  One, in particular, was a competitive ballroom dancer when she was my age.  We don't have a close relationship, but she really lit up when I told her I was taking ballroom classes.  Recently she gave me a bag of ballroom shoes--she stopped dancing decades ago but had saved a bag of her favorites that are, coincidentally, just my size.  There will be a dancesport competition in her town this summer and I'm hoping I might participate in it so that she can come watch.  If I'm not ready to participate, I'm going to get us tickets so we can go as spectators and she can reminisce about the days when she was a competitor.

• I have a lot to learn.  My ballet/jazz background is an advantage, but I'm starting from scratch so far as the ballroom figures are concerned.  There is plenty of challenge here and I'm enjoying that.

Cooking for Two (2011 Edition)

By the time graduation rolled around, I had my heart on learning to cook--like a grown up!  I grew up in a family of very simple tastes.  A typical dinner was a baked, unseasoned chicken breast, plain peas, and plain white rice.  My Mom did many things exceptionally, but cooking was not something she enjoyed.  Less time in the kitchen gave her more time to be involved in our learning and extra curricular activities.

But I'm not a mom or a wife.  With all the "extra time" this gives me, I thought I could learn to do a little more in the kitchen.  I got off to a rocky start.  Recipes called for all sorts of ingredients I didn't have on hand.  I ended up spending a lot of money, results were hit or miss, and the final product usually produced so many servings I would eat the same leftovers for a couple of weeks.

Enter America's Test Kitchen's Cooking for Two cookbook (2010 Edition).  I received this cookbook as a Christmas gift over a year ago and it re-ignited my interest in learning to cook.  Thorough instructions, recipes that have been tested to perfection, and small yields have helped me feel much more successful in the kitchen.

While reviewing another cookbook by America's Test Kitchen, a critic at the New York Times wrote that "if an intermediate cook follows the directions exactly, the results will be better than takeout or Mom's."  This is a perfect description of my experience with Cooking for Two.  It's been especially fun since I've collected some smaller baking dishes.

Some of my favorite recipes from the 2010 Edition (admittedly, there are many I still need to try):

• Beef Pot Pie with Portobello Mushrooms and Sherry
• Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potato and Spicy Maple Butter
• Easy Quiche Lorraine
• All-Season Peach Crisp
• Skillet-Roasted Pear Halves
• Lemon Pudding Cake

Easy Quiche Lorraine

This year, as a Christmas gift, I received the 2011 Edition of the cookbook.  In the last few weeks, I've tried its recipes for Honey Roasted Cornish Game Hen, Zucchini, Tomato and Ricotta Tarts, and Key Lime Pie.

Zucchini, Tomato and Ricotta Tart

So far, I think I prefer the 2010 Edition, but the jury is still out!

One Year

Since my last post, I've reached a milestone: I've completed one year at the firm.  I haven't learned as much or worked on as many deals as I expected due to an absence of deal flow during my first six months in Beach City,* so I didn't make my hours and I've been held back from advancing with my salary class.  My work is rarely intellectually challenging (perhaps we should blame this on my practice area).  I've ended up in a completely different city than intended.  This does not feel like success.

Gee, I'm cheery aren't I?

On the upside, I made it through the first year--something that hardly seemed likely when I started in Beach City and sat for months with nothing to do.  I got to experience cross-border work and one helluva earthquake while working in our office in Tokyo.  I've been blessed with a generous paycheck and benefits.  The firm transferred me to an office where I have been included in some projects.  In short, I survived.

What has changed now that I'm a second year associate?  In practice, not much, since no new attorneys started with our group this year.  But one important change is that I am now free to leave the firm without repaying my deferral and bar stipends.  In addition, I'm now eligible for maternity leave (which would mean a lot to me if not for my spinster status) and firm matching of gifts to non-profit organizations of my choice--up until the one year mark, the firm only matches gifts to our law schools.

How has my personal life weathered the storm?  Well... I survived.  Especially since my move to LA, my life has felt empty and social interactions have been extremely limited.  This makes me sad as I had been hoping for so much more at this point in my life.  I have no one but myself to blame for this.  Moving from a city where I had mapped out my life (right down to the awesome public school my future children would attend) to one where I still can't imagine a future seems to have given me an excuse to withdraw and withdraw I have.  I have some very scary and disappointing moments when I wonder if this is as good as my life will get.  Not gonna lie, still feel like I'm hanging on by a thread.

But in an effort to end the year on a positive note, I have recently gotten back to dancing (ballet/jazz and ballroom, something old and something new) and am enjoying getting out of the apartment and spending time at the two studios I am attending.  More about this in another post!

My New Ballroom Shoes

*For the record, two deals from start to finish and two deals on an a help as needed but not as a legitimate member of the deal team basis.