WHAT IS NEW AT SSQQ
This is the May 2007 issue of the SSQQ Newsletter.
I am sorry there wasn't any April Newsletter, but
here is my excuse...
Back in high school, I always
turned in my homework. I was a very
conscientious student. But I carried an
inordinate fear that one day I would forget to turn
something in on time and it would cost me dearly.
I was always on guard against a slipup.
I turned into such a worry-wart that now as an adult
I still have an occasional recurring nightmare that
I have failed to study for a high school test or
have forgotten to do my homework.
Well, last month one of my nightmares did come true:
Trying as hard as I could, last month I still didn't
send out a Newsletter.
I contend that two companies - Centerpoint and Time
Warner - inadvertently combined forces to make my
life absolutely miserable for three weeks in March
and April. I have decided to blame them for
missing last month's April newsletter.
So you are my school teacher. It is your job
to listen to my excuse and decide whether it is
justified or whether I am full of beans and need to
go to detention. Be sure to read the complete
story of the
Missing April Newsletter |
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There have
been two big changes in our dance curriculum.
Ballroom
Dancing has been added to Thursdays
and our Martian Whip
Technique class
has been upgraded. Both of these stories are
covered at length in this issue of the Newsletter.
Plus we have more
May Dance Semester highlights
as well as three parties to check out.
SSQQ Slow
Dance and Romance has had a big month
- one new engagement and three weddings!
The Carnival
Conquest Cruise scheduled for late
September caught on fire in late April. 33
people signed up in a period of 4 days. It was
a veritable avalanche of registrations that took us
to the Magic 100 number. The good news is that
all the Troublemakers are back on board, but there
is some bad news too. Marla has run out of her
allotted number of inexpensive cabins.
Although there is plenty of space left on the trip,
you will have to pay a little bit extra to go.
If I were to guess, this is shaping up as the
wildest trip on record. You do not want to
miss this trip at any price!
We have three Story in the News features this month.
One is a bizarre story about a woman who was dropped
on her head
while dancing. The
second
story is a fascinating list of the Ten Best
April Fool's
Jokes ever played. (Yes, this story was supposed to
run in last month's issue, but let's not talk about
that.)
The third story in the news is the best of all:
Cruise Blues in
the News. Yep, lots of crazy
things have been going on in the Cruise Industry.
This story gives you the INSIDE SCOOP of what really
happened when that couple fell overboard recently.
Very suspicious... this is DON'T MISS READING.
Let's just cross our fingers and hope none of this
stuff happens to us on the Wild and Crazy September
Conquest Cruise.
I added a story to the website that you absolutely
must read and see. The World's
Four Most
Dangerous Roads gives you a
first-hand look at the Siberian Road of Mud, the
Bolivian Road of Death, the Tunnel in the Side of
the Mountain, and the Most Dangerous Tourist Hike in
the entire world. I know you all think I am
guilty of too much hype sometimes, but this time I
am not kidding. This story is incredible. You have
to see it to believe it.
Many of you have no idea how talented the SSQQ Hall
Monitors are. For example,
Diane Murrell
has not only recently gained a Masters of Social
Work degree, she has put the finishing touch on her
third published book about the subject of autism.
In February 25 brave SSQQ dancers headed over to
Chandelier Ballroom for a fun night of
Ballroom
Dancing. Then in March our
numbers grew to nearly 40 people! We are going to the Chandelier again
on June 2, so check your calendar! In the
meantime, be sure to read this cute story.
On a dark note, on Wednesday, January 31, one dance
student had their car towed by the Bellaire Police
and another car was nearly towed. The problem
was caused when the City redesigned the NO PARKING
zones on First Street without bothering to warn
anybody. There have been several developments
since then, but I am still waiting on the final
story from one of the women involved.
Nevertheless this is an important story to read if
you haven't read it so far because it covers
SSQQ Parking
Woes.
I know all of you live for the Complaint of the
Month section. Many people tell me it is their
favorite thing to read. Well, sorry to
disappoint you. I don't have anything juicy to
print. However I did add one new feature to
this Newsletter:
Happy Letters to the Editor.
One day it dawned on me that I get lots of
interesting emails, but I rarely print them.
Well, that has changed. This month instead of
the negative, I will accentuate the positive with 11
letters. Please forgive. I will go back to
dirty stuff next month. In addition I
will try to catch up on the jokes as well.
Let me add one thing: in my humble opinion, you will
be very pleased at just how interesting all the
features are in this Newsletter because it is the
culmination of two month's worth of work, not just
one as usual. There are some great articles to
read!
Be sure to read all these stories and more in the
May Newsletter!
Rick Archer
Here are the
Chapters in this month's Newsletter:
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01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
xx
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THE
SEPTEMBER CARIBBEAN DANCE CRUISE ABOARD
THE CARNIVAL CONQUEST (reprint from Feb)
THE 2006 NEW
ENGLAND CRUISE WRITEUP IS COMPLETE
(reprint from Feb)
THE 2006
RHAPSODY CRUISE WRITEUP IS COMPLETE: A
SHOCKING NEW DEVELOPMENT!
MAY CLASS
HIGHLIGHTS
MAY
DANCE
PARTIES
MARTIAN WHIP
THE STORY
BEHIND THE MISSING APRIL
2007 NEWSLETTER
SLOW DANCE AND
ROMANCE - new stories!
STORY IN THE NEWS: Woman dropped on head
alleges 'negligent dancing'
BALLROOM DANCING ON THURSDAYS.
THE CHANDELIER BALLROOM - next visit June 2
PARKING PROBLEMS ON FIRST STREET
(reprint from February)
STORY IN THE
NEWS: CRUISE
HAPPENINGS IN THE NEWS
story in the news:
Ten of the best April Fool's Day
hoaxes ever (Chris Holmes)
THE SSQQ ARCHIVES: THE FOUR MOST
DANGEROUS ROADS IN THE WORLD!
HAPPY
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
DIANE MURRELL
WRITES A BOOK
COMPLAINT OF THE MONTH - nothing in May
COMPLAINT OF THE MONTH TWO:
nothing in May
JOKE OF
THE MONTH: hopefully this feature will
be back next month
FAVORITE STORIES FROM PREVIOUS ISSUES
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01.
ANNOUNCING THE
2007 SEPTEMBER SSQQ DANCE CRUISE
CONQUEST 2007
Sunday, September 23rd
thru Sunday, Sept 30th
100
People going as of
April 26.
Well, everybody, get ready. The Sea
You in September Dance Party is on.
The
Alpha Hussy is back, the Center of Attention
is ready to cause more trouble, Mr. Handsome
is back, and of course the Jammer - Gary
Richardson - is back to take more
incriminating pictures plus spin the DJ
music.
Something incredible happened on Monday,
April 24 - Everybody decided to sign up at
once! Marla signed up 33 people in the
space of four days.
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So
how did the flood of registrations begin?
Sunday night at the studio, six people
handed Marla their cruise registrations in
person: Phyllis Porter (Center of
Attention), Judy Walsh, Viola
Hernandez, Ken Robeson, Vicky Jimenez, and
Meg Hada. Marla was impressed.
Six in one day! Not bad.
Two other people - Lin Mills and Rick
Elizondo - came up to Marla and verbally
committed as well.
After the big rush on Sunday evening, Monday
morning things were pretty quiet.
Marla was sort of disappointed because she
thought the previous night was the start of
something big. Nope. Not one new
registration the entire morning or
afternoon.
On Monday night at the studio, Doug Ferris
and Vivian Gustafson both handed Marla their
registrations. That made 10 new
registrations in two days.
On Tuesday morning, the dam broke. As
Marla walked in her office at 10 am, there
was some sort of groaning and moaning coming
from the fax machine. Marla went over
to take a look. Holy Cow!
The poor machine was jammed with paper.
As Marla untangled the mess, she realized
there were seven cruise registrations.
Julie Johnson, Marian Patterson, Charlie
Denton, Joan Recht, Sandy Upchurch, Sandra
Palmer, and Karen Wisniewski had all sent in
registrations.
Marla was sitting at her desk trying to
process their reservations, her phone rang.
Joe Lachner called to say he and Patty
Harrison were back for the third year in a
row. Now we were up to 19
registrations in three days.
On Wednesday, the registrations came in fast
and furious. Some came by email,
some came by fax, some came by phone, but
every minute Marla turned around it was
someone else. Mickie Benoit, John
Safos, Nancy Neuhaus, Terri Beeler, Jeff
Margolis, Conor O'Muirgheasa, Cristina
Lozano, Gary and Betty Richardson, Marlanea
Taylor plus Alpha Hussy Leslie Goldsmith.
Plus three more people handed in their
registrations at the studio in the evening
(but as I write, they aren't confirmed).
Assuming the Mysterious Three go, that's
fourteen registrations in one day. Or
33 people in four days. Amazing.
There was one downside to the flurry of
registrations - Marla sold out of her
original allotment of inexpensive cabins.
Carnival originally gave Marla 50 cabins.
Now that we reached 101 passengers, all 50
cabins were all gone.
The good news was that there was still
plenty of space on the ship, but the bad
news was it would have to be purchased at
the prevailing rate. The first victim
of the shortage was none other than the
Alpha Hussy herself.
Marla
Archer wrote:
Hi
Leslie, I wish I could say
Welcome Aboard, but I have a
problem. It appears that this cruise
has gone WILD over the past 48
hours!
We are currently SOLD OUT of all
inside and oceanview cabins at the
original group rate. I have only one
balcony cabin remaining at $762 PP.
Today's prevailing rate is as
follows: inside -- $614 PP,
oceanview -- $664 PP
Marlanea called me earlier today and
is in the same situation. situation.
Maybe the two of you could room
together?
From: LeslieG
Date: 04/26/2007 8:06:44 AM
To: Marla Archer
Subject: Re: SSQQ Western Caribbean
Cruise
MUST be on that
ship!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sign me up at best deal
available.....
Marla
Archer wrote:
Welcome Aboard Ladies, You are
confirmed in an inside cabin at the
rate of $614 PP. We are almost
at 100 passengers!!!!
From: LeslieG
Date: 04/26/2007 12:06:46 PM
To: Marla Archer
Subject: Re: SSQQ Western Caribbean
Cruise
YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for all your work!!!!
Marlanea Taylor wrote:
Can you believe they are going to
let the two of us be in the same
room??!!
From: LeslieG
Date: 04/26/2007 12:19:32 PM
To: Marlanea Taylor
Cc:
Subject: Re: Cruise
That's EXACTLY what I was
thinking!!!!!!!!!!!!
One room, TWO Hussies........
They're just ASKING for
trouble!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you aren't afraid of the Hussy Cabin and
want to join us, Marla says there is plenty
of room. Register today and join all the fun!
Please complete the
Registration Form.
You may email, fax or bring it to the studio
and we will get you onboard.
Contact Marla Archer at 713 862-4428 or
e-mail
marla@ssqq.com
with any further questions.
CONQUEST 2007
READ THE STORY OF THE
2006 CARIBBEAN TRIP
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03.
THE
STORY OF THE 2006
NEW ENGLAND
CRUISE
The SSQQ New
England was both amazing and frustrating at
the same time.
On the positive side, we had our chance to
see the changing leaves in the fall and some
of the most beautiful scenery in the entire
country. Visits to Martha's Vineyard,
Acadia National Park, and New Hampshire's
White Mountains revealed breath-taking
vistas. New England is truly a gorgeous
place to live.
We also got a chance to see history come
alive with trips to Salem Village, New
Brunswick, and of course by roaming around
Boston.
However some of our excitement was tempered
by the inexplicable rudeness and
inefficiency of a cruise staff rumored to be
the worst in the Royal Caribbean fleet.
You will simply have to read the story to
understand the level of the incompetence we
ran into.
CURSE OF THE JEWEL
Plus we had a couple who crashed our group
even though we warned them not to. That
was a weird event.
According to one person who commented to me,
this was the most interesting cruise story
yet. The pictures alone are worth
taking a look at and the story is equally
good.
NEW ENGLAND
CRUISE
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CHAPTERS
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04.
THE PICTURES & STORY OF THE
2006 RHAPSODY
CRUISE
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The 2006 Rhapsody
Reloaded Cruise last August was an incredible trip.
It was without a doubt the most successful
cruise
trip we have ever taken, but it took me
several months to actually write the story.
So what took me so long to put the story
together? I attribute my writer's
block to 3 reasons.
First, my friend Gary Richardson put
together an overwhelming CD collection of
pictures. Although I am grateful for
all his hard work and the pictures were
great, I felt kind of overwhelmed.
Gary's CD had over 1,300 pictures of 136
different people! If you believe every
picture is worth a thousand words, imagine
how I didn't even know where to begin.
My second problem is going to sound silly,
but it took me so long to format and post
650 pictures, I was so tired I didn't have
much wind left. Furthermore, since
this was our fourth trip on the Rhapsody, it
was difficult for me to find new things to
say about the ship, the ports, the dancing,
and the hot tub nonsense. Maybe it is
time to switch ships after all.
But the third reason is the real reason - I
didn't have anything to talk about! I
have to tell you something - people have
learned to keep their mouths shut around me.
I got the feeling all sorts of interesting
things were happening all around me, but no
one would talk. I was unable to
penetrate this conspiracy of silence.
It was a wonderful trip, but next time I am
going to hire me an informant. Then
you will get a great trip writeup.
2006 RHAPSODY
CRUISE
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SHOCKING
DEVELOPMENT: In February, I
inadvertently ruled that the new HOT TUB
record of 24 was invalid.
That is when Jan Milz stepped up to report
that her husband had made an incredible
sacrifice to guarantee the record would be
set! I reviewed the facts and declared
the record of 24 VALID thanks to the heroic
efforts of Bob Milz.
YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS STORY!!!!!!
CLICK HERE
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05.
THE May CLASS HIGHLIGHTS – CLASSES BEGIN
April
29.
Remember – if you miss the
first week of class, you can always start in the
second week. The Second Week Review will catch you
up. SSQQ
SCHEDULE
For even more detail on many
of the classes listed below, please visit
EXTRA
Special classes for
May include:
SUNDAY AT 4:30:
INTERMEDIATE
HUSTLE -
Scott
Hustle is the famous Disco Dance
from the 70s. It is also a cult favorite here at
SSQQ.
Hustle is best used to Disco music and soft R&B
hits. This flashy partner dance is a clever
combination of Swing footwork and Latin hip motion.
Taught on Sundays at 4:30, this dance was first
known as the "Latin Hustle" when it was the major
partner dance back in the Saturday Night Fever Disco
era.
Scott Ladell has worked magic with his Hustle class
in past years. In 2006, his class was so popular
that it went for five months. That was pretty
impressive. You will be pleased to note that this
accomplishment was no accident. Scott is one of the
best Hustle teachers in the city and deserves the
loyal following he has developed.
His class in April has 50 people in it.
SUNDAY AT 7: Dakota Wilhelm's
ACCELERATED BALLROOM FOXTROT
II. One of the most popular
classes at SSQQ is Dakota's upper-level Ballroom
course. For people who are already Advanced
Ballroom dancers, Dakota aims to challenge his class
with the toughest patterns in a different dance
every two months. Currently he is working on
Foxtrot.
Quick reminder that we will
no longer be teaching SLOW DANCE as a regular
four-week group class. That said, there are
special occasions like the First Dance at a wedding,
a fancy New Years Eve party, a romantic standard at
the Captain's Reception on a cruise, or a sultry
torch song at a nightclub where the ability to Slow
Dance would sure come in handy. If you are
getting married or would simply like to learn to
Slow Dance, Marla Archer can teach you SLOW DANCE,
WALTZ, or FOXTROT in a private lesson. Contact
her at
marla@ssqq.com
Marla teaches an average of 5 private
lessons a week to couples who need to learn how to
Slow Dance, Foxtrot, or Waltz at their Wedding
Reception. If you know someone who needs to prepare
for this important moment, read Marla’s story about
her Wedding Dance experiences, please visit:
WEDDING LESSONS
MONDAY AT 7:
Bryan and Lisa’s MARTIAN
WHIP
on Mondays
is an elite class for people who wish to become
either top-flight social dancers or competition West
Coast Swing dancers. If you are an advanced
Whip and West Coast Swing dancer, this is the place
to be on Mondays! In
addition to this challenging class, Monday
Night Whip Practice became a serious rocking event.
Bryan Spivey and Lisa
became Texas State Whip
Champions in 2004. They were Regional
Champions in 2005. Then in 2006, Bryan finished in the Top 12 of
the National West Coast Swing Championships.
In other words, Bryan is currently one of the top 12 male
dancers in the country. Quite an
accomplishment!
Click here for information on the
NEW MARTIAN TECHNIQUE CLASS
Tuesday
AT 7:
SAlsa
is phenomenal. Each Tuesday,
there is a Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced
Salsa class that average 80 to 100 people in each
class. In particular, Steve & Danielle conduct
their elite Advanced Salsa class each Tuesday.
The Tuesday Salsa Practice Night hosted by Linda
Cook is smokin’.
WEDNESDAY AT 7: SHARON SHAW'S
INTERMEDIATE WESTERN WALTZ WEDNESDAYS IN MAY
Sharon (Crawford) Shaw's legendary Western Waltz
program begins anew in April 2007 with a Beginning
Western Waltz class, the first step in a five month
cycle. Yes, we know that Sharon announced her
retirement a year ago, but she had second thoughts
after so many people asked her to reconsider.
Sharon taught her first extended Western Waltz class
back in April of 2000. In that year, Sharon had over
70 people sign up for Beginning Western Waltz in
April. Due to the high energy of the class,
naturally we scheduled a follow-up Intermediate
class in May. However there was no drop-off! Not
only did the same 70 people stick around, the class
grew a little bit as experienced Waltz dancers
joined in progress to share the fun. Soon the
students started begging for more levels. Sharon and
her friend John Jones added an Advanced level in
June. Then came Super-Advanced in July.
In 2000, Sharon and John stopped at four levels, but
when the same thing happened the following year,
they found a way to add a fifth month of Western
Waltz in 2001.
What makes the class exceptionally fun is that many
of the dancers stay after class to practice. Before
you know, all that practice pays off - the entire
room is wall to wall with beautiful Waltz couples
swirling and twirling across the floor! As a result,
many of the finest Waltz dancers in Houston claim
they owe their skill to Sharon and John's class!
Sharon's Five Month Western Waltz cycle in 2007
marks her eighth year of teaching the best Western
Waltz in the entire city. You do not want to miss
it.
THURSDAY AT 7:
BALLROOM DANCING
HAS BEEN ADDED TO
THURSDAYS IN ADDITION TO SUNDAY.
FRIDAY AT 7:
Rick and Cher will teach
BEGINNING WESTERN CHA CHA
on Friday.
Western Cha Cha is the traditional Cha Cha used to
slow, graceful Polka-speed music. Many of the songs
Western Cha Cha works best to can be described as
romantic or sultry, often with a Latin beat in the
background.
The most famous Western Cha Cha is "Neon Moon" by
Brooks and Dunn. "Shagging" by Alabama and "Tequila
Sunrise" by the Eagles are two more examples. The
Western Cha Cha is a clever dance that works well as
an alternative dance to the Polka.
Quite popular in Western clubs in other parts of the
country, Western Cha Cha is also a fixture at
Western Dance Competitions. The patterns vary from
the simple to the complex and use double turns when
the mood strikes. Best of all, the Cha Cha has an
attractive hip motion that makes Wrangler Jeans do
for Western dancing whatever it is that Gap Khakis
do for Swing dancing.
Cha Cha is flirtatious,
sexy, easy to learn, and lots of fun!
SATURDAY AT 4:30: Bjorn and Rebeca Bangstein
have moved their
Saturday Salsa Explosion
on Saturdays to
4:30
pm. This Super-Advanced
Salsa class gives us four different levels of Salsa
classes on Saturday afternoons.
SATURDAY AT 4:30:
ZYDECO Willie Bushnell has
Zydeco starting on Saturday at 430. Zydeco
dance music originated in the state of
Louisiana. Similar to Cajun music, Zydeco is
more heavily influenced by blues and music from
the West Indies. Zydeco is fun, sexy, and pretty
easy to learn! This is a great Saturday class
that will have you laughing all night long!
………………………
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CHAPTERS
06.
ONE DANCE PARTY IN APRIL AND TWO
DANCE
PARTIES IN
MAY
MUY CALIENTE SALSA PARTY
Saturday, April 28
9:15 pm - 11:30 pm
Cover charge $7
BEG SALSA!! - Alex
BACHATA - Linda
MERENGUE - Luis
LATIN CHA CHA - Jill
INTERMEDIATE SALSA - Martin
SALSA DIPS & LUNGES I Steve/Daniele (cpl)
DANCING IN THE
MOONLIGHT
Saturday,
May 12
9:15 pm - 11:30 pm
Cover charge $7
CRASH COURSES 7-9 pm
ZYDECO - Ronnie
RUMBA - Rick
SWING CHARLESTON - Maureen
SLOW DANCING (Cpls only) - Marla
SINATRA BOXFOX - Jack
DAKOTA’S FAV ADV TANGO PTNS - Dakota
HONKY-TONK BLUES
WESTERN AND WHIP PARTY
Saturday,
May 19
9:15 pm - 11:30 pm
Cover charge $7
CRASH COURSES 7-9 pm
BEG C&W : TEXAS TWOSTEP - Jack
INT TWOSTEP: CIRCLE TURNS - Rick/Linda
DIRTY DANCING (Cpls Only) - Ben
BEG WESTERN CHA CHA - Jill
BEG WESTERN WALTZ - Marla
TRIPLE TWO - Scott
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CHAPTERS
07. MARTIAN WHIP AND MARTIAN WHIP
TECHNIQUE
As this
Newsletter goes out, SSQQ Martian Whip instructors Bryan Spivey and Lisa Palmer
will be getting married on Saturday, April 28.
Bryan and Lisa met here at SSQQ 5 years ago.
They began dating in 2004. In 2005 they became
engaged.
By coincidence, in May 2007, Bryan and Lisa's
wedding will coincide with a major restructuring of
the SSQQ Whip/West Coast Swing program.
As always, we will offer Beginning and Intermediate
Whip/WCS two times a week. However our
Thursday class will move to Sunday afternoons at
4:30 pm to create an opening for a second Ballroom
night.
The major change will be the implementation of a
six-month pre-Martian Whip program known as
Martian Technique. Previously this
class has been offered only one night a week, but
starting in May we will offer it on two nights a
week: Monday and Thursday. When we finish
implementing our complete Ballroom program on
Thursday, the second Martian Technique class will
move to Fridays in July.
The purpose of Martian Technique is to
offer six solid months of different material to
prepare our students for Martian Whip.
The first hour of each week will be footwork and
fundamentals that students will need at the higher
level. Then the second hour will cover
important patterns. One person - Rick Archer -
will teach the Technique Program. The main
reason for a single instructor is that is much
easier for one person to teach the complicated
parallel class system.
Martian Technique will be available to
anyone who has completed Intermediate Whip/WCS or
similar material elsewhere. I will be honest -
if this class is too tough, I will not hesitate to
suggest you move back to an easier level.
With the same thought in mind, Martian Whip
will move to elite status - at the start of each
semester, new students will be evaluated at the
start of class by Bryan or Lisa to make sure their
are ready to enter their program.
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-----Original Message-----
From: Maria B
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 10:29 AM
To: dance@ssqq.com
Subject: what happened to advanced whip?
Hi Rick,
I am Maria B, a former whip student. I took
Advanced and Lunar Whip a few years ago and
wanted to come back, but these
classes are not listed any more. I am
mystified because a couple weeks ago I checked
your schedule and saw your advanced class
listed. What happened to you it?
By they way, your newsletter didn't explain
things very well so I thought I would write and
see if you could help. I am not ready for some
technique class... I barely remember how to walk
much less do any difficult patterns. What do you
suggest I do, take Beginning Whip over again?
Thanks, M.
Rick Archer wrote:
Thanks for asking me to clarify things, Maria.
Sometimes something is quite clear to me, but I
don't explain it properly, so it helps me that
you spoke up.
Regarding the
Technique program, you are not the only person
who is confused.
There have been several people who did not
understand what I am doing. So let me try
again.
What we once called "Advanced" and "Lunar" Whip
are now Technique 3 and 4. That material
is not going to disappear.
What I am doing is
replacing a two-month program with a six-month
program. This way,
after a student finishes Intermediate Whip,
they now get six months of
advanced classes offered twice a week
before the material begins to repeat.
This course is
basically Space Station Whip... a six-month
class that trains people to enter Bryan and
Lisa's Martian Whip program.
No one says a student has to
take all six months of Technique.
The moment a student
gets bored, they can
go to Martian Whip assuming
they pass the test.
We had something similar to this on Thursdays.
The Thursday Technique
program was popular, but it had two flaws: it
was only offered once a week and there was no
coordination btw the three instructors.
It seemed to me there
were gaps in the training. Since I am the
only one teaching Technique, I promise you there
will strong continuity.
The biggest problem for me
will be integrating graduates of Intermediate
Whip into a class with people who have had two
to six months more experience. I
expect the Intermediate graduates to struggle a
little, but you know what? The people who
are ahead of them often appreciate the review.
That's how they get really good.
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CHAPTERS
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08.THE MISSING APRIL
2007 NEWSLETTER
Story written by Rick Archer, May 2007
In April
2007, there was no SSQQ Newsletter because one thing
after another went wrong. It drove me nuts.
Back in high school, I always
turned in my homework. I was a very
conscientious student. But I carried an
inordinate fear that one day I would forget to turn
something in on time and it would cost me dearly. I
was always on guard against a slipup.
I turned into such a worry-wart that now as an adult I still have an occasional
recurring nightmare that I have failed to study for
a high school test or have forgotten to do my
homework.
Well, last month one of my nightmares did come true:
Trying as hard as I could, last month I didn't send
out a Newsletter.
I contend that two companies - Centerpoint and Time Warner -
inadvertently combined forces to
make my life absolutely miserable for three
weeks in March and April. I have decided to blame them for missing
last month's April
newsletter.
So you are my school teacher. It is your job
to listen to my excuse and decide whether it is
justified or whether I am full of beans and need to
go to detention.
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2006: THE STORY
BEGINS- ACROSS
THE STREET AND DOWN THE STREET
The background
events to this story took place
in 2006 when the property across the street from my
house here in the Heights was bought
by a company known as Tricon. They
wasted little time. Men quickly cleared the property for construction (see pictures above).
I soon discovered that Tricon had acquired another
property nearby. About the same time as
they cleared the area in the pictures above, Tricon also
demolished some old apartments about six houses down
the street from my
house. No problem. The apartments
were crumbling tenements rife with crime. I
hailed the move. And as for the property
across my street, gee whiz, it was five empty lots
just begging to be developed. It had once been
owned by a cement company that filled in pools,
driveways, and sidewalks. All they needed was
a place to park their trucks and store concrete. The 5 lots had two
old structures on them, but otherwise had been
underdeveloped for the 30 years I have lived here.
Construction on both sites - across the street and
down the street - began in January 2007. Below
are pictures of some of the condos down the street
that replaced the aging apartments. Those guys
worked fast - it is only April, but some of
the units have already been sold now and people are moving in.
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In the pictures below, you can see the progress of the new homes
across the street from my house. Tricon put five
homes on that property, but the arrangement is
bizarre. Two homes face the south
while three others face the west. There is
practically no yard for any of the five homes,
mainly because the three homes facing west were
given large free-standing garage apartments.
Thus there is little symmetry to their plans.
Oh well. It's still better than the empty dirt
lot.
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The
Coming of the Martians - Can We Turn Your Lights Off? |
I generally start writing the Newsletter on the
third Monday of every dance semester. After eight years
of writing Newsletters, I have developed a certain rhythm to
this. The third Monday is the ritualistic
start to two weeks of serious writing. Step One leads to Step Two and so on.
I have it down to a science.
However, even before I start the April Newsletter, I
was already worried.
I was concerned I might not have enough time to do a
thorough job because my wife's
brother Larry and his wife Roz were coming to spend
Easter Weekend with Marla and me. Their visit
would shorten my available time to write by two days. I reassured myself that I had
enough time, but very little to waste.
If there were any interruptions or delays, I might
be in trouble.
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On Monday, March 19, I sat down
at my desk to begin typing the April Newsletter.
I was 3 words into my project when the doorbell
rang. I bristled at the interruption.
Then I shuddered - it was a Bad Omen
to have my Newsletter interrupted just as I got
started.
It turned out my premonition was
absolutely on target. Had the Martians arrived? I felt like trouble was
knocking on my door. One of my favorite books
is HG Wells "War of the Worlds". For some odd
reason, I actually thought about that book as I
walked to the door. Chapter One is titled "The
Coming of the Martians". I opened the
door. No, the
visitor was not a Martian, but he was almost as bad -
it was some guy from Centerpoint. What was he
doing here?
Centerpoint has a bad reputation at our house.
Recently in January Marla opened up a $1700 monthly
light bill. She gasped when she saw the
amount. This light bill was twice the amount
from the same time last year. Marla was
concerned because our energy habits had not changed.
If anything, the mild winter did not require any
special heating. Marla protested the bill.
However Centerpoint demanded Marla pay the full
amount. Mysteriously, the bill returned to
normal the following month. We have been
suspicious of this company ever since.
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When I saw the
guy was from Centerpoint, at first I thought he was
here to investigate the mysterious $1700 light bill.
Fat chance of that; now how stupid was that
thought!?
Instead what Centerpoint Guy wanted to do was turn
my home's electricity off for a couple hours in
the middle of the day. He had his crew ready and
waiting to hook up some of the new homes
being built
down the street. Looking over his shoulder, I
saw a phalanx of six huge trucks on the street
behind him.
I was completely taken off guard. You want to
do what? Finally I regained my senses.
I explained to him I was working. This was a
bad time for me. Couldn't they come back
around 4 pm when I go to pick up my daughter from
school? The Centerpoint guy replied that he was working
too, that his crew was already
here, and that he had a job to do. He then
pointed to six trucks. I would be doing him a
real favor.
There was something fishy going on. Why was he
asking permission? Does anyone ask permission
when they don't need to? There was
a warning note sitting right on edge of my mind, so
I hesitated till I could figure out what it was. As
we talked it over for a while,
I was on the verge of cooperating when I suddenly
remembered a letter from Centerpoint that Marla had
shown me last week. I excused myself for a
moment and went inside to retrieve the letter. Then I showed
this guy the letter
from his own company instructing me that all my power
would be turned off the following Thursday ten days
from now.
You know how Dracula recoils from Holy Water?
Well, this guy did not want to see this document.
He fidgeted and bit his lip. His face crinkled
up. Seeing I had an advantage, I asked why
couldn't he come back and do his work then?
That's when I figured out that he was here to do the same project as was
mentioned in the letter. He decided to do it
ten days early! So I asked him about it.
The man's reply was that he
wanted to do it now since it was convenient.
It would save him a trip next week and he could move
on to his next project.
That's when I lost my temper. I couldn't
believe he was trying to do today the same work his
company had scheduled for the following week because
it was 'convenient' for him. He wanted not
just me, but ten other people also hooked up to the
same service to
drop everything we were doing at the drop of a hat.
Even more ridiculous is that there wasn't anyone
desperate for the new service; those condos were
still vacant. This guy was
willing to inconvenience my family just so he could
hook up some homes ahead of time that weren't even
occupied!
After I got indignant, this guy gave up and went away.
But not for long. About two hours
later he came back to ask again. Now the two of us started
the same old dance again.
Again I held my ground.
I had already told him 4 pm would work. Why couldn't he and I agree on a time when my family
could be away? He said he didn't work that
way. Why was I not surprised?
Finally the scourge left with my lights still
intact, but a lot of good it did me. His two interruptions and the tension
between us pretty much shut
down any creativity towards writing the Newsletter
that day. It is hard for me to write when I am
upset unless I am writing about the thing that made
me mad (take a quick guess why I am writing this
story for the May Newsletter... I need to get it out
of my system!)
The following day, Tuesday, was uneventful. I
actually got some work done on the Newsletter.
Unfortunately Wednesday was lost due to a
rescheduled dental appointment in the middle of the
day. My hygienist had moved our date so she
could take a vacation, but to accommodate her, I had
to sacrifice a valuable Newsletter day. I was
running out of time.
THE TREE
CUTTING FIASCO
The trees in front
of my house are a source of joy. I love them
for their beauty, for their shade, and for the
privacy they provide.
There is a garden behind that fence. These
beautiful trees help create the effect of a hidden
sanctuary.
The array of trees in the picture includes 4 oak
trees, 2 pine trees, 3 sycamore trees, and a Chinese
tallow tree. I freely admit I am a big tree
hugger - I planted every one of those trees myself.
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On Thursday,
March 22, I was determined to make up for
yesterday's dentist appointment which had cut my day
in half. I was just settling down
to continue work on the Newsletter for April when there was another
knock on the door. I had one of those deja vu
experiences. Did they have spy watching to
determine the exact moment I sat down at the
computer?
I figured it was another Centerpoint guy demanding
to cut our power off, but instead this time it was some guy
from Trees, Inc. They wanted to trim my trees
surrounding the Centerpoint power line in front of my home.
I groaned to myself. These tree trimmers are a
yearly plague. Why did they have to show up
just when I was writing the Newsletter?
I knew from
bitter experience this was a problem that should not
be avoided. Over the
years I have learned to take the tree cutters
seriously. These people have been overzealous
in the past, so I have learned to negotiate with
them. My yearly give-and-take has
paid off. I understand that they have a job to
do, but they also have some leeway. So we
agree in advance on what they will cut and what they
will leave intact. As a result, in recent years, the trimming has
been much more careful. As a result, now the
trees in front of my house have never looked better,
yet at the same time the power lines have stayed free of any
limbs and branches.
If you look at the picture above, you won't even see
the power line. This is because the trees are
cut in a V-Shape that conceal the presence of the
power line running along the V. Thanks to the
way they cut the branches, the foliage is
so thick that the power line disappears.
Okay, it must be that time of
year again. I was frustrated
at the distraction, but I wasn't worried about the
cutting.
I assumed today would be no different than last year. We
would go outside, look at the branches and make
compromises like we always do.
So the tree man and I carefully went tree by tree. I
listened to what he wanted
to do and I told him what I thought was fair given my
understanding of the rules (7 feet from the line).
Finally we got to a tree where the trunk was growing
about 7 feet from the power line straight up as part
of the V-Shape.
He wanted to cut it. I said no way. I
pointed to the houses going in across the street and
said this part of the oak tree provided privacy from people
looking in my bedroom window. The guy took a
look to see what I was talking about, then nodded.
He said he saw my point, but added he would need
permission to avoid cutting it.
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What he said worried
me. I had first negotiated this particular tree trunk
with the tree cutters about five
years earlier. Each year the people would trim
anything growing towards the power line, but allow
the trunk to grow and spread branches in the other
direction that created
privacy. I wondered to myself why after five
years of cooperation this tree trunk was now a
problem.
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I also knew I was going to have trouble
concentrating on the Newsletter until this tree
business was taken care of. This is hard to explain, but
I am a born fidgeter when it comes to writing.
It requires my complete concentration, but I am
easily distracted. Therefore I
don't handle interruptions well when I am trying to
write a newsletter.
Every time there is an
interruption, it might take me up to an hour or two
hours to settle back down again. But once I
get locked in, I can work for four to six hours
straight. The hard part is getting locked in.
Today was no exception. After the tree guy
left, I sat back down to try to get my
momentum to start writing.
But just as I settled
down to begin the newsletter for the second
time, the doorbell
rang again. I bristled and cursed to myself.
Now what?
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Sure enough, it was the Tree
Cutters back again.
The same guy wanted to talk with me about the trees
some more. He said he had talked with his
supervisor. His supervisor said they wanted to
do a lot more cutting than usual. I raised an
eyebrow. I asked him to explain, but soon
realized he wasn't high enough on the ladder to know
what the reasons were. I replied that as long as they
followed the same guidelines as we had in the past,
I would cooperate.
So we went over the same trees again. When we
came to the V-shaped oak tree, he said his
supervisor still wanted to cut down the trunk
despite the face that he agreed it was growing seven
feet from the power line. I explained that
this trunk was not a threat to the power
line. In case of wind, the way it was cut, the
trunk would fall AWAY from the power line if there
was a problem. After all,
the heavy limbs were growing away from the power
line. He agreed with me on this point
too, but
then he shrugged his shoulders and said his orders were
orders. He said he would go back and talk to
his supervisor again.
Although I still had a couple hours left before I
had to go to the studio, at this point, the constant interruptions had taken
their toll. I was completely distracted.
I decided to put things off till tomorrow and try to
get a fresh start. Another day down the drain.
On Friday, March 23, I was about an hour into
working on the Newsletter when the doorbell rang.
Here we go again. Standing before me was a new
person. But he turned out to be okay. So
we went outside and began to discuss what they
wanted to do with each tree. It was all very cordial, but when we got
to the tree trunk 7 feet from the line, he said his
orders were to cut it back severely. However
this time I had a new trick up my sleeve - I had
brought along a tape measure. I showed him
that the tree trunk was exactly seven feet from the
power line. What was the problem?
A funny look came over his face. This man
wasn't angry at me, but he looked very unhappy.
Something was wrong; this whole process was
different than in the recent years. Where was
the give and take?
He told me that two days had passed and no progress
had been made on the tree trimming. He was
getting a lot of pressure to get me to agree. He said he would call his
supervisor who would come over and make the final decision.
He added the supervisor could drop by in 30 minutes.
If so, would I be around? Hoping to get
this over with, I agreed to meet the supervisor's
supervisor the same day.
I was darkly amused that the current supervisor was
worried about all the wasted time. What about
my wasted time?
Helpless to concentrate on the newsletter, I sat down
in my chair and did a sudoku while I waited for the
next supervisor.
And waited. And waited. Seven sudokus
later, I realized I had wasted the rest of Friday
waiting for him.
Now I was in a really bad mood. I was so far
behind it was ridiculous. I took stock.
I had blown practically an entire work week.
Only Tuesday had been solid.
But I hate starting the Newsletter on a weekend.
Saturday is my day off to play basketball and watch
movies. And Sunday is known as 'Marathon Sunday'
because
I work at the studio from 4 to 10 pm. Enough
said. I decided to shoot for Monday, the day I
typically get the ball rolling. I could
put out an abbreviated issue that would still be
effective.
HELL WEEK BEGINS
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On Monday, March 26, I was
getting ready to work when the doorbell rang. Uh
oh. It was the supervisor's supervisor's supervisor. The
moment I saw him, I sensed trouble. His
demeanor was Macho Man. My instincts were
correct. The other men had been polite, but this
guy was a punk.
Before I even said a word, the Big Cheese Supervisor
announced that if I didn't like his decision,
he would call the police who would enforce any action he wished to take.
Let me repeat - there were no hellos and no
introductions. The first thing out of his
mouth was a threat to call the police.
I lost my temper. I told him he had no
business threatening me. I had done nothing to
deserve that kind of attitude. What gave him
the right to threaten me with the cops? Did I
break some Tree Law I didn't know about?
I told him he had a
lot of nerve coming into my home and talking to me
this way. Maybe he should just go right ahead and call the
police if that's how he had learned to do his business.
I pulled out my cell phone and asked him if he
wanted me to call them. That worked.
Big Cheese immediately became a little more
civilized. After he calmed down a little, he decided to
show me his plans tree by
tree just like the last two guys. As
usual, I disagreed on the key tree. I brought
my ruler. It showed there was exactly 7 feet.
He didn't like that trick one bit. Big Cheese got angry and said he would consult the Forester,
who would be at my house in the morning to make the final decision. I told him I had a doctor's
appointment. Would it be asking too much to
ask the Forester to come at 11 am? The man
shook his head and said if I was home, fine, if not,
tough.
Needless to say, I didn't write any more newsletter
that day. I was angry at being pushed around
and threatened. Nor did I sleep well that
night because I was worried sick what might happen
to my trees if I wasn't there to stick up for them.
In the morning, I asked Marla to watch out for these
guys and ask them to wait. I would be back at 11 am.
No luck.
While I was at the doctor's office, Marla called to
say she heard cutting on trees outside the house.
They had not even bothered to knock. She had gone outside to see what was going on.
A very cocky man from Centerpoint told Marla the decisions had already been made, so go back in
the house. Marla tried to explain that I would
be home soon, but the man replied he wasn't going to wait,
then brushed her off.
I was furious. I rushed home from the doctor's
office, but it was too late. The butchering
had begun and it was worse than I had
ever seen it before.
Three of my oak trees were literally sawed in half.
That's right. Halfway up the tree, they
severed the trunk. Oh my goodness.
This was the most aggressive cutting I had seen in
20 years of this annual plague!!
In the past, these people
have trimmed limbs away from the power lines.
That's their job and I accepted it. But not
today. Forget the word 'trimming', their idea
was to chop half the tree down. What kind
of pro was this guy? I wondered just exactly what
the exalted Forester had learned at
tree school.
I was beyond furious. This wasn't necessary. I confronted the Centerpoint
Forester and asked him to explain why he cut my 3 trees
down. He explained that they were going to be
doing some work on the lines and he wanted to make
things easy for his men to move around by doing a
little extra trimming.
I screamed at him. "Extra trimming? Are
you nuts!! You didn't trim my trees, you cut
them down, you
idiot! What in the hell are you doing?!"
"Hey, don't worry about it, Mister. The trees will
grow back."
I guess that's what he learned at tree school.
What a genius.
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This guy is Centerpoint's tree butcher.
If you see him, cling to your trees and beg him for
mercy. |
As you can see in
the picture on the right, two telephone poles are quite
visible. Before the Forester's Hatchet Job, my
trees were cut in a V-shape that extended on either
side of both poles. The reason these poles are
easily visible now is because the two trees standing next to them were
cut in half below the line. Four 15-feet high
segments were destroyed. The picture cannot
really show how bad it is because other trees in the
background prevent you from seeing the enormous
gaps. No attempt was made to trim the branches
within 7 feet as was the stated policy.
Centerpoint's Forester must have gone to tree school
for a long time to learn such precision cutting.
In addition to
the two trees in the picture, seven other trees were also severely
cut back. I could not understand this
excessive work. The damage to my trees really
hurt. I went into a
pretty serious depression after this incident.
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ADDING INSULT TO INJURY
Later that night, Marla asked me how to fix
the TV in our bedroom. The cable wasn't working. After
some investigation, I realized there was no cable
signal at all. None. So I called
Time Warner. They would send a guy out the next day
to have a look at it, but it was scheduled during
the evening.
As a result
Marla had to cancel her evening appointment to wait
at home for four hours till Mr. Cable Guy showed up.
Naturally he showed up at the last possible moment.
At that time, the repairman confirmed what I
suspected - the Centerpoint butchers had not only
seriously cut back nine trees, they had severed our
cable line for good measure. He said the cable
had been sliced by a saw.
The repairman added that the cable was nowhere near
any of the trees that were cut. Therefore I strongly
suspect it was deliberate, perhaps a payback for
wasting three days of their time till they brought
the Butcher in.
NOW ROADRUNNER GOES OUT
By coincidence,
on Wednesday the next morning, my Internet
cable known as Roadrunner went out. How was I supposed to write a
newsletter without email or Internet?
Did Centerpoint cause this problem too?
I
called Roadrunner repair only to get a recorded message that
they were experiencing problems in the Heights area followed by a request to be
patient. Since Roadrunner is usually just down temporarily, I
decided to bide my time.
So I twiddled my
thumbs for the rest of the day. Between losing
my trees, my TV, and now the Internet, I was in a
pretty foul mood. Not only Wednesday, but also
Thursday was a lost cause - Roadrunner was down till
the afternoon. Two more
days of Newsletter work down the drain. I was
a basket case.
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FURTHER PROCRASTINATION
It was now Friday, March 30.
I was completely out of my rhythm on the Newsletter
project. Classes were starting in two days on Sunday and I had
only written about 25% of the April
Newsletter. Oh well. Better get to work.
Maybe a last-ditch effort would yield results.
But I didn't get very far. I actually tried to
work on the Newsletter on Friday morning, but found
I was still too upset over the tree incident to be
very effective. Slowed by my depression, I
just muddled along at the keyboard with some
perfunctory pecks.
Besides, I had something else bothering me. I had
some unpleasant hatchet work of my
own to do. An poignant email served as a reminder that a
certain persona non grata was coming to the studio
tonight. I had made the decision to ask
this individual to leave the studio for a variety of
reasons. I know you are curious, so I will say
that this individual was accused of being highly
deceitful to another student. However, since this person didn't
give us an email address, I had to write a letter
so I could hand deliver it. I have to
tell you, this ruined my mood.
First Centerpoint, then Roadrunner, now a deceitful
jerk.
The featured event on Saturday, March 31, was our
Red and Black Western Party. I had committed myself
to creating a new crash course - Advanced
Synchronized Polka Patterns. I spent most of
the afternoon working on creating new patterns.
Thanks to my effort, the crash course that evening
was a terrific success. The patterns were
intricate and challenging. However, after
creating the new patterns, I wasn't in much of a mood
to write a Newsletter too.
MONDAY MONDAY
TUESDAY TUESDAY... WILL THIS THING EVER GET DONE?
The following day was
another Marathon Sunday. By coincidence, it
was also April Fool's Day... how appropriate. Since
it was the start of the new April semester, I had
extra duties like printing volunteer cards and
getting various forms printed. Working on the Newsletter
was out of the question.
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If you are keeping count, this story is
now 14 days old and still no newsletter.
Believe it or not, I still had hopes of putting out
a Newsletter for April. On Monday, I started
writing with a passion. I followed
that up with more solid work on Tuesday. With
two solid days of no interruptions, I was
half done. I had a shot at finishing tomorrow.
But that night Marla came
home in a furious mood - Roadrunner had gone out at
the studio! Registration was a fiasco.
Because there was no cable, the registration staff
had to register 150 people by hand. This meant
Marla would have to key in all of those
registrations herself on Wednesday here at home.
Marla was exasperated.
I was worried too.
I needed to get Roadrunner up and working again at the
studio. One night with Roadrunner down was bad
enough, but I couldn't allow the entire week's
registration to be done without the use of our
database.
What could have gone wrong?
Marla's story had me confused. Marla told me
she had already called Time Warner only to be told
Roadrunner was actually working just fine at the
studio. The signal was there according to the
tech guy. After she was told this, Marla
made a beeline to the office. She examined the
cables and router box for clues. She was
appalled to discover that all the Internet cables
had been unplugged from the router! It
appeared to her that someone had sabotaged our cable
set-up!
I raised an eyebrow at that conclusion. That
didn't make a lot of sense. My daughter had
been in that same office on Monday night. I asked
her if she did anything to the cables. Sam
replied that everything was business as usual -
Roadrunner was working just fine and she didn't do
anything to the cables. Then she reminded me
that we
had LOCKED the door to the office when we left.
Hmm. This meant if someone sabotaged our
cable, they would first have to have a key to the
studio, then have a key to the office. I was
becoming very skeptical of sabotage. Still, I had to
solve the problem. What could have gone
wrong?
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That night, I was terribly
restless worrying about the sabotaged cable. I
woke up at 2 am. With nothing else to do, I
walked into my office and started to work on the
newsletter. Uh oh. Now my home Roadrunner
was out! When I called, the Heights wasn't listed on
their outage areas, so I stayed on the line till
tech support picked up. The gentleman said
that he had received several calls from the Heights
area, so he would report the problem immediately.
Oh hell. I went back to bed.
Another wasted opportunity.
On Wednesday the next morning, I noticed that my
home Roadrunner was back on. However I was too
worried about the problem at the studio to
concentrate on the newsletter so I went to the
studio to figure the problem out.
I soon discovered that Marla had accidentally looked
at the wrong cable box. There was no sabotage
after all. Then after I rebooted the correct
router, we were in business again. But it was
1 pm before I got back to work. I was only
half-finished on the Newsletter and I had lost an
entire morning.
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This studio cable
problem could not have come at a worse time.
The pressure was already intense - tomorrow Thursday
the power would be turned off. I typed and I
typed and I typed some more. The
Newsletter was three-quarters done. I was
almost home.
Thursday was the day Centerpoint had scheduled to turn off our power for
a minimum of four hours. The reason was simple
- they needed to hook up electricity to all those
new homes
down the street and across the street. This
project was why the Forester had butchered my trees
in the first place. It was no coincidence the
two trees that were damaged the most were the trees
near the two telephone poles. He had
whacked these two trees in half to make it easier for the men to
work on the poles.
Somehow I found no solace
in making life easier for them by chopping down my
trees - I had lost the beauty of my trees and all
my privacy in the process. I could see the
windows in the new houses across the street plain
and clear. Where there had once been foliage,
there was nothing. I shook my head in helpless
anger just thinking about it again.
On Thursday morning, sure enough, there were a half-dozen Centerpoint trucks on our street. Around 10 am
on Thursday, March 29, the power to our house was
turned off. There wouldn't be any
Newsletter work until our power came back on. No
computers, no TV, no lights, no air-conditioning. It was
painful to be reminded how dependent we are on
electricity. But it wasn't all bad.
Since we had been warned in advance, I
was able to schedule a morning of errands to
avoid the inconvenience.
THE FINAL BLOW
When I got home that afternoon, I noticed the
power was back on. All right! Home
stretch. Time to finish the Newsletter.
Except when I sat down, I made a terrible discovery - I had no
Roadrunner again! I groaned. For the
third
time in a week, I had no access to email and the
Internet. How would I ever finish the
Newsletter?
So I called Roadrunner and
got the same message as last time- 'problems in the
Heights; please be patient'. I assumed all the
work that Centerpoint was doing
that day had disrupted
Roadrunner. After all, Time Warner and Centerpoint and ATT use the same
poles. Now Thursday was completely shot.
Meanwhile my brother-in-law Larry and his wife Roz
flew into town Thursday evening for their Easter
weekend visit at our house.
Although I
was really happy to see Larry and Roz, I have to be
honest and say the futility of the Newsletter was
haunting my conscience at every turn.
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I still had a
chance. I crossed my
fingers and hoped that Roadrunner would be back up
on Friday. I had a major
commitment on Friday - I had promised Marla I would join the
three of them on Friday for a visit to the French Masters Art
exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts that afternoon.
However if I got up early, all I had to do was put the finishing touch
on the newsletter on Friday morning and it would be
good to go.
So at 6 am on Friday morning,
April 6, I got out of bed and went to my computer
for my last chance at getting the Newsletter out.
I may have been exhausted and bleary-eyed, but I was
determined to finish my work. So
imagine my
consternation when I discovered I still had no Internet
connection. The cable was still out!!
Softly so as not to awaken Roz or Larry, I
said a very serious curse word. What had I ever done to deserve
this insanity?
I decided I had one last shot. If Roadrunner would come
back on Saturday, we would be good to go. But
when Saturday rolled around, the cable was still
out. That is when I became suspicious. Three
days was a long time for a 'temporary outage'. So I called
Roadrunner Tech Support. They said there were
no outages in my area, so they scheduled a service
appointment.
I sat in my office Monday morning twiddling my thumbs.
The man was supposed to be there from 7-11 am.
At 11 am, no one had shown up. Just as I called
Roadrunner to see what the problem was, the doorbell
rang. The serviceman walked in, replaced my
cable modem, and was gone in 5 minutes.
Just like that, problem solved.
I was really frustrated. My old modem had been the
problem all along, but the coincidence of the
Heights reports on Time Warners' answering machine
and the Centerpoint activity had completely tricked
me. I had assumed that Centerpoint's electrical
work on Thursday had been responsible for the latest
problem when in reality the modem was going out.
What a stupid mistake. Due to my ignorance, I was unable to access the
Internet for five crucial days.
How ridiculous is it to
send out an April Newsletter in the second week of
the semester? By the time most people got the
email, it would time to start registering for May. So that was the end of my three week long nightmare.
I threw in the towel. And now you know my
excuse.
One more thing - as I finished writing this article,
Marla reminded me to call Time Warner. The
cable TV is out at the studio. Does that sound
familiar?
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POSTSCRIPT:
-----Original Message-----
From: Gary Richardson
Sent: Saturday, April 28, 2007 5:42 PM
To: Rick Archer
Subject: May Email Newsletters
I had a great deal of difficulty helping to send out
the newsletters because my Roadrunner kept going in
and out. What a nightmare!
Roadrunner tech came out to the store and replaced
my cable modem and it seems to have solved our
problem, so only one group had to be resent and only
31 went out of it successfully the first time so
very few (31) will get a newsletter twice.
sorry it took so long. Now all but one has gone out
fine and I will send it out in the morning.
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CHAPTERS
09.
2007 SLOW DANCE AND ROMANCE
April was quite a month -
three weddings and one engagement. Wow!
-----Original
Message-----
From: Tamara Kidwiler
Sent: Monday, March 05, 2007 6:36 AM
To: dance@ssqq.com
Subject:
engagement
Rick,
Jason and I met at Tumbleweed
Texas dancing on April 2, 2005!!
Jason
had already taken
dance lessons.
He impressed me from the
first night I met him. As a pilot,
he was soon to be leaving for
training in Salt Lake City. I was
still in physician assistant school
and studying a tremendous amount.
We knew that we had found
someone special and made time for
each other! Our love continued to
grow through deaths in the family,
Jason's move to Chicago with Skywest
airline, PA graduation, a vacation
to Jason's grandparents' farm in
South Dakota, and then our
engagement in Prague, Czech
Republic.
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I am 50%
Czechoslovakian, and I had always
wanted to trace back my heritage. We
had planned a trip there in April
2006. Jason surprised me by a
romantic proposal on Charles
Bridge!! The country was beautiful
and we highly recommend this
vacation site to everyone.
During our engagement, Jason and I began taking dance lessons. I was
taught by my father to dance at an
early age, but never professional
dance. Our experience at SSQQ has
been terrific! Our wedding is
planned for
April 21, 2007 and since
it is fast approaching, many details
are awaiting completion. We are
taking a break from dance lessons
for now.
We will be back soon-- we promise!
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Tom
Huddleston and Bette Polishak came up to me
at the studio on Sunday afternoon, April 1,
with a grin on their face. I knew
immediately what they were up to!
Even though it was April Fool's Day, based
on their smiles I had a hunch they were
quite serious about announcing their
engagement.
Bette confirmed that Tom got down on his
knees to propose. Awesome! In
fact, I think she said he did it twice...
once before the ring and once again after
the ring just to be sure. I'm sure you
ladies like that story.
See ring
pictured at right. Oh, that's Tom and Bette
in the picture behind the ring in case you
didn't see them. Congratulations!
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It is my understanding
that Keith and Betty were married on April
14 with a reception party at Wild West.
I will add details when they come in, but
for now let this wonderful couple serve as
yet another reminder that it is wise to
either smile for all Halloween Party
pictures or to send me a better picture
ASAP!
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As this
Newsletter goes out, SSQQ Martian Whip instructors Bryan Spivey and Lisa Palmer
will be getting married on Saturday, April 28.
Bryan and Lisa met here at SSQQ 5 years ago.
They began dating in 2004 and in 2005 they
became engaged.
In the next newsletter we will have lots of
pictures!
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Becky and John Sartain
were married last year, but their Halloween
snapshot was the only picture I had.
Thank goodness their friend Lin Mills sent
me a definite improvement!
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CHAPTERS
10. STORY IN THE NEWS: Woman
dropped on head alleges 'negligent dancing' -
CNN.com
Woman dropped on head alleges 'negligent dancing'
CNN.com (contributed by BK Moring)
POSTED: 9:25 a.m. EDT, April 3, 2007
Story Highlights• Lacey Hindman, 22, is suing a
dancing partner
• She says she was dropped on her head at an office
party
• Attorney David Baum says his client is a victim of
"negligent dancing"
• Hindman suffered a fractured skull and brain
injury, suit says
CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- A woman is suing her dance
partner, claiming he dropped her on her head after
flipping her into the air at an office party.
Lacey Hindman, 22, was a victim of "negligent
dancing," says her lawyer, David M. Baum.
In the suit, Hindman claims that during a party at a
Chicago bar and restaurant in April 2006, David
Prange grabbed her by the forearms and tossed her in
the air, and then she crashed to the wood floor.
"I was in the air, over him," Hindman said. "I fell
hard enough you could hear the impact of me hitting
the floor over the sound from the jukebox."
Hindman said in the suit, filed in Cook County
Circuit Court, that she suffered a fractured skull
and brain injuries. She is seeking damages for
medical bills and lost wages for time missed from
work.
Hindman worked for Prange's wife, Kate Prange, at
Shop Girl, a women's boutique.
There was no immediate response to a call seeking
comment from David Prange on Tuesday.
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CHAPTERS
11. BALLROOM DANCING IS
BEING ADDED TO THURSDAYS
-----Original Message-----
From: Philip E
Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 5:20 PM
To: Rick Archer
Subject: Ballroom Curriculum H
Hello, Rick, I picked up the new (blue)
May-June schedule last night, and I see that
you're making quite a few changes to the
classes and schedules. So, I guess that
you'll be putting out an e-mail this week to
clarify things for us, especially the
ballroom classes.
Since I haven't taken these classes since
the days of "slow dance and romance" and
"intermediate slow dancing for the
holidays," I don't know that much about the
current offerings and prerequisites. For
example, I noticed that there's a new
beginning ballroom II, but I wasn't sure if
beginning ballroom I was a prerequisite for
it.
While I might not be able to take any of
these for a few months, I'd like to be able
to watch the schedule to see when might be a
good time to start.
Thanks, Philip E
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Certainly you have
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