jUGGLING

OK, now adding another skill to my roster– juggling !!! Seems that a number of the old “stand-by” competitions I’ve participated in over the years (New York Dance Festival, Tri-State Challenge, NJ State Open, American Star Ball, Empire Dancesport, just to name a few) have been taken over by new organizers. They’ve become bigger in terms of dancers participating, categories offered and time expanse, i.e., where they used to be one day, or Thursday through Saturday, most now appear to encompass almost the entire week (Tuesday night through Sunday afternoon being one of the more extensive).

Now I’ve mentioned that I’m an adult orphan, fully responsible for my own health, well being and upkeep. It’s tough keeping my head above water, and I work  a full-time day job as well as a part-time gig (two nights a week plus Sundays).

Thanks to meticulous budgeting, a willingness to “live small” (figuratively and literally speaking), and  being open to experimenting with just how little one actually needs to thrive, I somehow manage to take care of business and do a little dancing as well.

Well, up until a few weeks ago, that is.

It used to be 1) pick a comp  2) choose a style –smooth? rhythm? both?  3) check if it was a morning or evening session 4) book a room if it was early morning or 5) plan out travel time if it was afternoon/evening and 6) put in for a day or two off work…. badda bing. Pretty much done.

Those days I think are gone. Planning out a competition now requires some serious juggling. A hotel room seems to be a primary requirement for at least one night, if not two. Not too much damage $$$-wise if the comp is in Connecticut or Jersey, but New York City can be a real buzz kill.  Cost of the room for one night at last week’s NYC competition was close to 3 nights’ accommodation anywhere else.

Scheduling for last week’s comp (NY Dance Festival) and TriState (which I’m doing next week) had/has American style slotted in for the EARLY morning sessions … like 7 and 8am). I’m a New Yorker. I know the traffic. I know the Long Island Railroad. I know that whenever necessary, it’s better to be where you need to be the day before. 

(Case in point, the occasion when it took my coach longer to drive out to the studio from NYC the morning of my lesson than it did for her to get from Canada to NYC … OK, maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea.)

Plus, I get my hair and make-up professionally done. Last year, for TriState, I was in for my beauty routine at 5:40am (yes, you read that right …. twenty minutes to six in the MORNING), because believe it or not, my Silver Smooth heats started at 7:30am. NY Dance Festival was a little better; hair and make-up at 6am, dancing at 8:55am.

And I had no problem with that. What I do have a problem with is the lateral spreading across week-days. As I said, I work full time (Monday through Friday), and part-time (Sunday morning plus Monday and Tuesday evenings). Picture my face when I checked the TriState schedule and realized that my American Rhythm heats start Wednesday morning at 8am …. meaning if I wanted to race home from my day job, get everything packed up and into the car and drive up to the hotel Tuesday night as planned, I’d have to find someone to sit in for me at work. Now I do get paid time from my regular job. Not so for the part-time gig. And, as I said, my budget is planned out to the penny, so I’m taking a hit there ….

My entire competition preparation routine is totally out of whack. When do I pack? What time should I go up ? I have to get to the bank, but my direct deposit doesn’t hit until Tuesday and my account is bone dry before then. I need to put together a snack bag — when do I get to the market (can’t buy too far ahead otherwise I’ll eat everything I buy beforehand … LOL … ) ? Aaarrrggghhhh !!!!!!!!