I coulda been a contender

Dear Madonna,

It was a big week. Barack Obama sworn in as the first black U.S. president, innaugural balls and whatnot, but for me the real issue was that I had to fly home from Houston before the finals.

You see, I was attending the America's Classic (Dance) Championships which are held in Houston, Texas over the Martin Luther King weekend. Monday is a quasi-holiday, with some, though not all, businesses closed. Anyway the schdedule for the weekend was skewed so that the Jack and Jill Finals, the Pro Strictly Swing competitions and the Masters Strictly Swing all took place after 3:00 p.m. Problem was, I booked my flight a couple of months before the schedule was posted and had to be on the airport shuttle at 3:00 p.m. to catch the last flight back to Toronto.

It *killed* me not to be able to dance in the finals, particularly since it was a mixed Advanced/All-Star division, and I hardly *ever* make finals! (Though I am "two for two", having come in 5th at Swingin' New England.) I even had a Masters Strictly partner lined up and it was going to be the first time I danced in Masters....

(By-the-way - you too would be eligible to dance in Masters. It's for competitors 50 years of age and older.)

Okay, I'm over it. No biggie, really.

Doesn't matter.

C'est la vie.

Julie

Size Matters

Dear Madonna,
I was successful yesterday in returning a couple of recent impulse purchases, exchanging them for smaller, more appropriate sizes: boots, that remind me a little of the Miu Miu boxer-esque boots that you wear in the 4 minutes video, and a piece of lingerie. (BTW - are you wearing leopard print boxer shorts? Cool!)

Both the boots and the lingerie were a bit too big from me and I felt fortunate that I was able to convince the retailers to take them back even though they'd been worn. I also recently acquired a beautiful - though oversized - leopard print coat which I'm going to have altered. And I took back a pair of black pants that were at least a size larger than I need....

You might be wondering why I keep buying things that don't fit. I've started to wonder, too, what it might mean subconsciously. Am I using these outer shells to somehow occupy more space in the world? Making myself feel larger and more significant, or even more present?

Luckily Santa has a very good idea what size I am ;-)

Ho ho ho.

Julie

Life Lessons from the Ramsden Park Rink

Dear Madonna,

You know how to skate, don't you?

I was given a pair new skates earlier this year from a colleague - can't remember the story behind them - and have been out a couple of times in the last few days to skate on the outdoor rinks at the park near my home.

It's mostly families enjoying the smaller ice surface; the larger one is boarded and used - continuously it seems! - for "shinney", or pick-up hockey. Some of the kids are amazing skaters, but others are still learning, and I noticed parents giving specific coaching tips on how to get up off the ice after a fall.

'Cause you WILL fall. It's inevitable, and not really that big a deal. You fall, and you get up. It's the getting up and getting going again, sometimes completely on your own, that matters.

Indeed.

Julie

Happy New Year, and Thank You!

Dear Madonna,

Thank you sooooo much for the Sticky & Sweet knuckleduster! It arrived in the mail yesterday in a rather non-descript box. I actually thought it was some kind of corporate swag (a logo'd memory stick or post-it notes). And there was no card - you should know. Perhaps some oversight by your peeps?

In any case I LOVE IT, and was waiving it around last night at Simon's New Year's Day Gospel Dance . Of course I can't actually wear it while dancing - that would be a bit dangerous - but I expect there will be opportunities in the New Year to flash a little M Icon bling.

So what did you do for the holidays? It must be a difficult time for you, considering the divorce and everything. There does seem to be so much pressure to have happy family experiences at this time of year. You wouldn't be alone in finding that a bit of a challenge.

I got to celebrate the Solstice with my brother, Andy and his girlfriend, Tara, in snowed-in Listowel, and had a wonderful time at Langdon Hall in London - you'd love the suite we had - with my friends Dianne and Louise, the night before Louise's simply lovely wedding to Art. New Year's Eve....well, I won't go into details here but suffice to say it will be remembered.

Out dancing again tonight. Just a couple more days until I'm back to my regular routine. Sigh.

All the best for 2009!

Julie