Snippets of Ramblings

- There's a heatwave going on in the Bay Area these days, and as a result the temperature never dipped below 85 in my apartment last night. Combined with the fact that my fan makes a horrid and loud squeaking sound, I never got into a deep sleep last night, and have been awake since 5am.

- One of my favorite shows, Dancing With the Stars, has recently started their 11th season. Jennifer Grey, most famous for not being put in a corner, is on the show. At first I was really, really excited. Can you imagine how great a dancer you'd be if you'd been informally (yet, kind of formally) trained for three months or so by Patrick Swayze, a professional dancer?

I was so excited. I wanted Jennifer Grey to win. Then last week, DWTS showed her crying. It was understandable - I mean, they had her dancing to a song in the soundtrack of the movie that really put her on the map. The movie that also really put her co-star on the map, the same co-star who died a year ago. So Jennifer kind of had a pass for that one, in my book.

Then this week in rehearsals, they show the clip of her explaining how she had cancer and needed multiple neck surgeries, complete with a closeup of her scars on the back of her neck/spinal column. Because I'm still rooting for Jennifer, I was a little disappointed, but hoped this would be the last of the drama. I think it's really important for an actor to understand that there's a time and a place to roll out the drama.

Jennifer and Derek did their dance, a jive, and it was ... solidly great. But here's what bothered me: they had what? a week? to learn this dance. At least a week. I assure you, that when you are doing a dance performance, you do it many, many times in rehearsals. Even once you've gotten it perfect, you just keep repeating it. Muscle memory counts for a lot. So I was a little confused as to why Jennifer was so out of breath that she had to sit/lay down on the dance floor immediately following that dance. It struck me as a little dramatic. A little too much. While I love her dancing (doesn't she look great for 50?), I am not loving all this drama.

Dear Jenners, Please do not let me find out you are putting on these histrionics for votes, and let your dancing speak for itself. It's good enough, and you don't need anything else but that, to shine through. Kthxbai.

- A year or so ago, I applied for a job working for the City of San Francisco. It's in a completely different field from what I do now, and I was intrigued because it pays pretty much the same salary, and I'm actually qualified. Well, not exactly, because I suppose if I were qualified I'd have the job, but I was qualified to apply. I sailed through the first interview, but then failed the second. Luckily, I was able to review what went wrong, and even more luckily, it just has to do with presentation, rather than substance. The City's rule for that position is that you have to wait six months to reapply. I not-so-patiently waited six months, only to find out they'd stopped accepting applications for the position. Crushed. But! Yesterday I saw they're again taking applications, so I am pulling all my paperwork together to apply once more. I don't get hopeful anymore, but as much as I do, I am.