Off Balance

I almost don't know what to do with myself! Today was the last day of school for our school year. I ignored the uncorrected school work and the books I need to add to my Book List of the children's reading for the year. I also ignored the report card grades I have not yet begun compiling. I paid my full attention to 5 hours of Pride and Prejudice on DVD and I reveled in it. That was a nice way to balance some of the stress from the last weeks.

There will be time next week for book lists and grades and preparing portfolios. For today, my time was my own.

Some more of what I did in that time is reflect on a TV show I enjoy. So, You Think You Can Dance generally holds my interest. This year's cast has been fun to watch so far, and I'm looking forward to more.

But I do have a complaint. And for me it is a serious one. I absolutely hate it when I'm watching a particularly enchanting number and the camera angle tilts so the dance floor is at a 45 degree angle. I have to shut my eyes. Perhaps I'm too heavily invested in the dancers' movement, and I feel the floor slipping out from under myself. It is so unnerving I was close to turning off the tv on Wednesday.

The show self-proclaims to be bringing dance into millions of living rooms where it would not have been otherwise. I'm sure that is true. But I wonder if viewers would enjoy it more if the cameras would stop spinning the picture so people could see the dance rather than just the spectacle.

I don't mind walking out of the room while the musical guest is performing during the results show. Rather, that is a pleasure. But please don't make me leave the dancing!

Thursday Evening in Florida

Thursday evening was a highlight of the trip for family fun. It brought a bit of that relaxing vacation feeling to the trip for the Quipper, who had been working at the corporate headquarters each day while the kids and I were out on field trips.

We had a romantic and exciting evening at Mai Kai restaurant. The atmosphere was phenomenal. I heard the building and grounds had been quite beaten up by a hurricane, but it was still very impressive. We started our evening in the gardens. We strolled a beautifully night-scaped path among lush palms and other tropical plants interspersed with carved totems, rock gardens, giant clam shells, waterfalls, streams and footbridges.Inside the building the atmosphere was excellent too. Massive totems and high-backed chairs and Polynesian music set the scene.

We enjoyed exotic drinks. The Artist had her first umbrella drink -- whipped chocolate and strawberries, she loved it! The Engineer had milk (the only good drink in his book!). The Quipper had a daiquiri and I had a Hidden Pearl, described as "The delightful tang of fresh juices and golden rums." It was delightful. We had a good meal. Not a great meal, as the prices might indicate we should have enjoyed, but it was good.

On to the entertainment. The 45-minute show was a revue of native cultural dances from various Polynesian islands. The dancers were excellent and the costumes were magnificent. I only took a few photos of the opening number. The Quipper had a better view, but he also had a five-year-old on his lap. The fire dance was most impressive of all and the Hawaiian wedding dance the most beautiful in my opinion.

The Artist was impressed too. After the show she approached one of the dancers to thank her and express how much she liked it.