Cornell Comp: Mar 1996

Cornell 3/28/96

Awards
5th Argentine Tango
5th Advanced international F/T
2nd Intermediate Int VW
2nd Advanced Int VW
1st Intermediate Am W/F
1st Intermediate Int F/T
1st Intermediate Int W/Q

Key non-CMU people
Kim, Kyle - Delaware friends
Charlie, Leslie - Liz's Brother, and Sister-in-law


Outline of events to be filled in later:

Thurs:
 
    We went to Maryland's competition team practice on Thurs... we being Liz, Pat and Pam, and Annie and Andy. It was very weird  - we actually practiced smooth as well as latin while we were there. We NEVER practice smooth. It was also really amuzing because we are really loud and have a lot of fun when we practice... Maryland doesn't. We got lots of strange looks from them. Afterwards we were hungry so we went to McDonalds for a quick bite. A couple of drunk students came in, saw our jackets and asked us about ballroom. So we ended up doing a swing and tango in McDonalds. Then one of the drunk guys thinking he could dance grabed Pam and danced with her (very poorly).

Fri:
    Pat had to leave at 7 because he had an interview at Cornell at 2. So we all got up and helped them pack the car and said bye to them...A very amuzing thing happened while cleaning out Liz's car. Parked right next to her was a huge moving truck. It had backed into the space... well while Liz and Pam were cleaning out Liz's car - the driver started the truck. He just happened to be situated perfectly so that his exhaust blew right into Liz's car. I felt so sorry for Pat and Pam ( the passengers of Liz's car)... It must have taken forever to get that smell out. Liz had to wash her jacket right then to get rid of the smell.. I thought the whole thing was very amuzing. Liz and I then went back to bed until we left at noon with Annie and Andy.  

    So we arrived in Ithaca and headed to the spot that we were going to meet Pat and Pam... All of a sudden a car honks at us (I thought that we were going to slow and they were pissed)... It turns out to be Kim and Kyle who just happen to be there then... we were supposed to call them when we got there. But this was just amazing. We went to a local pizza place for dinner. The wait happen to be about 45 minutes or so. Since it was a little chilly out - all 10 of us stood in the space in between the two doors. We were there for like 40 minutes. It was so much fun. We made fun of one guy standing inside whose monotone voice we heard ever time we opened the door. We would start up conversations with whoever was just passing through. Pat and Pam held the doors open for people. Pam would drop subtle messages to people as they passed through. She would say things like roaches in the food... etc... I think standing in the doorway might have been the most fun part of the trip.

We went to the social dance that night. It was pretty lame. Fairly bad music and a really small space. There were a couple of unique demos like Lindy hop, and Argentine Tango, but other then that it wasn't great. We left early to drive 2 hours to stay with Charile - Liz's brother. It wasn't a bad drive that night... We got there about midnight. BTW it was Pam, Liz and I staying at Charlies. Pat opted to stay closer w/ Cornell people because he was comp coordinator and needed to be around.

That night was very fun. Charlie lives at the end of a dirt road in the middle of nowhere in a small house. All three of us slept on the pull out sofa. That was kinda fun... the sofa wasn't the most comfortable thing, but it was definatley fun to sleep with 2 women. It is sort of nice to be a huge heat source when the house is kept very cold. :) :) :) :) :)

Sat:

We drove 2 hours back Sat morning. It wasn't a bad drive again. Last summer I made a "morning of competition" tape. A tape to get you bouncing and moving while driving to the comp. We determined that the crash space should be either under 30 minutes or over 1:45 away. I put all the best songs first... so after 30 minutes the tape is not as interesting, but if you have a drive over 1.5 hours, then it has returned to the beginning and you get the good part right before you get to the comp.

We kicked butt in Standards. Just look at the ribbons that we got. Latins, we didn't even make Semi's... This thoughly confused us.  I still have no idea how that happened.

The whole comp I was not in a very social mood... I talked mostly to Liz or to Kim and Kyle. But that's okay. Liz and I had a GREAT time in the fun dances... We totally went out there and hammed it up. I danced with Liz and Kim for the merengue and we even convinced Charlie and Leslie to compete during the polka. Leslie (sister-in-law) even got a ribbon dancing with Pat. Pat and Pam danced there interpretation of the Lindy Hop  - which we now interpret as the Orangutan dance. It was just a lot of fun goofing off.

Then since the comp finished on time, we were in the mood to go out to eat. We had asked this one supposed Cornell competitor where to go for food and drinks. This was a nice wild goose chase. One place was closed, the other was completely crowed. We ended up finding our way to a diner and we filled 5 booths. It was utter mayhem. The seats were really funky - fold up airplane like seats.

The Drive back to Charlies that night was INSANE. We left the diner around 3am. I was driving. Not many thoughts in my head other then the constant reminder that I was driving and shouldn't fall asleep. I also remember driving along and seeing a light change to red. I remember thinking that this ment something different then normal, but I could seem to remember what. Don't worry - Liz was awake and reminded me to stop. The worst part I was almost in a really bad accident a little bit later. All the lights on this country road are blinking yellow my direction and blinking red the other. Well the guy appearently didn't think anybody would be on these old country roads at 4 in the morning and went ahead and pulled out. I'm glad I have good breaks and was alert enough to hit them. No damage done, except the entire contents of the back seats slid up under my feet. Also I was really lucky that Pat and Pam following behind us were a good distance away and also had time to stop... Needless to say - I didn't have a problem staying awake after that. Actually I started to get tired again towards the end of the trip. I ended up pulling to the side of the road to have Liz take over about 20 feet from the Road that leads to Charlies. It was kinda amuzing.


   That night at Charlies, Pat and Pam slept in the bed and Liz and I on the floor. Since the previous night was so cold, Charlie lit a fire in the furnace. Wow did it get hot in that place. In the middle of the night Pam left the bed to sleep in the hallway by the door to cool off... Pat woke up and could have sworn that he had fallen asleep inside the furnace. It was definatly uncomfortably hot. Amuzing - but hot.
 
Sun:
    Then in the morning, Charlie made AWESOME pancakes. He is such a good cook. He made a ton of them too... I ended up taking a nap while the girls were getting organized to leave. Then we went outside for a GORGEOUS day. We played with Charlie's goat (yes, Charlie owns a goat) - watching him eat the tree, stand on the bench, try to stand on the car, and chase Charlie for a jog.

Then Pat and I said bye to our partners who were headed back to DC... We took off for the burgh. The drive back was nothing spectacular. Pat and I talked a little bit, but not nearly as much as we normally do. We both kinda decided that we were burned out on competing and leaving every weekend. We also caught each other up on our spring breaks.

That night I made homemade pizza at Pat's... We even rolled the rough and everything. It was kinda a fun waste of time.