The Tango

The Tango King, that was what they called my late granduncle.... because apparently, he loved dancing.... I say apparently, because its based on what I've read, and what people told me.... he passed away 8 years before I was born....

There isnt anyone else in my family that does the tango, not that I'm aware of anyway.... hehe, till I came along.... which was more of an accident..... I took my an introductory lesson to argentinan tango a few months after I started taking salsa classes.... And I didnt really take to it as naturally as I would have hoped.... In short, it was a horrible 1 & 1/2 hours, as I struggled to dance with my partner.... I blame it on the instructor (but of course I would), who was actually a brilliant dancer, but his english wasnt great, which meant I was struggling ALL the time to understand what he was trying to say....

So when Stephan, a German argentian tango instructor came along, I took it as a personal challenge when I signed up.... Even though my only tango experience wasnt exactly a pleasant one, I wasnt satisfied that I couldnt tango due to my own limitations.... So I signed up, paid the RM250 fee and committed myself to 8 one hour lessons....

And the result after 2 lessons? I've surprised myself, I dont suck at it as much as I thought I would.... Its the total opposite to the salsa, which is more casual and carefree.... tango requires more focus and concentration, it is very much a serious dance unlike the salsa where you can still talk and grin at your partner.... with tango, there's no mucking around as you really need to concentrate to ensure the connection with the partner is there... the dance steps are also very different, not very symmetrical like the salsa, and there are no rules to it unlike the salsa.... the leads you use to communicate with the girl is also very different... where the salsa requires you to use the pulling, pushing and even nudging of your partner at various points, the tango on the other hand, your 2 hands are always at the same place ie holding her right hand and having your right hand at the centre of her back.... the tango movement is also slower, and more deliberate (reminds me of taichi at times!!) as compared to the salsa where the movements are quicker and snappy.....

Of course, so far, we've only covered the basics, I hope to learn how to perform the more complicated crosses etc.... thankfully, Stephan's english is so much better, and is able to teach better (even if he isnt as good a dancer as the other instructor)....while tiring, it has proved to very interesting, and I must say, I look forward to the remaining 6 classes.... I wonder what I'll be like after completing all the 8 lessons!!

What was I thinking??!!!

I was trying out something new a few weekends ago.... actually, i'm quite surprised I even tried it, but probably due to the fact that my darling SL was away in Bangkok, leaving me with a weekend to twiddle my thumbs.... or so I thought.....

Friday night..... have dinner....catch a movie..... go out for drinks....... yeah, the normal boring stuff that people do on a Friday night.... I dont even go dancing these days (I think I really should try to resume my salsa nites again soon).....

So when the invite from my colleagues came to go rock climbing (actually it was actually wall climbing) in Camp 5, One Utama on a Friday night, I didnt have that many excuses to decline.... the "I'm feeling quite tired" excuse wasnt met with a forgiving looks from my colleagues, so there I was, finding myself in front of the Camp 5 counter, registering my name, and placing all my trust (and my life!!) in RL, we had both signed the agreement that I was not to climb the walls without her supervision as it was my 1st time.....

MS and MT were also there, and being seasoned climbers, MS showed me (rather belatedly too as they were nowhere to be found when we got there!!) how to create a figure 8 knot to get started.....

Climbing up the 1st few footholds was a piece of cake..... after awhile, then only did the rationale of the advice of not looking down became clear, as for someone who is afraid of heights, I could feel the confidence drain away.... and the other advice of putting up a hand, and then a leg, and then a hand and then a leg wasnt so straightforward anymore.....

The fear started kicking in, and while it was do-able to ignore the fear to go higher, I did reach that stage where I was high enough, such that the fear overcame all rationale thoughts, and I was scared silly, and just hanging there on the wall..... oh, and i was using up precious energy too, and tiring myself out, but the thought of falling just kept it impossible for me to move (upwards or downwards)......

Why oh why did I agree to come along for this stupid climbing outing..... "Come'on Zuf, its easy, just like climbing up a ladder" yelled Mark..... "Errrr, I dont climb ladders" was my reply.... silence...... ok, they didnt have any more advice to sooth my fear..... and I was losing my arms too.....

A minute later (based on some rather lousy time estimation), I was still hanging up there"I wanna give up, can I come down now??!!!" I asked.... rather hopefully..... "NO!!!!" was the empathic reply..... "But I've pulled a stomach muscle getting this far!!" I heard myself say..... "Rubbish, keep on going!!" was the reply.....

Fine, with my energy levels plummetting, I thought to myself, lets just go for it.... and so I started moving again, till I nearly reached the top.... "Are you happy now? Can I come down now??!!!" I yelled, almost hysterically..... "You need to touch the ceiling before we let you down."

What the hell, there I was, hanging in mid air, and they want me to touch the bloody ceiling..... Fine, up a step I go, bumped the ceiling with my head, and a round of applause broke out from my friends down there....

Phew, time to come down.....the thing is, to come down, I needed to let go of the walls and just hold on to the rope while leaning back and kicking into the wall while I go jumping down..... looks easy from down there, but from way up there? Let go of the rope, are you out of your blithering mind? Wont I just fall down?

"We've got you Zuf!!!" I heard them say....That's the thing with wall/rock climbing, the amount of fear rises exponentially the higher you go.... and it peaks when its time for you to come down..... when you just let go.....

With a huge sigh, I let go of the rope, felt my whole weight shift onto my back, and instantly my heart skipped a beat, this is crazy I thought, I'm actually falling!!! Before the rope holds me back in place, and I realise its actually ok, and all I have to do is kick the wall as I come down....

And down I came.... landing back on the ground, heaving a huge sigh of relief, before collapsing onto the floor, panting..... my arms had given way..... the laughter of my cruel friends, ringing in my ears..... ok, more like amused friends......

Would I go again? aiyo, why would I put myself through all that stress again.... but did I have fun? actually, I did, (when I wasnt feeling terrified)..... we'll see, never say never, I have been known to be a sucker for punishment.....

I will follow you!!!

The power of branding.... It is mentioned a lot more and more these days, the importance of developing a brand.... But it isnt easy to develop one, much less rate and assess the success of such brands.... how do you know that your marketing efforts have been successful?

I suppose the easiest way to measure it is if people start using famous taglines like "Just Do It". or when people make jokes related to all your advertisements, or your ads form becomes topics of conversations among friends....

Well, here's a new one..... when people start singing the bloody theme songs in public toilets.... yeah, i will follow you, whereever you may go, etc etc etc....oh, and did i mention he was singing it off tune.... in the public toilet.... out loud too..... i'm sure the ladies could also hear it through the wall.... its bad enough when these songs make a sudden appearance in your head and you end up humming the tune for the rest of the day....

But it sure is something else when people around you start singing it out loud.... off tune to make matters worse.... funny though, despite all that lousy singing, it still didnt rain.....