waverlywindsor

This should be awkward, the end of the First Date. He was dropping her off at the hotel, just inside the lobby doors. She had her room key in her hand. They were both smiling. Maybe it was the wine they had with dinner but Waverly didn't think so: her smile, at least, was genuine.

First Date. Was she all ready hoping for another? Yes. The evening had been just that good. She enjoyed listening to him talk. There was a passion in his voice and a light in his eyes whenever he spoke about his work (the real career, the military not the police work he did now) or when he told her about Dean, the young man he'd reached out to and helped turn around. Waverly liked making him laugh too. There was a warmth and a richness to the sound and his lips curved into an inviting smile. Really, there wasn't much she didn't like about Mark Kosik.

Except that he was being such a gentleman that he had yet to kiss her good night.

Waverly tipped her head back to look up at him, held her key to the side, using it to gesture at the elevators behind them. "Do you...?"

Want to walk me to my room, come inside, stay a while, talk some more, spend the night...? Any and all of the above would suit her just fine, and some of that may be the wine talking, but not much.

Whether in a cultural sense or simply in the day-to-day demands of coping with a region's weather, we're all influenced by where we come from or where we live now.

Where does your character live? How have their geographical surroundings influenced them? It could be something as minor as having given them a taste for seafood if they grew up in a port city, to as complex as a world traveler having a broad global perspective on everything from race to religion. Show us the city, region, or planet they call home, and what influence it has had on them!

Dalton's Corner, Maine

She grew up in this tiny, tiny town in Maine, near the coast and of course there was lobster and other shellfish. Her mother even once worked at the docks, sorting seafood, banding claws and doing other smelly, damp tasks. Cold weather, long winters, lots of ice and snow. She learned to dress in layers and to stay warm by keeping active--fortunate that she danced from a young age, working up a sweat in below zero temperatures was a joy.

As a little girl, the close knit community felt like an extended family to her and was a comfort Waverly enjoyed. They supported her endeavors and gladly joined in to fund raise so she could attend that coveted school in New York. They were there for her mother when, at eight, she left home to live at the school. They were there too, to welcome her home between terms and to send her care packages while she was away.


NYC, NY

As a child she attended the School of American Ballet. Starting there at age eight, Waverly refused to let herself feel homesick or cry often, after all there were six year olds there. Kindergarten babies that could do this so she could too. It gave her a sense of independence that differed from the one she found in dance itself.

By the time she was twelve, Waverly had a firm mind of where she wanted to dance professionally. The American Ballet Theater. She wanted this over Joffrey or any other company so she begged and pleaded, worked and weaseled until her mother agreed to help navigate the paperwork nightmare and audition process with her. The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School fed (and still feeds) into the post-secondary dance program at ABT and then into the company itself. So young and already with that competitor's fierce determination to get what she wanted.

She didn't see much of the city during her years as a student, her focus was on her feet. Her career. The sights and the tourist traps would always be there. Ballet was ruthless enough to have a time frame and a small window of opportunity. Of course this meant she experienced little that the city had to offer even once she did join the Corps de Ballet. What she did find and take from the city that never sleeps was the sense of being alone in a crowd and fending for herself, in that sense, the city itself reminded her of a ballerina. Trust no one (except your partner) and stay alert.

Dalton's Corner, Maine

Coming back home, her dream career effectively over, Waverly found (still finds) the small, close-knit town smothering and its inhabitants nosy. They no longer provided a sense of comfort but rather raised her hackles against intrusion and lack of privacy. She preferred her extended family to consist of the small circle of friends she'd managed to keep over the years--more effort on their parts than hers, she'd admit.

More than anything, Dalton's Corner serves to remind Waverly of all the tings she misses about NYC, a city she thought she knew very little about. It's too quiet in Maine. No one is ever busy enough and sleepy towns just don't feel alive or urgent. The only thing she didn't feel in Maine was the constant pressure to perform. There wasn't anyone to impress and those that were? It took relatively little on her part.

Besides, toddlers in tutus are hardly the likes of Irina Dvorovenko.

Show us some of your achievements! Bring out your trophies, your proud moments, your fourth grade spelling award - anything goes.



This is me, showing off and wanting to ask, "So how many of you can do this?" To someone who isn't a dancer, this pose (and many others) probably looks like quite the achievement. For students still learning to keep their balance while practicing their turnout, flexing and pointing their feet under the dinner table or as they lay in bed every night, mentally moving through barre drills in the backs of their minds...this is a goal to reach and surpass. To the accomplished dancer, this is simply one more step in a repertoire of many.

For me, someone who used to dance, it is a challenge. One I try to meet every day. Every morning when I have the studio to myself, before the first rush of students arrive for class. When it's just me and the barre. Me and ballet. Me and the constant battle of wills that I have with my body. Some days I win, other days the aching muscles and injured bones, the leg that was once shattered and refuses to to be abused any longer...sometimes they win.

But not today.

Today, I danced through the pain and then I danced with it. Agony was my pas de deux partner, accompanying me and supporting me, driving me forward and lifting me up. It egged me on, encouraged me to not give up. I was in control, my body would bend and stretch, turn and jump at my say, under my command. Today I danced the way I used to, full of passion and certainty, ego and hubris.

That's what ballet is at the core. Pain and perfection. When you manage both, then you're a dancer.



Here's my proof.

Evidence of my accomplishment.

This is what I'm proud of.

What did you do today?

THE LIST
1. Waverly Windsor
2. Rory Stone
3. Cait MacEibhir
4. Peter Webster
5. Pippa Kerr
6. Ruairi MacEibhir
7. Abby Lockhart
8. Chantal Weller
9. Anrai MacEibhir
10. Laine MacEibhir

( cut for lolz )

friend_a_muse because I am tired of LJ making me feel like a friendless loser that a grand total of two people like. Talk to me! I'm good people. Ignore any rumors to the contrary, they are lies. Dirty, dirty lies.

Hi.

Anyone want a really bitchy cat?

TEN ARE YOUS
1. Are you single - Yes
2. Are you happy - Pretty much
3. Are you bored - A bit
5. Are you Italian - No
6. Are you pregnant - That's not even close to being funny
8. Are you nice - Yes
9. Are you Irish - No
10. Are you Asian - No

TEN FACTS
1. Full Name - Waverly Josephine Windsor
2. Nicknames - Wave, Toes, Oh God, Not You (okay, so only Greg calls me that)
3. Birth place - Dalton's Corner, Maine
4. Hair color - Brown
5. Natural hair style - Medium length and wavy
7. Birthday - 2/12 (Oh God, I am going to be 30 soon)
8. Mood - mellow
9. Favorite color - Purple
10. One Place to Visit - Moscow, maybe?


TEN THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE
1. Have you ever been in love - Yes
2. Do you believe in love at first sight - Yes
4. Have you ever been hurt emotionally - Yes
5. Have you ever broken someone's heart - No
6. Have you ever had your heart broken - Just once
7. Have you ever liked someone but never told them - Yeah
8. Are you afraid of commitment - No
9. Who was the last person you hugged - Ham
10. Who was the last person you said I love you to - Ham, then I called him a bitch.

TEN THIS OR THAT
1. Love or lust - Love
2. Hard liquor or beer - Wine
3. Cats or dogs - Cat
4. A few best friends or any regular friends - I have an entourage
5. Television or internet - Internet
7. Wild night out or romantic night in - Wild, romantic night in
8. Money or Happiness - Happiness
9. Night or day - Day
10. IM or phone - Phone

TEN HAVE YOU EVER
1. Been caught sneaking out - No
3. Done something you regret - Yes
4. Bungee jumped - No
6. Finished an entire jaw breaker - No
8. Wanted an ex bf/gf back - No
9. Cried because you lost a pet - No
10. Wanted to disappear - Once

TEN PREFERENCES IN A PARTNER
1. Smile or eyes - Eyes
2. Light or dark hair - Dark
3. Hugs or kisses - Kisses
4. Shorter or taller - Taller usually
5. Intelligence or attraction - Intelligence
6. Romantic or spontaneous - Romance
7. Funny or serious - Funny
8. Older or Younger - Older
9. Outgoing or quiet - Outgoing
10. Sweet or Bad Ass - Sweetly bad ass

TEN HAVE YOUS
1. Ever performed in front of a large crowd - Yes
2. Ever done drugs - No
3. Ever got someone pregnant - Wrong parts for that
4. Ever kissed the same gender - Yes but not like sexy time now kissing
5. Ever been on a cheerleading squad - No
6. Ever been on a dance team - No
7. Ever been on a sports team - Yes
8. Ever been in a drama play/production - Yes
9. Ever owned a BMW, Mercedes Benz, Escalade, Hummer or Bentley? - No
10. Ever been in a rap video? - No

TEN LASTS
1. Last phone call you made - Greg
2. Last person you kissed - I kissed everyone good night, I think Ham was the last out the door though
3. Last group of people you hung out with - Mia, Andy, Marsha, Vince, Julie, Matt, Greg, Hammond
4. Last time you worked - Friday afternoon's class
5. Last time you had a night out - Actually went out? Andy's birthday, I think.
6. Last person you IM'd - Mia
8. Last person(s) you went to the movies with - The gang listed above
9. Last person/thing you missed - Vitaliy
10. Last TV show you watched: Something with sexy beast Timothy Hutton

Friendship: Post a picture of your friends, or if you are not graphically challenged, write a short drabble about friendship

I tend to sort the people in my life into two groups: dancers and those who do not dance. And by do not dance, I mean in a professional capacity.

( The Dance Crowd )

( The Human Race Crowd )

Two days before 2009 and I decide to pick up my pen and put it to paper in an honest to God diary. Journal. I haven't kept a diary since I was probably eight years old. After that, I was away at school and we kept the nastier, more public version: slam books.

I still remember being voted as "girl with best turnout" and also "dog-faced girl" during the same trimester. Great memories. And people wonder how we get self esteem issues.

Anyway. I'm doing a lot of this supposed deep introspection and finding myself these days. A diary and an online journal. Next thing you know, I'll be knitting sweaters for my cat and signing up for internet speed dating. That's frightening.

It's freezing ass cold here and as I have no ass to speak of, this means I am wearing not only legging but sweat pants and I have a flannel blanket wrapped around myself too. Is this the sort of crap I'm supposed to record for posterity's sake? Weather updates and the state of my horrible fashion sense?

I guess I could come up with some lofty goals for the new year.

I'll save that for tomorrow.

What the hell is that?! Starting at 2:05 or so. What a showboating, self-indulgent...he's prostituting the artform. A camera UNDER the stage? What is he trying to prove? There is no artistry there, the light technician should get all the credit for that 'performance'.