18. Skating Etiquette

After much begging, my sister finally convinced me to come skating with her. On Saturday, we headed to the local ice rink and skated for about an hour and a half. This was probably the fourth time I’ve gone skating in my life, so I already had the basics down (balance? check. stopping? check.). However, on this occasion my sister and her friends decided it was time to give me a lesson in skating etiquette. Here is a summary of what I’ve learned:

1. Wear plastic skate guards while walking on a tile floor. This prevents the blades from wearing out and the floor from getting scratched.

2. Skate in the direction of everyone else. This is a time where being an individual is frowned upon– stay with the pack. Skating in the correct direction is also a safety precaution– there is less of a chance that you will bump into someone head-on.

3. During general skate, avoid the circles in the middle of the rink where private lessons are taking place. Also, try your best not to cut through the center of the rink, because it sends the message “I’m better than everyone else and can flagrantly disregard the unwritten rules”. Stay on the outside of the rink where you belong.

4. Don’t cut people off while skating. If they’re not paying attention, they will collide with you and at least one of you will fall. Safety first.

5. Recognize your limits. If you’re tired, don’t endanger others by being an unsafe skater. Know not to try difficult tricks that will harm you and/or others.

6. Don’t be embarrassed by your lack of competence at skating. There will always be someone worse than you.

7. Have fun!

Firsts This Week:

• Learned skating etiquette from my sister and her friends. They also taught me how to “bunny hop”– a skating step in which you kick your right leg forward, hop onto your left toe pick, and then glide with your right foot.
• Had Thanksgiving in our newly renovated house. It was the first time that we were done preparing the food BEFORE anyone arrived. Success!

17. Modern Times

Spoiler alert: If you intend to watch “Modern Times” starring Charlie Chaplin, please note that this post reveals the plot of the film.

What better way to celebrate the present than by watching an old film? This week I watched “Modern Times,” a 1936 film starring the one and only Charlie Chaplin. This movie is semi-silent– most of the acting is accompanied only by music, with sporadic dialogue dispersed throughout. This particular film follows Charlie Chaplin’s “Little Tramp” character through a series of mishaps. At the start of the film, Chaplin is a factory worker who cannot keep up with the demanding speed of the machinery. Overworked, he gets caught in the machinery, suffers a mental breakdown, and is carted to an asylum for rest. Upon his release back into society, the well-meaning Little Tramp looks for work, to no avail. After an unfortunate case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, the Little Tramp is taken into custody. Chaplin serves jail time, but is released early after capturing escaping prisoners. The jail is a sort of sanctuary for him– he is well fed and away from the pressures of the outside world. Outside, he does whatever he can to be arrested once again. Along the way, he meets a homeless orphan girl, and the two escape from police trying to capture them. The two find work in a restaurant until police track them down. The film ends with the pair on the run from the police, walking on an empty span of road.

The beauty of silent films is in their timelessness; the lack of words ensures that the themes are simple enough that they do not require any explanation. Indeed, the earliest movie houses were gathering places for the working class, many of whom were immigrants with little knowledge of English. Chaplin’s idiosyncrasies and slapstick humor resonate equally well with audiences of the 1930s as they would now. Despite being initially wary of silent films, I found that I enjoyed “Modern Times” as much as, or even more, than I do today’s blockbusters. With elements of comedy, action, and romance, Chaplin’s film offers something for every taste. This is in keeping with the origins of film as family entertainment. Perhaps I’ll shelve my usual rom-coms for a while and partake in viewing old classics. Who knows what other gems I’ll discover?

Firsts This Week:

• Watched a semi-silent film starring Charlie Chaplin in my Pop Culture class.
• Observed how film is developed (pictures from this photo shoot to come soon!)

Younger Brothers

Like many brothers, my brother considers it his sacred duty to play pranks on his older sister. While even I enjoy the occasional laugh at my expense, as the years go by my brother’s practical jokes have increasingly tested my patience.

Since I am easily startled, my brother takes every opportunity that arises to jump out at me. He hides behind doors, waits around corners, crouches behind the kitchen island, and then surprises me. Often, this results in high-pitched screaming and moderate shaking on my part, and satisfied laughter on his. It wouldn’t be so humiliating, save for the fact that I always fall for it.

A few years ago he decided that he had to take things up a notch. While I was at a friend’s house, my brother emptied my closet and stuck all of my clothes to the ceiling. This is no easy feat. To do this, he had to take a ladder and individually pin each garment to the sloping ceiling. Needless to say, I was shocked when I arrived home to find my bemused younger brother grinning at the success of his plan.

But this week, my brother reached a new level of temerity. While I was studying, he crept up behind me holding a milk frother (a handheld kitchen appliance that spins a rod with a gear-like attachment at the end). He then proceeded to turn it on, waving it around my head to bother me with the whirring noise. However, he didn’t count on the fact that holding a spinning wand near a head of curly hair could potentially cause problems. Before I knew it, the hair at the base of my neck got caught around the instrument in a giant knot. Since I couldn’t see the knot to try to untangle it, my brother unceremoniously yanked my hair off of the appliance, leaving the knot intact. As punishment, I made my brother help me wash and condition my hair over the sink.

Not one to leave behind an opportunity to mess with his sister, he then had the audacity to tell me that my hair looked terrible and was “too poufy”, which was why it got caught it the first place.

I am now convinced that younger brothers are the reason why companies put those inane warning labels on their products.

16. Artsy Photo Shoot

If a friend asks you whether you would like to venture into the woods to do an artsy photo shoot, the answer is always yes. This Saturday, I agreed to become a model for my friend’s photography project. I spent the better part of two hours climbing over rocks and tree limbs… in pointe shoes. Wearing ballet clothes and little else, I posed on boulders, in a field, and atop a dying tree. The uneven surfaces coupled with the gusty wind made balancing quite tricky, however I’m certain that the billowing movement of my skirt will make for some intriguing shots. Despite its being a windy November day, surprisingly I was not that cold. Perhaps it was the early afternoon sunlight, or the sheer thrill of frolicking in the fallen leaves. I am lucky enough to be immortalized in film, surrounded by the foliage and shadows of the woods. Amidst the dying leaves, heart pounding, I felt alive.

Since my friend uses a film camera, I will not have the pictures until she develops them. For now, my only memento of this adventure is the grass stains on my pointe shoes.

Firsts This Week:

• Became a model for a few hours while dancing in the woods. I truly feel as if I’ve crossed something off of my bucket list.

15. Winter Theatrics

Although I don’t want to admit it, winter is fast approaching. We’ve already had our first snowstorm. The sunset today was at 4:31 due to daylight saving time. During my morning walk to school I can see my breath as I trample frosty grass beneath my feet. And most notably, winter fruits have made their appearance: persimmons, pomelos, and an abundance of clementines now grace our countertop.

After posting last week on October 31, I went to Salem, of witch trial fame, with my family. Given the ancestry of witches, Salem has a tangible Halloween spirit. Despite the snow, fallen trees, and downed power lines that caused Halloween to be canceled in surrounding towns, Salem was hit rather moderately, and thus Halloween activities continued as usual. The costumes were superb: a man in an 80s jumpsuit carried a boombox and an umbrella, decked with strings of light and a hanging disco ball (one man disco); a woodland nymph towered over the revelers on stilts. And of course, monsters and people wearing minimal clothing abounded.

I also went to two shows this week: one was an improv comedy show by the Improv Boston troupe, and the other was Romeo and Juliet, performed by Boston Ballet. I’ve been to improv shows before, so while Improv Boston provided ample laughs, nothing was new about it besides the performers themselves. Romeo and Juliet, however, was amazing. Choreographed by the late John Cranko and set to a score by Sergei Prokofiev, the ballet conveyed the tragedy of the star-crossed lovers. Though it’s been three years since I read the play, I found I still connected with the characters. The ballet was successful in that it conveyed the beauty of Shakespeare’s language through music and movement. Despite the exciting sword fights, uncomfortable pas de deux between Paris and Juliet, and Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting, it was the fiesty Mercutio and the lively Carnival Clowns who stole the show. The set and costume were a convincing depiction of Verona in Renaissance Italy, the lurid colors providing a feast for the eyes. I look forward to seeing the next performances in Boston Ballet’s season.

Romeo and Juliet runs through November 13 at the Opera House.

Firsts This Week:

• Went to Salem on Halloween Night. The costumes were superb.
• Attended an Improv Boston show.
• Saw Boston Ballet’s rendition of Romeo and Juliet.