when it comes to saying "i do"

lately, the topic of marriage keeps presenting itself as an uninvited guest at my otherwise more than satisfactory life. do not be mistaken. i'm not even beginning to consider entering such a binding institution yet. and no, i'm not facing any societal pressure to tie the knot, even though "concerned" friends of parents do question my parents every now and then on such a possibility. helloooo...! thank you for your concern, but i believe it's none of your business? anyway, bitchiness aside, when friends around me are starting to get hitched, while being happy for them, at the same time, i don't cease to wonder if it's true that marriage is simply an extension of the good and stable relationships these couples are having; and that marriage should not and will not change anything for the couples. well, technically it shouldn't. but observations seem to suggest otherwise.

for example, in the case of a competitive ballroom dancer, while it is perfectly okay to dance with someone who's not one's life partner while one's unmarried, i believe once they are married, the life partner, assuming he or she is not a dancer, will not feel too happy to have their husband dancing and training with someone else. now when faced with this situation, what should the dancer do? stop dancing or convince the partner that nothing should change, and that dancing is just dancing, nothing else? either way, someone's bound to be unhappy. it's just a matter of who can be less unhappy; who can compromise a little more.

now although this example is applicable only to a very limited segment of the population, i believe it can be extended to other activities, as long as one half of the married couple is involved in something the partner is not involved in.

then there's also the part about "hanging with the boys (or girls". while as boyfriends or girlfriends, people always say okay to having their partners away for their regular boys' parties or girls' nights out, when the same situation happens to their husbands or wives, people do sing a different tune. why this is the case varies from person to person or couple to couple. but it happens. again, a compromise is necessary.

compromising is good and essential for any healthy relationship. but where is the line drawn between a compromise and a sacrifice? is it true that when you truly love someone, you will not think of the sacrifices that you do for them as sacrifices? rather you'd think of them as things you would willingly do for them anyway? but take away those feelings in a year, two years, ten years, will you still look back and really feel no regret whatsoever in giving up the things you used to love, just so the one you love will feel okay? reversing the situation, shouldn't loving someone mean accepting the person as who he or she is, together with what he or she loves to do? after all, what he or she does is part of what makes them attractive to you in the first place...

and i haven't even gotten to the part on how marrying someone can equate to marrying his or her entire family yet...

baby, you should be dancing

oh how i miss dancing. yet i am so unmotivated to go to the studio. i guess my lack of motivation is not entirely unfounded. i am not one who likes to be part of the whole dancing politics/issues/gossip. unfortunately, once you're in the scene, you become part of the whole portfolio of gossip material for ready access to all dance afficionados, friends, and observers alike. and being in that situation when you're not actively competing just seems less than desirable to me. but oh i miss dancing so much.

in trying to substitute for my regular body-maintenance via dance trainings, i've been going back to the activities i've previously neglected. things like gym, golf, and my attempts to pick up running as a regular sport. so here's a list of activities i've done this week alone: MONDAY-RUNNING (3KM); TUESDAY-POWER YOGA (1HR); WEDNESDAY-ADVANCED STEP (1HR); THURSDAY-STEP 2 (1HR); FRIDAY: CLUB DANCING (4HRS). Okay the last one doesn't count, considering i've also had vodka, long island tea etc etc (and lost my voice). but still, that's a whole lot of exercise for a week isn't it? doesn't quite compare to my previous 12-15hrs a week of dancing though.

i'm not sure what i should do next. whether i should go on practising so as to maintain my level of dancing at the very least, or if i should pick up something else...like flamenco or something. gosh! the thought of not doing latin ever again is bloody unbearable!

look at this:



the discipline and intensity.

what other sport gives you this?