Shake what your mama gave you!

Salsa is a dance for Salsa music created by Spanish-speaking people from the Caribbean. The name "Salsa" is the Spanish word for sauce, connoting (in American Spanish) a spicy flavor and trust me it is a spicy dance. Yet of all the partner dances, it is probably the easiest to get into. It is a street dance after all!

Three years ago, I got into it because a friend asked me to join her and her co-workers and I have always been interested in partner dancing. We started the beginner lessons at a downtown Vancouver studio called The Urban Beat Dance Co. The dance company offered from leve 1 (beginner) to level 4. We paid $85 for 8 lessons back then. It was a really reasonable priced activity!

Before the class I made sure I was wearing comfortable shoes and clothes. No special salsa clothes were needed for beginner dancers. Just as long as you can move in them. Jeans (not too tight!) and t-shirt were good enough.

I showed up to the first class with 60 or so other men and women in the studio. I thought to myself "Oh no, I can't believe I just wasted my $85 on learning dancing in a sardine can." The instructors ensured us right away that they were professionals and not too worry about the class size. The ladies were asked to form a large circle and the guys were asked to form another circle outside of ours. The instructors taught us the steps in the middle of the circles. The inner/ladies' circles turned in clockwise direction about every 5 minutes. We had opportunities to dance with about 7 to 8 different guys by the end of the lesson. In some cases, I was really glad I wasn't stuck with that guy smelled like an ash tray or the sweat bucket guy for no more than 5 minutes.

The basic basic salsa steps were pretty simple. All the steps were variations of the basics and were repeated throughout the class. But I didn't feel the repeativeness. The 1 hour class flew by! I wished we did less dancing by the beat of the instructors counting and more dancing to the music. But having a solid foot work foundation was very important, more music came as I went on to level 2 and 3. I also switched instructor for level 3. I thought that was a great way to open my eyes to new moves and styles.

If you love very rhythmic music and love to shake, salsa was very easy to get into!

NuBe's First Event - Stand Up Paddling

NuBe is hosting our first event! Come out to Deep Cove and do some stand up paddling on August 1, 2009! All the cool kids are doin' it!

The lesson is 4 person per group.
Cost: $40 per person
Time: it is an 1.5 hour lesson

Please RSVP by Wednesday 29th July 3:00PM.

For more information or RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=134819147500

That's a Wrap! Take it to editing...

Since i was a teenaged kid i had taken an interest in video. Growing up in a small town me and my friends would make goofy home videos with my dads video camera just to pass the time. Many years later following my first trip to England and Paris in 2000 I had decided that if i was going to continue my dream of traveling that i wanted to invest in a digital camcorder in order to capture the adventure to share with others and keep the memories for years to come. After a couple trips away with my new camcorder i realized that i ended up with tonnes of hours of video (and not all of it was especially interesting). I started looking into video editing software so i could create some highlights of my trips put to music.

The first software i began using was Pinnacle Studio 8 which was very user friendly. It was very easy cutting and editing content in order to minimize down the clips to only the best. It allows you to add in music as a seperate track which you can lock in so that cutting the video doesn't take out your music. Transitions were a snap with an entire extensive library of fades, effects, drop-windows and so on. Looking back at the the first video i made following a trip to China in 2003 I can see now how carried carried away i get with a lot of the effects. Over the years i've come to appreciate the less-is-more approach to video but at the time it was fun to have my seen overlooking the forbidden city transform into a paper-airplane and fly off into the next scene. Even better, if you really just want a cool music video and don't want to invest the time and energy into it then it even has a one click music video create function that will do all of the work for you based on a song you pick and a style. I've used this a couple times but still prefer the creativity of building my own.

This past prior to my trip to SouthEast Asia the old camcorder was starting to show a little wear and tear so I decided it was time to upgrade to a High Definition camera. Despite many options available now for cameras with built in hard drives and DVD writing i decided to stick with Mini DV as it still produces higher quality video. Unfortunately moving to HD meant additional investment in a more powerful computer with a better video card and more memory. It also meant finding better video software since Pinnacle Studio seemed to have some challenges dealing with the HD format. After some serious investigation i ended up landing on CyberLink PowerDirector. I find it's not quiet as easy to use as the Studio but for the love of HD i was willing to make the sacrifice. I absolutely love the HD quality of my videos and the effects are still pretty cool in PowerProducer. They're not as flashy as Studio but i find the cleaness of the effects a lot more professional looking. Take a look at my finished SE Asia video here:

29 Days to Trans-Mongolia Train Adventure

The NuBe gang is going on a Trans-Mongolia Train trip in 29 days for the first time! Become a blog follower today and follow the gang along this exciting adventure!

For lovers of travel and lovers of railways alike this is an incredible adventure through vast and dramatic landscapes. Travelling across the breadth of Russia, Mongolia and China on board the Trans Mongolian or Trans Siberian railways is a must. For sheer distance, intrigue and on completion, the tremendous sense of personal satisfaction, no other train journey comes anywhere near it.

Points of destination: St. Petersburg, Moscow, Ekaterinburg, Lake Baikal, UB and Beijing.

Taking Chances

Have you ever made fun of someone for doing something, then given it a try and found that you enjoy doing it too? Or is it just me - weird like that? When I first started the MBA program I met a friend who played ultimate frisbee. When he told me, my first reaction was, "What? Isn't that a PE game for middle schoolers?". I thought it was pretty funny that he was still playing ultimate in grad school. However, when it came time to sign up a team for intramural activities with the university and he asked if I wanted to join, especially since they needed girls, I thought, what the hell - at least it will get me out doors and running around. Lo and behold - I really enjoyed my first game and have been playing for the last 3 years!

What kept me coming back? Firstly I'd have to say the team. It was a good group of people. We built a camaraderie. Secondly - it was a lot more fun than what I remembered it to be. I had a blast - maybe it was a bright sunny day, someone actually threw to me, I got some real coaching, i don't know - What ever it was, I ate my words!

(The picture is of my first ultimate team at BC Stadium after winning the UBC intramural championships in winter 2006)

I want to be a NuBe, but...

So.... you have always wanted to try that one new thing you saw on TV or read in a magazine, but for whatever reason you have put it off! You have no time? You have no money? or you are simply too scared?

"I am too busy with work" or "I have no spare time". We have all said these words as an excuse to not to get off our butts and do something. I don't need to comment more on this because it has been talked to death and we all know what to do. So get a calendar and get organized!

There are so many new activities that are very low cost such as hiking (all you need is a pair of shoes) or cooking at home (go to your local produce store for fresh ingredients). Many activities such as kayaking or skiing maybe something expensive to start, but many businesses offer discount coupons to tourists in hotel lobbies. These coupons are not off limits to you! One of my favorite things I started doing is actually totally free - volunteering! Last year Johainah talked me into volunteering for Theatre Under the Stars, an outdoor theatre group. We worked as ushers, program sellers and baristas couple of times a week. Most of the work was before the show and during the intermission. The rest of time we got to watch the show, drink hot chocolate and meet new people. We had a great time!

If you are scared starting something new on your own, find a buddy! Someone in your circle of friends might be starting something you might be interested in. Keep your ears open at parties for conversation that starts with "I have always wanted to try...". Don't be afraid to get onto someone else's band wagon. A friend asked if I was interested in going to a salsa class with a few of her co-workers. I said yes, of course! The friend completed the beginner class and I went onto level 3 advance salsa. I joined the Navy Reserve because a high friend said he wanted to attend a recruiting session. He never did sign up though! Finally, don’t scare yourself off by setting yourself an ambitious goal. One step at a time, just try it at least once should be your only goal or set goals that is realistic to your lifestyle.

Now you have no more excuses (if you come up one, let me know and I will write another blog about it :P)! This summer I could like to challenge myself and you to try something new small or big every two weeks.

Be NuBe, Be Bold!

Kayaking 101

What better way to spend a hot summer holiday then on the water? This past Wednesday was Canada Day so we agreed it would be the perfect day to try some kayaking. This is a first for me and Joh although Faye got to do some kayaking over a year ago while in Vietnam (lucky little thing). We headed out to Rocky Point Kayak in Port Moody, BC where we were able to get 2 hours in a double kayak for $42. If you are able to find nice calm waters like we were then kayaking is a great first-timer activity because you can pretty much hit the ground running with very little prep. It took about two minutes of instructions before we were pushed out into the water and motoring along.

There’s really not a lot to learning how to kayaking in calm conditions. There’s setting up some foot straps which the person in the back position uses to steer the kayak. There was some minimal safety equipment including a bilge pump for emptying water and a rope in case you need a tow. The last thing is some basic instructions on pulling the rudder in and out of the water in case you end up in shallow water. For us, going to a place called “Rocky Point”, this one came in quiet useful as we ended up in a lot of areas where rocks jutted up unexpectedly so we paid a lot of caution with our rudder. Last thing anybody wants is to pay for a new rudder due to carelessness!

Kayaking is an absolute blast. You can either take it easy and just casually float around and enjoy the sunshine or you can really push it into a serious upper body workout. We did a combination of both, sometimes we were pushing it just to race the other boat or try to get some exercise out of it but there were also plenty of times when we were floating around checking out the seals sun-tanning on a bunch of logs or enjoying a mid-day floating picnic. The bilge pump also makes for an excellent water assault weapon to an unexpecting Joh. What can I say? Deep down I’m still that immature little boy! Needless to say she got absolutely soaked. The downside of this is she ended up trying to retaliate by splashing me with her paddle which ended up having part of it floating away. Took about a half hour search before we finally found it, good thing all the equipment floated.

So here’s a few kayaking tips for beginners:

• Safety first! Always have a life jacket and mandatory safety equipment
• Paddling: The key here is try to get comfortable in your seat and make most of the movement from your torso. Each paddle stroke is a pull with your downward stroke while your push the paddle away from you with your upward arm, this helps maximize the power of the stroke and distributes the stroke. Don’t lean too far as it will only put strain on your arms and neck. As you change sides the paddle shaft should comfortably rotate to line up your knuckles with the upward blade - sweeping the water to the end of the kayak. Once you get comfortable you’ll end up with a very natural rhythmic flow.
• Turning – this is primarily done with use of the rudder. Push the leg strap forward on the side of the kayak you wish to turn. To assist the turn, paddle on the side of the kayak opposite of the direction you wish to turn. You can also paddle backwards on the side of the kayak you wish to turn.
• Finally, always bring some water with you. Heat exhaustion and dehydration is a serious threat when out on the water for long hours in the sun. Sunscreen is also a very good idea.

Highly recommend kayaking if you’re looking for something new and easy and love the water as much as I do. It’s made me want to improve so I can eventually get out there and try some ocean kayaking!!

Safety First - A NuBe MUST!

Whenever trying something new, please remember safety first and safety equipments are not toys!

The first time I tried roller blading, I didn't wear any protection. I fell my ass twice and my tailbone was in pain for weeks! I decided to invest in some wrist, elbow and knee guards (they didn't make a butt guard). After a few tries at roller blading, I thought I was OK on my own and worst, I thought I was too cool for protections! I went blading only in my wrist guard. Needless to say, I lost my balance and scrap my elbow (see right)! It really hurt like a mother f**ker! I had to use two x-large band-aid for my bloody elbow. I also lost two nails. *sigh* You are never too cool for protection!

Safety equipment is for emergencies. Not meant to be a toy. On Canada day, the gang decided to give kayaking a try. I have done it before, but Johainah and Greg had not. We went to Rocky Point in Port Moody. The kayaking rental company provided us with a paddle, life jacket, tow rope and waterpump with each kayak. Greg thought was fun to start a "water war" with Johainah's kayak using the water pump! Johainah retaliated with her paddle. Moments later, Johainah was soaked and was with only had half of her paddle. We went into a panic looking for the missing paddle part. We contemplated about the story we were going to tell the rental people: "the paddle just went floating away while we were chatting and there was no goofying around at all". We wondered how much the paddle was going to set us back... Just when we were ablout to give up and head back to shore, I spotted the white paddle part bobbying up and down in the water. Actually, the whole thing including goofying around the water pump was really fun... but safety equipment is fun to play with until you loose it.

(if you look a little closer, you will see Johainah's paddle floating away in the back...)