[Foxy_Rei]

You could try emailing them, too. They answered mine within the same day https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

You could always just call or email X-Pole and they can tell you which is best. I have ceilings that are too short for the standard kit – 7′ even – and asked what extension I could buy to use in place of the lower pole. They hooked me right up; excellent customer service https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_thumright.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

Don’t know if this would help or not, but X-Poles have instructions in their instruction manual about how to make a wooden plate to fit inside the rubber ring on top of the dome. Meant to help with stability, but I’m not sure if it would help with your ceilings other than to spread the pressure out just a bit better… Also not sure if it would be a good idea with the popcorn ceilings. But it’s something to look at when you get your pole, I guess… https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_confused.gif

Just a bit of Foxy Rei’s 1.5 cents that 9 times out of 10 don’t work or apply https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_tongue.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

Happy happy birthday! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_king.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

@ Webmaster and Glitter:

I gotcha now. I was just confused because I missed the part where they were making it a definite rule, that’s all. I can understand why, though. The post Webmaster put up when I asked about changing mine said they were doing some new stuff that required that they stay the same, but that him and Veena could still change names so all I had to do was ask. So I guess I kinda misunderstood something… https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_confused.gif

I apologize if my post here was misleading…

[Foxy_Rei]

Tell them to check out my video on YouTube I just did!

[Foxy_Rei]

I’m guilty of a lot of things, and I’m not trying to make excuses https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_tongue.gif but I’m self-taught (one of those YouTube learners, haha) and have absolutely no dance experience, so the little things are a learning process. I’m also aware of most (I think) of those little things I do wrong so at least I know what to work on.

Peeves about me:
-sweaty hands… I have Tite Grip for doing uncut dances or if I’m going to be inverted a lot, but I’m trying to not rely on them.
-wedgie picking. I’ve been trying to learn to subtly do it, https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif It’s either fix it or have half your butt showing on video, so it’s the lesser of 2 evils I think but still very unattractive
-pointed toes. I’ve gotten better, at least I think so. Keeping up on the balls of my feet when walking is a challenge still, I find it very hard to do hip rolls that way for some reason. Must work on this more…
-weird hip thingy – I’ve noticed right before I do a spin I’ll lean heavily to one side and it makes one hip stick out funny when I’m doing that slight pivot on the inside foot. I’ve seen it in others, too, but I cringe when I see myself doing it. Not pretty.
-Moving too fast! – I feel like I have ADHD sometimes. I feel like I’m not doing enough interesting things when I dance so I move around a lot, but when I watch the videos, I’m jumping all over and never in one place more than 2 seconds. Must learn to slllloooowww down…
-not having enough dancey moves, as in I want to learn more than just the hip rolls and grinding the pole.

Annoyances with others:
-too much dance or not enough.
-in practice vids, people not editing out the stupid stuff like just walking around or the moment of staring at the pole wondering what to practice next. (A little hand or pole wiping is fine)
-NOT MATCHING UP WITH YOUR MUSIC! For the love of God, match the mood of the song and the pace of it. People have no problem tapping their foot to the beat but why can’t they move to it???
-kinda along the same lines… always dancing the same. Same pace, same style, everything. Change it up a bit (I’m guilty of this too, I know)

That’s all I can think of, I’m sure as I go through more videos I’ll remember more…

[Foxy_Rei]

Yes Windows Movie Maker is standard software with Windows. I posted a quick how-to under the Tech Related forum, also.

However it’s not a very good program, it’s annoying. I use it myself because I don’t have the time and energy to find a new program, especially all I use it for is pole videos.

WMM and iTunes are the only reasons why I even still have windows on my laptop… I’ve switched to Linux. iTunes is an easy fix but it’ll be time consuming (lots of files to convert). However I haven’t found a good movie editing program for Linux…

If anyone knows of a program for movie editing for Ubuntu, let me know https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_thumright.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

Veena or Webmaster, can’t you guys still change usernames?? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_scratch.gif

When I first joined the site, you could change usernames and I did a total of twice. At first I was Jacq, then when I picked a stage name I went to FoxyRei_Jacq so everyone knew I was the same person. Then I went to change it to just Foxy Rei like literally the day after they changed the names to static. I put up a post about it, too, and Veena and Webmaster said they could still change it for me, so here I am.

But with new stuff going on the site, maybe they can’t be changed at all now… I dunno. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_confused.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

Its an apprentice that I think you’re describing violet. Its very pretty! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
Wikipole is great for looking up moves when you know the name for them but not so good when you dont know what you’re looking for… https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

Or you can just do what I do and just pour over the list and look at every single picture trying to figure out what is which and which is what, lol. I’ve done that a couple times, but the information doesn’t always stick… https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

Sissy I loved your post… very inspiring. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_thumright.gif

And Natalie I really do feel bad for you… I’ll be praying for you! And I definitely like Fleur’s advice to do some of your own research and see what you can find.

This reminds me of that show called Mystery Diagnosis or something like that… I think it’s on TLC (or Discovery? hmmm…) but it’s a show all about people that have strange illnesses that plague them for years and doctors can never seem to give them the right answers. But always at the conclusion of the show, there’s a specialist or someone (like Dr. House, hehe) that pours over the right books and finds some odd condition that no one has hardly heard of and they can treat it. One poor girl had unbelievable stiffness in her hands and she eventually couldn’t move them at all, and soon spread throughout her entire body. Turns out she had "sclera derma" (spelling?), means "hard skin" in Latin or Greek or whatever. The skin and tendons in her hands would literally just turn hard, resulting in her not being able to move her hands. With treatment and therapy, she can now move her body just fine, but her hands are stuck. She can move maybe a couple fingers and her wrists, but that’s it. She’s still very lucky!

Ok that was a random tangent but my point kinda-sorta (I’m very articulate tonight, aren’t I?) was that it may take a while, but I hope that someone somewhere has some answers for you. It does suck for now, but take what Sissy said and remember that you are still you and keep your head up high and never stop looking for answers! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

Somewhere (not here) I read that X-Pole doesn’t recommend using rubbing alcohol on their poles, but a lot of us here, myself included, have used it with no problems. It’s recommended to wash the excess grease off the screw threads before you assemble the pole, and there’s wax? coating the pole when you first get it, but it’s a very thin layer to protect it during storage and shipping: not enough to do much of anything… It’s not polish, though, that’s for sure.

Like Fleur said, are you sure it’s a true X-Pole? 2 things to check: 1) color of the rubber on the top of the dome. Black is fake, clearish is real and 2) that there’s 2 little Xs inscribed on the base of the pole, right below the hex screws that you use to switch between spin and static. Fakes don’t always have the Xs.

Another possibility is your cloth… was it brand new or have you used it in the past for something else? Either way there might have been something in the cloth that didn’t mix with the rubbing alcohol. Try cleaning your pole again with a different cloth (because whatever was causing that smell is still on your pole so I’d clean it again anyway) and see if you get the same result. I’d also not dilute the rubbing alcohol…

If you’re worried it’s doing damage to your pole, look at the edges of the pieces, like the "corners" at the very ends of the pole by the screw threads, etc. and see if your chrome is chipping off or anything out of the ordinary.

Also don’t be afraid to call X-Pole customer service and see what they say. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_salut.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

Links at the bottom??? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_scratch.gif The page I see has a menu on the left side and Pole Moves Directory is like second or third on that list…

I’m waiting for the spins directory, myself. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

http://www.studioveena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1184&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

However if you’re a newbie I’d say try and see how far you get without any grip aids.

I personally don’t like Mighty Grip because I have sweaty hands, it’s definitely for someone with drier hands.

[Foxy_Rei]

Well what it really comes down to is your preference. Chrome and 50mm are the standards for finish and size – most clubs and studios will use those. Titanium has better grip than chrome, and 45mm is easier to hold onto than a 50.

If you’re only planning on using your own pole and never switching or playing on other poles, then it’s purely up to you – get whatever you would like because you’ll get used to your own pole and it won’t matter. But if you’re going to be more, um, "universal" with your poling (especially because of the poles at the club you like to play on) I’d go with chrome and 50mm. If you can do moves on a pole like that, you’ll be able to pole on just about anything.

Also check into how big the poles are at the club. That way you can either choose to get the same thing or something similar or get something different. Unlike most newbies, you have a comparison base to work from. If the poles you’re used to are chrome and 50mm and they’re too slippery for your taste, then go with titanium; if you have a hard time holding on, then go with 45… etc. etc.

Hope this helps! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif