[Foxy_Rei]

Cream – look under the Travel Buddies thread – TrophyWife and Poledancevienna are looking for roommates if you’re interested in sharing a room with someone to split costs.

[Foxy_Rei]

TrohpyWife – you may want to look under the other thread about Hotel Arrangements – there are a couple people still looking into hotels there that may want to split a room. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

Thanks Ellen! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif I don’t get out much, and I never know what to wear – I’m that girl who always shows up to the bar with jeans and a long-sleeve sweatery thing (because I’m always cold) to discover that everyone else is there in a miniskirt and tank tops, even though it’s winter. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_surprised.gif BRRR!!!

Maybe I’ll layer it – wear a nice tank top under my SV shirt and just yank the top one off when I get to the after party, and stuff some jewelry in my pocket or something. I’d wear an "Amber Rocks The Pole" shirt if I had one! Do you guys have any extras?? lol j/k https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_tongue.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

Thanks everyone! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

Chem – I can’t remember about the star, I haven’t tried it since getting back on the pole… I think I did… https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_scratch.gif I’ll have to try it again and see.

Ritalin – thanks for the walk-through. I’ll have to try pushing my hips forward, but it’s pretty rare I get far enough to do that. I get stuck at the point where I have to hook my feet together because the bottom knee keeps sliding so my feet are too far apart! It sucks!

Khallstrom – your outfit looks cute https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif If I get it, I’ll let you know what I did.

I’ve been trying to get into this from both just standing and hooking my leg and from gemini – I think it was Roxy? that said she did it that way so she could get a secure grip with the top knee when she was learning it. I’ll give it another go when I practice tonight

[Foxy_Rei]

I’m most definitely not a pro and I’m in a rut, myself. I just started back on the pole last month, was all crap, then a couple weeks ago I started getting back in the swing of things. But my practice last night was awful – I couldn’t even invert properly and I had no grip. But dancey-wise, I was doing pretty good. So I spent my practice twirling instead of inverting and such, lol.

I did see the video where Felix fell – I actually had to watch it twice, and 2 different people’s videos to be sure she actually fell and that it wasn’t on purpose. I think her boots may have screwed her up or something, but she finished just as if she nailed it with no problem. Plus, we all know she can do it – she doesn’t have to prove herself anymore, lol.

And I also saw Karol’s video where her feet were slipping in the bridge position – honestly, if she hadn’t left the comment to Alethea about it, I wouldn’t have noticed.

[Foxy_Rei]

Audball – you shouldn’t have any problems finding tutorials. The people that make open-source programs are firm believers that all software should be free and readily available for everyone, including information on how to use those programs and even giving you choices to fit your needs. It’s actually the entire premise behind Linux, and is why I prefer it to Windows. (I can never resist a chance to promote Linux… Windows sucks)

Webmaster – I officially love you. I’m not overly fond of GIMP and still prefer Photoshop (nothing against GIMP, it’s still a good program) but since I’m running Ubuntu exclusively now, I can’t get Photoshop. But that link you gave is great! Yay! Now I just need to find video editing software…

[Foxy_Rei]

I almost decided to drive to NYC, but I ended up buying bus tickets. I’m just over 3 hours away from the city, and round-trip tickets were $80 through Greyhound. Pretty good deal considering I’d be paying at least $60 in gas just to drive there and back, plus the hassle of finding parking… and I was planning on taking cabs in the city itself anyway because I don’t dare drive. I’ve only been there once, and it was scary just watching the traffic. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_eek.gif

And yes, the hotels are expensive… that’s why I started the Travel Buddies thread, so people (including me) could find people to stay with and help split costs. Maybe there are still some people looking for roommates?? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_scratch.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

I have skinny feet, too, and have 2 pairs of Pleaser shoes and 1 pair of Pleaser boots. I wear a (US) size 7 in them. I usually wear a 6.5-ish in those type of shoes (I wear an 8-8.5 in sneakers, weird, huh?). I didn’t have to do any stretching, they fit perfectly. But everyone’s feet are different.

If you’re worried about size, are there any websites that you can find with free shipping and return shipping? Or Google for promotional codes for those kinds of things? That way you can exchange for a different size without any extra costs. I get my shoes from shoebuy.com, but it’s a US site and don’t offer the free shipping/return shipping for international purchases. But maybe there’s a similar site for the UK.

[Foxy_Rei]

You can download trial versions of Photoshop from the Adobe website. They last for 30 days. Can download it and try it if you want.

GIMP is another program that works very similarly to Photoshop, except it’s open-source software and it’s completely free. You can also Google for tutorials on how to use it, there are a ton of them.

[Foxy_Rei]

Lol Ottersocks…

I’m actually probably going to bring my SV attire to wear, so any other Veeners will know I’m from SV https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

A warm coat, could be freezing.

It most likely will be. I live further upstate in NY and temps have been in the 30s for the last few days, so I don’t imagine it will change dramatically in the next 3 weeks. We don’t usually see light jacket-type weather until April at the earliest.

Wow… the competition is just under 3 weeks away… https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_eek.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

Yeah, it is her. She put up a thread about it in the Pics and Vids forum. It’s the OH MY FREAKN GOD thread, I think.

*shakes head* Why are people so… so… stupid!? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_evil.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

Thanks, Mwincze… it’s nice to hear another point of view.

While I think it’s great that USPDF is so popular, they do seem to have their own agenda instead of a global pole community agenda. I’m going to the competition to support the dancers and take some workshops so I can learn more, myself, but I’m not necessarily for or against USPDF (although I lost my temper a bit when I first heard about the conflict with B&P).

It’s just a shame that this sport/activity/whatever you want to call it of pole dancing is so disconnected. There are a million different studios and organizations and events and and and etc. And I think everyone’s just fighting to be THE pole dancing organization out there. Why can’t everyone just join forces? And I mean just mutually join forces without applying or asking permission to join up.

It just amazes me how much of this stupid crap wouldn’t happen if there was some order in the pole universe…

[Foxy_Rei]

I think it’s so hard because one of the reasons that we are able to get so close to certain people, like friends and significant others, is that we learn to overlook flaws. And we also learn to support each other no matter what (otherwise, they wouldn’t be good friends/sig. others). So when we receive a compliment on something that we don’t like ourselves, we tend to not believe them because we assume that it’s a flaw that’s being overlooked by the loved one (subconsciously, sometimes).

I used to date a guy that was rather heavy. It seriously didn’t bother me, although I did worry about his health. But every now and then he would ask if I thought he was fat. I always said no, even though in the strictest sense of the word, he was. It’s just that "fat" carries too many negative connotations to it. I would say "I think you’re overweight, but not fat" and make sure to add that it didn’t bother me. He used to get frustrated that I wouldn’t just "tell him the truth," but I really was.

But I’m in the same boat – I never know how to take a compliment, from people I know or don’t know. I blush like crazy, can barely manage a "thank you", and then sit there for several minutes wondering why the person thought so highly of me.

So I’ve seen both sides of the fence. I think it’s really just because our loved ones have learned to always think good things of us and we think that they would say good things about us anyway. Kind of like a kid whose mother gushes over every single picture he brings home and puts them on the fridge – how does that kid know when he really did do a good job? What makes each one good? Not that the mother means well, but it does get kinda numbing from all the monotony of hearing the same positive things over and over. Same with loved ones compliments – like I said, they mean well and it’s not like they’re lying or anything.

But maybe we should turn this around, too. How are we to our friends and loved ones? Do we always say uplifting, positive things about them no matter what? What if we looked at them more objectively and were more down-to-earth with them? Maybe what we say will mean more to them that way simply because we would be "cutting the crap" and giving them an honest assessment/opinion (not that anything we would say would be crap, but you know what I mean). Find a way to be honest with them but still be supportive. A friend who complains she has "fat thighs", maybe instead of instantly gushing "Oh no you don’t! You’re beautiful!" you could say "You’re definitely not fat and they don’t look bad like you think, but if you want to tone them up we should hit up the gym together and we’ll both get some thighs that are to die for!" Find a way to still support them and be honest without hurting their feelings.

Just my 2 cents… even though my posts are long enough to be more like 99 cents…

[Foxy_Rei]

I go blank and tend to use the exact same moves in the exact same order when I freestyle. Always fireman, chopper, gemini, scorpio, martini spin, butterfly, ext. butterfly, flatline scorpio. Every time…

i used to have a video with clips of every single move I knew in the order that I learned them, but I think it was lost when my laptop died… I should probably write down the moves like other people said they do, that would be the smart thing to do, lol

[Foxy_Rei]

Yes, the GIMP is a good one – open-source software. It’s free and there are a ton of tutorials on it (I’m a Linux user and a sucker for these kinds of programs, although I have to admit I prefer Photoshop anyway).

Also, you can Google search for Adobe Photoshop trials for the various versions that they have out there. (CS, CS2, CS3, etc.) Some of them have an actual time limit and some have a number of uses limit (like 30 days or 30 uses). They’re getting harder to find because a lot of links just take you back to the Adobe site where you can only download the latest version’s trial. I used to just download one trial version then when the time was up I would download and use the next. There are also cracks for Photoshop, but given that’s not exactly legal… well, you know. *shrug* https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_confused.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

I’ve had this problem before, too, except the other way around – I have to log back in when I return to the forum page after watching videos, reading blogs, etc. (not every time, but frequently – depends how long I’m not on the forums). I usually log into the home page, but log back in on the forum page if I get booted.

Not a huge deal, but still rather irritating…

[Foxy_Rei]

Well I emailed X-Pole about the ball bearings sliding out of the dome and they said it shouldn’t cause any problems, so that’s good news.

Anyone have any thoughts on the locking nut, though? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_question.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

Just for an update: my friend never responded. She’s been on Facebook several times so I know she had to at least have read my comment, even if she didn’t see the videos.

Here are the two videos I put up if anyone is interested:
This is one of Karol’s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsSjWJkThrI

This is still my favorite pole video of all time, I’ve posted it here several times but it’s been a while, so here it is again. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_tongue.gif Perfect example of pole dancing as an art and even her costume isn’t too skimpy, either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rym8emog21o

[Foxy_Rei]

I learned it from almost a half-handspring mount kind of thing… Simpllysweet posted a tutorial for Glitter when she was learning it (around the same time I was trying it, too) so I tried it that way and it worked. Now I prefer to get into it from gemini, because I’m higher up the pole – I would tend to slide off before I got into position if I was too close to the ground.

Simpllysweet must have taken the video down – I’m not finding it here or on YouTube.

Oh, and my butt always seems to stick to the pole when I’m trying to flip my hips over… I have no idea how people make it slide… I’m trying to get up more strength so I can hold myself further away from the pole when I flip the hips.

It always hurt a lot for me because it would pull the skin from closer to the front-ish of my thighs to the pole, so it would end up being an entirely different section of skin than during a pole sit. I’m going to have to go back to basics and do it from the floor so I can get my pain tolerance up… But hey, I’m at least proud I’ve been able to do it up on the pole at all! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_salut.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

Mobile video is a whole different kettle of fish. We are working on a platform to accomodate it.

From another thread where someone asked the same question… So no, not yet https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

I’m sorry for you and your family, Glitter… it’s hard when a family member passes away, but even worse when it’s at the hands of another family member… https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif

But yes, agreed entirely – thank you for posting this.

[Foxy_Rei]

Yes, X-Pole only makes removable poles. In their defense, they are plenty solid – people have changed from a permanent pole to an X-Pole and said the X was more stable (still your decision, though).

Lil Mynx makes permanent poles, too, just in case you want to research, them, too https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

Is there a video??? I wanna see!!!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_bounce.gif

[Foxy_Rei]

My 100mm is coming this week! I’m so excited to get that extra 4 inches of usable pole! (hey, every little bit counts when you have ceilings as low as mine https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_tongue.gif)