I got back from Rochester, NY earlier this week, after an amazing weekend DJing at Girl Jam. I ended up being only one of three DJs for the weekend, betwixt two other fabulous gentlemen, Michael Gamble and Mike Thibault.

This weekend was the first I've had where the bulk of the DJing work fell to me, and was the first event not-my-own where I DJed a competition. I'm pleased to say that I got several compliments from competitors afterwards, approving my choice of songs.

In fact, I got several compliments throughout the weekend on my DJing, from attendees who hadn't ever heard me before, from organizers, from instructors, and even from those who had seen me as a DJ at other events (mostly in Ohio). It felt great to be in such a prominent role and be praised for my skill in it.

The compliments, plus the DJing stresses that I faced and overcame throughout the weekend, made for one of the most satisfying weekends as a DJ that I've had in a long time. The closest comparison would probably be in 2008 at Oberlin's Jazz Dance Festival, which was essentially my first major out-of-town time as a DJ--and also a weekend full of compliments.

I've been lucky enough to be DJing for a couple years now and to not have had any horrible experiences as a DJ. I've found that the common thread in my most memorable DJing, though, is compliments from the other dancers at an event. Everyone likes compliments, of course, but I also feel that comments--especially specific and direct ones, which are most helpful--put me more in touch with what the dancers on the floor want to hear.

What to take from this? Well, in my experience, DJs don't respond well to requests for specific songs (how many of you have heard the joke about the guy that asks the DJ "Hey, can you play that Jump, Jive, and Wail song?"). On the flipside, they WILL respond well to praise and your actions. So be sure to let your DJs know when they've done something that pleases you!

I didn't exactly have the greatest start to the New Year. 2010, for me, started off with me being an emotional wreck, still unemployed, and of course, sleep-deprived/dehydrated (woo, Lindy Focus!). Not the best of times.

But now that I've had a couple of full nights of sleep, some water, and some rejuvenating time with friends, I've been busy. Submitting more job applications, getting things together, all sorts of fun. And, it turns out, I found the secret to feeling on top of the world! Here's a hint: get things done.

I spent the latter half of today in a magical organizing frenzy. I cleaned out my entire wardrobe, organized my email inbox and caught up on any remaining emails I had been meaning to send out, cooked a meal from things hanging around the pantry, got rid of any trash around the house, and took care of a side project I had been meaning to do for months now (sewing on buttons that had come off of clothes). Sure, I spent 6 hours doing it, but 11 buttons, 3 tupperware containers, and 7 bags of clothes later, I'm feeling fantastic. Accomplishment is probably the best thing to cure any doldrums you might be going through. PLUS, it turns out that I am now pretty dang good at threading small needles without a threader.

If you decide to attempt this rainy-day cure of getting things done, here are some tips:
1.) Start as early as you can in the day. Have your coffee, read some, then spend the afternoon getting all sorts of stuff done. Don't wait until 8PM, like me.
2.) Try not to stay up too late, or at least don't have any early appointments the following morning. What use is feeling like King/Queen of the world if it's overwhelmed by sleepiness? Don't stay up until 3AM when you have to be awake again at 9:30AM, like me.
3.) Try to stay focused on whatever it is you're trying to accomplish. Don't let yourself get distracted by cleaning the litterbox while you're in the middle of hanging up clothes, like me.
4.) You'll probably be the most productive if you have a solitary workspace so that it's just you (and maybe your music). Don't try and sew on buttons when your cat is deciding that against your arm is the best place to have a nap. Thankfully, I managed to avoid poking Beulah with a tiny needle, even though she wanted to be in every inconvenient place (because she's a cat, and that's what they do).

I hope that this helps any of you who also had a craptacular New Year (and I know you're out there). If nothing else, maybe it will help you get a start on your goals or resolutions. Happy 2010!

This is the part where I'm a little behind on blog posts (hey, it's my birthday week! I can do that), so I decide to share something I know very well: girly things! I'm listing here for you some of the details about my favorite websites that make me happy to be a girl.

First up is ModCloth! One of my favorite places to get clothing/accessories/decor from indie designers, and a lot of it is vintage-inspired. As anyone of my girly friends knows, I love pretty much everything they have :) They also have amazing customer service and fantastic shipping! The site and company have a great community feel to them, and promote the idea of fans being involved as much as possible, through picture-sharing, contests, and all sorts of good stuff. Plus, like any good website, you can make wishlists and share them with your friends/family (perfect for the holidays).
Check them out or Check out my wishlist

Next, try Lulu's, for similar fare. Sometimes Lulu's and ModCloth will have the same items, but one site will have them cheaper than the other. Lulu's carries a few more mainstream brands that you might recognize, such as Billabong and Soda, that you might not find on ModCloth. I haven't picked up anything from Lulu's yet, but it's definitely a place I love to look!
You can find Lulu's here

Of course, where would any girl be without Etsy? This independent marketplace is pretty well known as a great place to find just about anything you could want. You might have to fish a bit for what you really want, but you'll get it for a good price! I especially like to buy hairpieces from Etsy (fascinators and stuff), but I've also bought a fantastic skirt and an adorable pair of shoes from them, and I have my eye on a gorgeous ring, all vintage. It's especially a great place to get one-of-a-kind type stuff. The only real con I've found is that shipping from etsy producers can be a bit costly, sometimes. But, since you can communicate directly with the shop owner through messages on the site (or even through email), sometimes you can work them down a bit if it's reasonable.
One of my favorite Etsy shops is here!

The last two I'll include are some of my favorite physical shops to visit, but they also have a website. Forever 21 and Charlotte Russe probably make up a good half of my wardrobe at any given time. They're great about having plenty of stuff that's on-trend and adorable, and they're some of the cheapest trendy pieces you can find! Of course, sometimes their quality is related to their price; I've had a shirt fall apart after only a few wears if I wasn't careeful. Overall, it's really cute clothing for a REALLY good price, and the stores are a fabulous place to go if you're looking for a trend you think you could rock but aren't sure, and don't want to spend a lot of money on. I prefer shopping in their stores because sometimes fit can be a little wonky, but their online service is just as good, and the return policy (at least at Charlotte Russe) is pretty great too. I highly recommend checking out these chains if they're in a mall near you!
Check out Charlotte Russe and Forever 21 online.

Enjoy! (Even if your wallets don't)

This week has been a doozy. I had my last day of work/effectively lost my job on Friday--which was interesting enough, fairly amicable, and resulted in a free lunch and lots of people indignant on my behalf (which was kind of heartwarming). This is a bit of a problem just because I don't have anything lined up yet, and I was basically living paycheck to paycheck anyway. I'm optimistic that I'll be able to find something, or at least fill in the gaps as much as possible, in the interim, but I'm also hoping I can find some work soon. I'm sure there's another 10% or more of the population that's hoping the same thing.

Anyway, I've found that, even though I don't have a day job to fill my days, I've still got plenty going on. My newest dilemma: how do I manage it all? Between yoga and other healthful pursuits, school ramping up, freelance type of stuff, choreography, teaching, job hunting, and travel (EBC coming up will be my 4th weekend in a row out of town), I've got a lot to do lately.

I tend to schedule my days already, but the schedule is in estimates, not in absolutes. Then, when that day comes around, I have a few set appointments and fill in the in-between times with other activities I have to get done--but not always very efficiently. To-do lists help, of course, and so do incentives (window shopping or a brief break with tea and a book), but I can always improve. What do you do to keep yourself on track? How do you schedule your days, or do you find that it's easier to play it all by ear? I'd love to hear how everybody else does it :)