The World of Joyce

Calling All Polers

Joyce — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:00:18 +0000

I was so psyched to find out that this year’s International Pole Convention will be held in Los Angeles. I immediately registered for a convention pass (prices here) and quickly signed up for the VIP workshops of two of my favorite dancers – Helsinki, Finland’s pride, Oona Kivela and from Bobbi’s Pole Studio in Sydney, Cleo the ‘Hurricane’. The VIP workshops are pricey at $120 each, but there are only 10 slots for each of these classes so that every student truly gets an in-depth, one-on-one attention of a private lesson. A convention pass gives you access to all free workshops (entry is on a first-come-first-served basis), the Showcase of Stars, and forums. There are also less expensive workshops (ranging from $50-$75) but those allow a maximum of 40 students with only 20 poles (yikes!) – meaning 2 polers will have to share a pole. Uh…no thank you.

(Update: Cleo’s VIP workshop on 6/23 is sold out! I am so glad I signed up early! Felix Cane’s VIP workshop is also sold out.)

For all you SoCal polers, register early!

Oona Kivela

Cleo

Jenyne Butterfly

Natasha Wang

Anastasia Skukhtorova

Hanka Venselaar

Alesia Vatzmitsel

Filed under: Dance, Events

Fatigued

Joyce — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:00:17 +0000

I have been physically working myself to the bone these past several months. I do 4 pole and 2 ballet barre classes a week, and occasionally, I throw in a chickfit bootcamp class when I’m feeling up to it. (I have yet to join the burlesque class!). Most days, I feel exhilirated. My strength has developed in leaps and bounds (in advanced pole particularly, you must be able to lift your body weight in order to invert, hold a pose and do a combination of tricks) and the flexibility I’ve had since way-back-when has further improved. But these past couple of weeks have let me truly fatigued. My shoulders have been sore thanks to continuous practice of the shoulder mount-split-jacknife combo (tutorials found here and here), and my legs and arms are so bruised up that my usually unfazed mom has begun to worry. My overall sense of well-being is just not up to par and it’s frustrating! I don’t think I have ever felt this fatigued in a long time! Years of dance and fitness training has taught me to always listen to my body. SO… I will TRY to lessen my classes (by focusing solely on pole and giving ballet barre a brief break) … and pencil in sometime to refresh and rejuvenate. First on my list: a massage appointment!

Filed under: Dance, Fitness, Health

Reassessing

Joyce — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

To all my dear readers, so sorry for not having posted in the last couple of weeks. I have been re-evaluating and re-assessing the whole purpose of this blog and why I created it to begin with. I initially wanted The World of Joyce to simply be an online diary. I imagined my content to be chockfull of ideas, inspirations and real-life musings in the realm of fashion, beauty, dance, culinary, and the like. But somewhere along the way, I began to struggle with the in-betweens…Random or well-thought posts? On-a-whim or planned-out photo shoots? While I enjoy perusing other bloggers’ sites, doing so often gets in the way of my own vision of how I want mine to be. This past couple of weeks of non-posting has allowed me the time to think about how I want to proceed and essentially, it came down to this: While I love photography, I miss writing and I would love if I could somehow find the time to put more into the writing aspect as opposed to simply posting photos. So to those of you who like the ease and voyeur-esque nature of viewing other people’s lives through images, I hope the upcoming changes, albeit subtle, will continue to spark your interest. I will, of course, continue to share photos, but please allow me to also share my voice. Until then…happy reading!

Filed under: Thoughts

Weekly iPhone Snaps

Joyce — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:00:34 +0000

Heading to the west side can sometimes be an inconvenience with the consistent traffic that pretty much lasts all day. Although I could not resist visiting the Santa Monica Place mall over the holidays because I simply adore its revamped look. Here are a few snapshots I took that fateful day we stormed through LA traffic.

An aerial view of (a portion of) the Santa Monica Place mall…

Lounging @ the Sonoma Wine Garden post-shopping…

With The Market on the top dining deck now open, there are new and exciting places to eat…such as The Curious Palate…

…and the Norcino Salumeria Cheese Bar.

Filed under: Life, Photography

Bang

Joyce — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 08:00:03 +0000

Probably one of the best ways to de-stress… this was my first visit to the shooting range and I think I did quite well, if I say so myself

Filed under: Sports

2011

Joyce — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 08:00:04 +0000

If there was one thing I learned that made the biggest impact in my life in 2011, it is this: Our bodies are incredible gifts “on loan” from our creator and we must therefore give it the respect and honor it deserves. The best way I’ve manifested this learning is through putting the proper effort and care into what I shove in my mouth. In the beginning of 2011, I began my journey of clean eating. While I have done regular detoxes in the past, this time was different. Without having to go into much detail on changes I made in my food intake and lifestyle, let me just say that it was/is the best thing I have ever done to my body. It has given me such a light and clean feeling from the inside out and it has tremendously educated me on food, fitness and more importantly, the mental and spiritual health component of it as well. It’s no secret I’ve lost weight and have continued to stay fit through workouts 5x/week (pole 3x/week and bar 2x/week). Of course, this was (and continues to be) a big part of my journey. Check it out and try it…I promise it will change your life.

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT)

Filed under: Life

Cheers to 2012!

Joyce — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 08:00:57 +0000

2011 was quite a year for me. My daughter going off to college and celebrating a 10th anniversary with A were just two of a number of milestones that happened last year. A lot of them were on a more personal level, but suffice it to say, 2011 was truly memorable and meaningful. Here’s to a fabulous 2012! I cannot wait to see what’s in store for me…Cheers!

Filed under: Special Occasions

Tailored

Joyce — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 08:00:02 +0000

The thing about being petite like I am, almost every single pair of pants I buy passes through the hassle and often inconvenient process of getting hemmed. So I always take into account the alteration cost when deciding on whether or not to purchase. I was so happy to get these ones done just in time for the new year! {I have another batch of colored denims that need to be taken in this time, so they’re heading straight to the tailor next week}

Filed under: Fashion

Time Off

Joyce — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:00:10 +0000

The wonderful thing about the holidays is that I get quite a lot of downtime to just take it easy and do relaxing things like… bringing Ruca to the mall for her much-needed walk ♥

{iPhone 4S photos}

Filed under: Canine Wonderland, Life

The Week That Was

Joyce — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 08:00:36 +0000

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas weekend! Looking forward to welcoming 2012 with lots of love, purpose and meaning ♥

Filed under: Family, Special Occasions