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Dance Challenges
The pleasure we derive from doing favors is partly in the feeling it gives us that we are not altogether worthless. It is a pleasant surprise to ourselves.
-- Eric Hoffer
Wednesday, February 18, 1998
It's late, actually past midnight, so that this is early Thursday morning. I just got back from dance class and dancing afterwards. I'm torn between writing this and reading what other journalers have written. No problem with email in my inbox competing with that. But I did get some comments on "what kind of favor-doer are you?" and my shameless trolling for email from readers drew another one out of the woodwork, from Australia. This person admitted that he reads me because Wally mentions me, so I thanked Wally and reminded him to describe me in glowing terms, often!
I really do follow a shocking number of journals. There are eighty six listed in my three diary favorites folders (IE, natch!). It's IE that makes this possible, since I can set it to notify me when a journal index is updated, which usually means a new entry has been posted. Once I start reading, I rarely stop, unless the journal stops, or bugs me severely.
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Tonight was the first night of my new session of dance classes. The last six weeks, I didn't sign up at the Century Ballroom because my friend Jon Newman suggested that I try the classes he was taking, nearer to our work. But I missed the Century.
The way the schedule worked out, I signed up for beginning Lindy hop (I'm repeating this, I took it last November) and Advanced/Intermediate Swing. I was a little dubious about my qualifications for Advanced Swing, but Hallie (she's the teacher) said I should try it.
I had no trouble with the beginning Lindy class (the intermediate Lindy is on Thursday nights, and I'm committed to other classes on that night). But the footwork we learned in the first half of swing class was difficult for me! I think I've never stepped so often on my own feet! Luckily, the combination of moves we learned in the second half suited me down to the ground, so I didn't feel so frustrated.
I had a bowl of soup and some strawberry lemonade at the cafe, while I was waiting for the dance to start. I talked with Paul "Leo" Parker, a developer on my team that I've recruited to the swing dance cause. I can't take all the credit though, since he did a lot of dancing in Los Angeles before he moved up here. But at least I pointed him to some good places to go and dance.
My friend Jon Newman and a friend of his showed up for the dance. It was good catching up with him! I hadn't seen him for a few weeks. I also got the opportunity to dance with my classmate Joe Ross. He told me he is in a rock band called the Green Pajamas! We switched back and forth between lindy and swing. He said when we were done, "We showed them some new moves there!" which was a nice way of saying that we had combined steps in ways that had never been done before.
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