Two-Tone

Tuesday, August 18, 1998

I did get some more details this afternoon on the work stuff I mentioned yesterday. There are a variety of projects to choose from, all very interesting (to me, that is!). It's surprising how the type of work I did on earlier CD-ROM projects here at Microsoft is still valuable; coordinating things, and merging the general overview with the nit-picking details that are needed to make it happen. I'll think about it and do a bit more investigation, then choose the tasks I'll be best at and are most critical to the team.

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We had a rather calm Cacophony meeting, but the food I had was great! Spinach ravioli filled with portobella mushrooms, a green salad with raspberry vinaigrette dressing, and bread! Such a deal! Good events coming next month, too, and I dodged having to produce the printed newsletter.

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Tonight was the first time that "Two-tone Tuesday" happened. This is a "Hepcat Productions" production, that is, it was promoted by "Cat Daddy" Chris and "Hep" Jen, whom I take lindy class from on Thursday nights. It takes place at an interesting club, which used to be called "Club 22" or something, and was a non-alcoholic bar for bikers who were in a twelve-step program. One of the first Cacophony events ever held around here was a Latte road rally that included this place as one of the stops.

I didn't plan on taking the lesson, so I arrived at around 8:30. There were about ten couples taking the beginning swing lesson, taught by Jen and Chris. Joe Ross urged me to join the lesson, since as non-beginners we could probably have been of assistance to the new folks. I said I was willing, but it didn't happen. Joe said he always gets the urge to join any dance lesson he sees, which is probably why he has come so far, so fast as a dancer!

There was a good-sized crowd throughout the evening, though it wasn't ever jammed with people. I saw many swing kids, and some other dancers who work at Microsoft. I didn't recognize "Dippin' Dave" when he appeared beside me on the dance floor; he was wearing a totally sharp suit and a Homburg hat, which was quite a change from the shorts and t-shirt he usually wears.

There were free beverages included in the cover price, which I think is a great feature! Huge size on those free espresso drinks. I don't think I've every had a super extra-tall, giant-size mocha before.

About the venue: I'd say the dance floor is larger by a third in length and width than the fenix downstairs. The decor is graffiti murals, black lights and neon. Pool tables, a few video games, and pinball (my fave!) in the back. Booths around the dance floor; watch out for that first step since it's incredibly steep. There were two go-go cages, one on either side of the dj booth (but I didn't see anyone try to dance inside them). The environment was like a time warp, seeing all the swing and lindy dancers in the rocked-out place.

The dance contest was fun (and this time I did convince Earl to partner me, making up for a few weeks ago); the final round had a male couple, female couple, and one that broke convention by having both a man and a woman!

My personal dance highlight was Jonathan Garrigues asking me to dance. He was the male partner in the mixed couple mentioned in the previous paragraph. Amazingly, he and Stacey came in second in the contest! He's a Savoy club member and a superb lead, and I hadn't danced with him before. (He was on my list of folks that I was working up the courage to ask. I have made progress in this area, as regular readers know.)

There are apparently social undercurrents in the Seattle swing scene that I'm unaware of. Not surprising, since this fits in with me not knowing any gossip about the fannish circle I'm a part of, either! So couples meet, commit, and break up, and I'm oblivious to it all, unless they explicitly tell me, and why should they? But I hope I don't make too many egregious faux pas, mentioning someone to someone else, and having the second party burst into tears or something! Just because folks dance together often, arrive and leave places togther, and seem to be very well acquainted, doesn't seem like reason for me to make assumptions about their current status vis-a-vis each other.

The most surprising, shocking incident of the entire evening: at about 11:30, a fire extinguisher was accidently let off, filling the room with a CO2 and baking soda fog. At first we thought someone had started up a fog machine! Everyone exited quickly and calmly, and we hung out on the sidewalk while the place was ventilated and they vacuumed and mopped the dance floor. Then back to dancing for a while longer!

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