 |
   
|
Swing Out V
The only way to spend New Year's Eve is either quietly with friends or in a brothel. Otherwise when the evening ends and people pair off, someone is bound to be left in tears.
-- W. H. Auden
Thursday, December 31, 1998
One year ago: New Year's Eve
To catch up on all my swing camp adventures, start on December 27, now with extra linkage in most entries!
* * * *
I was nearly giggling out loud this morning at breakfast. The middle-aged man sitting across from me was flattering the young woman next to him outrageously, praising her pep and smiles in dance class. She wasn't lapping it up, though. I think she hardly noticed!
This was the first time I accepted a ride to the fairgrounds, instead of driving myself and offering others a ride. An Asian-American woman I've been dancing with in class drove, and a Japanese couple were the other two riders. This was fine, except that when it was time to drive back to camp for lunch, our driver was still working on some steps. So I grabbed a ride in Joe Ross's van instead.
At lunch I handed my camera over to Mike Hern, who is in level three. We've been taking a lot of pictures, and showing them on a PC set up in the dining hall by Mike Wendt just for that purpose. But the level three and four classes weren't documented that well as yet, and after lunch was the last class! We'll probably be doing a CD-rom with all the images and offering copies for a nominal fee.
* * * * * * * *
I'm so glad I got a room to myself, though it was a bit of extra money. The introverted side of me needs that alone time to recharge my batteries and recover! So I skipped the last class of the camp, and went to my room after lunch, to read, write, and snooze.
I finished the David Brin novel, and I've joined the crowd and started with Patrick O'Brian's novel of the Napoleonic war, "Master and Commander." This was a gift to me from A----, my movie buddy, I think, some while ago, but I hadn't looked at it. I do like it! The language fits right in with my Jane Austen interest.
* * * * * * * *
I think some of my favorite time at camp have been sitting at the tables in the dining hall after meals. One of the lacks in the physical setup here is a central location for free-form hanging out and chatting. We are split between several dormitories, and there isn't a lobby-type of area in any building. We hang out at the late-night dances, but there aren't couches there, and that space isn't central and isn't open during the day.
I spent some time tonight chatting with Dan Osborn, Anne, Joe Ross, and Jim Lane. Jen "Superstar" Paur revealed the origin of her nickname, and we discussed movies. The topic of what to do for New Years 1999 was also discussed. There won't be a Swing Out Northwest, because this facility is already booked for that week. Some people will be going to "Rock the Millenium," a dance camp being held in Mexico, but that doesn't appeal to me.
* * * * * * * *
The New Year's Eve dance tonight was quite a show! Casey MacGill and the Spirits of Rhythm was the band. I ended up sitting out quite a bit, simple because my feet were tired enough that I didn't actively seek out a partner. I did dance with most of my buddies, though, and a number of times with Darren Holloway. I danced with Earl Ryan at midnight, then everyone sang "Auld Lang Syne." The volunteers had put in a lot of work on decorating the dance hall where we'd been having class all week, making it look cool and glamorous instead of dusty, sweaty, and beat up. There was food, champagne, and punch instead of just water, too!
So I decided against the late night dancing, even though part of me still wants to go! It's probably better if I don't push my stamina.
 |