Tag: dancing

Rodeo Closing

Tonight, we said goodbye to RodeoHouston until next year. We hung in the wine garden, meandered and looked at school art in Center, hung in a couple clubs to have drinks and watch the rodeo, went into the Stadium to watch more of the rodeo and then Luke Bryan’s concert – including his current dad-bod – in great seats, ate some grilled meats and a funnel cake using our discounted food cards, had drinks and danced in one of the clubs, and then wandered around in the crisp and cool air after they closed down the club and kicked out everyone – and I still managed to be gifted a couple extra drink tickets that I never got to use, which was exciting!

My man danced with me – real dancing – and it was spectacular. It was spectacular.

He also danced with my friend who was with us. And he danced with this other lady. Her friend came up and asked us if she could borrow my man, not for herself but for her friend, just for one song. I told him it was a polka, and he then accepted the request – he could do polka decently enough for the task. I told the lady it was a polka and that it was just triple steps the whole time. They succeeded in dancing together. While they danced, the original lady who’d made the request explained to us that her friend had wanted to dance at least once. However, she was worried about guys grinding on her and humping her. So, her friend had said they just need to get a respectable guy. ‘He looks like a respectable guy and like he knows what he’s doing out here,’ she said about my man. ‘As long as she doesn’t get her ass smacked and tits grabbed, she’s good,’ she said about her friend. Fair enough, ma’am. Fair enough. 😛

Anyway, so, we had a great night. We used the rest of our drink tickets. We used a couple extra drink tickets that were given to us. We got to have a small adventure, the three of us (and my mom and stepdad earlier in the day, until we went into the stadium – they’d stayed in the club to watch the whole rodeo before going home). And it was really great.

Thank you, God. Thank you. Please, continue to keep us safe. In your name, we pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Not-so cool

Last night, we went to a Halloween party. There was much alcohol drinking and some cigarette smoking. Music was not very loud, but people were somewhat loud. The space wast crowded, except in narrower passageways on occasion.

I had a decent time. I’m glad we went, as it was an important event for my man’s family. We also both looked awesome, both in terms of outfits and in terms of fitness and overall adorable-ness.

However, I typically prefer staying home over going to such events. I felt so fancy, going to a party and on a Saturday night… like all the normal people, I passively thought.

Coincidentally, the story I did in Duolingo tonight was all about how these two girls stayed home every Friday evening and watched their favorite television show, instead of ever going out anymore. When their flatmate walks out in a party dress and says she’s going out dancing, they decide to go with her. The one who declared they were going with her finds at the club that it is too dark, the music is too loud, it is too crowded, and her feet start hurting rather quickly into the night.

As I read the story, I couldn’t help but notice that, aside from the feet part, I usually experience the same things whenever I have to go out to things. Though, as in her case, no one else ever seems to care.

What was funny with the story itself was that, as this girl is commenting on these things, and declares that she wants to go home already, she asks, ‘Am I the only one who isn’t cool anymore?’, for they had said earlier that the cool thing to do was to go out on Friday nights. Her friend replies, ‘Don’t worry – you weren’t ever cool in the first place.’

And, somehow, I found immense delight in that statement. Perhaps it reminded me of me and my best friend, and how we always are honest with things, and how we find it comical when our honesty, to an outsider, could sound terribly mean, but that it is very much not a big deal to us. Also, though, she and I never really were considered “cool”, anyway. We were fun and smart and goofy and weird and kind and sweet and reliable and all sorts of good stuff. People got along with us rather easily, and enjoyed our presence, of course. But we just weren’t exactly ever cool. She was even student body president in high school. She got closer than I did to cool, but she still wasn’t cool. So, we would have definitely had a conversation like the one in this Duolingo story tonight, my best friend and I. And that was a good feeling.

Anyway, I absolutely could relate to the story in all levels, and I loved that ending to the story, somehow, in a very personal way. It was awesome. Thank you, God. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

Dancing

We went to a dance event tonight. It was a country event, but we came for the west coast swing finals part of it, and the social dancing after those events. My man and I did.

And it was awesome.

We danced with each other and with other people. I gave him a sort of mini lesson after we first went downstairs and he got a bit overwhelmed just by seeing everything. (Apparently he had spent the whole day being scared and nervous and trying to create reasons not to come because of that. I had kept asking him all day what was wrong and what was going on, since he was being so snippy and unkind toward me and stressed and all. He had only ever told me that he just needed to ‘get over it’ about each little thing.m, though he never really did… until we started dancing, that is.) He then asked me to dance in the main room before and after the competitions and awards, and he voluntarily sought out four other women and danced with them (always while I was out of the room, naturally). And he and I danced more and more, and I showed him more and more bits, and he got better and better. And it was awesome.

I had begun being comfortable with the idea that I likely would not get to do west coast swing with my husband, whoever he would be, because I never much liked the men who would frequent events and get involved in the typical social culture of dance events and all – read ‘lots of alcohol and sleeping around and being pompous’ – and found it unlikely I would meet my man at any event. And then this guy showed up. In our first night of knowing one another, he voluntarily offers up that he grew up doing a bit of ballroom for kids, and that his favorite dance was probably west coast swing. He’d only learned a bit, and it was all self-taught, but he loved it. And so, God blesses us…

Thank you, God, for this lovely opportunity. Thank you for bringing my man and me together. Thank you for this awesome step into the dance world for the both of us this weekend. Phew. Thank you. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

Friday night

We had a birthday dinner at Benihana for my sister-in-law tonight. We brought gifts that all were shades of purple, and the smaller ones were wrapped somewhat Japanese style, what with the wrapped item then put inside a decorative bag and tied closed, while the larger was simply wrapped in purple wrapping paper. The money was green, but it was wrapped in a cute pink Japanese gift-giving cloth. (My mom had gotten a money envelope, but I couldn’t remember the kanji that were right for birthdays or general events, so I wasn’t sure it was the right kind, and thought it actually was a wedding one…, so we didn’t use that.)

We also brought glow sticks for everyone to choose and wear. And Haribo Goldbären and Kit-Kat minis and mochi doughnuts – also wrapped in Japanese style baggies with colorful ties and stickers – were the party favors we gave everyone.

Basically, it was a silly little surprise-party-type dinner, without being an actual surprise party. Just the level of festivity was a surprise, I guess. Oh, and we also had a candle that we stuck into her ice cream when they brought that out and sang to her.

And I am exhausted right now. But that’s okay. I actually had a great time at dinner, even though it went until around 9pm, which is already late for me to be out, but especially so after this tough, tough week and the start of school.

And we’re going to a dance event tomorrow night, just for the night. I’m slightly terrified.

God, please, help me to have the energy and comfort in my body and mind to enjoy tomorrow and tomorrow night fully. Help me to help my man enjoy it all fully, please. And thank you for getting me through everything this week. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

Alas

We had plans to go to a dance class and small social tonight, and we were excited about it. It’s just down the road, not even five minutes away, and one of my good friends was going to go with us. But, after getting home after the afternoon workout – how many times can I use “after” in a phrase??? – my man and I both realized that we really just wanted to stay home for the evening. We both have a long list of things we want to accomplish after all the activities this past weekend, plus all the stuff we already had on the lists. And I start school stuff in another week. So, the pressure is on – I want to get a foot handful of this all handled before then, so I’ve to step it up and get crackin’ big time this week.

Anyway, we stayed home tonight. And I just say that I truly believe we both got a good chunk of stuff handled this evening, and we both are glad and grateful that we chose to stay home this time, even though we had been looking forward to the dancing. Thank you, God, for the discernment.

God, give me the way, the will, and the strength to get it all done this week, please. Bless us both with your grace and power in our endeavors. In your name, we pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

P.S. What, it isn’t 2023 yet? We just had Christmas on Monday. It must be time for the new year now, right?!

Dance, dance, dance

We went dancing tonight. He attended a little lesson, then, as I had sent a photo of where I was to a friend of mine, we stuck around actually to dance for a while, because my friend wanted to join us. She brought me some shoes of hers that I could use to dance, as I only had really grippy tennis shoes or unsafe sandals with me (I had just intended to watch the lesson, then go home shortly thereafter.), and we all danced.

So, my friend and her dad and my man and I all had a jolly ole good time dancing tonight.

Thank you, God, for such a lovely and love-filled blessing. And thank you, especially, for this spectacular man. Help me always to express my love and gratitude to him, that he, at least, begin to grasp the immense blessing that he is in my life. Thank you. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday

I went to the gym for the early Saturday workout today at 7:30. Then I went to meet my mom and a friend to help remove and dispose of the Christmas wreaths that had decorated all the graves at the Houston National Cemetery for US Veterans. It was really neat, and there were loads of people there to help. (I even got to see the spots for an old family friend and my current housemate’s/host’s grandfather.)

Then I had food and goofed around with the baby for a while before finally showering and taking a needed nap before tonight. Then I went to our rodeo committee’s social, collected some tasty barbecue that I’ll eat tomorrow, danced with a friend to live Kevin Fowler music, and then rushed into downtown to attend another live concert – but this one was unknown to me until this morning: Elton John.

There is so much I could say about this man, this master of his art, but I will keep it short here: I grew up with this man already being a legend to me. He was unreachable status, and I never even considered one day attending a concert of his – it just wasn’t going to happen, so my brain didn’t even give itself the time to be sad about it. And then, at the gym this morning, someone invites me to go with her, and she states clearly that she won’t have me pay her for my ticket. She just didn’t want to go alone, and her friend had bailed on the concert. I was absolutely delighted to step in for the drop-out this time(!!!). The concert was fabulous. This man is about to turn 75 (on 25 March). This was his 20th concert in Houston, Texas, the first having been in 1971. He can’t sing really high anymore. He hobbles slightly with his walk. He wore two sparkly suits – one all white with a Long tail and a red snake on the back, and one like his famous red checkered blazer (super sparkly, though) – and then a pink lounge-y kimono with a sparkly butterfly on the back, which he eventually took off to reveal a sparkly red and blue track suit. He changed his glasses twice, but all three pairs had rose-colored lenses. He wore his iconic right pointy earring. He plays piano like on the record albums. His spirit is evident in everything he plays and in every arm thrust and body shake he does. And, get this, he gets up from the piano after every song, (sometimes walks around bowing and encouraging folks to cheer and make noise a bit) shuffles to a little table/stand behind him, spits in a bucket, takes a sip of water, and then shuffles back to the piano and sits back down.

I am extremely grateful for this lovely opportunity, in addition to the beautiful blessing that has been the works and passion and gracious giving and sharing of Elton John’s art. Thank you, Good Sir, for all you do and have done. And thank you, God and Universe, for letting me be part of this glory tonight. May we be blessed with such love often in our lives, and may Sir Elton John truly feel the loving gratitude so much of the world has for him. Amen.

One of my favorite songs ever is “Crocodile Rock”, which he played, of course. But he sang way low for the “la”s, and it was adorable and awesome!
Beautiful concert. And all the better for not having massive screens to distract us from just seeing him and listening to the music and the feelings thereby evoked.

P.S. He said that “Your Song” was his first hit in 1972. Is that right, or did I mis-hear him? Perhaps it released in 1970… But, also, that was 50 years ago. FIFTY YEARS, and his music and performances are still amazing. Thank you, Sir!

Post-a-day 2022

(Barely!)

Forgotten Gifts and Talents

Do you ever forget that you are actually really good at something, simply because you haven’t done it in a while? I think it happens to me rather often. Whenever I am not doing something consistently, I tend to think that I had previously overestimated my ability in it, and I the have at least a little bit of fear when it comes to doing that something again. It happened to me recently with teaching. And it has happened certainly with dancing. For the teaching, I always have a sense of imposter syndrome popping up, keeping eye in check – there’s always somewhere I need to improve and sort things out better. But, as I have now read from Adam Grant, that is actually something that tends to produce the best-quality individuals in something: When people experience the imposter syndrome but stick it out, they tend to give a better and more effective effort than all the rest. Of course, no matter how much evidence I have for that, I doubt my imposter feelings ever will go away fully.

Turn now to the dancing, which cam up for me this week. Someone asked me to help out – not lead, but just support – with a two-step dance lesson for a birthday party of a friend of his. Somehow, it felt right to agree to do the lesson, and so I did. I was nervous, and I felt like I didn’t remember anything important involved in teaching two-step. But I went, anyway, trusting that it felt right, and also trusting in the fact that this other guys was the one in charge of teaching, and I was just there to help with the demonstration side of things.

At the birthday celebration, though, in the lesson, I proved invaluable. My own knowledge surprised me. My own aptitude in teaching and, especially, in speaking up surprised me. I helped tremendously in the lesson, though, I believe, I successfully allowed for the other person to be the lead of the whole affair, even when I took over counting and starting and stopping everyone and determining the order of the patterns and moves and all.

And, you know, I had an amazing time. I had forgotten how much I love not only dancing but sharing dance… teaching it.

Because I love to teach. Period. And I especially love to teach those who want to learn what I have to offer.

It was wonderful on its own, but it also has been a wonderful reminder. When I watched a little video that somehow is still on my desktop of my computer, I was enthralled. I could hardly take my eyes off of me, though it was a group dance we all were doing. I was surprised at how good I was at the dance – a dance we had only learned right then and there, and to a song I had never heard before then. I was so chill and calm and on time and comfortable… it was beautiful.

And so, these two things – the dance lesson last night and this video today – have me wonder if it wouldn’t be extremely beneficial to the world for me to find a way to start teaching dance for real… Because I have much to offer, and I want to share it.

Post-a-day 2021

Dance, if you wanna

One of the most upsetting things in our society right now for me – one of the day-to-day things that really bugs me and kind of breaks my heart – is how much gender is used as a restrictor by so much of society.

I mentioned how I thought my nephew really would love learning and doing ballet and other dances, and I was met with a passive laugh and a certain, somewhat snarky comment to say that it never would happen, but what a cute idea. I was gobsmacked. The person didn’t even think I was saying it because I meant it. She actually thought I was just saying it passively, as opposed to my sharing something I genuinely believed and had hopes could happen.

Granted, my sister has very much played the gender toys game for her kids – pink and purses and baby-dolls are for girls, and blues and trucks and superheroes are for boys. However, dance is something amazing for any and all people to do, especially athletes. My sister is an athlete, and she can understand that benefit of dance especially. I think she might be willing to consider the idea of dance for my nephew, if it were presented appropriately and he showed interest in it openly.

Even that, though, has its own degree of upset and disappointment for me: that it has to be presented appropriately. I don’t just mean showing that dance is awesome, but showing that dance is so awesome that it is okay for both genders. Because I know, that likely would be part of it for her.

If I ever have children, no matter the gender of each and every, they all will do karate and dance and volleyball and all the fun, beautiful, beneficial stuff out there that we can find and/or create for them to do. Gender will have no value in the matter. It merely will determine which bathroom they use while at the activity.

Post-a-day 2021

^ Wrote that wrong at first again, but caught myself before submitting! Happy 2021, folks!

Extra ouch

Well, today felt like much of an improvement after yesterday. I tutored in the morning, finished up mixing six CDs for a student to have some exposure to French-language music – these have been taking me weeks of on-and-off effort to organize them out and pick which songs to include, which genres go where and belong at all, and figure out what degree of effort it is worth as well as how many CDs would be acceptable – messaged with a good friend about her wedding planning and tres leches and not feeling like working out, and then I worked out and watched a very interesting film of Natalie Portman’s. I want to look further into the film to see what it was all about, and whether it was inspired by a specific story or many or what. She sang very well in it, by the way, and I was quite pleased with her performance on all levels, especially the concert portion, which was a surprising yet lovely part to me. As for the workout: man, it had a 3k run in it, as well as 80 jumping up-downs (burpee without the push-up)… talk about a sore calf feeling the heat! Both calves have been sore for a few days now – I genuinely could barely go up and down the stairs two days ago, and walked with a limp, all because of my calves. Finally, when they show signs today of recovery, I have to put them through so much work. Ridiculous, just a bit, I dare say.

But the greatest part of the workout, I think, aside from doing it, was the part where I hung out in the pool afterward to relax and stretch out. That was awesome. Though, the effort to swim breast stroke for a few lengths of the pool felt like it might paralyze my arms, my shoulders and all were so worn out from today’s workout. 😀 Haha

Anyway, I’m off to read and sleep, now. Today was a lot in a good way, but it was nonetheless a lot, and I am exhausted. Goodnight!

Post-a-day 2020