Missing Digits

All this week and last I had been excited to get to talk to Kaylee again at salsa and get her number. I had pepped myself and wasn't even all that nervous since I was only going to be asking her if she'd like to meet up at one of the salsa clubs to practice what we learn in lessons sometime. And, of course, she didn't show up tonight.

I always forget about that possibility. Thinking there are only two possible outcomes, usually I'm solely focused on the 'yes' or 'no' response. I always forget there is a third which is simply that I may not even get to ask.

There'll be other opportunities. There's always the off chance I'll see her this weekend and still four more classes to go.

Chatting and Dancing

Around 11:00 on Friday I sleepily made my over to the bar that had the salsa dancing. Last Friday when I had gone there were a ton of single girls there and very few guys. I think there was some sort of girls night out going on. There were so many girls they had to dance with each other. I had taken one of my girl friends out to dance so I had no need to go ask these other ladies to dance. So it was with high hopes that I went out on Friday, figuring that even Kaylee didn't show up, at least there would be plenty of others to ask. See WAM, I do think positively.

This Friday when I walked in the opposite appeared to have occurred. There were a ton of guys all lined up along the wall and very few girls. Although I noticed that even still there were plenty of girls just sitting around, so I don't know why more guys weren't dancing. That sort of creeped me out because I felt they might have just come to sit and watch pretty girls dance. But then maybe they were just to shy to ask the girls.

At this point I did not see Kaylee, but I hadn't really expected to since even if she was coming she would only have gotten off work a few minutes prior to my getting there and she may have gone home to freshen up. In the meantime I decided to walk around the bar twice. The first time I was going to see if I knew anyone and pick out which girl I wanted to ask, and if I found no one I knew then the second time was to try and ask the girls I noticed the first time through. On my first lap I found a guy I knew from my lessons and we talked for a bit. This was a fortunate meeting, because he is friends with the other girl I'm interested in. He also had brought his other girl friend, who was also in our class and I had apparently walked by and not recognized. So I walked over to her chit-chatted for a bit and then asked if she wanted to dance and she did. We danced for two songs before she wanted to get back with her friends which was fine. I told her and the guy that lessons had started up for the summer. They didn't know this and said they are going to start coming. That was good news because hopefully they'll invite the other girl, Trisha I think is her name, that I liked to dance with last semester.

So in the end I did go all by lonesome to the bar and asked a girl to dance. She wasn't a complete stranger but let's not be too picky. This Wednesday I'll focus on swapping numbers with Kaylee. Goals are good.

Summer Salsa Studies Start Surprisingly Swell

Summer salsa lessons started up two weeks ago. Disappointingly there are only two other new students a guy, who is dating the female instructor, and a girl. I had been hoping that a few of the people from last semester, and one girl in particular, would be continuing on this summer. They had said they were so maybe they are just on vacation and will start in the up coming weeks. But not all is lost, because the new girl, Kaylee, is a blonde beauty who actually talks to me. We are going to glance over the fact that she talked to me only because we were both standing around waiting for the instructors to show up before class started.

One of the things we talked about was where to dance in town. After class I said I was going out Friday around 10:30 to dance and she said unfortunately she gets off work at 11. I told her that maybe we would happen to run into each other. That means we will be running into each other. This also means that I will have to go out by my lonesome to the bar where the dancing happens. Hopefully she shows up, but if not then I'll have to practice being manly and asking strangers to dance. In either case something horrible will naturally happen so you have something to look forward to when I post again.

That's so 18th Century

Waking up early today I decided to call home to surprise my folks who should only have just been starting their day. Sure enough Dad was still lounging in bed pretending to be making it, while Mom was drinking coffee watching the sunrise. She told me that this weekend when they go to a wedding her younger sister (about a 20 year difference), was going too and that she wants to wear a wig but her husband said absolutely not. Apparently my Aunt wants to get her haircut in a new style but before she can she first has to grow hers out a bit. But in the meantime she doesn’t want to walk around in front of people in this unsightly transitionary state, so she bought a wig! Fussing with the kids takes awhile in the morning and so instead of taking the time to do her hair up in the morning she just throws the wig on and goes out. And wherever she goes she’s getting a ton of compliments, “Oh, I just love your hair.”

Underwater Acrobats

Friday I went to the pool and before I even made it past the gate I was being waved at by a little boy. I remember him from the past two years summers I've spent here, but was surprised he was waving. Then as I go walking past the shallow end to take a seat, his sister pops her head up out of the water exclaiming about how cold the water was. Their grandfather started talking to me so I plopped down near him and talked for a little while. After a bit I hopped into the pool. Then as I was getting out the boy said "jump in." I explained I already was in so I could hardly jump in, but then he shook his head and said he wanted to see how far into the pool I could jump.

That took me by surprise. Here I am a complete stranger, and this guy wants me, out of everyone else who is also at the pool, to jump in as far as I can. And of course he has to shout this at the top of his lungs because little children have no sense of volume, which meant everyone at the pool was now staring at me. So I ask him "running or standstill?" He seriously responded "running." But then I scolded him and said there's no running at the pool and that he should know better. The grandfather just sits there shaking his head up and down. So then he said "alright, walking then." I compromised and trotted before jumping, which put me at halfway across the width of the pool.

It was fun though. The girl made all the introductions. She is Mallory and he is Cayden. She is nine and he is seven. They like diving for rocks and floating in innertubes, although she seems to just like being thrown out of them. Cayden wanted so very much to act large and in charge, but the poor guy was scared to death of pretty much everything. Interacting with them was difficult for me, because they acted like they were in their mid-twenties, and had better social skills than most of my friends, but they were only small children so you couldn't treat them or talk to them like adults. I kept having to watch what I said and did because I tended to forget how young they were.

The two wouldn't let me alone, even after I got out and went back to my chair from shear exhaustion after trying to keep up with them. When she saw me breathing hard Mallory asked what my problem was. I said I'm old and out of shape. She said she and Cayden had a ton of energy because they are kids. I did not point out the fact that she had been floating peacefully in an innertube for quite sometime.

Finally they let off when their grandfather practically carried them off to Cayden's little-league baseball game. As a perfect example of his young age, Cayden was in such a hurry he forgot to put on his underwear when he changed his clothes, and his grandfather had to tell him to go change again.

How to Party

As my generation grows older and starts to throw the types of parties our parents would when we were kids there are two things we need to learn. The first is how to be a proper host, and the second is how to be a proper guest. Particular to this post I want to talk about the second.

Growing up I can recall my parents exhibiting very peculiar behavior about going to parties. At the time I took it as an inability to relax and enjoy a good time, and to an extent I still do think they simply do not know how to relax, but moreso it was just them not wanting to be a greater burden to the host than necessary. First there was a concern about whether or not bringing something was appropriate. Generally they wanted to bring something, perhaps not to appear as freeloaders, but the host would not always indicate if bringing a dish or similar item was desired. Which brings us to the first lesson. If you are invited to a house party and it is not otherwise indicated, it is nice to ask the host if there is anything you can bring. Be it food, or even just a bunch of plastic cups.

Next up is when to show up. When food is involved, being late is inconsiderate at best. The host, assuming the host knows how to host, will have planned the party around the food. Showing up late to a party like this means that the preparation of the food may have to be altered, which could ruin the meal and create more work for the host who already has enough to do.

Of course there are exceptions to all of these cases, but those are good guidelines to follow.

This weekend I went to such a party. The party started at 2. The host had cooked bratwursts, made a spread of various appetizers, and had a bunch of drinks available. I showed up at 2. The next guest arrived half and hour later, and the next after that arrived at 3. After that initial set the next guest didn't come until after 6, the next around 7, and the final two around 7:30. The poor host had not planned or wanted people over so long or late but wasn't going to turn them away.

During this time, the host was trying to call up the guests to see if they were coming. This is terrible, the host should never have to call on a guest. The guest should call the host plenty ahead of time. The range of excuses was even worse ranging from doing laundry, to just not feeling like coming until later.

Makes Me Wanna Do One-handed Push-ups

During work today, the need for a tasteful Thursday article became quite evident. Earlier this morning I read an article in the paper that mentioned Joe Esposito's "You're the Best Around", and immediately I had a huge desire to play this song as background music to 'Street Fighter' on very easy mode. But I don't have the song, and I'm terrible at 'Street Fighter' (hence very easy mode which would still ruin me). I told four of my co-workers, all about my age, about this desire of mine, and not a one of them knew of the song. I then sang it to them with emotion but still no recognition from them. This is completely unacceptable. You cannot be a child of the 80s and not know the inspirational rock songs. We have, 'Rocky's Theme', 'Final Countdown', 'Eye of the Tiger', and many others. But today let's just focus on "You're the Best Around". Hear it, learn it, love it, straight from the source.

A Broken Stereotype

Today is the one year anniversary of this blog. If you were looking for a reason to celebrate today, I can't think of a better one.

If you recall, way back then I claimed my life isn't very interesting, and lately it has being proving that claim. Work is steady, and the girls at the pool this summer all have guys with them so I have little opportunity to try and make introductions. I can't even find juicy situations to put myself in.

But I suppose the best situations are the ones that come naturally. Last week I had to travel to Dayton for business, and I decided to stop in Cincinnati on the way over to meet my Mom and sister for dinner. Dad had gone traveling to Texas so he couldn't join us. We met up at Cracker Barallel and had a blast. As we were getting ready to sit down, I mentioned to them that everyone was going to think Mom was divorced and we are a broken family. But then Mom uncharacteristically said that maybe everyone would think she and I were together and that she was a cougar.

I had gotten to the restaurant first and had some time to kill. Outside they have a bunch of rocking chairs and checker boards scattered about. There was an old big man with a cane sitting on a bench and I went over and said, "Excuse me sir, I have some time to kill until my family gets here, do you want to play checkers." "No sir, I don't very much like checkers", he replied. I always thought it was a given that old men with canes like to play checkers but apparently not.

A short while later another lady plopped down on the same bench to have a smoke. So I went over to her and asked her. But she said that she was justing waiting on her husband to pay the bill.

So I go off all by my lonesome and sit next to the board waiting for someone to come along. And after another short while, a bunch of older ladies and little girls come streaming out of the restaurant. It must have been ladies night out or something. And one of them sat on the other side of the board. So I said, "Excuse mam, but the rule is that anyone who sits in that chair has to play checkers with me. You can move first." And she did, and we played a game. Just as we were taking our last turns my Mom and sister arrived to watch me win.

Okay, one more very small story. I recently asked a girl to go out for lunch with me. She said no, but her response was the best response I've ever heard. None of this wishy-washyness, unclear messages, or leading me on. Just a simple concise statement, that leaves nothing to question, "No, I get sick to my stomach just thinking about going with you."

Happy Sister

Having missed my sister's birthday again this year, I took the opportunity when I was last home to give her the present I got her. The present is a first edition portfolio of her favorite artist, and is hard to find. She approved.