Something new

So this is part 2 of my two-post day (see the previous entry for reference)...

Something unusual happened last night. I got home at 3:20am (not completely unusual, being recently out of college and all) after a night of dancing (again, not really out of the ordinary). What WAS different, though, was that I was the designated driver last night. Thus, I remained completely sober at a dance club.

...

For those of you who have not had the dubious honor of going dancing without drinking, it is an interesting experience.

First, let me backtrack. For the past few days, I've been pretty physically sick. At present, I have virtually no speaking voice. (This is almost unbearable for someone like me, who thrives on conversation!!) Anyway, a bunch of my teacher-friends from last year decided to have a girls'-only "slumber party." (This means, for my naive readers, a sex-toy party for girls.) Though I was sick, I had been looking forward to this get-together all week. After work, I sucked it up and drove 45 minutes back to the land that nearly took my soul (the town where I taught last year).

The party itself was a hoot! There were 8 of us gals (all but 2 of whom I worked with last year) and a (female) vendor. They had products for all sorts of things I'd never even thought of (e.g., a talc-based spray for use after bedroom antics to get rid of that dreaded "wet spot" on the sheets...). I even took a packet of information on being a vendor myself, for extra income and some girls'-only fun! I also had no idea how crazy some of these ladies were until I saw them in their element at our little gathering.

Anyway, after we had all placed our orders (everyone bought something!) and the vendor took off, it was decided that we were to go out dancing. The older teachers left, leaving the original "newbies" and a sister behind. At that point, I had only consumed a few drinks in a span of 4 hours, and had been guzzling water for the past hour. I was, hands-down, the soberest one there. To be sure, I waited another hour before we left, drinking water and munching the whole time.

At 11:15pm ("Oy, I'm getting too old for this," I'd thought), 4 of us piled into my little car and drove 45 minutes into the closest "big" city. I wasn't particularly keen on going, but I wanted to make sure that no one was driving drunk, so I agreed to be the DD for the night.

Lucky me.

Once inside the club, the 4 of us shuffled over to the dance floor. I was astonished by how difficult it felt for me to dance! I *love* dancing, alcohol or not, yet I felt pretty uptight and self-conscious at the club. All around the perimeter of the dance floor were collared-shirt-clad, crew-cut guys with drinks in hand, openly oggling the undulating female bodies. I couldn't help but think of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big, Bad Wolf. The dance floor itself was full of semi-conscious girls (and a few guys), moving ceaselessly.

I was also surprised by the pretense present in the club. When I think of "dancing," I think of it as moving to a rhythm with the sole purposes of having fun and getting some exercise. I do NOT equate it with fornication. However, I noticed numerous couples essentially having sex with their clothes on. Some of the moves were downright pornographic!! (I would give examples, but I'm trying to retain some sort of respectability on this blog...)

What came to mind next was, "My God, did *I* ever dance like this?!" It was a real slap in the face. The whole scene was nauseating to me, which added to my discomfort and inability to "shake it" on the dance floor.

My friends, all drunk, were having the time of their lives. I tried to keep up with their hip-thrusting and belly-dancing moves, but I felt at a loss. At one point, a guy came up behind me and started dancing with me. I screamed, startled. We danced a bit, me with no rhythm, him a swing dancer, and the dialogue was pointless.

I know this is obvious, but going out "dancing" seems to be an excuse for much less... wholesome things. It was disheartening but interesting at the same time.

However, there is a light side to this story. At the end of the night, the 4 of us gals were dancing in a circle and 2 guys joined in. We kept our circle formation, and went around showing off our "moves." That was actually an innocent, fun time! The guys were solely interested in dancing (as evidenced by their departure once a string of songs was over), and we were all laughing the whole time. Why can't dancing be like *that*??

Sigh. Anyway, the friends & I all made it home, safely and soundly. (They got home at 2:30; I at 3:15. Not fair!)

Hmm... I suppose I was just surprised by something that's seemingly obvious: the devious nature of the dance club.

C'est toute.