Life is random sometimes.
I have new shiny cooking equipment. One KitchenAid mixer, with sundry attachments.
Owing to my inability to make appropriate portions, we have had three days worth of home-made pasta meals, including lunch portions. Very tasty pasta, mind you.
I am continuing to learn to salsa. For the first time in years, I am actually enjoying something related to exercise; admittedly I had a bit of a mental paddy with myself tonight, when the instructor tried to walk me through something I hadn't done before and I got it wrong, but hey! That's my own mental quirk which I really, really need to deal properly with, because newsflash: people are not expected to be good at things the first time ever. It has been fun every other lesson, and frankly I need to give my WAH I AM NOT PERFECT a good kick up the arse, because hey, not perfect and THAT'S OK.
In other news, I swear to god I am not lying: I got propositioned by a hooker on my way home. (The dance studio is near our red-light district and... I guess my car was parked too close tonight?)
Her: "Hey honey, you want some fun?"
Me: "er, what?" (thinking: don't you have some original lines?)
Her: "... this is K road. What do you think?"
Me: "Get bent."
Her: "I already am?"
I wasn't trying to be funny...
Also, I don't know why, but some part of me is actually quite insulted. She wasn't even very attractive.
Can’t feel no pavement right under my feet
I went to my first salsa class tonight. I've wanted to do something dance-like again for a long time, but what with my ridiculously changeable work schedule - OK, and a fair bit of the fact that I wasn't willing to put on my big girl pants and step out of my comfort zone - I just hadn't done it.
With the new job, and the fact that at twenty-seven years old I really ought to be willing to do something like dance All By Myself, I found a salsa class. The eight-week beginner's class? Started today. My birthday was yesterday. It seemed like the right kind of omen, so I signed up, paid in advance, and did the first class tonight. It was fun!
There was the predictable mix of couples, unattached females, and one wannabe lothario present. He didn't quite fit the mold, in that he actually possessed a chin and appeared to be of Asian descent, but still.
I had fun, in a mildly malcoordinated I-wish-I'd-left-my-high-heels-on kind of way. Also predictably, I failed to catch signals from men trying to lead me - I get insistent on staying in time and forget that women are supposed to follow their partner's lead, but by the end of the class I'd more or less gotten over myself.
It's funny, I've gotten to the age of 27 and still periodically discover a way in which I have unexpectedly grown up, or gained confidence, or whatever. A month or so ago I was in a foodcourt, couldn't find an empty table, and marched up to a chap eating by himself, plonked down at the table (politely, with a "d'you mind?") and proceeded to eat my lunch. I wouldn't have done that a few years back. No confidence.
Funny the things that change.
Monologue and Dialogue
Monologue
OK. You have left home, you are decently dressed, you are sitting outside the gym. Get out of the car, walk in the door, and take yourself into the Ceroc class. You will not be the only newbie, you know you don't utterly suck at dancing. Just relax, take a deep breath, find your money, get your arse out of the car and DO IT.
Good girl.
No, don't freak out, silly woman. You're not the only woman alone, see? Oh, there are blokes alone too. Excellent.
Where in the name of all that is HOLY is your coordination, girl? You know how to do a basic warmup routine. This is just like SWIMMING, for petes sake. Stretch arms, wave them in circles and things. Knee to opposite elbow. What on earth do you mean, left arm and left knee together? Idiot. OPPOSITE limbs.
Hmm, this bloke knows what he's doing. Arrgh, I feel horribly uncoordinated. Mm, he's cute. What's that? Let ... oh, crud. This is dance. Bloke leads, regardless of timing of music. Argh. Stop listening, just follow the bloke. Good girl, that works!!
... dude. This is actually fun.
OH dear. Newb female dancer, older newb male dancer. This is not going to work well. No, indeed, it isn't working well. Look, I can remember the steps we have to do, but you have to lead me into them. I can't lead you, the arm movements don't work that way. Ah, I can push you, excellent. Yay, that helped.
Compliments are good!! Apparently I'm not horribly retarded for a first timer. And apparently I keep in time with music. Well, duh, pianist. Course I know how. Shut mouth, Mahal, don't look stupid. Just smile and keep following blokely lead, lest you forget what the fark you're.... doing, again, well done, sweetheart, slapping arse into the lady behind you isn't the ... oh, hang on, not my fault, bloke led me there, haha!
Aww, bloke asking when I'll be back next. Cute bloke too. Also cute bloke that can dance. Note to self, flirting inappropriate.
Brrr, cold out here. Hmm, I'm sweaty. Dude, that was fun!!
Dialogue
Stomach: Brain? This is your stomach speaking. You may have forgotten me, recently, but I am empty. Has the throat been cut, could you check, because it's EMPTY DOWN HERE.
Brain: Er. Pizza sound like a plan? We could order from the place who keeps sending the delivery girl here, even though the pizza isn't for us.
Stomach: PIZZA NOW PIZZA PIZZA PIZZA
Brain: Um. Calm down. But ok, ok, pizza it is!!
Time elapses. Idly look up location of pizza place online. Cringe in embarrassment as you realize it is next door to the gym you just left after Ceroc.
Time elapses. There is a knock on the door.
Stomach: PIZZA PIZZA PIZZA RAWR
"Hey there! Yes, the pizza is for me tonight."
Delivery girl: "Well, at least I know where you live!"
Stomach: PIZZA PIZZA PIZZA RAWR
Brain: Calm down, we've gotta pay the lady first!! Sheesh.
Stomach: PIZZA PIZZA PIZZA um, pizza gooood.
It has been a good day. Work went well, I did laundry, I braved Ceroc and had a hell of a fun time, and post pizza, I am warm, well fed, and content.