I wanted to see the Raleigh Christmas Parade today, well sort of. Evidently not enough to get my butt out of bed and downtown in time to. (That’s niiiice — two sentences, including one topical, ending in a preposition.)
I did two loads of laundry today, and thought very seriously about riding my bike. I kept thinking that I was going to get enough exercise tonight dancing, that I really should ride tomorrow instead.
I ran to The Card Factory at around 4:00. I got four or five cards, four Christmas gift bags for the MSBC Christmas gifts, and a “Calendar-a-Day” for mom with lighthouses on every page.
Once home, I made a big old salad, which was yum.
I got to Flex at about 8:15. Carl, Michael, Rick, Adam, and Van were there. Everyone asked where Robert was.
We really didn’t start dancing until about 8:45 or 9, and started with Cruising and then The Train. Those of us who did the train (me, Michael, and Carl) all thought it was too early for that dance. Shortly after that, Gordon arrived, which was a surprise as he rarely does Saturday nights. “And I probably won’t be here long,” he said as I made a comment about his presence on a Saturday night. His remarks about not dancing there on Saturday night often come across as “dancing at Flex on a Saturday night is a waste of time.” I wondered where that thinking comes from.
Michael kept turning that damn fan off, which annoys the hell out of me, not to mention screaming at me at just about every song that no one was dancing, “You’d better get out there and dance, whore.” I wondered what makes someone get off on teasing like that all the time.
The country singer who was performing live tonight arrived, along with Matt and two very hot body-guard looking guys — facial hair, black cowboy hats, the works. I know that Matt arranged for the singer to be there, so of course he was all keyed up about it. It wasn’t clear as to what the relationship was between the two hot guys and the singer. The two hot guys were a couple, and friends of Matt’s friends from Phoenix.
Matt kept motioning me over to talk to him, and I just kept waving to him from in front of the fan like I thought he was waving. Then I danced a dance. After it, he was motioning me over again. I went over there, and he tried twice to introduce me to his friends, who were looking all around, not really paying attention. It was obvious that Matt wanted me to meet them more than they were interested in meeting me. This turned out to be a common theme, as others, including Joe, pointed it out. I said, “Nice to meet you. I have to go back to the fan now,” and did.
Rick asked me to dance a couple of dances, and they weren’t very good. I think he’d been drinking just a little too much, and it was still early in the evening. We did a two-step, a waltz, and then the California Bump together, which we started late into the song, and weren’t doing smoothly until it was nearly over. I thought of Robert, and hoped that he was having a better time than I was tonight.
On most of the songs, it was just me, Carl, and Michael dancing, and line dancing with just three people isn’t that much fun. I started thinking, “This really isn’t working here tonight for me.”
Then Adam put on a song to do Georgia Winder to, except it wasn’t the song we usually do it to because the performer was going to sing that song, so he couldn’t play it. Carl, Gordon, and I started doing the dance. Michael turned off the fan, which I was dancing closest to. I left the dance floor, went to the bathroom, and then out the door.
It was just before 10:00. I called Joe to let him know that if my being at Flex was going to influence whether he went there or straight to CCs, that I wouldn’t be at Flex. I got his voicemail.
I got home, got in the bed, and enjoyed reading about a fourth of The Nuclear Age. I’m enjoying it, but wonder if the rest of the book club will like it.
Joe called at about 10:35. I must have just missed him, as he missed my message before going into Flex. He’d gotten there earlier than he’d planned, as he, Ben, and Dale had eaten at 5 Star, and then he went there directly. He asked around if I was there, and said that everyone said, “Well, he was,” but we haven’t seen him for a bit. Somebody said, “Maybe he’s been knocked out or something.” Drama. Joe said, “Well, I’m going to go and try to reach him by phone.”
He called me from his car, and I told him that that place just wasn’t working for me tonight. He then told me about Matt calling him over, which Matt never does to him, to introduce him to his “friends from Phoenix.” He also told me that Gordon had come “bounding” over to him, and started talking to him like they were old friends. Finally, he said to him, “Uh, I think maybe you think I’m someone else.”
I asked him if that guy had started singing yet, because I was wondering if he was any good. He said, “No they were still dancing when I came out.” He was supposed to do one set at 10:30 and another at 12:30. I was also wondering from where he was going to perform. They had no “stage” set up for him. I was also wondering if people danced while he sang. Guess I’ll find out on Wednesday.
Joe tried to convince me to join him at CCs, but I told him that I was all comfy in the bed now and enjoying reading my book. We made plans to meet at 7 tomorrow at Flex.
I read until about midnight. It was luxurious. With all the grad school reading I’ve had to do, it was nice to settle into a novel.