I believe I have made it very clear that I am not ready for this dating thing. I am not ready for the on-line single sites, the church singles activities, blind dates… any of it.
I said I am not ready, but that does not mean I am not open or willing to try.
Apparently it takes my neighbor, Sandy, to get me out of the house and to try something outside my comfort zone. She has mentioned several times that she wants to try a church singles dance… umm, ya I hear only the 80+ crowd attend those dances. Becky and I have even joked about doing a drive by and if only Buick’s and Cadillac’s are in the parking lot we were just going to keep on going.
Well her first attempt to get me to go to a dance failed, I bailed out and we went to a movie instead.
I was worried that I was going to eventually have to go, so I talked to a friend at work who suggested Dee’s Dances. So I looked into these mysterious Dee’s Dance and discovered that they are single dances with church standards, not church sponsored. They play more of the modern top 40’s music and tend to have less of the 80+ crowd. Ok, this sounds a little better.
So Saturday comes around and the three of us are all ready to go. Nervous, a little scared, and a whole lot freaked out.
The dances are held in a different spot from week to week, this one was at Trolley Square in Salt Lake, as we walk in I notice I was getting more and more sick to my stomach. Was I really ready for this?
Becky, Sandy and I all hesitated as we neared the entrance… then I just said “All right let’s go!” and jumped up and paid…. My enthusiasm fizzled out shortly after that. I felt like I was in a foreign country and I did not speak the language or know the culture at ALL!
At first glance there were people of all age groups, 25 to, oh let’s say, 80. The music was a mix of 80’s, 90’s, and current, with a few 70’s songs mixed in…. not top 40 at all. The attire ranged from themed (like green hair) to jeans and a t-shirt, all the way to formal attire. The Trolley Square location was ok, not to big, but enough room to move around, and it allowed for easy viewing of the gene pool we had to work with.
Within minutes of stepping across the line into this foreign land Sandy was swept away by the sweet request to dance from a foreigner, no I am not joking he really was a foreigner. That was when Becky and I bailed to take our coats back to the Jeep. While passing a bar and jokily suggesting we stop and get a drink before heading back… no time for that we just left Sandy with a stranger and we needed to return quickly.
Upon returning we went to the observation tower, actually it was the 2nd floor balcony that overlooked the dance floor. We picked out a few that were “not so bad” and a few “must avoid at all cost” and then decided to take the pack method and all go dance together.
Now I do not want to come off as rude or insensitive in any way, I do not believe that I am all that (we will get back to this point later) but strictly to identify individuals I assigned them names. There was the ‘Small Asian with the Ski Cap’, ‘White Sweater Boy’, ‘Red U of U Sweatshirt Guy’, ‘Tuxedo Man’, ‘ Red Plaid Shirt Guy’, and ‘Grease Lightning’ to just name a few.
So as we moved from one side of the room it appeared that the older you were the farther away from the speakers you danced, based on that we should have been someplace in the middle, but we got closer to the speaker side for safety.
The three of us danced with occasionally some other person popping in like ‘White Sweater Guy’ out of nowhere and leaving without saying a word, weird. Maybe because we came to the conclusion that if you did not make eye contact that they would not see you or acknowledge you then they would leave you alone, this rule was put to the test several times and only worked about half the time.
Sandy was the winner, she was asked to dance more than Becky and I. One of the guys she dances with was a Rocket Scientist who works for Obama… uh, hu… ya right. Another time the girls were trying to save me from a regular in this foreign land and told me I was very into the story I was telling them, Sandy looked away for just a fleeting second and BAM!!! she was asked to dance! Her last dance was with ‘Tuxedo Guy’ She pulled out all the stops with him and started to swing… Go Sandy!
Overall it was not that bad, getting out with the girls was a lot of fun. I am willing to do it again. Even though I was never asked to dance, see I told you I am not all that, but it was ok, it was my first time out and baby steps are ok here. Besides apparently there are a lot of regulars at these Dee’s Dances, like ‘Grease Lightning’ she seemed very friendly with her Cha Cha from Grease attire and appeal, she was very friendly… very, very friendly.
I attended Julie Parker's Get Schooled Workshop with Tracy this month. I can not even express to you how scared I was going into this thing, I did not feel that I was anywhere near the caliber of photographer I needed to be to even attend a workshop at this level.. but my BFF Sissy encouraged me and convinced me that I could do it. 
i LEARNED that even a 14 year old can be beautiful, smart, and a talented Photographer. This is Wren, Julies daughter and one of our models.
i LEARNED that it is OK to shoot the little details. This is Mr Stegan's beautiful Ford that we used as a prop at the end of the day. I had to take a few shots of it, it was so pretty, besides the scrapbooker in me likes the little detail shots.
i LEARNED that it is ok to put yourself out there and try something new. If your looking for a fun workshop to learn a few tricks of the trade, or to network with a bunch of other photographers I recommend Julie Parker's Workshop, but you will have to wait a while... she only holds one a year.
Thanks Julie... it was a great :)
This birthday boy checking out the "Band" on stage.
