A Little Adventure and Freestyles
Apr. 3rd, 2009 07:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hkellickHey, I get to actually use my default photo correctly for this post! ;)
So yesterday was the last group class and practice before Freestyles. I thought about it and decided I wanted to go, not because I was afraid I needed the extra practice, but because I love dancing and Thursday night affords me an opportunity to hang out with one of my communities. :) K decided to stay home, do laundry, pack and do some other things that needed to be done.
This is no longer a big deal for us. I'm used to going to Thursdays alone (K likes to go to her church choir every other week). However, there's been a bit of an added... complication lately. The complication is in regards to road work they're doing on 495. We never know when they're going to close lanes and bar access to 66, the way we usually go home.
So yesterday I'm going home, hit the ramp onto the Beltway and...stop. They're doing road work. And blocking 3 lanes of traffic. Now, this is annoying in and of itself, but not a big deal, unless the driver (me) is tired and not thinking as well as he could. It turns out this time they hadn't blocked off 66, but I only caught that after it was too late. So instead I take the next exit, Route 50.
If I'd STAYED on Route 50, I would have taken a long way home. Our house is off Route 50. But I didn't. I saw a sign that said "Metro Station this way." and thought to myself "Ooooh. I must be closer than I realized to the Vienna/Fairfax Metro Station." I wasn't. And if I had been fully awake and not on autopilot, I'd have known that. Instead it took me to Dunn Loring (a few miles to the east, for the non-locals and there's no real easy way to hop onto 66 from Dunn Loring like there is from Vienna/Fairfax). At this point I was lost as I don't know my way home from Dunn Loring (turn around and hop back on 50? Why, I couldn't do that!! ;p Duh..) and had no cell phone (having left it at home to charge.) So I'm lost, it's raining, it's dark and I have no cell phone.
How adventurous!
But wait! There's a road name I recognize. Gallows Road. I'll just take this right and it'll either take me back to the Beltway or onto Little River Turnpike. So I go down Gallows Road. And I'm going and I'm going and I'm looking for familiar street names and I am SO LOST! But wait, there's a sign that says Beltway this way. I follow the signs and find myself... back near my Dance Studio, off Route 7. I'd taken a near full circle.
D'OH!
I got home no problem, but... a little later than planned, and I had a little adventure along the way!
Anyways.. onto the main event: Freestyles! They're finally here!
I'm feeling good. Very excited! I was freaking out earlier, last week and this, but I feel good. We know what we know and we can dance what we know and it'll be fun. :)
I'm pretty much I've thoroughly covered what Freestyles is in a previous entry or two (the second one is a little more appropriate as it's about this particular Freestyles), so I won't repeat myself TOO much.
I WILL say we're doing alot of dancing this time. 10 dances each: Swing, Rumba and Waltz Twice and Club Swing (WILL Be hustle in a year or so), Foxtrot, Tango and Cha-Cha once. :) Lots of dancing. :)
This will be fun. It was a total blast this year and this year we won't just be sitting around going "Damn. We should have done more." We did as much as our budget allowed and I feel fine with that. :) 10 dances is alot of dances. (Trust me. I've been practicing for all of them!). Plus this year, I know alot of the people alot better and am much more comfortable with them. :) (And we know a few people we can ask to try to take pictures of us dancing. Yes, there'll be pictures! :) Hopefully quite a few of them! :) )
I'm not even too worried about the fact that our parents will be there. I KNOW this stuff. So does K. As long as we keep dancing (and I think we can do that) it'll all look good from where they are.
So.. here goes! :)
I'll no doubt post on Sunday or Monday giving me thoughts about Freestyles. :) This is a Big Deal for me. :)
So yesterday was the last group class and practice before Freestyles. I thought about it and decided I wanted to go, not because I was afraid I needed the extra practice, but because I love dancing and Thursday night affords me an opportunity to hang out with one of my communities. :) K decided to stay home, do laundry, pack and do some other things that needed to be done.
This is no longer a big deal for us. I'm used to going to Thursdays alone (K likes to go to her church choir every other week). However, there's been a bit of an added... complication lately. The complication is in regards to road work they're doing on 495. We never know when they're going to close lanes and bar access to 66, the way we usually go home.
So yesterday I'm going home, hit the ramp onto the Beltway and...stop. They're doing road work. And blocking 3 lanes of traffic. Now, this is annoying in and of itself, but not a big deal, unless the driver (me) is tired and not thinking as well as he could. It turns out this time they hadn't blocked off 66, but I only caught that after it was too late. So instead I take the next exit, Route 50.
If I'd STAYED on Route 50, I would have taken a long way home. Our house is off Route 50. But I didn't. I saw a sign that said "Metro Station this way." and thought to myself "Ooooh. I must be closer than I realized to the Vienna/Fairfax Metro Station." I wasn't. And if I had been fully awake and not on autopilot, I'd have known that. Instead it took me to Dunn Loring (a few miles to the east, for the non-locals and there's no real easy way to hop onto 66 from Dunn Loring like there is from Vienna/Fairfax). At this point I was lost as I don't know my way home from Dunn Loring (turn around and hop back on 50? Why, I couldn't do that!! ;p Duh..) and had no cell phone (having left it at home to charge.) So I'm lost, it's raining, it's dark and I have no cell phone.
How adventurous!
But wait! There's a road name I recognize. Gallows Road. I'll just take this right and it'll either take me back to the Beltway or onto Little River Turnpike. So I go down Gallows Road. And I'm going and I'm going and I'm looking for familiar street names and I am SO LOST! But wait, there's a sign that says Beltway this way. I follow the signs and find myself... back near my Dance Studio, off Route 7. I'd taken a near full circle.
D'OH!
I got home no problem, but... a little later than planned, and I had a little adventure along the way!
Anyways.. onto the main event: Freestyles! They're finally here!
I'm feeling good. Very excited! I was freaking out earlier, last week and this, but I feel good. We know what we know and we can dance what we know and it'll be fun. :)
I'm pretty much I've thoroughly covered what Freestyles is in a previous entry or two (the second one is a little more appropriate as it's about this particular Freestyles), so I won't repeat myself TOO much.
I WILL say we're doing alot of dancing this time. 10 dances each: Swing, Rumba and Waltz Twice and Club Swing (WILL Be hustle in a year or so), Foxtrot, Tango and Cha-Cha once. :) Lots of dancing. :)
This will be fun. It was a total blast this year and this year we won't just be sitting around going "Damn. We should have done more." We did as much as our budget allowed and I feel fine with that. :) 10 dances is alot of dances. (Trust me. I've been practicing for all of them!). Plus this year, I know alot of the people alot better and am much more comfortable with them. :) (And we know a few people we can ask to try to take pictures of us dancing. Yes, there'll be pictures! :) Hopefully quite a few of them! :) )
I'm not even too worried about the fact that our parents will be there. I KNOW this stuff. So does K. As long as we keep dancing (and I think we can do that) it'll all look good from where they are.
So.. here goes! :)
I'll no doubt post on Sunday or Monday giving me thoughts about Freestyles. :) This is a Big Deal for me. :)
