Dance like there's no one watching

I love to dance. It doesn't mean I'm a good dancer. I'm stiff and awkard at times. I've not been picked during selections. But that doesn't stop me from letting go of myself. If my bath tub were any bigger, I'd dance while showering too! LOL

I've taken lessons before, but never stuck to anything. When I was little, my mom enrolled me for Bharatyanatam classes. My knees hurt from doing the beginner moves in that semi-squat pose over and over again. It lasted all of 2 months I guess - I never went back after the school break started that year. I did take part in a few group dance competitions throughout my years in school, though I still remember not being selected for a couple of them as well (maybe I'm just not cut out for Indian dance forms)

One of the good things about becoming 21 - clubbing I tell you! Yeah the booze and crowds are always great. I go for the music and dancing. Alcohol helps loosen you up, for all good reasons I must add, which is why my friends and I either try to get high real quick once we're there, or better still, get a little buzzed prior to arriving at the club! Unfortunately, I have been living in Bangalore during a period where clubs and dance bars are treated alike by our government, causing so many of them (clubs) to operate on the sly (or with bribes perhaps) and rush everybody out once the cops arrive. Nevertheless, we still partied whenever we could! You don't need to go to a club to dance. We've had dance parties in our pyjamas too! Just dim the lights, get a good set of speakers to wake up the entire household, move the furniture around to create some space, and you're all set to bring the house down! :) Christmas and New Year parties back home in Mangalore are a must do I say. It's such a treat to watch everyone dancing so beautifully - jive, waltz, cha-cha and what not. Kudos to those who've attended Ripvin's ballroom dance lessons! Some of us work friends signed up for Salsa classes a couple of years back. These classes too stopped after a month 'coz somebody or the other started losing interest. Having no company to go with, I discontinued as well. My ex and I then attended a Merengue and Bachata workshop. Fun stuff really! (I wasn't being sarcastic =)

Forward to 2009 - I live in an unknown, isolated city (I prefer to call it a village) in Wisconsin, with no means of entertainment. After spending quite a few dull weekends, I happened to scan an ad in the newspaper on the Shut Up and Dance academy based here. They offered beginner and intermediate lessons in Salsa and Bachata on Friday evenings after work hours. I was on cloud 9!! I did join, and there has been no looking back ever since. I started all over from the beginner's basics and now I've just moved onto the next level. I envy so many of the dancers who are so much more advanced than me. I did however find it oddly funny when the dance troupe from the academy performed a routine to "Chaiyya Chaiyya". I guess Malaika's and Shah Rukh's antics on top of that train are ingrained in my head so deeply, I couldn't relate to these goras' dance steps...hehe... I don't go consistently every Friday, which is not a big deal since the classes are pretty repetetive in nature , and you pay for what you attend only. I also signed up for Hip-Hop lessons last week with a new instructor. I've finished two sessions already. It's an awkard dance form for me 'coz I'm not used to dancing so stiffly on purpose. But I enjoy the one hour workout I get from it! haha! Once I'm a bit more independent and have my own car, I wanna start learning the waltz and tango!

All I want to convey to my (not so many) readers is - let the dancer inside you loose! Don't feel conscious. Don't think too much, and definitely NOT about what others may think of you.

The perfect conclusion to my post, this Japanese proverb - "We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance."

I wanna go 'fish' some guys out! :)

You get to this point in your life..let's call it a quarter - life crisis ..you're single, aimlessly working and you're social life is as interesting as that of a nun's... I don't know about the rest of you'll but I'm in this boat right now.. and it sucks!

I was happy once .. had a great boyfriend, a decent job, aspired to study further.. and then everything went downhill .. Lesson learnt: Don't end up working in the same office as your guy.
At least in my case, it came to a point where we "killed" time with each other, barely connected (physically, emotionally, whatever) and played ego games ("I told you so! Score Team ME!!") We called it off in the end. It took me quite some time to get back on my feet.. the ex-bf always kept showing up and making an impact .. but now I can finally say that I'm over him! Meeting another guy did help - he was sweet, understanding, a sound board to all my woes literally..keeping it all a secret from the rest of my friends, albeit a few, was a thrill of sorts.. I was warned that this could be a rebound thingy..and well it turned out to be just that! We were so not meant to be.. I'm just grateful that we managed to part ways amicably and that we still remain good friends even today.

After spending almost half a year guy-less, that too in a new country, I'm getting tired. I want to feel wanted!! Is this feeling because I'm bored in general or I feel like nesting? I don't know. If I want to see myself married (hopefully happily) in the next year or so, then shouldn't I be meeting "the one" by now? Call me old-fashioned if you'd like, but it feels weird that guys my age and younger are jumping into the 'baap' of all commitments - the big "M", and here I am - single, hopeful and still searching. To top things, I happen to live in the most (not) happening place in the US! Good ole dairyland! O.K. the extent of my search starts and stops at the most commonly used matrimonial site..Shaadi! I am still not sold on the idea, which I guess explains why I haven't taken up a paid membership as yet.. or maybe I'm just plain stingy! :P

My trysts on this website have been ...well... entertaining! There's quite a spread for everyone.. Two profiles in particular which made me smile (not in a good way) were CA_Anand81 and francislopez1983... All I can say is I wish them well! :) I think they really need all the luck that they can get.. Then there were the cute air-heads (well guys can be empty headed too! N yea, anyone who has rejected me has to be a goof! come on! LOL!), the serious overly optimistic kinds , the "choose me..I am marriage material" kinds, the stingy / not sold on Shaadi fellows (like me I s'pose) who don't have paid memberships, the sounds-perfect- but-hey-I'm-divorced-btw blokes... that's quite a variety who've expressed interest in me! I did find some genuinely interesting ones on my own, but they all fizzled one way or the other (I guess you needn't be Einstein to deduce that much :S)

Which makes me wonder ..am I really cut out for this whole online dating craze?! I used to and I still do (though I'm having some doubts now) think of myself as someone desirable..definitely above average looking, kind of smart, funny, sweet n all that jazz. So why am I still single with no guy in sight? Seriously. Where have all the single guys disappeared - in the real world and on the net? They're definitely not in this part of Wisconsin..I can vouch for that! :)

I was just chatting with an old but not so close friend on FB.. and I mentioned to him that I'll be heading to Chicago on St Patty's day to have fun - drink and be merry! :) He warned me about it - drunk girls are targeted! You know what .. I don't mind being 'targeted' (as long as that doesn't involve being felt up or brushed against! :S) - I'd love the extra attention (MALE only, thank you!) any day! I just can't wait to reach Chi-town now! :) Don't get me wrong.. I'm not the desperate kinds.. All I want is some good ole opp. sex company .. I wanna feel that rush when you meet someone interesting .. it doesn't have to lead anywhere .. it doesn't have to be physical.. just the satisfaction that you're still desirable by someone! sweet!

Viva St. Patty's I say! ;)