USABDA - remind me not to go next time I decide that it might be a good idea. I don't know what it is particularly that turns me off so much...it could be the lack of a/c, the bad music or maybe the weird people (lots of couples that refuse to dance with anyone else)....but I never enjoy it. Take last night, for example. I asked Joe H (keep up, there are more Joes coming) for a couple of dances. His "friend" who was "helping" (ha ha ha) with the music (but seemed incapable of pressing play on the CD player) decided that she didn't want to play any Cha Chas. Now this is a BALLROOM dance which means they should play BALLROOM music...which includes Cha Cha and Mambo (two pretty common dances, you'd have thought). After about 2 hours, Sharon went up to request some of these for me cos I was getting very agitated!!!! And then, when I finally get to dance, she plays something very naff and cuts it short......

So, I came home completely disillusioned with the whole thing...as I always do. Honestly, people complain there aren't enough places to do Ballroom round here but then, if you look at the way some of them act, you can understand why. Was talking to Joe (this is also a different one....don't ask me why they're all called Joe, I don't know)....I have no idea about his surname so he'll have to be Joe 2 for now......about this today. He said he'd been a few times and hated it as well. People are too serious. He was telling me he'd had an argument with someone at one of the dances cos he wasn't "regimented" enough. It's meant to be FUN. UUUUGH. Maybe I'll get him to come with me next time and we can mess around and annoy everyone....hee heee.....! Anyway, I was trying to explain to Joe 2 about the shop that sells ballroom shoes....yes, there is a shop (singlular). It's the only one and it has a very limited supply but it does exist. And it has some nice stuff at the moment. Drew him a little map and he said he'd head off there after dance class this morning. Only problem is, I realised later, that they're not open on Saturday afternoons. Ooooops. Hope he's still talking to me!

As for Joe 1, called him earlier to see if he was going to the dance tonight or if he could be persuaded to do something outdoorsy in the sun. No, going to the dance. Oh, hmm, well maybe I'll tag along as well then....not that anyone else I really know was going but it's something to do. Come over, just made lemonade. Cool. I did. Sorted out some more crap on his PC....I need to teach him the difference between downloading something and installing it, poor dear. Then, as we're leaving for the dance, he mentions that TOW might be going. Oh shit. Now he tells me. Maybe I won't go. Why not? Well, cos whenever she's there you blank me totally. No, I promise I won't do that. Yeah right. Well, better buy me some food first cos I can feel a bad evening coming on. So at least I got dinner out of him! And, yes, as we walked in...there she was. Sssssss......So, yeah, he did what he always does and forgot I existed for an hour or so. But he did dance with me....although I got upset with him and then he got upset with me....and then he forgot all his funky pattens...and it became, as Paul would say....VANILLA!!!!!!! But what really annoyed me was TOW stole my waltz partner!!!!! I had him all lined up nicely, a gold dancer who I know can waltz. We had to rotate, which was fine but then they told us to go back to our original partners.....do you think she would move????? Not at all. Missed half the lesson as a result....and she's a crap waltzer (hmmm, probably made that up). Really, really, really irritated me. Jackie came over to see if I was Ok and I had a little sound-off about things....and then I left. Was too quiet to stay...if there'd been loads of people it would have been alright...but with the weather like this, people aren't really interested in being indoors.

But, there was something interesting that occurred this evening......Joe M....(this is the 4th in this entry!) and Lori turned up. Long story...something like this.....Jackie, Joe T (number 5...and I know more as well) and Barb arrange their dances and publicise them. Last month, Joe and Lori decided to hold a ballroom dance the same evening as Jackie's dance. Jackie got very upset about this as she had arranged hers ages ago and this was the 3rd/4th time they had "clashed". So she sent out a short email having a strop about things. We all had a good laugh cos it then turned out that Joe and Lori had screwed up as they weren't even going to be in town that weekend. The end...or so we thought. Oh no. Joe and Lori sent out a whopping email that basically pulled up all the past dirt on Jackie, Joe and Barb. Nice, huh. So now there's all this crap flying round and the people who just want to dance are stuck in the middle. So...back to tonight. Joe and Lori turn up at Jackie's dance. Maybe this is an outbreak of peace? Jackie went over to say hello to them. Lori glared at her and stormed straight past.....come on, if you're going to turn up at someone else's dance you should at least be polite.....shall wait to see the next episode of this little fiasco.....