Weekend contretemps
So, the rest of my week has been equally exciting, after my good Thursday.
Friday wasn't much aside from much hilarity on Skype with Sandy which engendered, among other things, the previous post; slacked off and Huiting came over to attempt to finish her knitting project. Listened to a lot of my really strange music.
Saturday and Sunday, though, I hit the ground running and didn't stop. Saturday, I taught, and got done around 4. Had a dinner date with my two lovelies, Ez and Yaj, for 7:15, so I went to do some research on something Sandy and I had talked about on Skype the previous day. Along the way, I got absolutely wildly sidetracked and went to...Little India.
And proceeded to buy about $300 worth of sari fabric, plus a Punjabi suit. No, I'm not insane - my friend Kelly's getting married and wants to use sari fabric in her wedding dress. She commissioned me to buy her some.
Oh, and I get caught in a downpour.
So, lugging the heavy fabric, and musing over how much more friendly the Indian shopkeepers are, I climb back on the NorthEast train heading downtown, looking rather like a drowned black cat. And hit Plaza Singapura for abovementioned research. After which, I walk to NYDC, where the coven is supposed to meet, and find myself there half an hour early.
I ask if I can ensure a seat in half an hour, and am informed I cannot book a table, but can come in and physically hold one, and that another section will be opened up in 15 minutes anyway. (Friendly guy, too...) So I wander...right into HMV.
Where I buy (?!) myself a Swingle Singers CD and the Chopin Etuden I've been eyeing. *sigh*
Head back down to NYDC 20 minutes later and find a line has grown out of nowhere. (!!) Make haste to join line, and get ushered to a seat forthwith. Ez joins me soon enough, then Yaj, and between us and the Americans at the next table with their flashing-light pint glasses, our corner is...quite the happening place.
We sit there for the next 3 1/2 hours, which makes me late for my next appointment, though somehow I couldn't bring myself to care much. We have evil plans for the next meetup. xD
So I run off to Harbourfront, where I meet one of my students and her friend, and we proceed to get lost and query a friendly security guy on how to get to St James Power Station. (I now know there is a linkbridge next to the cinema in VivoCity, as I came back that way. Incidentally, there's a gunpla store next to it, too.)
By dint of being charmingly naive, I got us into the Bellini Room, then we wander through all the rooms (yeah, we paid). So, Bellini and Gallery (once again, friendly door guy) are free, Movida, Boiler Room, Power Station, and Dragonfly are not. That makes 6 - where are the other 3? Unless you count the quiet Alley and the outside Patio (ooh, swings) and the Football ones. Which were also free, obviously.
At the Movida side entrance the bouncer told me I had to dance before I could get in. So I did a quick mess around. *facepalm* And then when we wandered out, I was salsaing the whole way, and I think they were cheering. *dies of embarrassment*
Dragonfly was...interesting. I had been informed it was 'trance' and that 'the bengs go there' but...it was...Teochew and Chinese...music, possibly oldies. Not pop anyway, I don't think. With two male dancers dressed up as Grim Reapers (which some of you that know me really well might know hits some of my more interesting buttons ;) and female dancers in pearly sequined dresses with the huge ostrich plume fans on their heads. The singers were in slinky, long, completely sequinned dresses and black elbow gloves. And, as I said, belting out Teochew and Chinese songs. Though my informant was right on the other point...it was filled with bengs. And I guess the passageway before the stage area did have kind of trance-like music.
The male dancers shed their cloaks and lanterns and came back out in (tight!) pleather pants and black button down shirts opened to here; no, I didn't drool, but I did think one of them was pretty cute...ohshutup. I'm deprived of all human contact most days.
Boiler Room was just...loud. And Power Station was lame.
Then we went back to Bellini and the band was playing and the Jitterbugs gang had the floor...and I'm afraid I *ran* in. Oh, I'm so not a clubber. Only danced one dance that set though.
During the band's break, the DJ'd music was very 70s and a few of us went a bit nuts. It was fun.
The next set (which was at, like, 12:30...) was more rock and roll than swing, so the Jitterbugs people didn't really dance. Which was somewhat bad, because the singer kept making eye contact (Ithinkhewasflirting,theperformer), but was good when I went out to dance and we had almost the whole (very small) floor to ourselves for a very upbeat song. Which was very good when my partner decided to do a lift, which I think had the room roaring. But then it was bad when my partner lost my hand and I flew across the floor on my butt and fetched up against someone's chair, laughing too hard to get my feet under me. Got picked up, finished out the song without any more contretemps, and left a couple songs later.
Today, Sunday, I only had one class, so I slept in (and missed church :() after which I raced down the NEL again - I spend far too much time and money on the NEL, I'll be going down it again tomorrow - to Clarke Quay, where I went back and forth from the road to the map many times before I figured out how to get to Brewerks at Riverside Point. Apparently a group of people play a pickup game of Ultimate Frisbee there at 5pm every Sunday evening. Serena, from the excellent Swing Fling on Thursday, told me about it.
Coincidentally enough, one of the players, Wendy, is a dancer with the other lindy group in Singapore, Lindy Hop Ensemble (who apparently coach the NUS group...oh dear.) I was musing over the small-worldness of it all on the way home. And yet...it's not that surprising, really...it takes a certain type of person to do weird things, and there're only so many of those people to go around, so eventually they've got to start running into each other, especially in a small country like Singapore, where 90% of the people are sheep anyway.
I was totally not dressed for running around a field under the hot evening sun for 2 hours, in T-shirt and jeans; everyone else was in shorts and singlets or breezy shirts or sporty attire. However, the jeans saved my legs from being completely torn up when I made what I was later told was a very graceful fall, trying to intercept the bloody frisbee (and of course failing - I suck at intercept). It felt pretty graceful - run into a uncontrollable skid and next thing I knew I was stretched out flat on my front on the ground. My thumb feels it though; it's literally black. I didn't know it was possible to bruise your thumb - I thought fingers were made to be tough, all that pressing and hitting you do with them all the time. Not quite sure how I managed to be completely unhurt except for my thumb.
I tumbled over again when I got dizzy, and fell another time when I overstretched trying to catch a way off pass, but wasn't hurt otherwise. On the other hand, I did get to be the one to score a 'touchdown', skidding into the goal while catching the frisbee (with a surprised look on my face, lol). And got generally complimented on my playing. :D
I think I sweated off half the calories I lost, and ran off the other half. Absolutely disgusting, and so much fun.
Unfortunately, by the time I got home, I also had a headache for the first time in days, so exercise doesn't seem to agree with me. :(
I think my life is actually rather interesting, in spots.
Friday wasn't much aside from much hilarity on Skype with Sandy which engendered, among other things, the previous post; slacked off and Huiting came over to attempt to finish her knitting project. Listened to a lot of my really strange music.
Saturday and Sunday, though, I hit the ground running and didn't stop. Saturday, I taught, and got done around 4. Had a dinner date with my two lovelies, Ez and Yaj, for 7:15, so I went to do some research on something Sandy and I had talked about on Skype the previous day. Along the way, I got absolutely wildly sidetracked and went to...Little India.
And proceeded to buy about $300 worth of sari fabric, plus a Punjabi suit. No, I'm not insane - my friend Kelly's getting married and wants to use sari fabric in her wedding dress. She commissioned me to buy her some.
Oh, and I get caught in a downpour.
So, lugging the heavy fabric, and musing over how much more friendly the Indian shopkeepers are, I climb back on the NorthEast train heading downtown, looking rather like a drowned black cat. And hit Plaza Singapura for abovementioned research. After which, I walk to NYDC, where the coven is supposed to meet, and find myself there half an hour early.
I ask if I can ensure a seat in half an hour, and am informed I cannot book a table, but can come in and physically hold one, and that another section will be opened up in 15 minutes anyway. (Friendly guy, too...) So I wander...right into HMV.
Where I buy (?!) myself a Swingle Singers CD and the Chopin Etuden I've been eyeing. *sigh*
Head back down to NYDC 20 minutes later and find a line has grown out of nowhere. (!!) Make haste to join line, and get ushered to a seat forthwith. Ez joins me soon enough, then Yaj, and between us and the Americans at the next table with their flashing-light pint glasses, our corner is...quite the happening place.
We sit there for the next 3 1/2 hours, which makes me late for my next appointment, though somehow I couldn't bring myself to care much. We have evil plans for the next meetup. xD
So I run off to Harbourfront, where I meet one of my students and her friend, and we proceed to get lost and query a friendly security guy on how to get to St James Power Station. (I now know there is a linkbridge next to the cinema in VivoCity, as I came back that way. Incidentally, there's a gunpla store next to it, too.)
By dint of being charmingly naive, I got us into the Bellini Room, then we wander through all the rooms (yeah, we paid). So, Bellini and Gallery (once again, friendly door guy) are free, Movida, Boiler Room, Power Station, and Dragonfly are not. That makes 6 - where are the other 3? Unless you count the quiet Alley and the outside Patio (ooh, swings) and the Football ones. Which were also free, obviously.
At the Movida side entrance the bouncer told me I had to dance before I could get in. So I did a quick mess around. *facepalm* And then when we wandered out, I was salsaing the whole way, and I think they were cheering. *dies of embarrassment*
Dragonfly was...interesting. I had been informed it was 'trance' and that 'the bengs go there' but...it was...Teochew and Chinese...music, possibly oldies. Not pop anyway, I don't think. With two male dancers dressed up as Grim Reapers (which some of you that know me really well might know hits some of my more interesting buttons ;) and female dancers in pearly sequined dresses with the huge ostrich plume fans on their heads. The singers were in slinky, long, completely sequinned dresses and black elbow gloves. And, as I said, belting out Teochew and Chinese songs. Though my informant was right on the other point...it was filled with bengs. And I guess the passageway before the stage area did have kind of trance-like music.
The male dancers shed their cloaks and lanterns and came back out in (tight!) pleather pants and black button down shirts opened to here; no, I didn't drool, but I did think one of them was pretty cute...ohshutup. I'm deprived of all human contact most days.
Boiler Room was just...loud. And Power Station was lame.
Then we went back to Bellini and the band was playing and the Jitterbugs gang had the floor...and I'm afraid I *ran* in. Oh, I'm so not a clubber. Only danced one dance that set though.
During the band's break, the DJ'd music was very 70s and a few of us went a bit nuts. It was fun.
The next set (which was at, like, 12:30...) was more rock and roll than swing, so the Jitterbugs people didn't really dance. Which was somewhat bad, because the singer kept making eye contact (Ithinkhewasflirting,theperformer), but was good when I went out to dance and we had almost the whole (very small) floor to ourselves for a very upbeat song. Which was very good when my partner decided to do a lift, which I think had the room roaring. But then it was bad when my partner lost my hand and I flew across the floor on my butt and fetched up against someone's chair, laughing too hard to get my feet under me. Got picked up, finished out the song without any more contretemps, and left a couple songs later.
Today, Sunday, I only had one class, so I slept in (and missed church :() after which I raced down the NEL again - I spend far too much time and money on the NEL, I'll be going down it again tomorrow - to Clarke Quay, where I went back and forth from the road to the map many times before I figured out how to get to Brewerks at Riverside Point. Apparently a group of people play a pickup game of Ultimate Frisbee there at 5pm every Sunday evening. Serena, from the excellent Swing Fling on Thursday, told me about it.
Coincidentally enough, one of the players, Wendy, is a dancer with the other lindy group in Singapore, Lindy Hop Ensemble (who apparently coach the NUS group...oh dear.) I was musing over the small-worldness of it all on the way home. And yet...it's not that surprising, really...it takes a certain type of person to do weird things, and there're only so many of those people to go around, so eventually they've got to start running into each other, especially in a small country like Singapore, where 90% of the people are sheep anyway.
I was totally not dressed for running around a field under the hot evening sun for 2 hours, in T-shirt and jeans; everyone else was in shorts and singlets or breezy shirts or sporty attire. However, the jeans saved my legs from being completely torn up when I made what I was later told was a very graceful fall, trying to intercept the bloody frisbee (and of course failing - I suck at intercept). It felt pretty graceful - run into a uncontrollable skid and next thing I knew I was stretched out flat on my front on the ground. My thumb feels it though; it's literally black. I didn't know it was possible to bruise your thumb - I thought fingers were made to be tough, all that pressing and hitting you do with them all the time. Not quite sure how I managed to be completely unhurt except for my thumb.
I tumbled over again when I got dizzy, and fell another time when I overstretched trying to catch a way off pass, but wasn't hurt otherwise. On the other hand, I did get to be the one to score a 'touchdown', skidding into the goal while catching the frisbee (with a surprised look on my face, lol). And got generally complimented on my playing. :D
I think I sweated off half the calories I lost, and ran off the other half. Absolutely disgusting, and so much fun.
Unfortunately, by the time I got home, I also had a headache for the first time in days, so exercise doesn't seem to agree with me. :(
I think my life is actually rather interesting, in spots.