Tik Tok- On the Clock, But the Party Don't Stop...No.....whoa whoa whoa

That's some catchy title, right? Let me explain.....


I have to start by tooting my own horn for a moment.(indulge me please) I have skills. Dancing skills to be exact. For those of you reading this that are familiar with Key West High School (and what...that's like two of you, right?) you've heard of the Conchettes. For those of you not fortunate enough to be familiar with this organization, it's the dance team for Key West High. Back in the day, it was an elite group of girls that performed at the half time football games in a variety of dance styles: line routines, jazz, hip hop, etc..... I am proud to say that I was a member of this organization for three years. I've danced my whole life. My mom told me that I needed to learn to be more "graceful" as a kid so I took ballet, tap, and jazz dance lessons for many years. In a weak moment or two, I wanted to be a dancer, but I realistic enough not to pursue that career path. But I digress......


I say all this so you'll know that I can dance. I was never one to go "clubbing" in my single days but it wasn't because of the dancing element. I just have this thing against being approached by drunk people in the middle of dancing with my friends. There were a few times in my single days that I did go dancing and even then, I did okay. Like I said, I'm skilled.


But.....I miss dancing. There comes a point in your life when you start dancing and people stare at you, not because you look so great dancing but because you look OLD and you're dancing. For whatever reason, old people aren't supposed to dance. I think that's retarded. I say if someone's granny can get out there and cut a rug, you should let her. She'll reap the health benefits and you'll probably learn something new.


So, I'm married now. I love my husband and I love my life. Having said this, you know what I'm about to say....David doesn't dance. He and I danced at our wedding reception, and he did fine. I can't say that I've seen him dance hip hop before, but he does so many other things so well, that it doesn't matter to me much. Here's something else to ponder....I live in a college town but there doesn't seem to be any decent dance places. I'm guessing there are some places, but like I said, I'm married now and a little past the clubbing scene. But dancing.....well.....I still like to and I miss it.


Fast forward to a month or so ago...my friend Wendy's daughter, Katie, was having her 12th birthday party and she invited me. Wendy is one of my best friends and Katie was one of my students for both fourth and fifth grades, so of course I went. I knew all of the kids there and my other best friends Kathy and Kamille were there. The kids were entertaining themselves with the Wii game "So You Think You Can Dance 2." I've never played any Wii games before. I've seen the video game "Dance, Dance Revolution" at the local bowling alley but never had the nerve to play it. The kids asked if I wanted to play so of course I said yes. They played the song "Tik Tok" and I loved it! I played it several times and beat at least one of the 12 year old birthday party guests. This was great, but it made me miss dancing...so.......


I found out that my teacher friends Stephanie, Julie, and Beth also had a Wii game system and the "So You Think You Can Dance 2" game. (Side note here....all of them are in their 20's and I delude myself that I'm as young as they are) I arranged a dance night at Julie's place one night and we had a blast dancing. Of course, I made everyone dance to "Tik Tok." I rocked it and beat them all! It was a fun night.....but I still miss dancing.....


Another thing to note....I'm cheap. I just can't bring myself to buy a Wii game system for this one game. David doesn't play video games and Raelynn has a Nintendo DS that she plays sometimes, so it would be up to me to get my money's worth. So that idea was out. I considered joining a gym so I could do some Zumba classes, but again, to me...I can't pay someone else to let me exercise. It will be wasted money. So, that leaves me at an impasse.


I tried to creatively solve this problem by buying a DVD called "Ten Minute Hip Hop Dance Mix" a couple of weeks ago. I tried it today for the first time. The introduction "Hip Hop Basics" was all I got to try......in my defense I've already run 1.6 miles today and done some weight resistence training at home. But please know that the introduction was not bad and I was able to keep up with the hip hop moves. I told you I was good. So, for the moment, I don't miss dancing so much.


I danced to "Tik Tok" so much on the Wii game those two nights that I downloaded the song to my iPod and now I do the dance (which I memorized) in my kitchen. It's not as much fun as dancing with my friends but it'll do in a pinch. No one in my house stares at me....they already know I'm weird.


So, yes....skills.....I've got 'em. Another thing I'm skilled at is roller skating...but that's another post for another day.


Toodles!