Monthly Archives: September 2003

STLBX 2003 – Dance till you’re blue in the…

Exchanges - I THINK they're healthy.

Apparently, it was that time of the month for me. I was a bit late; however, that was ok; because I was able to resolve some personal issues since the last time. And once it happened, it was a big relief for me. I was starting to get really worried.

The St Louis Blues Exchange proved to be an amazing time. It ended on a bad note for me, (i.e. sick as a dog) but I have never has such high spirits with so low of an immune system. For this exchange, I joined forces with some of the other Dallas-ites (Greg, Helen (Yes, even though she lives in Ft. Worth, she’s considered a Dallas-ite.) and Andre) going to STLBX.

We rented a car and headed over to the “Un-Cruise” Dance of the evening. We were supposed to be cruising up and down the Mississippi River, but alas the propeller was broken. On a positive note, the bartender provided some extra liquid happiness to make up for it. I got to see the Arch, tho. So, I was quite happy.

Little by little, I started seeing people that I recognized from previous exchanges and St. Louis was becoming more and more like home to me. After the cruise, I begged everyone to stop by a White Castle for their tiny burgers which I had never had before. Andre warned me that it was toxic waste. I should have listened. Then, we headed to the late night event at Fusion Dance Studio where Helen slept in the Car and I refused to give up until the DJ was done (~4AM) We traveled to our hosts place where we amazingly enough didn’t wake her up because she’s an Mech. E. student who was up late working on homework with her beau, Ro. She let us in and I slept like the dead.

Rob, the X-local, pointed us to some amazingly tasty BBQ and I even discovered a poster from back home in the window of a Fish market. We also ran into some other Lindyhoppers and tried some imaginative blues dancing with cell-phones (Greg’s phone had the best advice which was to keep “Looking for Service” .). We then jumped off to the first Friday Dance, where I realized how naked I feel without my camera. Between dances, I shot back to our hosts place and got there in time to watch the wacky antics of combining mini-tricycle races, dancing and roller-skating all in one package. Back to sleep at 5AM. One guy was even lucky enough to say, Ahhh…I have women at my feet.

I woke up bright and early (Read: 11:30 AM) to go to the Blues Dance Workshop which I hope will make a huge difference and look forward to taking back to Dallas. After the class, which was done near a fountain with a beautiful backdrop of the St. Louis Arch, we decided to jump in the fountain and see what happens. Well, we got wet. Lotsa wet. But thankfully, no one ever fell down. One thing that will never cease to amuse me is how 50 people can be dancing in a fountain, but the moment it starts raining, they will run like rabbits for shelter. The rain continued to greet us, and we remained determined to last this through. In the end, we won.

One bathroom induced shower later, we were off to The City Museum where, yeah, it was for kids, but HOLY COW, I had too much fun. I think I danced maybe 5 songs, and ran around with my camera and my youthful psyche for hours. There were dozens and dozens of places to crawl through, get stuck and take pictures of. There were airplanes to crawl through. Old, old comic books. Things to pet. 3 story slides. Big Galoot Underwear. Toys. Lots and lots of toys. I can’t wait to get back there once their 10 story slide is operational!!! Oh yeah, and some good dancing and a nice massage.

Before the late night, a few of us went to Have a Nice Day Cafe where we Lindy-bombed the place. And then off to Late Night where I was starving, but didn’t want to stop dancing. Although, some people wished that I would have.

Moooree sleeeeppp…

By this time, I feel as if I’ve done enough exercise, that I can properly treat myself so a grease-ball burger from Rally’s. One of my favorite burger places back in college which doesn’t exist here in Dallas. So, Greg, Rob and I pigged out before starting our dances at the History Museum which contains the famous Spirit of St. Louis. It’s also here that I grew a new appreciation for my last name. I could be more funke, but I’m proud to be a Falgout. Because I could be something else.

Apparently, St. Louis also has a high Catholic population. So much so that they have their own Catholic Supply store. Apparently, you can actually buy a Savior. Before we started the final late night of the weekend, some of us went to the grocery store for snacky-treats. This lead to more food dancing…and even some food dancing affairs!!! Also some naughty Austin Exchange Paddle pics. Everyone wanted to get involved. And Diva Jeff putting up a great show. The late night also had some structural beams which lead to a few interesting moves. Plus I got to hang out with some cool froods and even some drunk ones.

By this time of the night, I was dead. My body, totally exhausted. My immune system, left for Istanbul, leaving me feeling like I just got run over. However, what also really made my day was coming home, and giving my roommate some money and having him come back with exactly the type of milk I like, OJ with extra Vit C and E for immune pump-upping, Aleve and oats for my breakfast. He’s the shitz-bomb-diggity.

To summarize. STLBX: Good. Mark: Good. Not taking care of immune system: Bad. I give it 4 and a half “Yarrs!” The only thing I was hoping to get out of the exchange that I didn’t was to work my balance issue. I guess I’ll have to go back next year to get it rights. Sucks to be me. Yeah, I know. 🙂

–Snoopy Kiss is ANXIOUSLY looking forward to the Auction Party.

Hey! That’s my uncle!!!

Home related stuff

http://www.msnbc.com/news/967824.asp?0cl=c3&cp1=1

Imagine my shock when I got a short message from my mom with the above link asking me to check it out for a surprise.

For those that have read the entire article, I’ll let you know that it’s true. Yes, some of my uncles hunt alligators, and one has even bitten my dad on the hand. And a nasty scar, it did leave. Apparently, my Uncle Bill on my mother’s side joined in on fun that same hunting trip and found a friend. They also got an 11 ½ footer.

Growing up in Cut Off, I knew that no one in their right mind would have ever heard of my hometown. However, as I’m venturing out and meeting more people, I’m surprised to find that it’s not as obscure as I previously thought. At least…not since “she” made it popular. (And no, I don’t think I know her. I might be related to her and might even recognize her better when I see her, but not offhand.)

Some people ask if I ever miss Cut Off, and will want to move back. Sternly, I tell them “NO”. Growing up there and everything that happened has molded me into the person I am today, for which I’m grateful. But being allergic to your entire hometown? I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Ok, maybe one person.

–Snoopy Kiss is feeling kinda nostalgic…Ok, it’s gone now.

Maryland/Wash. DC – It ain’t Dallas.

Backpack: Check.

After taking enough trips for dancing/swing related events, I decided to do something completely different: Accept an invitation to go to Baltimore/Wash. DC to see a wedding of someone I had never met before, a friend of an x-girlfriend. And get some dancing in, if I’m so inclined.

As you might know the x-gf in reference is Melissa, the only girlfriend who matched the “area code” rule Lee and I created. (My mobile’s 214, so close enough.) We parted on good terms and have kept in touch.

I had always seen pictures of the beautiful spread out houses of New England and was delighted to see that unlike my neighborhood, you could walk out your front door for more than 10 straight steps and not be on the road. These people had yards! I mean REAL yards. Ones with more than 50 blades of grass. And hills! And REAL houses. Not ones that have some floorplan as 20 other houses in the same 1 mile radius.

While doing touristy stuff there, I saw the Baltimore harbor, had a deee-licious crab cake and observed some of the local marine life. Afterwards, a Asian wedding was to be had and if you know anything about Asian weddings, you know that at the end, you won’t be hungry for days. I partook of a 12 course meal, that went on for hours. Thankfully, I shed that shyness layer a while back and I was able to socialize with a bunch of people I’d never met before and even walked out with a small gift!

I also did some dancing. Well, I tried, but the music was too fast, and definitely not to my style. I only danced with 3 people the entire night. One of which was a woman who used to live in Austin and was in desparate need of some Texas style dancing. (which I was already missing) I hung out with some of peeps afterwards, and although they were cool enough (they started writing funny sayings on the Equal and pink stuff), the guys definitely don’t treat outsiders as well as I’m accustomed to. (“Hey Texas. Go get me some more sugar packets.”)

The next day I got to play around on a carousel and witness Contra dancing. And then ahhh….back home to Dallas where I’ve been running around like a crazy person with his head chopped off…but still with all of his motor functions. Err…nevermind. In any case, I’ve been busy and am finally getting a chance to journal this.

— SnoopyKiss likes the dancing in Dallas, because DC’s too fast. And the people are cooler too. Those kids and their damn fast music.

Kerrville?! Why would I want to go there?

Backpack: Check.

A while back, my good frirend Teel told me about this place called
Kerrville. Being somewhat perceptive, I noticed that Teel seemed to like
this place a lot. A LOT. Like A LOT, A LOT. No really. More than that.

After finally letting my mind accept the fact that if I went to the
Kerrville Music and Wine festival, I would have to be camping the entire
weekend, possibly w/o showering. I did enough of that back as a kid to know
that it’s not my cup of tea, coffee, beer, or soy protein drink. However,
feeling adventurous and curious, I decided to jump in.

I would say that I got more than I expected, but how can you really expect
something like Hippies named Shaggy, sampling and passing out numerous Texas
wines, skinny dipping and staying up till 5AM with about 20 other people
listening to lots of folk music and comtemplating life?

Without a doubt, my favorite part of the weekend was being on wine duty,
where people would give someone else a dollar for a ticket and then give me
a ticket for “a taste” of wine. The quotation marks are because as I
“tasted” the wine myself, my “tastes” got bigger. For both me and the
ticket holders. It was a win/win situation. Except that I was on a red
wine table, and I strictly prefer sweet white wine. But that just meant I
got to make friends with … uh, um … some vinyard that had a really good
traditional Reisling. Man, I wish I remembered who it was. Mind you, snake bites can be pretty nasty.

There was also a wedding!

By the time it was over, I was sleep deprived to the point where I was seeing things, stinky and having problem
comprehending the English language. All the signs of a good time.

— Tommy now thinks that hippies are cool!

Some ramblings

Misc, Social Events

While I was at Kerrville, I did some pondering. And some stream of consciousness work. It’s amazing what will come out of your head at 5AM.

These are the days, right? The days where I’m to roam the Earth, footloose and fance free, right? The days where the World is at my fingertips, I’m experimenting and the only thing stopping me is my finite amount of finances.

Yes, these ARE the days.

Don’t tell me when it ends. I had to work hard to get to this level of blissful ignorance. I don’t want to know.

As a kid, I thought I’d be married by now. Probably struggling to make ends meet and saving up to by a house. My best friend, my spouce.

Reality check: I’m two years past that date, my best friend is a rocket scientist and I’ve already got the house. No struggles either. Sometimes I wish that I had someone to share all this with; however, since I’m not with them now I assume that I’m not ready.

…abruptly ended because I needed sleep…