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.