Day 24: Sweat and Waltzes

Another evening at the Starry Plough (image by rick)

I turned to my neighborhood Irish pub once again tonight to fulfill my Encantada mission, which is increasingly feeling like a stressful chore. I think it's because I have very little lined up for this week in terms of the project, and very much lined up for this week that has nothing to do with meeting new people.

For example, tonight I had signed up for a knitting meetup, which would have been perfect and lovely and relaxing, and I even think Erin from Day 16 would have joined me there. Alas, the fates conspired to thwart this lovely plan, as my regular writing group had to switch its meeting to tonight. I couldn't skip it. So I had to come up with another plan.

Similar engagements dot the rest of this week's calendar -- theater tickets with the boyfriend, dinner with cousins, a potential trip out of town. How can I meet new people when I'm spending so much time with the ones I already know?

This brings me to a second reason that I'll be very pleased when the project ends on Sunday: I'll get to start actually hanging out with and getting to know some of these people I've met. It's been pretty awesome how many of them have either been in contact with me since the first day we met, or who I intend to make an effort about once I have a bit more time. A project like this needs to be the exception, not the rule, or else life would stay full of first-meetings.

Which brings me to tonight. I went Irish dancing again, just for an hour or so after I got home from my writing group. If it weren't for Encantada, there's about a 100% chance that I would have just stayed home, but I hadn't even left the house all day until 7:15 pm, and I pretty much cheated on yesterday, so I just couldn't bear not to put the effort in.

My timing was good, because when I walked in the crowd was taking a break between dances. I guy I recognized from Day 10's escapades walked up to me straight away with a smile. We hadn't actually talked at all then, so I introduced myself. His name is Matt. He was wearing a green shirt and a knit hat that featured two humps like a camel's that must have been covering some interesting, dready hair. We danced the first dance together, with me leading him around the waltzes, and he said I was brilliant for walking in and doing so well. Then the instructor, whose name turns out to be John, whisked me away for a while. During the next break, Matt stepped out for a cigarette, and I decided not to be creepy and follow him. Then as I was dancing the last waltz he left. So no picture, no explanation that he would get blogged about. Not quite following the rules.

But! I consider the evening a success. I got out of the house doing something I liked that I wouldn't otherwise have taken the time to do. And while I didn't make any sort of meaningful bond with a new person, by slowly becoming a regular at an event, an event that I can and should attend in the future, I'm getting to know some folks in an actually sustainable way. So perhaps it's alright that as the Encantada Project enters the home stretch, it's evolving a little. New people are great, but ongoing connections are even better.