And the sun is shining
And this road keeps winding
Through the prettiest country
From Georgia to Tennessee
I got the one I love beside me
My troubles behind me
I'm alive and I'm free
Who wouldn't want to be me
This is the chorus of Keith Urban's song "Who Wouldn't Want to Be Me"
This happens to be one of my favorite songs by Keith Urban, but the reason I'm quoting it is because right now, I'd say it applies to my life.
Life is good right now for me. My health is good, I have a job, I have family and friends who love me, I have a date this weekend, I get to do what I love every night with dancing and concerts; I can't complain.
But one area in particular has been especially exciting to me lately. That would be my dancing, specifically two step. This is because I am in a place where I seem to be desired by several girls as a dance partner, some of them even to the point where I'm their favorite or primary dance partner. I even have two friends right now (girls) whose profile picture on Facebook is me dancing with them (one of them is my primary dance partner, who I also have in my profile picture). I have girls tagging and sharing photos of me and them dancing together, asking me to dance, and telling me they love dancing with me and that I'm one of their favorite partners. And these aren't just any girls. These are some of the best dancers and most attractive girls I know. Needless to say, as a guy and as a dancer, this is thrilling to me. I just love the idea that these girls want to dance with ME.
I mean, let's analyze this a bit. I'm not the most attractive guy at the bar. I'm not six feet tall and 175 pounds, with model-good looks. So, while I know I'm not the best dancer at the place, the reason these girls are wanting to dance with me has to be because of my dancing style and ability (and maybe a little of my nice personality). And to think that they want to dance with me despite the fact that they may not necessarily find me physically attractive (or even be taller than them) makes me feel good, and gives me a good amount of confidence (more on that in a bit). It also says a lot about the character of the girls I'm dancing with.
Alright, time for a disclaimer. While it is thrills the heck out of me that I seem to be so desired as a dance partner, particularly by some of the best dancers I know and most attractive girls I know, I don't mean to sound arrogant, cocky, or full of myself. While I love being desired, and love all the compliments I get about my dancing (both two step and line dance), I keep my feet on the ground and don't let it get to my head. While I may try to show off a bit (particularly with line dancing), for the most part I'm just going out and doing what I love and having a good time. I'm also a competitive person, and I look at dancing as a sport, so I'm constantly trying to practice out there and get better and execute my moves as best as I can.
Additionally, these girls who I'm dancing with are not just random girls or people I meet once or twice and never see again. They're my friends. They may be great dancers and they may be attractive, but they're also very nice. They're fun to interact with, I see them more-or-less all the time, some of them I've known for a year or longer.
Also, I know I'm not the best dancer at these places (either two step or line dance). I have friends who are certainly better than me. And while I may have a few girls who consider me their favorite or primary dance partner, I know that for most of the girls I dance with, I'm one of several dance partners they have, and that they probably don't prefer me over anyone else.
Also, sort of a side note, it's taken a long time for me to get to this point. I've been dancing every week for almost two and a half years now, and it's only probably within the last year or so that I've gotten to the point where I've had what I would call a semi-established dance partner. Part of that was because I was afraid to ask and was probably less proactive about asking girls to dance, period, in the first year or so, and also because I've met more and more girls as time has gone on (both in general and girls who I've found to be really good dancers). But it's also because it takes time to get better, and to get to the level (or close to it) of the best dancers at these places, and to be able to lead well and teach the moves to girls who don't already know them. I dance all the time, hence I'm consistently getting better. I guess that adds up and pays off, because I'm probably better now than I've ever been, which (combined with how many girls I've met and danced with) maybe explains the number of girls who want to dance with me and the number of girls I have that I consider quality dance partners.
I should also mention that I owe a lot to a few friends of mine who have taught me most of the moves I do during two step. I've taken several lessons and received help and tips and instruction from several people, but the three people I feel that I owe the most gratitude to are my friends Donny, Savannah, and Alina. Donny is one of the best male dancers I know, and Savannah and Alina, who dance with Donny often, are two of the best female dancers I know. While I did not learn the basic two step from them (I learned that most recently from a lady by the name of Candy, thank you Candy!), they taught me a style of dance called country swing. This is the style of dance I do during two step, and almost all the moves I do are ones I learned from them. So big thanks to all three of them!
Lastly, as I alluded to earlier, one really nice benefit of all the positive attention I'm getting for my dancing (both two step and line dance) is the confidence it gives me. The fact that I get to dance with and am desired as a dance partner by so many attractive girls gives me confidence as a man, which is great and helpful, cause the fact of the matter is, I struggle sometimes with self-consciousness and even maybe a bit with self-esteem because of my looks. So to think that I have these beautiful girls that enjoy dancing with me helps me out a bit in that respect. It may just be dancing and not dating, but nevertheless, it gives me confidence (and who knows, maybe that success will carry over into dating too). And the fact that I get complimented so often on my dancing gives me confidence in general, which, right or wrong, has resulted in me priding myself on my dancing ability.
So, when it comes to my dancing life (and my life in general), life is good right now. I'm confident and happy, looking forward to the next great night of dancing (and even the prospect of dating). Maybe I'm not the best dancer, and maybe I'm making this dance-partner-desiredness thing into more than it really is, but nevertheless, it's fun to be wanted :-)
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Friday, November 2, 2012
One of the Most Beautiful Places I've Ever Been
Today (November 2nd) marks the three year anniversary of the day that I loaded up my truck and drove 975 miles to move to a small town by the name of Driggs in southeast Idaho. The town has a population of only a thousand or so people, two fast food places, a couple gas stations, and the nearest bowling alley and indoor movie theater are an hour away. Why on earth then would I want to move there? I moved there for a job (housekeeping at a ski resort in Wyoming), but that was just the means for me to fulfill a bigger purpose and passion of mine: To experience living (for at least an entire winter) in a place that has a real winter climate.
I have a fascination/passion for winter weather. Cold, snow, I love it. Give me freezing temperatures (even subzero), snow-covered landscapes with snow on the ground all winter, snow falling nearly every week (sometimes feet at a time), and I'm a happy man. This may sound crazy. Most people, both those from here in southern California, and those who live elsewhere, hate winter weather. People from all over the country move to places like southern California, with it's "ideal" climate, to get AWAY from winter weather. But that may be a big part of the reason why I love it [winter weather] and gravitate toward it--I've grown up with it. Southern California really does have what most consider an ideal climate; 75 and Sunny is a pretty accurate stereotype for the weather here. I'd say it's arguably the best, most ideal climate in the entire U.S., including Hawaii.
And therein lies the problem for me. I'm used to the same wonderful weather all year long, with little-to-no real cold in the winter, no snow, and hardly any precipitation of any kind. It makes things comfortable for sure, and easy to live in, but for whatever reason, I'm drawn to cold and snow. Many of you may be thinking 'Ok, well you have cold and snow only an hour or two away up in the mountains. That's the beauty of southern California, you're close to everything!' This is true, but the cold isn't as cold as other places, and the snow isn't as frequent (or as light and dry as places like Wyoming). Plus, I don't want to just be able to visit the snow, I want to LIVE IN IT. Really, I do. I find it enjoyable to be outside in bitterly cold temperatures, deal with road closures, put on and take off four layers of clothing, and spend time shoveling my driveway. I may not enjoy these activities while I'm doing them, but beforehand and certainly in retrospect, I do.
This was one of the most, if not the most, beautiful places I've ever been. Located in an alpine valley 6,000+ feet above sea level with a mountain range in the middle (and at least two others nearby), Teton Valley, Idaho (and Wyoming, the county apparently crosses the state line, or just has the same name) is a spectacularly scenic place. Speaking specifically of the Idaho side where the town of Driggs is located, you have wide open flat land all around, but also have mountains very close by in three different directions. There are two national parks (Grand Teton and Yellowstone) within a few hours drive. Snow covers the landscape in the winter, temperatures can be below zero in the morning, and may not reach freezing if it's between December and February (sometimes some really cold air will come in and it won't get out of the single digits all day). The snow is light and dry, which makes it (I assume) easier to move if you have to (e.g., shoveling), and makes it great for winter recreation activities like skiing and snowboarding.
Speaking of which, the recreation opportunities here (all seasons of the year) abound. Focusing specifically on winter, you have skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, ice climbing, ice fishing, and even dog sledding are all available nearby. And the mountains receive up to 500+ inches of snow per year, which I love (that's among the top in the country). Personally, I participated in all of the above activities except snowshoeing, ice fishing, and dog sledding (but I wanted to do all of them).
I could talk to you all day about this beautiful place and my amazing winter recreation experiences there, but the most effective way to communicate it would be through pictures. I have a few on Facebook, but my best ones are not. I'll have to look into changing that.
But before I finish, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the people and the culture of the town and the area. When it comes to people, there aren't many. Like I said, the town of Driggs is about 1,600; the two closest towns, Tetonia and Victor (both in Idaho) are even smaller. Jackson, WY (about an hour to the east) is about 8,000, and Rexburg, ID (about an hour to the west) is about 25,000. It's funny, it just occurred to me that you could combine the populations of all of these towns (plus Wilson, WY, a town on the way from Driggs to Jackson) and it probably wouldn't even be half the population of Burbank (CA), my hometown. But though the populations may be small, and consequently the entertainment be limited (other than outdoor recreation activities, which all are pretty much limited to the daytime), it's still a cool place to live. The people are nice and friendly, and the culture is much like what I assume is the case in small towns in other parts of the country, such as the midwest and the south. This of course excites me, because with my love of country music, I love to think that I lived in a type of town and experienced the type of culture and lifestyle described in country songs. Speaking of country music, they like it and have it there. I heard it playing as background music in stores, found a country station on the radio, and even found a country bar over in Jackson, WY.
All in all, Driggs, ID and the surrounding area is a beautiful and nice place to live. It's a little too slow for me to enjoy at my current age (unless maybe I was married or moved there with a roommate), but in another 10 or 20 years, I could see myself possibly moving there or someplace like it, either to retire or maybe to start a new life. But regardless of whether I ever end up living there again, I definitely want to visit, because the beauty of that place has left an indelible memory in my mind.
.
I have a fascination/passion for winter weather. Cold, snow, I love it. Give me freezing temperatures (even subzero), snow-covered landscapes with snow on the ground all winter, snow falling nearly every week (sometimes feet at a time), and I'm a happy man. This may sound crazy. Most people, both those from here in southern California, and those who live elsewhere, hate winter weather. People from all over the country move to places like southern California, with it's "ideal" climate, to get AWAY from winter weather. But that may be a big part of the reason why I love it [winter weather] and gravitate toward it--I've grown up with it. Southern California really does have what most consider an ideal climate; 75 and Sunny is a pretty accurate stereotype for the weather here. I'd say it's arguably the best, most ideal climate in the entire U.S., including Hawaii.
And therein lies the problem for me. I'm used to the same wonderful weather all year long, with little-to-no real cold in the winter, no snow, and hardly any precipitation of any kind. It makes things comfortable for sure, and easy to live in, but for whatever reason, I'm drawn to cold and snow. Many of you may be thinking 'Ok, well you have cold and snow only an hour or two away up in the mountains. That's the beauty of southern California, you're close to everything!' This is true, but the cold isn't as cold as other places, and the snow isn't as frequent (or as light and dry as places like Wyoming). Plus, I don't want to just be able to visit the snow, I want to LIVE IN IT. Really, I do. I find it enjoyable to be outside in bitterly cold temperatures, deal with road closures, put on and take off four layers of clothing, and spend time shoveling my driveway. I may not enjoy these activities while I'm doing them, but beforehand and certainly in retrospect, I do.
This was one of the most, if not the most, beautiful places I've ever been. Located in an alpine valley 6,000+ feet above sea level with a mountain range in the middle (and at least two others nearby), Teton Valley, Idaho (and Wyoming, the county apparently crosses the state line, or just has the same name) is a spectacularly scenic place. Speaking specifically of the Idaho side where the town of Driggs is located, you have wide open flat land all around, but also have mountains very close by in three different directions. There are two national parks (Grand Teton and Yellowstone) within a few hours drive. Snow covers the landscape in the winter, temperatures can be below zero in the morning, and may not reach freezing if it's between December and February (sometimes some really cold air will come in and it won't get out of the single digits all day). The snow is light and dry, which makes it (I assume) easier to move if you have to (e.g., shoveling), and makes it great for winter recreation activities like skiing and snowboarding.
Speaking of which, the recreation opportunities here (all seasons of the year) abound. Focusing specifically on winter, you have skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, ice climbing, ice fishing, and even dog sledding are all available nearby. And the mountains receive up to 500+ inches of snow per year, which I love (that's among the top in the country). Personally, I participated in all of the above activities except snowshoeing, ice fishing, and dog sledding (but I wanted to do all of them).
I could talk to you all day about this beautiful place and my amazing winter recreation experiences there, but the most effective way to communicate it would be through pictures. I have a few on Facebook, but my best ones are not. I'll have to look into changing that.
But before I finish, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the people and the culture of the town and the area. When it comes to people, there aren't many. Like I said, the town of Driggs is about 1,600; the two closest towns, Tetonia and Victor (both in Idaho) are even smaller. Jackson, WY (about an hour to the east) is about 8,000, and Rexburg, ID (about an hour to the west) is about 25,000. It's funny, it just occurred to me that you could combine the populations of all of these towns (plus Wilson, WY, a town on the way from Driggs to Jackson) and it probably wouldn't even be half the population of Burbank (CA), my hometown. But though the populations may be small, and consequently the entertainment be limited (other than outdoor recreation activities, which all are pretty much limited to the daytime), it's still a cool place to live. The people are nice and friendly, and the culture is much like what I assume is the case in small towns in other parts of the country, such as the midwest and the south. This of course excites me, because with my love of country music, I love to think that I lived in a type of town and experienced the type of culture and lifestyle described in country songs. Speaking of country music, they like it and have it there. I heard it playing as background music in stores, found a country station on the radio, and even found a country bar over in Jackson, WY.
All in all, Driggs, ID and the surrounding area is a beautiful and nice place to live. It's a little too slow for me to enjoy at my current age (unless maybe I was married or moved there with a roommate), but in another 10 or 20 years, I could see myself possibly moving there or someplace like it, either to retire or maybe to start a new life. But regardless of whether I ever end up living there again, I definitely want to visit, because the beauty of that place has left an indelible memory in my mind.
.
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