Polish Autumn Dance

So, I finally went to the Polish dance night that my girlfriend had been talking about almost since we first got serious. She spoke so longingly of it, that it was so much fun, and I just had to go. When she told me about this one, about a month in advance, I just had to make the arrangements to switch shifts with both jobs, and make sure that I would be free to attend.

Finally, I would be going. Here is a picture of us just before we left:

I am physically bigger than her, of course. But this picture makes me look particularly enormous, because I am actually holding the camera, so my arm and shoulder combined makes me look twice as big as I normally would look. Still, I think this came out relatively well. 

The thing was, yesterday was unusual as a result. You have to understand that my typical weekend these days, at least, consists of a point from Saturday afternoon until Monday morning, where I work 32 hours out of a 40 hour span. That is tiring, but I have gotten used to it. Plus, it is not nearly so tiring as my schedule used to be, just a few years ago (from fall of 2009 until fall of 2011), when I would work all but eight hours from Friday night at midnight until Monday at 8:00am. That would be 48 hours in a 56 hour stretch. Hell, there were even a handful of weekends back then when I would work Friday afternoons as well, making it 56 hours in a 64 hour span, between two jobs! Just thinking about that still makes me exhausted, and I can honestly say that I don't even know how I did it. It was kind of stupid, and not much fun.

Anyway, my schedule is much better these days, but still taxing, and hardly something I look forward to. I don't approach weekends with the same measure of dread that I used to a few years ago, but unlike most people, the weekends for me tend to be the time when I work the most, and get to relax the least, generally speaking. Someday, that might change, for better or for worse. But for now, that is the way it is.

So in any case, I woke up very early yesterday morning, to do the shift that I am not accustomed to doing: from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon. I wrote a blog entry quickly, talking about how much I love very early mornings and all of that. 

But the morning quickly turned chaotic. Probably took too long writing, and that cut into the time to get ready and go. Suddenly, it was late, and I kind of had to race to get there. A peaceful, tranquil morning suddenly turned chaotic, as the race to get there on time was on. 

Once I got there, it was okay. Made it on time, albeit a little stressed. And the shift ran fairly smoothly, actually. My worry was that it would be chaotic, with tons to do. It wasn't, and for that I am thankful. 

Probably, I should really have taken a nap once I got back, although that is a point that will be revisited. We kind of hung around, ate (too much, as it turns out, since the dance was actually a dinner with plenty of food and, yes, plenty of alcohol), and began to get ready for the evening. Just before leaving, we snapped that picture. She didn't even want to take a picture, thinking she looks horrible in them. I disagree, and think she actually looks quite beautiful in them (and outside of them). 

We had to pick up a friend along the way, and then we drove for what seemed a surprisingly long time, winding our way through a web of local roads. Suddenly, we were there. But the parking lot seemed amazingly empty.

As it turns out, most people would arrive quite late. People did not really begin arriving in any numbers until well past eight, if not nine o'clock. Nobody was dancing before nine, at earliest. pretty typical of dances, it seems.

When it began, it really was a party. And Polish people seem to like to party. It was a BYOB (bring your own bottle), which seemed surprising to me for an official dance. But it is organized by a local Polish school with limited funds, so it is not actually all that surprising. The tickets were $50 each, but that took care of the decorations and the food, I think. the alcohol was something else. And there was plenty of it there, at least in the beginning of the night. Towards the end of it? Not so much. 

We danced, of course. But the thing is, she had warned me that people there would be serious dancers. I was amazed at just how serious. Some people, including some people older than us, at that, were tearing the floor up! I mean, they really had moves, and a seemingly inexhaustible well of energy. My own dancing is relatively weak, and I began to feel a little self-conscious and gun shy, admittedly.

The food there was pretty good, especially considering it was largely in bulk. It had to be, based on the quantities. There was just tons of food there, mostly traditional Polish stuff. That included plenty of rice and potatoes and pork and salmon and beets and all manner of other stuff. I ate heartily the first dish, maybe by then four or five hours after that meal after work (I did not really eat anything substantive while at work, so my hunger was strong). But the mistake was in going up for a second helping.

From that point onward, the evening slowed down considerably for me. It was just too much food, and it felt like after Thanksgiving meal. Perhaps it was because my belly was full. Or, perhaps the consumption of more alcohol than I normally drink (not a huge drinker, mostly being a social drinker, like on this night, as well as for holidays). Perhaps it was because of the late hour (by this time, it was getting fairly late after dinner, and I had been up since maybe around 5:30 in the morning, or so). Perhaps it was working the early shift, with tours that can be tiring, especially on lack of food (they consist of maybe an hour and a half of walking). Maybe it was the dancing, when I expended my energy early (and foolishly, it seems pertinent to add). Maybe, it was that I was still just recovering from a cold that my body had been battling for some time (I had felt physically exhausted all day Friday, for no apparent reason, and my best guess is that my body was battling whatever bug that had been bothering me, and exhausting the limited energy it possessed, taxing it). 

But one way or another, my energy was pretty much gone well before midnight. I mean, it was not just a bit of fatigue or anything. It was my limbs, particularly my legs, that began to feel weak and wobbly. I just kind of sat at our table, and she had to almost drag me out on the dance floor after a while. 

In any case, the evening was more or less exhausting. In some ways, it was reminiscent of visiting Poland, with all of the Polish cuisine. Plus, I was one of the very few people present that did not speak Polish. So, there was little conversation that I was able to engage in. Much of the table tried to accommodate by speaking English, primarily, for my benefit. But they also slipped into Polish quite a bit. I really need to start learning to speak Polish. 

By around maybe 1:30 in the morning, we went home. It was not as late as I assumed it would be (I think the party actually ended around 3:00 to 3:30 in the morning, based on someone's estimations who had been there until the end (and she was one of the organizers, so she would know). 

These were rookie mistakes, and I really should have known better than to eat before, and during. 

All that said, it was, nonetheless, an enjoyable evening out. The place was at a school - the cafeteria, in fact, although you would never know it. They had covered the windows, and really decorated the place like you would not believe, from ceiling to walls, and everything. It looks amazing, actually! Wish I had brought my camera, but next time, definitely!

So, yes, finally, I went to one of these Polish dances, and would know a lot more of what to expect for next time. And next time, I'll be much more prepared! Still, it was fun, and I am really glad we went, after all this time...