I hope I'm not one of those old, white girls dancing on the dance floor..

I just got back from going dancing. Yes, DANCING. At a club. In public. It's a club that's been in Seattle, on Capitol Hill for ever. You know... for EVER. Neighbors. If you're from this neck of the woods, if you have/had been around for a while, you've probably heard of this place. I haven't been there in 9 years. I'm not kidding. I have a picture from that night. My friends, Jesse and Erin... the summer of '99. Erin is holding a butterfly shaped (and decorated) balloon over her chest because she lost her shirt. Honest to goodness. She's wearing a sports bra, but she has no shirt. It was very hot and crowded in there that night. The picture isn't very good, taken at night and w/out the fancy dancy digital settings of today's cameras. Still, I love that picture. It so perfectly captures a very clear memory of that entire night.

I was enticed out tonight by a friend who apparently goes there a lot on Thursdays. Thursdays are, just like they were way back then, '80's Night. That means, as you may or may not know, Depeche Mode, The Cure, New Order, The Go Gos, Duran Duran, Flock of Seagulls, Aztec Camera, Modern English, Billy Idol, Dead or Alive, Yaz, The Communards--your basic pop 40 of the '80's modern rock and lots of those one hit wonders. Well, I had fun and EVERY song that came on, including the Madonna that I didn't like and the not my idea of the 80's Dee-Lite song was accompanied by a completely fun, specific memory--even when it was about the boy who didn't like me when I liked him (story of my adolescence). Those of you who have read my previous entries don't need to be told how much I love to associate memories with songs.

I had a great time, despite taking a while to warm up to the idea of dancing in public when it has been sooooooooo long. I thank my pal, Kim, for nagging me to join her and her friends, tonight.

What really makes me chuckle about this whole '80's Night thing, is just how LONG it's been going on. When I was in undergrad my friend, K., and I would go to Anderson's 5th Estate in Tempe, AZ, for their '80's Night. 15 years later and it's the same. Same music. Same crowd, essentially--including the younger set who just think it's so fun to dance to those retro tunes. Granted, for much of the 1980's new wave, I was but a little kid. But I knew it existed and I loved it even then...Ahhhh... when we requested Billy Idol at the 7th grade dance and the DJ said "You guys are as cool as the High Schoolers", well, we were pretty excited. Ride your pony...