From Modest Mouse to John Mayer in one night.

So this is funny, given yesterday's post. I went to a dance tonight (a luau actually, how dumb does it sound), and I actually had an amazing time. A bunch of people from the Golden singles ward--the ward I'm supposed to be going to--totally took me in, like I've been hoping someone would for the past two months. Even without the obvious counsel to go where you're assigned, I think that's where I want to be. I went up there last Sunday to speak, and before the meeting started, this guy Peter walked up to me and told me he would pray for me while I spoke; and the whole time, I could feel it. Then Annie, an excitable, happy, pretty redhead came up to welcome me to the ward, just in case I decided to stay. Just solid, cool people. The real deal.

So tonight I found Peter hanging out by the drinks, and we talked about how awkward these things are, and how dancing "just ain't me", and he introduced me to some friends of his, and dancing just wasn't them, either... so that was cool. We just talked for a while, joked about how the music hasn't changed in the eight years since I've been to a dance... and then Annie and this little short girl Esmeralda dragged us out and got us to fake it. Couldn't even figure out the electric slide and the chicken dance, but it was fun!

After a while, I felt like I was finding my groove, starting to enjoy myself, and Esmeralda said (in the nicest way possible) "Hey, at least you're dancing!" Lest I should be exalted above measure. All the girls were really good--like, half the time I wanted to just step back and let them do their thing--but the cool thing was that none of the guys knew what they were doing, and we all felt stupid.

Started talking to this one guy (don't think I got his name)... the basics, how weird the RM thing is, how awkward church dances are... and he doesn't dance either; but then he sees these two girls standing by themselves, grimaces, and says, "All right, I'll take the one in the white, you take the one in the brown," and I grimaced, and we did it, and it turns out Jennifer in the brown was pretty cool.

There was a really pretty dark-haired girl across the floor who was just getting down... like, almost too much. and I said, "Hey man, do you know her?"

And he was like "Nah... you should go ask her to dance!"

As much as I don't believe in girls being 'out of my league', I declined. Well, he kept bringing it up, and finally the last slow dance came on, and he said, "Look, dude, you better ask her or I'm going to."

So I did. Turns out she's pretty cool. Lives downtown, studying nursing at CU. She didn't say anything mean or try to kill me.

It was like all my weird social anxiety fell apart, and all of a sudden nothing was a big deal. Just a couple cool people was all it took. I almost didn't go tonight... and I remember now my first interview with Bishop Christiansen, who said, "Follow the Spirit, elder... if He tells you to go to that stake dance, you be obedient and go."

I almost laughed out loud at the time, but tonight was a big deal! Everything feels different. A friggin' luau; go figure. But I really, really needed it, and it almost didn't happen. Life is so good.

--Kevin