Never Too Old for Prom

My last prom was 14-ish years ago.

I had a great time that evening, I really did.
But I'd figured that would be my last prom (unless I chaperone future kids' proms).

Not so, Aaron. Not so.

My friend Melinda invited me to be her date for a prom-themed birthday in the Bay Area, and there is no way I could pass up such a fun opportunity.

So I took TRAX out to the SLC airport, and flew to Oakland.
Sidenote: It's super awesome that mass transit has reached the airport, but UTA needs to extend the weekend hours.

We had a tasty tapas-style lunch on the patio at a beautiful winery, and then practiced a prom pose for later that evening. What do you think? Don't worry, we had a couple other poses in mind for picture time.

After eating, it was time to start prepping for the big night.
So Melinda got her hair did.

She maybe didn't love how tight it was, so her roommate Sarah saved the day by taking out the 'do and replacing it with a loose, fun sort of ponytail.

Next was makeup, and I sat in a park and listened to some local bands while Melinda got this done:
Hubba hubba, am I right?! Yes, I was lucky to be on her arm all night.

We headed into the city, and the party was just getting going when we arrived.
In fact, we arrived just in time for Melinda to help the birthday girl with her grand entrance.

The ladies "brunch bunch", minus one member who was out of town

We did a whole lotta socializing and a whole lotta dancing, and apparently we also picked a great color to match each other as well as other couples at the party.

Our twin couple (he is also named Aaron, and they're rocking the teal too)

And no prom night would be quite fulfilled if we didn't do some prom posing.
Here are a couple classic poses. Which do you like more?
The trip was a short one, but we had so much fun celebrating and rockin' our fancy outfits.

I had to take a pic on the flight back to SLC

Who knows when I'll have another chance to wear a tuxedo and dance the night away, but I hope it's as entertaining as this prom-themed birthday. Thanks again for such a fun time, Melinda!

'Oh What a Night!' at "Jersey Boys"

My sister invited me to join her in seeing the musical play Jersey Boys last night.

I really needed some entertainment to take my mind off things, so she's good like that.

And, although many of the Four Seasons songs kept reminding me of my current woes, it was in a good way, and it felt like we were at a concert of a lot of the music that our parents raised us on. Awesome.

I'd highly recommend getting down to the Capitol Theatre and seeing this show. It's fantastic!

If you're going to take your kids, be aware that there's lots of swearing. I mean, the guys are from Jersey, so that's to be expected. But don't say I didn't warn you.

All that Four Seasons music about love has planted a blogpost idea in my brain, but it could go two different ways, depending on how my hail mary is received. So look for that in coming weeks.

Twerk It, Girl: Miley Can Shake It

I'm not a big fan of Miley Cyrus. In fact, I'm not really a fan at all.

But this is kind of an awesome video of her twerking in a unicorn onesie.

And if you want your own unicorn onesie, you can get one here (http://bit.ly/ZoDxsg).

Note: I think Miley had her own made, since I couldn't find any online that fit like hers.

Mine is already in the mail.*

*Not really, but I'm strongly considering it. Or a frog onesie. Or possibly a lion.

Monday Get-Movin' Music: Good Mornin' from Singin' in the Rain

We're due for a classic movies resurgence.

My friend Adrienne discovered the movie Good News this weekend.

And this morning I showed my twin nieces a few dance clips from old movies.

The girls were enthralled by all of them.

Emily and I tried to watch Singin' in the Rain once, but we started it too late and fell asleep.
But watching the song "Good Mornin'" from that show really captured the girls' attention.

Here's them during the first viewing:

And here's them for viewings 2 through 5:

There was a whole lotta wiggling and dancing, plus they've been humming and singing the tune all day.

Want to get in on the fun? Well here's the clip for ya!

Now THAT is a good way to start off the week.

Das Ist Mein Oktoberfest

It's harvest season.

No, I don't have any crops to harvest, but I do like that this time of year brings Oktoberfest fun.

Snowbird puts on great festivities, including bands, dancing, side acts, and all sorts of activities for kids.

I saw Megan up there, too. She works for Snowbird, which means she and her co-workers deserve the credit for putting together the entire well-organized festival. Don't you love knowing important people?

Great job, Megan!

Plus, I was happy to get up into the mountains, where the air is clean and crisp.

The final two days of Snowbird's Oktoberfest 2012 are Oct 6-7 (this weekend), so get up there!

Sometimes You've Just Gotta Dance

Does anyone else feel like sometimes you've just gotta dance?

(Yes, I know I'm not fitting Dane Cook's comedy sketch, although I'd of course prefer dancing with a girl over going solo.)

A classical* song can induce visions of expertly executed ballroom dancing.

Including from some of the best Disney movies.

Powerful emotions can be displayed through soulful contemporary (1, 2), modern, or hip-hop dances.

Unlikely dance style combinations can captivate viewers.

Or a super-happy-fun song can just make you want to dance in the car or bounce wherever you are.

Now who feels like going out and dancing with me?

*Either actually written during the classical period or modern in a classic style, I like them both.

Walking on Sunshine

I had an excellent Monday night.

Even if you have no idea what I'm talking about, I hope you're happy for me right now.

A Night of Artomatic Fun

My friends have a wide variety of talents. Last night, I saw one of my friends perform a few bellydancing routines at the Artomatic 2012 show in Crystal City, VA.

She did a great job, and I was impressed at the body control, as I know I could never get my hips and upper body to move the way she and her fellow dancers did. Way to go, Alice!

After rocking her group routine

The gang there to support

Going solo

After the performance, we all looked around at the various art exhibits, which ranged from sculptures to murals to small paintings and photography. There were even Lego creations and the famous Washington Post Peep-o-ramas to check out.

Nyan cat made from Legos

That is one large Peep!

We spent about 2 hours walking around and only saw 3 of the 10 floors. I'm thinking I'll have to go back another time or two to check out a couple more floors. Very interesting stuff!

Makes me want to get artsy and create something...

Who Wants to Join My DC Dance Walking Group?

My friend Stacee shared this Ben Aaron video on Facebook, and it is now a must-do activity for me.

The idea is great, and (as said in the video) it truly would be a great way to combine three activities:

1. Interacting with people
2. Seeing the city
3. Dancing

Maybe it'll just be a one-time thing for kicks and giggles, or maybe it could be a regular activity and we'd try different places around DC to see where we get the best reactions and most people joining in.

So who's with me? The National Mall on a weekend is an ideal starting location...

WIE Weekend 2012

Ah, another WIE (Where Is Everybody?) weekend in Ocean City, MD, has come and gone. Just like last year's WIE excursion, plenty of friends were along for the adventure, and I believe we all had a great time.

On Friday night, we missed the run since we couldn't get away from DC until after 5, but we did get there for the game playing and dance party. Pong was the primary diversion, as well as a little Twister.

The triumphant pong crusaders

Saturday morning, we were up (relatively) bright and early, ready for the run.

Some preferred to do cheerleader stretches...

...while others practiced for future live-action modern art/dance installations.

After riding the bus up close to the Delaware border, we circled up, with a few "shots fired" takedowns for good measure, including one on me. I felt it was coming, and he attacked from behind, so I couldn't stop it.

Three of our group decided to take a dip in the ocean.
They got their clothes back little by little over the next few miles of running.

With the run completed, we took a break and some showed off their fashion sense before either continuing to run all the way home or hopping on the bus back.

What comes after the run and lunch? Why the bonfire on the beach, of course!

The weather was cold and windy so close to the water, so we definitely huddled as close as we could around the fire.

 

 

Early March beach modeling

A little sun worshiping was in order

After a long circle (the bonfire norm at WIE), they may have roasted marshmallows or hot dogs, but I was tired so I went to take a quick nap. Then everyone got presentable, and we headed to dinner and the evening's festivities.

I don't remember why, but it was hilarious at the time. Trust me.

Stop #2 was fairly chill, followed by the American Legion where we sang karaoke, made human pyramids, and tested our hula hoop skills. These next three pictures are probably for my favorites of the entire trip. Such a bunch of characters!

Looks like she's been studying

What a lovely Titanic tattoo you have!

This 6-person pyramid worked; all larger attempts failed dismally

Slight contrast in styles here

You don't need a mic or a chair to join in the karaoke

I haven't done a hula hoop in quite a while, but it was actually quite fun and I surprisingly was able to keep it going for a decent amount of time. Okay, like 30 seconds or so, but it felt long!

After American Legion, we ended the night with some dancing at Seacrets. Again, they had a cover band which was rocking out. That place really is pretty impressive. Too bad it isn't closer to DC.

2012 was definitely a successful WIE weekend, and I want to thank the organizers for putting it together and making things run so smoothly. Hope Ocean City is looking forward to this gang next year!