Umm. Yeah. I’m drunk. Not “feel you’re gonna throw up” drunk but more like “buzzed out of my mind drunk”. So drunk in fact, that writing this entry is proving quite challenging. I’ve missed out at least 10 keys already and the situation isn’t getting better any time soon. c
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And that’s all I…
managed to write early this morning at 1:00AM.
Being drunk is always an interesting experience. If I intend to drink, I aim for the right amount of intoxication – not drunk enough to throw up, but just enough to loosen my spirits. Significantly. Also, unlike most of my peers, beer is not my drink of choice. In fact, I dislike most beers, the single exception being Guinness. I’ve noticed an increased preference for wines, martinis and cocktails. Perhaps its the sugar…
Now, the obvious question is: “Why would Allen get drunk?”
Short answer – the aftermath of salsa/merengue lessons at the Cafe Sevilla in downtown San Diego. If you’re interested in Latin music and don’t mind the challenge of dancing with random girls while trying to manage your feet, then this is the place for you.
Oh…I’m being too harsh. Although the more experienced dancers I had gone with weren’t enamoured with the salsa instructor, we all agreed on one point – Cafe Sevilla was worth the trip. Divided into an upper restaurant area that will serve the full menu till 2:00 AM (highly unusual!) and a lower latin club, Sevilla’s an excellent place to spend a Thursday night. The ambience is great, the servings upstairs look large (but pricy) and the live music is extremely well done.
Since it was my first time dancing I relied on three things to keep the embarassment at bay. First – the company of the interns I’d come with, a generous dose of good humor and self deprecation and of course, a large Manhattan. It’s definitely an interesting experience. Women outnumber men and most of them are much better dancers. You rotate partners frequently, so you could get anyone from a rank amateur, a soon-to-be bride to an obvious salsa dancer. That itself can be quite unnerving. In addition, having never danced before, let me tell you, trying to ensure that my timing and footwork were in sync was a challenge. A challenge that I managed with limited success to surmount… I’m glad to say that I only stepped on my partner’s feet twice during the entire night.
Now, salsa, I suppose, is relatively simple with a “1, 2, 3” beat. We learnt 4 ‘moves’ (for lack of a better descriptor). The first, a side to side step, another back and forth, then the turn and finally the pickup. Now of course, there are more, but with these four basic moves mastered, it is quite possible to have a fun time doing the salsa. Guys have one rule to remember: “All your moves start on the left foot.”
The entire package is harder than it sounds.
I guess I must be uncoordinated or something, because I sure didn’t take to those moves like a fish to water ;-) However, I managed to learn enough not to make a fool of myself and dance the night away with a few random women. Besides that, I’ve taken a liking to salsa. It’s an interesting dance and the music is a lot of fun! Now merengue. Yeah. I have no idea how to dance that. It’s much, much faster and as a result we’re left with a basic “1 2” step and quite some freestyle. Can make for a much, much more varied dance…
<chuckles>At any rate, of the drinks I had last night, I had two that I’d never tried before – a Belvedere martini and a sangria. Preferred the Sangria over the Belvedere although neither manages to beat the Bellini Topper served at Milestones in Toronto.
Incidentally, if I’m ever in Toronto for a holiday/break/night out I’d definitely head over to the Milestones on John. I have good memories of the food, drink and ambience of that location…