CDC Easter Ball

[jack]

I haven't danced for ages, but it went fairly well. I spent most of it with sonicdrift, lark_ascending and crazyscot, and atreic, and it's always nice to have a group to be part of, instead of *just* dancing with random but nice people you know separately.

sonicdrift was stunning in her third formal dress in seven days. She also hadn't danced for ages, but seems naturally very good at following, which works very well with me because I tend to lead steps that aren't quite the ones I'm supposed to. ("accidental improvisation")

Apparently I quote Miles Vorkosigan a lot, which is weird because I would, but hadn't noticed that I did. Relatedly, I need to figure out when I'm teasing and when I'm being obnoxious :)

lark_ascending was ever so sparkly (and cuddly), which sort of rubbed off on me; the whole evening people kept seeing glitter on me. It made me wonder if women wearing glitter always mean to be, or just had a dress like lark's once. I decided to pretend it was supposed ot be there, because it didn't come off.

The other satorial innovation that appears to be missing from the standard cambridge wardrobe is waistcoats with geeky slogans on ("If this is in red, you're dancing too fast" etc).

I spoke to crazyscot, which was nice, as I know I've seen him around before, but can't recall ever axtually *meeting* him. I feel a bit guilty for several times helping force him to dance with people he didn't know, but everyone seemed to enjoy it, so I think it was good in the end.

I saw atreic for the first time in ages. She was lovely: she said she'd noticed that I'd lost weight, and was a nicer person that I was in the first year. Which I'd sort of hoped for, but hadn't thought anyone would notice. She dances nice too.

One man foxtroting sadwiched between two women amazed us in technique and daring, and inspired from the kinksoc pubmeet we speculated on which other dances might correspond to what. The three men dancing in a circle together was obvious, but we amused by the can-can (a long line of women arm in arm doing high kicks) and the beat barn dance (you swap partners ever 24 beats.) Apparently I have kissed more men than I've danced with, and apparently this is 'an interesting fact' about me :)

I met and often danced with a lot of people I hadn't seen recently, or in some cases for a year or something since I last danced regularly, including Stewart, Gabi, Ed, Megan, and other dancing types.

When sonicdrift had relunctantly left to grab a few hours sleep before the next morning's demonstrating CMS's physics to investors, neighbours, and three year olds spontaneously generated by the existance water and delicate stuff, and atreic, lark_ascending and crazyscot had danced their feet off and driven home, I took the opportunity to dance as with everyone I recognised until the end.

I was again very flattered, now by Camilla, who complimented me on my on my improvisational dancing. I was pleased to find out I can dance well at least sometimes. Admittedly she was a particularly perfect partner, as dancing with Henry has taught her to follow really extreme and exciting steps she doesn't know, so my insertion of random whirly, embracey and parambulatory bits of salsa into the rumba didn't phase her at all. I just wish I could smoke at will, rather than, metaphorically, having to wait to find The Mask :)

[1] Odd, I haven't needed any footnotes at all in all that. I feel naked without them.

Comments

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Wow, it's a small world. I didn't even know you knew *anyone* in a dancing capacity.

[despotliz.livejournal.com]

I know Henry. And I think Kadia that I used to sing with was also in CDC.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Weird. Do you and J know him the same way? That's still a little three-person loop.

For that matter, how do you know I wasn't talking about a different henry? Camilla? Or is just the only *the* henry? :)

[despotliz.livejournal.com]

Same way I think.

I was going to ask if it was the same Henry, but I think Henry who danced with Camilla narrows it down quite a lot.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

OK, I didn't know how will you'd know him, ie. well enough to know Camilla.

Also, I forgot to say something: "and what is that?" :)

[erica-freak.livejournal.com]

Just to add to the randomness of this thread, I am pretty sure that the Camilla of whom you speak would be chaos_natsci, although she hardly ever updates.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

That seems likely. At any rate, the icon is a picture of her.

And clicking randomly on her friends and their friends, I discovered other people I know, eg. eni.

BTW, who are you..? :)

[erica-freak.livejournal.com]

I'm a Trinity phys natsci like Camilla, which is how I know her.

I think I may have sat next to you at the TMS annual dinner this time last year, but you probably don't remember me, and I don't do anything exciting like dancing or bellringing. Cambridge is ridiculously small though; I think the six degrees of separation would almost certainly be only one here (eg I can't think of anyone who posts regularly and is a member of cantabrigiensis whom I haven't either met in person or known someone who knows them)

[erica-freak.livejournal.com]

it occurs to me that "who are you?" may have been more of a "why are you reading this journal?" than anything else... I think I came to it via the cantabrigiensis community's friends page, which is a welcome distraction for someone with large amounts of coursework due in on Friday :oD

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

A combination of both questions :) Thanks.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

...though now I'm just amazed you might remember my name since then! :) Cambridge is miniscule! (So, uh, which side of me? *thinks* Were you called erica in real life too? :))

[erica-freak.livejournal.com]

Um, left hand side I think, and I am indeed called Erica. The reason I remember was because I noticed your journal fairly soon afterwards and thought "oh, that's the guy I was next to at TMS dinner". So I knew of your lj but only had you pegged as TMS-dinner-person, because afaik (!) I haven't met you in any other capacity...

It seems like everyone in Cambridge actually has an lj and just doesn't tell the others until they accidentally discover them!

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Well, it can't have been *too* soon after, I only got the journal in July. Though that is scary; I didn't think I had for so long :)

I think you're right. Most of the time we find each other through friends who have lj, but occasionally A knows B in a completely different way and never got round to asking "Hey, do you spod too" :)

I still get pleasently flatteringly suprised that anyone would notice my journal for any reason :)

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

When I first clicked, for some reason I thought you'd said Bela, and had a moment of "Hang on, I know they look very similar, but that's definitely Camilla there,isn't it?" :)

[satanicsocks.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know him through 3 (COUNT EM!) ways... none of them to do with dancing...

Way 1: he is the infamous 'Naked Henry' from freshers week

Way 2: i did a project with him at the entrepreneurship centre in 3rd year to do with lego and robots

Way 3: he is part of our geek online circle started through the warez society

liz would know him from way 3 as well..

the Camilla gave it away that it was the same Henry but I knew he was big in CDC from when I did the project with him.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

Eek! *is claustrophobic in cambridge* :)

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Did you ever know Bela? She was a mathmo in the year above us, friends with Tom Howat, who's Camilla's sister.

[satanicsocks.livejournal.com]

I knew of a Bella, but not the Tom link - I didn't know Tom was Camilla's sister, either.

See, I'm not quite omniscient or omnescient...

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

No, Bela was Camilla's sister. I can't believe I wrote a sentence that ambiguous; I brought up Tom because I knew him better than Bela and didn't know who you'd know.

[satanicsocks.livejournal.com]

Oh, I see. Damn embedded sub-clauses. Yeah, I don't know either of them, only Tom vaguely.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Well, you knew *of* Bela. Giving you another Henri-link.

[mair_in_grenderich]

*waves hand in air*

I know him too! Also from ringing. We had a nice chat after the ringers dinner on saturday night...

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Also from ringing? Who else knows him from ringing?

How can everyone I know know Henry without me knowing him? :) After all, at least in dancing there's a good reason you don't meet the other men as much :)

[mair_in_grenderich]

well, AJ knows him from ringing too. but I meant that as well as the online community j mentioned, I know him from ringing...

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Damn ambiguous clauses :)

I'm always discovering people I know turn out to be ringers and I never knew...

[captain-aj.livejournal.com]

Do you know Laura then? (dancer + ringer)

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

I know a couple of dancing lauras, though none well, and no lauras at all that I know to ring; does she have any other distinguishing features?

[mair_in_grenderich]

she owns a klein bottle dress ;)

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what that is... I would have thought I would have noticed it whatever it meant, but I don't remember ever seeing one I thought that about...

[mair_in_grenderich]

http://www.brunswickhouse.plus.com/pictures/GuildDinner2004/Guild%20Dinner%202004%20006.jpg

something to do with putting a marble in the top and it coming out the bottom. it's the asymmetric red dress...

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Ah, ok that does make sense (does it come down the outside?). And is a very pretty dress. And I do know her very slightly, but didn't know her name.