I shouldn't be allowed to think.

So we're off from Irish dance for two weeks after our class this week. Next week is the last push of prep for the dancers going to the Western Region Oireachtas in Phoenix 11/19-11/21 so the class before ours is going to run later than usual and eat up our time slot. The week after is the Thanksgiving holiday and the school takes the whole week off for that--partly because of the holiday, and partly because the Oireachtas is always the weekend before and everyone will be very tired indeed.

Next year, though...next year the Oireachtas is going to be in San Francisco. That's effectively our 'home turf'. There's already talk of entering a group dance or two. They do four-hand or eight-hand on those, and we could probably drum up enough for either. Or both. And I am oh-so-very down for all of that.

Here's the thing, though. I'm starting to get capital-I Ideas. Capital-I Ideas like, "I wonder if I could get myself up to snuff to go in for the solo competitions by next year..." And, "How many feiseanna would I have to get in beforehand?"

You see what I mean about how I shouldn't be allowed to think?

I could list all the reasons it would be a terrible idea--things like the cost, the extra work, the fact that this is meant to be a recreational activity and I wasn't going into it for anything even resembling glory. I could list all the reasons it would be a fabulous idea--I could have a really groovy outfit going because even though I'd go the blackout route there's such a thing as black rhinestones and I am there for them. I'm still building cases for and against the whole endeavor.

I'm pretty sure 'for' is going to win.

What can I say? Buried deep down inside this fuck-you-and-the-horse-you-rode-in-on facade lives a girl who loves sparkly things and twirling. Organized twirling, obviously. And carefully curated sparkly things.

And while we're on the subject of organized twirling and carefully curated sparkly things, it's T-minus three months until my Pleasant Hill studio's first competition weekend. This year, I've got the schedule. This year, I've got a company jacket. This year, I am making the whole thing social--and also volunteering to be useful in whatever capacity is necessary in the moment, of course.

Mostly, this is all falling under the category of 'things to look forward to after two years of universal nonsense'. Y'all know I'm not the most social human being on God's green earth, but even I have reached a point where going out for more than the necessaries is appealing. 

And if I get to be sparkly while I do it? Added bonus!