The Desk Decision & "Dancing" In The Dark

After getting the month of February off to a good start with my first walk of the year, I made the most of the day by crossing off another key accomplish-ment I mentioned in yesterday's post. 

In mid-afternoon I went to my weekly ukulele lesson where I learned a little bit about chord groups for different keys and transposing them.

After the lesson I went to Staples to order the desk I'd been thinking about getting for the past few months. 

 I really liked the way it looked and the hutch on to would give me a little more room the recording setup I wanted to create.

Before I actually ordered it I decided to look it over one more time. I found a chair and sat down in front of the desk. That's when I discovered that the hutch that sits atop the desk is not a fixed piece. It moved. That wouldn't do at all. I decided not to buy that desk. 

I looked around at the other desks available. I found an "L" shaped one that will fit in the corner of the computer room and give me plenty of room to work with all the equipment I need to record. So I ordered it. This is what it looks like.

It's being shipped to my house for free. It should arrived by Friday. I will have to assemble it but that won't be a problem. I'm excited to have finally gotten one of my high priority personal projects underway. 

I stayed in Bowling Green the rest of the afternoon. I had something special planned for early evening. I spent my time running some errands, picking up stuff for the house and some things my wife needed for her office.  

At 6 o'clock I headed over to the Regal 12 theater to meet my daughter-in-law, Heather, and her mom for a special movie event. 

Nearly 30 years after its initial theatrical run, Dirty Dancing was showing again on the big screen. For me, the film is one of those that I watch all or at least part of every time I see it on TV. I never saw in the theater. When I found out that Heather and her mom were going I asked if I could tag along. They were gracious enough to let me. 

This movie reminds me of a specific time in my life (no lyrical pun intended). It always takes me back to the time in the late 80s when I had just started out working as a DJ at weddings and parties. 

I was in the process of converting from using records to CDs for my music. When my sisters and nieces introduced me to Dirty Dancing, I was really impressed by the soundtrack. When I expanded my CD music collection through a membership in the Columbia House Record, Tape & CD club (I think I had 3 different accounts with them going at one time) the "Dirty Dancing" two soundtracks were among my choices in my introductory package.  

The songs on those CDs were an important part of my dance party repertoire. That's one of the reasons why I like the movie so much.

The theater was about half full, mostly women, However there were 3 guys including me. 

My familiarity with the film allowed me to take notice of a lot of the things on the screen and in the plot not central to story. 

For instance, at the start of the movie, Baby comes across the hotel owner, Max Kellerman, lecturing the waiters about how to treat the guests and their daughters. Then the "entertainment staff" arrives and he lectures them. This indicates that they are just arriving for the start of the season. 

Yet just a day or two later, it is revealed that Penny is pregnant thanks to Robbie the waiter. (during the exposition of this situation Billy, pours 2 glasses of wine and hands one to the pregnant woman first). How could she know? At the time the movie is set the only way to know if you were pregnant was to go to the doctor, give a blood sample and wait 2 weeks for the results aka the rabbit test. There could be a back story but it's never mentioned. 

When Baby asks if someone else could learn the dance steps to cover for Penny, Johnny shoots her down by telling her that  no one has the time. "Everybody works around here". But then as Baby is learning the dance, who is with her all day long? Johnny is. Doesn't he have to work too? Even Penny is there to help at times in the middle of the day. 

There is only one African American man and woman among the "dirty dancers" and they only dance with each other. Not very progressive for a group that's supposed to represent the counter culture of the time.

Later, Baby stands up for Johnny revealing that she spent all night with him. Why doesn't Dr. Houseman realize that his baby daughter was gone all night before she says something? 

Before they start the last dance where Baby does "the lift" Billy, Johnny's cousin, puts a 45 on the record player. Bill Medley and Jennifer Warrens start singing. As they dance the small band in the front right corner of the room appears to be playing. Why? 

A few minutes later, when everyone in the ballroom starts to dance, Kellerman asks his band leader, "Do you have sheet music for this?" If he has to ask, he's never seen or heard that music before. What is the band playing?

I know these aren't really "deal breaker" questions in regard to enjoying the movie but after seeing it countless times over the last 3 decades, I have to ask them. 

Anyway, it was kind of fun to watch the movie in a theater full of people who were such fans that they paid $14 plus popcorn and sodas, to see a movie that's 30 years old and they could buy on DVD for $9.95. I really enjoyed it.

On the way home from the theater, I finished listening to the audio book, Ready Player One. It is now one of my all time favorites. I will post more about it later in February. 

So the first day of the new month was a productive and fun one for me. How's your month going so far?