... you've ever done to avoid a dance?
Ms. Hedgehog inspired this post with her confession of hiding between garden chairs to avoid an invitation. Ah, the visual is priceless....
Mine is not nearly as picturesque: I blithely proclaimed I'd already been asked by the friend standing next to me - at the same time he moved off to ask someone else.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
What is the MOST Embarassing Thing...
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18 comments:
I pretended that I was talking to someone on my cell phone. That was really dorky but it worked.
That's not embarrassing, that's PRACTICAL!!! Hmmm, not a bad idea. Maybe I can invent a lovely, cuff-style "phone" that rings at your convenience at the push of a hidden button...???
Maybe it's just embarrassing that I did it. I felt like a toddler who's having a pretend conversation with her imaginary friend. Like my niece who "talks" on her "phone" and is not yet two years old.
I think the cuff phone is pushing the envelope though. I wouldn't try it.
Maybe you're right, TB. Perhaps I should just wait until a "cloaking device" is perfected.
What we need is the bracelet-borne, on-demand, Somebody Else's Problem Field. (This was getting too long so I've promoted it).
The other day I practically dove under the table at Canning because I was "trying to find something that fell out of my purse."
Ms. H - wonderful post. AND, you have to tell me how you made that link in the comments.
Tina, the ol' I've-dropped-something technique is a really good, old fashioned, and reliable standby.
Funny, Johanna, the classic "busted" scene. And MsHedgehog's visual of her crouching and hiding, hoping the guy didn't see her or would go away is hilarious.
I'm guilty of pretending not to notice a woman's cabeceo and making a bee-line to men's room. I hung out in a stall for "long enough" that it was safe to come out.
It seems silly now.
I will have to remember the "talking on the cell phone" and the "dropping items on the floor" techniques. You ladies realize you are divulging your secrets here, right?
It's all good...and the laughs are nice...in good fun...
One last thought...reading Ms TB's comment on the cuff phone just before I push the button to publish...here's one that popped into my head...subtle, but not so subtle...I pictured myself walking up to a woman, asking her to dance, and she looks at me, raises her left wrist to her mouth and pressing some imaginary buttons with her right hand, says (a la Star Trek)..."Beam me up Scotty"...Cruel but effective....I would get the message...that's for sure...
Saludos, Johanna!
This discussion just points again to the necessity of the cabeceo, something that I know you appreciate.
If you just look right past somebody as if they weren't there, problem solved. No excuses, no running to the bathroom, no tricks--gosh, I just love it. Everyone maintains their dignity.
I remember once declining a dance to a lady that came and ask me for a dance because I was going home. And i really was! But then a very good friend of mine arrived at the milonga and ask me to dance. I put my shoes back on and danced for a good 1/2 hour more. When I was leaving this other person (who was seating by the door) gave me a look...
Alex, I made a dash for the WC several times during my first trip to BA before I mastered the cabeceo and worked up enough courage to say "no" to those who came straight to the table. But you've also inspired another great idea. I have one of those Star Trek pins that makes a sound when you press it....
Cherie, yes, I would join a Worldwide Cabeceo Movement in a, well, cabeceo! But since it's not likely to be adopted around here anytime soon, I want some more useful techniques!
KR... BUSTED!!!! Oooo, that IS embarrassing :-)
I've spontaneously developed "something in my eye" on more than one occasion.
Of course now that I've said that, I'm bound to actually get something in my eye at the moment some tango god deigns to look my way...
What's wrong with simply saying "no thanks"? If you want to be asked again in the future, give a reason.
The trouble with all other methods is that they could all be interepreted as "temporarily unavailable" and will therefore most likely elicit another ask in the future. So if you really don't want to dance with a person, I think it's best to simply say "no thanks" without a reason.
Ah, Ms. Red Shoes - I'm so superstitious about feigning physical problems - 'cause the Gods might, you know, reward me with actual ones for such deceit :-(
AJ, thanks for stopping by!
Yes, of COURSE "no thank you" is the best way, and we all eventually (hopefully) learn to say that. But, as you can see, on the road to gaining that self-confidence, the methods that backfired are very amusing.
Hahaha, great question.
Once, I was standing next to the table, and in view of some undesirable potential partner firstly, fainted to be very interested in food (that I don't normally eat), then, (since that didn't stop him) started consuming it in a rather gluttonous manner. Didn't prevent him from asking me anyway! But at least, with my hands and mouth full, I felt I had a legitimate medical reason to decline.
Wonder, why I act like a freak sometimes, where a simple graceful "no, thanks" would do? Hm...
Excellent point, Frances. Which is why I generally hang out near the snack table. I can feign interest in a single grape for as long as, oh, I don't know, a whole tanda? :-)
Sheesh! I'm making sound like I'm being accosted by undesirable partners. Not true!!!! I was just thinking back at the things I've done.
Ok, ok, I guess sometimes I take the cabeceo for granted.
So I think that if someone asks you to dance (anyplace but BsAs) that you like to dance with and want to dance with in the future, you'd gosh better dance with that person, even if you've taken your shoes off, or started to eat your snack. If you need to go to the bathroom bad at that precise instant, excuse yourself for one minute and rush back to dance.
I think it's important to let that person know that you really want to dance with him/her.
Unfortunately, Cherie, it is very common to take the wonderful things in our life for granted.
But you've inspired me to post another question....
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