Here it is, almost the end of September and I’m just getting to my one new thing for August. There have been books to edit and write (and read), swords to swing, dances to learn, parties to plan, friends to hang out with, and far too little time for all of it. In the face of it all, the blog has been chugging along slower than usual. What I wouldn’t give for a clone (as long as it didn’t lead to twice as many story ideas).

Outside of my work, August was dedicated in many ways to the old new things. The perpetuation of prior adventures, the nurturing of continuing friendships, and the never-ending pursuit of learning.

In spite of the rather overwhelming task of keeping up with life, there was opportunity to do something completely new and slightly out of my comfort zone (which is a good thing to push occasionally).

Michael and I were talked, rather easily I might add, into performing a dance for the Arthur Murray Summer Showcase (Michael being that darling gent theatrically rolling his eyes on my left and our instructor being the lovely enthusiastic lady on my right).

Sadly, I haven’t gotten my hands on a recording of our performance, but it was a Foxtrot routine performed to the song He’s a Tramp by Peggy Lee (we didn't use this version from Lady and the Tramp, but it's one of my personal favorite movies).

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wiNGW97JiE]

I’m not that comfortable in front of a crowd and dancing is still a relatively new activity, so this experience, stepping out in front of all of these people and performing, was a bit nerve-wracking and yet refreshing in an odd way. I like to push my boundaries toward becoming a stronger, more confident person, and this was a great way to do that. I didn’t pass out on the dance floor or die from the pressure of so many eyes looking my way. Awesome!

Now we’ve signed up to do a tango routine at Arthur Murray’s Masquerade ball in October. We’ll be dancing to The Lunatics Have Taken over the Asylum by Collide. Dancing in costume during my favorite month of the year. Oh, yes. This will be fun!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0imdMMIBToQ]

Happy adventuring!

We’ve had an ongoing goal of visiting one new place every month as a way to experience the world and life in general. Over time, this goal has broadened to discovering a new place or activity every month, opening the door to learning new things and keeping the mind, as well as the body, active. To keep myself honest with this goal, I’ve decided to do a post at the beginning of each month about the place or activity discovered the previous month. This is the kickoff for that. In the past, discoveries have included anything from finding a new place to take the horses or kayaks to going to a new city.

Last month took a new direction. Thanks to the new world of great deals that can be delivered to your inbox through Livingsocial, Groupon, and many other such services, you can now discover a whole variety of new experiences at a discount. How great is that?

In February, I finally took advantage of a Livingsocial deal I had picked up almost a year ago (you can’t rush these things) and set up some introductory ballroom dancing classes with Arthur Murray Dance Studios. I love music and I have always loved to dance, I’ve just never really known how, so this sounded like something worth trying.

I have to admit that I tried not to like it because, let’s face it, once the Livingsocial deal is used up, you have to pay real money for these lessons. However, after learning the basic steps to the rumba, salsa, waltz, and tango, the whole idea had danced its way into my little heart and I’m sure I could be seen grinning like a fool when I managed my first decent underarm turn. So now, yeah, you guessed it, dance lessons and group lessons every week.

So, who wants to go dancing?

That is my new thing for February. I can’t wait to tell you about March. ;-)

I would love to hear what things you do to experience life. What places or activities have you discovered lately?