Alumni Dinner Dance

Back when we were newbi dental students, we happened to be at the mall when we ran into a few girls from Travis's class. After a minute of chatting, it was discovered that they were shopping for dresses for the upcoming formal dance! They asked if I was doing the same. Awkward silence. Noooo. Nope. I looked at Trav, quizzically. Was never told of any such dance by my charming husband. Rest assured he never heard the end of it and has since spent our remaining years, dutifully "asking" me every fall and spring if I'd like to go to the formal! (Asking has to be in quotations because it's more like informing me, while knowing I'll say no. Why go to something that I know he doesn't want to take me to? But in his defense, and apparently the reason he hoped these formals would forever stay a deep, dark secret... they are expensive and it "just pays for everyone's alcohol". Real reason- he hates to dance.. probably more especially in front of his classmates.)

Well, as seniors, there is another formal event called the Alumni dinner. Our friends that graduated last year, told us it was really fun, so we were looking forward to it. There is a UB dental conference downtown each fall that the students have to go to for a couple days, then they end it by throwing a big dinner for certain alumni classes and the graduating senior class. Only, the week before I found out it was actually also a dance. (dun dun dunnnnn). Well I had already gotten a sitter and a dress, so we were keeping our reservation!

It was at the Hyatt, and it all began with cocktail hour. I approached the bar and ordered a Shirley Temple. The bartender paused, shot a glance out of the corner of his eye and stammered, "Uhhhh, that's 7Up and...???" "Grenadine", I supplied. (Another confused glance.) He was probably trying to look and see if I was pregnant. Trav got an even weirder look when he ordered the same.

Cocktail hour wasn't bad. I chummed it up with Trav's old anatomy partner, Ari. Ari is gay and, much like Cam from Modern Family, you don't have to wonder when you meet him. It's pretty apparent. His parents were also there (his father graduated from UB) and I got to meet his mother. That's when I found out he grew up in the Catskills.

"You lived in the Catskills?!! I've always wanted to visit the Catskills!!"

Now he looked even more confused than the bartender.

"How have you heard of them," he asked. That's when I told him all about, My Side of the Mountain, and how my 5th graders loved reading about Sam running away and making a home in a tree in the Catskills. Well his eyes just lit up.

"Will you be in town over Thanksgving?! You should totally come have Thanksgiving with me and my family!! It will be fantastic!"

I was a bit taken aback. Quite the offer, and apparently Travis claims he brought it up again later. The question will be whether he remembers extending the invitation after the alcohol wears off.

For dinner we were served fancy schmancy salad, with a dressing that was half champagne (cooks off right? :) And steak and chicken with a side of "root vegetable". Sooo, carrots. Then a hideously boring presentation ensued, followed with... dancing! The live band started out with "I've Got a Feelin'" by the Black Eyed Peas, and then that was the end of any songs from this decade, or last. (Remember, the majority of the crowd were alumni from the years '61 and such.) The minute the music started, all the kids from Trav's class cleared out. We wondered where they went until we saw the bar. There they were! Not too much longer though and that alcohol started melting away inhibitions and we had some dance partners! So here is where Travis totally redeems himself from the earlier part of this post :) It's not easy to dance to weird tempo-d (just made that word up) songs from the 60's but I wanted to dance, so he hit the floor with me. And just like those ballroom lessons, he was in it 100% without an embarrassed look or duck of the head. And since I don't need a drink to dance terribly or without inhibition, I know I wasn't the most appealing thing out there. But it was fun. And he was earning major brownie points. And we may have even gotten a little out of hand at one point, to which the rest of his class started hooting and hollering. And I'm sure we both turned red, thinking no one was paying us any attention. Again, we'll hope those drinks fuzz out their memories.

 Here are all da Mormons! Minus the Nielsens and Finlinsons that left earlier. Don't I have a cute date? He's even cuter on the dance floor! :)