Christina Equals Awesome

When I was in Jr. High, we used to have to run a mile in P.E. every week. And it was a big deal. A BIG deal. So big, that it was commonly referred to as "THE MILE." In quotes and capitalized.

Once a week, I would dread it. I dreaded putting on my textured-polyester gym shorts, and my unwashed P.E. shirt, and my knock-off, Payless running shoes (which were always worn without socks, because honestly, who has time for socks?) which smelled like corn chips. I dreaded the rubbery track smell, and I dreaded being the very, very last person to finish. Which I inevitably was because I can't run. I. Can't. Run.

I wish I could. That sure sounds nice.

During the week leading up to "THE MILE" I would sometimes dream about running it. True story. I would dream that I ran it effortlessly and never ran out of breath and that the running would fly by in an instant.

This never happened in real life.

So, now I do other stuff to keep from getting fat. Like walking (this makes me sound like an old person. I know it does, but I accept that! I LIKE to WALK, okay?) and dance classes.

Dance is one of those things that I have a tiny bit of natural talent in, but not enough talent to be really good at it. I'm slightly above average. But not much. It's super fun, though, so I do it.

What I'm trying to say here is that I've discovered a fantastic dance studio, that I am telling every person I meet about because I like it so much. It's in the Industrial District right underneath the Hawthorne Bridge, and the walls are exposed brick adorned with dance-centric graffiti. They offer a burlesque class. I love it more than anything. If there was a dance that I was naturally gifted in, it would be burlesque (I'm not sure that I should be saying this. Is it acceptable to be good at this if one has no intention of being an exotic dancer? Cause I DON'T want to be that.)

My love was confirmed when I discovered that the instructors all call Christina Aguilera just "Christina." I'm not sure what that means, exactly, but I'm pretty sure it means awesome.