desperate for change

Last night I went to see the Snowball Classic with my non-dancing friend. I wasn’t planning on going but we were just talking one night and I casually mentioned it to her as something that is pretty big in the  Vancouver dancing community. The next day, she called me up to tell me that she wants to get some tickets for us to go together.

For my dancing friends that read this blog, you may (or may not) have noticed my reduction in my dancing activity. I mean – there was a time when I was doing ballroom and/or going to salsa classes multiple times a week. Honestly, I was in a bit of a burnout of going so hard, nowhere fast.

In a way, it was starting to have a similar feel to my startup-attempts a while ago: a lot of grind and energy spent without much results or much to show for. I was starting to feel like a robot shuffling from class to class and not having as much fun as when I started.

I still enjoy the friendships that I have made throughout my dancing activities. And most absolutely, I will go out for the occasional social outing. I mean, aren’t you dying to go dancing at Robson Square this summer? However, I won’t be pushing myself just for the sake of pushing myself. I am just going to keep it fun for myself.

I mean, there are so many other things to try and do right?

There is something about having the infamous third place in your life. Home is where you live. Work is where you work. The third place is where you can pursue your passions and interests.

These days, my third place is the salsa classes I’m taking. I’ve started taking classes in March – I like the pace and intensity and it is at just the right level of difficulty for me. I only wish my ballroom dancing friends would join me, haha! Did I mention that the classes are starting up again in January? Did I mention that the teacher lets you go more than once a week to his other locations, if you sign up for “one” class? Did I mention that there are more girls than guys? Did I mention that we learned an awesome move that made it look like the guy was tossing the girl in a dramatic looking fashion? How’s my sales pitch?

Dance halls and studios have not always been my third place of choice.

In the past, I’ve gone to church. I’ve gone to Toastmasters. Heck, you might even consider the library as a serious third place in my youth. The Web, could be considered a virtual third place. When I was still in university, school was both the work place and the third place

Where is your third place?