DON`T HATE ME BECAUSE I`M AN IDIOT !

Those who know me very well will not be surprised when they read the following.
You are almost immuned to it and often ignore me when I do it now.
The rest of you MIGHT be.
For the others, don`t hate me because I`m an idiot.

It started many years ago.
I was working for Stéréo Plus at the time, part-time being a university student.
Music always played in the store, 12 hours a day.
I loved working there for that and the fact that I was the only girl in the history of the store ever having worked there.
It`s less complicated working with men.

Anyway, here I was working at Stéréo Plus and when things were quiet I loved testing the speakers: putting on really good music, really loudly.
We had the best stuff on the market but I felt I needed to test them once in a while when I was bored.
There were mini living rooms in the store so you could listen and feel like you were sitting on your own sofa.
I`d pop a c.d in, crank up the volume, shut the door and dance.........alone.
The end result after a few songs was liberating, I felt refreshed, renewed and happy.
My co-workers would let me do it in peace and being the youngest employee would tolerate my habit without ever complaining.
They would be gracious enough to warn me when clients would set foot in the store.
I `m still thankful for that to this day.

A few years later I started working at ESJN.
Needing my daily dose of music, I would bring my MP3 player.
And yes the tradition would continue.
Now obviously, dancing to my MP3 is a daily thing for me.
I have strict rules I abide to, for example :
It is best done with moderation, at an appropriate time and place.
Avoid doing this in front of a crowd but choose rather a small group of co-workers you know have a sense of humor.
It is best done in front of co-workers who need to laugh.
It works every time.
Do it for 1 or 2 songs maximum, you wouldn`t want to spoil them too much, keep them asking for more.
Do NOT take yourself seriously and they laugh even more.
My favorite audience : Katherine Bourgeois, my sec.4 teachers in the office, the art teachers, line Hébert and René the receptionist because she believes I dance well.

I like to call it my Happy Dance.
My favorite time and place is when I don`t teach ( I NEVER Happy Dance in class, it`s just not fun ) and have to do my milkrun.
My usual Happy Dance milkrun consists of : the photocopying machine .
I have to add that the secretaries downstairs are so used to seeing me do this that they ignore me.
If I`m good and lucky enough, one of them will throw a " Maudit qt`es folle " , usually Lorraine or Marie-Josée. Love it when they do that !
Then I go check my mail and grab a cup of java in the teacher`s lounge .
If no one`s there , I do the Happy dance like there`s no tomorrow.
If there are people, I tone it down a little.
A girl just has too much energy sometimes and needs to spend it.
Works especially on a sugar or coffee rush.
Nothing tones down my hyper-drive more than a 3 -minute Happy Dance séance .

I`m tellling you it`s a drug.
I got addicted to the moral booster it produces.
Try it, but let me warn you, it is HIGHLY addictive.
Do people think I`m crazy ?
Sure.
Do I care ?
No way.
If ridicule killed, I`d be dead a loooooong time ago.
I truly believe it is a natural anti-depressant.
Dance every day and keep the doctor away, that`s my mojo.
And it doesn`t require much equipment: MP3 player and you`re all set to go.

I Happy Dance everywhere now: in my truck ( even when I`m driving ), at home( my kids ignore me now- unless I have a new move ) and even at the grocery store but only if there`s a good song on and despite my kids` " Ah maman là ! "
The only time I am not allowed to Happy Dance is at home when my kids`friends come over.
I figure I want my kids to actually KEEP their friends!
I do have limits, that and the funeral parlor.

So on that, I wish you some Happy Dancing of your own.
Try it and let me know.
GROOVE IS IN THE HEART AND ANNIE`S GOT HER GROOVE BACK !
Tata darlings,
Annie