This is Paula's point of view of
Raven 10.
Even though I knew when Pebbles and I went
shopping (also see
CD Shopping Day part 2) that we were
planning on going to this party, It didn't really feel
real until I
found myself standing outside all dressed up. Getting ready was awesome
as Pebbles helped me out with everything especially the corset. I think
she likes torturing me a little bit :). Then she took care of my makeup
and nails. I'd never had long nails before and I guess it's something
you have to get used to. I quickly realized, the long nails made it
hard for me to do just about anything with my hands. Between the corset
keeping me from bending and the fact that i'm not super good in high
heels, I was totally helpless, but Pebbles looked after me :).
Stepping outside was a total first for me. I knew this was the part I
was going to get most nervous. I'd never been outside dressed up
before. You'll probably hear that alot from my posts though since so
much of this is firsts for me. I could feel my heart racing when we
stepped through the front door. I know the area was pretty quiet since
it was early and no one was around but I felt panicked anyway. Then we
got to the car and the keys were still inside the house. I don't think I was able
to calm down until we were sitting in the car. Once we were sitting in
the car and on the road I felt fine again.
The ride was pretty fun though. We got to listen to some good
music and I had a moment where I realized the duality of my existence as I was explaining why I like UFC better than boxing while I was
wearing a pink dress and high heels. Once we reached the Raven we went
inside to the dining area and I felt really comfortable there were so
many people dressed up and I got to meet Jennifer Bryant and Lisa
Empanada right away, they were both really friendly. I introduced myself
to them as Paul at first... okay i'll admit a rookie mistake but I've
been introducing myself that way for 31 years... They didn't give me too
hard of a time about it though :)
The only problem was that there wasn't anywhere for us to sit inside
and eat with the others. So we went to sit and eat outside, but there
weren't any other cd's out there so I started to feel a little exposed
though, I probably would have chickened out if not for Pebbles but it
was cool and everyone was really polite. A drag queen who wasn't dressed
up time came over and helped out with my wig a little bit. Once we
finished eating we went inside and hit the dance floor. It was fun being
around everyone. I think I described it to Lisa when she asked about me
dancing that i'm a bad dancer normally and that adding a dress and
heels doesn't make me better. :) Still had fun though and got to spend a
good while dancing with Pebbles, as long as I was getting to dance with
her I wasn't really focused on whether i'm a great dancer or not :)
We took a quick trip out to the car to get Kandice a water bottle
and I finally surrendered to the feet and went barefoot most of the rest
of the night. That was a new record though for me, i've never worn heels
for that long.
It was totally an awesome night I got to be dressed up all night,
meet alot of great people, dance with a gorgeous girl, and even got a
really nice kiss good night. Can't think of a much better night than
that. I cant wait for the next party on 9/22, hope that we're able to
make it and get to see everyone again :)