Best of times, worst of times

I think that sums up Friday night pretty much. I have spent most of the weekend toying with whether I would write about Friday. After I decided I would, it became a debate about how much to share. Because I am still processing some stuff.

Friday I headed home from work and then realized that I was restless. I didn't want to go to the usual place though. I needed something different. So I called up this other teacher and we agreed to meet at Kitty's.

We managed to have one cocktail at Kitty's before deciding that the scene was a little too dead for us and so headed into North Beach. To go dancing at a place I haven't set foot in in many years.

The first highlight was when the bouncer carded me. I think he was a bit surprised. As he returned my ID, he said, "I'm two years older than you." It didn't hurt that he's pretty cute. We set off inside to purchase the warm-up drink. (For those of you -- yes, I mean you, Neil -- who are not aware of the practice, it is customary for a woman to purchase her first drink upon entering an establishment. Theoretically this is the last drink that she will purchase in the evening because by the time she has finished it, the guys in the place have had enough time to check her out.) We headed off for the dancefloor with cocktails in hand.

We were first joined by a group of attractive guys. But then they disappeared. We then headed outside to check out the other possibilities. We spotted a group sitting at a picnic table. They definitely had potential. Along the way my friend was cornered by some guy who has a girlfriend. Even better when the girlfriend eventually showed up and my friend realized that she knew the girlfriend.

Next I was approached at the bar by one of the guys from the picnic table. He was conservatively dressed. I guess that's why I was kind of surprised when he greeted me by slapping me on my butt and then inviting me to feel his ass. (It was rock-hard, by the way.) He also insisted that my friend check it out as well. I felt obliged to see if the abs were as tight as the buns which sadly they were not. He said something about being hot. I replied, "I need something cold before I have anything hot," and so he bought my drink. I should have realized that this was the turning point of the evening. When we hit the dancefloor, he was a wild man. No. Really. At one point he picked my friend up -- literally. Lesson learned here -- never judge a book by it's cover.

Somehow we managed to ditch the wild man but it took some trying. I guess the next batch was this group of Irish guys. One of them was rather smitten with my friend. When the place closed, they tried to convince us to come to a party out in the Sunset. We finally agreed.

The party was OK. Eventually my friend was ready to leave but I wasn't. I was assured that they would help me find a way home. So I told my friend to go. At this point, large amounts of coke suddenly appeared. I immediately sent a text to my friend but there was some sort of delay and she didn't get it for at least 30 minutes. By the time she called back, I told her to not come back and I would just figure it all out on my own. I made it home eventually and there were more adventures in between.

Originally I was going to call this post "The Queen of Bad Decisions" because that was my specialty in my old hardcore partying days. I thought I had gotten a little bit smarter but I guess I still have some learning to do. I'm still going to go out though. Because that's my nature.

And you thought I was normal...

Your Quirk Factor: 48%

You're a pretty quirky person, but you're just normal enough to hide it. Congratulations - you've fooled other people into thinking you're just like them!

How Quirky Are You?

Yet another meme

I found this at Neil's. He really hasn't done much. Poor soul. We should all help him out on his road to destruction. At least, that's what I think. And yes, I know that I have completed something similar to this previously but Neil can't seem to remember.

Fill in what you’ve “done”:

(x) Smoked a joint
( ) Done cocaine
(X) Been in love
( ) Had a threesome
(X) Been dumped
(X) Shoplifted
(X) Had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back
(X) Been arrested
(X) Made out with a stranger
(X) Gone on a blind date
(X) Had a crush on a teacher
(X) Been to Europe
(X) Been to Canada
(X) Been to Mexico
( ) Seen someone die
( ) Thrown up in a bar
(X) Met a celebrity
(X) Met someone from the internet in person
( ) Been moshing at a concert
(X) Gone backstage at a concert
(X) Lain outside in the grass and watched cloud shapes go by
(X) Made a snow angel
(X) Flown a kite
(X) Cheated while playing a game
(X) Been lonely
(X) Fallen asleep at work
( ) Fallen asleep at school
( ) Used a fake ID
( ) Been kicked out of a bar
(X) Felt an earthquake
(X) Touched a snake
(X) Slept beneath the stars
(X) Been robbed
(X) Won a contest
(X) Run a red light
( ) Been suspended from school
(X) Had braces
(X) Felt like an outcast
(X) Eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night
(X) Had deja vu
( ) Totaled a car
( ) Stolen a car
(x) Hated the way you look
(X) Witnessed a crime
(X) Been to a strip club
(X) Been to the opposite side of the world
(X) Swum in the ocean
(X) Felt like dying
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Sung karaoke
(X) Paid for a meal with only coins
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t
(X) Made prank phone calls
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Had a bonfire on the beach
(X) Crashed a party
( ) Seen a tornado
(X) Had a wish come true
( ) Gone bungee jumping
(X) Screamed in public
(X) Told a complete stranger you loved them
(X) Had a one night stand
(X) Kissed a mirror
(X) Had a dream that you married someone
( ) Gotten your fingers stuck together with super glue
( ) Been a cheerleader
(X) Sat on a roof top
(X) Talked on the phone for more than 6 hours straight
(X) Stayed up all night
(X) Not taken a shower for three days
(X) Made contact with a ghost while playing a Ouija board
(X) Had more than 30 pairs of shoes at a time
( ) Gone streaking
( ) Been skinny dipping
(X) Been pushed into a pool/lake with all your clothes on
(X) Had sex in a public or semi-public place
(X) Been kissed by a complete stranger
(X) Broken a bone
(X) Caught a butterfly
(X) Mooned/flashed someone
(X) Had someone moon/flash you
(X) Cheated on a test
(X) Forgotten someone’s name
(X) Slept naked

Fall cleaning?

Over the last couple of days I have been flipping through the directory on my cellphone. There are a great deal of numbers in there that I have never dialed or have not dialed in some time. I attribute this to the "Give me your number but I won't give you mine" syndrome.

Many of my friends have asked me what to do when a guy asks for a phone number. I have had the same policy since age 20 or so -- "No, you cannot have my number but I will gladly take yours. If I am truly interested, then I will call you." When I started this policy, it was in the days before everyone having a cellphone. I had a bulletin board at home filled with business cards and napkins upon which were written phone numbers. (Kind of makes me feel like a guy. hehe) Once non-impaired, I would carefully think over my options. Was I really interested in that guy? If not, I would not call. But being a packrat kind of Cancer, I would not throw out the number either. Who knows? I might need it for a rainy day.

But then everyone got a cellphone and things changed. Now there are numbers listed in my cellphone and I have to strain my brain to try to remember who that guy is. And then there is the other group. I clearly remember who the guy is. The question in this case is whether I am ready to give up my one link of contact with him. Case in point being the Chef. As I scroll through the directory of my phone, I see his name. But he never called when he said he would. (Hell. It's been at least two weeks since he said he would call and he still hasn't.) So I know that he is not true dating material. But somehow I cannot make myself erase his number. Doesn't matter that I know that I still have it written down elsewhere.

What makes me hang onto these numbers? Could it be some societal dictate that one must be in a couple? I like to tell myself that this does not matter but life tells me otherwise. Because there are people in my life like Jade, my friend since age seven. She's totally into being a soccer mom. At times I inadvertantly learn that she has planned a girls' day -- for her friends who are married.

I like to think that I pretty independent. Yes, I know that I occasionally fall back on BofD (bank of dad) but for the most part, I take care of myself financially. Heck. The state teacher's retirement fund is mighty fine -- unless Arnie gets ahold of it -- but I still have a 403(b). I look to men to take care of me otherwise these days. And some of them do it exceptionally well. Like the Drummer Boy. Which is the real reason why I was peeved with him over this past weekend.

So while I'm cleaning out the clutter in my apartment, I can't help but wonder if I should also be cleaning out the clutter in my life.

But in honor of Silly, I did play some Barry on Monday night and danced around the living room. Don't know why the cats were in hiding. Maybe because they learned that "Sweet Melissa" was actually a dog -- literally.

Blech!

So I still haven't heard from the Drummer. Nor did I make it out for Fleet Week

So late night Saturday, because I was wide awake after sleeping away most of the day, I read some short stories and watched a couple of movies. By Sunday I was starting to feel somewhat human again. Then I read my email. I received an email from a parent -- who also copied the principal -- about why she wants her child moved from my class. There is a part of me that has always questioned the decision to leave the class together given the problems they had last year. Luckily the principal has made an observation of the room during this past week and said that she felt that things have improved since the beginning of the year.

I called up my coworker and she assured me it had nothing to do with me. That I am doing a great job. She also pointed out that I had a lot of support and that I was dealing better with the situation than a lot of other people would. I was almost feeling ready to head out and to face the world after that chat. Funny how a little ego-stroking can go a long way with a Cancer.

By Sunday I realized something else. As I was washing dishes, Natasha rolled across my foot, signaling that she wanted to play. Boris quickly joined in. The cats have been ignoring me lately. My job is to provide food and to clean the litterboxes. Nothing else. It wasn't always this way. B&N and I would play and at night, they would sleep near me -- like this weekend. Then I started thinking. When was the last time that I had not gone out during the weekend? I couldn't remember. The cats hadn't been spending time with me when I was around because I was rarely around. I also started thinking that my body was conspiring against me. The blues I suffered from over the weekend? Just my body's way of telling me to slow down some. The fact that I slept most of Saturday away was disturbing. Last week I was telling a coworker that I usually only sleep more than six hours a night when I am sick or exhausted. I know I'm not sick so I must have been exhausted -- mentally. I am also thinking of scheduling a "mental health" day for myself sometime in the coming weeks because I'm not sure if I can make it to Veteran's Day otherwise. The weekends just aren't long enough -- especially if you spend half the time partying. And given that my job is starting to stress me out now.

Maybe I really am a grown-up after all. Because in the past I would have just kept on going on what in the end could be a truly self-destructive path.

Side note -- I started writing this post on Sunday. I mentioned to BWB recently that I tend to write posts at least a day ahead of time. That way I can add or delete information as I feel is necessary. This time I deleted. Maybe I will end up inserting the info in a later post. At this point, I probably won't though. Sometimes just the act of writing it down makes me feel better. It doesn't matter that no one will ever see the words.

If you don't already do this, I'd highly advise it. Especially if you are going to write about folks in your life.