Monday, December 18

Birthday brouhaha

I'm pretty sure that, were The Police ever to get back together and need a backup guitarist, I could fill in. Thanks to Guitar Hero II, I can rock "Message in a Bottle" so hard you'd think The Police were right in the room. I'm absolutely certain they'd be astonished at my prowess and would sign me up immediately, after watching my lightning fast reflexes on the easy level. *click-a click-a click-a* I'll send an SOS to the world ...

Right.


Saturday was spent celebrating a certain roommate's birthday, which falls, as it does every December, on the 24th. (Henceforth this certain roommate will be referred to as Sister Berte; we'll call the other roommate Cass.)

Sister Berthe and Cass first caught a play and later were wined and dined to their heart's content. We met afterward went to the Ritual Cafe for a little chai tea and pre-bar chillin'.

Sister Berthe decided that she needed to get pissed* and so we began our evening at The Garden. We met one of the roommate's coworkers and her gf there and spent the next hour or so chatting and making jokes and, of course, drinking. It was at this point when I made the first of my new friends: The Couple, who were very nice and down-to-earth, and Big Hair Boi.

Now BHB had been chatting it up with The Couple (though as one later confessed, BHB had randomly started talking to them only just before we arrived, and they never heard his real name. We just know he's a regular) and heard that we were celebrating Sister Berte's birthday. He decided to gift the table with a pitcher and, when I said that I don't drink beer, got me a drink too. I never did figure out what exactly was in it, though from the berry red color and the slight pine tree aftertaste, I'd say gin and cranberry juice.

After a while, the upstairs dance floor was open, so we chose a central table at which to continue our debauchery. A few coworkers and birthday shots later, we were all feeling pretty good; Cass was even enjoying herself, though she was our FDD (fabulous designated driver) for the evening. At one point, even more coworkers showed up: Mr. Amish Beard and Mr. I Don't Know What's In The Shot I Bought You. We were still waiting for a couple yet; Jelton,** the sponsor of Sister Berthe's and Cass' evening, finally arrived with a friend of his, who (owns? manages?) the restaurant where they had dinner.

Not long after Jelton and Friends arrived, we decided to leave and hit the Saddle instead. The Saddle is mostly a male-oriented bar; the three of us may have been the only gals in the joint. Cass, Jelton and Mr. Amish Beard shot a little pool. The rest of us were just chillaxin'. (And can I just say that I love that the Saddle is so much quieter than The Garden? None of that throbbing techno beat, which kind of has a tendency to drill into my brain after I've had a few, making me feel far more drunk than I am.)

The remaining seven of us (The Couple had long since bid adieu) decided to end the evening with appropriate fanfare at IHOP. It was mostly blather about work, though Jelton's friend, who happens to be a female impersonator, tole me that I have beautiful lips.*** And when it comes from a queen, you know it's true.


* As in, Brit slang for drunk, rather than the common American connotation.
** Jelton: his name begins with J and he looks and acts remarkably like Elton John.
*** "You and I have the same lips," he said. "Mine are prettier, but ..." Also, when I told him my name, "Oh, I had an assistant named Crimson once. She did a lot of crank."




In knitting fabulosity, I decided I needed to whip up a couple of Red Heart Jayne Cobb hats (of Joss Whedon's Firefly fame) as Festivus presents for my brothers. I think a label reading "big damn hero" will be good wrapping, don't you?

Oh, and the delivery of Rainbow to her new owner went off without a hitch, except when she hid under the driver's seat and we spent 20 or 30 minutes trying to coax her out. It was pretty funny.

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