Life List #61 – Buy Everyone In The Bar A Drink
Some days are meant to be more amazing than others. That’s the nature of balance in the world. Sometimes you lose your passport, miss your flight, drop the cake on the floor or stub your toe. Sometimes you find that you’ve done your research, timed everything just right, arrive at the bus stop just in time, have the winning lottery ticket. It’s not always something you can account for, it just IS.
Yesterday was kind of a little bit of both for me. I spent literally the entire day at a coffee shop trying to tear myself away from the randomness of the interwebs to get my column done for Intrepid Media, and somewhere around 8pm, I finally finished. I was happy with the final product, too, so I would consider that a (very slow) win. While at the coffee shop, I was invited to a party that evening, but never really heard much about the details. I finally got a text around 9:30 saying the guys weren’t even done at work yet, so I didn’t really think too much about it. I was (again) goofing off online, and in my pyjamas – perfectly content to stay home!
At 11:06pm, I got a text from Thomas. Thomas is an amazing and interesting friend – practically my twin. He entered my universe with the verve of a hurricane, much in the way I assume I enter most other people’s lives. He makes me laugh, roll my eyes and then get up and join in all at once. Just yesterday morning, he asked how long I’d be in town. When I said I’d be here until Saturday, why did he ask, the reply was “So we can get married at the court house, of course!” Riiiight. I see that happening.
Last night, all the text said was: “Are you up?” For most people who text me that late, the answer is generally ‘Not really’ if I reply at all.
For Thomas, the response was immediate. “Up for what?”
The phone rings. He’s laughing, half in conversation with me, half with his friend. He’s dropping Kevin off at the train station five minutes from my house. “You have ten minutes to get ready,” he says, “I’ll be there soon.”
Of course, I hung up and jumped in the shower, brushed my teeth and hair and threw on a dress. A white dress, because you just never know. I’m out the door in ten minutes, looking as fabulous as ten minutes of prep time is going to look. We immediately start walking. Neither one of us knows where we’re going.
“What are we doing?”
“I have no idea, I thought we could go get a drink.”
“Perfect, we’ll walk in this direction until something strikes our fancy.”
So we did. We ended up buying really random things at the 24 hour Gourmet Market, where the Egyptian guy who runs it always puts free chocolates in my bag before I leave. Aww! Then, we discovered Anna Liffey’s, an Irish pub, was still open. A drink? But of course!
It was around that time that Kevin called, and I left Thomas on the phone outside, went inside to order drinks before last call – a black and tan for him, Hangar One Kaffir Lime on the rocks for me.
He joins me, we’re holding hands and laughing about how ridiculous the evening has already been and then we hear “Last Call!” from John the Bartender. “Shots?” Thomas suggests. “Sounds perfect!”
Right then, I have my epiphany. Best epiphany I’ve had all week.
“John,” I say, gesturing the barman over. “How many people are in this bar?” He steps away from me to do a headcount.
“Twenty-five? Right about twenty-five.”
“Do you know the Washington Apple shot?”
“I do.”
I grab Thomas’s hand. It’s below the bar top, where no one can see it. I squeeze his hand, hard.
“John, we’re getting married tomorrow,” I look at Thomas and grin wickedly, “and I would like to buy everyone in the bar a shot!”
Thomas starts laughing. He knows this is on my Life List of Things To Do Before I Die.
“John, do you give a discount for buying in bulk?”
He chuckles and says yes, he’ll hook me up. Of course, right?! He starts lining up the shot glasses and shouts for people to come over for shots.
He announces our impending nuptials and the desire to buy everyone in the bar a shot.
People are skeptical, but they start coming over. Asking questions.
“Are you really getting married tomorrow?”
“Of course we are! And you guys are helping us celebrate!”
We start weaving a ridiculous tale that I can’t even remember right now, but it was tragic and hysterical and too absurd to NOT be true, and by the time the shots were finally prepared, people were offering congratulations and cheering for Love Conquering All.
My camera was passed around, pictures were taken, toasts were offered, shots were quaffed. There were high fives and hugs and cheering and then, all too soon, the bar was closed down and we were the last ones. We finished our first drinks and thanked the bartender (with a big tip!) for his assistance.
After a final congratulation, we left him to clean up and walked home laughing. It was completely unexpected, totally refreshing and one of the best days I’ve ever had.
what I’ve been up to
I’ve been ‘home’ barely over a week. I’m still trying to get adjusted to East Coast time, and then Daylight Savings Time gets tossed in the mix.
I’m working here and there, trying to make some money to put in the bank. Most of whatever I make has already been allotted to the things that need doing: eye exam and much-needed eyeglasses, yearly exam and birth control, seeing the dentist if possible, and any travel expenses I may need.
The other night when I left the coffee shop after closing, I was waiting for my grandmother to pick me up. I walked up to THREE different cars, thinking they were my grandmother – they weren’t. It’s definitely time for glasses. How embarassing!
Speaking of birth control, I’ve been following the South Dakota bill that the state senate passed that makes ANY abortion for ANY reason illegal, including instances of rape and incest. I’ve been reading up a storm about this, and it really chaps my ass. Who are you that DARES to tell women that their body isn’t their own to make decisions about? And denying abortion to a woman who has been raped is tantamount to raping her every day for nine months – and beyond. More later. I’m still incensed.
The wedding planning is coming along quite well. I had already designed my wedding dress and planned to make it myself. I happened upon a dress at a bridal store, and when I put it on at my mother’s insistence – BAM. I have a dress. It’s so very close to what I designed, and so very lovely. I feel…beautiful. Magical. Stunning.
I keep looking at my engagement ring. Every time I do, I feel such a warm wash of love I can’t even describe it. It makes me smile so much.
I’ve had a bit of a rough week, with acclimating to my new and temporary surroundings – not to mention my family. Bless them all, I love them, but boy do we have issues. It seems that now I’ve got my stuff together, the rest of them want to fall apart. It makes me so sad, and I’m trying so hard not to take all their problems on myself. I’m lucky I have Adrian to talk things through with. There are days I’d be lost without him.
Next week Grandmommy (“Gamma”) and I are going to look at locations for the actual wedding. I think I’ve found a lovely garden on Lake Wylie, and if it works, I’m going to book it. *squeal* I just want everything to go smoothly and fall into place while I’m here so no one else has to do all my legwork. It’s going to be SO hot in August here. Oh man.
Plans have changed regarding my arrival, as well, but I’ll post more about those later. I’ve rambled quite enough tonight. I still have some writing to do. Muah to all. I miss you.
Filed under life, whatnot, wedding | Comments Offthe word of the day is…non-sequiter.
stuff. bits. detritus. flotsam. jetsam.
I’ve got a bit rumbling around in my head right now, so yesterday we decided to take the day off from thinking and hit the library for some good, clean chick lit. Well, I decided to do so, Adrian got something else. Something far, far removed from the realm of chick lit.
It was POURING BUCKETS of rain yesterday, and so cold I almost cried. I sincerely hate wind that tears into your flesh with the sharp, hurting teeth of a thousand arctic foxes. Just…ow. Somehow we braved the weather and made it to the Central branch of the library. I was specifically looking for one book – which I won’t tell you, because every copy is already checked out and there’s a waiting list, and if YOU get on that waiting list before I do, then I’ll be sad – and it wasn’t in, needless to say. So I rummaged around in the fiction section for a bit and found four books I thought would ‘do’. The first of which turned me off almost immediately. I was very disappointed by that, because it practically threw itself off the shelf at me. Whatever. The second was more of a disappointment, because it apparently was the fourth book in a series – BUT THE LIBRARY HAD CUNNINGLY COVERED THAT TEXT. Hi. Place your stupid bar code anywhere but on the one part of the book that is rather important. I can’t read books in the middle of a series unless I’ve read the prerequisites. It’s just how I operate.
After that ordeal (and after braving yet MORE weather) we went to DQ. Their flamethrower burgers are alright. Those mint oreo blizzards are enough to have an… *ahem*. They’re really yummy.
This past weekend was fabulous, more fabulous than said mint oreo blizzard. (I’m serious, go get one. mmmm.) The wedding was truly stunning. The small, dark and dusty pyramid/wine storage room on the Summerhill estate was transformed into a magical, marital wonderland – Grant and Lola looked gorgeous, happy and best of all emotionally fulfilled. I have more thoughts on the whole of the weekend, but they’re all rumbling around in there. I’ll get them out eventually. Suffice it to say, I’ve never seen a happier couple. (except for me and adrian, but that goes without saying.)
In less than two weeks I head to Charlotte by way of a long-ass bus ride to Seattle and a non-stop overnight flight to my hometown. Oh, the reception that awaits. I can’t tell you how many people are super-excited to see me. It appears the old saying is true: you’re not missed until you go away. Or something.
Speaking of which, plans were finalized this weekend. After a LOT of thought, we’ve decided to have the wedding itself in Charlotte. I hated making that decision because it really meant a lot to me that Adrian’s parents wanted to do our ‘elopement’ and the dinner afterward and set us up in a nice hotel in parksville… the works. I thought it was perfect. But recently, a few family members of mine have expressed a desire to be there, and the more I thought about people and finances and travel and plans – the more stressed out I got.
After a long heart-to-heart with Adrian, we decided that since – breaking it down to the lowest common denominator (I have no idea if that fits, but i like saying it) – I have more family members who would like to be involved, we should have it in the most convenient place. So. The new wedding date (to work with previously set schedules) is Saturday, August 12th in Charlotte, North Carolina. I’m currently wracking my brain to think of lovely, non-religious sites where we would like to hitch our lives together like the brace of oxen that is my dowry.
Hopefully, it won’t be inconvenient for anyone to come. I still have yet to do the introducing the familes email. I should get on that, hey?
Oh, and I was totally kidding about the dowry. No oxen. My family isn’t rich, so it’s more like goats. I like goats.
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