Ok so it's my birthday....woopdy fookin doo....
My friends and I decided to start celebrating a little early by going out last night. I had to work from ten until four in the afternoon yesterday, but my manager came in early so I could have some extra time to get everything ready. I was making dinner for anyone that might come by before going to the bar.
Focaccia bread with red peppers and cheese, mixed salad, and pasta with a snazzy garlic sauce....mmmm...I was treating myself.
Anyway, my good friend Jane and my friend Paul F from work ended up being the only people that came for dinner, but we had a few laughs over a sweet bottle of white wine. Conversations travelled all over the map it was beautiful.
Like how does a conversation about Manga movies and how I think Ninja Scroll is better than AKIRA suddenly become a conversation about why people use spoons sometimes when they eat pasta?
Perhaps I was the only one who wanted to talk Anime, but I think it might have been the whole lack of sleep thing combined with two glasses of wine.
We decided to leave for the bar at around eight because we wanted to get a couch in the back. There was no way I was going to stand up for five hours after working all day.
Just before we left Jane and I decided to split an E-pill. I have only done that shit once and I really don't have any desire to do it that often. Too many friends of mine been fucked up from taking it all the time. But, I also am fully aware that I only get one chance at life, and unique experiences are limited.
Well, maybe I can't say I "know" for sure, but basically I decided that splitting one with a good friend wasn't that big of a deal.
So we get to the bar and find a table in the back. At first we were playing musical chairs. We start by the fire and got all warm, so when the people near us left, we moved over to where they had been.
Then, ten minutes later,
SUCCESS!
Free couch with plenty of
room for people that might come later. Robert, a friend from work showed up first. I was glad he came 'cause he doesn't know a lot of people here yet so I wanted him to meet more
"peeps" from work.
Then Monty showed up too and I was glad he came out for the same reason
Monty and Robert both work the night shift, which is usually between eleven p.m. and nine or ten in the morning. We all work at an internet cafe in Dublin, and the night shift can be quite interesting. But if you can try and imagine the type of person that would work the night shift, not the most socially interactive individuals. Most of the time the shops fill up with people that pay for the whole night to play computer games like, Counter Strike and Wolfenstein II. So basically, whoever is working doesn't really have to do anything except make the occasional cup of coffee, or restart whichever computer decides to crash at four-thirty in the morning.
Paul F works the night shift too, although he is the most, dare I say, "outgoing" one in the trio of night owls.
This combination of people made the first hour or so pretty whack because Jane and I were just sitting there like,
"Woohoo....yeah...so....ummm....so....what's up!?!"
And no one was really saying anything, just kind of lost for words I guess. But as more people started showing up, and yeah, after a few pints, they started getting more relaxed and people started sparking more conversations.
The coolest thing about it was that my best friend MatttheGodfather from back in New York was in Dublin for the weekend. He is studying in London this term and so he and a couple of his friends decided to see if what everyone says about Dublin was true.
(If you really want a good explanation of this read, Now entering Dublin, a nice place to puke.)
But anyway, it was just really awesome that he was here. I miss him a lot sometimes because there's not really anyone here quite like him.
Time flows chaotically like the smoke eminating from the cigarette I am enjoying. The E wasn't really doing that much, I was just really happy. I was glad that it didn't fuck with me too much 'cause I like maintaining a certain level of self-control.
At one point my friend Dabhoec called and said he was comnig down, but then a few minutes later he called and said the bouncers weren't going to let him in. I went outside to try and talk them into letting him in, but he was wearing a sweatshopshirt and they weren't going to back down. So I gave him a hug and he just bounced.
Half hour later I get a message from my friend Niall that he was on his way. This was a major surprise 'cause he hurt his ankle last week and had been in the hospital and now was on crutches. So I totally didn't think he was going to come, and I got all pysched 'cause I haven't hung out with him in a while. Twenty minutes later I get a call from him and this time the bouncers don't want to let him in because supposadly he is an "insurance" risk. (Come on now, everyone that comes in that place is an insurance risk.)
I'm really pissed now. I go outside and I ask the bouncers again if they'll just let him in. No luck. So I talk to Niall for a minute, tell him I am sorry, and that I'll come over next week and smoke a spliff with him and he leaves.
I turn around to go back inside and the bouncer is standing in the doorway, he is like
"I'm really sorry but I am afraid I can't let you back in here."
WHAT? WHY?!
"The owner just said don't let that girl back in. You must have bumped him on the way out."
"Ok, well it's my birthday so you are going to at least let me in to go get my stuff and..."
He interupts me and says, "No, it's ok, I am just messing with you," as he laughs deviously.
I was still pissed that they didn't let my friends in, but I'll admit that was classic. I gave him credit for that one.
The next couple of hours we had a lot of fun. Jane had her video camera and was filming everything. (I'm looking forward to watching that later. Ha!) People took pictures, made toasts, laughed at all the hits from the 80's. Oh yeah and most were getting a little tipsy as well.
One of the most amusing parts of the night was Monty falling asleep while sitting in the corner of the couch. Jane got a picture of it too, so the moment is infintely preserved. A little past twelve my friends Billy and Thom showed up. I was really glad to see Billy because she works all the time and we never get to chill out anymore. She and I have lots of laughs, we're absolutely mad!
An hour or so later, a bunch of people left, but it was cool because I was on my way out soon too. I had to work today at ten in the morning so, yippply doo, couldn't stay up too late.
My friend Matt and his friends Ed and John from school in London, my other friend Billy, and Jane all came back to the house to chill for a little while when I left. Jane was really wasted and it was hilarious. She immediately opened a bottle of vodka from earlier and made everyone what I call Cape Codder's. It's just vodka and cranberry juice. She made them kind of strong you could say because Ed turned to me after his first sip and was like,
"Hey you want some of this STRAIGHT vodka, she put a little red food coloring in there to liven things up a bit."
It was funny.
Right when we got home Billy and John started rolling spliffs, some hash, some weed. So we're all getting blazed in my living room and then my flatmate Annie came home.
She is awesome, a real down-to-earth kind of girl. But I could tell she was a little weirded out by the fact that we were smoking in there. Course I didn't really care that much 'cause, fuck it, it was my birthday...ha!
She was a little tipsy so it may not have mattered to her at all, and she got all excited and wanted to give me my presents right then....she just had to take the prices off....
Since my friend Paul infinitely has "borrowed " my the cowprint lighter she gave me for Christmas,
she decided to get me a new one.
It was all silver
and reusable too.
The best part of her gift though had to be the Grow a Date toy thing ! That is so what I need right now, seriously.
I think I'll make him "grow" later and bring him in a little fish tank to the bar with us. Yeah, I think I'll definately do that.
Anyway, she was going to bed so I told her we'd be quiet and said goodnight. The next hour or so we were all just complete messes.. My friend Billy was totally gone and he was making all these perverted jokes and laughing hysterically at himself.
Matt, Ed, and John had to leave at around four in the moring because Matt was flying back to London at half past six.
I was sad to see him go, I wish he could have stayed longer in Dublin, but it's cool. It was still awesome to see him, and we shared a few stories from back home.
I like looking back on our first couple years in college. Mad crazy times that's for sure. Most moments I don't think I could forget if I tried.
Billy left then too, although I was a little worried about him. He was in rare form upon leaving, barely making it down the stairs. But he's "experienced", shall we say, so I'm sure he got home ok.
When everyone had left, Jane and I went back in the living room and just cracked up. Mostly because of how wasted Billy was, but just in general, a lot of funny shit happened that night.
By now it was almost five and after tidying up the lving room a little
(No thanks to that constant, sub-concious drive to be organized and perfect....)
I could hear my bed callling me. Jane passed out as soon as she hit the pillows. I drank some water, set my alarm for 8:50, chuckled at how messy I was going to be at work in roughly five hours, and went to bed.
Now a little over twelve hours later I somehow am still able to function. I suppose that's due to the massiveattack amount of espresso I drank today.
In a couple hours we're going to go out again. Pints of Smirnoff Ice for everyone! Yipppeee!
I must say that this year was a hundred times better than last year.