1:41 a.m. | 2003-12-13 My Love Life. Or, Whatever. I suppose some updating is in order here. Lancelot and I were dating, but that kind of fell by the wayside due to conflicting schedules and whatnot. I had some other things to take care of and I�ve been busy doing just that. Apparently, my aloofness has attracted some attention. Of say, five or six men. Is that a pack of men? A pride? A bevy? Or even maybe a gaggle? I�m calling it a �surprise of men�. Because, well, I�m surprised by all this sudden attention. Is it the allure of my potential unemployment that�s irresistible? Or is that just my charm? And, because I�m not one to sneak around, they all know about one another. That just seems to fuel the fire, so to speak. They�re all tripping all over each other to outdo the next guy. If I was 20, and bored, I might find that entertaining or mildly amusing. However, I�m 39, busy and tired. And, I might officially sign up as an honorary guy because, now, when I say, �I�ll call you�, I mean that I�ll call you sometime in the murky future. It might even be from my deathbed. But, I will call you. Or them. Whatever. See? It�s all very confusing for me. Anyway, last week, I went out with OneOfMany (OOM). We had a nice time and all� just went out for drinks. However, I keep forgetting that it�s December, or Christmas time or the Holiday Season, et al. Which, actually, is a great time for me to go out with a surprise of men because, you know, many Christmas (or whatever) parties happen at local places or end up there. Quality people watching there. I consider that a spectator sport and it�s a great icebreaker or distraction when dating. Just saying. I don�t make up the rules here. So, where was I? Oh, last week. Yeah. I suggested a particular local restaurant/bar to OOM. (He didn�t know and I forgot that they do a mystery dinner thing at this place. Oh, and many different companies book the dinner/mystery theatre gig for their annual party.) We went, had drinks and headed out when this happened. (Inebriated Woman:) Hey, are you part of this party? Are you with VIPS Squared? (Otherwise known here as VS � recognizable to every one of my readers, I�m sure. I mean, if I told you who the entity is. Which I�m not wont to do.) (CI:) Uh no. (IW:) You�re not playing the game? Ugh. I hate this shit. Oh, by the way, I�m IW. (Holding out her hand; we introduced ourselves.) (CI:) Well, you know who did it right? (IW:) No, I don�t. Do you? (CI:) It was Colonel Mustard, of course. With a candlestick. In the library. (IW:) Really? I don�t recognize that name. He�s not one of the suspects. However, I am but I don�t know why. See, now all I can remember is that Mustard guy. (CI:) (Realizing that my blatant attempt at humor went straight over her head.) Well, it might have been someone else. Could�ve been you, I guess. (IW:) No, it wasn�t me. I�m not even with VS� I�m a spouse. I think. I love your shirt. Then she loved everything about me. She was cool too, and even shorter than me, but I (we) bid a hasty adieu before she could pull us into the vortex that is the pain of being a spouse at a Christmas party. And, a mystery murder suspect to boot. I�ve felt that pain. Well, not as a spouse or a suspect, but you know what I mean. So, tonight, I went out with AnotherOneOfMany (AOOM). We enjoyed a nice, leisurely dinner. After which, we headed to local bar. One I suggested. Now, on my own, I don�t frequent bars. I suggested this particular one because I enjoyed going there, uh, maybe five years or so ago with my then-boyfriend. It�s always risky to suggest somewhere you haven�t been for a long time, but it worked. I suggested it because it�s a locals� bar and has a diverse crowd. I like interesting, yet comfortable mixes. It�s got TV, music, a pool table, darts, video games, and it�s Celtic. More specifically, it�s an Irish pub. And, it definitely had an eclectic crowd tonight. Young, old, tall, short, dark, light, biker, babe, professionals, tradespeople� it was all there. Here�s what AOOM had to say. (AOOM:) I can certainly see why you like this place� it definitely has a �local flavor� as you say it. It�s very comfortable. (CI:) What made you think that it really does have local flavor? Was it the youngster that just flipped his friend off when he walked in or was it the random mountain man? Or, was it the young lady who just flashed the bartender? (AOOM:) What young lady? Oh, I missed that. (Unspoken: Damn it!) (CI:) Local flavor. Just sayin�. And, yes, she did flash the bartender. I�m a chronic people-watcher; I don�t miss that kind of stuff. your thoughts? seed flower