it's summer. i have a LOT of free time on my hands. so it was with this in mind that i decided to go to clearwater on friday, then swing up to new port richie for an afterglow show. of course, my body being tempramental and all, i was not motivated at all to head to clearwater early in the afternoon. i was, however, easily persuaded to go see wall-e, which is a whole 'nuther story involving a cute movie, a broken air conditioner, and a packed house. suffice it to say that i needed to go back to my house and shower before heading out.
at this point, it's 6:00. i call a friend who lives out in that general area who i haven't seen in forever, and procede to talk to him for a half-hour. 6:30. he had to work at 5 the next morning, so no show for him. everyone else was out due to visiting relatives and other plans, and at that moment the sloths decided to attack. (if i haven't explained that yet, i'll do so in another blog.) nearly 7. obviously, i'm not getting to clearwater first. new port richie is about an hour and 45 minutes away from me. i was debating not going at all, but i already bought tickets and - let's be honest here - what else was i going to do, sleep some more? i needed to get out of the house, so i threw on some make-up (full kabuki since i'd be in public) and headed out.
It was an interesting evening to say the least. i'm pretty sure my hair did not meet the height requirement and my jeans weren't tight enough, but they let me in anyway. the space was pretty decent (bourbon street nightclub, if i didn't mention it); two full bar areas, darts, several pool tables, a "cafe" area, plenty of seating, and a decent stage area. and it was chock full of interesting characters.
let me preface this by saying that i having nothing against hanging out on my own. i have no problems going to a movie, out to eat, or to show by myself. i'm an observer - i'm perfectly happy to people watch and file away the senarios playing out around me. i generally tuck myself into a corner or along the bar and hang out. however, on friday night, unbeknownst to me, i apparently had a large neon flashing light above my head that said, "all wierdos come by and talk to me!" i don't know who plugged this sign in for me (or where, thank you eric) but i kinda wish they'd talked to me first. or warned me at least.
first up was the obligatory foreign i'm-here-to-hit-on-any-and-every-woman-here guy. i don't know where these guys come from (this one sounded eastern european) or whether thy're aware that they're a trite cliche, but nothing seems to phase them. after being shot down by me (really? your second question is "you're here with just friends, no husband?" apparently a boyfriend wouldn't have slowed him down...), he moved on to other targets. next up was a guy - harmless, obviously not trying to pick me up, and possibly high - who was talking to me, but didn't really seem to need my input in the conversation. he would bring up things and then answer them, watching me but really just having a conversation with himself. it was... odd.
the most random conversation of the night came after the older guy next to me asked me to watch his (pitcher of) beer while he ran to the bathroom. no problem. i was unaware, however, that watching someone's beer for 2 minutes instantly made you a close personal friend. i learned all sorts of educational things: how much money you can make off of selling scrap copper (a lot, apparently), the mechanics of a drill bit, and that you can pull in $75 an hour doing landscaping - and that's just doing the trees. i waited till he was distracted by ordering another pitcher (because clearly he hadn't had enough) and made my escape to the other bar.
most of the rest of the night passed relatively routinely. the main band - 12 stones - took the stage and i found them to be quite enjoyable. the lead singer made me giggle. alot. i know most of you have not seen cowboy mouth in concert (and really, fix that would you? they're amazing and p.s. they're playing at bb king's at point orlando the 25th. just saying...) but this guy was fred leblanc on crack. fred - lead singer and drummer for cowboy mouth - is probably the most upbeat and positive guy you will ever meet. but don't let that fool you. if you are not having fun, if you are not standing up and clapping and having a good time, he will call your ass out on it, and likely stand over you with a microphone until you do. (please see past blog from january to clarify.) 12 stone's lead singer? a tad crazier and more vocal, if that's possible. my favorite crowd admonition was, "okay, so who out there is at their very first rock show tonight? yeah? one guy? alright, what the HELL is the problem with the rest of you? act like you're at a rock show, would ya?"
best part of the night came when i was heading home. there's a 24-hour drive-through starbucks in new port richie, so i stopped for an iced caramel machiato (soy and decaf) for my ride home. and sidebar, why does new port ritchie have a 24-hour drive-through starbucks when there is no such thing anywhere near me in orlando, one of the largest tourist destinations in the world? anyway, i waited at the pick-up window for a while. when the barrista (is it a barristo if it's a guy?) opened the window to give me my drink, he refused to let me pay for it because apparently he kept messing it up and kept having to start over. really? i wasn't waiting that long, but whatever... yay, free starbucks!
see the shenanigans you miss out on when you don't hang out with me?
