2002-02-02
Another great Friday night, posted at 10:19 a.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com Last night was another great night. I went out after work with Teri, Nick, and Ed. I've never written about Ed, and for probably good reason - I found out last night that he doesn't even know my name, as he ashamedly admitted when he was introducing everyone at the table to some friends. But he's a nice guy - a 32-year old African-American guy with model good looks who all the guys at school look up to and all the girls swoon over. He's a nice guy, despite his not knowing my name until last night after having worked together for six months or so. In his defense, the school does have nearly a hundred teachers, and there are plenty whose names I do not know.I still think Nick is cool. We ended up staying at Happy Hour until after 9pm, having four beers each in the five hours we were there. Teri and Nick are cool people. I'd love to see our friendships develop more. As I've stated time and time again, I miss having good friends. Anyhow, they're both coming over on Sunday for my big Super Bowl Party, which I'm praying won't be a bust. So far, I've got confirmation from Teri, Nick, Marcia, Brendan, Mike from DC, and that's it. Hopefully more will make their way over.
I went to bed at 10:30 last night, as no one was home when I returned and I was halfway drunk and pretty tired. I woke up at 8am today on this Saturday morning, and have already purchased a full cart of goodies for tomorrow at Trader Joe's. I'm now on my way to a regular grocery store (for the few items that I can't get at Trader Joe's, like produce and pop), then to Target (need to get a pan to cook these chicken wings on), and then to the liquor store (beer for tomorrow).
I was pretty happy that no one was home when I returned. And from the looks of things this morning, Jeremy didn't make it home at all last night. He's apparently really hitting it off with that girl we met last weekend. I think I could have had her, as well - she was flirting pretty heavy with all three of us, but I wasn't very interested. She seemed way young to me (even though she's 22, but it still seemed like she spent all her time partying, and she still hadn't had a real job yet, etc), and wore way too much makeup. But I'm happy for Jeremy - hopefully getting out a bit more will help get him out of his funk. I'll be sure to throw a few jibes his way about sleeping with a girl after knowing her just a week, if indeed that's what he did, to which he will doubtlessly reply something about those in glass houses not throwing stones or something like that... It will be fun.
Sometimes, though, I feel like I'm way too picky with girls. Wednesday night, on Ed (the best show on TV - why aren't you watching it?), Ed was dating a girl who did something that was borderline unethical (stole money from the insurance company she worked for to save a guy's life who was being screwed over by them). After helping her out of the jam, Ed's friend asked him, "Wow, you must really like this girl, huh?". To which he replied, "Well, you know, it all kind of left a bad taste in my mouth... You can compromise on your job, you can compromise on your dream house, you can compromise on your car... but... you just can't compromise on the girl." There was a long pause, and the female friend he was talking to stared into his eyes, a tear welled up, and now I'm sure we'll get months more of will-they-or-won't-they type of flirting. I could really relate to Ed during that moment, though. Am I took picky? When I meet someone I might be interested in, my mind almost always veers years into the future... would I be happy with her? Would she get along with my family? Would I ever get tired of her? Will she consistently challenge me, excite me, and make me think about life differently? It's probably a tough thing to live up to. I may have to lower myself a bit more. We shall see.
Or maybe I just gotta find someone just like Carol Vessey. She's Ed's "one", and he knows it even though she doesn't.
A conversation last night with Nick further got me thinking about the topic. As we drunkenly talked about the magic and mystery of women, how we're both pretty content with our single status but wouldn't mind getting into a relationship, he let me know that we've got more in common than I had originally thought. We'll see what happens. I'm in no rush. I'm excited about eventual marriage and kids (got the names picked out, sort of). But I'm only 24. I'm only 24. I'm only 24. Sometimes I've got to repeat it to myself over and over before it fully sinks in. But, really, I'm only 24. I'll start getting worried at 25. A quarter-century! That seems so much older than 24. Nick turned 24 yesterday, and he feels like it's way older than 22 or 23 was. After all, he'd be too old to be a good baseball prospect. I told him not to worry until the big quarter-life crisis at 25 hits.
After talking with Nick and Ed last night, I've realized that I wish I would have immediately starting taking graduate classes at Hopkins when I came here. I probably would have made a lot more friends right off the bat. I've been so unexcited about taking more classes right now that I haven't even checked with Hopkins or Towson U. as to whether or not my MSU graduate credits will transfer. I kind of doubt it, as I've heard MSU structures their Curriculum & Teaching Program so that it's difficult to transfer to a different school. But I definitely should check it out. Nick and I are both going to International Bacculoreate training this summer in NYC, but I wish that I had gotten in a program earlier here.
Tonight, I'll be cleaning the house, doing some cooking, and possibly going to the movies. I want to see Black Hawk Down, Gosford Park, and The Mothman Prophecies. We'll see what the night will bring.