Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Although the holiday tomorrow has absolutely no effect on my schedule, it made for a positively hopping bar scene at Secco tonight. Lots of people seemed to be out wining and dining because it wasn't a school night.

I was there to meet an acquaintance after months of trying to sync up our schedules and share some wine. Arriving a little late, I found him already sipping red bubbles and waiting patiently for me.

Nearby was another friend and Secco regular, so I said hello. After a non-talking afternoon at the symphony, I had plenty of people to talk to now.

This guy and I had met at Amuse and hit it off when we discovered we were both the oldest of six, among other things. He cracks me up; he's old Richmond and calls women "dahling" and "honey-bunny" in a way most guys could never pull off.

We munched on the bleu cheese-stuffed fried olives and then decided to tackle Sara's new cheese menu, just out today. But where to start?

There were so many new options that we asked for cheese whiz assistance, eventually ordering Fougerus (gooey, earthy brie cousin), P'tit Basque (smooth, nutty and oh-so wine friendly) and Pantaleo (fruit, white peppery, long-aged Sardinian delight). From soft to hard, all three were outstanding.

Julia came over to say hello and the three of us got off on a tangent about being introduced to sushi by Jewish friends in DC and while this was not the case with me, oddly enough, it was with both of them.

We got on the subject of cooking at home and my new friend, an expert fried chicken maker, told me that if he won the lottery, the first thing he'd do is hire a cook.

He wanted to know what my first move would be and I had no idea, but I don't play the lottery, so I probably don't need to give it too much thought. A cook would definitely not be on my list, though.

When my friend left, Julia slid over and we went forward with an unexpected evening of wine and girl talk. She said she'd intended to do paperwork and I said I'd intended to go to a show, but we both stayed put and played catch up and life analysis instead.

We're both Geminis, so the topic of the new astrological calendar came up; we agreed that they can call us whatever they choose, but our Gemini natures are immovable and completely recognizable. Just ask our mothers.

And on the subject of maternal units, turns out neither of us chose to share a bout of serious pneumonia with our mothers for fear of worrying them about other life issues we were experiencing (part of first child syndrome, no doubt). And what the hell were we thinking, anyway?

We got invited to go to Babe's for a drag show and declined in order to keep on wining and talking. A curly-haired customer came over to talk to Julia, who introduced us, and the woman said I had beautiful hair (and even touched it). That's not a compliment I hear often, so I took it.

When I got ready to leave, Julia apologized for having kept me from my musical plans tonight, but I told her that I'd apparently ended up exactly where I'd wanted to be.

After all, she's my band bitch (her term) and I think she was sufficiently guilted into agreeing to a show in our near future.

According to her, if I don't keep her current, she's going to go on listening to the same music derived from the music of her youth (see: pogoing).

Friends don't let friends' taste in music stagnate, not if they can help it. I think we caught her in time.