Jumped in the river what did I see, black eyed angel swim with me

It's approaching seven o'clock and I'm finally starting to feel better. All day I've been nursing a mild enough, yet energy sapping hangover. Last night was Tracy and Ray's Christmas party; there was a keg of beer and I drank from it. I didn't have that much to drink, but by the end of the night I was perched between very buzzed and officially drunk. While it's true I didn't have that much to drink (maybe four or five cups of beer), I also didn't have any food, which probably enhanced my condition. Oh yeah, I'm also a lightweight. There is that.

I had such a good time at this party. I always do when I'm around this group of my friends, but last night left me with such good feelings that I kept waking up early this morning recapping parts of the night and smiling. I'm filled with gratitude to be fortunate enough to have such stellar people in my life. Whenever we're together there is a lot of laughter and good cheer. Yes, I am fortunate.

Tracy and Ray organized a pub quiz for the party which went off well. We assembled four or five teams and mine was comprised of Frank, Michelle, Janelle, and myself. I boldly predicted we'd emerge victorious before the game began and my prediction bore fruit. That's right, we represented and took home first prize. I was in the other room when it was announced we won and I'm still not exactly sure what it was we won (I'm 98% sure it was an assortment of wine). So, yeah, we brought the ruckus.

I'll tell you this: I never want the party to end when I'm with these people. Really, when Janelle approached me about leaving, I thought it was still early but it was nearing the witching hour and we had a bit of a drive back to MA ahead of us. Before leaving, Rachael pulled me into the living room and told me I should ask out Janelle's friend Danielle, who rode up to the party with us. She was convinced I had a shot. "Do it, Kevin", she counseled. "Believe me, she will say yes if you ask her out on a date."

I was pretty buzzed at that point and was surprised at this development because I didn't pick up on the same things Rachael had. In fact, it wasn't just Rachael saying this stuff, others joined in. At one point Rachael wrote out a list of questions I should ask Danielle. Here's a sampling:

1. Favorite food, #'s, color. - I like this one. "Hey, Danielle, let me ask you something. What are your favorite numbers."

2. Favorite Star Wars.

3. Is she a Republican. - That would be good to know.

At the end of the note, she wrote " You can do this! You deserve this! You are awesome!" This is reason #23 why I love my friends.

So what will I do? Ah, I don't know. I like Danielle and I find her attractive, but my radar for these things hasn't been very reliable and until Rachael brought it up, I hadn't put any thought into the matter. I'm inclined to think she wouldn't be up for a date. Hell, I don't even know if she's single. I, however, am a swinging, pure-hearted, smoking hot, single, so I'm not opposed to exploring my options.

Speaking of dating, I'm pretty sure I won't be seeing Lauren again unless it's with Spira. I hadn't heard back from her for over a week after our date (We had left it that she'd let me know when she'd be free to see each other again). When she finally did call, she left me a voicemail suggesting we get together with Spira and take a yoga class together. That was all I needed to hear. Obviously, she wasn't interested in dating me. I called her back and left her a voicemail (we still haven't spoken on the phone directly) and said "Sure, let's go take a yoga class with Spira some time."

And that was basically it. I don't expect I'll hear back from her. Fine with me. I've had too many instances like this, where I slip into the friend zone at some point. I've learned from my mistakes and I'm not about to embark on a campaign to make someone interested in me. These days I hold myself in much higher esteem and am not going to put any effort into someone who isn't into me. There's a chance I'll see Lauren again and I'll be glad to see her if I do.

I didn't go to my grandmother's party this morning. I never miss family events, but I was not feeling up to going. Besides, I'll be seeing everyone at Christmas. I only feel slightly guilty.

On that note, I'm going to go see if I can get some recording done. Finished up a new song yesterday and I've got one that's nearly completed. I'll work on that and then I'll do stuff like read or meditate or watch a movie or Survivorman.