happy birthday, lulu

saturday night, i worked until 11 and then met ashley, allison, and lulu out for lulu’s birthday. the fact that i honestly know someone in my life named lulu makes me so happy. i can’t even begin to explain it. we went to this bar that’s around the corner from my work. one of the reasons i love my current job is that it’s in the city, in an awesome neighborhood, allentown. i used to work in amherst, a suburb of buffalo. in amherst, it was hard to recommend people to cool restaurants and bars because everything out there was all chains– applebees, fridays, carrabba’s, olive garden. there were very few unique places. but in allentown, there are no chains within walking distance, but tons of interesting and varied restaurants with awesome food and settings.

anyway, this bar, i love it, and i’ve become friends with the bartenders and the regulars. they actually have a nickname for me that i don’t despise: “heartbreaker.” one of the cooks at this place decided recently to confess his undying love for me. i’d never actually spoken to him before. he pulled me aside and told me that he would be so lucky as to spend five minutes alone with me and that he could tell i was really smart and a woman on the rise. when i think about it, those are some really kind words. but in all actuality, i couldn’t get past the creepy factor. he followed ashley into the women’s bathroom to gush to her about me and told her that he thought that i was “the one.” again, i’d never previously spoken to him.

i told him that i was flattered and honored and i greatly appreciated all of the nice things he said about me, but that i wasn’t interested. apparently, after this, he was at the other end of the place talking about committing suicide. that obviously has nothing to do with me, but it’s still like… i don’t know how to react to that. is it supposed to make me feel guilty? am i then supposed to hear that and want to be with him?

another time, a kid walked into the bar off the street that had applied at my job just a day earlier. i took his application from him and remembered him because his name was harold and he really didn’t look like a harold. i saw him at the bar, actually, the same night i had that confrontation with the cook, and asked him if he was harold. he said yes and we started talking. again, not at all interested, but for some reason, he followed me around like a lost puppy that night. he had eyes that were deep sunken into his head and he looked like he hadn’t eaten in days and had been shooting up for hours. bill, one of the bar regulars, jokingly referred to him as david bowie. when i was done being overly polite by continuing to talk to him out of pseudo-guilt due to the fact that he came there alone, i walked away to hang out with ash. bill said david bowie kept looking around for me and staring at me. weird. and thus, in one night, i earned my name, “heartbreaker.”

so this is my bar, a cute neighborhood place where everybody literally does know my name. it’s a fun group of people. lulu’s birthday was awesome, one of the most fun nights i’ve had in a while. every night, this man with a big bucket of roses and bouquets makes his rounds to all the bars on allen st. trying to sell flowers to people drunk enough to buy them. i bought lulu two roses last night and she was so happy! i had to work at 7 am so i couldn’t stay out too late, but still, what a fun night. it was just such a good mix of people, all in good moods, all there for a good person. i just really love fun, drama free nights.