Can you believe that I've never been to
a happy hour?
I'd seen them on TV, those crowded
parties where people gather after a hard day's work for drinks and
appetizers, where they mingle and meet and maybe...fall in love. Yes,
I'm a dreamer...a silly, romantic dreamer.
In my early teaching days, I taught
from 1pm – 9:30pm, and that didn't lend itself to finding a happy
hour to enjoy. I frequently felt that I was missing out on something
amazing, like some rite of passage into adulthood. But all that
changed today! Our friend, Karen, won a happy hour party for herself
and some guests, and Andy and I were invited!
We were so excited to gorge ourselves
on free food and mingle with a new crowd that we hardly noticed the
traffic. Besides, it was a gorgeous day for a drive. A day so filled
with this cool warmth that you rolled down the windows, blasting
Jay-Z and JT through the stereo while you sang, rapped or mumbled
along. It didn't matter if you knew all the words, or any of the
words...today was that kind of driving day.
Howl at the Moon is a dueling
piano bar in the newly established Ballpark Village downtown.
We arrived to find that there were no tables left available, and so
we jumped into the food line while Karen grabbed us a place at the
bar. We chatted and laughed, and then chatted and laughed some more.
The place filled quite quickly and soon the pianos were dueling it out with songs from Me and Bobby McGee to Rednecked Woman. (That's an unfair sampling, I just can't remember the others because those are the first two that had me dancing and singing along.) A plethora of people were milling about, waiting in line for food, waiting for drinks at the bar. We positioned ourselves as far from the din as possible, though chatting still proved a challenge with all the ambient noise.
I didn't mingle, but, I'm married, so
there's probably rules against mingling once your married. Still, I
stayed with my own crew, mostly because I really like them and
focusing on them seemed to take the most energy and time.
Of course, on the drive home I
found myself wondering if I had experienced a true happy hour. True
happy hour? I thought. What does that even mean? Images
flashed in my mind of what happy hour looked like on TV and in the
movies and I chided myself for being momentarily swayed. Does it matter
what happy hour looks like to anyone else?
For the hour that we were there, I was
super happy!
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| See how much fun we have! |
A confession. I've not been to many happy hours either. What's the matter with us Sharon, are we like dull or somethin'. Don't answer that !
ReplyDeleteI have a suggestion for an adventure for you. Sharon goes to the farmers market on a quest for farm fresh eggs. What do you think? Most farmers markets are organized enough now to have a web page with a list of regular venders. Try to find one that sells a variety of goods beyond just fruit and veggies. The prices will be higher but so will the quality of the food. After purchasing food directly from the person who has grown it it certainly makes the grocery store feel like a impersonal place.
Thank you for the egg suggestions. I promise some of the eggs will be boiled. I'll let you know what I do with all of them. Actually I have a new plan or maybe experiment would be the right word for grocery shopping this summer. I'll start in the next week or so and let you know all about it and how well I do.
Must get out for a walk before the heat rises. Have a wonderful day my friend xoxo
I love your suggested adventure, and it's officially on the list. In fact, St. Louis has a wonderful farmer's market downtown, but it's on Saturdays and because I work on Saturdays, I've really never been able to go. But all that will change soon!
DeleteI'm looking forward to hearing about your shopping adventures! Hope it's not too steamy where you are. The weather in STL is just perfect right now. So rare! Trying to make sure I sit outside and appreciate it while I can.
ps. us? dull? never! ;) xoxo