To say I never go out would be incorrect, but it is rare for me to do so. Even the food Sweetie and I eat from local restaurants is most often take-out. However, I often find myself silently bemoaning my lack of social contact and my dwindling (to the point of nonexistence) social circle. I don't really have a social circle. And the only one responsible for this problem is myself. You have to make an effort to be in touch with others and get out and do things. So when my friend Mary (from high school) suggested I go to the Creative Cocktail Hour at Real Art Ways on Thursday night with her, I decided to go. I had no excuses: school's done for now so no homework and I had already planned to take Friday off so I was assured of the down time I so badly need / crave even if I wouldn't have any Thursday night.

Anyway, it was a good time. I found Mary who was sitting with a friend, this Irish guy she had told me about. She encouraged me to get some food. Since it was around 7 or so, most of the food was already gone, and I was quite hungry after weight training that afternoon and having no dinner. I got a couple small chunks of cheese, a dollop of hummus and some strawberries, and that tided me over. Next time I go, hopefully I will get a bit more for my $8 cover charge.

So we sat and talked and people watched. A fellow teacher of Mary's stopped by and they commiserated about the awful student she (the fellow teacher) has to tutor. The student got expelled for threatening to kill people at the school so now she gets one-on-one tutoring in the library. Yup, special treatment for being a trouble maker. What's worse for the teacher is that the student does NOT bathe, and she smells terrible. The teacher said, "She smells crotch-y." Totally gross, but I did have to laugh having never heard that adjective before.

There was a band playing outside and the Irish guy went out to listen and after a while Mary and I did too. I'm not much into rap and hip hop music, but this was African hip hop, and it had a great sound. The band's name is Gokh-Bi System and they were playing up a storm. A bunch of guests were dancing around in front of them. It was kind of funny to me because it was basically just a bunch of white ladies - no men, no people of color. The band was into it though. Sometimes they would alternate with one another and come out into the group of dancing people and sing or play. I didn't feel uninhibited enough to dance, but I kind of wanted to. Maybe next time...

Mary and I went back inside and checked out the gallery. Very abstract stuff, some of which was cool (Fay Ku) and some of which was just plain weird (Shaun Leonardo). In one room, there was a cardboard box propped on small block of wood in the corner, and at first I thought it was trash, but it was part of the exhibit. It had a piece of sparkly paper in it which cast some light on the wall. Some other people and I kind of shared a laugh about this piece of art. It was nice that there were people who were down to earth enough to get that it was a bit funny. I actually quite appreciate abstract art and I did like this piece, but at first I thought, "hey someone left some trash over here," and that was funny.

It was good to see Mary and it was definitely a big step for me to go out, and I thanked her for encouraging me to go. I think I will do it again.

Labels: friends, the world around us

posted by Miss Rachel 5/22/2007 09:16:00 PM

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