Liquer? I Dont Even Know Her!

A side effect of being a single twenty-something in a town bursting at the seams with married thirty-somethings is the fierce automatic kinship you feel with anyone who vaguely even matches your place in life. According to my calculations (Im actually kind of a scientist at this) there are about 6.5 people in this town that are in my statistical variation. And last night I drank with all of them.

Despite half hearted efforts by the town of SLO to create mingling opportunities (Chamber Mixer anyone?), we mostly forage for ourselves, and frankly, it leads to some hilarity.

So, with that interlude, the pertinent story at hand.

Last night, as according to what is now a fairly stringent Wednesday tradition, I pranced home early, made something delicious to contribute, and got ready for a night of debauchery and board games. But this time, this time was different. Firstly, I got to drink on campus. Which I havent done for oooh, 5 years now. Really, I wish I could describe the nostalgia of walking up the stairs to the Sierra Madre Basketball courts. Secondly, I got locked in a bathroom. I could not be more serious about this. There are pictures to prove it.

But what made the evening interesting for me was the fervor we all had for sharing. It felt (maybe because of the location) a bit like freshman year of college. Where everyone feels displaced and ready to turn themselves inside out to make some new friends. It didnt have that twinge of adolescent desperation or anything (the good thing about getting old is that you are more relaxed, particularly about drinking), but I think the intentions were similar.

We talked for hours, covering topics like monogamy, past indiscretions, and every possible proponent of sex. Topics that I am usually fairly private about, all of a sudden felt like fair game. Maybe it was the wine, or maybe simply the fact that my close friends (like those of my companions last night) dont live in town, and Im a little starved for that intimacy.

Either way, Im looking forward to next week.