A Delightful Find

Brownbag Bookshop -- how can a shop monikered so be anything but delightful?! I'd driven by this place several times before, but hadn't yet stopped in. Last weekend I did a spring cleaning of sorts and came up with a handful of books that I could actually bear to part with (not many fit that bill). So, this morning was as good a time as any to check out this establishment. Having done so may turn out to do more harm than good, as the little shop just oozed charm, with a sweet proprieter to boot. Before going in, I had already vowed that today was not to be a "buying" day, but a "selling" one, as the whole point was to streamline my collection. I was sorely tempted though when I found myself surrounded by bound paper in such a cozy atmosphere. I persevered however, and refrained from any browsing that might induce a purchase. I am self-imposing a moratorium on any new book-buying until I finish at least three unread ones. The promise of returning to what I sense will become my favorite bookshop lies ahead, and I can't wait to go back!

My friend Jen is in town this weekend so I met up with her last night to partake in some Irish celebrating. Our first stop was happy hour with her family and their friends. The group began dispersing around 9 or so, each headed their separate ways for the rest of the night. We ended up at a local bar that was insanely packed and reminiscent of a frat party. Not my normal choice for a night out these days, but it was certainly an interesting time.

The music was way too loud for any sort of real conversation, but we were quite amused by the drunken antics of our fellow patrons. Our first attempt to get a drink at the bar rendered us almost unable to get away from the bar to our friends, as we were surrounded by couples grinding, pushing us up into the bar. After some deft maneuvering we managed to escape to a back corner where a host of college-aged kids who had likely been enjoying themselves since the top of the morning were drunkenly singing and dancing along to songs that brought back memories of junior high (eg, Bon Jovi, AC/DC, etc.). They were clearly having so much fun, we couldn't be annoyed with them! Instead, we joined them, singing our hearts out and dancing away. Jen and I sought in vain for the DJ hoping to make a request for Ton Loc to add to the walk down memory lane, but he had already gone for the night, and it was just a sound system playing.

The rest of the night was essentially a montage of random wacky interactions. There was the guy she thought looked like Henry Rollins, and when she told him so, he told her he had never heard of him (for real?!). There was the guy who took a fancy to Jen's sister, thought he was being all suave by inching up behind her to dance with her, only to eventually realize that he had been doing the butt bump with a low table that was situated between the two (to her relief!). There was the guy that head-butted me in greeting because apparently, he thought that was a cool way to introduce himself (yeah, I don't get it either). There was the guy who walked by us and offered up one comment, in a very Vince Vaughn-like manner, "beautiful babies" before going on his way. And so on and so on ...

After three hours of that though, we had had our fill and it was time to leave, with cloudy heads and hoarse voices. Though I doubt I will be doing that again very soon, it was a fun time. Today, tea is my best friend.