Wined and dined

Well the sanity from the commute home last night just couldn't last. It was still raining this morning when I got up, and the combined pressure of 48 hours of precipitation exploded spectacularly on highway 85 this morning. As I pass one of those "Amber Alert" signs, they had on it this morning that one lane of traffic was blocked ahead. As an experienced South Carolina driver, I immediately thought "One lane my ass!" and got off the freeway. First, I know that if there is any possible way for South Carolinians to block the roads they will leap upon it like a septuagenarian senator on a nubile page. Secondly, I recognize the signs of the Water Madness when I see them. Sure enough, as I passed over the highway on an alternate route to work, traffic was backed up further into the distance than I could see. When I got in to the office, I heard that there was an eight-car pileup on the interstate.

It was really important that I get to work on time today. My boss had moved his Wednesday meeting to today, and I had to have fresh slides ready to go on time since his boss was in town from California. Even with stopping to get gas this morning, I was only five minutes late. I was pretty happy about that, and immediately settled in to work with the quiet smugness of a Virgo who has started off the day in the Right. I also downloaded the report that I needed to pull info from before the computer system crashed. That made it hard for people to get back to me with details, but at least I had the core numbers to work from. We miraculously got it all together and in on time, after which I could relax a bit.

Marvin called to tell me he had finished up early in Atlanta, but wanted to stop to see me on his way back through to at least have lunch. We went to Macaroni Grill. I know, it's a chain, and I usually eschew chains. I also know that the average calorie count on one of their entrees is approximately equal to consuming an entire bull moose. But the one here is close to the freeway and was easy for Marvin to find. Plus that butter sauce on their Shrimp Portofino is just good enough to name a child after. I mean almost anything with that many calories has to be good. They used to have the second-best Caesar salad in town, but I was disappointed to see the quality there had fallen. It was under-dressed and the bowls weren't chilled - and it wasn't busy enough for that to be an excuse. That focaccia bread they have is out of this world though. I usually get a couple of loaves to take home, but in light of my burgeoning waistline I forwent.

It was good to see Marvin. He is such a nice, attractive guy, and I like him. Unfortunately, he is raising a niece and nephew with his mother, working full time, supporting them all, and taking a full load of college classes simultaneously. The man barely has time for regular bathroom breaks, much less a boyfriend. We had a good conversation about life, our mutual attraction, and the seemingly un-scalable series of obstacles preventing us from doing anything about it. Then I kissed him and sent him back to Charlotte, a bit sadly. But I reconciled myself to his continued unavailability long ago.

I got emails from several friends with addresses, and added one more person to the card list. Still I got four addresses today, which is GREAT! I usually have several cards that don't get sent out, but my goal is for none this year. I'm sending a total of 50 cards. 47 are now out, 1 to go to Europe, and 2 more addresses left to track down. That's pretty damn good, even if my cards are going out a bit late for me.

Justin called this afternoon and wanted to see me. Of course I am always happy to see him. He came over to the house to hang out and to give me my Christmas present, which he just couldn't wait to do, despite the fact that I don't have his yet. It's ordered, but not here. He got me a really nice "pocket guide" to collectable glassware from the 20's to the 60's. It has Depression Glass in it, plus the Bubble Glass I collect, which will be really handy. It also weighs a lot less than those other books. I am superstitious about carrying a book with me when I hunt glass, but Justin assured me that those rules don't hold true for little books LOL.

We ended up going to dinner out at the K&S, a little country restaurant near my house, where they serve up a great founder plate. It's an older crowd at night. I walked in and walked right by Pat, who I used to work with, and her husband Wendell. She came over and spoke, and I should have spoken to her husband, but his name just would not come to me. I HATE that. So I sat there, trying to listen to Justin, remember this guy's name, and gauge how long I could put off speaking to him before I was being really rude. Finally, it popped into my head, but by then they had their food, and I decided to just wait until they were getting ready to go before I spoke. Eventually, I caught his eye though, and spoke to him over his meal. He was really nice about it. But I guess you would get used to going places with Pat and her table-hopping. She knows half of Greenville. She of course knew everyone there, and they talked for 45 minutes before they left the restaurant.

After supper, we went through Big Lots, since it is right across the street, and I needed another gift card box. I have a thing about that. I think it's tacky enough to give a gift card (even if it is what the recipient wants), which is practically like giving money, without just sticking it in an envelope. So I always try to make a little effort to wrap it and at least make it look like a real gift. I know my nephew Cole is getting to the age that I can't buy for him any more. But I miss the days when Uncle Steve could pull a rabbit out of the hat and find some cool surprise to delight him with.

We headed back for the house and just hung out and talked. The subject of stalkers came up, and I dug out a stream-of-consciousness story that a guy who was obsessed with me in my youth had sent to me many years ago. It was fairly well written, in an obsessive and embarrassingly diary-esque way. Justin did an interpretive reading that had me literally shaking with laughter. We always have so much fun together.