A post in which we do the haunted house

I woke up this morning feeling inexplicably much better. I was sitting on the porch having my coffee when I suddenly realized it was very quiet. The rain had stopped. Finally. I decided it didn't matter what Glen thought about me, and reminded myself of the unhappiness he has to deal with in his life. Better to be alone with many friends than to be a youth-obsessed aging man in a relationship with a partner who is driving me crazy. I should remember each of us has his own struggle.

I was caught up at work until Alan reviewed my aging today and assigned 17(!!) more write-offs for this month. But I was looking forward to the bear thing tonight, and ready for the weekend.

I headed for R&B's house after work, and we left from there after a smoke and a talk on the porch. I talked to him about last night, and Russ informed me that it wasn't guesswork on his part when he asserted that Glen broke up M and me. He apparently has had it direct from a good source. I do know that M has broken up with other guys because "daddy" didn't approve. I guess if it's true, then it wasn't much of a relationship to start with, or M isn't emotionally mature enough for a relationship anyway. Or it's true what they say about fat chicks - they're like mopeds. Fun to ride until a friend sees you on it. And none of this should matter to me at all at this point and I'm trying to figure out why it still does. I'm torn between 1) the emotional wasteland of my dating life making it disproportionately relevant; or just 2) that seeing Glen last night refreshed it all. I'm really hoping it's 2.

We didn't have time to eat dinner because we were supposed to meet the bears downtown at 7pm. But no bears showed up. It was just Russ, Billy, me, David, and Brian. Since no one was there anyway, we decided just to go on and eat supper before festivities. After a vote, we went to Sticky Fingers. Barbecue is usually the hardest place for me to find something to eat, but it was fine. I have been there before.

We then headed down to the haunted house. There was one down in the southern end of downtown. It was $13(!!) each to get in, but I wanted to go since the group was going. I don't really like haunted houses very much, but for the most part this one wasn't too bad. A lot of strobe lights and people jumping out from behind sheets and stuff. Insurance won't let them touch you any more, which was just dandy with me. Up until the end. In the last room, it was all painted black and white, and there was a strobe light going, so you couldn't see anything. Then a guy in a black and white striped suit and a black and white clown mask started revving a chainsaw. It was like he just came out of all the stripes and the light in there. I really, really hate clowns, and when I saw that one, I did scream. I was glad that was the last room. I was really ready to be done at that point.

When we got out, there was a debate about what to do next. Russ, of course, was all about more haunted houses. The rest of us weren't as enthusiastic. Billy wanted to go for a drink. Brian doesn't like clowns either, and like me, he was done. I was just staying out of the debate, but when directly asked, I told him I would be happy going back to their place for a drink and a talk on the porch. So we couldn't reach a consensus.

Since we were just blocks from my house, I suggested that we go to my place, have a drink, and discuss. My house is a bit rough right now, and on second thought I was a bit embarrassed to have David and Brian see it for the first time like that. But on the other hand I haven't had people in in ages, and I'm really making an effort to let go of the idea that the place has to be perfect before I can have friends over. Still, I really, really wished I had vacuumed. Russ wanted coffee, and he doesn't do hazelnut. The only plain coffee I had in the house (I usually don't have any) was Publix brand I bought because it was the penny item last week. It was decidedly inferior to the Eight O'Clock brand I usually drink, so I was embarrassed about that too, although Russ was nice enough about it.

I showed David and Brian the house, and Russ saw my copy of Hocus Pocus laying about, and asked if I would put it in. I love that movie, and watch it several times every October. But it isn't everyone's cup of tea. Brian went to sleep, and David and Billy were over it fairly quickly. We fast-forwarded to the musical number and then headed for Russ and Billy's place. When we got there it was about midnight, and Brian and David peeled off pretty quickly. Russ had to work the next day, so he didn't want to stay up late either. I hope I didn't kill the evening.