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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

A recap of Samson's epic weekend

Better late than never, but I think now is as good a time as any to recap my weekend and share any thoughts along the way...

On Friday, I got up with my partner in crime and co-author of this blog, the world famous Renaissance Man himself, Judah. We're from the same city and went to high school and college together, but currently live about three hours apart, so we pretty frequently meet up at "home base" whenever we can. My main purpose to go back home was to hang out with another longtime friend who is leaving for military orders elsewhere in about three days (That was Saturday, I'll get to that in a few).

Judah and I decided to meet up at our favorite watering hole to grab a brew and catch up a little. His drive back home is a lot shorter than mine, so he got to the bar before I did and was already a few drinks in. He texted me beforehand to let me know that the bartender was cute, and his attempt to flirt was cut short when he mentioned his love for Prince... apparently she's an MJ fan. I showed up a little while later and as usual, we talked about everything under the sun. I did notice that the bartender was particularly attractive, and no matter where the conversation went, it always found a way to circulate back to her.

There are plenty of attractive women out there, but I think she stood out because she was a different kind of attractive... Had a little extra weight (in a good way), wore glasses, cute smile, but mainly it was the personality. She was pretty spunky and seemed like the type of chick you could just hang out with and enjoy in any setting. I tend to have a thing for quirky chicks, hence my guilty pleasure fascination with comedian Sarah Silverman.

I thought the bartender was attractive, but I think Judah was feeling her on a whole different level than I was. It was funny how he broke it down to a science why she was a WOMAN, and different from other females you run into from time to time. I totally felt where he was coming from. The part that still makes me laugh is how two people can have such an in depth conversation about a stranger with her totally unaware.

If she had ANY idea how deep our conversation went she might have asked someone else to finish her shift. Or she might have just laughed it off or busted our balls about it, because she did seem like the cool type. But basically, within the 2-3 hours we were at the bar, we had figured out what kind of personality she had, what her family situation was, the types of dudes she probably dated, what she was like in bed, what kind of mother she would be, how she would react to adverse situations in a relationship, how many kids she and Judah would have and wondered if her cool demeanor was covering a shallow personality. ... And I deduced that if a woman has a nice body, it's impossible not to get a peek. Each time she came to bring me something, I was like, alright, I'm not going to look this time. But without fail, it played out like this each time:

Bartender: Here you go baby, *hands Samson his burger and fries*

Samson: Thank you very much *eyes wander to cleavage as she places the plate down* ..... DOH!

Bartender: What was that?

Samson: Oh nothing, I just coughed. Could I have some ketchup for my fries please?

Bartender: Sure thing sweetie *Bends down to grab a bottle out of the mini fridge*

Samson: *Eyes wander to her butt...*

Bartender: *Turns around .5 seconds later with the ketchup bottle in hand and a knowing look in her eyes*

Samson: $!@%


It's just impossible....


Anyway, Judah and I had a good time catching up as always, and probably got a few blog posts out of the conversations we had. Fast forward to Saturday and I'm supposed to be heading out that night to get up with my friend Brandon who lives about 40 minutes away. Like I said, he'll soon be gone for two years, so I wanted to send him out in style. Another close friend of mine, JT, wanted to make the trip because he's cool with Brandon also. So after a bunch of texts, the gameplan was to meet up around 9, go to the club to get wristbands (it's free before 9:30), and head back to Brandon's place (He lives across the street) and have a few drinks so that we're not running up expensive bar tabs. As you can see, we're all about free. Gotta beat the system, it's a recession.

JT and I get up there and I go into snack mode because I hadn't eaten much that day. If was going to be having even half a drink I didn't want to do it on an empty stomach. After I munch on oatmeal and pretzels we head out to get our wristbands. Brandon bought JT and I a couple of drinks and thanked us for coming out to spend his last weekend with him, classy guy. Before we leave, one of my homegirls from high school starts texting asking if she should make the drive to come hang out with us. She knew I was in town for the weekend and also knew that Brandon was leaving soon, so she thought it'd be a good idea to have a little bit of a reunion, since all four of us went to high school together.

When we got back to Brandon's place, he immediately starts fixing everybody drinks. There were a good eight other guys in the apartment that he was friends with that were also hitting the club with us. Brandon has a really nice apartment and his bar is fully equipped. Since he's leaving, every bottle had to go... In between drinks and hardcore snack mode (at this point I was eating everything from Saltine crackers and pretzels, to oatmeal, granola bars and lunch meat), I'm coordinating between Brandon and my female friend from high school, we'll call her Tiffany.

Tiffany really wants to make the trip but she isn't sure whether she should, since Brandon has a house full of like 12 dudes going to the club and she'd be the only woman. Brandon seemed really distracted so I jumped in and texted her telling her she should come. Since she's also married, I was the default married guy that she'd be able to spend time with if she felt out of place. And outside of that, I hadn't seen her since she came to my wedding so it'd be good to catch up.

A little before midnight we decide to head out. Coincidentally, I had just gotten a call from Tiffany saying she was in the club and asking if we had gotten there yet. We walk over and immediately hit the bar. I bought me and JT a Grey Goose and Redbull for $24... (!!!!!). I can probably get my oil changed for that... After circulating around the dance floor a few times we run into Tiffany, and it was all hugs and smiles. We hadn't seen each other in two years.

Throughout the night, JT and I pretty much hung with Tiffany the whole time, as the pack of Brandon and his other friends did damage throughout the club. There was a lot of laughing and joking, dancing and talking about old times, an all around good night. When it was closing time, I walked Tiffany to her car and she was supposed to take me back to Brandon's apartment. I wasn't the most help because I couldn't tell her how to get back there. Brandon wasn't answering his phone... Eventually she found it and I got out and she went back home after a fun time hanging out.

[Sidebar about the Tiffany portion of the night]

It's really funny how people evolve in just a few years. While I had last seen Tiffany two years ago, we really didn't truly get to catch up or say a whole lot to each other. It was my wedding, so of course I had my hands tied and a lot of people to see and thank for coming. Before that day, outside of a random run-in at Wal-Mart, the last time I had spent a decent amount of time around her was about 5 years ago, when she came to visit me in college so we could hit up a house party down the street from my apartment. So for the past few years we've mainly just been keeping in contact through text message.

And basically, the last time she had actually and truly spent time with me I was only a little removed from being a teenager. She mentioned in a text the next day that she had fun catching up, but also mentioned that I was slightly different from the Samson she remembered. Not to say that I grew up and got "brand new", but that I'm a little more raw than I was when we used to talk regularly. I hadn't thought about it or noticed it, but I know she's right. I blame entering the work force and taking on adult responsibilities... Haha, nah...

Honestly, I'm the same guy but I guess to sum it up I was a boy then and now I'm a man. I have a little clearer outlook on the world and have been through a little more, so I guess I have more of an edge to me than I did before. She even said in high school I was more timid when I spoke to her... Guess those days are over. I dern sure don't have it all figured out yet and I'm sure I still have a few insecurities like anybody does, but I'm at a place where I know who I am and am confident and comfortable in my own skin as a man and a person. It's a beautiful feeling.


[Back to the main story]

When we got back from the club it was around 2 a.m. I remember hitting the bed immediately, and so did JT, who had already crashed. I didn't plan on going to sleep yet, but I guess my body went into auto-pilot and said "OK man, lay down," so I did... Brandon busted in the room on a phone call and told me he was on the phone with none other than my high school sweetheart who I also dated for half of college... We'll call her Lisa.

OK... wasn't expecting this. We didn't break up on the best of terms, and on my end of things anger would have been an accurate way to describe how I felt after it went down. I literally hadn't seen her since 5 years ago when we broke up. I had spoken to her once or twice--she got in touch a few years ago to let me know about a family emergency she had that she knew I would care about. Aside from that, she sent me a Facebook message congratulating me on graduating college a year or so ago, because I had run into her sister at a bar and we chatted for a bit.

Anyway, Brandon says "Someone wants to talk to you" and handed me the phone. I chat with Lisa for a couple minutes, just asking her how she's doing and whatnot, before handing Brandon the phone again. He tells me she's going to come through. Ha, definitely wasn't expecting this. Haven't seen my ex in 5 years and now all of a sudden at 3 a.m. she's going to be stopping by. Interesting night indeed.

Fast forward about an hour and leaving out some of the funniest parts of the story on how I spent my time the next hour or so [Gotta keep some things to myself...lol], and Lisa shows up downstairs. Brandon had left for a bit and had just gotten back when she arrived. I go downstairs and say what's up to Lisa. The first minute or so of the conversation was pretty much just chatter asking what's new with each other.

The whole situation tickled me because like I said, we didn't end it on the happiest of terms, so I had no idea how I'd react when we actually saw each other again. But to make a long story short, it was all good. I told her to come with me upstairs so we can catch up on life. I gave her a hard time about a few things, and it was sort of surreal. I think any time the conversation turned normal, something in my brain said "OH SHIT DAWG, YOU'RE TALKING TO LISA!" and I just started laughing.

At the end of the day it was good seeing her, not just because it had been a while, but I think it was refreshing to be at a place in your life where you're not bothered by things that used to bother you. If you had asked me 5 years ago how I'd react, I would have told you something different. But like I said with the Tiffany situation, being removed from situations for a while you tend to grow. It would be ridiculous for me, as a 25-year-old married man to spaz out or still be angry at something I felt a certain way about when I was 20. So to be in the presence of the woman you used to feel ill will toward and to enjoy joking with her and giving her a hard time shows that a lot of growth happens in short periods of time, so you can't remain stuck in one place while life is moving forward. She's happy with her life and I'm happy with mine, so neither of us had any reason to be anything but friendly toward each other.

So yeah, all in all it was a great weekend. A lot of Ghosts from Christmas Past made appearances, had a good time with my good friends, and all in all felt good about how it went down. I think I went to sleep at about 5:30 a.m. and got up at 8:30 a.m., so I have no idea how I made the 4-hour drive back to where I live now without so much as a nap. But I made it, and rolled into the work week with some laughs, memorable conversations and thanking God that I'm alive.

2 comments:

Ashbash said...

Love it! I love when situations like that happen and we are able to take a step back and really reflect on our growth sometimes I am just like wow I would have totally reacted a different way a few years ago. I am glad that you two were able to act civil. AND most of all I am glad that during your snack fest you didn't have Combos ;) Love your blog thanks for always keeping it real!

Samson said...

Exactly. Just the fact that I was able to laugh and have a good time was refreshing. Showed me I wasn't in the same place as a few years ago, which means I'm moving forward, and HOPEFULLY getting better! Hahaha, no, no Combos. That inside joke made my day. Thanks for weighing in as always Ash!

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