the daily snivel

In keeping with long-standing traditions, some friends and I periodically forsake the obligations demanded by our classes, the Clinic, and other aspects of our social lives so that we can meet weekly for some tasty pints at the Royal Oak, a pub right across the street from our law school. This year, we've set the meeting time for Thursdays at 5:00 pm, which is one of those rare times when no one has to be anywhere for at least a couple of hours, so that there is ample opportunity afforded to frolic and laugh and carouse. Most recently, I met up with my friends Aimee, Kari, Aniel, Jenn, Aisling, Eric, Mel, and Michelle, and what began as simple evening of drinks turned into an all-night hullaballoo. When our friend Aimee arrived, she was positively wiggling in her seat with excitement because she had tickets to see a show with Goldie, a UK DJ well-known for his fusion of ambient and jungle beats (as well as his abundant gold teeth and erstwhile romance with Bjork). Well, actually, I should say "well-known by people who aren't me," because I was embarrassed to admit I hadn't heard of him before. Conversely, my friend Jenn was absolutely floored by the announcement. It turned out she was a tremendous fan and was extremely distressed she hadn't heard of the show earlier. Given the excitement everyone was exuding, however, I was easily talked into checking the show out so I agreed to join them for some further drinks at a friend's house and dancing until the wee hours.

Goldie was fantastic, I confess. I wasn't keen on the warm-up DJ, who played until nearly midnight and was extremely needy in the repetitive way that too many DJs are these days ("are all you people having a great time?" "put your hands in the air!" "show me some love!" etc.) which is really a turn-off in a performance. A good DJ should just spin and work some magic on the crowd, and not interrupt the music with constant cajoling and wheedling. There's actually a great song by JET about that (referenced in the title of this post). The craziest part of the evening was the noise. I had forgotten how loud a DJ can be, and when we finally left our hearing was seriously impaired. Sounds were muffled and distant -- it was like being underwater. Next time, I'll definitely have to invest in ear plugs.

I had great fun. The drinks were expensive, but such is the way of trendy clubs in the Byward Market. Nevertheless, I stayed out and shook that booty o' mine till 3:00 am. It was at that point that my friend Jenn decided she had to go, so we left together, I cabbed Jenn back to her apartment and then walked myself home. It was important to see her safely back at her place, and after I dropped her off, I was out of money, and figured that since it was a nice night, I would simply amble onwards with a ringing in my ears and a pleasant evening running through my head. Jenn repeatedly told me that my plan made no sense, since she could simply run to a bank machine and give me some money herself, but I was stubbornly proud. Sometimes you want to buy a gal a drink without it ever being something she should pay back. And sometimes you want to spend your last dollar doing something nice for a close friend, like getting her home after a late night and a lot of fun together.

I'm not always rational in my actions, to be sure.

Accordingly, I didn't make it back to my house until 4 am, and got up early the next morning to run errands and hit the Clinic, and then the gym, before going out to another party last night. Suffice it to say, when I finally stumbled home on Friday night, I didn't wake up until about 4:00 on Saturday afternoon.