A year or so ago, while I was in the midst of that delusional first week, I was out by myself at Rudy's, a Hell's Kitchen bar. The sign outside clearly reads Rudy's Bar & Grill, so I sauntered up to the bar and asked to see a menu. The bartender flatly informed me they didn't have a kitchen, but they did have free hot dogs. Hot dogs, that I noticed, weren't even cooked on a grill. Still, they were free, so I ordered a Guinness(even though it was only available in bottle-form, because I have no taste), got a hot dog, and sat down to read Angela's Ashes.
Now I know that sounds horribly wallflowery, but it was three on a Saturday afternoon. I wasn't straining to read about a poor Irish upbringing while the place was packed and the lights were low; I was straining to read about a poor Irish upbringing while the afternoon regulars waited for the NBA playoffs to start. I had broken up with my girlfriend Wednesday, so this was my first single Saturday in three years. Why not start it with a good book and a pint?
Coming straight from the gym, I had my backpack with me, cradling it between my feet and the bottom of the bar. Next to me, a bald tattooed man in a wife-beater did shots with his equally tough looking wife/girlfriend. The vested-bartender was quick to feed them whiskey and dogs as they debated how hard a mutual acquaintance worked(the man referred the fellow as the "laziest sonabitch I know" while the woman wasn't ready to anoint the guy just yet). The rest of the regulars were a mix of middle-aged blue-collar and older professionals, as befitting a dive bar at that time of day. Sports fans, serious drinkers, and me. Reading about Frank McGourt's alcoholic father.
---
A couple hours and beers later, a group of three young girls and two guys came in. They bee-lined it for Rudy's backyard garden, and as they passed me one of the girls grabbed my shoulder and said "Are you really depressed?!? You can't read that! You'll hurt yourself!"
I laughed. "No no, I'm fine. I'll be sure to let you know, though, if I'm feeling down."
"You do that!"
And with that, she rejoined her group. She was cute. Curly brown hair, dark-blue eyes, and a curvy figure. Her friends were also pretty easy on the eye, I couldn't help but notice. One had a sexy-librarian look, dark rimmed glasses to go with long black hair and very, very red lips. I brushed it off as a nice encounter, and got back to my book.
After about forty-five minutes the group, fresh off tequila shots, was getting ready to leave. The girl who considered Ashes a prelude to suicide came up to me again, and introduced herself.
"It's my friend's birthday," she motioned to the librarian, "and we are going to a karaoke bar. You're welcome to join."
"Yeah, come to my party!" the librarian squealed, her hand shooting up into the air.
I glanced over the group. They seemed friendly and harmless enough. A few years younger than me, but they probably couldn't tell. What could it hurt?
"Sure."
Outside, the group took a picture with the gigantic pig statue that sits outside Rudy's. They insisted I join, and now they have a picture of all of them, and some guy, celebrating the librarian's birthday. Memories.
We grabbed a cab, one of those mini-van models so we could all fit.
"So Kris, do you usually get picked up by strangers like this? Do you think we are all weird?" asked one of the guys.
"Ha, no not usually. You guys are my first."
"YES!" he drunkenly screamed. I was pretty buzzed at that point as well, and we exchanged high fives.
During the cab ride I was a little worried it was going to be bar karaoke. I didn't think I had the courage to sing in front of a crowd of strangers(and by think I mean I knew I didn't). Luckily, we were headed towards Koreatown, which meant it was most likely a full-on karaoke bar. Sure enough, we pulled up to a place that looked like an office building from the outside, but had Korean BBQ on the third floor, a pool hall on the 12th floor, and a karaoke bar on the fifth1. They had a room reserved, and we settled in with Bud Lights as the birthday girl lit into the first song of the night.
Soon, more birthday guests arrived. I grew to enjoy the initial little shock these newcomers displayed when I explained I had just met the birthday girl a couple hours prior. Made me feel a little...dangerous, reckless. Or at least a guy with nothing else to do on a Saturday night.
One guest really caught my eye. She was about five-six, slender with a short Meg Ryan-esque haircut, amazingly big dark eyes and great legs. A looker.
It was hard to hear each other over the screeching of the librarian stumbling through Madonna, but I learned that the looker was a friend of a friend and really didn't know anyone either. Her name was Laura. She worked at the New York Times(a couple of blocks from my office) in online advertising(I work for a digital ad agency). I was looking to move to Brooklyn, and she knew someone who was about to leave her apartment there. We had no shortage of things to talk about.
As the night of karaoke came to a close, I gave Laura my number. Smiling up at me, she asked if I was up for staying out.
"Sure."
"Great, some friends of mine from work are at a bar not too far from here."
By then I was drunk, but still in the good phase of being drunk. Happy, not pathetic;smiling, not vacantly staring. We met up with her friends, drank some more, talked, flirted, and then she had to leave. Outside on the corner, she kissed me on the cheek and ducked into her friend's car.
Moments later, laid out in the backseat of a cab grinning like an idiot, I got a text:
"Sorry I had to run so soon, wish I could have stayed later :) Let's get together sometime - L"
L. Laura. Sweet, sweet Laura. I would definitely be calling her.
---
Tuesday, we met for dinner. In blatant disregard for New York Guy Protocol, I had texted her the day after we met to ask her out. So there I was, at the Zipper Factory a couple of blocks from my office, waiting for Laura. I was a little nervous - this was my first date in three years and I was less than week removed from a break-up. She was running a little late and I was sitting alone, nursing a beer.
Finally, my phone lit up. Incoming Call, Laura. She was a little lost, but I got her to the restaurant with no problems.
She was even prettier then I remembered, sharply dressed in a blouse and skirt that showed plenty(but not too much) of those beautiful legs. The conversation came smoothly, sailing from the usual work, family, and friends. We laughed about how both of us didn't really know anyone at the birthday party.
"Yeah, I only knew my friend - you know, Laura."
"Ah, so your friend's name--", I stopped.
Her friend's name. Laura. Her friend's name is Laura. Hazy memories of the night we met came back. She was talking and...
This is Laura, I'm L...
I strained to push my memory farther back.
This is Laura, I'm Laurshhhhhh-a-something.
Oh. Fuck.
I smiled at the beautiful, charming woman across the table whose name I did not know.
I asked how she and Laura(Laura, fucking Laura) knew each other while I thought about how I was going to get out of this. OK, her name start's with an L, she signed her text with it. How many girls names starts with an L? I can Google girls names on my phone while she's in the bathroom and narrow it down and...I'm fucked. This is exactly like that Seinfeld episode except I don't even know if her name rhymes with a female body part, and even if I did how could I guess? It's too late to ask now I'll just look like a major asshole. Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck! How could you not know your date's na--
"Isn't it weird that we both spell our names in an unusual way?"
My eyebrows arched.
"Yes, yes it is - so how do you spell your name?"
"L O R I, most people spell it L A U R I E or L O R E E."
"Well, Lori, that's one of the many things that makes you unique." I smiled. She smiled.
Rescued and recovered, the rest of the date went wonderfully. I walked her to her subway stop. We madeout. She tasted of lip-gloss and cigarettes(which I actually like, even though I don't smoke). The exhilaration of almost getting caught made the kissing that much more exciting for me - I dont' know if Lori felt it, but she was all smiles as she descended down to her F train.
In the end, though, I was satisfied to come out of it with a funny story.
1A little over a year later I ended up at that same karaoke bar for an engagement party and met a beautiful girl from Australia(in fact, one of three girls hailing from down under at that party). But that's another story.
2Especially as she got fatter. OK, so maybe I'm a little bitter.
Coming straight from the gym, I had my backpack with me, cradling it between my feet and the bottom of the bar. Next to me, a bald tattooed man in a wife-beater did shots with his equally tough looking wife/girlfriend. The vested-bartender was quick to feed them whiskey and dogs as they debated how hard a mutual acquaintance worked(the man referred the fellow as the "laziest sonabitch I know" while the woman wasn't ready to anoint the guy just yet). The rest of the regulars were a mix of middle-aged blue-collar and older professionals, as befitting a dive bar at that time of day. Sports fans, serious drinkers, and me. Reading about Frank McGourt's alcoholic father.
---
A couple hours and beers later, a group of three young girls and two guys came in. They bee-lined it for Rudy's backyard garden, and as they passed me one of the girls grabbed my shoulder and said "Are you really depressed?!? You can't read that! You'll hurt yourself!"
I laughed. "No no, I'm fine. I'll be sure to let you know, though, if I'm feeling down."
"You do that!"
And with that, she rejoined her group. She was cute. Curly brown hair, dark-blue eyes, and a curvy figure. Her friends were also pretty easy on the eye, I couldn't help but notice. One had a sexy-librarian look, dark rimmed glasses to go with long black hair and very, very red lips. I brushed it off as a nice encounter, and got back to my book.
After about forty-five minutes the group, fresh off tequila shots, was getting ready to leave. The girl who considered Ashes a prelude to suicide came up to me again, and introduced herself.
"It's my friend's birthday," she motioned to the librarian, "and we are going to a karaoke bar. You're welcome to join."
"Yeah, come to my party!" the librarian squealed, her hand shooting up into the air.
I glanced over the group. They seemed friendly and harmless enough. A few years younger than me, but they probably couldn't tell. What could it hurt?
"Sure."
Outside, the group took a picture with the gigantic pig statue that sits outside Rudy's. They insisted I join, and now they have a picture of all of them, and some guy, celebrating the librarian's birthday. Memories.
We grabbed a cab, one of those mini-van models so we could all fit.
"So Kris, do you usually get picked up by strangers like this? Do you think we are all weird?" asked one of the guys.
"Ha, no not usually. You guys are my first."
"YES!" he drunkenly screamed. I was pretty buzzed at that point as well, and we exchanged high fives.
During the cab ride I was a little worried it was going to be bar karaoke. I didn't think I had the courage to sing in front of a crowd of strangers(and by think I mean I knew I didn't). Luckily, we were headed towards Koreatown, which meant it was most likely a full-on karaoke bar. Sure enough, we pulled up to a place that looked like an office building from the outside, but had Korean BBQ on the third floor, a pool hall on the 12th floor, and a karaoke bar on the fifth1. They had a room reserved, and we settled in with Bud Lights as the birthday girl lit into the first song of the night.
Soon, more birthday guests arrived. I grew to enjoy the initial little shock these newcomers displayed when I explained I had just met the birthday girl a couple hours prior. Made me feel a little...dangerous, reckless. Or at least a guy with nothing else to do on a Saturday night.
One guest really caught my eye. She was about five-six, slender with a short Meg Ryan-esque haircut, amazingly big dark eyes and great legs. A looker.
It was hard to hear each other over the screeching of the librarian stumbling through Madonna, but I learned that the looker was a friend of a friend and really didn't know anyone either. Her name was Laura. She worked at the New York Times(a couple of blocks from my office) in online advertising(I work for a digital ad agency). I was looking to move to Brooklyn, and she knew someone who was about to leave her apartment there. We had no shortage of things to talk about.
As the night of karaoke came to a close, I gave Laura my number. Smiling up at me, she asked if I was up for staying out.
"Sure."
"Great, some friends of mine from work are at a bar not too far from here."
By then I was drunk, but still in the good phase of being drunk. Happy, not pathetic;smiling, not vacantly staring. We met up with her friends, drank some more, talked, flirted, and then she had to leave. Outside on the corner, she kissed me on the cheek and ducked into her friend's car.
Moments later, laid out in the backseat of a cab grinning like an idiot, I got a text:
"Sorry I had to run so soon, wish I could have stayed later :) Let's get together sometime - L"
L. Laura. Sweet, sweet Laura. I would definitely be calling her.
---
Tuesday, we met for dinner. In blatant disregard for New York Guy Protocol, I had texted her the day after we met to ask her out. So there I was, at the Zipper Factory a couple of blocks from my office, waiting for Laura. I was a little nervous - this was my first date in three years and I was less than week removed from a break-up. She was running a little late and I was sitting alone, nursing a beer.
Finally, my phone lit up. Incoming Call, Laura. She was a little lost, but I got her to the restaurant with no problems.
She was even prettier then I remembered, sharply dressed in a blouse and skirt that showed plenty(but not too much) of those beautiful legs. The conversation came smoothly, sailing from the usual work, family, and friends. We laughed about how both of us didn't really know anyone at the birthday party.
"Yeah, I only knew my friend - you know, Laura."
"Ah, so your friend's name--", I stopped.
Her friend's name. Laura. Her friend's name is Laura. Hazy memories of the night we met came back. She was talking and...
This is Laura, I'm L...
I strained to push my memory farther back.
This is Laura, I'm Laurshhhhhh-a-something.
Oh. Fuck.
I smiled at the beautiful, charming woman across the table whose name I did not know.
I asked how she and Laura(Laura, fucking Laura) knew each other while I thought about how I was going to get out of this. OK, her name start's with an L, she signed her text with it. How many girls names starts with an L? I can Google girls names on my phone while she's in the bathroom and narrow it down and...I'm fucked. This is exactly like that Seinfeld episode except I don't even know if her name rhymes with a female body part, and even if I did how could I guess? It's too late to ask now I'll just look like a major asshole. Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck! How could you not know your date's na--
"Isn't it weird that we both spell our names in an unusual way?"
My eyebrows arched.
"Yes, yes it is - so how do you spell your name?"
"L O R I, most people spell it L A U R I E or L O R E E."
"Well, Lori, that's one of the many things that makes you unique." I smiled. She smiled.
Rescued and recovered, the rest of the date went wonderfully. I walked her to her subway stop. We madeout. She tasted of lip-gloss and cigarettes(which I actually like, even though I don't smoke). The exhilaration of almost getting caught made the kissing that much more exciting for me - I dont' know if Lori felt it, but she was all smiles as she descended down to her F train.
Sadly, before we could go out on a second date, Lori took a trip to Israel and came back convinced she had to marry a Jewish man. Her trip had inspired her to take her heritage much more seriously - and more power to her. I was surprised how little her news upset me. No bitterness or hard feelings at all. We both went to the same gym around the same time, so that made for a few awkward encounters, but the awkwardness dwindled as the months passed2.
In the end, though, I was satisfied to come out of it with a funny story.
1A little over a year later I ended up at that same karaoke bar for an engagement party and met a beautiful girl from Australia(in fact, one of three girls hailing from down under at that party). But that's another story.
2Especially as she got fatter. OK, so maybe I'm a little bitter.
3 comments:
I love your stories, Kris. This one had me laughing out loud. After another year or so of blogging, you should take all of your blog posts and create an anthology. Somebody'll publish it.
:) I'm blushing, thanks for the kind words!
2 postings in one week!!!!!! I hope this is the dawning of a new era of prolificacy
Post a Comment