At What Cost Recreation? Part Two

Yesterday, I began the latest over-sized account of my social exploits. When I left off, we were just leaving the cemetery where we had seen "The Thing" for the birthday of a friend. Today, I shall tell what followed! Now, we spent an interminable period of time getting everyone in the same page as far as the bar we were going to and its location. Perhaps taking even longer was the trip over there. Saturday night traffic on Hollywood is brutal, owing to a combination of factors mundane and lurid. Worse still was the parking situation, but I promise I won't perseverate on that, as no one wants to hear it.

We got to the place just a bit after the birthday girl and her immediate coterie. There had been the sort-of promise of dancing, but this did not come to pass. The place was crowded, loud, and had its walls festooned with both celebrity mugshots and a deer whose antlers were actually machine guns. It was a colorful establishment. We were there for something more than an hour, and I had three drinks in addition to the perhaps two or three I'd had at the movie. There was a vodka company rep doling out samples, but I did not partake. Vodka tastes like rubbing alcohol.

On the way to the bar, I had checked facebook on my phone, and saw with some amazement that another friend was already at this bar for a birthday unrelated to the one I was part of. It seemed a shame to not make the effort to link up, so I replied when we got inside that I was there also. This was followed by nearly an hour of back and forth, as finding each other proved so difficult that she did not believe I was actually there. Then finally, one of my other friends came up to me with the breathless report that I had been requested by name by a lady.

 It was none other than my elusive quarry. We went over to the other end of the bar where they had set up camp, and talked at length with them. Eventually, the good times became too large to be contained by a single bar, and the plan was hatched to go to the one next door, where a confederate was employed. Luckily, our own group was breaking up and heading home. We had no intention of following suit, and latched on with the second group. Stepping out into the bright lights of Hollywood Boulevard was some kind of a shock.

Naturally, this adventure in socializing had no end in sight for we, the most hopeless and romantic party machines of this locality. Tune in tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion to the story!