This weekend was somewhat eventful. Friday night after taking a quick nap and showering i picked up my phone with the intention of calling meg and in that same moment received a call from her interrupting my effort. One of those weird, intriguing coincidences, but it was during that call that we made some plans. We were to get some food first with chris (i don't think i've mentioned him much yet, but pretty much every time i see meg he's up for hanging out too and is an extremely chill guy) and Kevin (someone i met before but didn't know much about) then find some place downtown to get a few beers and relax. It took a while to decide on where to have dinner, a combination of chris and meg not having a preference and kevin's finicky tastes. After walking about half way down a street lined with restaurants of all kinds, a vague reference is made to a thai place and i immediately insist that we go in and grab a seat. Meg and chris however have been too nice with their passive indifference. Apparently they had been to this place not two days ago and didn't really like it... which they neglected to mention until after we had gotten our first round of drinks. But, it didn't matter since they were both a little short on cash and didn't order anything, which made me question to myself the importance of this plan to begin with. But, no matter... the food was superb and i managed to get a thai beer which was quite good.

It was during this meal that i got a full sense of Kevin's personality. He is a NJ/NY snob. I say this with mild regret, but it is the truth. The entire time he described a livid hatred for Richmond, but with little substantial evidence supporting his opinions. His most prominent complaint was simply that there is nothing to do here. I did not understand... I have been to so many bars and coffee shops and music venues, all with different types of people and different atmospheres. When i asked him to elaborate, naming a few places i've been to and that i in fact had a pretty good time, he would give me vague responses like, "Oh, i loathe that place... Oh i can't stand the people there," and "the music is just awful." He spoke of this coffee shop/diner that shut down as if it were his livelihood. This was the only place in Richmond he felt comfortable and since it closed it is as if his soul had been taken and life was not worth living anymore. He revealed also that he's from NJ and has an ultimate goal of living in NYC. This was not the only topic mind you. We covered, food, politics, music, all of which he could only name things that he hated with little reason and with little solution as to what would make it better. All i could make of him was simply that his primary goal was to find a small group of horribly pretentious, bitter people and sit around all day complaining about how awful the world is.

Just from reading this blog however you might venture that i have the same goal since i do complain quite a bit here, but i'd like to try and defend myself by saying i appreciate a lot about richmond and the world in general and enjoy reveling in the beauty of it all. Needless to say i didn't get along very well with kevin and understand fully why his number of friends in richmond can be counted on one hand even after spending the last 6 years here.

Chris and meg were as nice and open-minded as always though and it helped to balance the negativity. After dinner kevin took off expressing once again his hatred, this time towards the entire downtown area and that the thought of bar hopping made him nauseous. The two bars we went to were Europa and McCormack's.

Europa was a bar with a predominately older crowd. Most were very well-dressed and showing of their good financial standing. There was a small group in the back that consisted of three or four guys and what had to be three models. They were tall, terribly skinny, beautiful and walked around and interacted with people as if they were goddesses. It was a nice scene for a young bachelor. The music was a live set from a drum and bass DJ and the drinks were fairly pricey fitting the crowd that this place drew. We talked about things, nothing too deep. Meg and chris are naturally pretty quiet, reserved people so it took a few drinks before they really got into anything, but it was nice. It was at this moment that i decided they were my first two true friends here. They're really genuine good people; selfless, caring, open-minded.

McCormack's was a small quiet Irish pub that served to a very alternative crowd, lots of tattoos, piercings and dredlocks. The bartender was very cool and very knowledgeable about his whiskey. We were getting pretty buzzed and the topics went deeper and deeper into insecurities and wants and other important things a sober person has a hard time describing. It was at that point i realized how much chris needs a solid wingman, having been out of the dating scene for some time and not really having the confidence to jump back into it. I offered to follow him into battle anytime he felt the need and i'm hoping he takes me up on it, because i too could use a brother in the constant struggle with the female sex.

There were other details but none i feel ambitious enough to describe right now feeling the effect of a dark cigar and a rogue ale. So goodnight...