2004-03-19 - 3:50 p.m.
On St. Patrick's Day 2001 I went out with Jake, his roommate, and 2 more friends of theirs out on the town. "The town" of course being Augusta, and the downtown was surprisingly packed full of people. We went out to eat, we got drunk, we were served some wine by a Russel Crowe lookalike, I climbed a wall wearing a skirt, some lady gave me a funnel cake. It was my first St. Patrick's day being 21. It was the turning point, I think, in my relationship with Jake; we had so much fun that night, and I got along so well with his friends. He also knew who Margaret Mitchell was and started talking about Gone With the Wind based on an offhand comment I made about Mitchell, and I was immediately won over. These days, I'm not so naive or careless, and it takes a lot more than knowing who Margaret Mitchell is to fall madly in love.
St. Patrick's Day 2002 I don't remember doing anything. I remember that I was working a mids set. I remember being unhappy with Jake and not sure what was going to happen; being torn between being unhappy but feeling obligated to stay with him. That whole time period was incredibly unhappy.
St. Patrick's Day 2003 I was in Germany. I probably went out to Cafe Max, a fabulous Italian restaurant that I will remember forever, along with Mario, the gorgeous waiter. I know I went to Peaches with Tisha, an infamous bar not far from Cafe Max or the base I was temporarily stationed at. I vaguely remember Cody later telling us that the Irish pub in town was packed, and I remember thinking: who would want to go to an Irish bar on St. Patrick's Day? Of COURSE it's going to be packed. To me a packed bar isn't as fun as an emptier one. I like attentive bartenders. In any case, I remember that although it wasn't very Irish, it was a fun night. Every night in Germany was fun.
St. Patrick's Day 2004, this year, was also very fun. I met TJ, Seth, Hannah, Jamie, and Shane at Solera. I was early and drank and ate alone for awhile, and the bartender remembered me from about a month ago, when I was there with Seth, which was nice. It was great hanging out with Jamie and TJ again, since I hardly ever see those guys. And Hannah is a lot of fun to be around. Seth was great company as usual, and Shane... well I don't know him very well. Later, TJ's girlfriend joined us at The News Room, a local bar, and it was a lot of fun just talking and having some laughs. We were going to go dancing, but my ride decided to leave, so Seth took me home, TJ and Amber went back to their apartment, and Hannah took Jamie and Shane with her to the party she was going to. I would have gone with them except for: I wasn't sure how I would be getting home from there and I was working the next day. Mostly I was concerned about getting home. I got back early, around 10, and dad was waiting up for me to make sure I got home safe. It was a loving gesture. I called Josh to say hi and make sure that he wasn't a part of the people who were injured in Savannah this year, and Jimmie just to say hi. It was very nice just being around people that I didn't have to try hard to be around. We didn't have to work at having fun.
I got a letter in the mail from Ohio State today. Guess who's getting a $4000 scholarship per year??? That pretty much seals it for Ohio.
Tomorrow we're leaving for Mexico. Sunny skys and drinks from coconut husks. Shells? Rinds? Whatever the outer layer of the coconut is, my Minnesota vocabulary is not equipped for it. It doesn't matter. Mom, Dad, Jeffy and I are going to have a great time no matter what.
I look back on all the St. Patrick's Days of the past few years and I realize this one has been the best one. Not necessarily because of what I did that particular night, but because things are really starting to look up for me.
I'm happy.
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