Trashy, Trashy Tuesday

Remember my entry on The Rules? Matty and the boys have tortured me at length over that entry, but it was true then and it’s true now. Want proof? Let’s talk about Tuesday.

Tuesday evening opened innocently enough at Full Circle. I met Henry and Matty at about 5:15 pm “for a drink.” The specials that night were $4 Jaeger shots and $1.50 Millers, so I grabbed a Miller and sat down with the boys. Matty was drinking coffee (as you will see, he no longer drinks on weeknights) and Henry was enjoying a tumbler of Stoli with a splash of tonic.

Matty has developed some kind of odd fascination with the Full Circle, that’s why we started there. Granted, it has a great jukebox, but the clientele is me in 15 years (old, desperate, drunk) and the decorator seems to have been on crack. The place is like a rough leather bar with a bad 1950s Tiki Kitsch veneer. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I wasn’t in the mood Tuesday night. We packed up after one drink and headed for Changes.

Changes is one of my favorite bars in Seattle. It’s on 45th on the Wallingford side of I-5, nominally in (or more properly at the edge of) the University District. The place is a bit of a dive, but there’s always a few friendly people there eager to chat. A few of my friends from Montana work there, and you throw in free pool and the occasional cute boy from UW, and it’s a fun destination. Plus, on Tuesdays they have beers for $1 and burgers (with fries) for $1.50. Meaning you can get fed and drunk for $10, which makes it even more fun, and the cost makes me feel very bohemian.

Matty, Henry, and I Benzed up to Wallingford and grabbed a table on the patio in back. The bar was full, but the patio only had a couple of people, and Floyd (the owner and head dishwasher) added a heater which warms it up nicely. We grabbed some beers, the boys ordered some burgers. Within 15 minutes, Paul and Curtis showed up. Tim the Bartender wrapped up his shift, and The Other Tim arrived from his previous engagement, making the group complete.

My plan for the evening was to start around 5 pm and hang out until 7ish, and then head home. Home just slightly tipsy by 7:30 for dinner and snuggling with Carlos. I emailed him to that effect, and told everyone when we started that I turned into a pumpkin no later than 7:15. My words were not heeded.

By the time everyone had assembled, Matty was demanding Jell-o shots. Always the dutiful lieutenant, I went to get them but the supply was exhausted. So instead, we got $1 Buttery Nipples. Yum. Unfortunately, they went down way too easily. After a few rounds of shots and a couple more beers, I realized it was 7:30. Announcing my departure, I put on my coat and started saying good-bye. Which was just long enough for Matty to get another beer for me. Never one to leave a full beer orphaned, I started downing it while the crew discussed wrapping up. Which, miraculously, we all agreed on and headed out as I finished my last beer. It was about 8 pm.

Since I drove over, I gave Matty and Henry a ride back to their cars at Full Circle. And since the night had not yet gone completely sideways, Matty said on the way “Let’s stop in at Madison Pub for a nightcap.” Never one to pass up temptation, I silently consigned my evening to the dumpster and headed into the Pub.

Once inside, we settled into our drinks at a table by the dartboards and were quickly joined by Mike Meola (who certainly will not be sleeping with Ben now that he has shingles). At this point the evening becomes fuzzy for me; I really don’t remember what we talked about. I know that I sent Carlos an email from my phone at around 8:30, saying where I was at and that he could meet us, or wait and I would be home “soon.”

After 2 or 3 drinks, we rolled down the hill to Manray. There, we met up with Paul, Curtis, Evil Mark, Woodsy, and some other people. Again, it’s who was there and exactly what happened is little fuzzy. But the highlight at Manray was when I decided Curtis should take off his shirt for some guy standing at the bar. Curtis, the guy, and the mildly concerned bartender tolerated this for a bit, but quickly nipped it in the bud, and this time without fisticuffs. Deciding that was my cue, I said my good-byes and headed home to the slightly cranky boyfriend. Turned out Carlos didn’t get any of my emails (he couldn’t log into his account) so he just made dinner and sat around waiting for me and then went to bed. Oops.