several day's worth...
Mar. 19th, 2007 04:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rena_librarianTHURSDAY NIGHT, the night after my birthday
So...I'm 21 now.
Yesterday was cool, Mom took me out to lunch. We went hunting a cover for my new RAZR, but apparently I have the very very latest thing, and they don't HAVE covers out for them yet. At least not here. I'm seriously thinking of going to Springfield tomorrow, for shits and giggles, and looking around up there. Failing that, I did find a plain purple one online for $15, and I can look in St. Louis when we got up for Mirielle's first birthday. In the meantime, I've stuck Hello Kitty stickers on it. ^_^ The one on the front oddly fits because she's holding a camera, and it's a camera phone...ha.
Mom was all, "Now, you should know, there's a history of alcoholism in the family..." Apparently her birth dad (not my grandpa, which I never knew until I was 13 or 14) was an alcoholic, and my brother drank when he was in the Army. I think, if she's not exaggerating, those were probably more situational than anything. (Might I also point out that those two individuals are on two different sides of the family tree? *facepalm*) I mean, I can understand her not wanting me to get "wasted, shitface-ted," as Eminem called it, and do something I'll regret. I don't want me to do that, either. But goshdarnit, I'm surprised all her nerves have lasted this long with that kind of paranoia. >_< I STILL haven't ever enough alcohol to make me feel anything more than a rosy glow.
Insert: The other night I went to Nico's and we drank a small bottle of 100-proof Southern Comfort between us. We weren't chugging or anything, it took us four-and-a-half hours. (I quit an hour before I drove home, no worries.) I think I probably had a third or so, not even half at any rate. I tried a sip of it alone but most of it I mixed in Dr. Pepper. Southern Comfort--aptly named. ^_^ As much as I dislike the South, though, I almost hate to admit it--but I kept thinking of Shelly's Sawyer avatar. ^_^ Anyway, I was going to say that at one point said rosy glow was so strong I thought that maybe I was starting to get a little drunk, but it turned out that the massager Nico has in the chair I was sitting in had the heater on. XD
Anyway, after Mom dropped me off I went and got a new driver's license. I figured A) that way I'll have the yellow marks instead of the red underage marks and it will save me hassle, B) my address has changed, and C) I didn't look all that much like my old picture. I've lost weight, cut and colored my hair, grew out my bangs, quit wearing glasses...in short, I don't look like I did at 19.
Then I called my grandma, because she sent me another $50. YAY! She sent me $100 a few weeks ago and I used it to make a payment on my couch, which I will be getting out of layaway on payday. Or at any rate the day after.
It was so cool--I got four birthday cards in the mail, (including yours, Katchan) and they ALL arrived ON MY BIRTHDAY. Schweet! (I also got four other pieces of mail, eight total, which also marks the most mail I have ever received in one day.) I took a picture, sadly enough. If I can get my phone to mail the darn pics to my email I'll try to post some.
Then I went online--you might've seen my comments here on LJ.
Then I went to Wal*Mart and bought a couple of new lipglosses (OMG, LipSmacker hasn't died and they've introduced other kinds of makeup to boot!), a pitcher iwth an orange lid (OMG, orange kitchen stuff!), a TV Guide (Lost was on the cover!) and a rack for my office supplies. It's one of those organizers designed to go over a toilet, like, the lowest shelf is slightly higher than the top of a toilet, but I have it in my catchall room, soritng my office supplies. It looks pretty good, and I put it together all by myself, which makes me (inordinately, methinks) pleased with myself.
I also bought the nonalcoholic ingredients for a certain mixed drink I wanted to try, but I'll get there momentarily.
After Wal*Mart I stopped by the liquor store (I'd been in there once with Nico--I like the place, it's clean and there are SO many pretty bottles--there are a few bottles I want, not for the alcohol, but as decoration, lol--there's a bottle of mango margarita mix at Wal*Mart that would look great in my kitchen, being orange) and bought the alcoholic ingredient (again, later) for said mixed drink. The really cool part was one of the guys in there recognized my Elven Brooch. ^_^ Woot! Then the other dude, who rang me up, wished me happy birthday. Hee.
Then I went home, put together the rack that looks so cool (yay for organization), and putzed around--unpacking my office supplies onto it, cleaning around the house, etc. Let the alcohol chill, because it's better like that, methinks. (Not sure if it's supposed to be room temperature or not, but then again I think I was supposed to shake the drink over ice and I don't have ice in the house, so things even out.) Basically killed the time from 10 PM until 2 AM, and then walked up to hang out with Duncan. ^_^
This time I stayed TWO hours. I left my place around 2:15 and didn't come back until slightly past 4:15. ^_^ The Jones Soda pretense is dying, methinks, because now I sit there on the counter and drink it while I chat with him, and the last two times I stayed long after the soda was gone.
Though I get the impression that he doesn't mind that one bit.
I've been chatting with him about working there--they have a third shift opening for "two or three nights a week," and now that I'm 21 I can apply for it. (They sell beer there, you see, and I'd be alone in the store with it for hours on end.) I'm not sure--if a certain opportunity which fell through had worked out for me, it would have been perfect. Now, as is, still working at Taco Bell after all, I really need to talk to Ken about it first. I'd need to get off of Taco Bell at, like, 9 so I could turn around and work 10 PM to 6 AM. (Or possibly schedule days off in a manner conducive to it, but honestly, I don't like working my second job on the days I have off from my main job. I'd rather work both on the same days so then I actually have whole days off.)
The reason they need someone for two or three nights a week is because Duncan tends to work nine days straight without a day off, and he's wanting to have two days off in a week, consecutively, every week. Can't blame him. I just happened to get two days off in a row this coming week and I thought it was something to get excited about. If they had another person willing to work two shifts they could give it to him.
And...hee. He said if I did apply, get hired, and thereby enable him to get those two days off, "I'd love you forever." I managed to keep my reaction to a low blush and a giggle and keep my thoughts to myself.
So I need to talk to Ken, because I might be able to finagle that. He could pick which two days it was, any two days, so long as they were consecutive. (And maybe to Kristi, to see where that would put me. My rent MIGHT go back up if I do it. Damnit, I need to see what the wages would be...ah, well, another excuse to talk to Duncan. Hee.)
Also...I don't know. We were talking about random things (per usual), and somehow we got on alcohol AGAIN, lol, and he was talking about how his favorite alcoholic beverage is a margarita. (Okay, direct quote--"You can call me a pussy if you want to, but as far as I'm concerned nothing beats a margarita." XD As if.) And then out of the blue he was like, "We should go to Chili's sometime and get El Presidente margaritas." Not exactly an "OMG we should go out," and he kind of changed the subject like he thought he might have said too much, mentioned that he used to work at Chili's and what was good to eat there, but it was, at least, something along the lines of "we should hang out in a context other than this."
And I was a good girl. I didn't push, didn't try to guide him back to the idea. If he was serious he'll mention it again sooner or later. (And I'll so say yes, of course.) After all, he'll be seeing me pretty often as long as the store sells Jones Soda. Hee. (Even if I worked there, we wouldn't work together, but I'd probably hang out now and again during his shifts. One time I went there and the guy who worked the shift before was still there.)
I'm really trying not to be pushy this time. It clearly hasn't gotten me anywhere in the past. I think deliberately playing hard-to-get and playing mind games to make a guy think you're completely not interested is bullshit, but at the same time I think I've probably gone too far in the other direction with other guys (if you read this chronicle religiously, as you should, lol, you can probably name one or two).
Like I said, I really just plain don't want to screw this up. I mean, now he knows me a little, and he always seems happy to see me turn up and reluctant to see me go. Small steps, but steps nonetheless in the right direction. I should be (am) happy with that and should NOT be impatient (but also am).
So I don't know. I didn't get to see him tonight, because he's off. I might go tomorrow night, depending on what I do tomorrow. Failing that, Sautrday night whenever I get back from West Plains, because I doubt that I'll be out past his shift. (Note to self: wear green to the Firehouse, it'll be St. Patrick's Day. Yay, excuse to wear Elven Brooch again!)
We were at one point talking about computers and how we couldn't live without them, and he mentioned something about his MySpace. I was all, "You're on MySpace?" and when he said yes and I said "Me too!" (yeah, like that's a shock these days) he asked for my username. Hmm. Also a good sign, methinks.
Also--he and I have mutual friends. He was actually living with one of my Acting classmates, Cameron (who is bound to have been mentioned here on LJ way back in the day), and knows Paul, and Matt-who-was-close-with-Cameron-and-is-Ben-from-Taco-Bell's-older-brother. Now that he said he worked at Chili's, I'm wondering if he knows Ken-from-acting-class and possibly even Chris, since Chris worked there once, too. That was kind of funny, he was talking about his roommates in Austin (he grew up here, moved there, and had to move back when he totaled his car) and mentioned "Cameron," and I was all--wait. It clicked. So yay for that.
So now it's five to four, and I've degenerated from a narrative to random Duncan trivia. It's almost bedtime. (I should be working on my chapter, this entry wasn't supposed to take this long!)
One last thing...after I came home, (yes, at 4:15 AM) I made my mixed drink. Nico loaned me this book about how to tend bar, what you need to have in order to maintain a home bar, and it had a lot of recipes for mixed drinks. I learned a lot from it, and want to get my own copy, but the point is this: there's a category of drinks called "bucks," and they're each named for the type of liquor in them. Gin buck, vodka buck, etc. They're all two parts liquor-of-choice, five parts ginger ale, and a lemon wedge. (There are other "series" of drinks with each taking the name of the liquor--slings, smashes, gimlets--and they each have their own nonalcoholic mixer and garnish. Can't really remember the others.)
I did a double take when I found the first buck in the book--the Brandy Buck. I couldn't resist. And, I have to say, it's pretty darn good. Brandy taken neat--by itself, no mixer--is pretty strong, but still good. I like it, anyway. (I asked the guy at the liquor store which one he'd go with and he pointed me in the direction of a smoother, blended brandy, which might explain why, when I tell most people I bought brandy, they screw up their faces and go, "Ew...") With the ginger ale, the physical burn mellows out but the flavor is spicy. I don't think the lemon does much other than keep it bubbling. At any rate, when I drank about three-quarters of the double one I made tonight (yeah, it was THAT good, plus I don't want the brandy to go bad) I squeezed the lemon into it, and the rest didn't taste as good.
But still. I love the idea of going up to a bar, asking for a Brandybuck, and getting what I ask for. XD
And with that I bid you good night, for I have many things to do tomorrow.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON, before work
I was totally going to post the above on Friday, but I got to the library and it was closed. >_< So hopefully my paycheck is what I think it will be (I don't think I was short on hours any time in this pay period) and I can get my computer. (Hey, I just realized--I'll know tonight if I remember to get my check!! Yay for the only good thing about working on Sunday!)
Getting my couch out of layaway tomorrow. Totally about time, lol. (That and the bills I have due are what's jeopardizing the computer. If not this payday, then next, because the only thing that'll be due out of my next check is rent, and that, mercifully, will only eat up just over half.)
So...let's see...more about Duncan. Yes yes. I went back Friday night, and nothing huge happened other than that I was there for a few hours. (I seem to stay longer almost every time I go.) I think I mentioned he's an actor, a serious actor (as in, moreso than I could ever dedicate myself to being, lol), and is taking as much film work as he can get, which, around here...not very much. But he does have this one friend who directs short films, and while I was there that night this friend (Tom? I think. We'll go with that, anyway.) showed up and pitched this idea to him (clever little film, I thought, but I won't tell you the story because it's Tom's copyright and all). Long story short, Duncan was to play a convenience store worker (what a stretch on his acting skills, huh? But it's still work, and still an opportunity to hone his craft) and they were going to film part of it at the gas station. During his pitch Tom looked right at me and invited me to come, maybe be an extra, play a customer or what-not. I would have been happy just to watch, it's been so long since I've been involved in a production, but if I would have ended up in the film that would have rocked, too. ^_^
Oh yes. Touch barrier was broken. Dncan happened to not be behind the counter when I left and he shook my hand. "It's been a pleasure chatting with you, and I'll...see you soon?" Hee.
So at first I was kind of worried that Nico would be pissed at me, for bugging him about going to West Plains and then canceling on him, but he called me around four and I was all, "So...are we going to West Plains?"
"I don't wanna..."
"Well...good, then I don't feel bad about canceling." ^_^ Because, obviously, the Firehouse is always gonna be there.
Long story short again, he and I and Wigz (since I'm not sure if I ever mentioned her and I know it's been a while if I have, she used to work at Taco Bell) went out to El Chico's for dinner. I had something called a Tiujuana Tidal Wave, which is basically a margarita with a pretty-colored liquer in it. I ordered one with melon Midori, but it tasted more like lime. Still liked it, though, since I love citrus, and though I didn't plan it, I had a green drink for St. Patrick's Day. ^_^ We then went back to Wigz's place, made more margaritas (of which I only had one, and it was small), and watched "John Tucker Must Die." Didn't like that margarita as much, not sure if Nico overdid the tequila (which I bought, and still have 2/3 of a bottle of) or if I just didn't like the mix Wigz had (it was blue, it might have been some weird flavor or something). It was better without the salt, though. Tequila straight up, though, wasn't bad, so I think it was just the mix. Hee.
(And to those of you who accused Wigz of talking about nothing but Joe: It's not true. She talks about other stuff. She just talks about Joe 75% of the time, that's all. ^_-)
After that I came home and changed into what I wanted to wear for the film, if I got to be in it, discovered I was running late, and drove up to the gas station (rather than walked). Aaaand...the movie had been postponed.
This is still good news, though. The REASON it was postponed is that Duncan is currently training a new hiree. If she works out, he'll start getting those days off. If I'M not the reason he's getting those days off, well, then, we might start having days off together.
And that could rock.
Things I learned about Duncan last night: He actually likes wearing suits and owns several, and will invent excuses to wear them. As in, "I'd like to take you all to this fancy-dress restaurant. I'll wear a suit." ^_^
He hates orange. Probably won't like hanging out in my kitchen. Oh well. Still like it myself and love my orange cookware. ^_^
He is definitely-for-sure NOT gay. For once I was already certain of this but it still cracked me up to hear. (Okay, since it's funny...we had talked once before about the stupid training videos you watch at these menial jobs, and he was telling me that he got off lucky and was never made to watch them, but his friend Robert had had to and had told him about them. Apparently their "What to do if there's a robbery" video covers the topic of "What to do if someone tries to rape you." Granted, it's probably more of a concern there, where there's frequently only one person in the store, than at Taco Bell where there's always at least three. Anyway, he was like, "So it tells you the strategies you go through to prevent it, the negotiation stages, and I don't remember what all of them are, bargaining and stuff, but the last one is SUBMISSION. Our video actaully tells you that it's better to let it happen than to get killed over it." And we laughed at what a stupid idea that was, and now I'm wondering if the store could get a human rights/sexual harassment suit against it if the right person watched it. Anyway, we both agreed that if it came down to it, we would probably commit a self-defense murder, or at least try to, before we would "submit" to rape. And then he said, "Yeah, if some guy was trying to come at me and stick his shaft in my ass, I would kill him." So he's definitely straight. XD)
He has, at least once, thought about me when I'm not there. At one point we went out to his car and he played me a song from Monty Python's Meaning of Life, and he said "I was listening to this today and I thought you might find it funny." (I did. Though I'm not about to repeat the song. I haven't seen Meaning of Life, but if you have, I'm thinking you could now probably guess which song it was.)
We have more mutual friends than I'd thought. I showed him pics from the play I was in back during Acting II, because he knew Paul and Cameron and I thought he'd get a laugh out of them--"I loaned Paul that tie!" XD He knows Anna, and Tim that I had the huge crush on (and can honestly say I don't anymore and wonder now why I ever did). I guess they all went to school together. (That sucks, I'm never going to have that sensation--it's different in college because by the time you get there everyone's an adult, more or less, and you can't tell people stuff like "Oh, yeah, back in sixth grade so-and-so did this, blah blah blah...")
He will cheat the rules for his friends--he gave me a free cappuccino. He was cleaning the machine and I said I'd never had one, and the next thing I knew he was placing this cup of warm sugary goodness into my hands, which he said was free. ^_^ It was really good, too, French vanilla. It was like a Moolatte, only hot. (And it was freezing last night so that was welcome.) He also said that if I ever cared to buy one he'd only charge me the refill price and it would be less than a dollar. I'm considering switching to it from Jones. XD So yay!
His last name. I won't post it because this is, after all, the internet, but I do know it now. We have the same last initial, though. ^_^ And Duncan is actually his middle name--it's Michael Duncan, but he has never in his life been called Michael--and it wouldn't suit him, I don't think. Apparenly at least one of his other siblings also goes by his middle name. I have two cousins (brothers to each other) who do that, too. (OMG, I just remembered who I knew of who had the same last name. God, I'm slow. A certain redheaded book heroine that I strongly identified with when I was a kid, who went around changing the names of things if she thought their real names weren't pretty enough and eventually married the man that she first hated for calling her "Carrots." Shelly, at least, will know who I'm talking about.)
And...the reason I got to ask this last one?
*blush* He asked me for my number. *insert high-pitched squeal of delight here* It was really sweet, too, he seemed kind of shy about it. (Please, like I'd say no.)
So he put me in his phone, and I was like, "Can I ask you to return the favor and give me yours, too?" And he didn't seem to mind that one bit, so I was like, "So...yeah, what's your last name? 'Cause you never told me." And while I was punching it into my phone, he suddenly says, "And now I have your picture." I was like, "What?!" and he showed me where he'd taken my picture with his phone, all bent over my phone, and I kind of laughed and told him he could probably get a better one than that. He was like, "Well, okay..." and a couple seconds later he said, "Smile," and so I did. I didn't get a good look at the second picture but at least you could actually see my face.
What he actually wanted to DO with the picture, I don't know. I'm just happy that he wanted it. I know on my phone, if you have a picture of someone you can put it on their contact info and when you go to find their number you can see the picture. It MIGHT also show their picture when they call you, but I don't know. A rather useless feature (unless you get several numbers at a party and need to know which potential hot date is which, maybe? XD), but kind of cool. I probably should have taken the opportunity to take his, I want a picture of him, but couldn't quite find the courage to ask until after the moment was over. (Not that I think he would have said no or anything, but still...)
He also wrote down for me all the info I could possibly need to find him on MySpace. I thought I already found him, but the account hasn't been logged in to for two years. I told him as much and he was like, "Nope, not me." So that's odd, but whatever. Anytime you search you run across accounts that people have set up (sort of) and never used. So guess what I'm doing tomorrow? ^_^
So yeah. I'm totally going to go to work just early enough tonight to go up to Nico (who is scheduled to leave when I get there) and be all, "Who's the stalker NOW, bitch?! HE asked for MY number!" XD
Speaking of which, I need to run to Wal*Mart before work--and hope the pharmacy is open--so, seeing as how I have to be at work in an hour and I'm still in my PJ's, I'll end this little ditty and get going. Bye!
SUNDAY NIGHT, after work
So the Wal*Mart pharmacy is open until four, NOT five, on Sundays...and I got there at 4:20. >_<
Interesting thing I realized tonight--I've drawn an animé picture (or a sketch, anyway) of every guy I've ever really liked (except the first one, and, well, I was ELEVEN. So, like, how much do you REALLY like a guy at eleven? And maybe I DID draw him, but that would've been before I kept my pictures. I don't remember and don't really care to think about it too hard.). The last few it's been intentional, with one it was because I toyed with the idea of illustrating funny moments from camp and did a few trial sketches, with another it was because I was basing a character in a story on him. At any rate, I just HAVE, though, like I said, only the last few were drawn with the intention of creating a picture of the real guy, and I only realized tonight that I'd actually drawn them ALL.
I realized this, of course, as I was sketching Duncan on my break. ^_^
And you know...this is the first time I nailed it on the first try. I mean, I usually sketch a character/person several times before they look how I want them. This one...worked. (Well, okay, the arms are a bit off, but when I work in pen, it's the faces I'm generally trying to perfect. Hands and feet I pretty much half-ass when I'm only sketching.) I might post it later...I'm too short of time today. >_<
I have a lot of crap to do tomorrow (including post this) before I go to work at five...so...g'night!
So...I'm 21 now.
Yesterday was cool, Mom took me out to lunch. We went hunting a cover for my new RAZR, but apparently I have the very very latest thing, and they don't HAVE covers out for them yet. At least not here. I'm seriously thinking of going to Springfield tomorrow, for shits and giggles, and looking around up there. Failing that, I did find a plain purple one online for $15, and I can look in St. Louis when we got up for Mirielle's first birthday. In the meantime, I've stuck Hello Kitty stickers on it. ^_^ The one on the front oddly fits because she's holding a camera, and it's a camera phone...ha.
Mom was all, "Now, you should know, there's a history of alcoholism in the family..." Apparently her birth dad (not my grandpa, which I never knew until I was 13 or 14) was an alcoholic, and my brother drank when he was in the Army. I think, if she's not exaggerating, those were probably more situational than anything. (Might I also point out that those two individuals are on two different sides of the family tree? *facepalm*) I mean, I can understand her not wanting me to get "wasted, shitface-ted," as Eminem called it, and do something I'll regret. I don't want me to do that, either. But goshdarnit, I'm surprised all her nerves have lasted this long with that kind of paranoia. >_< I STILL haven't ever enough alcohol to make me feel anything more than a rosy glow.
Insert: The other night I went to Nico's and we drank a small bottle of 100-proof Southern Comfort between us. We weren't chugging or anything, it took us four-and-a-half hours. (I quit an hour before I drove home, no worries.) I think I probably had a third or so, not even half at any rate. I tried a sip of it alone but most of it I mixed in Dr. Pepper. Southern Comfort--aptly named. ^_^ As much as I dislike the South, though, I almost hate to admit it--but I kept thinking of Shelly's Sawyer avatar. ^_^ Anyway, I was going to say that at one point said rosy glow was so strong I thought that maybe I was starting to get a little drunk, but it turned out that the massager Nico has in the chair I was sitting in had the heater on. XD
Anyway, after Mom dropped me off I went and got a new driver's license. I figured A) that way I'll have the yellow marks instead of the red underage marks and it will save me hassle, B) my address has changed, and C) I didn't look all that much like my old picture. I've lost weight, cut and colored my hair, grew out my bangs, quit wearing glasses...in short, I don't look like I did at 19.
Then I called my grandma, because she sent me another $50. YAY! She sent me $100 a few weeks ago and I used it to make a payment on my couch, which I will be getting out of layaway on payday. Or at any rate the day after.
It was so cool--I got four birthday cards in the mail, (including yours, Katchan) and they ALL arrived ON MY BIRTHDAY. Schweet! (I also got four other pieces of mail, eight total, which also marks the most mail I have ever received in one day.) I took a picture, sadly enough. If I can get my phone to mail the darn pics to my email I'll try to post some.
Then I went online--you might've seen my comments here on LJ.
Then I went to Wal*Mart and bought a couple of new lipglosses (OMG, LipSmacker hasn't died and they've introduced other kinds of makeup to boot!), a pitcher iwth an orange lid (OMG, orange kitchen stuff!), a TV Guide (Lost was on the cover!) and a rack for my office supplies. It's one of those organizers designed to go over a toilet, like, the lowest shelf is slightly higher than the top of a toilet, but I have it in my catchall room, soritng my office supplies. It looks pretty good, and I put it together all by myself, which makes me (inordinately, methinks) pleased with myself.
I also bought the nonalcoholic ingredients for a certain mixed drink I wanted to try, but I'll get there momentarily.
After Wal*Mart I stopped by the liquor store (I'd been in there once with Nico--I like the place, it's clean and there are SO many pretty bottles--there are a few bottles I want, not for the alcohol, but as decoration, lol--there's a bottle of mango margarita mix at Wal*Mart that would look great in my kitchen, being orange) and bought the alcoholic ingredient (again, later) for said mixed drink. The really cool part was one of the guys in there recognized my Elven Brooch. ^_^ Woot! Then the other dude, who rang me up, wished me happy birthday. Hee.
Then I went home, put together the rack that looks so cool (yay for organization), and putzed around--unpacking my office supplies onto it, cleaning around the house, etc. Let the alcohol chill, because it's better like that, methinks. (Not sure if it's supposed to be room temperature or not, but then again I think I was supposed to shake the drink over ice and I don't have ice in the house, so things even out.) Basically killed the time from 10 PM until 2 AM, and then walked up to hang out with Duncan. ^_^
This time I stayed TWO hours. I left my place around 2:15 and didn't come back until slightly past 4:15. ^_^ The Jones Soda pretense is dying, methinks, because now I sit there on the counter and drink it while I chat with him, and the last two times I stayed long after the soda was gone.
Though I get the impression that he doesn't mind that one bit.
I've been chatting with him about working there--they have a third shift opening for "two or three nights a week," and now that I'm 21 I can apply for it. (They sell beer there, you see, and I'd be alone in the store with it for hours on end.) I'm not sure--if a certain opportunity which fell through had worked out for me, it would have been perfect. Now, as is, still working at Taco Bell after all, I really need to talk to Ken about it first. I'd need to get off of Taco Bell at, like, 9 so I could turn around and work 10 PM to 6 AM. (Or possibly schedule days off in a manner conducive to it, but honestly, I don't like working my second job on the days I have off from my main job. I'd rather work both on the same days so then I actually have whole days off.)
The reason they need someone for two or three nights a week is because Duncan tends to work nine days straight without a day off, and he's wanting to have two days off in a week, consecutively, every week. Can't blame him. I just happened to get two days off in a row this coming week and I thought it was something to get excited about. If they had another person willing to work two shifts they could give it to him.
And...hee. He said if I did apply, get hired, and thereby enable him to get those two days off, "I'd love you forever." I managed to keep my reaction to a low blush and a giggle and keep my thoughts to myself.
So I need to talk to Ken, because I might be able to finagle that. He could pick which two days it was, any two days, so long as they were consecutive. (And maybe to Kristi, to see where that would put me. My rent MIGHT go back up if I do it. Damnit, I need to see what the wages would be...ah, well, another excuse to talk to Duncan. Hee.)
Also...I don't know. We were talking about random things (per usual), and somehow we got on alcohol AGAIN, lol, and he was talking about how his favorite alcoholic beverage is a margarita. (Okay, direct quote--"You can call me a pussy if you want to, but as far as I'm concerned nothing beats a margarita." XD As if.) And then out of the blue he was like, "We should go to Chili's sometime and get El Presidente margaritas." Not exactly an "OMG we should go out," and he kind of changed the subject like he thought he might have said too much, mentioned that he used to work at Chili's and what was good to eat there, but it was, at least, something along the lines of "we should hang out in a context other than this."
And I was a good girl. I didn't push, didn't try to guide him back to the idea. If he was serious he'll mention it again sooner or later. (And I'll so say yes, of course.) After all, he'll be seeing me pretty often as long as the store sells Jones Soda. Hee. (Even if I worked there, we wouldn't work together, but I'd probably hang out now and again during his shifts. One time I went there and the guy who worked the shift before was still there.)
I'm really trying not to be pushy this time. It clearly hasn't gotten me anywhere in the past. I think deliberately playing hard-to-get and playing mind games to make a guy think you're completely not interested is bullshit, but at the same time I think I've probably gone too far in the other direction with other guys (if you read this chronicle religiously, as you should, lol, you can probably name one or two).
Like I said, I really just plain don't want to screw this up. I mean, now he knows me a little, and he always seems happy to see me turn up and reluctant to see me go. Small steps, but steps nonetheless in the right direction. I should be (am) happy with that and should NOT be impatient (but also am).
So I don't know. I didn't get to see him tonight, because he's off. I might go tomorrow night, depending on what I do tomorrow. Failing that, Sautrday night whenever I get back from West Plains, because I doubt that I'll be out past his shift. (Note to self: wear green to the Firehouse, it'll be St. Patrick's Day. Yay, excuse to wear Elven Brooch again!)
We were at one point talking about computers and how we couldn't live without them, and he mentioned something about his MySpace. I was all, "You're on MySpace?" and when he said yes and I said "Me too!" (yeah, like that's a shock these days) he asked for my username. Hmm. Also a good sign, methinks.
Also--he and I have mutual friends. He was actually living with one of my Acting classmates, Cameron (who is bound to have been mentioned here on LJ way back in the day), and knows Paul, and Matt-who-was-close-with-Cameron-and-is-Ben-from-Taco-Bell's-older-brother. Now that he said he worked at Chili's, I'm wondering if he knows Ken-from-acting-class and possibly even Chris, since Chris worked there once, too. That was kind of funny, he was talking about his roommates in Austin (he grew up here, moved there, and had to move back when he totaled his car) and mentioned "Cameron," and I was all--wait. It clicked. So yay for that.
So now it's five to four, and I've degenerated from a narrative to random Duncan trivia. It's almost bedtime. (I should be working on my chapter, this entry wasn't supposed to take this long!)
One last thing...after I came home, (yes, at 4:15 AM) I made my mixed drink. Nico loaned me this book about how to tend bar, what you need to have in order to maintain a home bar, and it had a lot of recipes for mixed drinks. I learned a lot from it, and want to get my own copy, but the point is this: there's a category of drinks called "bucks," and they're each named for the type of liquor in them. Gin buck, vodka buck, etc. They're all two parts liquor-of-choice, five parts ginger ale, and a lemon wedge. (There are other "series" of drinks with each taking the name of the liquor--slings, smashes, gimlets--and they each have their own nonalcoholic mixer and garnish. Can't really remember the others.)
I did a double take when I found the first buck in the book--the Brandy Buck. I couldn't resist. And, I have to say, it's pretty darn good. Brandy taken neat--by itself, no mixer--is pretty strong, but still good. I like it, anyway. (I asked the guy at the liquor store which one he'd go with and he pointed me in the direction of a smoother, blended brandy, which might explain why, when I tell most people I bought brandy, they screw up their faces and go, "Ew...") With the ginger ale, the physical burn mellows out but the flavor is spicy. I don't think the lemon does much other than keep it bubbling. At any rate, when I drank about three-quarters of the double one I made tonight (yeah, it was THAT good, plus I don't want the brandy to go bad) I squeezed the lemon into it, and the rest didn't taste as good.
But still. I love the idea of going up to a bar, asking for a Brandybuck, and getting what I ask for. XD
And with that I bid you good night, for I have many things to do tomorrow.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON, before work
I was totally going to post the above on Friday, but I got to the library and it was closed. >_< So hopefully my paycheck is what I think it will be (I don't think I was short on hours any time in this pay period) and I can get my computer. (Hey, I just realized--I'll know tonight if I remember to get my check!! Yay for the only good thing about working on Sunday!)
Getting my couch out of layaway tomorrow. Totally about time, lol. (That and the bills I have due are what's jeopardizing the computer. If not this payday, then next, because the only thing that'll be due out of my next check is rent, and that, mercifully, will only eat up just over half.)
So...let's see...more about Duncan. Yes yes. I went back Friday night, and nothing huge happened other than that I was there for a few hours. (I seem to stay longer almost every time I go.) I think I mentioned he's an actor, a serious actor (as in, moreso than I could ever dedicate myself to being, lol), and is taking as much film work as he can get, which, around here...not very much. But he does have this one friend who directs short films, and while I was there that night this friend (Tom? I think. We'll go with that, anyway.) showed up and pitched this idea to him (clever little film, I thought, but I won't tell you the story because it's Tom's copyright and all). Long story short, Duncan was to play a convenience store worker (what a stretch on his acting skills, huh? But it's still work, and still an opportunity to hone his craft) and they were going to film part of it at the gas station. During his pitch Tom looked right at me and invited me to come, maybe be an extra, play a customer or what-not. I would have been happy just to watch, it's been so long since I've been involved in a production, but if I would have ended up in the film that would have rocked, too. ^_^
Oh yes. Touch barrier was broken. Dncan happened to not be behind the counter when I left and he shook my hand. "It's been a pleasure chatting with you, and I'll...see you soon?" Hee.
So at first I was kind of worried that Nico would be pissed at me, for bugging him about going to West Plains and then canceling on him, but he called me around four and I was all, "So...are we going to West Plains?"
"I don't wanna..."
"Well...good, then I don't feel bad about canceling." ^_^ Because, obviously, the Firehouse is always gonna be there.
Long story short again, he and I and Wigz (since I'm not sure if I ever mentioned her and I know it's been a while if I have, she used to work at Taco Bell) went out to El Chico's for dinner. I had something called a Tiujuana Tidal Wave, which is basically a margarita with a pretty-colored liquer in it. I ordered one with melon Midori, but it tasted more like lime. Still liked it, though, since I love citrus, and though I didn't plan it, I had a green drink for St. Patrick's Day. ^_^ We then went back to Wigz's place, made more margaritas (of which I only had one, and it was small), and watched "John Tucker Must Die." Didn't like that margarita as much, not sure if Nico overdid the tequila (which I bought, and still have 2/3 of a bottle of) or if I just didn't like the mix Wigz had (it was blue, it might have been some weird flavor or something). It was better without the salt, though. Tequila straight up, though, wasn't bad, so I think it was just the mix. Hee.
(And to those of you who accused Wigz of talking about nothing but Joe: It's not true. She talks about other stuff. She just talks about Joe 75% of the time, that's all. ^_-)
After that I came home and changed into what I wanted to wear for the film, if I got to be in it, discovered I was running late, and drove up to the gas station (rather than walked). Aaaand...the movie had been postponed.
This is still good news, though. The REASON it was postponed is that Duncan is currently training a new hiree. If she works out, he'll start getting those days off. If I'M not the reason he's getting those days off, well, then, we might start having days off together.
And that could rock.
Things I learned about Duncan last night: He actually likes wearing suits and owns several, and will invent excuses to wear them. As in, "I'd like to take you all to this fancy-dress restaurant. I'll wear a suit." ^_^
He hates orange. Probably won't like hanging out in my kitchen. Oh well. Still like it myself and love my orange cookware. ^_^
He is definitely-for-sure NOT gay. For once I was already certain of this but it still cracked me up to hear. (Okay, since it's funny...we had talked once before about the stupid training videos you watch at these menial jobs, and he was telling me that he got off lucky and was never made to watch them, but his friend Robert had had to and had told him about them. Apparently their "What to do if there's a robbery" video covers the topic of "What to do if someone tries to rape you." Granted, it's probably more of a concern there, where there's frequently only one person in the store, than at Taco Bell where there's always at least three. Anyway, he was like, "So it tells you the strategies you go through to prevent it, the negotiation stages, and I don't remember what all of them are, bargaining and stuff, but the last one is SUBMISSION. Our video actaully tells you that it's better to let it happen than to get killed over it." And we laughed at what a stupid idea that was, and now I'm wondering if the store could get a human rights/sexual harassment suit against it if the right person watched it. Anyway, we both agreed that if it came down to it, we would probably commit a self-defense murder, or at least try to, before we would "submit" to rape. And then he said, "Yeah, if some guy was trying to come at me and stick his shaft in my ass, I would kill him." So he's definitely straight. XD)
He has, at least once, thought about me when I'm not there. At one point we went out to his car and he played me a song from Monty Python's Meaning of Life, and he said "I was listening to this today and I thought you might find it funny." (I did. Though I'm not about to repeat the song. I haven't seen Meaning of Life, but if you have, I'm thinking you could now probably guess which song it was.)
We have more mutual friends than I'd thought. I showed him pics from the play I was in back during Acting II, because he knew Paul and Cameron and I thought he'd get a laugh out of them--"I loaned Paul that tie!" XD He knows Anna, and Tim that I had the huge crush on (and can honestly say I don't anymore and wonder now why I ever did). I guess they all went to school together. (That sucks, I'm never going to have that sensation--it's different in college because by the time you get there everyone's an adult, more or less, and you can't tell people stuff like "Oh, yeah, back in sixth grade so-and-so did this, blah blah blah...")
He will cheat the rules for his friends--he gave me a free cappuccino. He was cleaning the machine and I said I'd never had one, and the next thing I knew he was placing this cup of warm sugary goodness into my hands, which he said was free. ^_^ It was really good, too, French vanilla. It was like a Moolatte, only hot. (And it was freezing last night so that was welcome.) He also said that if I ever cared to buy one he'd only charge me the refill price and it would be less than a dollar. I'm considering switching to it from Jones. XD So yay!
His last name. I won't post it because this is, after all, the internet, but I do know it now. We have the same last initial, though. ^_^ And Duncan is actually his middle name--it's Michael Duncan, but he has never in his life been called Michael--and it wouldn't suit him, I don't think. Apparenly at least one of his other siblings also goes by his middle name. I have two cousins (brothers to each other) who do that, too. (OMG, I just remembered who I knew of who had the same last name. God, I'm slow. A certain redheaded book heroine that I strongly identified with when I was a kid, who went around changing the names of things if she thought their real names weren't pretty enough and eventually married the man that she first hated for calling her "Carrots." Shelly, at least, will know who I'm talking about.)
And...the reason I got to ask this last one?
*blush* He asked me for my number. *insert high-pitched squeal of delight here* It was really sweet, too, he seemed kind of shy about it. (Please, like I'd say no.)
So he put me in his phone, and I was like, "Can I ask you to return the favor and give me yours, too?" And he didn't seem to mind that one bit, so I was like, "So...yeah, what's your last name? 'Cause you never told me." And while I was punching it into my phone, he suddenly says, "And now I have your picture." I was like, "What?!" and he showed me where he'd taken my picture with his phone, all bent over my phone, and I kind of laughed and told him he could probably get a better one than that. He was like, "Well, okay..." and a couple seconds later he said, "Smile," and so I did. I didn't get a good look at the second picture but at least you could actually see my face.
What he actually wanted to DO with the picture, I don't know. I'm just happy that he wanted it. I know on my phone, if you have a picture of someone you can put it on their contact info and when you go to find their number you can see the picture. It MIGHT also show their picture when they call you, but I don't know. A rather useless feature (unless you get several numbers at a party and need to know which potential hot date is which, maybe? XD), but kind of cool. I probably should have taken the opportunity to take his, I want a picture of him, but couldn't quite find the courage to ask until after the moment was over. (Not that I think he would have said no or anything, but still...)
He also wrote down for me all the info I could possibly need to find him on MySpace. I thought I already found him, but the account hasn't been logged in to for two years. I told him as much and he was like, "Nope, not me." So that's odd, but whatever. Anytime you search you run across accounts that people have set up (sort of) and never used. So guess what I'm doing tomorrow? ^_^
So yeah. I'm totally going to go to work just early enough tonight to go up to Nico (who is scheduled to leave when I get there) and be all, "Who's the stalker NOW, bitch?! HE asked for MY number!" XD
Speaking of which, I need to run to Wal*Mart before work--and hope the pharmacy is open--so, seeing as how I have to be at work in an hour and I'm still in my PJ's, I'll end this little ditty and get going. Bye!
SUNDAY NIGHT, after work
So the Wal*Mart pharmacy is open until four, NOT five, on Sundays...and I got there at 4:20. >_<
Interesting thing I realized tonight--I've drawn an animé picture (or a sketch, anyway) of every guy I've ever really liked (except the first one, and, well, I was ELEVEN. So, like, how much do you REALLY like a guy at eleven? And maybe I DID draw him, but that would've been before I kept my pictures. I don't remember and don't really care to think about it too hard.). The last few it's been intentional, with one it was because I toyed with the idea of illustrating funny moments from camp and did a few trial sketches, with another it was because I was basing a character in a story on him. At any rate, I just HAVE, though, like I said, only the last few were drawn with the intention of creating a picture of the real guy, and I only realized tonight that I'd actually drawn them ALL.
I realized this, of course, as I was sketching Duncan on my break. ^_^
And you know...this is the first time I nailed it on the first try. I mean, I usually sketch a character/person several times before they look how I want them. This one...worked. (Well, okay, the arms are a bit off, but when I work in pen, it's the faces I'm generally trying to perfect. Hands and feet I pretty much half-ass when I'm only sketching.) I might post it later...I'm too short of time today. >_<
I have a lot of crap to do tomorrow (including post this) before I go to work at five...so...g'night!
