Hey there, happy Friday the 13th! I'm not superstitious and I actually really like this particular day but wow, this whole week has felt like it was under some sort of curse so Friday the 13th can't help but be better in comparison.
Of course it started with Sunday's Lost Safari debacle.
Monday night I walked in to chorus a little late and all the chairs in my section were filled. I couldn't find any other chairs and suddenly the room was way too peopley so I turned around and walked right back out. It was a cowardly thing to do and Taz would have been disappointed in me but that's what I did.
Tuesday and Wednesday were super stressful at work to the point that I started to question why I had worked so hard to get this job in the first place and I felt trapped because I'm my sole support now (and not doing a very good job at it since I'm in the red each month) so I have to make this work.
Tuesday night wasn't bad, my team won at trivia (yay Fuzzy Tan Lines!) at the Cat Cafe, but my friends were talking about the Halloween party (at Disney) that they've been preparing for all year, making costumes for both their families. They always do a big group thing with the 2 families and I had so hoped to be invited to participate with them this year but I wasn't so that whole discussion left me feeling left out and alone. I hate feeling that way, it's so not me.
Then there's last night. Thursday at work wasn't bad, the job makes me happy again and I was especially looking forward to going to the movies with my Meetup group that night. It was a special preview of the Downton Abbey movie a week before it officially comes out.
The leader of our group, a really nice lady, had posted the event last month and I was the first person to sign up. I really wanted to see the movie and, although I often go to movies by myself and it's cool, I thought seeing this one in a group would be so much more fun. It's one of those theaters where you choose your seat ahead of time when you buy your ticket so I deliberately picked the seat next to the group leader because I wanted to get to know her better. The whole row was filled by our group.
A few days ago the group started commenting about how fun it would be to dress up a little for this movie - tiaras and top hats and a little 1920s flair - right up my alley and so fun!
We got into the theater and I was pleased to see that I was sitting next to a lady that I've met at a couple of other events and have always thought it would be nice to get to know her. Like me, she's one of the few in the group that isn't a senior citizen. We settled into our seats, chatting the whole time, and ordered some drinks. It's one of those dine-in theaters but I've found the food is just awful so I was content just getting popcorn. (Side note - the popcorn was awful too and I didn't even know you could ruin movie popcorn.)
Right after our orders were taken, the leader of the group entered the theater with a man. I had never met him, he's her boyfriend, but I had heard plenty of things about him. I'm always inclined to give people the benefit of the doubt, I'll make up my own mind, but after seeing him interact with the woman sitting next to me, I knew all the stories I'd heard were true.
And I also knew what was about to happen next. He hadn't decided to come or get a ticket until that day so his seat was rows away from our whole group but, of course, the leader wanted to sit next to him during the movie so she asked if I would swap seats with him. And just like that I was out of the group and seated in outer Siberia.
Of course I could have said no but that would have made things awkward the rest of the night and defeated the purpose of trying to make new friends so whether I stayed in my original seat or I gave it up, the effect was the same.
I was pissed but I didn't show it, I walked down the steps to my new seat by myself...except I didn't stay by myself very long because all of a sudden the boyfriend bounced down into the seat next to me, like a lecherous old elf, and declared that he was going to keep me company until the movie started. He had an overly aggressive gaze and that used car salesman, creepy sort of "charm" but, unfortunately for him, I now had my bitchypants on. I don't take them out very often but when I do, nothing can get through my icy outer layer so he didn't end up staying very long. I had heard that he tries to hit on any woman in the group that isn't a senior and so now I had joined that club.
Once he was finally gone I decided being by myself wasn't so bad and I lost myself in the charm of the movie. I loved the original Downton Abbey series and watched each season both when it was on originally in England (through some Internet thing where it believes your computer is in England so it doesn't block you out) and then again when it was broadcast on PBS so I was happy to be back amongst the familiar faces of my Downton Abbey family.
The original series had wrapped up in such a satisfying way with everybody getting a happy ending. The movie didn't change any of that but found a way to give some characters even more happiness. Taz used to scoff at Hallmark movies because their endings were so predictably happy but I always told him that real life wasn't so generous, not everybody got a happy ending so I would take every movie happy ending that I could get. And now I can say "I told you so" to him because I certainly had my happy ending snatched away. So I loved the movie last night because they all got their happily ever afters.
Just because I loved the movie didn't mean I forgot how pissed I was or that I still didn't feel the sting of being pushed out of the group. When the movie ended I got up and marched out of the theater while the credits were still rolling. I didn't turn around and say goodbye to the group or even look at them. I needed to get home to my couch and Charlie.
Isn't that the greatest mug? A friend and former co-worker got that for me (she wanted me to use it around our boss) and I rarely feel the need to use it but sometimes, it's perfect; it definitely was this morning. I feel like the universe has it in for me and my quest to find new friends. WTF universe, I'm supposed to be alone forever? Nope, not going to accept that.
Right now I really want to leave reality behind and go on vacation. I would love to find myself laying back on a beach, letting the sun kiss my skin, and then reach out my hand to clasp the hand of someone that cares about me and wants nothing more than to be by my side.
Oh wait, I forgot - this is not a Hallmark movie.
My jaw literally dropped reading this because I cannot believe the utter rudeness of that woman asking you to move. You have every right to be pissed but then again, maybe not getting to know her was a blessing. This is why I don't socialize, I used to but now it just seems that most people suck! Are you still going to try and make it to Paris? I want to go there someday but who knows!
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