One of the most underrated aspects of life growing up that's become more apparent as I've gotten older is the set routine. This past Friday I was wigging out at 6pm because of a bug that came up with a web project at work. People were frustrated. I was angry. That something so little could change my mood on Friday so easily in of itself bothered me.
There I was, sitting at Harry's Country Club downtown with a tasty Moscow Mule in an ice cold copper cup and a BLT in front of me. I couldn't stop looking at my phone. The fowl taste from the day's events at work made me think to myself, this is the worst damn BLT in the city. I'm sure it wasn't. Heck, the idea of the BLT makes it pretty hard to screw up unless they're using soggy strips of bacon like the ones Burger King slaps on their burgers.
Luckily, I have the best friends in the world who knew the best way to rescue the night for me was to send a long winded email directing traffic, explaining the occurrence and setting up the team for success the next day (Saturday) to take care of the bug. It's the longest email I've sent from the phone, ever. I deleted the "Sent from my iPhone" for good measure.
It's funny what little things can brighten your mood. We migrated away from the overpriced post-happy hour drinks and mediocre BLT's at Harry's to our favorite downtown bar, John's Big Deck. This night, we're preparing to see The Dark Knight Rises. It just wouldn't be right not to fit some cold brews on a deck before a Friday night movie. My mind still wondering while my phone buzzes five times a minute (No texts this time. Just email alerts.), I'm about to close out my tab and find out I was given four beers for the price of two. I get unreasonably excited about this sort of thing. Either the bartender liked me or is just bad at their job. The night's improved.
Another thing I'm unreasonably excited for, sitting in a dark theater for nearly three hours for the third Christopher Nolan Batman film. I just love it. A good movie is the perfect thing to suspend my thoughts on a less than stellar week.
When we sit down in the theatre, I can't help but lean over to David and observe how close we are to the exit. It's only 10 feet away. With the tragedy in Colorado the night before, the seemingly safe confines of a movie theatre are associated with mass loss of life and pointless violence. Here I am, worried about a bug in a application we're developing at work and the lack of a love life. It puts things in perspective.
The Dark Knight Rises is everything I could've hoped for to wrap up the Batman trilogy. The last 20 minutes is one of the best sequences and endings I've ever seen in a movie.
By the time the movie is done, it's 1:30. Though most bars downtown say they're open until 3am, it's more like 2am with a $10 cover. This frustrates us but it's probably for the better. Cab hailed, Jimmy John's ordered, movie turned on and the night's finally over.
Saturday morning (11am) I wake up and am greeted with a flurry of emails. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who bar hopped and saw a movie the night before. It takes a while, but the team manages to fix the bug in time for an evening in Westport.
On the agenda, McCoy's for the Sporting Kansas City match and Kelly's to watch our favorite cover band, "Sellout." It's an interesting and surreal thing to be in a bar that has five TV's tuned to an MLS soccer match and just one with the stumbling Royals.
After the match, we head over to Kelly's. It was a good evening filled with plenty of beer and some banter with the band member dressed as Slash. Marilyn Monroe was there too. Apparently both David and Bert had "moments" with her while she was wailing to some classic rock. Probably the only annoyance of the girl behind me urging me to dance. I'm sorry, but I'm not dancing to Alanis Morsette.
There's one thing left to do after the show. We head back to the apartment for some Rock Band so we can act like we actually know how to make good sounds. It's not working though. We can't beat Carry on my wayward son on easy. I could see a conversation with a police office going like this; "Sir, you been drinking tonight?" "Sort of." He then hands you a guitar video game controller and demands you play and beat Free Bird on medium.
On Sunday, I see Batman once more for good measure.
Weekend highlights....
- Three BLT's eaten (two triples from the Peanut)
- Two viewings of The Dark Knight Rises
- Six bars visited
- Figuring out Pizza Bar at P&L has a $10 cover.
- 10 billable hours for work
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