Today I went to work. Normally that wouldn’t be an unusual thing, except that I was sick for the previous few days. I’m feeling pretty much like myself again.

Shelby and I were supposed to go see Ben Lee on Wednesday night, but I was sick so we agreed to take a rain check. Tonight after work I met her at the Bagdad Theater (yes, for you non-Portlanders, it’s spelled that way), and we went to see the movie Ratatouille. Brilliant movie, by the way. We both completely loved it, and had plenty of “Awwww!” moments. If you get a chance, you should definitely see it on the big screen.

From there we went to meet some of Shelby’s work friends at the Gypsy, which was pretty fun, I have to say. You never know what you’re gonna get when you meet someone’s work friends, but they were a fun bunch of 21-year-olds; one girl and three guys. We all had one drink each, and then Shelby and I invited her friend-girl to the Crystal Ballroom to watch a very unusual event.

It was a listening party of sorts, for the album Zaireeka by the Flaming Lips. It was much more than that, of course, because it involved the playing of all four CD’s at the same time–it’s meant to be played that way, apparently–to create a huge, quadraphonic surround-sound experience. It was incredible. If you live in one of the ten cities that this ‘show’ is coming to, or if you happen to know someone with four separate stereos in their home, I recommend that you buy this CD set and experience it for yourself.

Shelby’s friend and her boyfriend lasted about two songs–didn’t seem like their Thing after all. Shelby loved it, but she only lasted for a couple more songs because she had to work early in the morning. I stayed clear through to the end because A) it was fun, B) I’d never heard of an event like that and I wanted to experience it, and C) one of my friends from work was there too, so I stuck around to hang out with him. First time we’ve ever hung out outside of work.

After the show was over, we walked to a gay bar down the street (my friend is gay). It’s not what I would call a ‘super-gay’ bar, just a classy bar where the majority of the clientele seems to be gay men. No big deal. We probably stayed there for an hour or so, having a good time talking, and then he suggested that we to go to a different place that he also frequents. I was expecting a place like the first, but the second place turned out to be a SUPER-gay bar. Dark, smoky, smelling of flatulence and sweat, with huge projection-screen TV in the middle of the wall behind the bar showing the original “Star Wars” (What the hunh?), with 25-inch TV’s on each side of the projection screen–and in almost every other corner of the room too–showing hardcore gay porn videos. I like to think that I’m a pretty open-minded guy, but the gay porn and over-the-top sexual vibe in the room was way too much for me to deal with. We talked for a few minutes there, while I kept my back to as many screens as I could and gulped down a glass of water, at which point I said I was ‘fading out’ and gracefully made my exit.

Now I’m home, reeking like cigarettes after spending hours in smoky bars, I’m sweating from drinking iced tea at ten o’clock at night (caffeinated, too. . .I’m such an EEDIOT; I haven’t had any caffeine in at least a month), and I’m slightly frazzled from being surrounded by so much over-the-top gayness. Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with that, but if the majority of your friends are really mellow girls, and then one night you suddenly find yourself in a place where you’re being obviously ogled and your elbow touched as older, slightly grizzled men try to walk past you in a let’s-pretend-it’s-crowded room, with TV’s in the corners that are showing graphic gay porn, it’s a shock to the system. That’s all I’m saying.

I smell like smoke so much that I’m really starting to stink up my apartment, so I’m going to take a quick shower and go to bed. Once I get there, I’m really going to wish that I had a girl I could just hold and cuddle with for a while before we both drift off to sleep.