So much can happen in one week...
December 28, 2006
Wow. Since the last time I posted there has been quite a bit going on. Where to start? How 'bout Friday night...
Friday, 12/22 - Batgirl surprises me with a phone call in the afternoon while I was at work. She hand landed college basketball tickets for free. Who am I to say no? I knew it would be a dead crowd with plenty of options to sit closer to the floor, so I thought it would be a fun idea.
Well, two of my best friends, The Attorney and Nern, hold season tix. I could see them from our seats and wanted to say hello. Since Batgirl always got along with them I didn't think it would be a big deal even though we were on a "date." How wrong I was. First she wanted me to go over alone (it was a bit of a distance away), then she reluctantly agreed to go joke about he could "have her job" since he was hired by the Department of Education (he is a lawyer) to defend parents who think their special ed kids are not being done right by teachers in the integrated classroom. Needless to say, she didn't care for that comment and was quite upset. She stewed for half of the second half before I decided we'd better get the hell out of there.
On the way to the car, she blew up and basically said that if he was going to be a guy who could some day be facing her from across a table, trying to hurt her career because of some overzealous parent, she couldn't mingle with him. She's had to take on such lawyers in the past, and as recently as that afternoon she had a parent threatening to haul her friend (a special ed teacher) into court. In a nutshell, it was the "choose between me and your friend" proposal. I told her that wasn't fair, and I would need to talk about the situation with Nern. At first she said I shouldn't, but I insisted and told her that while I know he was only kidding, he deserved to be made aware of how he made her felt, and the impact of taking such a job. The strange thing is, his wife is also a teacher and she stands by his position on an integrated classroom (one that allows special ed kids into a traditional classroom environment), and didn't reprimand him for his poor taste of humor.
Saturday, 12/23 - Capt. Paul returned home from Iraq. When he is home from Iraq, one of his favorite activities is to hit a nudie bar. So, he, Ren and myself did just that. Sure, I know Batgirl would flip a wig if she knew I did that, but it's what my buddy who's seen nothing but sand and army fatigues for the last year wanted to do. What I didn't anticipate was making...a friend.
Ren had been pulled upstairs for a lap dance, so Paul and I were just sipping back beers and bullshitting at a table when this girl plops down next me and says,"Hi. For ten minutes, you're going to be my boyfriend."
I asked if some slimeball was bugging her, and she said no. She claimed some friends had told her to meet them there after she got out of work at her bar. Ten minutes turned into an hour-plus. It became painfully obvious this girl was digging my shit as time wore on. Paul called it from where he was sitting. This was my second test of the weekend. She invited us to stop by her bar this week on the nights she was tending (Tuesday and Friday). I was considering it for some reason, maybe due to the events of the night before. When we went separate ways at the end of the night, she kissed me on the cheek while hugging me (didn't do the same to Ren and CP).
My lust for this girl bugged me all through Christmas, but when Tuesday night arrived and I had the opportunity to go, I made the decision it was not worth it. I have a great thing with Batgirl (the friends thing aside) and it's not worth throwing away from some shady college chick who was in a strip club alone on a late Saturday night. If I were single and looking for a fling, I'd be on that all day though.
Christmas - By the time the holiday weekend ended, it became clear to me how much this woman loves me, her family loves me, how much my family loves her (my mom thought I was going to propose, and my sister was disappointed I didn't)...and how much she means to me.
I slept over her place Christmas Eve, and we opened our presents to each other that morning before going separate ways to our parents' houses. It felt special, like nothing I'd ever been a part of. The crowning moment for me was when she opened the heart-shaped gold & diamond necklace. She absolutely loved it, and she makes sure she wears it conspicuously for all to see. When Christmas night came and it was time for me to go home, I felt kind of sad. I had to work the next morning, and needed to go home and get some sleep alone. The holiday was over, and it was my best Christmas in recent memory. It sucks when it ends and the next day is back to work.
Wednesday, 12/27 - Batgirl's big day finally arrived. She closed on her house. It warmed my heart to see her so excited and happy. She really does look at this place as where she will spend the next 10-20 years, and as the home she will share with me. I'm still uncomfortable when I hear her talk like that, but deep down in my heart, I think I see it that way too. She makes me feel like no one has before.
Yesterday was a day that really kickstarted the whole "our future" throught process for me. My old roommate just announced he was engaged this past weekend, so now I'm thinking. We'll have met one year ago on January 27th, and so much has happened and been shared since then. I can't see her out of my life, nor can I see my being that happy with it even when we have these episodes about sharing my spare time with my friends. The decision about marriage is close to be being made, but the last obstacles I need to overcome are: financial planning, and what she expects of me once we decide to wed. Am I expected to be in a bubble with her, just like her parents are with each other? In this bubble, is it going to be us and her immediate family most of the time (they all live in close proximity to each other)? Am I supposed to stand by as she plays shrink for her emotionally unstable mother on a regular basis? Important questions.
The next few weeks are going to be very interesting as she finally gets settled in to this big house living by herself, and the thoughts about us kick into high gear with the one-year anniversary approaching. First thing's first, of course: how quickly we can paint a bunch of rooms, and how we manage to spend New Year's Eve--with friends, or us alone.
posted by That 30's Guy @ 11:24 AM,
