First (And Probably Last) Friday

So tonight I met up with Kathleen in downtown Leesburg so that we could walk around for “First Friday.” Basically, as mentioned, on the first Friday of every month the downtown businesses stay open later to give people the chance to walk around and browse.
I’ve never spent much time downtown, so I figured I might as well do this just to get a feel for what’s there.
Essentially it confirmed what I suspected: downtown is cramped and crowded, there’s not enough parking (I went all the way up to the roof of the parking deck without finding a space), and most of the stores are geared towards people who have more money than sense, selling various bits of the kind of useless crap that only rich, pretentious people buy.
Still, the fact that I went out, in my mind, counts as me going out and “doing something” with my time off.
It’s not like it was a horrible experience. In fact, I was kind of amused by Kathleen yet again forgetting that I don’t drink and that there’s a reason that I don’t drink as she led me into a wine store for a tasting. It didn’t bother me; I was never a wine drinker.
Mostly I found it funny that she forgot again and became apologetic when she remembered.
I did consider asking the owner if he had any California Cooler Original Flavor in stock.
I thought it would be funny, like the time that I was the only man at a party where most of the attendees were lesbians and I toyed with the notion of leaving the toilet seat up just to see what would happen.
But as I did at that party, I wisely decided to refrain from engaging in an act of guerilla humor at the vintner’s.
From there we went on to various cramped stores that smelled funny and were full of things that I would never buy.
The little pet store was the worst, I think, as I stood there holding my tongue as I listened to people talking about their pets in a manner that to me is indicative of mental illness.
The sign for the dog treats that said “No Wheat, No Corn, 100% Organic” nearly got me to break my silence, though. I mean, aren’t wheat and corn also organic? Are these three items meant to be unrelated selling points? It was unclear from the way it was presented and I nearly said so, but ultimately didn’t because I really didn’t need some crazy pet lady being offended by my sarcasm. Things like that never end well.
We stopped in a couple of art galleries as well, one of which had a lot of works that featured cats. Lots and lots of cats. I’m talking a bordering on fetish levels amount of cats.
Eventually we’d had our fill of walking about and were going to get in Kathleen’s car, which was closest, and drive somewhere for dinner. However, Kathleen had left the wine – with the owner’s permission – she’d bought back at the vintner’s with the intent of picking it up afterwards so that she wouldn’t have to carry it with her, and as we were walking to her car, a fair distance from the vintner’s, she remembered that fact.
She wanted to drive by and have me run in and get it for her, but I convinced her that a little more walking would be good for her.
The main reason she was reluctant to walk was that it was an unseasonably warm day today, with temperatures in the mid-70s. Despite the strong, gusting winds, it was still rather warm out, so walking was causing some sweatiness.
(The temperature has since dropped to the 40s.)
For dinner we at a “wood fire pizza” place. It was pretty crowded so we sat at the bar to eat. Kathleen pointed out that you could look at some of the people and just tell that they have a lot of money, like a lot more than either of us. Which isn’t to say we’re doing too badly and that department. It’s more a matter of them doing that well.
Of course, given the overall wealth of Loudoun County, that’s hardly surprising.

‘80s Rocker Look-alike Department:
Apparently the other night, with his closely-shorn locks, Brian made a move that made a connection in Kathleen’s mind, leading her to remark on his resemblance to a particular performer.
This result in me getting a text message from Brian saying, “Joooooon, Kathleen called me Midnight Oil because of my hair.”
I responded that personally I would have gone with “The Commish.”