Night Owl

Yesterday was my friend Aleeta's birthday, and I went out with her, some other friends and some of her co-workers to celebrate last night. I hadn't been "out" like that in such a long time! I rarely drink since I've been in O-town, let alone at actual bars. It was kind of a fun change of pace.

The first bar was a sports bar kind of place, and I enjoyed drinking beer, eating fries and shooting the breeze. The second bar was more of a dancing kind of place. I felt pretty awkward. I hate how self-conscious I can be! I didn't want to drink too much to loosen up, because it had been snowing and the roads were a bit treacherous. Plus, I hadn't had a chance to go home after work, so I was still in my work clothes. I just wasn't into it, and I'm kicking myself for it a bit now. Instead of just saying "screw it, I don't care what anyone thinks", I was awkwardly "dancing" while feeling like everyone was looking at Aleeta, Annie, Ashley and I and thinking "Look at those three beautiful girls and that one weird-looking girl who's trying to dance but can't." I'm sure no one was even paying attention, but I still was overly aware of myself. Phooey. I wish I could be less inhibited! I know I've come a long way since high school and all, but I still have a ways to go. I guess that's a good thing, though.

All in all, though, I had a lot of fun hanging out with Aleeta. She is a very real person. She doesn't pull any punches, and isn't afraid to ask the deep questions. In our short little jaunt around town, we were able to squeeze in some rather deep conversations about sharing our faith, managing our money, and counting our blessings.

Then we got stuck on her street. It was bad. It was around 12:30 when we approached the intersection of 108th and V, and it was 1:00 by the time I finally was able to pull into her driveway! We were stuck in the middle of the street, taking turns pushing the car and flooring it. I could smell the burning rubber. And I think we woke up the neighbors. We tried all different ways- forward, reverse, to the right, to the left. Finally, with one shoulder-popping push, Aleeta was able to shove Lola (my car) into the driveway. Needless to say, I ended up spending the night! Here's a picture of Alleta trying to shovel out my car. Look at the glow on that shovel!

And now tonight I was out past midnight for a second night in a row. That's shocking for me these days. Church, Perkins, movie at Jenn/Beth/Aleeta's. Even as I write this, it's after 2:00 am. I guess sleeping in until noon can do that to a person. Once Beth left for work this morning, I slept in her bed with the electric blanket. Talk about comfortable!

But now I really should get into my bed. We don't have church tomorrow morning, so I don't have to get up early, but I probably shouldn't sleep all day again.

I also thought I'd follow Tauna's lead and post some pictures of some of my Omaha friends, now that I finally learned how to do it. The first is of Charlotte, Beth and I. The second is of me and Aleeta. More to come...