Today's rambling: Food and good company
Written on Wednesday, Jun. 18, 2003 at 11:20 p.m.
while feeling a bit

Last night, I was excited because I knew I'd be hanging out with Geoff (and Tim) today. But no one called me until almost noon, and they didn't actually get here 'til close to one o'clock. This would have been fine, except a bunch of the store employees were going out to dinner as a sort of going-away thing (since Becky and a few others were taking the Safeway buyout and were leaving the company). Geoff was invited and had accepted the invitation, so he told me on the phone that he'd have to get me home by 4:30. If you do the math, that meant that there'd only be a couple of hours to spend with him. I suggested that we just forget about it then, but he was like, "No, we can do something!" I didn't argue. ;)

Of course, today had to be the day that he and Tim wanted to go out and eat. I'm finicky at the best of times, but as I've said in my past few entries, my stomach has been acting strangely lately. I was NOT feeling hungry (I'd barely been able to eat my bowl of oatmeal this morning), but I know it irritates them when I say I don't want to eat, so I told them I'd eat. But instead of going someplace normal, they decided to go to this little German-ish restaurant. Despite living in "Dutch Country", I have never eaten German food before. But I figured I'd tough it out so they didn't roll their eyes at me.

Diary, I had no idea what half those lunch items were. I was staring at the menu fearfully, biting at my nails and occasionally glancing up to see if Geoff or Tim were watching me with those amused expressions they get sometimes. Geoff finally realized that I was in trouble, so he told me to just get one of the normal menu items (thankfully they had club sandwiches and other boring things, hehe), and I could try whatever he and Tim ordered. I didn't particularly want to try their food, but the moment the plates were set in front of them, Tim exclaimed, "Sample plate!" So he and Geoff took their little saucers (the ones you use to put your dinner rolls on) and dished out tiny portions of their food onto it.

Flavor-wise, I will admit that both dishes were quite good. Texture-wise, I very nearly gagged on the stuff Tim had given me. It was a 'gyspy porkchop' or something wacky like that, and it wasn't that the meat was undercooked, really...but it had this sort of slimy, mushy quality to it. I guess it was because of all the sauces and things piled onto it. Either way, I barely got that down. The dish that Geoff had ordered, however, had a lovely flavor and didn't have an odd texture, either. So if I ever get stuck at a German restaurant again, at least I'll know what to order.

The only other people in the place were a group of four older men who were sitting back in a corner. When they left, Geoff silently got my attention and murmured, "That first guy..."

"I didn't see him," I replied, thinking there must've been something quirky about him.

"No, he was staring at you as he walked by," Geoff said.

"Oh..." Faint blush.

"Actually, three out of the four were looking at you. The fourth one was looking at me."

I just love how he always seems to notice the men staring at me. I don't know whether he was telling the truth or just making it up to watch me squirm in embarrassment. Thankfully, Tim wasn't there for that particular episode, because he would have said something that'd make me REALLY self-conscious.

The best part of the outing was when we went to this little outdoor ice cream place. I haven't been there in YEARS, but for some reason Geoff thought of it so we all got ice cream cones. He teased me about eating so daintily, heh...I sat down on one of the picnic benches but the other two guys remained standing for a little while...but then Geoff finally came over and sat down. There wasn't even an inch of space between us, and meanwhile there was half a bench empty on his other side. I love it when he sits close like that. ^_^ I flopped a leg over his to show off my new sandals, and he discovered that if you rub the suede a certain way, it makes a mark. He started to try writing something, but I'd removed my leg. He was about to grab my calf and pull it back over his knee so he could finish writing, hehe! That would have been interesting. And pleasant, of course. ;)

I sound so ridiculously girly when I tell stories like that. Sorry. ^.^;

After they dropped me off at home, I checked the answering machine and discovered that Mom had called me...asking if I wanted to go to the very same dinner that Geoff was going to. :P She'd been invited as well, but she hadn't been planning on going unless I went. Of course, a part of me jumped at the idea. I get so foolishly jealous when I think of Geoff out thee having fun without me, sharing those adorable smiles with someone else. But I also realized that a)I wasn't invited, and so it'd be sort of interloper-ish, and b)Judging by the others who were invited, I'd feel like the baby...and of course I hate that feeling. Oh yeah...and then there was the fact that I'd just been with Geoff, and I could just imagine his reaction if he saw me stepping into the restaurant unexpectedly. :P So I did what any person blessed with neediness and indecision would do: I called and left a message on Geoff's answering machine. Under the pretense that Mom was going after all, and she invited me to come but I didn't think I was going to because it would involve eating, "and you know how I am about that." I know, like that was any pretense at all. It was practically screaming, "Tell me to come along!" But I figured that maybe he wouldn't call back, and that would make the decision just as effectively.

In the end, he did call...and told me to go to the dinner thing. ^_^ It was all the affirmation I needed, of course.

Unfortunately, thanks to whatever's the matter with me, I still wasn't hungry...and therefore didn't tuck in as I might have otherwise done. Geoff, at least, understood this time. Not a teasing word was spoken, hehe :P

It was the first time I'd ever been to this restaurant before. Buca dehmmphmmmo or whatever it's called, LOL! I know Lola knows what it is, 'cause she asked me once if there were any of those restaurants out my way...and I NEVER saw one until after I got back from that vacation! At any rate, we started off in the bar and then went into the dining area (after walking through the kitchen; I felt as though I should have scratched my chin thoughtfully and said, "Very clean! Very well-organized! Good job!"). I think Geoff was heading over to my side of the table, but instead he got stuck across from me. I got to play with his leg, though. ;)

Okay, this entry is getting long enough so I'll just skip to a few different stories. The first, very short one, is that Erin was there. And she actually remembered that my birthday was the same day as hers. She suggested that we tell them it was our birthday so we could have an early celebration, but I was surprised that she'd actually remembered! I don't know why, it's just that very few people ever remember my birthday (and I'm not bashing those of you who forget, hehe!)

The second came right at the end of the dinner. Toni was trying to get Erin and her boyfriend hitched up, apparently (she was like, "So Erin, when are you having kids?"). It was amusing. Everybody knows not to take Toni seriously (though sometimes she DOES get under my skin with her meddling). After conversing with Erin and John, Toni turned to Geoff and whispered something to him (I think it was something about whether he and I were dating). "Yes," Geoff said immediately. Toni grinned and said, "I knew it all along."

"I'm being kept in the dark about something," I said, suspiciously eyeing the two of them. Toni assured me that what she and Geoff had said was good, so I sat back. Then Geoff asked Toni to repeat to him what she'd said, so she did.

"Okay, that's what I thought you said," he replied.

"You said yes!" Toni exclaimed.

"Yeah, well that's what I thought you'd said!" he defended. So then the two of them leaned together and murmured secretively again, but Geoff would keep looking at me with those warm brown eyes of his, and a little smile played about on his mouth. I was dying to know what was being said. He finally looked at me again and said, "Yeah, she's..." but it was so loud in the restaurant that I couldn't hear the rest. At any rate, for the first time ever I was silently thinking, "Please, Toni, put ideas in his head!" *giggles*

She told me earlier in the evening that I was looking very pretty, and that I'd lost weight. This always amuses me. Why is it that whenever I see her or certain other people from work, they say, "You've lost weight!" If anything, I've gained since coming back home! But every time they see me, it's "You've lost weight! Your face looks thinner!" I never take it as being offensive, even though tonight I wanted to teasingly say, "So I didn't look pretty before?"

Kirsten was there tonight, hehe...She and Keith were just stepping onto the curb when Mom and I arrived, so I made Mom stop the car so I could run out and hug Kirsten. I haven't talked to her in MONTHS. She's such a cute little thing...but she's so tan that she's that dark, dark brown that I always think looks fake and gross. : I don't know why people bake themselves like that! I mean, if you're born with dark-toned skin, that's one thing. Your other features (like hair and such) genetically match, so you don't look odd. But caucasian women who bake themselves to a dark, dark brown just do NOT look right. And Kirsten's hair had been dyed to a light blonde, so it was all that larger a contrast. I know I shouldn't be criticizing in the same breath that I talk about being happy to see her, but she's so CUTE without the dark tan! The blonde hair works well for her...but not with that skin tone. >_<

I tried not to get jealous when she went over and sat next to Geoff at the bar. Instead, I stood at the corner where Kerri and Erin were, and talked to Kerri until we went into the dining room. At one point I looked over, though, and found that Geoff was looking at me. He mouthed my name, I grinned, and felt much better after that. ;) Honestly, when did I become so possessive?

Okay, I swear, that's all I'm going to put in this entry. The rest can go in my paper diary. ;)