On Wednesday afternoon, A. texted me to see if I’d like to meet up at Panta Rei. I said “Maybe,” but specified that it would be least 6:30 p.m. or after. My plans, as always, were to have a few drinks and call it a night. I arrived at Panta Rei first. The bartender, Roberto, is always so nice to me. He asked if I liked spicy, then set out some olives in a spicy olive oil for me. I’d had a couple of Heinekens by the time A. arrived with his (male) friend, J. They had already stopped off at the Comstock Saloon and Vesuvio’s for drinks. They wanted to eat, however, so ordered black polenta topped with shrimp, as well as sea bass in a red sauce also topped with shrimp. The 3 of us shared. I thought the food was good, but they couldn’t stop raving about it. During that time, Roberto had given me another Heineken. When we finished our food, he also gave us complimentary tiramisu. I DO think that Panta Rei has some of the best tiramisu in San Francisco, however. J., who was quite an interesting and intelligent fellow, was talking about Bulleit Whiskey. The bartender promptly set up 3 shots for us. I’ll have you know, I am NOT a whiskey drinker! I took a sip, but didn’t really want mine. J. refused his completely, saying that he had to be in fine form for his birthday the following day. A. insisted that he and I do a shot and a half apiece. That was NOT fun, let me tell you! As we were deciding what to do next, a rather suggestively dressed young woman came into the bar and sat next to J. They started up a conversation; her name was Ar (shall we say). As it ended up, the 4 of us took a cab to J.’s apartment, where we drank a bottle and a half of wine, listened to some odd music and had some odd conversation. Ar was actually quite nice, but she left after a few hours. When I asked J. what that was all about, he said something about her being a stripper and her boyfriend being in jail. He said that since most men probably just wanted to get in her pants, he wanted to prove that there were genuinely nice guys out there, such as himself! Around that time, he also stated that he needed to go to bed as, once again, he wanted to be rested and ready for his birthday the following day. He sent A. and me off to A.’s apartment with the remaining half bottle of wine. At A.’s apartment we looked at photos, drank the rest of the wine, kept changing the music and continued the odd conversation. He kept saying that though he was attracted to me, he wasn’t sure that we should be lovers. (That was certainly fine with me!) Anyway, was that some sort of challenge or was he trying to play a mind game with me? I said that we have things in common and are cool to hang out together, but I didn’t think we should be lovers. (What I didn’t say, point blank, is that I am NOT attracted to him in that way at all. He’s somewhat attractive, but most certainly not the man for me.) Beings it was going on 3:00 a.m., I told him that I needed to get home. Well, first, he tried to give me the quintessential back massage. We all know that’s nothing new. It had no effect on me. Then he tried to kiss me goodnight. When I’m into someone, you can tell when you kiss me ’cause I actually kiss you BACK!!! In this case, I was sort of rolling my eyes, thinking of someone else and basically putting up with it so that I could be put in a cab and sent home! That’s what happened. He put me in a cab, but… got in the cab with me to escort me home. He didn’t get OUT of the cab at my apartment, of course, but went home like a good little boy. Then he texted me about half an hour later, as well as sending about 4 texts the following day and another the following evening, only one of which I responded to. He wanted me to join J. and him at a party at MOMA on Saturday, but my plans were not to interact with theirs.
After giving my roommate the news, J. (Guy #2 from the dating website) had invited me for drinks on Friday, although we’ve agreed to be just friends. We met at Pa’ina Lounge, sat at the bar, shared some calamari (he ate all but one piece ’cause calamari always tastes like rubber to me) and some spicy shiso ceviche (now THAT was good). He asked how things had gone with the roommate, if I had any trips coming up and what had gone on with other men from the dating website. I told him that I’m done with the website and gave him a few examples of the stupidity and rudeness that I’d come across. When he found out that I was going to Santa Fe, he told me that he’d been there once or twice before when he used to work for FEMA. He was also talking to me about places in Honolulu that he liked, mainly Duke’s. Since it seems we had 5 rounds and some type of free coffee shot, he was feeling fairly comfortable. He talked about bars that he hangs out at, most of which employ Asian female bartenders. Then he showed me his phone, where he keeps notes on them. Strange, but whatever. Hmmm… Do you think he might have YELLOW FEVER?!?! He said that he’d never been to Pa’ina Lounge before, but would make it a regular stop of his since it’s only a few blocks from his apartment, he thought the female bartender was cute and they have daily Happy Hour. By then, I was more than ready to go, so I walked him to his place a few blocks away, then continued on to mine.
Although it was probably better than staying home doing nothing, both nights were sort of a waste of time. I can’t honestly say that I had fun with either of them or shared any deep or even amusing conversation. I’ve GOT to find something more productive to do!!!
On the other hand, while in Hawaii, my cousin had asked about my ATA purse. Actually, many people had asked about my ATA purse. ATA purses are woven from ATA grass in a small Bali Aga village, Tenganan, in Bali, Indonesia. That village is famous for making those purses and baskets, as well as for weaving double weft (?) geringsing cloth. I bought some geringsing cloth a few trips ago, after haggling for quite some time with a woman. It’s expensive for a small piece, as there are supposedly only 2 places in the world that make it. Anyway, getting back to the purse. I sent photos to my cousin of 3 ATA purses that I have to sell, then asked which one she liked. She picked one out and asked the price. I told her that it’s completely within her price range because it’s FREE!!! I’m giving it to her as a belated birthday present; also, because her husband and she wouldn’t let me pay for lunch, dinner or drinks when we went out! I mailed it in a Priority Mail box to her and she should have it on Monday. That was my good deed for this week!
