missroserose | Heh heh. She said "Bawls".

Four and a half hours of sleep last night. So much for swimming this morning. (Tomorrow or bust!) I was seriously concerned about the prospect of driving in to work this morning until the Bawls kicked in. Sleep? Bah! Who needs it! People are more fun when they're sleep-deprived, anyway.

That said, the deprivation was hardly for nothing. I spent most of last night with Justin, a good friend whom I only see occasionally. Our meeting up was rather amusing - up until recently, he's been tutoring rich families' children in China, and had let his (extremely fluffy and thick) hair and beard grow out until he looked like a wild desert hermit (an impression not helped by his usual mismatched-clothes fashion aesthetic). I enjoyed giving him crap about it, but on the whole his appearance never bugged me. Admittedly, it helps that we live in Alaska, where dressing up means you put on your pair of Carhartts and t-shirt with the fewest stains.

We were planning to meet up at the library after work before going to dinner someplace. Upon making it to said library, I scanned around, figuring he'd stick out pretty easily (despite the usual preponderance of wild-haired scraggly-bearded sorts there). No such luck; but he's often late, so I chatted with an old acquaintance of mine who works there while I waited for him to show up.

And suddenly he appears, startling the bejeezus out of me. It looked like he'd been attacked by the "Queer Eye" crew - the beard was gone, the hair was cut nicely, his clothing was stylish and classy. Quite frankly, he looked great. Having just come from work, where my standard clothing is jeans and a t-shirt (often with something funny printed on it), I felt distinctly underdressed. My acquaintance informed me he'd been there the whole time, sneaking glances around his book.

After calling him a jerk (fondly), we went back to my place so I could put on something a bit nicer, and debated where to go for dinner. I'd originally been planning on something fairly casual, but we both looked so nice we decided to head to the Zephyr, a lovely local place with a somewhat more upscale atmosphere and excellent Mediterranean food. (I'm particularly fond of their lamb meatballs and oysters Rockefeller, although I rarely get the latter because Brian dislikes them.) Dinner was delicious, especially with the addition of an excellent Greek wine at the recommendation of both the server and the man two tables down from us. (I sort of figure that when someone tells you "I tried this stuff, started ordering it through a local store, and they now stock it specifically for me and the people I've given bottles to as gifts," it's a good recommendation.)

And then we headed back to my place, where I finally got around to watching Duck Soup. Even though slapstick isn't generally my thing, I had never before seen a Marx Brothers movie and felt like I should. I have to admit, it made me giggle numerous times (and not just over Groucho's witticisms). It was interesting to see how many cues Blake Edwards had taken from the Marx Brothers for his also-masterful physical-comedy sequences - the bear-suit scene from The Pink Panther was almost a direct visual quote of the mirror scene in Duck Soup.

At that point, it was getting to be time for bed, which made me quite sad - Justin is the sort of dude you could easily spend an entire night just chatting with. I made him promise that we would hang out sometime when I didn't have work the next day, and he gave me a ride to the airport so I could pick up the Audi from long-term parking in case it snows. And then I gave him a hug and we parted ways. I do hope to see him again soon, but knowing him, it may well be a month or three. Ah well. It was a lovely evening, and almost made up for Brian being stuck in Sitka for our anniversary.

Now for the Happy Fun Bonus Question: Having bid adieu to her friend at a perfectly reasonable hour, and having made it back home and through the shower and into bed right around her normal time, why was Rose awake until nearly three in the morning? Points given for creativity. Points taken away for accuracy, because the real story probably isn't anywhere near as entertaining as what you all can come up with. :)