Valentine's Day and Kosovo's Independence

So yesterday, I typed an entire blog, and then my computer froze and the whole thing got deleted. You can imagine I was pretty pissed. And I didn't have time yesterday to retype the whole thing. But here goes...

Wednesday
I went into work at 7. It was realllly slow, and I was incredibly bored. I went to look at my phone around 9:30 and saw that I had one missed call. Jake The Door Guy!!! What a pleasant surprise! Almost immediately afterwards, he showed up. He walked right up to me, said hi and gave me a high five.

"When are you gettin' off?" he asked.
"I should be getting off in about 30 minutes!" I said, "Why? What's goin' on?"
"Well we're heading over to The Porch Swing. You should come!" he said.
"Ok. Well I might. How 'bout I give you a call when I get outa here?" I didn't wanna seem too eager.
"Ok sounds good."

I got off at 10 on the dot, and called Jake The Door Guy for directions. As it turned out, they were over at the shot bar, waiting on Blinn to finish a beer. So I went and met them over there. It was Jake, Blinn, Gavin, and Jake's friend, Darius. Sometimes it's really nice to be the only girl! We headed over to Porch Swing and had a couple drinks. It's a new bar that just opened up, and of course Blinn is friends with the owner. Jake and Gavin and I got into a pretty involved conversation about high school band. Haha. We were both in it all 4 years. I had so much fun talking to him! I noticed he doesn't come out of his shell very often around large crowds. So it was like I was really getting to know him in his element, ya know? Just as one of the guys. It was cool. We ended up going back to our work around 1, and then Jake The Door Guy had to leave, because his friend had to work tomorrow and they'd ridden together. Poo. Oh well. I still had a lot of fun.

Valentine's Day
All us girls had planned to go out for sushi, at 8pm. I had to work at 10, but everyone else was gonna barhop in midtown after dinner. However, "all us girls" ended up being just me, Amanda and Charlotte ((groan)). Melissa and Lindsey (a cute blonde in our group that I've recently gotten to know and like) were supposed to come, but since they both have boyfriends, they ended up spending the evening in.
At 5:30 I started getting ready to go, and while I was in the shower, FB called and left me a message.

"Hey Peyton, it's (Friend Boy). I just wanted to call and wish you a Happy Valentine's Day. Uhh...I hope your day is going good. Anyways I just...wanted to let you know I was thinkin' about you on Valentine's Day.
Talk to you later.
Bye."

Awwwwwe! How sweet! I was planning on pretty much ignoring the holiday all together.

Well at 7:15, I was in my car and on my way to the sushi place. I sent a text to Amanda to make sure everyone was gonna be on time. Then she wrote back and said she was waiting on Charlotte to get to her house, because she was supposed to fix her hair. Ugh. I tried calling Charlotte 3 times, but she didn't answer! How rude! I mean, you don't make plans with people, and then make everyone wait on you! Especially when some people have other shit to do! I was starting to wonder if I was even gonna have time to eat before work.
I was the first person to get to the restaurant, of course, and there was a 45-minute wait. Ugh. I was starting to get really pissed. But then I managed to nab us a table in the bar area, and finally the girls showed up. The sushi was delicious, and even though Melissa and Lindsey weren't there, we still had fun.
I got to work, and it was insanely busy!! Which was good, because it made the night go by faster, but I was definitely getting sick of watching people make out and dry hump all night.
Around 12:30, FB shows up with some of his friends.
"Hey!" I said. I was pretty surprised to see him.
"Hi. How's your night going?" he asked.
"Um..." I glanced around at the hordes of drunk people, "Ok I guess."
Just then, he pulled a dozen red roses out from under the bar and handed them to me. I was so shocked, I'm sure I was blushing furiously.
"Oh my gosh! You didn't have to do this!"
"I know. But I wanted to." he said.
"Thank you...so much." I said, taking the flowers.

I was really touched by his gesture, and also really worried. Because lately I've kinda been feeling like the spark between FB and I is fading. I mean...ever since his work hiatus, and then with Jake The Door Guy coming into play... I dunno. This always happens to me! I never want the guys I should want! And now suddenly, FB is acting all...coupley! Ugh...
Well, he and his friends didn't stay long. He said he just wanted to stop by, tell me Happy V-Day and give me the flowers. So I thanked him again, and gave him a kiss on the cheek before he left. It did cheer my night up considerably.
But while we were shutting down the bar, I couldn't help but glance at the front door every 5 minutes to see if Jake The Door guy was coming over. They usually finish cleaning at the shot bar first, and then come over for a couple beers. But of course, he never showed up. Oh well...there's always Friday.

Friday
I went into work at 3 to open the bar, still completely exhausted from the night before. I worked a small happy hour party in the back bar, and ended up getting off at 8. I came prepared with a change of clothes to go out in after work, since Melissa and the girls were supposed to be meeting up for another Girl's Night Out. I pulled my hair back into a couple of pins, and I put on a pair of peacock feather earrings with a matching necklace. I even did my eye makeup with a royal blue eyeliner, and green and gold eye shadow to match. Considering I had just gotten off work, I felt pretty put together!
Once everyone showed up, we hung out at my bar for a while and had some drinks. Then we headed over to the shot bar, because honestly, I really wanted to see Jake The Door Guy! But it was pretty crowded over there, and he was too busy to chat. So we all headed inside. Well, it turned out that Friend Boy and his entire crew was there! And his entire crew just happened to include Lindsey and Melissa's boyfriends. So much for our girl’s night! Now let me explain what went down.
Ever since I met FB, he's been "trying" to quit smoking. And let me just state for the record, I hate smoking. It's smelly, and disgusting, and a total turnoff. And the last time FB and I hung out, he told me I would never see him smoke another cigarette, because it was bad for his health.
Well on Friday night, he must have smoked at least 5 cigarettes. Ew. At one point, I even said something along the lines of, "Would you rather smoke that cigarette, or make out with me?"
And he chose the cigarette!! Ugh.
So I left him to his devices and went to mingle. I found Melissa and Tim and went to talk to them. I immediately told Melissa the story about what had just happened with FB.
Tim mumbled something unintelligible and rolled his eyes.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing..." Tim said.
"No, tell me!" I persisted.
"It's just...(Friend Boy). I can't stand him." He finally admitted. And I was pretty shocked to hear this, because FB always said he and Tim were good friends since high school. Although I did always think it was kind of odd that they never hung out when they were supposed to be such good friends.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"He just thinks so highly of himself! And it's just because he has money. He's always bragging and lording it over everybody. Dude...none of the guys understand why you're dating him. You're like...supercool and he's..." Tim trailed off.
"Hmm..." I though aloud. It wasn't the first time I'd heard these things about FB, even though I'd never seen them firsthand. But it was still a bit unsettling.
I found FB in the crowd by the bar, ordering rounds of shots. Several rounds of shots, I might add. When Jayme told him she wasn't going to serve him anymore, he practically through a hissyfit.
"What?? Is she really not gonna give me any more drinks?! I tipped that chick a hundred bucks!" he complained.
I raised my eyebrows in surprise at his tip comment.
"Yea, but...you're clearly drunk. And it's her call to make whether she feels comfortable serving you or not." I explained.
"I just can't believe that." he huffed.
The more time I spent with FB on Friday night, the less I was enjoying his company. Is this really the kind of guy that he is? Maybe I was being a little hard on him though. I wasn't about to give up on him yet.
At the end of the night, he asked if I would drive him home, and I said sure. I figured it would be a good opportunity for us to talk. And talk we did.
I told him I thought we'd moved too fast physically, and it was causing the lines in our situation to become confused and blurred. I said I thought we should slow down and maybe get to know each other better. And we talked about The Psycho a little bit. He didn't divulge anything about his ex. All he said was, "I've seen a lot of shit. And I don't talk about it with anyone." Whatever the hell that's supposed to mean...
When we got to his place, I went upstairs with him; we were still deep in conversation. He must have been really drunk though, because he kept trying to get me to take shots of vodka with him, or drink some wine. I'd stayed sober the whole night because I'm trying to save money. (I really want a Macbook Air!!) So I refused his offer for more drinks. Then he went out onto his patio and smoked another cigarette!! Even though he knows how much it bothers me. But it gets better. When he came back inside, he kept trying to make out with me, and talking about sex. Had he not been listening to anything I was saying earlier?!?
Again, I told him no, I wasn't comfortable with that. He was noticeably put off, but I didn't care. I left his apartment feeling frustrated, and annoyed. It's like the guy has 2 personalities! There's this really sweet, doting guy, who surprises me with flowers. And then there's this selfish, boastful, sex-craving, chain smoker, who I do not like at all.
Either way, I've made the decision that Friend Boy, while he is a decent guy, is definitely not the guy for me. ((sigh))

Saturday
I lounged around most of the day, which was nice. I had plenty of time to mill things over. I have to somehow figure out how to tell FB that this isn't going to work for me. Definitely not looking forward to that... And I want to subtly pursue Jake The Door Guy, while also appearing aloof and semi-unavailable. Lol. That shouldn't be an easy task either.
I had to work at 10. And I actually got to work in the well next to Bethany, so that definitely made the night go by quicker! We chatted and caught up throughout the night. I told her all about FB. And she told me about her Valentine's Day with Tugg. I also found out that at midnight, it would officially be Day Zero of Kosovo's independence. And since I work with 3 Albanian's, this was reason to celebrate. So after work, a huge group (including Jake The Door Guy!) headed over to Blinn's apartment to party. I even happened to have my camera with me, so I took tons of fun pictures.
But before I can really launch into the story of the night, I have to give you guys a bit of background on Jake and Valerie. Valerie is one of our waitresses. I know I've mentioned her before in the post where I made out with Blinn. Read back if you must, it's a pivotal post. Anyway, she's a huge bitch. And she's kind of crazy. I mean seriously, nobody at work likes her because she's a psycho bitch!! She's also like...the workplace whore. And she always preys on the new guys, you know before they really get to know anybody, or get to know about her reputation. I feel kind of bad for them actually. Well, unfortunately, Jake was one of those guys. He told me she made him feel welcome when did didn't know anybody, and that she seemed cool at first.
Well they hooked up for about a week before he came to his senses I guess. And now she's angry and bitter about it. Surprise surprise. So at the party, I noticed Jake kind of lurking in the corner by himself. So I walked up to him.
"Why don't you join us?" I asked.
"I dunno, I just like to watch people I guess." he said.
"Hm. Interesting..." I said with a sideways glance.
Just then, Valerie approached.
"You know if you were actually nice to people, you wouldn't be standing over here in the corner by yourself with no one to talk to!" she spat, in her drunken stupor.
"I'm talking to him." I said. But she just gave me a dirty look at continued to rail him. She was saying things like, he needed to "man up" and apologize to her for being such an asshole, and, "You know what your problem is?? You're aggressive! And I don't mean in bed!"
And he was literally just standing there staring blankly through her, not saying anything. I just stood there, my eyes practically popping out of my head. Then it started to get really awkward to I shuffled off in the opposite direction. I gave him a look that said, "I'm sorry! I tried!" as I walked away.
I went to talk to Nick about it.
"You know he's the only reason she's even here. Dude...she's crazy." He said.
"Yea...I feel kinda bad for Jake." I said.
Valerie was literally in Jake's face. If I'd have been in his position, I probably would have hit her.
Unsurprisingly, Jake The Door Guy left soon after that episode. And coincidentally, so did Valerie. What a fucking bitch! I mean, seriously! If you want a guy to actually like you, you can't sleep with every guy you work with!! Ugh. I hate her.
Around sunrise, I decided I should probably head home. When I got out to my car, I noticed I had a text from John. He had been at the party too.
"Sleep well sunshine." It said. WTF??
"I don't get you." I responded.
"Well you're not so clear yourself." He wrote.
Whatever. I'm not even going to mess with that. I don't feel like trying to figure him out. It's too much work.
I crashed out as soon as I got home. It was nice.
So now, I'm still here with my dilemma with FB and Jake The Door Guy. I mean, I can tell that Jake is a nice guy, but he's kind of...shy. Well, not shy, per sé, but he's not good with large crowds. So it's harder to draw him out. And I don't know how I'm going to tell Friend Boy that I don't like him anymore. He's called me twice since that night, and left me a Facebook message. I responded to his message, but I haven't returned his calls. ((sigh)) I'm just not ready to have that conversation yet.

Demetri Of The Day:
“About a month ago I got a cactus. A week later, it died. I was really depressed because I was like ‘Damn! I am less nurturing than a desert.’ (Ladies, that’s not true)”