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Laney and I met for Happy Hour after work yesterday. I told Shobhit we were meeting at 5:00, and he then predicted I would be home by about 7:30. He was within maybe 10 minutes of being right: I probably got home at about 7:40.
Normally we'd have had a weekend Happy Hour scheduled next Saturday (4/12), but that was canceled because she's going on a weekend trip to Eastern Oregon with Jessica. We only recently thought to just make both our Happy Hours in April on Mondays, and Laney suggested we go to Saint John's on Pike, one of her favorite places. They do have a very cool, funky, dinosaur-based decor that I enjoy as well. Except that last night they had plastic sheets hanging from the eaves on the back patio, which were barely opaque and therefore blocked the elaborate diorama of dinosaurs, Bigfoot, and other things they have set up back there.
I still got my dinosaur motif as part of my order, though: I ordered the "
Baby Beta" cocktail, and it was served to me in
a dinosaur egg cup. Laney just ordered a beer though so hers was in a pretty standard tall clear glass. Sucks to be her! (Not really. She enjoys her beer.)
Even though we see each other typically multiple times a week, as usual, we had no shortage of things to talk about. The first thing I said was, "Please tell me you've watched
The White Lotus." Thankfully she had, and Sunday's season finale has been up for much debate, but we both still really liked it, both the episode and the season overall.
We didn't dwell on that for long, though. There's not much else worth mentioning, except maybe the bathroom: the toilet stall is partially wallpapered with pages from Shell Silverstein's
The Giving Tree, on which there was also graffiti. Three graffiti messages were by someone who thinks the ower, apparently named Elizabeth, is "so hot." One of them quite memorably read,
I want to floss my teeth with Elizabeth's pubes. I reported that back to Laney, who immediately gagged because she said it made her feel like there was hair stuck in her throat.
I budgeted $30 for this Happy Hour, and managed to get out of there paying only $23.50. I was quite proud of myself. I figured I would get one cocktail; one Happy Hour $5 side (Laney and I both had an order of the $5 fries); and then a Coke, to which I would add the shot of rum I had in my backpack in a little shot bottle. I have to be a bit sneaky about that, but it was easier being out on the back patio with no direct line of sight from the bartender inside. I did notice a security camera, but there was a small post between it and our table which, I'm hoping at least, helped obscure the view. Anyway, my cocktail choice was because it was rum based, and this way both my drinks would be rum drinks. The "Baby Beta" cocktail was super tasty, though, I must say.
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After I got home, I really could have gone the rest of the evening without eating, but I didn't: I baked myself the last half of the frozen bag of Field Roast veggie corn dogs. I also had a couple small slices of a loaf of cheese bread Shobhit had got from the sale rack at QFC, toasted and buttered. I ate while we watched two episodes of
The Residence on Netflix.
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I guess I'll rewind a bit: after having to skip two Mondays, and now with the insurance stuff straightened out, Shobhit and I met up at the building right up the street from my office yesterday afternoon, for our third couples counseling session.
Even though we might have expected some awkwardness after only two sessions and then skipping two weeks due to financial and insurance complications, this was the most comfortable and open session we've had yet, I think. We really got into some deeper stuff, or at least I think we're starting to.
That said, Amy, the therapist, has mentioned more than once that she has other couples who are at much greater conflict than we seem to be. She even said specifically yesterday: "You're one of the more pleasant couples to be in a room with, among my clients." I laughed out loud at that. I think it was our first session when she mentioned she has other clients who are couples that sleep in separate bedrooms on opposite ends of the house. Frankly, I'm just glad we're doing this before it gets to that kind of a point.
I do think there's something to be said for familiarity alone: three sessions and we're starting to feel like we know this person a bit. I think a lot of people are terrified of therapy, largely because they expect it to be a deeply frustrating or painful process. It clearly doesn't have to be. We're just having discussions, hopefully constructive and fruitful ones. Right now I have high hopes.
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[posted 12:34pm]
