my friday night

Last night I decided to throw caution to the wind and go out WITHOUT MAKING PLANS IN ADVANCE.

*Gasp*

Early in the week, I had read online that Ike was playing at the Tin Angel last night, and I had toyed with the idea of going. Then Erin called me yesterday afternoon to share teacher-related anecdotes (which, really, only another teacher could fully appreciate), and we got to talking about weekend plans, or the lack thereof. I mentioned the Ike show, and plans just sort of fell together.

So off we went. We managed to find parking directly across from the Tin Angel, but it came at a steep price. (I'm one of those people who can't be bothered with driving around looking for a street spot or a cheap lot. I just park where it's close and convenient and pay whatever.) I just gotta say, Tin Angel is a neat little place, but totally not conducive to seeing a band. It's a long narrow bar with a dim, coffee house feel. Better for whiny solo guitar acts (like Ike's opening act, who I deemed too "emotional" for my liking). But Ike was awesome, as always.

When they finished, it was still early (like 1 AM early), so we decided to see what else was around. We bypassed an Irish pub because it looked kinda lame, and wound up at a club called Glam. Strange little place. Tiny dancefloor area with a platform for the club's dancing girls (NOT strippers, but they may as well have been, based on their clothing and the type of dancing they were doing). Some interesting characters in that place. Including the two guys in loud print shirts who high-fived each other for reasons known only to them. High-five??? Seriously?

Turned out to be a weird and rather pricey night... but fun. Made me realize that I miss seeing good local bands, and I miss going clubbing. I'm not too old to give that stuff up yet.

The downside is that I've been feeling crappy as of late (mostly due to allergies), and the smoky bars did not help. I started coughing as soon as I got into bed, and that kept me up until after 4 AM. I finally fell asleep, but didn't wake up until after 10, which killed my morning plans of going to a baptism (one of my first graders and a few second graders that I taught last year were being baptized).

So now it's almost noon and I'm feeling unproductive. I think I'll go find something to do.