Friends

If you are the company that you keep, then I must be a martini glass

I am writing today’s journal entry in my cluttered cubicle, heavily avoiding a list of to-dos that I simply cannot hack away at.

Despite a night spent knocking back martinis and gnawing into a soggy burger at JG Melon, I am relieved to say that I feel absolutely fine. No amount of salt consumption could ever ruin my day when it is 72 degrees and sunny mid-April.

A spontaneous dinner at prime bar seats and endlessly chatting with the bartender is far superior than a seated dinner reservation planned weeks in advance. I could tell you more about my night, filled with giggles and secret sharing, but this honestly sounds like most of my nights. Today instead, this diary entry will share with you some of my favorite moments spent with friends new and old:

1. Funny Bar

   1. I have been a little too much these past few weeks, but it is hard not to post up at a table with crayons all night. It is even harder there because (much like a casino) you never seem to know the time in there. My life has been blessed with the occasional free Cosmo, and even more blessed with Britt’s Calligraphy Club once a month. She really is a great teacher, and maybe my upcoming journal entries will be filled with elaborate medieval text from now on.

2. PJ Clarke’s

   1. I have no clue why I would ever suggest to meet a friend there when I was already wearing a white oxford shirt, navy vest, and navy tie. I, of course, immediately brought it up to the staff once I sat at the bar. I, unfortunately, barely got a chuckle in response from the bartender.

3. Odeon

   1. Don’t even get me started…

4. Upstairs Bar

   1. Five lychee martinis, questionable pork dumplings, and screeching “Baby” by Justin Bieber into a microphone. If you have never experienced Sandi’s cover of “Lucky” by Britney Spears, your life is unfortunately missing something spectacular and you need to fix this right this second.

5. Lucien

   1. A Sunday afternoon is best spent with Kay at the bar, watching her refill jars of olives and wedge limes in preparation for the evening. With Jess at my side and working on doodles of the two of them (some of my favorite subjects for crayon portraits), we were graciously offered caviar bumps from a favorite regular of theirs. I can be a demon when it comes to caviar, and I am now jittery just thinking about those briny licks on the back of my palm.

There are plenty more anecdotes I could share of hours spent with a friend (or two, or three, or six!) hovering over dirty drinks and salty snacks, laughing like preteens at the mall for the first time without adult supervision. I can tell you all that you want to know about where to find the funniest bartenders, the most flirtatious patrons, and the best spot for buffalo wings, but I think you will have to befriend me first.

Cheers to new friends!