"Drunk, And So In Love With You", As The Old Song Goes

Or not...

Went to dinner with some former colleagues this evening, and it was among the most uncomfortable experiences of my life so far. It's kind of strange that the bulk of my friends over the years have been female, and yet I can still begin to feel my prudish tendencies take hold when I'm the only male in the group, as I was this evening.

It's probably not PC to acknowledge it these days, but groups of women tend to interact in a particular way, and it's probably not something men are truly intended to be party to... it's not 'girly talk' of the stereotypical kind - nothing like you'd see on those (normally American) TV shows - nevertheless, there's a tendency for a long sequence of conversations for which I have no valuable additions to make and, in many cases, do not necessarily wish to hear.

I know I'm a terrible prude, and most of it really shouldn't bother me... but I should also have a better idea of how the conversations are likely to go, particularly when certain specific individuals are involved. Oh, and alcohol. Never underestimate the power of alcohol to put you in the mood you expect to be in.

Then again, I only really went because one of my friends convinced me that the former colleague who was hosting the evening was keen to see me again... and I'm mildly besotted with her. Not romantically - that would be weird - but, in spite of the many times she annoyed the hell out of me, I really do like her a lot. Her focus was always customer service, and I had nothing but respect for that. Shame some of her subordinates observed her pushiness without ever understanding the reasons for it.

Anyway... For half the evening, I was wondering what I was doing there. Eventually I just put it down to being in a weird mood due to yesterday's unexpected email.

And I really should remember, for future reference, that I should always ask to use the lavatory before I leave, rather than believing I can hold it in all the way home via public transport. Not to say I couldn't just that it was another uncomfortable element to the evening.