Another Saturday night alone on the town. That seems to be my destiny, at least for the immediate future. I ain’t giving up; this might be life’s lesson to teach me patience. I’m continuing to communicate with Swan, and she says she wants a place in my life; she just needs me to give her time for the love part. I don’t have anything else to do, so why not?

It is still raining like mad here. I’ve not been able to hike for two days straight. I can usually handle the rain, but not so much when the wind blows it sideways. The Gods of Beer cut me some slack yesterday afternoon with a brief pause in the rain that allowed me to escape the confines of my residence and seek shelter in the bars of Barretto.

I began my night’s work at It Doesn’t Matter. I was the only customer in the outside area, and perhaps that was weather-related, although the seating and tables were all dry. It’s been a sad spectacle since owner Bob passed away to see what was once my overall favorite bar lose its buzz. I’m not sure what happened, but I see many of the regulars have abandoned IDM and now are ensconced at places like Sloppy Joe’s and The Annex. Admittedly, I don’t visit IDM as frequently as I used to, either. The familiar faces are gone, and the service has deteriorated. I fear I may be witnessing the bar’s death spiral.

After two beers, I was still the only drinker outside, so I figured I might as well get some dinner in my belly. Of course, right as I got up to go the rain started again. I opened my umbrella and made a dash around the corner for Myleen’s. I was the only customer there as well, but who cares? I came to eat.

After my meal, I crossed the highway and climbed the stairs up to Cheap Charlies.

I made a mad dash back across the highway and visited Wet Spot as my next venue. It was surprisingly busy for a rainy night. Same thing next door at The Green Room. I’ve created a bit of a problem for myself at Green Room. I had four gals surrounding my table shortly after I sat down, and they were thirsty. I’d had a few beers by this time, so my resistance was lower than normal (and normal isn’t a high bar). They wound up getting two LDs each, but I was compensated for my generosity when the manager sent over a free beer for me. Somehow the math didn’t work in my favor, though.

When I’d finished lightening my wallet at Green Room, I stepped outside and hesitated, trying to decide where I might go next. A trike pulled up, and the driver said, “Going home, John?” so I figured I might as well end the night safe and relatively dry. A bowl of ice cream, a chat with Swan, and in bed at nine. I really am going to work on staying out a little later, at least a couple of nights per week. I’m acting like such an old man, and I self-identify as thirty. Don’t be an age bigot!

The power went out during the night, and I woke up sweating around three a.m. in the dark. I used my phone flashlight to make a cup of coffee, and then at 3:30, power was restored. I took a nap at six, then took Buddy for a walk (Lucky once again declined to come along, I guess he doesn’t like being out in the rain). I changed things up and walked to Swan’s place. I could tell she was surprised to see me, but she invited me in for a cup of Joe.

My Facebooks memories today reminded me of the meme-making phase I went through a few years back. This one from 2015 might be my all-time favorite:

And while I have been writing this post, I’ve also been preparing my lunch. Yep, I’m a multi-tasker!

Gonna do the feeding at Hideaway tonight and then see what happens afterward. See you here tomorrow!

Thunder only happens when it's raining
Players only love you when they're playing
Women they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you'll know