After working for a bit in the morning, I met my friend Tim for coffee at 11. I'll admit I had been somewhat nervous about meeting up with him, given that he'd nearly driven me around the bend when I saw him last in Melbourne. Yet in the end, we actually had a really nice time, and so I was pleased to find that I was enjoying his company again. I told him about how I'm due to finally see Des, this Irish guy that we knew from Balliol, again at the end of July, and I was delighted to see that he had the same reaction I do whenever I think of Des: "Nicest guy EVER!" So he encouraged me to pass on his best to Des, which I will definitely do.
After seeing Tim, I then went the rest of the way into the office, where I was surprised to run into my favourite colleague, Tom in the hallway by the elevators. Given that everyone generally works from home these days, that was a big surprise, a totally random coincidence. What luck!
I texted the Giant Australian to see if he potentially wanted to come to the ROSL Ball at the end of June (now that I know he likes black-tie events), but it turned out that he was going to a Pearl Jam concert that night. Oh well, at least I asked!
I then found myself working frantically until 6 PM, before it was time to make my way over to the City University Club. Once there, I saw both the Chair and Wacky Vice-Chair of the O&C, so I spent a while making polite conversation. Although they're not my bestest friends, I definitely see the value in remaining on everyone's good side... Yet I can't deny that I was glad once the event started and I was able to slip away and talk to Tristan and Sarah, two of my favourite people to spend time with.
The set-up of the event was rather ingenious, in that instead of a usual wine tasting where you taste the wines one at a time, they instead made everyone double-fist with two glasses, and you would taste a French wine in one glass, and a New World wine in your other glass, and then pick your favourite between the two. Made for a much more discriminating time tasting wine, instead of most wine tastings where people have no idea what they're talking about. When it was a straigh-up contest like that, everyone would pick one or the other, and it was interesting to hear how people defended their choices.
As the evening went on, I spotted Sophie, so I went over to talk to her for a bit. She was really gunning for people to go play polo, now that she's got a deal set up where she can play for free if she brings in enough people to play. I can understand therefore why she's so keen to get people, but it makes all of these fun events more "network-y" rather than fun, which I find somewhat distasteful. She was talking to a cute guy named Ben, but I really wasn't keen on the hard sell, so I drifted away again. It really became one of these evenings where every time there was a change in the conversation, I would circulate.
Then Brian and Carolyn arrived, the lovely couple (who broke up for a period in January and February) who I'd gotten to know through all of these Inter-Club events. I hadn't seen them in ages, so it was a real treat. Although I had a good time teasing Carolyn (who is French) about how she seemed to prefer the wines from France every time!
Some guys from the Army and Navy club joined our little conversational group, and as we made introductions, one guy exclaimed that he remembered me from the RAC Casino Night, whilst another remembered me from the Christmas Ball, and even pulled out a photo of the two of us together to prove that we'd met before. For a bit there, I seemed like the most popular person in the room, as everyone exclaimed that they knew me, but for shame, I couldn't remember ever having met either of them!
Nichole, a girl I'd met at the Inter-Club Quiz who is from the ROSL, arrived, and I was incredibly pleased to see her, she seems like a lovely person. So I chatted with her and introduced her around, for although she's new to these events, I want to make sure that she knows people so that she'll keep coming back to more!
I then spent some time talking to Sophie a bit more....I realise it's a huge opportunity, to see myself reflected. I realise Sophie uses her natural guile to get people to do what she wants, and often they do. I realise that's exactly my same problem, that overall people like me, but since I don't always follow through to a deep level, perhaps wonder what my ulterior motive is. I guess that's really the trick, to make sure your friendships aren't just broad, but also deep. It's funny, as I love spending time with Sophie (because she's so like me) but in some ways I don't, because it's so unsettling to basically be hanging out with myself.
Finally the drinks were over, and so we all retreated to the bar downstairs. I spent more time chatting with Sara, Tristan, Nichole and Tom (the guy from the Army and Navy Club who I'd apparently been sitting with at the Christmas Ball). Finally it was time for us to even leave the pub, as they were kicking us out, and I somehow ended up on the Tube with Tom. You could tell that he was interested, but then again I think he was at the point of intoxication and overall letcherousness that he would have been interested in any female, which is of course not at all attractive if you are the female in question. So at Tottenham Court Road, I made a clear point of pushing him out, as he'd previously mentioned it was his stop. No way was he coming home with me! Although in a fit of weakness, I did give him a brief kiss on the lips. But he needed to be on his way, so I could finally make it home, alone, thank goodness!!
No comments:
Post a Comment