#I'm spending a lot of time hanging out with the coworkers and with my pub friends

[lord-radish]

Between OSRS and Hyrule Warriors, I'm playing a ton of grindy games lately. Thank god I'm not working on the Minecraft flatworld project at the same time, right? Hahahaha, hahaha, haha...

(nah jk the real joke is that I'm not working on the Minecraft flatworld project)

[i-want-the-shovel]

Red Bottle Brew Pub vs Rusty Bin Bar

There are two bars in my town I'd like to discuss. One where it's socially acceptable to drink, and one where it's not. First, Red Bottle Brew Pub. Here, you will be greeted at the door by a smiling young hostess dressed in the standard issue company shirt. She is saving money for college right now. Some of the staff are in similar situations to your hostess. Others are idealists working a few nights a week because they want to support the local entrepreneur and quality microbrews. Their wages will be deposited into a savings account that will be used to pay the mortgage or travel the world. Only a few staff are truly working to make ends meet. You sit down at the table and for $3.50 you can enjoy a 16 oz. fine microbrew. Surrounded by all your white, educated friends, you can feast upon local sausages, burgers made from grass fed beef, and all sorts of other health foods. The decor creates a wholesome environment where you can bring your kids or enjoy an after work beer or two with your coworkers before headed home to your white picket fence, golden retriever, and warm bed. Any excessive drinking at the Brew Pub is not seen as a personal fault or moral evil. It is a well deserved way of winding down and having fun after a long day of work. Anything you may do in your inebriated state will be laughed off once the hangover wears off. There are no judgements passed here.

However, head down the street to the Rusty Bin and you'll find a much different environment. It is not the extreme of course, go a little further down the street, almost to the other side of the tracks, and you'll find Flint's, where the true low-lifes and alchies hang out. I've yet to patronize this establishment as it has been deemed truly unacceptable, and even dangerous by my former place of employment. So I'll have to describe it's whiter, slightly classier counterpart, the Rusty Bin.

Here, behind the bar you will see young women with low cut shirts and tight jeans. They flirt with the customers, knowing it will bring in the big tips. They rely on these tips to support their children. The Rusty Bin has a surprising number of beers on tap, but it appears everyone is drinking Coors Light, after all it is cheap. The jukebox plays the same Red Hot Chili Peppers song over and over again. The menu consists of an array of deep fried favorites designed to absorb the alcohol, but leave you thirsty for more. When you come to the Rusty Bin after work, you are blowing your paycheck, not drinking a well deserved beer. Excessive drinking is frowned upon by those who see you leaving the bar. Shouldn't you be spending that money to pay your bills, not blowing it on beer?

Yes, I've just made a lot of gross generalizations. Maybe my perceptions are inaccurate, but let me tell you what I see and feel when I'm spending time in each location. At the brew pub, somehow I see fakery. I see people with invisible walls around them. Forced smiles and behaviors learned since childhood of how to look, what to say, what not to say. Somehow, the Rusty Bin seems to much more real. People laugh, cry, pour out their souls in a way I can't describe. Somehow life's pain is very palpable in the Rusty Bin and no one tries to hide it behind their middle class values.

There's a guy named Joey who I have run into a few times at the Rusty Bin, who also had been staying at the homeless shelter I worked at on and off. The first time I saw him, he was drunk by the time my friend and I arrived. He came to talk to us and offered to buy us a beer. We refused of course, but he proceeded to ask, "what's wrong with letting a homeless guy buy you a beer?" We couldn't say no then. Yes, we knew he had very little money. And because he was drunk, he wouldn't be allowed back into the shelter that night. But he wanted to buy us a beer. He drinks, we drink, so why not sit down and do it together instead of trying to pretend that the other doesn't do it. It seemed okay to drink with him because we were being real to who we were.

The next time I saw Joey at the Rusty Bin was quite the experience. My friends and I had been drinking elsewhere all night and so had he. As soon as we arrived, we started drinking with Joey. Soon he asked us to go out back and smoke. A few minutes later, I was not only drunk, but also high, but the conversation that ensued for that few minutes behind the Rusty Bin was one that I would never give up. Here we were, two middle class, college educated white girls, smoking pot with a homeless guy who stayed at the shelter at which we worked. Suddenly, the conversation became very real. (Or felt so, because of the pot.) We all acknowledged that we drink and smoke. Somehow this was okay for my friend and I, but not for Joey. Joey pointed to the roof next door and told us that was where he would be sleeping. It's where he always stayed when he needed to drink and didn't have any other place to go. When I talked about how that wasn't fair, Joey just shrugged and said, "That's the way it is." My friend and I told Joey that when we work at the shelter we felt like we had to put on airs and pretend that we didn't drink or smoke pot. We do, we just can't talk about it. Joey said he just had to respect those boundaries. It was such a real conversation and I just wish it could have happened sooner.

[girltomboy]

My week

was pretty nice. I worked from the office but my work friend made it bearable. Wednesday's quiz night had to be held elsewhere because of a concert, but my work friend and I didn't know and entered the pub without even acknowledging the bouncer at the entrance, but he also ignored us lol. We had a nice evening. Thursday was the last office day, because we were so tired, and another coworker had like a nervous breakdown on the clock. Mainly she said she felt burnt out, I feel for her because she's such a positive and friendly person, but you can only give so much for a crappy job. But there were probably other personal reasons as well. Anyway, we agreed to wfh on Friday, and it was a really good idea. Because yesterday my work friend and I went to this party held by 2 of her friends (who were at her bday party and apparently liked my vibes a lot because they kept asking her about me and telling her to invite me to their place for a ~party. Which was soooo cute bc I loved hanging out with them and we had such a good time yesterday! The fatigue after a full day of commuting & working in an office would have prevented us from having any fun lmao.

Anyway, something odd happened at the party: my cw and I somehow ended up on the balcony looking at the moon and talking. And she once again tried confessing her feelings for me, telling me she likes me and subtly asking about my boyfriend. Lol I don't even get her when she does stuff like this! Like, what do you really expect from me? I don't get mad at her or anything, she was drunk and she has done stuff like this before while drunk. I know it's true, but she's better at hiding it while sober. It doesn't bother me because she's not disrespectful or crossing any boundaries or anything, they're just her feelings and as long as they're not interfering with our friendship I'm okay with knowing them. But when it happens, when she starts dancing around this topic again, it confuses me because I don't understand where she's going with it, what her intentions are, what the goal is. I don't get uncomfortable and it's not awkward, I just don't know what is expected of me.

The conversation floated in the air and vanished, and then she invited me to sleep over at her place because we were both kind of drunk and her flatmate went to a wedding. So we left the party not long afterwards, and stumbled to her apartment lol (she doesn't live far from the girls' house, whereas I would have had to make it to the other side of the city, and given that I got touched inappropriately on the street not long ago, she was reluctant to let me walk by myself at night, which I appreciate). Anyway, we sat on her balcony for a while, then went to bed. We woke up early and a bit hungover but not badly, then watched some Youtube vids in bed, and fell asleep again. Got up, ate, and then I went home. It was really beautiful outside today, but I didn't really go anywhere because I kind of wanted to be at home lol.

I'm excited to go home this week. I'm pretty sure the moon is going to be in Cancer, so that makes the reunion with my parents and the fact that I get to see and cozy up in their new house makes it even cuter. My bf might come to the city on Monday morning for a quick errand, so we'll get to see each other for a few hours, which is exciting and lovely, but I feel bad that he has to make so many trips for college and he can't even spend more time with me :( </3 But it's okay because he'll be here after his birthday too.

Speaking of, I was wondering what else to get him for his birthday, but I've also been thinking about getting my work friend something else to go with the hamster mug I got her a while ago. I'll probably go out tomorrow, I also have to look for some pants for myself, and perhaps a new journal.

This week I've been watching a Youtube girl who used to post videos about her mundane routine and stuff like that, and she was saying that she had started writing in her journal more often. She mentioned that she had a few year long gap in which she never wrote in her journal, and that period is now a blurry mess in her mind, and the exact same thing happened to me! Well, I can't say I don't remember anything from the years in which I *did* write but threw out my journals, but being able to reread past entries just helps me understand myself on a higher level. Like, the first 2ish pandemic years are like a black stain in my mind not just because of how abysmally depressing they were, but also because I barely ever wrote consistently in my journal. Sometimes I feel silly for having been such a pessimist and so paralyzed with fear and grief, but I'm sure it felt different to be then & there, in those times. Again, maybe having a written record of those years would have helped me understand my past self better. I do keep a journal now, but it's more of a "5 entries per year" type of situation rather than a consistent practice. Maybe I'm too stingy about notebooks lol.

[hisgirlfriday22]

Untangle Me

Chapter Two- Losing Track Of Time With You

.....

The set was over before Molly knew it and she soon found herself making her way toward the stage area. She didn't bother to tell her friends where she was going, as she was pretty sure they already knew. She'd agreed to have a drink with Lachy, and she wasn't going back on her word.

As Molly approached the stage, her eyes searched the crowd for Lachy, who had stepped off the stage almost as soon as they'd finished playing.. It was a bit difficult with the multitude of people that were crammed in the small pub, but she finally spotted him and began to make her way over to him.

It didn't take long for Lachy to notice her coming his way, so he met her in the middle with a grin on his face. "Hey, you stayed." He said.

Molly nodded, smiling a bit at the man. "I did." She confirmed as she stuffed her hands in her pockets. An awkward moment passed between them where neither said a word but only looked at each other. Finally, Lachy decided to break the silence.

"So, still up for a drink?" He asked as he gestured toward the bar area.

Molly nodded. "I've had enough alcohol for the night, but I wouldn't say no to another water. It's absolutely stifling in here." She replied. She was surprised to feel Lachy's hand grasping her's as he began to lead her to the bar, once again against her better judgment, she didn't pull away.

"Water actually sounds quite nice, if I'm honest. The stage lights were warmer than I thought they'd be." Lachy mused. He then proceeded to order two glasses of water for them, remembering that Molly liked lime in hers, which came as a surprise to the young woman.

Once they had their drinks in hand, the two-headed back out to the empty patio to get some fresh air and to escape the noise for a bit. Rather than sitting at the table again, the two decided to stand at the railing of the deck which overlooked the dimly lit beach. A silence fell over them once more. Despite this, Molly found that she was oddly comfortable in this stranger's presence which made her wonder if that fact had anything to do with her knowledge of who he was. How had she not realized before?

It was Molly this time that broke the silence as she couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. She tried to hide it, but Lachy had noticed.

"Dare I ask what's so funny?" Lachy questioned, raising a brow as he looked to the woman beside him. This only made Molly laugh harder, especially when she saw the curious expression on his face.

"I'm s-sorry...It's nothing really. Just..." She paused as a fit of giggles hit once more and she was unable to speak until she regained her composure, which she was failing miserably to do. Finally, she was able to calm down enough to take a deep breath and wipe away the tears of mirth from her eyes. Poor Lachy still looked rather bewildered as he waited for Molly to explain herself. "I'm sorry, I probably look insane. It's just...It's..When I was asked to come here tonight by my coworkers, I wasn't expecting to see the Wiggles performing in a little Irish pub." She admitted.

"Ahh, I see. I would suppose not." Lachy mused, chuckling a bit as he shook his head. "So, I take it you have children?" His gaze dropped to her hand, which he found bare of a wedding ring. Before Molly could catch him, he brought his gaze back up to her face.

"Eight adorable, but rambunctious toddlers," Molly replied, a smirk tugging at her lips. It was all she could do not to start laughing again at the expression of shock on his face. "Relax, they're not mine. I'm a preschool teacher." She continued. " I'm actually surprised I didn't realize where I'd seen you before when we were talking earlier. We've been on a Wiggles kick in the classroom lately, and we've almost worn the DVD's we have out. Oh wow, and you're probably weirded out by that, aren't you? I'll shut up now." Molly said before taking a large sip of her water in an attempt to distract herself.

"No, why would I be weirded out?" Lachy questioned, his voice holding a tone of confusion. "It is my job after all. It seems like what we do for a living is quite similar. You said you have toddlers?"

Molly nodded. "Older ones and twos. They're a sweet age group, but they can be a handful at times."

"Oh, I'll bet." Lachy chuckled. "And eight on your own, I don't see how you do it. I'll admit I can keep them entertained, but as far as actually caring for that many children at once..." He let the sentence hang in the air as he shook his head.

"A little bit of patience and a whole lot of coffee," Molly replied with a slight smirk. "So, what brings you all the way to Folly Beach? It seems sort of an odd place for a Wiggles show."

"Well, we had a show in Charleston yesterday followed by today and tomorrow off, so we decided to book a gig here at McGuires's. Well, we as in Anthony, Emma, and I. We call ourselves the Unusual Commoners, I suppose. It's just a bit of fun, really. Something we do on the side, especially while on tour. Just to keep our sanity."

"Oh, I can understand that...Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my littles, but sometimes those songs get stuck in your head and they won't go away. It can be a bit annoying..." Molly bit her lip. Great, she'd just told him her kids listened to the Wiggles, and now she was saying the music annoyed her. He probably thought she was trying to insult his job, which was the last thing she was trying to do. "I mean...Sometimes I don't want to think about work when I'm home. It's not always easy, though." She was trying to make this better, but she wasn't sure she was being successful.

If Lachy had been insulted by her words, he didn't let on. Instead, he smiled and nodded his head in agreement. "No, I get it. You don't know how many times I've found myself doing something normal like making dinner or walking my dog, and the next thing I know I'm singing or humming one of the songs. More often than not it's Propeller." He chuckled and shook his head. "I promise it's not intentional, it just happens. I guess it's true that you really can't leave work at work."

Molly giggled a bit and nodded. "I suppose not." She mused before she took a sip of her water. A comfortable silence seemed to fall on them once more as the pair both gazed on the waves crashing against the beach. With the dim lighting of the surrounding buildings, Molly could see there were a few people walking along the edge of the water despite the coolness in the air. She found herself compelled to ask Lachy if he wanted to go for a walk as well, but before she could ask him, she was interrupted by a voice behind her.

"There you are, I've been looking all over for you! Sophie isn't feeling well and I was going to drive her home..."

Molly bit her lip and spared a glance to Lachy for just a moment before she turned to Hannah and frowned. "Is she okay?" She questioned. She was worried about her friend, but a part of her was quite disappointed that it was time to leave already. She'd been so hesitant to come in the first place, and she nearly faked the starting of a cold so she could get out of it, but now? She was enjoying herself and genuinely enjoying Lachy's company. She found she didn't want to leave, not yet. Though it had to be going on 11:00 or later.

Hannah nodded a bit. "She's fine, she just had a few too many and.. Well, you know how she gets." She looked at Lachy and smiled a bit. "I hate to interrupt, but we're leaving now, so..."

Molly bit her lip. "Well, I drove myself tonight, so if Sophie is okay, I think I'll stay for a bit." She said. This was against her better judgment. She knew she should exchange numbers with Lachy and just go home too. But she found that was the last thing she wanted to do. A smile tugged at her lips as she glanced at Lachy for just a second. She could see that he was smiling as well, and that just made her decision to stay that much easier.

Hannah, however, wasn't smiling. In fact, she seemed a bit perturbed by Molly's decision. "Are you sure that's wise? I mean, after what happened earlier... It's always safer to be with friends, especially at a bar. You never know what could happen." She had a lot of room to talk, they hadn't even noticed when Molly had left the table...

Molly chose her next words carefully, for if she hadn't, she knew she'd have insulted her friend. "I'm sure. I'm having fun, and you said yourself that I need to have more fun. I'll text you when I get home."

Hannah looked rather irritated. "Molly, come on. I think you should go home too. You don't need to be here alone..."

"She's not alone." Lachy finally spoke up, surprising Molly, and from the looks of it, Hannah as well. "Molly will be safe with me, and I'll make sure she gets home okay. You don't have to worry." He continued.

Hannah looked back and forth between Molly and Lachy, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Molly could tell she didn't know what to say, and it was sort of amusing. "Molly, are you sure?" She asked, glancing sideways at Lachy. "I mean, you don't really know him. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Molly nodded once more. "I'll be fine, Hannah. Look, I promise to text you when I get home." She didn't want Hannah to worry, but she wasn't going to leave just because her coworker decided to get three sheets to the wind and had to go home all of a sudden.

Hannah gave Molly a lingering look as she bit her lip. She glanced at Lachy as well, who only smiled politely, not offering to say another word. Finally, she let out a sigh and nodded. "Okay, make sure you do. I'll see you on Monday, I guess." She didn't wait for Molly to reply before she turned and headed back inside where Sophie was waiting by the door.

Molly shook her head a bit and turned back to Lachy. "Sorry about that." She apologized.

Lachy shook his head. "No, it's okay. There's no reason to let your night end because your friend drank too much. Though, correct me if I'm wrong, you weren't really interested in spending time with them anyway...Am I right?"

Molly bit her lip before she nodded. "I wasn't even going to come tonight if I'm completely honest. I'm not really one for going out, especially to bars. Hannah practically begged me to go out with her and Sophie and I just..I don't know, I agreed to get her off of my back." She admitted with a shrug. It wasn't entirely true, Molly used to love going out with friends, especially after work on a Friday night. But after she met Asher things changed. And when she had ended things with him she became even more of a homebody. Molly hated to admit it, but this was the first time she'd been out for fun in the entire three months since ending her relationship.

Lachy gave Molly a curious look. "And why's that?" He asked her. She could tell that Lachy wasn't prying, he was genuinely curious, but she wasn't sure she was ready to tell a man she met literally two hours ago her entire sob story, so she settled for a playful smirk in an attempt to lighten the mood and perhaps steer the conversation in a different direction.

"That's a story for another day." She replied before looking out at the beach. "You wanna go for a walk? If your Wiggle buddies won't miss you, of course." She teased.

Lachy chuckled and glanced at his phone to check the time. "I'll think I can steal away for a bit. Anthony and Simon will be having another drink or two before we leave anyway." He pocketed his phone before offering his hand for Molly to take, which she did once again, against her better judgment.

The two walked down the wooden steps and onto the soft sand of the beach. Neither of them was wearing the correct shoes for the terrain, but it was far too cool to walk barefoot. They didn't seem to care, however, as they walked for what seemed like hours, all the while talking about anything and everything. It was only when Lachy's phone began to buzz that they realized just how long they'd been out there.

"Shit, it's nearly 2:00 am..."He cursed before looking at Molly with an apologetic expression. "We should really head back. Anthony's texted me a dozen times wondering where I am."

Molly's eyes widened in realization. "2:00 am?! How on earth did it get this late?" In all honesty, it hadn't felt like it'd been quite that long, though you know what they say about time and having fun. She tried to hide the frown that was tugging at her lips as she nodded in agreement. "Right, yeah. We should..we should go back." She may have been able to hide the frown, but Molly was certain her voice betrayed her disappointment. She felt Lachy squeeze her hand gently and for a moment she smiled. Funny, she hadn't noticed that they hadn't let go of each other's hands the whole time either.

Lachy and Molly walked back to the pub in silence. Neither of them really knew what to say to the other. It was strange how well they'd gotten along, how easily they'd clicked in only a few hours. And now they would have to say goodbye. It was silly, but Molly found that she dreaded saying goodbye to him. Little did she know, Lachy was thinking the same thing.

Finally, they arrived back at McGuire's, which was far less crowded by now. As they made their way up the steps and into the bar, Molly attempted to let go of Lachy's hand, but he continued to hold her's gently offering only a sheepish smile when she looked up at him. Molly found herself mirroring his smile.

Lachy's friends were all gathered around a table, finishing what appeared to be the last of quite a few rounds of beer. If they'd noticed Lachy and Molly come in, they didn't let on. They were laughing and carrying on amongst themselves as a gentle Irish tine played over the speakers in the bar.

"So, um...Shall I walk you home?" Lachy asked Molly as they headed toward the front door. It was an excuse to spend just a bit more time with his new acquaintance, for he was just as reluctant as she was for the night to end.

"Hmm? Oh, um..Actually, I drove here." She reminded him. "But I'd love to have some company walking to my car."

And so the two stepped out once more into the chilly October air, once again allowing silence to fall over them. The walk to Molly's car was rather short, as she'd parked in one of the closer parking spaces in the lot. For a while, the two just stood there, looking at each other, almost as if they one was waiting for the other to speak. Finally, it was Molly who broke the silence. "I've had a wonderful night...Thanks again for saving me. God knows what could have happened if you hadn't seen him lace my drink."

Lachy shook his head. "No need to thank me. I'm just glad I saw it happen." He said, glancing down at their still joined hands.

"I'd let you keep it if I didn't need it." Molly said softly, repeating the words he'd said to her hours ago. She smiled as a hint of a blush colored the man's cheek's

"Ah, what a shame." He chuckled, rubbing his thumb over her palm before he reluctantly let go of her hand. "I suppose this is goodbye then?"

Molly shook her head. "Not so fast, Mr. Gillespie. Let me see your phone."

Lachy didn't question her, rather, he unlocked his phone and handed it to Molly. He watched as she typed for a moment before she handed it back to him. "What did you do?"

"You can't honestly expect me to leave here tonight without having given you my phone number, can you?" She questioned with a raised brow. "Feel free to text or call whenever you'd like." Molly wasn't usually this bold, but the idea of never speaking to Lachy again was something she didn't want to think about. And from the smile on Lachy's lips, it was evident he was in agreement.

The two hugged for a moment before parting their separate ways with a goodbye and a promise to talk soon. And just like that, the night was over. Lachy made his way back into the bar while Molly drove home in the wee hours of the morning.

They both went to sleep that night with the other on their mind...