Everybody Wang Chung tonight!
I am tired and pooky and feeling every single one of my 35 years right now. I'm also a Happy Girl.

Last night, I went out to the Party Pub and man oh man, did I party. It seemed that all my friends had magically converged upon this place at once, a swirling mass of smiling faces, madly dancing (riverdancing!) feet and glass after glass of mind altering beverages.

I don't think I've ever mingled as much as I did last night. From one pocket of lovely people to another pocket of giddy, drunken teenagers to the actors to the Dude of the Unfortunate Incident and his posse to the guys in the band. Giggling, flirting, hugging, dancing like a whirling dervish, all the bodies on the dance floor blending into a pulsing mass of hair, shining eyes, arms, breasts and the wonderful smell of boys. Heaven, I tell you.

My life has effectively split into two very real but parallel paths over the past three years. Seinfeld's 'worlds collide' theory isn't so far off the mark, methinks. The thing is, I don't really like the Staid/HomeOwnerMe even though I suspect she is the grownup of the pair. She is putting down roots and watching them grow, contributing to RRSPs and hanging wallpaper. She gets to bed at a reasonable hour and watches her diet. SocialButterfly/LifeofthePartyMe is a hoot! She's always quick with a sarcastic response, likes to buy you drinks on her tab, shakes her booty and stays out till all hours with her wide and varied circle of friends.

SB/LPMe went into hibernation for almost 10 years when I moved back to my hometown after college. I lost my equally wide and varied circle of friends from my college town and moved back to a town where all my highschool friends had blown to the four winds. I was alone and working for a temp agency. Never anywhere long enough to cull another acceptable bunch of buds, life began to consist to work and television.
Then, I set my sights on The Boy.

The Boy is quiet and solitary. He is also friendly and funny and secure and stable. He doesn't smoke or drink or carouse, he hates the bar scene and crowds. Happier in the garage with his woodworking tools or strumming one of his seven guitars, he was not averse to me letting me take SB/FPMe for the occasional run to blow out the carbon. He claimed it gave him more quality time with the remote.

Still, things rang slightly untrue, artificial. I was going out for the sake of going out, not to relax and sink into friendships and bizarro conversations and bad puns like we now enjoy. I still felt an aching need for something more, a yen for real contact and the establishment of a friendship that would grow and blossom, involving some girly secret-keeping and inside jokes.

That's when I met my Pic (Partner in Crime). Pic works with me and is the missing half of SB/LPMe. We don't experience angry or weepy drunks, love to dance and are perfectly content to stick with our Party Pub until we're too old to deal with the newfangled crap those youngins listen to.

The Social Butterfly came fully out of her cocoon and began hitting the Party Pub twice a week. Thursday and Sunday nights, no less. Both worknights. There were many a day when I breezed through a Friday using only minimal brain cells, which believe you me was all I had left to give. Things got strained on the homefront. I didn't care. I had my peeps back and I felt loved and included, not tolerated and isolated. It breathed new life into me.

As most things in life are cyclical, we calmed down a tad, especially since Pic was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and had to get her medications balanced. Now we go out once a month and cram the other three weeks into our five hours out. Very sensible.

Last night, looking around at all my friends who love me and watch my back, I realized I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. I also realized there is no way I'm ever going to be able to give them up. This is how I am and what I am and what makes me truly happy.

For the time being, Staid/HomeOwnerMe is just going to have to pull up a stool and buy a round of pints for the house if she wants equal time. Everybody dance!

Posted at 10:58 a.m.