the mall again as that seems to be the easiest way to do things. Rode
the same bus line from there, thinking I was going to head downtown,
but my route was interrupted by a text from Dr. Coble saying she was
over at the Symposium Lounge off of Fairview with her friend Ursula
and I could meet them there for some drinks. Thanks to the power of
portable Internet on the bus I was able to workout what the route and
timing would be like in order to get over there, so I followed those
indicators. They involved a bit of walking, which I don't mind one
bit. Hopped off on Fairview west bound near Fairly Reliable Bob's, and
made my way toward the Sympo.
Once I arrived there, I climbed some stairs near an open door and
poked my head in, turns out that was the back entrance, not for us
regular folks. So, I walked around front where I see each of the women
I was expecting to meet getting into their cars getting ready to
leave! Lucky I had spotted them, Coble had forgotten she invited me
down, because she was too busy being super nice. Ms. Weightman was
having a car trouble, and Angie had offered to get it taken care of
that day, because she could. I hope you all have friends who will help
you out when they can!
Hopped in with her, we dropped the car at a tire shop which seems to
be under remodel, and went over to the Fireside to meet friends since
the neurolux is more or less off the table for the remainder of the
festival.
The Fireside is an interesting place. They are making a concerted
effort to move away from their old image as a rough place on the
outskirts of Drinking Central and trying to become more of a
neighborhood bar. They have a really nice patio now, and that's where
we planted ourselves. It's very different from Al's Corral out
there. It's spacious, the tables are round and large, the chairs move
around and are comfortable, and so it's overall pleasant. The downside
is that the people watching isn't as good, it's also not as likely
you'll catch up with someone who is just passing by since it's not
right downtown.
We had a lot of fun, and many great laughs there, so much so that my
face hurt from smiling after a while, especially after J. Mooney
showed up with a roaring drunk on in a glorious mood! He's a hoot and
a half and it's not super easy to parse his Cork accent, but still
pretty fun. He did talk over Ursula in the midst of a tale she was
sharing about how school officials sometimes get a little overzealous,
but that's just how the bar goes sometimes. I find Ursula utterly charming,
we have some really neat folk in our town.
The Fireside action wound down, and so it became time to head downtown
to check the scene there for Treefort Festivities. Alas, that day I
wasn't struck by the action after I had walked around for a bit. I did
stop in to Rediscovered Books looking for new ways to spend my
upcoming tax return, and found them in spades! Alastair Reynolds has a
sequel to "Revenger" out, and Peter F. Hamilton has a new tome out
reflecting the goings on in yet another universe he has created. I am
looking forward to reading each of those.
Caught a bus back up to where I parked Red, drove over to Phoenix Fire
Games in Meridian. Chatted with Joe for a while, and then went
home. Listened to some comedy and then slept very well.
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