Swingin'

"I'm having a party for New Year's," I said to Smash in the middle of a swingin' jazz bar last night. "You should come!"

"You were going to have a party last week," she pointed out. "What happened with that?"

"Uh...I got sidetracked." Actually, what happened was I quit my job and parties sort of fell by the wayside.

We were in this swingin' jazz par because a friend of a friend had an art gallery opening, which was quite spiffy - even if I couldn't afford any of the pieces - and after becoming something of a shut-in during the day, I needed to get my ass out and talk to people, particularly Smash, who tends to keep to herself, as I do. We do too much of that and we fall out of touch.

Swingin' jazz bars, for the record, are not great places to meet with friends or bring a date. Smash and I resorted to texting each other to have a conversation. Miz M was there, as well, and we had to shout into each other's ears. Apparently, people who bring dates there need to rely on body language.

I guess the music was nice.

Finished Echo City last night. Very, very good book, although the "weight of history" theme seemed a bit too heavy-handed at the end (and I say that as a history major). I must wonder if it's supposed to be a random fantasy world or Earth in the far future (the city is surrounded by a "poisoned desert" and it's acknowledged there was a great war - radioactive wastes?). Very good book, though. I'll be picking up more of Lebbon's work once I can edge through some of the books already on my shelves.

It looks wretched outside. Not looking forward to going for a walk - I might just go around the block a few times and leave it at that.

Have been contemplating getting a little parakeet to talk to. Mom won't let me bring Dexter up here - poor thing is psychologically damaged and needs to just stay in one place - and I know I can't borrow Chloe, so I wonder if it might not be a bad idea to get a pal around here during the day. I'm home anyway, and...it gets lonely. I know I've bitched about this before. It's a common in the writers, the editors, the freelancers.

Something to consider after the holidaze, I think.