Why do I do this to Myself?

In college, I worked in the cafeteria as part of the work/study program. It was never more than ten hours a week, but it was nice to have the extra cash in hand -- $5 for a plastic cup filled with shitty keg beer went a loooong way. During a salad bar shift one night, I worked with a high schooler, MJ. He lived in town and had a mom who worked in the pizzeria. He spent the entire three-hour shift hitting on me. He was funny and nice, but it was comical at the time – all I could think was, yeah right, you’re in high school.

In the time since I graduated college and he graduated high school, we randomly cross paths in Minneapolis. The first time I was drunk. My ex-boyfriend and I, along with a few of our friends, were going to his place to pass out after the bar. MJ, also an apartment resident, was standing outside having a cigarette. I continued to see him a number of times in that same exact spot.

Then a few years ago, my friends and I went to a bar/restaurant in NE Minneapolis for a birthday dinner and he happened to be a server. Not our server, but we spoke briefly in passing.

I went back to that same place Friday night, and sure enough, he was still there – only he’d moved his way up to bartender.

He told me he sees me running while he’s biking and asked if I lived in the warehouse district. My reply: “That’s embarrassing.” I cringe at the thought of people I know seeing me running. I imagine I look like a total idiot: arms flailing, gasping for breath, sweating like a pig. Not a pretty picture. He’s the second person now to tell me they saw me running and I didn’t see them.

I must digress for a moment. Remember Buzzkill Biatch? I’ve tried very hard to like her, but it’s just not possible. She’s changed and I will NEVER like her. I must accept this and remember it next time she pesters me about going out and I have no plans. I usually ignore her calls and emails, but when I do break down and hang out with her (from lack of better options), I question why.

Chalk it up to amnesia, but the reason we went to this NE bar was that I decided to hang out with BB and her friend for a girl’s birthday. The big b-day group was out on the patio, but service was slow so we ordered food and sat at the bar inside and talked to MJ. On our tab, he only charged us for two drinks even though I’d had three and she’d had two. Of course this presented a dilemma for me because BB is so damn cheap and had no qualms about taking full advantage of the free alcohol. I later went back and got a drink from MJ and left a huge tip because I was embarrassed about the pathetic tip she left earlier. He called out, “Not necessary!” But whatever, I worked in the service industry once upon a time.

The evening almost went without a hitch (in that she didn’t annoy the hell out of me) until she made a snide remark about one of my friends, saying, “I wasn’t overly impressed.” Thanks for sharing, but if I wanted your opinion, I would’ve asked. Contrary to what this blog may lead you to believe, I’m very laid-back and rarely take offense or get upset over what people say. It’s not worth it to me. But without realizing it, she single-handedly has the ability to get under my skin in a way no one else can.

I always feel like an ass when I get recognized by someone I have no recollection of meeting or someone I should remember like the time I asked the guy on the elevator who lived directly across the hall for the last two years which floor he was going to. I got to experience this Friday night when a guy that lives in my building approached me and asked if I lived in the same apartment complex -- he didn’t look the least bit familiar. The same thing happened to me at a wedding a couple years ago with a guy who recognized me from work and I quickly came to realize I see him all the damn time.