Girls' bathroom observations...

So I was talking with a friend last night about the progression of a girls' bathroom at a bar on any given weekend night. I thought I'd share! :)

(Note: I am obviously overgeneralizing here, but these "stages" come from years of keen observation of the antics in a ladies' room in a bar.)

Stage 1: This is usually fairly early in the evening, we'll say about 8pm. Most women in the bathroom at this point are completely sober, having consumed 0-1 alcoholic beverages. When walking in the bathroom door, minimal acknowledgment is acceptable. Perhaps one makes a comment on the line, or remarks, "A man obviously designed this bathroom! I'd put more stalls in..." etc. The climate is calm.

Stage 2: We'll say this is around 9:30pm, after many women have had 1-3 drinks. There is more conversation, and women are generally friendly, especially to strangers. Compliments are exchanged about each others' outfits, hair, or general appearance. The climate is friendly and basically polite.

Stage 3: This probably occurs around 11pm, when many women have had 3-5 drinks. Many women are angry, jealous, or in need of emotional support. Angry women come in saying, "That girl is such a bitch! Did you see the way she was flirting with Steve when she *knows* I like him" Her friend, also intoxicated, will usually reply, "I know! She's such a #*@#... I hate her." The sad girl might comment to her friend, "Why can't I meet a guy at a bar? Aren't I pretty?" Her friend might say, "No, honey, you're beautiful! The guys here are lame anyway. We should go somewhere else!" This stage is generally for some sort of back-up from a supportive friend.

Stage 4: Around 12:30-1 in the morning, women have typically had 4-6 drinks and are flat-out loud, belligerent, or vomiting. There may be catfights in the bathroom, or a friend holding back another friend's hair as she pukes into the toilet. Many women stumble around, talking about 4 times louder than usual. There are often tears or half-awake women, many of whom are contemplating how to get home. This is by far the ugliest stage of the evening.

Personally, I like stages 1-2 the best... Everyone's still friendly and has a sense of social decency. Stages 3-4 sort of denote the crumbling of courtesy and decency.

Anyway, just thought I'd share... I've seen these patterns for years, and it only felt right to throw this out there. Cheers!

"Now walk it by yourself..."

(Those lyrics come from "The Cupid Shuffle," the song I re-wrote for our "Order of Ops" video a few months back.)

Ok. Sooooo it's go time. The time is upon me to decide the next year or two of my life... Eek!

My phone rang last night a little after 8, and I didn't answer because it was a 310 area code, which I didn't recognize. I later checked the voicemail, and it was my regional Peace Corps recruiter... He said he'd received all my info and wanted to set up an interview! Ahhh!!

Long story short, I interview with the PC next Friday (the 13th!) at 3:30pm. (Luckily, we have an in-service that day, so I won't be exhausted from my little monsters!) :)

So the next week, I need to spend a LOT of time reflecting on Peace Corps-related topics... I need to thoroughly examine my culture, belief system, desire to work and live abroad, etc. Craziness! At the same time, I believe we have to decide within a month if we're going to teach at my school again next year... So I have about a month to decide everything. Insanity!

This week in school (with the exception of a horrendous Tuesday) was fine. The past three days were even -dare I say it- enjoyable! I've been trying to roll with the punches a little more, and I think that's helping. If I could just figure out a way to get to that damned 2nd period class... We'll see!

In other news, hashing has been excellent! I've made a lot of new friends, I get to run a lot (I've already logged 11 miles this week, and I'll do 3-7 more this weekend), and I have a whole new hobby! :)

For now, I must return to the gazillion things I have to do so I can get this weekend started! (We had a dance after school today, and I HAD to stop by and dance with my guys for a bit, so I'm still at school.)

Cheers to y'all! Keep me posted on how YOU'RE doing, too!