The random girls in the previous entry, I met them at this new PJ's Brewhouse in Louisville. Please note that I called it a brewhouse instead of a brewpub. Apparently, there's a difference. Also apparently, calling something a brewhouse means that you don't have to brew beer there.

Something like that.

I heard about this place about a month ago from a guy at work. I knew I wanted to check it out, but I had a tough time getting motivated to go over there. I invited LaptopGirl, but she didn't want to go. I invited WeirdGirl, but she was mad at me. I dropped several hints onto HatGirl Saturday, but she politely ignored them.

So I went by my damn self.

It seemed like a pretty nice place. It seemed even more nice when the bartender decided to give me samples of seven beers on the house. Because I'm all famous and shit.

Anyway, I sampled all of their beers except for a maibock. I don't remember why I didn't sample the maibock.

BJ's Blonde

(draft) Clear golden. Metallic hoppy taste. Served way too cold. I was not expecting to like this, and I didn't. A waste of time.

BJ's Harvest Hefeweizen (2)

(draft) Hazy yellow. Strong aroma of cloves, yeast, and bananas. Maybe some vanilla in there. Flavor was like the aroma, except there seemed to be roasted malt in the thing too. Weird for a hefeweizen, but pretty good.

BJ's Jeremiah Red (5)

(draft) Clear copper color. The aroma and flavor were mild, but malty and fruity. Very smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Good.

BJ's Nutty Brewnette (5)

(draft) Stupid name. Clear dark brown in color. Aroma and flavor of roasted malts and light hops, with a lingering bitter hop finish. Too damn hoppy for a brown ale. Decent is all I can say.

BJ's Piranha Pale Ale (2)

(draft) Clear amber in color. Light hoppy aroma and flavor. Just a slightly bitter finish. Pretty tame. I don't like the style, but this was endurable.

BJ's PM Porter (5)

(draft) Fizzy (?!?!?) dark brown, almost black. Light chocolate aroma. Mouthfeel is watery and creamy. The fizziness is very weird in a porter. Flavor of watery chocolate and a touch of roasted malt. Good flavor, but not very much of it, so this gets only a decent rating.

BJ's Tatonka Stout (21)

(draft) Black in color. Roasted malts dominate the aroma and flavor. A mild alcohol burn finishes. For an alleged imperial stout, this is pretty lame. For a regular stout, it's pretty good. Reminds me of Bell's Kalamazoo Stout. Good.

Clever readers may deduce that I had a full (16 oz.) glass of the Tatonka after my sample was gone.

I ended up being there for about three hours, mainly because of the random girls who kept pestering me. I also had some chicken pot sticker thingies that were very good.

It was fun. LaptopGirl and/or HatGirl and/or WeirdGirl should have come with me. I don't bite. Except when asked.

My plan had been to try to take a quick nap before going back to Rich O's, but I was afraid that I'd fall asleep and not wake up until this morning. So I ended up going back at 7:00 or so.

The place wasn't all that packed, but it was all weirdoes and strangers. Except for CrewCutGirl, I didn't recognize a single customer in the place. The living room area, in particular, was full of weirdoes.

I sat at the kiddie table and had an Ommegang Three Philosophers (24). I emailed LaptopGirl about the weirdoes. I emailed OddlyFamiliarGirl about her Olive Garden discount. I emailed RockGirl about something or other. Mostly I just sat and watched the door.

I had an NABC Community Dark (281) and sipped at it for a couple of hours.

Oh yeah, I was also starving. I was going to eat something, but I'd told LaptopGirl that I'd hold off in case she wanted to split a pizza or something. We were supposed to go listen to karaoke at Sluttopia, and I thought that she might be able to swing by Rich O's first.

At 10:00, I ended up going over to Sluttopia. LaptopGirl met me there. I had a Newcastle (9149) and a sip of LaptopGirl's Sierra Nevada ESB while we endured this one weird origami guy demonstrating his creations.

They didn't even start the karaoke until late, because of some basketball game. So that sucked. And then, once people started singing, they were all fairly terrible.

I tried to talk LaptopGirl into singing, but I didn't press very hard.

LaptopGirl got to stay for a couple of hours. That was really nice. I ended up drinking the last half of her Newcastle (2159). When she had to leave I gave her the wine I'd bought for her today. I hope she enjoys it.

It was a really good night. One of the best.

Except I never did eat anything.

Not funny. Not meant to be funny.

It's been a fun day so far.

First, I woke up at 5:30 in the flipping morning. Now, on a lot of Saturdays, I'll just go ahead and get out of bed at times like that. Because I know that I'll be able to take a nap later. But today, today I knew that I'd be spending a good chunk of the afternoon with HatGirl, so I forced myself to go back to sleep.

I almost overslept and missed my lunch date altogether.

But, I did manage to wake up with enough time to spare. I even arrived early to The Olive Garden. HatGirl, of course, was late. But at least she'd texted me that she would be late.

Lunch was good. I don't think I've been to Olive Garden since MixedSignalGirl and I were together, and I'd definitely never been to this particular one. I ate about half my ravioli and got stuffed. I'm still stuffed even though it's been almost five hours.

After lunch, we went booze shopping. I managed to get everything on my list except for this one wine that MrPopular had requested. Apparently you can't get that particular wine in this country.

But everything else, I got. Even the supposedly hard-to-find wines that LaptopGirl had requested.

It was fun. Food was good. Shopping was fun. HatGirl is charming company. She had this hole in the thigh of her jeans. I used my psychic powers to try to widen the hole, but by then she'd become self-conscious and was covering the hole with her hand.

Speaking of LaptopGirl, on the way to Rich O's to deliver booze to MusicalYuppieDude and MrPopular, I spied LaptopGirl and her son out in front of her house. I stopped and asked if she wanted her wine then and there. She said she'd get it later. A part of me is now wondering if she is now desperately making plans to move, now that it's obvious that I know where she lives.

I stopped at Rich O's and, surprise, both MusicalYuppieDude and MrPopular were there. So I gave the former his booze, and the latter his wine. Then I sat at the island and screwed up:

Paulaner Salvatore

(draft) I ordered this by mistake, as I'd thought I was ordering their hefeweissbier. I could not have been more wrong. I did have a few sips of this, to see if it was as disgusting as all dopplebocks are to me. It was. I only had those few sips.

To wash that disgusting taste out of my mouth, I ordered an NABC Cone Smoker (3357). It was yummy.

I also waved at ArtGirl, who was busy doing something artsy in the red room, and then TremensGirl once again graced the state of Indiana with her presence. So I talked to her for a bit before I came home and wrote this entry.

I might not have time to write this. I've got to leave soon, as I'm having lunch with HatGirl then I'm going shopping for booze.

Anyway, the other night LaptopGirl emailed me this thing about a bunch of kids saying what love was. I replied with my own definition of, "Love is when a person's happiness is essential to your own happiness."

I didn't make that up. It's pretty much straight from Robert Heinlein. But I do agree with it.

Moving on to last night, I found myself talking with HatGirl and LaptopGirl about the different types of attraction. Sexual, friendly, protective, comfortable, romantic, things like that. I could probably, with a little more effort, list a dozen more types of attractions but, like I said, I don't have much time right now.

The thought that just jumped into my head was that I need to change my definition of what love is.

I think that love just might be when every possible type of attraction exists at the same time for the same person. That's why it seems so damn overwhelming and confusing.

I should expand on this entry, but I probably won't. It's a little too close to home for me.

I keep having this problem, when I go to write my beer reports. I almost invariably think of one or two things that I shouldn't write about. Usually the most important and/or interesting things. And because I can't write everything that I really want to write, I ended up losing motivation to write anything at all.

Anyway, Thursday night was packed. Standing-room only for much of the night. My theory is that the regular Thursday weirdoes have somehow learned to reproduce themselves. If I'm right about this, then the world is about to become a very scary place.

So for the first hour or so, I stood in the annex area and glared at everyone. I had a new beer:

Maredsous 10

(draft) Hazy bronze. Huge heaping head. Aroma and flavor a little faint for a tripel. I was astonished to discover that this beer has 10% ABV - it's almost undetectable. I like this, but there are many better tripels out there.

By the time I was finished with this, a seat had opened up at the island. I sat and talked with MusicalYuppieDude and FirstGirl and CrackerDude.

FirstGirl was having a beer that looked intriguing, so that's what I had next:

Glazen Toren Saison dErpe-Mere

(draft) Yellow with a slight haze. Very good head and lacing. At first, it seemed a little watery, but then subtle flavors of apple peels and sour apples became evident. Pretty good.

Some people came and some people arrived. Specifically, MusicalYuppieDude and CrackerDude and FirstGirl left, and OddlyFamiliarGirl arrived, and then MusicalYuppieDude came back. I had yet another new beer:

Ommegang Three Philosophers

(draft) Clear dark reddish brown. Huge head that lasted forever. Aroma and flavor both surprisingly understated, with malts and a hint of cherries. Very smooth. Very good.

At one point, I did something I'd never done before at Rich O's. I spilled an entire beer. The damn glass just slipped out of my hand. Or maybe somebody pushed it. Or maybe it jumped. Though it didn't seem depressed to me. Whatever, it fell about six inches onto the island and broke. There was beer everywhere, especially on my pants and shirt. So that was embarrassing.

I made sure to text TremensGirl about what I'd done. I gave her shit once when she spilled a beer, and I felt that it was only fair that she be allowed to return the favor.

Once I'd managed to clean up the mess, I got a new glass of the same beer. It was yet another new beer for me:

Bluegrass Grand Old Fella

(draft) Their Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout, but aged for three years. The results are a much more intense bourbon aroma and flavor. Still pretty good, but maybe a touch too intense for me. I like the regular version better.

After that, I just sat around for a while, talking mostly with OddlyFamiliarGirl. Then I came home at midnight or so.

---

Friday night was much better, crowd-wise. Or it at least seemed that way because I got to sit on the loveseat right away. To start the night, I had one of those Glazen Toren Saisons (24) and enjoyed it a lot. I was a little disappointed to find that it had 7.5% ABV in it, because that meant I couldn't drink it all night. I had to pace myself.

So next I had a bottle of Schlenkerla Marzen (3253) which was yummy as always. I suppose I talked to PearlGirl while I sat there, but mostly I think I just watched the door.

My next beer was a bottle of yummy Rogue Chocolate Stout (2509), and I nursed that for at least two hours. I very much prefer it in draft form. I hope it comes back on tap soon. Hint hint.

At 9:30 or so, all the cool stuff started happening. I was outside talking to RockGirl on the phone, telling her about how I'd almost given up on LaptopGirl showing up for the night, and my phone beeped to announce an incoming call. I suppose the dramatic thing would have been if it was LaptopGirl calling. It wasn't, but it was just as good. It was HatGirl! She wanted to know how crowded it was. I lied my ass off fudged the truth and told her there were plenty of seats, and she said she would be there shortly.

About an hour later, I'd not only given up on LaptopGirl, but I was starting to give up on HatGirl as well. But then HatGirl finally arrived.

HatGirl!

Yay!

As had been prearranged, MusicalYuppieDude vacated the loveseat so that HatGirl could sit with me. We talked about various stuff, such as how it had been trillions of years since we'd last seen each other. I took her out front to show her the poster that looks like her.

When we got back to the loveseat, LaptopGirl finally emailed me asking what was going on. I replied that it was all drunken debauchery, as usual. So then LaptopGirl came in. I introduced them. I used their real names, but I had a very strong urge to introduce them to each other as HatGirl and LaptopGirl.

Now, I'd been concerned, after HatGirl had arrived, that if LaptopGirl showed up as well I'd pay all of my attention to LaptopGirl. She has this effect on me where everyone else fades into the background. I didn't want HatGirl to fade into the background. Well, I think I did a pretty good job of talking to both of them. It didn't hurt that I was squeezed into the loveseat between them. It was quite warm, sitting there. And I'm not talking about the temperature.

This was about when I ordered an NABC 15B Porter (372).

Anyway, by the time HatGirl needed to leave, I guess this one dude was being strange, so I walked HatGirl out to her car. We talked for a few minutes in the parking lot, mostly about her upcoming wedding, and we both shivvered the whole time.

When I got back inside, some dork had stolen my seat next to LaptopGirl, so I sat at the kiddie table and talked to her from there. I guess she must have been bored at Rich O's, because she wanted to go to this my bar place nearby. We went there, but we didn't go inside because (a) there was crappy music audible from the parking lot, and (b) they had a cover charge for their stupid DJ, and (c) there was some emergency brewing at LaptopGirl's house, like the baby was waking up or something equally disastrous.

So we went back to Rich O's and talked for a few more minutes until she left. I left a few minutes later, my night complete.

There's this thing, this oath, in the justice system. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, it says.

Well, this latest conversation bit of meddling that I've heard about is one in which the truth was spoken. The truth, but not the whole truth. Not even fucking close to the whole truth.

The whole truth in this situation is something that I alone know. Everyone else is just guessing and extrapolating. And I wish that people would stop speaking their half truths on my behalf. Because it's not doing any good. No good at all. Harm, in fact.

Misinformed appeasement is unfair. It's a lie. It's a delay of the inevitable.

Attracted.

That's the word that's stuck in my head tonight.

What an incredible understatement that is.

I've asked that people stop meddling. I'm now starting to realize that I've been asking for something that cannot be done. So, I'm amending my request.

How about, instead of making shit up when you feel the need to express your opinion, how about just saying, "I don't know. You should ask Dave."

Put the fucking burden on me, where it belongs.

So today, instead of flinging myself off the top of the nearest tall building, I figured that I'd try HatGirl one more time. I was really starting to freak out, and I sent her a message telling her as much.

She responded!

Yay!

We traded a couple of emails. I guess most notable was that she looked at my entry from Monday and called the resemblance "scary."

She did not offer an opinion as to whether her ass is better than the one in the poster.

---

On another front, I keep saying that the tiniest little things can mean all the difference to me. Tonight someone declined an invitation I'd made. But it was still very cool, because I was expecting no answer at all. Even the tiny little act of turning down my invitation will end up being one of the high points of my week.

---

I think I'm going to try to take a day of vacation Friday. I've still got a lot of hours that I need to use or lose by the end of April. I'll most likely have to work several hours on Friday but, as I said last week, I can work from home and I won't have to put on clothes. Plus, having Friday off means that I can go to Rich O's Thursday night.

---

Saturday I go booze shopping. I'm trying to put together a list of stuff to buy, so if you know me you can send me an email and I'll add your choice to my list.

---

Tonight I watched this stupid I Am Legend movie. I also had most of a bottle of Left Hand Snow Bound (112). I say most of a bottle because I managed to backhand the glass onto the floor at one point. Oops.

---

I think that's it for now.

---

Oh, wait. LaptopGirl told me that I'd be sad when I found out who got eliminated from American Idol tonight. She probably thinks that I'd be sad if Ramiele was voted off, so that's going to be my guess.

I was trying to figure something out last night. I lay in my bed, not even attempting to pretend that sleep would be coming anytime soon, but rather just because it seemed to be the thing to do between the hours of midnight and 7:00 AM. My cat Nugget seemed to sense that something was going on. He wouldn't leave me alone.

I lay in my bed. I played sheet monster with Nugget. Every now and then, for a while, I picked up my phone and made sure it was still working. When that got boring, I placed my phone on my chest, and I tried to figure something out. I tried to decide something.

Well, my phone never did ring. That's good for at least two reasons. The first reason is that it probably would have given me a heart attack. The second reason is that I never did figure anything out. I never did decide shit.

I really need to be careful, because this is all seeming very familiar to me. The names may have changed, but the circumstances are the same. It's like a remake of an old movie or something.

I suppose that some would call this irony. Or poetic justice, perhaps.

I, myself, would call it bullshit.

I tell myself that I need to make a choice. One or the other. A or B. I tell myself this even though I know that no choice is possible and that no choice was ever possible. What will happen is what will happen, and I have a feeling that I might be as surprised as anyone. Or maybe not. I mean, I think I know exactly which path I'd take.

But I've been wrong before. At least a couple of times.

Well, that was clear as mud, wasn't it?