Something that Scares You

There is a song where one of the lines is "Do something every day that scares you".

Now this is not something I normally pay any attention to because well there are way too many things that scare me to pick just one each day.

But this weekend I took it to heart.

Backstory:

I've been plurking since last June because I wanted a copy of Wendy's Nanner sock pattern and the only way to get it was to plurk her. I have met some pretty interesting people online over the course of my plurking and most of them are not at all local to me.

I am also incredibly shy in person. It is next to impossible for me to meet new people unless I force myself. Point in case: I've been in kickboxing since August. I know the names of four people in the class, not including the instructors. There are upwards of 20 people in the class and about half of them are regulars. Sigh.

Also I've tried making new friends using Craigslist in the past few years. We get along fine in email and online. Meet me in person and poof the person disappears into the ether. This has happened repeatedly, so it must be something with me. Which makes it even less likely I'll make the first move when getting to meet someone in real life for the first time.

So fast forward to Saturday. I see that Perpstu is telling JustJen about her boarding pass, and I asked where she was going. She said Oakland on business and I start yelling in plurk.

"YOU'RE GOING TO BE IN MY NECK OF THE WOODS AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!?!?!?!?!"

"I'M AN HOUR NORTH OF THERE"

So she and JustJen invited me to crash their dinner plans. At which point I go into OMG they aren't going to like me in person, they only know me online, this isn't going to go well, maybe hubby will want me to stay home, I can stick my head in the sand...

Yeah I'm neurotic, why do you ask?

So Sunday rolls around and I talk hubby into letting me go. I get my chores done and I hit the car at 4, realize I need cash and swing by the grocery store. I'm not on the road until 4:30 and I have to be there by 5:30 and it takes at least 1.5 hours to get to San Ramon from my house.

Ha. I can make up the time, I do have a lead foot. Traffic, traffic, traffic. All right people it rains EVERY year at least once in northern California. Just because there is water falling from the sky doesn't mean you are allowed to forget how to drive and if you do just get the heck out of my way!

Perpstu sent me a text at 5:09 that she's just now getting her rental car. I tell her to take her time since I'm still playing in traffic. I still managed to get to the hotel in 1.5 hours, but it was 6 o'clock and I was 30 minutes late and Perpstu likes punctual people (I think, I have to back read her blog again) so it was one strike. Thankfully I walked in as she was finishing up checking into the hotel.

She called JustJen and we decided to brave Pier 39 dinner in spite of the rain. So we hop back in cars and head into SF. At this point I've crossed both the Richmond Bridge and the Bay Bridge in my travels of the evening.

We ended up at Swiss Louie's for dinner. I had the Calamari and the Chicken Picatta. Perpstu had the Crab Cakes and Cannoli, while JustJen had Garlic Bread and the Chicken Parmigiana.

Both ladies had Pomegranate Martini's. I don't drink so I settled for water, much to the waiter's dismay. :-)

I headed home across the Golden Gate bridge (that's all three main - I don't count the San Mateo bridge and it scares the crap out of me anyway - in one night), and they headed back to East Bay.

Things I learned:

I don't know nearly enough about shoes. Though I recognize the name Manolo
These two ladies love their Pomegranate Martinis
Perpstu's kitten Unagi and doggy Scooby are adorable
JustJen has really great hair
I love Perpstu's red streak in her hair
Both ladies are very nice.