3/20/10 - March Madness

So, it's March Madness. For those of you out there who have breasts, this might mean nothing to you and if it means anything, it probably doesn't mean you're sitting on somebody's broke down couch for hours at a time, watching 19 year olds play basketball in a rigged, non-sensical national tournament. However, to some people out there (men) this is like some sort of magical Shangri-La, a once a year opportunity to do nothing but sit on someone's broke down couch watching 19 year olds run up and down, up and down, shoot, miss, run up and down, shoot, swish ... blah, blah, blah.

Last night after a lovely dinner with a family member, I met Friend and several of his friends to participate in this yearly TV ritual. The game that he and all of his friends were mainly interested in didn't come on until after 10:30 and by that point, I was so freakin tired I could barely keep my eyes open. But, I stayed. I traveled many miles to get to March Madness Ground Central. Upon arrival, I noted a TV showing games and two laptops, one on each side of the TV, playing other games or updating past scores. Sensory overload mixed with complete and total boredom.

The reason I'm posting about this rather boring evening is because earlier that day, I had some conflict about whether he and I were going to hang out. He asked what I was doing earlier that evening and I told him that I had drink plans with a friend (Hey sK) ... these were then postponed (sadly) because a relative of mine was in town and offered to take me to dinner. As I do not come from a family of travelers, this event was extremely rare and I didn't feel free to say no. So, I postponed drinks and told Friend about the situation. I asked him what he was doing and he told me about March Madness game viewing. I sat, looking at the phone, contemplating my next move. I really wanted to see him. If I text back and ask to join him and friends, he potentially wouldn't feel free to say no, yet would potentially feel like I was horning in on time with buddies. On the other hand, he's pretty honest and good about saying what he does, and doesn't want, so I went ahead and asked whether I could join, prepared for a negative response.

He wrote back saying that I was welcome to join. I'd met all of these friends before and they're all really nice folks. I still felt a bit uneasy. I've always pictured how I'd be as a girlfriend (which I think I am now, given the time and fact that we've both acknowledged that we're exclusive with each other) and have promised myself I'd never do the following:
1) make BF ever go shopping with me ever
2) ask BF questions hoping he'll give me a certain answer not because I want or need to know the answer but because I want to bait him into complimenting me (i.e. Does this look ok?)
3) horn in on, or limit/try to control time with BF's BFs

Get it? Ok. I know and believe that at some point I should be priority number one (after Mom, of course) but don't think that we're there yet. I respect and really like the fact that he has really close friendships with friends here in our city because he's known some of these people since he was a tot. I have these relationships, too and they're really very amazing, rare, and special. I'd never let a guy separate me from my GFs and thus, I'd never do that to him.

So, for the first ten to fifteen minutes, I felt a little weird. They were all there, already into the games, yelling, drinking, lazing on broke down couches. But, soon enough I settled in, he threw his legs over my lap, and I smiled inside ... hugs from all the friends on the way out and questions about whether I'd be coming back today to watch yet more basketball. Uh, no.

The main reason I went last night is because I wanted to hang out with Friend and make more of a connection with his peoples. I walked in with the concern that the invitation came from a place of no choice, but soon realized that I belonged there with him and them. Yay.

He left this morning after some good smooches and here I am, typing this over coffee, holding on to the continued feeling of good fortune. Oh, and ... I got a new job!! Remember those two interviews I mentioned before? Well, they liked me and offered me the job this past Tuesday. I was actually out with Friend when I got the call ... I told him first and he gave me a huge hug, kiss, and fantastic, beaming smile. Yay again!

Now, go. Get outside and ride a bike or something. That's what I'm about to do. Think I'll buy a Frisbee, too.