everything looks perfect from far away

Tonight has now been officially labeled: The Kaleidoscope Night.

If you think about looking through a kaleidoscope, you see distinct colors, but they have all be mashed together. It started simply enough. My friend and coworker Nakiesha is leaving DC and moving to ATL. She was the first person that I met at orientation, and just by chance, we were on the same program at the same location. She and many of her friends met to take her out at Busboys & Poets on 14th & V. Some of my previous coworkers (Cedric and Mae) from a different program were there also. But lets add some color to the kaleidoscope. Brian Vargas walked in to the coffee shop. Brian and I were fraternity brothers at Rose and lives in DC near Logan Circle.

I bounce from Kiesha’s going away party early to meet with Nosheen, her family, and her friends from AmeriCorps, who all just graduated the program. Good times. Soon into dinner, I get a call from an ex-coworker (and possibly co-worker again) Chris Pusinelli. Chris took a year off to volunteer and is now seeking gainful employment. I haven’t seen him in months.

So after dinner, I go down to Lucky Bar south of Dupont Circle and meet with him, Grant, Ryan, Melissa, and Chris’s sister. We leave shortly after 11:30p, so they all can take the Metro home. As we are walking up 18th St, we pass a woman. Well call this woman… Gosh-I-wish-I-wasn’t-such-a-jerk-and-I’m-a-fucking-idiot-for-not-valuing-anything-accordingly-woman. I know, long name. I see her just about everytime we go out. And she’s great. And there wasn’t a fizzle even. I was just a jerk. I stopped calling. I could come up with a million excuses, but no, I was simply an ass. We had a great night in Adams Morgan. Then I didn’t call. No rational soul would have told me not to call. I’m a fucking idiot.

So, my punishment is that everytime I go out, I see her. She’s an absolutely great person. Smart, pretty, genuine, sincere, athletic. I (and my friends) have seen her probably more times out since I stopped dating her than when we did date. The other thing about it? It’s always in passing, never at the same bar at the same time. Always on the sidewalk, a crosswalk, or intersection. So we never catch up. Once as she was walking down 18th St in Adams Morgan, I stopped to say hello briefly. We exchanged salutations and both went on our way. I have no excuse. Someone please punch me and call me a jerk.

Lastly, after explaining the GIWIWSAJAIAFIFNVAAW to those in the dark, I dropped the crew off at the Metro for a quiet walk through Dupont Circle and up New Hampshire Avenue to my apartment. But low and behold, right on the corner of NH Ave and Dupont Circle, I see someone else I recognize. A classmate of Kate and Jon, Bernard. I stop him and tell him he looks familiar, ask him if he went to UoM Law. We catch up (he’s getting married, congrats!), and was just in town for a short meeting, but all of his flights out were cancelled.

So, to recap. Friend from work, friend from college, friend from other college, friends from work (and one that has left work), woman I used to date, and sister’s classmate. Quite a night. A kaleidoscope night.