Thursday - An Outing

Thursday was actually more than just one outing. It was several outings. Both inspired some interesting feelings and reactions for the Tugboat. I should start at the beginning probably in this innocuous tale. The first item on the agenda was a cleaning. What kind of cleaning? A tooth cleaning. This appointment also was slated to include an inspection of my mouth by the actual dentist as well. I was mildly anxious for that portion. As a youth, my oral health was deplorable due to a complete ignorance of the nuances of total mouth care. My dentist, while a nice man, was not very strong on the education front. If I had been told even half of what I've learned since switching things would be different for me. I'd probably have a showier smile, hell! I probably would have won state! But that was not the case now I'm fighting an uphill battle to try and get to a place where normal people are naturally residing. Am I resentful? YES! I'm great at grudges, even mild ones like this. But in the past five years since getting out in front of things, I've been having great checkups, but that doubt always lingers. What could he find this time? As it turned out, the hygienist and the dentist were both very complimentary toward my efforts. This was unusual and I was suspicious. How was the Universe going to balance this out? My next slated appointment was at the bank and I was hoping the karma wouldn't react immediately for me. It didn't, the bank went swimmingly. I moved all necessary funds around to be ready for the taxman's peek at my finances. Good luck finding anything Jerk-Bitch! So those were done. I was hoping to sit down to a celebratory Pizza Hut buffet feast with Brown but he was called away on urgent business as he is wont to do. So I raced back to the Harbour to jump on a fun educational conference call. It was about some court cases that happened around the turn of the century. There is a play moving across Canada that depicts the outcomes in an entertaining fashion and includes Dog River's own, Eric Peterson. The call was very interesting. I then joined some more meetings and answered questions my colleagues had and basically got very busy until the evening began. She appeared and then did some printing and prepping to go drop stuff off with her customers. After which, we decided to go downtown to check out the Charles Dickens pub. I'd been once before and my only memory was that Dutchie didn't not enjoy the experience, much to my delight. It was not different than I remembered. Exactly as advertised, a watering hole with traditional British fare. We ate our meal and proceeded to supplement it with a McFlurry, of the Cadbury Creme Egg persuasion. If you feel the need to sample such a treat may I suggest that you pay for the extra stuff inside, there was a startling lack of nougat. But before all that transpired we did make the drop off at another pub. This one has the appearance of a classic small town waterhole that is dominated and run by its regulars with little room or acceptance of outsiders. The kind of place you have to prove yourself to attend. There was a carousel of smokers escaping into the night to hack on a dart, predominantly cheap domestic beer and a menu of only fried fare. I had a feeling of apprehension walking into that place. Almost like a feeling of not belonging or an inherent threat. I didn't have the means to perform ocular pat-downs on all the patrons so I just stood stiff and panicked in the middle of the floor, like a giant fool. Their mocking gazes washing over me, measuring me as a potential threat to their nest of iniquity. It was a very uneasy experience, probably exacerbated by being on display and awkwardly out of place. If we'd have taken a table things may have been more innocuous. But as it played out, She handed her wares to the bartender that approached us. A very pleasant and friendly barmaid by the name of Savannah. The interaction was brief but thought provoking. It made me wonder about the back story of this person. How did she end up here, her appearance didn't fit the atmosphere even if her moniker did. Funny how something as simple as a name can dictate one's path in life. I realize that it was not the name alone but rather the upbringing that such a name can initiate. The parents that would choose such a name would certainly facilitate it. I'm of course being very judgemental but even that was provoking to me. Why would I leap to those conclusions? I think I've been dealing with the upper crust of the middle class for too long. I've never been comfortable with the true blue working class, I can't mesh into their ranks even though I consider myself to be more of a working class individual. So as you can see, and to wrap up what is quickly spiraling into  a long post, I was caught in a spinning vortex of thoughts and emotions going into that lair yesterday. Compounded by the fact that I was decidedly denied the delight of eating at 5 Star Asian Buffet by yet another guest to the Harbour. It might have to one day turn into a #solomission.