People watching...

In my almost constant travels around the country, I'm always looking for a good bar to hang out at. I rarely ask the locals about this, because everyone has their own style of place to hangout. I'll usually scour Google, check Google Earth, check the GPS in the rental car, and do a drive by. Usually from the outside I can tell if it's going to be a place I might like. Now, with traveling for work so often, wifi is almost a necessity, and very few bars have it. Many times I find myself at the bar of the hotel I'm at simply because it allows me to eat, drink, and work all at the same time. I'm a big fan of a good dive bar, but I rarely do these solo unless I truly have nothing better to do.

So, I travel solo 90% of the time, and I get a real kick out of watching people and how they interact. I'm a loner on the road. I don't go out of my way to meet people, other than the ones I am working with.

Last night was rather interesting. There was a couple that looked to be either on a first or second date. I was having my usual Guinness and Jameson, and casually watching them as the night progressed. Some mild touch interaction, smiles, both of them glancing at the various games that were on the TV's, having a couple drinks, eating. As it started to wind down, I began to wonder how they met. eHarmony, or some such place? Introduced by mutual friends? Just met at another bar? Their drinks are done and they're both on water now, he orders a cup of coffee, she has her purse open and the keys are out. As a gorgeous blonde and her wanna be hispanic thug boyfriend sit down at the bar between us, she's not smiling so much anymore, as he steals a look at the blonde. Their bill comes, and they split it. That's pretty much what keyed me to them being on a first or second date. They were much too snuggly and touching to just be good friends. Hell, even I, the ultimate loner, have a few good female friends, so I do have experience. They both get up and walk out, and not hand in hand, but her leading the way. I started to wonder, was it his glance at the blonde that turned it sour? It seemed to be a turning point.

Then, there were the two girls to my left. Both on the large side, but not hideous. They were complaining about smoking. Now, we're in a bar, and we're in a state that still allows smoking in the bar. And to boot, the bar has a non smoking section. I instantly wrote these two off as the bitchy, whiny, can we find just one more thing to complain about type. I felt sorry for their boyfriends, if they had ones.

Next, we have the couple to my right. The guy in the long sleeve Under Armour with a t-shirt over it, the typical gelled spiked up short hair, and he's with a girl who's dressed in a nice black dress. A complete mismatch. I hear him asking her if she's on the cheerleading squad, and does she use pom pom's. I get the impression this was a pick up from another bar and they came here for a quieter place to talk. She looked all of 16 but had her ID checked. Are you on the cheerleading squad? Are you kidding me?

It being Friday, the weekends are always fun for people watching, as more people tend to get drunk.