24 Hour Bars and Roo Meat

I took the ferry to Manly beach and I spent the entire time sitting my lazy ass around the beach and oogled the hot Aussie guys all day long. Tall, blonde, surfer types, with beautiful accents…how the hell do you go wrong? The only thing that marred such a beautiful day on the beach was the huge number of man-o-wars floating in the water and littering the sand. Nothing is worse than having one of those things sting the hell out of you on a hot day. Hawaii has quite a few of them too at Bellows Beach. I remember distinctly one day when I got stung on my hand and my friend Randy had one wrap itself around his shoulder. There’s an old wives tale that says if you urinate on a jellyfish sting, it will lesson the pain of the sting. When you get stung by jellyfish, it’s amazing how many people will volunteer to pee on you (friggin sickos). I’d rather cut my hand off than have someone pee on it. Needless to say, I passed on a golden shower and instead lived with the excruciating pain.

I met Brett for dinner that night in Darling Harbor. He sent me over to the Piermont Bar to meet up with him. He is an evil man. I like dodgy bars because I can drink beer, people watch, and just hang out in general. This bar was more than just dodgy. It was the kind of bar that was open 24 hours. The Denny’s of dodgy bars. Of course, I’m in a nice dress instead of my usual jeans and sneakers. I stuck out and I squirmed under the leers of the patrons. I slung back several beers as Brett took his sweet time getting there. When we arrived at a restaurant Brett felt that in celebration of my vacation in Australia, I should order Kangaroo meat (or Roo meat as they say down under). I will try just about anything and I’m not a picky eater…but Roo meat is foul. I could barely choke the stuff down. I was even pulling the kiddie trick by hiding the meat in a pile of potatoes and trying to disguise the taste. I think my American taste buds are going to stick to chicken, pork, and cow. Aside from the scary bar and the horrific Roo meat, it was great night. I talked, I laughed, I even cried a little. It's hard to find people that you truly connect with on a personal level. For me, I find it difficult to meet someone that laughs at all my silliness, who thinks I'm great just the way I am, and really understands me. I guess that Brett is just one of those people. He means the world to me in this lifetime and he has taught me so much.