Day 34 (Wednesday, Mar. 17): Closure, Dyed Hair, and Celebrating St. Patrick's Day for the First Time Ever

Day Thirty-Four
In thinking about it, being forgiven / forgiving someone and having closure are pretty similar.

Sometimes people are only friends (or whatever) for a season, and that's not a bad thing. (That would be a lot of friends to stay in contact with otherwise!) There's one burned bridge of mine in particular who I've been in contact with lately. In the end, however, we decided not to force things anymore. It was a pretty mutual decision.

When I woke up on Wednesday morning, I saw that this person had sent me an email. I read what turned out to be a really lengthy, jam-packed email. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever read or maybe ever will read. I had no idea this person thought those things about me while we knew each other; I actually got chills at most of the sweet things that were written about me. It was one of the most stand-out, bittersweet things I've ever experienced. What a way to gain closure!

About a week ago, I bought a box of hair dye but kept procrastinating on finally using it. My mom helped me in the afternoon and though I at first didn't like it, I love it now! Plus now I don't have trailer-trash hair roots. I love having lighter hair and am glad I finally got on that. My mom is so great!

On an entirely different note, I went out with some current and new friends to 2 bars. I had no plans to celebrate St. Pat's Day, but Andrea talked me into it, and I'm SOOOO glad she did! So I went to downtown Fort Lauderdale and enjoyed one of the best nights I've had in awhile. We met up a little after 9PM and after parking our cars in a spot we didn't have to pay for, we walked to our first of 2 bars. There were 4 of us altogether (consistently). Obviously there was Andrea, but also Pete, and Pat, the birthday boy. (Yes, that's right. He was born on St. Patrick's day and his name is Patrick.)

One of the things I'm grateful for is that Pete and I finally had our first legit conversation out of facebook lol. I love facebook (as any of my facebook friends can clearly see), but it has its limitations. Pete's a really nice guy and fun to be with, so it was easy to talk and get to know him throughout the night. I'm so happy when friends (such as Andrea) and I can come together with each of our own friends and get along. Considering that she and Pete are really close friends, it's that much more of a wonderful thing.

At our first place, Poorhouse, Andrea and I had a lot of girl talk and reached a whole new level of friendship lol. Oh man, I love that girl. I had a white russian. After we were done there, we decided to venture out and see "the crazies" who were totally wasted. That was a very entertaining part of the evening lol. The people here get REALLY decked out for the holiday and I have to say that it was enjoyable. I have never seen so many different shades of green!

When we were done walking, we went into Tarpon Bend where there was a lot of fish paraphernalia and dancing. Though an odd combination, I liked it. My group was all so great about my obsession with picture taking. One of the reasons this is such a big deal is that Andrea told me at Poorhouse that she really wasn't that into pictures, but did them anyway. I was saddened and told her it was actually one of my love languages. She lit up and said, "Really??" and from then on, she not only indulged me; she initiated picture taking! Oh. My. Gosh. That made me feel so loved! And there were some really cute pictures! That also made me feel GREAT! Confession: When I take only a few pictures and they don't turn out as well, I don't enjoy my night as much. Pathetic I know! But it's a true fact.

I hadn't planned on doing any dancing that night, as my white keds proved, but Andrea really wanted to go out there, and I figured, What the heck; why not? I'm soooo glad I did because after a few seconds of dancing with a cute guy, Andrea pointed to me and told him. I found out he's from Chicago (or was?) and we started dancing. He was SOOOO fun to dance with! He was really cute and just...fun! I loved the fact that he liked spinning me on the dance floor. (I won't count it against him that his name is Courtney...) At one point after we talked some, he took my hand and kissed it. It was SO sweet! After we were done dancing, he asked if he could buy me a drink, but I politely turned it down because I wanted to go back to my friends. He smiled and then took my hand again and kissed it. I actually don't think I've stopped smiling since then...

Andrea and I went back out there again sometime later and danced in the middle of the dance floor. Haha, she is one of the funnest girls I know! I didn't land me any cute Midwestern boys that time, but that's alright.

When it was about 1:30am, we decided to go back to our cars. On our way out, Pat randomly stopped 3 guys walking past us. I don't know if he knew them from earlier in the night or what, but they were friendly right back. We actually all stood in that area on the sidewalk for awhile, taking pictures and meeting each other. As I later found out from Andrea, they were all models!!! They were definitely very attractive (and I think all straight). I was particularly fond of Chris, because he was wearing a green Power Rangers t-shirt. Ahhhh! Growing up, my friends and I were obsessed with that TV show, as geeky as that makes me to admit it ;) haha. The pictures we took with them didn't turn out too well, but all 3 guys were REALLY cute and seemed nice! Chris needs a better haircut, but he's definitely cute. I really only got to talk with Chris and Jay (while Andrea talked to the other guy in another language) and loved it when they used their model charms (lol) to compliment me in a non-sleazy way.

I declined going out for some burgers with Andrea, Pete, and Pat, and think that was the right choice, especially since, by the time I left, it was 2:30am. And I had to work. Thankfully Omar and I decided that I don't have to come in until 10am as of Tuesday.

I wanted to give a shout out to Pete and Pat for buying us drinks. I didn't spend anything!

A very happy Laurs, out.