overlap

Well, that was quite a day. Started off with a brief walk in the sunshine to clear my head, returning to take my time over getting ready - the combination of rushing against time pressure and trembling nervous hands does not make for an effortless elegance and a flawless decorousness. Despite having failed to bring my favourite mascara, I managed to pull off a look I was happy with and just had time to knock back the limoncello that was thrust at me while the cab waited outside. As well as matching the bag and cardigan, the fabulous sparkly pink sunglasses I'd bought the day before provided me with both metaphorical and literal rose coloured glasses, and checking my make up in the cab made me feel a bit more like the uptight, high maintenance chick I really am! Getting out of the cab elegantly without showing too much leg just about worked, and there were a few reassuringly familiar faces, and new ones too, to greet me in the foyer. By the end of the first glass, all the moments where the what-the-holy-fuck-are-you-doing-ometer had threatened to go off the scale in the cab gradually faded away, to be replaced by a champagne-induced feeling of increased wellbeing. We got through quite a few champagne top-ups, for which we were later to be charged extra, and a nice mix of people I've met before and ones I'd not met allowed for pleasant conversation and I gradually got more comfortable with the situation - I've been comfortable being the woman I am for a long time, but that sort of environment was something entirely new. With the exception of the previous weekend's outfit assessment, this was only the third time I've had any sort of sparkly exposure to non-partners, and while it's true that I'm in the habit of finding excuses to drive to a post box across town, to use cash machines in less heavily populated and busy areas and so on and so forth, I just don't do around-people-sparkling. So going to such a swish venue on the special occasion of someone else's birthday was upping the ante big style. And then some. Even including the odd sideways glance, there was no hint of a problem, except perhaps for my knocking over a glass on my initial approach to the table, so definitely no harm done and the brown paper packages tied up with string was a nice touch from the birthday girl. So, a great time at the Savoy, and then we moved up the road a short distance for cocktails. A short walk, and we were in the lower light level basement of the cocktail bar, which suited me. Knowing we were moving on, I took the opportunity to change from the dress into a skirt and top - the dress is lovely, but I was feeling increasingly conscious of how short it is and so the skirt was a better option for feeling a little more relaxed. Despite sticking with water rather than going down the cocktails route, my good judgement in changing was balanced out by my decision to change into the higher shoes, and the result was that the few minutes walk to the final venue meant the thronging pedestrians walking towards me were faced with a 6'3" giant in a pink cardigan. But hell, what's the point in having fuckmeshoes if I never wear them anywhere? Over the course of a few more glasses of wine, I gradually reached the tipping point where I became a little more animated and communicative - it's always nice to be told by someone who's never met me before that I give the (true) impression of being comfortable dressed as I am. I also had a nice chat about what I might want to do with my hair in the not immediate term, which confirmed what I probably already thought, as well as a whole load of other bits of various conversation, some of which I'm sure to remember eventually. I have the distinct impression someone grabbed my bum in passing on the street outside as we worked out where we were going to get a cab, and the cab ride back was plenty quicker than the afternoon one. Getting through the front door came with a certain wow, I managed it! feeling of triumph and relief, and it's very difficult to distil what the whole thing means to me into a non-dissertation length quote or two. It would be remiss of me not to mention at least half a dozen people who made various elements of the whole experience do-able, and one or two who perhaps won't realise quite what difference they made, so without naming names, here's a big sparkly **thank**you** for all of them. I'm very pleased to call you my friends, and that's worth a great deal to me. Lifetime firsts of the weekend; * gin (yes, really) * champagne (nope, not that I can ever recall) * being drunk, or indeed drinking alcohol outside of the four walls of someone's home * being driven in a sports car with the top down And that's plenty to be going on with.