It was different, on this side. Dressed down, instead of up. Sneakers, not heels. Drinking Redbull, no vodka. Simple black singlet, comfortable jeans. No short skirts or hot little dresses tonight. Before the night kicked off, I was anxious about getting in the others way. Worried that it would be harder than it looked. Worried that things might not go as smoothly as I would have liked. I reminded myself that I was doing this for love, and even if I cocked things up royally, my intentions were good.

I shouldn’t have worried, really. Once the night got started I fell into an easy rhythm. It was hot, with the six of us together. The camaraderie was tight. The jokes a little bit filthy. The winks and grins all alluding to other dirty things. We worked quickly, intimately. Hands on hips as we slid by each other. Working over, under and around. Passing cups under taps, shovelling ice into bostons, dancing around the tills. In and out of the fridges, the chiller, the store room.

And oh the attention! I was unprepared for the attention, and the way people clamoured for mine. I got more smiles, more compliments, more witty one liners, more ‘can I have your number?’s than if I’d been playing on the other side. And it was safe to flirt from over here. Easy to make small talk with the punters, the owners, the band.

I got better at working the taps. I remembered to only shovel the ice with the bostons, and I quickly adopted Asa’s technique to open the bottles. I learnt how to pour wine on the bar with one hand. It was hard work, but fun. The press of people would come in waves, and it was amazing to see them relax, drop social stigmas, and smile more. As the night wore on, we’d take ten seconds for us, ten seconds for shots, ten seconds to keep us going. Sometimes sweet concoctions. Sometimes Jager poured straight from the bottle into open mouths. Over and under, they called it.

By the time lights came up, and night was coming to close I felt like I’d been operating on some kind of high that had come down an hour or two before. I sat on the end of Asa’s desk and watched him count the take for the night. I listened to the boys clean up the bar, and I felt bad that I wasn’t doing more. That I was incapable of being anything more than a lump. I knew the boys night was just getting started. That there would be many more drinks to be had in the closed bar. A private party to celebrate a night gone well.

Alas, I’m not a nocturnal creature. And I left, before the party got underway. I drove up my driveway, sure that morning wasn’t too far away. I basked in the praise, that for my first night I did well. That I wasn’t useless and could pour drinks under pressure. They asked if I’d like to make it a regular thing. Of course I would, really. It was a given, I’d do anything to support the bar. But after tonight, I’d do it even if I wasn’t obligated. I’d do it to be part of that party, to be part of the camaraderie with those people. To work side by side, quickly, with a few laughs, a few dirty jokes, many good times.

They said they’d let me know about the next big function, but we all knew I’d be in next week. I can’t wait.

The second crazy campaign The Yellow Pages did was The Taste of Yellow. That is to say that this guy named Josh was given a task: using only the businesses listed in the Yellow Pages, launch the worlds first chocolate bar that tastes of Yellow. He did it, he did. There are a whole bunch of videos you can watch to see what he did to get it done. Some of them are pretty hilarious.

By the time it was launched, everyone had seen the ads and heard the story. And it was stupidly hard to get your hands on a bar or twenty. By the time I managed to find a bar, most supermarkets had sold out, and people were making a killing on trademe. It was a bit of a fiasco, really.

But, I did get my hands on a bar. A guy from the office brought two into work for everyone to try. The packaging was pretty nice. Well designed and cute.

The first think you notice is the smell. It’s strong, and overpoweringly sweet. For those of us that either had kids or had worked in an ECE centre recently, it smelt a bit like playdough or plasticine. It tasted alot better than it smelt. A bit like pineapple lumps and custard and yes, a little bit like playdough. It was incredibly sweet, there was no way I’d be able to eat a whole bar.

I’d say Josh achieved his goal of making yellow chocolate taste of yellow. I think that overall it was a successful campaign, and got alot of people interested. :) Have you tried anything that’s overwhelmingly quirky lately?

Looking back, February was much better for me than January. My best friend came home for a week, and it was great to see her. I did alot of exciting new things, and definitely towards the end of the month felt like I was finally finding my feet again. Everything seemed alot less overwhelming, a lot less dramatic. It was nice to be able to breathe again.

I completely failed at uploading daily this month. One day would slip by, and the next, and it became a hassle. I’m still taking the photos everyday (which has been made easier by carrying my camera with me everywhere I go!) which has been good. I suspect if that became an issue the project would wither and die. Let’s hope it doens’t come to that!

This was my February:

1st of February to the 28th of February. 146 down. 219 to go.

Past Months: October, November, December, January.

We slept, covered in sweat and heat, pressed together in a single bed. Limbs intertwined and bunched, holding close and pushing away. In the muggy, hot dark I wondered if I should sneak out. Drive away, perhaps to safety, perhaps just to calm the fears that dance. Fears that I know are just shadows, with no firm anchor outside my head. Still, they danced just the same and I watched them flicker, and jump.

I made a decision, and I shifted my weight. Ready to leave, to flee, to go. I don’t want anything heavy. I can’t play the games, and dance with the drama. I’m only just building up a defense. Pulling on armour. Figuring out how best to build walls. I can’t, won’t, don’t want this . . .

As if knowing, seeing, understanding, he pulled me close. Lips murmuring sleep in my ear. Breathing in his warmth, I gave in. I buried my nose in his neck, and let him wrap himself around me. Calm. Relax tense muscles. Breathe. The dancing shadows cease, and I remembered that this is just here and now. There are no games, or drama. He’s not chasing, tricking, lying. He’s not asking for anything more than now, and I’m not offering anything more, either. Besides, anything worth breaking is hidden. Vaulted, and safe. Out of harms way. The rest is already broken rubble.

I felt a bit stupid. Not every boy is out to deceive. Out to hurt. Not every boy is going to be like the last. Not every boy is looking to break and betray, looking for a fake forever. Not every boy will require deciphering. I’m still learning. Still growing. Still leaving the old me behind.

I close my eyes and will sleep come.

Tomorrow’s another day. The walls will be higher, tomorrow. And I’ll be safe behind them. In the mean time, this single bed is easily big enough for two.

A couple weeks ago The Second Quarter and I went to the NZ Beer Fest. For anyone who knows me, this seems like a stupid thing to do because I’m not a fan of beer. Not even a little bit. But it was one of those days where getting out and about in good company seemed like the thing to do, and so I went.

I’m glad I did. I did try the beer. In fact, there was one beer (Belle-Vue Kriek) that I had that was trying really hard NOT to be a beer. It had some sort of cheery undertone and well, it was still a beer that just tried so hard to not be a beer. I totally admire it’s attempt to be a beer, and not be a beer. I also heard alot about how people weren’t that into the dark ales. I’m glad I didn’t try any.

It also seemed to be that every second person that I saw was someone I knew, which felt pretty great. I didn’t take as many photos as I should have, but the few that I did take ended up being ones alot like these two:

We’re both a bit drunk. I’m not sure exactly what we are trying to do with our facial expressions. I’ll save your eyes from the others.

Another interesting thing was that Epic Beer had a big projector that showed a live feed of any tweet that mentioned @epicbeer. Naturally, me and The Second Quarter totally got our geek on.

My tweet came up top right. The Second Quarter was gonna sass, but pulled out at the last minute … he said something about it being immature using such rude words, and tried to be clever with a twitpic instead:

All in all, it was a great day. I’m sure if I was a fan of beer it would have been pretty phenomenal. What grand things have you been up to lately?