I just had one of my best weekday evenings ever!

After work I coerced my friend to join me at Downtown Disney for a bite at Restaurant Catal’s outdoor UVA Bar. They really have foolproof food and drink, and I had the best Sexy Alligator I’d ever tasted (he had a lethal martini that appeared to consist only of ethyl alcohol and 2 olives), and we shared a sort of prawn ceviche soup; penne pasta in marinara, mozzarella & basil; and a rare seared Ahi tuna salad w/couscous, baked pita flakes and hummus.

After eating we wandered around Downtown Disney. He dragged me into Illuminations (I didn’t push him to go in because my experience w/men is that they don’t appreciate a store w/pretty candle setups and usually complain about the intermingled candle scents and wait for me outside), I dragged him into Basin (a unique bath products store) and introduced him to bath fizzy bombs, he dragged me into Disneyland Hotel where I finally saw the gargantuan fireplace in the open lobby that my bailiff has raved about, and we left our noseprints, handprints and drool marks on the large window of a chocolate shop after watching one of the chocolateers dip 3 giant marshmallows on a stick into caramel, chocolate, then nuts. I had to be dragged AWAY from that store, and I’m glad now I was.

As we walked back to the parking lot, we happened to catch Disneyland’s fireworks show (early show at 8p!), and my friend dropped his tailgate, wrapped me in a blanket, and we watched the show from the edge of his big truck w/an unobstructed, perfectly angled view. It’s amazing what they can do w/pyrotechnics now — lit particles that had their own life and shot off in changing angles after the main explosion; explosions that spread out and formed hearts, stars, happy faces, 3-D cubes. We made it out of the parking lot w/5 minutes to spare on our 3-hr free parking.

What I love about hanging out w/this guy is the easy laughter (not just the polite “heh heh� chuckle, but gales of laughter that has us doubled over in stitches), his inquisitive nature, his genuine interest in learning about and trying things new to him, and wow, he articulates what I’m thinking. It’s kind of like, “So this is what I’d be like if I had a leg missing from my second X chromosome.� Except white. And with drastically different life choices growing up. And he’s a lot more easy-going than me. And has more life experience. Okay, so maybe not, but I enjoy our similarities and the differences we each bring to the table when we’re together.