Pints & Persiflage

Yay - my friend & former co-worker J. is home from Dubai. He likes to talk as much as I do (a lot), which is wonderful. He also likes the same topics - history, religion, politics, etc. Last night, we got burritos at Anna's, had a pint at Sligo, then moved over to the Burren for many more pints.

My all-time favorite beer is Caledonian 80/-. However, Caledonian Brewery doesn't export to the U.S., so I can only get it when I'm in Scotland (or when my Scottish mates throw me a bone). But all is not lost. Belhaven Breweries makes a lovely Scottish ale, which is sold in a number of liquor stores & pubs in Somerville/Cambridge. I've yet to meet a beer drinker who doesn't love this ale when I introduce them to it. Jason was no exception.

Once settled in on our bar stools, the conversation struck out on a long & winding path. We covered friends' (and ex-boyfriend's) upcoming weddings, blogging, job prospects, internet dating, new relationships, old relationships, whether or not I should leave my number for the cute Irish bartender (we decided against it), Christianity, Islamic fanaticism, and ended on deism.

After last call, we wandered over to my apartment building & sat in the courtyard for awhile longer. In this leg, we touched on WWII, the war in Iraq, the current administration (boo - hiss!), the West Wing, and child-rearing. We cut ourselves off around 1:45 a.m. As I mentioned, it's lovely to have conversations like that. I often have them with Kate (I love you, katy-did), but it's been difficult lately with her living in Northhampton. Cheers to long, rambling chats with old friends!