this past weekend was once again not very restful.

casual drinks on a friday don’t exist for me. i always end up getting the dancing itch and finding a music-blaring bar to go to to get it out of my system (and spending way too much money in the process).

it started with meeting renee at queen and spadina, and we decided to just walk west until we found somewhere that looked decent. we past by zakkushi and the hostess let us know there was about a two hour waitlist so we put our name down and headed somewhere else to wait it out.

we ended up meandering over to bar’kada, which i’d heard great things about, and luckily they had a table for two readily available.

we sat down and ordered pork belly lettuce wraps, sauteed broccolini, and a couple of cocktails and everything was pretty good. the pork belly was prepared in very filipino flavours (almost reminiscent of adobo or something similar) and the broccolini was incredible.

we ordered a couple more cocktails because we thought we had more time, but almost immediately after the drinks were set down at our table, renee got a call from zakkushi letting us know they were ready for us. she ended up telling them to let the table ahead of us go because we didn’t want to rush.

when we were done at bar’kada, we headed back to zakkushi to try our luck and see if they were ready for us, but the hostess said it would be about another 20 minutes to half hour, so we went next door to frisaca for another quick drink.

the bar was actually really cool, and the guy who i presume was the owner was super nice. he seemed to like us and he told us to come back next week when they were doing karaoke and day of the dead, so maybe we’ll bring conor there this friday.

afterwards, we headed back to zakkushi and finally got seated. we ordered a couple of asahi blacks and a skewer set, which was really good. megan ended up joining us and she stayed with me to finish a pitcher of beer (and then another pitcher of beer) when renee left to go meet her boyfriend khan for date night.

by the time we were ready to go, apparently renee’s date night was over, so she called and asked what we were up to and her and khan joined us as we made our way over to big trouble to dance.

it was already around 11PM at that point, so i knew our chances of getting in were abysmal unless we were willing to be assholes and skip the line, and i was right; the line was huge, and we could see it from a distance, so we turned around and headed to kensington market to find another place.

we ended up at trinity common, which was actually pretty fun. there was a dance floor and people seemed to be in a pretty good mood, and though pieces of my memory are missing from our time there, i do remember meeting a, cute, tall blond guy in the bathroom and us making fleeting eyes at each other from across the dance floor, though it never led to anything more than that.

apparently renee tried introducting a couple of guys to us, but i get really dismissive of new people when i’m very drunk, so that didn’t turn into anything. and then i complain about how hard it is to make new friends.

i spent the next day recovering until about 5pm, at which point i finally got out of bed, showered and played video games until it was time to meet conor at stackt market for anthony’s birthday.

i got to stackt market and texted conor but he was slow to respond so i walked around for a bit appreciating the cool outdoor market and art gallery atmosphere, and then i realized i’d forgotten my mask at home, so i went across the street to the farm boy where they gave me a free disposable one (the lady at the stackt box office gave me that helpful tip).

conor finally texted me back letting me know they were in the back of the music area, but i didn’t really know where that was. thankfully he found me wandering around so i wasn’t lost for too long. it turns out that by “the back” he meant the VIP/guest list area.

he brought me to everyone and i said my hellos to the irish boys and made introductions with the people i didn’t already know, and we ended up having a pretty fun night. i met some pretty cool people, had great conversations, and everyone went to go dance by the stage at one point, which was really fun.

we all headed over to an afterparty at a guy named ben(?)’s house, which was super nice. his basement was decked out with laser lights, a projector and even a fog machine, so it was definitely a vibe, and everyone was buzzed and having a good time. i took the above photo in the bathroom, as i always do. i actually spent a long time talking to ben(?) while playing with his dogs, and he told me all about burning man.

of course, i ended up staying way too late, and somehow once again being literally the last person to leave, but really what’s new. it’s not my fault my uber was the last one to get there.

i got home and almost immediately passed out and spent all of the next day recovering and then playing video games yet again.

this weekend is halloween weekend so i’m definitely not going to get a chance to rest then (i already have a ticket to go to some warehouse party), but i’m going to try to have a calmer, more low-key november.

i want to do more wholesome things, and be cozy and write and drink hot chocolate. i want to be warm and snuggly, bathed in lamp and candlelight, sitting in cafes, escaping the cold.

i always romaticize the fall, and it’s only now starting to feel like autumn in toronto. i see people walking around in snazzy sweaters and fleeces (i complimented a couple of the irish guys who wore nice ones), and everyone seems to say the same thing: that they love this weather for the fashion, and they’re excited to wear their nice clothes.

i’ve been texting some guy i’ve never met before and he said having a quiet november would be nice, so i suggested we could maybe be cozy together, stay in and watch movies and drink hot drinks, so that’s a fun and exciting prospect.

it likely won’t amount to anything, but you never know! it wouldn’t be so bad to have someone to keep warm with.