Once again I smell like cigarette smoke...

Around 8:00 PM, my friend Jessica called and asked if I was busy. When I said no, she informed me that she was standing right outside my house, in the rain. So I hang up the phone and run outside. She's standing there with her friend Jason, underneath a tree by the sidewalk, both smoking. She gives me a hug, they talk for a minute, and then they both put out the cigarettes and we go into my house to get out of the rain and cold. We sit at the kitchen table and talk for a while, then Jess invites me to go to the pool hall with them. I warn them that I don't know a thing about playing pool, but after a moment, I agree, so we leave my house, walk down the street to her house, and go inside, where we stop in the breezeway so she can call her other friend Nicole to come with us as well. She arrives after a few minutes, and the four of us get into Jason's car and head towards the pool hall.

On the way there, Jess decides that she wants her boyfriend's shoes, and he says that if she takes his shoes, he's got to buy another pair. So instead of going straight to Elk River, we first go to the outlet mall in Albertville, where Jason buys a pair of shoes and gives his to Jessica.

We finally get to the pool hall. It's ladies night, so we three women get in free. Jason calls a friend of his on his cell phone to come and meet us there. We start a game of 9-ball and I get in a shot or two. Jason wins, and by that time his friend shows up and the two of them start playing a serious game while Jess and I sit at a table and talk for a while. Then she takes me over and introduces me to her friend Luke, who works there. He's practicing trick shots and we sit around to watch him for a while.

Later, the guys give me a lesson in shooting pool. Please note that I can count the previous times I have played on one hand, and that was a long, long time ago, when I used to hang around at my uncle's resort and he'd give my sister and I quarters to play on the table in the game room. So... I'm not good. At all. But the guys were really nice and patient and helped me a lot. Nicole and I played one game, which she won.

At about 12:30, we decided that it was time to leave. On the way back home we stopped at a gas station where one of Jess's friends works. She wanted cigarettes, but didn't have any cash, so I bought them for her.

So now I'm tired. And happy that I got to go out. And in need of something to drink. So I'm gonna go.