Bar Napkin Bliss

I finished my pre-dinner workload for the day and was having a glass of wine in downtown Burbank at a Thai restaurant. I was sitting in a booth by the bar long enough for two men to walk in and sit in front of me on barstools. I sipped my wine and took notes on a yellow legal pad while I waited for John. When he got there and sat in the booth next to me, I playfully scribbled on my bar napkin.

That guy kept turning around and looking at me. He's so sad that you're here.

John took the napkin and began to write a msg back. He covered his hand over what he was writing so I couldn't see until he was done. Before he let me read it he said, "Okay now, this is going to be the best thing that I could write to you, are you sure you're ready?"

Sure, I thought. The thing about the guy was just a joke, what kind of retort could he have thought of? And then I read it:

LAX - AMS - Booked
AMS - VNU - Booked

That means I'll be Amsterdam for VALENTINE'S DAY!!!! For those of you who haven't known me a long time, I always have the worst Valentine's Day, never have a boyfriend, and when I do they never care about this day and fight to the death that it's just a Hallmark holiday with no respect that love is the most important thing to me and besides that I enjoy celebrating. So, this year, boyfriend, check, kiss, check, Valentine's Day in EUROPE, CHECK!!!!

We had sort of been talking about Paris for Valentine's Day because the European Poker Tour is in Deauville, France right around then. John won his way there in '05 (bubbled), and was trying to get there again this year. He also has to go to Vilnius, Lithuania for work, so he bundled it all together and we'll be over there just in case he qualifies for Deauville in the next few weeks.

We leave on January 28 and will be in Vilnius for a week, if he makes it into the EPT French Open, then we'll head down there, otherwise we'll stay in Vilnius and have a side trip somewhere. Then it's back to Amsterdam where we fly out on the 15th. So, we'll at least have Valentine's Day in Amsterdam (I love it there), and maybe an extra day or so, too.

I'll do my email, blogging thing by morning, write the Girlfriend Guide in the afternoon, and play poker in Lithuania by night. Two weeks and change in Europe. He says this is the happiest he's seen me in a month, but I assure you, that doesn't mean I haven't been happy the rest of the time.

Current: Burbank, CA
Next: Amsterdam and Vilnius (Jan. 28 - Feb 15)