Hurley's

Hurley's Irish Pub, must be my single most frequented pub in Montreal. More than a year ago, October 16th, 2008 to be precise, I came here for the first time; there's a blog entry, but not a word about how pissed I was at this one guy, and how very mean I was to him; we really did not talk to each other almost at all the next day onward... many months of just un-tellable irritability followed... culminating in him breaking my detector... ok 2 days later I bumped into him in the grocery store and acted like sensible grown-ups and I even gave him a ride home - he apologized for breaking my detector, but I am not sure if this was before or after I offered him a ride... and we still kept our distance afterward... and quite a few of my friends, near and far, know about him, let's just say...

but that was then...

Today, I went to Hurley's with him and someone else, after ditching our checkout-Apple-store plans for free-sushi and then more sushi at a restaurant and now since the Apple store was closed we headed to Hurley's... Sitting besides him that night, I could not help but think of him as my most trusted work place confidante now, almost on par with my own brother, my best friend... Life and its ironies... I don't know if I have changed or if he has changed - I suspect it is a mixing of both, with a mixing angle of 45 degrees... I coined the term him-2008 and me-2008 for this... He has since exhibited extreme tolerance and open-mindedness - either he cultivated these over the last year or just never showed me this side of him back then.

And then exactly a week from now, I will be at Hurley's again, not only not uncomfortable, but also actually enjoying his presence... We've tested each other through so many social, political headlocks (yes he is a separatist...), I have felt very comfortable telling him about my heathen way of life, that I have the feeling that we will remain friends for life - I really hope we will.

And then I got teased by the Dave Gossage group that was playing, to the amusement of the whole bar... I seldom blush, but this day I did feel my ears warm with the gush of blood...

Hurley's, hardly my favorite bar in Montreal, hardly my fav beer, hardly my fav music, hardly my fav ambiance; but surely my favorite kaleidoscope bar. Ironically Dave, of the band, was a "witness" to the making of this kaleidoscope all 3 occasions...

That gets me thinking - I make best friends at work, just because if I hate them, I am still forced to stay with them and then with time if and when I like them, I will like them that much more, our relationship is that much more complete... A lesson to be learned... something about giving it a chance... giving myself a chance...

everything passes, everything changes
just do what you think you should do
and someday maybe
who knows baby
I'll come and be crying to you
- Bob Dylan in Ramona