Arse.

Friday night was the monthly work's bash. It was, reather predicably, Halloween themed, but was still a very good night out. Better than the usual ones, if I'm being honest. However, this night was supposed to be interesting for a different reason as I had planned to try and make a better effort in seeing if Pretty Blonde was interested. I wasn't necessarily going to make any move (I've made my thoughts on pulling at work's bashes quite clear), but at least test the waters if possible.

Sod's Law: she wasn't there.

"Yes. Considerably"

I'm a sucker for James Bond and was really looking forward to the new one.

Then I saw the trailer at this site: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/casinoroyale/site/ (or you can get it at the Apple website for your iPod).

Now, I'm far too impatient to wait the three-odd weeks until it is released.

?

Friday night was a weird night. I was out with E and we were having a good night. I was going to bring up the subject of her behaviour over the last couple of nights, but decided not to after we had a chat about various related matters. E admitted that the night of the BBQ, where I was pissed that she seemed to be trying to leave me behind at her friend’s house, she was actually trying to do a little match-making between me and her friend. In another piece of the conversation, E admitted that her feelings for the new bloke were very strong, perhaps stronger than she’d experienced before. Despite the fact that E considers us to be close, this is not the sort of thing she usually shares. I decided not to give her a hard time about it as she’s only going to be around for approximately another three weeks.

From the same night, whilst in the pub, we were seated beside a group of four women. I’d say they were probably around their mid-twenties. We got talking to them later in the evening and one of them asked outright if E and I were a couple. When we replied in the negative, there was lots of coo-ing and “but you look so comfortable together” and “you two should consider dating” and all that kind of jazz. It was kind of amusing, but also a bit weird and it never let up until the girls left the pub at closing time. I’d never considered how E and I appear to other people and I’ve always been wary about giving myself away during those times where I’m not entirely sure my relationship with E is platonic. Ah well, it was a fun night.

The whole E thang.

I was reminded this morning that I haven't explained the E/bloke situation terribly well, if at all. Well, it's like this. A few months ago, E met a bloke she worked with in a bar. They met "accidentally". Actually, from putting the pieces together, he knew where E was going to be and turned up. They ended up getting off with each other and over the next while, started doing stupid things like meeting up for a snog and a grope during work. The reason they do this is not because they're both fifteen, but because he's still in a relationship… a relationship with a live-in partner and two children. That also explains why he's sneaking around, collecting E from the pub at closing time on a Tuesday night and why she's being a bit crap. While I wouldn't criticise her behaviour in dating someone already in a relationship (after all, I've posted often enough about fucking USHW, so it would be a little hypocritical), I do still think badly of her behaviour because of the skulking around. Does this make any sense to anyone apart from me? I do think it's a little hypocritical of E, though. A few years ago, I was telling her about my friend, F. I don't know if I've mentioned anything before, but F used to fool around on her partner a bit. When I mentioned some of F's antics to E, she was most disapproving about the cheating aspect. Apparently, it's OK for E to be the second woman because the bloke isn't happy in the relationship and is only remaining for the kids. At least, that's what E told me. I'm not sure E's "explananation" justifies the behaviour, but I've found that women can get very illogical when there's a bloke involved.

As of today, this "relationship" is probably about three months old. Having spoken to E's friend recently, I think she might be a little concerned about E. E's friend asks for my opinion on E and this bloke a lot given the small amount of time we've chatted. Why she would do so is a mystery unless E's been talking me up as someone she feels close to, which seems weird given the weirdness (i.e. varying levels of closeness) of our relationship. Anyway, getting back to this, E's friend is convinced that she's in love with this bloke, but she doesn't seem convinced that it's reciprocated. I'm not sure that E's friend likes the bloke that much, though is unwilling to say anything to E. I think that's a good move under the circumstances. If E's friend's suspicions are true, it would be tough for her to find out when she leaves the country next month, so I hope it's not the case. She does feel enough about him to tell her Dad the entire story, which is pretty unnecessary if it's only going to last another month at the most.

It's confusing. I still have to sort out my annoyance at E's behaviour the last two times I've seen her, so I think I'll try and organise something for next week or next weekend and have a chat with her.

A cautionary note.

I spoke to a few friends recently about Pretty Blonde and they were very encouraging about making a move if I see her out and about. I do have quite a good feeling about this, which is most unlike me.

However, I think that means I'll have to be careful. I think that, more than once, I've talked myself into liking someone and I've got to be careful this doesn't happen again. There's also the fact that I'm going through one of those periods where I'm not really that happy with being single, so that can also add potential problems.