Entry #12: Call On Me

Friday night I met up with two of my friends who are both called Hannah: The Hannah I've mentioned already I met in 2002 at a place I worked at; The Hannah I'm introducing in this entry I met at college in 2000. Talking about two people with the same name inside one blog entry poses a problem.

I've not yet decided on a solution for uniquely referencing people in my blog. I've considered using the person's first name and how I know them, but “Hannah from work” for example is not long-standing because our relationship is no longer associated with work. “Lewis 2002” is so impersonal and would make me want to go Number 6 and shout “I am not a number — I am a free man!” (cf., The Prisoner)

It's easier to follow a story with names instead of numbers. I think the way to go is to refer to people by name or nickname, but associate this with an ID so that the handle could be changed if necessary. This is forward compatible, enabling references to maintain accuracy for when friends from work become best friends and then become ex-friends (for example). This method also accomodates anonymity and talking about people whose name I can't be sure of.

Until I implement a system for this, though, Hannah 2000 and Hannah 2002 it is. I went round to the first Hannah for a meal after work, we were tired but it was nice to update each other in person rather than through rudimentary, fragmented text messages. She got out a box of photographs, we got nostalgic reminiscing about our days in college when our friendship formed and felt happy realising we're one of each other's longest friends, having known each other seven years this September.

From there I met Hannah 2002 and her sister Becky. The night before Hannah called me when I was at the pub with my dad and sister, recruiting me to chaperone her and Becky to Vanilla. Vanilla is a lesbian club in the centre of The Gay Village, near The Rembrandt just off Canal Street, and with me not being a lesbian I'd never been out to it on a night out. I wondered if Hannah thought her sister was questioning her sexuality.

When we met up I found out Becky has already come out and even has a girlfriend since Valentine's Day. We warmed up in Via first then moved onto Vanilla. I was struck at how small it is, and really frustrated. The Gay Village favours gay men over lesbians, bisexuals and transexuals. If anything I've experienced more biphobia within The Gay Village than outside of it, which is something I pointed out when Becky explained she'd more accurately identify herself as bisexual than gay.

Sexuality is fluid, I know my attractions and feelings have slid back and forth across the scale of straight and gay. I know I find myself attracted to guys much more often than girls, though this does not mean that I could not be attracted to a female just as much as a male. I think that sleeping with a man is sleeping with a man, but if I was to do this with a woman it would have to be something important. I don't need to have much of an emotional connection with a guy to end up doing something with him, but if I ended up with a woman then I reckon there would have been some notable feelings.

Approaching the end of the night I went to get our coats and emptied my bladder first, and leaving the unisex toilets I noticed a nice shirt. I commented “nice shirt” and the guy turned round and smiled, and I liked his face as well as his shirt. Back downstairs, last song starting, I noticed that guy was getting ready to leave. I asked Hannah to go ask him if he's single. He comes over to me so I ask what Hannah said, “She asked me if I was gay,” he said, I reply “That's not the question I asked! I assumed you were gay already!” A beat, I ask “So are you with anyone?"

He tells me he's “kind of” with someone, “one of those things eh” I comment. He's called Rob by the way. So, outside the club Hannah and I have gathered some new faces and decide upon The Thompsons Arms as the next port of call. The bouncers would not let Becky in, I tell Rob that if all my friends can't get in then I won't go in, he joins me outside and says “well, you've got my number.” I protest, “But, you haven't kissed me yet!” So he does. He's very nice, and I know nothing about him!

That he was drawn enough to come back outside to close things with me is good, and even got a text message the next day. Is that all, or will there be more to do with him? You'll be one of the first to know. Last night I saw Hot Fuzz, which is a fantastically fun film with very many famous faces. I was surprised that Jessica Stevenson didn't make an appearance, though mind you she would have been pregnant with her third child while they were filming. I noticed Julia Deakin's name in the credits—is Marsha in Spaced and has a cameo in Shaun of the Dead—but didn't actually notice her in the film.

With Spaced, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz under their belt, I wonder if there'll be more to come from Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, and will Simon and Jessica ever make series 3 of Spaced? For some reason I'm down with a cold again, having only fought off the last one the other week; I feel physically stressed, the aches in my back, neck and arms have gradually worsened — I think I'll call on a hot bath tonight to help ease the pain.

entry info

Entry #12, published on Monday, 19^th of February 2007 at 20:53 local time (Swatch Internet Time @897 .beats)

Returning in 2008 ;-)