Wait, what?

We’re celebrating Halloween tonight? Oh, well, I suppose my invitation to at least one of the hundreds of parties happening in Wellington right now just got lost in the mail… or cyberspace… or space…

No, who am I kidding? Since when have I ever been the one who gets invited to parties? Trust me, I got used to being left out a long time ago. (My near inability to make new friends is also to blame.) Besides, I’ve satisfied my brief want of society for today. I’m not the kind of person who goes to parties – I’m the kind of person who goes to the supermarket at 11pm to buy coffee – and that’s enough interaction with other people for me.

I get the weirdest urges when a stranger talks to me or looks at me when I’m in town. If they talk to me, depending on what they say, I usually ignore them or give them a vague smile or, if they ask me something, I shrug my shoulders and keep on walking. If they merely stare at me, I get a mad desire to punch them – especially if they give me one of those sleazy looks. I thought cynical me had been banished from my life, but apparently that part of me is alive and well and speaking and acting on my behalf whenever I’m around people I don’t know. It’s kind of frustrating how my claim that I’m a ‘recovering’ cynic seems to be a lie – I’m just a cynic. My recovery isn’t making any progress.

Also, I was (un)fortunate enough to walk past Public (my favourite pub on Courtenay Place) just as the rugby match between the All Blacks and the Wallabies was in its final minutes, so I stopped to watch the rest of it. The score was NZ 24 – AUS 19, and the Wallabies were pushing for a try, hovering very close to the dangerous line. The All Blacks kept holding them back – they entered injury time – and then, past fulltime, the Wallabies managed to break through NZ’s defense and score a final try, making the score 24-24; and with the successful conversion made afterwards, the final score was NZ 24 – AUS 26. Gutted. Here’s a report of the match.

I  can hear fireworks again. For real. I’m amazed, there’s nothing to celebrate tonight, is there?