Tell Me Who Your Friends Are...

Do you know this one?  "Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who you are."  I think there's some truth behind this.  So what does that mean if I find the friends of the person I'm dating annoying?

In an unplanned third date, Waspy McWasp invited me to a celebratory dinner with friends.  At first I was hesitant, not knowing if two dates was sufficient time to start meeting 'the friends'.  It's a critical step, think about it.  First you meet 'the friends', then word gets out you're now 'seriously dating', then suddenly no one wants to date you because everyone knows you're 'taken'; or a whore.  Maybe I'm overreacting, but I digress.  Read more [+/-]

What was I saying?  Right, I went to dinner with his friends.  As I entered the restaurant, I found Waspy McWasp standing near the bar with his friends and my initial reaction was 'Please don't let these be your friends.  Are you sure?  You told me you were semi-color blind, so maybe you made a mistake.'  (I know what you're thinking, I'm a bitch.  Tell me something I don't know.)

My opinion wasn't solely made on the horrendous outfits they wore, it was influenced by one person I recognized: dumb-ass lawyer - let's call him Dale.  I first met Dale at a networking event where I met 'Daddy': Dale kept up a conversation with me while it was obvious he was interested in my friend, at one point asking if me if we were a couple.  And if that wasn't bad enough, he came back later to ask me about 'Daddy'!  The second time I met Dale was at Folsom East where U. told me that they dated and thought he was annoying.

I was about to leave, but thought it wouldn't be fair to judge Waspy on the basis of one annoying person in the group, so I stayed.  Luckily, Dale sat at the other end of the table and I didn't have to say a word to him all night.  But was there another annoying person in the group?  Unfortunately, there was, because I sat next to him.

Let's call him annoying JoE Woe.  Joe was tipsy.  Joe spoke too loud.  Joe made generalizations and if it wasn't about jews, he made it about jews.  Joe was sarcastic, but if someone replied sarcastically, he would take it seriously and argue.  Joe was always right.

I couldn't completely write Waspy off though.  During the dinner, Waspy told me his relationship with the group: He didn't know them long, and actually found some of them annoying.  He was there to celebrate with an friend he liked, and admitted to inviting me so there would be someone he can talk to.

In the end, he apologized for subjecting me to the group (the other half were nice and normal-ish), and even paid for my dinner.  As we parted ways, he told me his other friends were nicer; I hope he's right.

And now, my Independence Weekend pictures.