I had no idea I was working with such a bunch of drunks! Last night was our office party, held at "La Scene", a posh downtown restaurant. By the time Brett and I arrived, at about 5.45, some of them had already been at it for forty five minutes at the bar. Dinner wasn't until seven, so we were all mingling at the bar, saying hello to spousal units and beginning the long evening of intoxicated indiscretions. It was only 6.15 before even I was singing with the pianist.

Strangers in the night, do dooby doo doo

Brett, looking handsome

Well okay, actually, I was just pretending to sing. But Joy, on the other hand, was unstoppable. She's our lesbian den mother and pretty soon she was on the top of the bar attracting attention from passers by. She's pretty wild for a fifty-three year old.

Joy on top of the bar

The food was excellent. I'd made sure that Brett and I were at the "fun" table, with Joy, Hunter and his boyfriend Jimmy, and a couple of Joy's gay friends. I was sitting next to the director of HR, who's kind of been accepted as an honorary lesbian by our group. She spent the evening whispering to me about why she wasn't surprised that I was losing interest in my job, as well as sharing with me other juicy bits of information she'll probably regret on Monday morning.

The crazy table

Brett and I pretending to be boyfriends

With Hunter's boyfriend, Jimmy

It was perhaps unfortunate that the party was catered by friends of Joy, since this meant that the wine flowed almost too freely. You could barely take a sip without your glass being replenished before you set it down. I rarely drink anymore and even the first glass was enough to go to my head. But after I'd consumed the better part of a bottle, I'm sure I was slurring indiscretions with the best of them. Perhaps not - for better or worse, I've never liked to lose control of myself. I was probably saying silly things that didn't quite come out right, but I didn't do anything outright embarrassing. Brett seemed to be the target of attention of at least three people at our table, including the director of HR (she kept giggling in my ear about how cute Brett was).

Not too long after ten o'clock, Brett and I decided to leave and walk back to my place. The party was thinning out to just the hard core drinkers - that is most of the gay and lesbian couples (it was nice that we made up such a large percentage of the party). It's the first time in a long while that I've felt just a little bit unsteady on my feet.

Yerba Buena Gardens at night, on the way home

My bum is on the baby carriage. I guess you have to watch Tom Green to get that silly joke.

When I woke up at four in the morning, I was reminded of one of the reasons I stopped drinking. It always makes me wake up halfway through the night and toss and turn. For an hour and a half, I read my book, unable to sleep, before the rising tide of melatonin swept me under.

On Thursday night, Davis and I went to the fabulous Castro Theater. This has long been one of my favorite places. A massive old edifice of a cinema, standing all alone on the corner of Market and Castro, dwarfing it's puny neighbors. With its single screen, the pipe organ that strikes up before evening shows, and its air of faded elegance, it's one of the most successful cinemas in the country, and still plays a mostly repertory mix of movies.

The Castro Theater

It's the audience that really makes it though. When you're there for something deliciously camp, such as "Dial M for Murder" in 3D, the sophisticated audience knows just when to laugh. Davis and I had a blast watching this movie.

"Dial M for Murder" in 3-D

On Friday, I finally received a call at work from the recruiter who's working for the Internet start-up that my ex-colleague is working at. The recruiter, who's very well known in Silicon Valley, filled me in on the details of the position and asked if I'd come in for an interview on Monday. The job is - wow - a really exciting one - very challenging - a real career-maker. I found myself feeling that I was way under-qualified for it. But there's nothing lost by giving it a go. Even if I get it, the very worst that can happen is that I fail, and that's not so bad.

Talking to the recruiter on Friday