I've heard from people, I've seen the movies. We all know how the bar scene is pretty much how people meet around here. But I guess I have never fully grasped the concept until the other day, at Bus Boy and Poets.

My friend told me about this place (I don't even know what to call it since in it's description it says: bookstore, café, restaurant, bar, and internet) on U Street. We were thinking of going there this weekend actually, but when I got out of the gym I just felt like I deserve some carbs, so I decided to go give this new player in town a try. Plus, it's on my way home anyway.

When I got there, the place was packed, it was literally packed! Then the hostess told me that it would probably take at least 20 minutes to get a table, so I thought I should just get a pizza to go. To the bar I went and ordered. While waiting for my order, I couldn't think of anything better to do than to stare at the art work behind the bar. It was five panels of matisse-picasso hybrid paintings, the kind where instead of drawing an actual person, there's only the outline with an eye or a heart on it.

So there I was, resting my chin on my palms, staring at the background when suddenly this guy in his 40's (i think.. i'm so bad with age) tapped on my shoulder and asked in a I-gotta-be-right kind of way, "Are you Adam?" Of course at first I was completely stunned, "Huh?" He said, "You're Adam, right?" Still slightly confused, "Uhmm, no, I'm not. Sorry." Then, I turned back to face the bar since I thought, well that was it, he should be looking for Adam. But then he said, "Yeah, I'm looking for Adam. We're supposed to meet here." I was like, "Oh.. ok," I smiled and he went away. I suppose I could have been friendlier, but I kinda felt like he thought that I was lying or something. So, it's safe to say that I was definitely not interested in talking to him. The fact that my order seem to never arrived didn't help either.

Finally I got tired of staring at the liquor bottles and watching the bartenders pouring out drinks. I got up and browsed the bookstore, the very left-leaning bookstore with a quite good selection of fiction. Then I went back to the bar to ask about the status of my order. The bartender that I ordered the food from went back to the kitchen to ask, so there I was, again, pondering at the meaning of the paintings when, again, this guy suddenly appeared beside me, "So... you live around here?" At that moment I was so annoyed already with the fact that my order seemed to have gotten lost somewhere in the kitchen, and now here's a complete stranger asking me where I live.

I guess Adam never showed up. That, or he ran away upon seeing the guy he was supposed to meet. Half-empty or half-full... your pick. After he left (I didn't look, so I'm not sure if he actually left or just walk around the restaurant), I kinda glanced around the bar... when I noticed that I was the only person who was by himself. And I suppose that meant that I was looking? I mean I had no drinks with me... so I had to be waiting for a to-go, or I was just unbelievably cheap that I won't even order until I meet someone. God, how desperate can you be? If you're going to chat someone up at a bar, at least pick the one that are obviously putting on the sign « Please chat me up » in the form of the universal code for being single and available: playing with your drink while looking bored at the bar.

Edit: I feel like I need to make some clarifications, since my readers seem to think that I was in some way play a part in the whole incident. Yes... apparently there are people who read my blog, but they rather comment about it directly to me than on the blog itself LOL. Anyway, mind you, when I went to Bus Boy & Poets, I just got out from the gym, on the way home so I was pretty much un-stylish in any sense... hetero or homo. So, I definitely did not give off any vibes to anyone other than the jeans-and-t-shirt-with-un-gelled-hair vibe.