Saturday with Superman

The Vortex has been busy lately. This blissfully cozy patio, which now features a chimera in which we build fires, has become quite a center of entertainment. On Saturday, I hosted my first superhero. After several months of subtly hinting to one another that we should get together for drinks, I finally issued an official invitation to Superman. Because he and I have never spent time together one on one, I wasn't sure if we'd find anything to talk about. Frankly, I was nervous about it.

It wasn't like I thought Superman wouldn't fit in. The Vortex is regularly blessed with the presence of handsome charming men like him (which is why I should never ever move out of this house), but in order to gain repeated admission to The Vortex, you have to provide more than good looks. You have to keep up with the rapidly changing CDs being popped in and out of the stereo. You must be able to flow with various musical genres and conversational topics. You must know how to participate in random conversations involving ridiculous humor, namely, mine. (I will confess that at one point Saturday night, I claimed that I wanted to eat an entire race of people. I will say no more about the race or why I want to eat them. It is too weird to go into here and is also highly inappropriate.)

Superman held his own, let me tell you. He actually sang along - every word - with an entire CD. Amazing.

For me, the highlight of the evening was an extensive discourse on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, followed by an analysis of Sex & The City, followed by a recap of Alias season one (and part of season two, which is as far as he's watched the series thus far).

By the end of the evening, I wondered why I had always been so timid about inviting Superman over to hang out. I don't know why getting to know someone on a more personal level is sometimes so hard.

When I was in New York in December, I felt awkward. There was a strange pressure, most certainly self-inflicted, to be cute. Funny. Witty. Sharp. In spite of some reassurances from friends, I feel like I failed on all accounts. But that's just the way I am. I'm hard on myself. Too hard.

Honestly, there is no way I can live up to the standards I set for myself. I'm just glad that sometimes I push through the discomfort and allow myself to experience new people and situations. The rewards can be so great. New friends are always a welcome addition to my life. In fact, ever since Saturday, I find myself looking up in the sky to see if that's a bird or plane heading towards The Vortex - or if maybe, just maybe, it's Superman.