Fine and Dandy at the Napper Tandy

My work schedule has been a little bit different due to the holiday weekend, and that meant I had last night off. Saturday nights out are now at a premium in my life, so I wanted to make the most of it. To that end, after work Joey and I joined Valerie, Kevin, Tom, Andrey, Chris, Eric and some work friends of Kevin's at the Napper Tandy in the Mission. While the Napper Tandy is Valerie and Kevin's neighborhood bar, I had never been there; so I was excited to check it out. Especially since on Saturday nights they feature, you guessed it, karaoke!

Don't worry, my karaoke habit will play itself out one day soon, and you'll no longer have to read about it.

Anyway, that photo above was actually taken at the end of the evening (at least at the end of my evening; the party was still going strong when I left at 12:45) after we had all taken our turns at the microphone. Well, some of us, like me, had taken several turns. I sang "Somewhere Only We Know," "Downtown" and "Back On the Chain Gang," with my last selection featuring most of the Napper Tandy on background vocals. I realize that I've begun singing the same songs over and over again when I go out for karaoke. I need to expand my repertoire.

By the way: I know poor Chris is half cut out of that photo, but in the only other one I had of the group of us, Eric is hidden by my pony tail, and Valerie and Tom are making slightly weird faces. My apologies, Chris.

All of that said, the actual point of this post is not karaoke, believe it not, but more that I was reminded what fabulous and wonderful friends I have. I was out with only a handful of them last night, but I think it was a fair sample. The long and short of it is this: my friends rock and are super fun. Following are a few cases in point.

Kevin, whom I don't see very often, is incredibly clever and has stellar music taste. Before the karaoke began, he programmed 17 songs in the jukebox, including Buddy Holly and the Go-Go's. Does it get better than that? Valerie, Kevin's girlfriend and one of the very first people I met in San Francisco 11 years ago, continues her passionate pursuit of an acting career. She may not be gracing the cover of Entertainment Weekly, but she is one of the most driven and committed actors I know. Tom embraces his geeky interests, like video games, with such charm that he turns geekiness to an incredibly hip quality. Honestly. Chris is nothing less than a total rock star. He has it all: brains, talent, generosity, charisma. I could go on and on. Andrey has a way of making me feel very loved and very cute when we go out, and he does so without being at all slimy. Plus, he may be the best karaoke buddy ever. He sings very well and seems to know all the words to every pop song ever written. Andrey is from Moscow and says he and his friends learned English by listening to American pop music, hence his vast knowledge of lyrics. Very impressive. And speaking (again) of karaoke, I've said it before, but it bears repeating: Eric knows how to work a karaoke mic like no body's business. Not to mention that he and Chris taught me how to play Texas Hold 'Em a few years ago.

These people are really a mere drop in the bucket of my entire pool of luvvies. I could write volumes about the fabulousness embodied by all the people I have the privilege of calling my friends. I mentioned in my Thanksgiving Eve post that I'm thankful for all the love I have in my life and all the people who love me. And that gratitude continues. Believe me when I tell you that I am one lucky girl.