The fact that it has taken me this long to have my “drink” with Jesse is funny considering I used to see him almost every single day. We met when he came to work at a job I had already been in for probably too long and it’s likely the friendship we developed kept me there even longer. Several of my entries here have been about coworkers past and present but I would instead define Jesse as a friend I used to work with. We do inevitably talk about our jobs when we’re together but not in a mundane office gossip sort of way. We talk about drive, career goals, future possibilities and how we can be better at what we do. I don’t think I know anyone more driven that way and as probably my biggest supporter I think he has made me more driven too.

But this night wasn’t about work at all. For a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is cracking into his 30s, Jesse has been making a lot of life changes. Six months ago he lived off burgers and PBRs, popped chocolate covered almonds while watching TV and wouldn’t set foot in a restaurant with anything unpronounceable on the menu. He rarely left the house on weeknights and wouldn’t commit to anything that could lead to a post 10:30 bedtime. So when he suggested going to a party after work on a thursday then a late dinner at a hot resto de jour who was I to say no.

The first part of the evening consisted of free drinks at a men’s magazine launch filled with people more dressed up then us who all seemed to know each other. This is a typical industry party experience for me even though I’ve been going to them for years. After an hour of being up to no good playing party games between the two of us, we put our names in for a table at our second destination and waited at the bar. This is when Jesse hit his stride with his regular line of questioning. “How would you describe my beauty?”, “Is this haircut fantastic?” , “If you had to sum me up in one word what would it be?”. Whether it’s a defence mechanism or pure egotism, it doesn’t seem to matter. This is Jesse and he makes no excuses. Those who like it, like it a lot…

An hour and a half later we got our table. We were tired and hungry. Being fabulous can take its toll. Also not eating meat at an asian fusion noodle bar can be unsatisfying. But the company was good and we went home with gift bags. What more could one want?