So, as far as Valentine's Days go, yesterday WASN'T totally terrible.

Shortly after midnight, when it was officially Valentine's Day, I got a flower from a guy. This wasn't a romantic gesture, but rather a gift because I had made him happy with news that one of my friends who he likes also likes him.

After leaving the bar, I went home and slept away the entire morning. I got up around 2 and went to Cooker for lunch. I left just as they started getting busy and everyone started loosing their cool.

From there, I went to my parent's house. En route, I called up Chris, who I was later supposed to have dinner with before we went to see Voltaire. Unfortunately, Chris was coming down with something, so she told me she wasn't going to be able to make it. So, then I had to make the decision rather to go alone or pass on the show. At one point in the afternoon, I had actually decided upon both. Then I realized that I would be absolutely bananas if I DIDN'T go, because it's not like Voltaire plays in Nashville every weekend...we're not NYC, you know.

Because the dinner plans were nixed, I called work to see if they needed some help. They did, big suprise. So I went in from 5:45 until 9:00 as a busser/foodrunner. I told them upfront that I had to be out the door at 9:00, and I stood my ground. Well, when I say I "stood my ground" I mean that I slid out the door unnoticed so they could not guilt me into staying longer. I had plans. I had arranged to have the night off. The kitchen was going down like the Titanic and I couldn't take much more of people bitching at one another.

So, by 9:30, I had changed clothes and was headed to The Asylum. I was there by 10. I had honestly expected to get lost, so I was impressed myself.

I got into the club and found a table that was not in a totally bad spot. I could see the stage fairly well, but I wasn't too close to the speakers and I was right next to the bar (Location! Location! Location!). I sat there for about 20 minutes just watching all of the Goths socialize and wondering what they were like when they weren't at Voltaire shows.

I got to thinking about Chris and wondering how she was doing. I hate missing out on fun because of illness. The last time I was to go to a Voltaire show, I had to pass, but I was also in the hospital....honestly, that's pretty much the only thing that could have stopped me too.

Anyway, I had my cell phone with me, and was debating calling her, but had decided against it because it was after 10 and I didn't want to wake her parents. A few minutes later, I was looking at the people at the bar and noticed that Voltaire was standing there, talking to his girlfriend. I've discovered that it's not uncommon for him to mingle in the crowd before a show. The first show of his that I went to was on my birthday last year. At that show, I actually slammed into him on the dance floor as I was trying to get back to the table Chris and I had. It didn't help that I had a beer in my hand at the time.

I sat there and watched him with the people for a few minutes, then I had (what I considered to be) a great idea. I pulled up Chris' number on my phone (deciding that I would profusely appologize to her parents later if I woke them up), got her on the line, and then actually told her to "hold on" before taking the phone away from my ear and holding it to my side. I walked up to Voltaire and touched him on the shoulder. I'm suprised he even felt it because he had taken a step away as I reached out, but he turned toward me. I've walked up to a few people that I've been fans of, but I think Voltaire is one of the easiest to talk to that I've come across. He had great eye contact and didn't stop smiling the entire time. He honestly seemed interested in what I was saying. I've met several people who make it seem like an inconvienance that I would want to talk to them, but I'm very glad to report that he is not one of those people.

"My sister and I have been planning on coming to this show for a while, but she got sick this afternoon and wasn't able to make it. Would you mind saying hello to her on the phone?" was how I quickly summed up everything.

"Absolutely!" he said, actually sounding excited.

I handed him my phone and after I did so I realized that quite a few people were staring at me. I looked around at them, but when I looked back to where Voltaire had been standing 5 seconds before, he was gone. I looked around and found him at the far end of the bar, finger crammed in one ear and my phone pressed against another. He was smiling broadly as he talked. I caught up with him and overheard him say "Well, we have the VIP seats set aside for you, so you should come out." After a few minutes of listening, he told Chris "Yeah, you're invited to the after party show. We have a heart shaped jacuzi and champaign." As he said that into my phone, he winked at me, which caught me off guard, so I really had to focus on not TOTALLY turning into a girl and start giggling. Although, I will admit that the wink did cause me to totally not pay attention to whatever else he said. Find the best picture you can of Voltaire, now multiply by 492 and THAT'S how good looking he REALLY is.

After he handed me back my phone, I once again told Chris to "hold on" (which I hate doing...I hate puting people on hold, but I figured it was more polite than just walking away from Voltaire), and chatted with him for a moment. We talked about the last time he was in Nashville, because that had been my first show of his. I told him that I had emailed him about it and he said that he recalled the email, but never had a chance to return it. He held his hand out to shake mine, which I did, but he also got me wrapped up in another conversation as we shook so I forgot to let go of his hand. After a few more moments of conversation, he looked down at his hand which I was still holding and I quickly let go. He just laughed and I followed suit, feeling a bit like an idiot.

I was glad that I arrived at the club early. Not only because it gave me a chance to actually talk to Voltaire and let him talk to Chris, but because he actually started the show 15 minutes EARLY. Last time the show started a good hour and a half LATE, so I wasn't actually expecting it to start on time, little less early.

The show lasted an hour, but I stayed for about another hour on top of that, talking with a guy I met there. I discovered that if you're at a Goth club, the pick up like "Of all the girls here, you look like you have the least issues," isn't totally inappropriate.

To finish off Valentine's Day on a good note, when I got home, I got an e-card from Andrew. The card was an animated one. The main character is a teddy bear dressed up as this tough drill sergent in the Army. The first thing he says is "My name is Sergent SweetCheeks. You will refer to me as 'Sergent SweetCheeks, Sir!'". That alone caused me to giggle so much that I actually missed the rest of the animation, so I had to go back and watch it again. Even though today wasn't bad, getting an e-card from a guy I kind of dig just made it that much better.