But all was not lost. We got to play foosball and pool on some seriously warped tables. While this may seem bad at first, it did add a challenge element to the games. Further, I felt fully confident that I had more teeth than 85% of the people in the place. This is always an ego booster. Amazingly we were able to drag ourselves out of this euphoria and head down to the Hybernian.

I don't know that things improved much in the scenery but I was able to sit, and I didn't have to talk to a 55yr old 'Marlboro man' who was stoned off his ass. Nice guy just the same though. Remembering our earlier conversation and my lack of 'aggressiveness', Scott and I went 'cruisin for chicks'. Which of course meant all we saw were more guys. Specifically some of Scott's ruby friends. Though here I don't know if 'friend' can be applied to someone who honestly wants to beat the crap out of you just to get a bloated piece of leather.

This encounter, and the overwhelming stench of testosterone surrounding me at that point, did impair my judgment just long enough to miss my 'chance'. Turning the bad girl-to-guy ratio to my advantage I spotted a weakling in the herd - crutches. Finally, someone who can't outrun me. Even so the door managed to get in the way and she was quicker on those things than I anticipated.

Defeated, but not demoralized. After all, perhaps it was a sports injury? And besides, it can't be any worse than the babe I ran into with no hands - that's right, no hands - who still smoked (how, I didn't really want to see). So in the end I walked the ladies to their cars and went home. Alone of course, but now armed with a better, more aggressive attitude. One that says, "next time, I'll trip her."

Next up: How cheap can you be?