Here we go with more rambling from Saturday, July 8th, 2006. Feel free to ignore it. 
In my life I always seem to have two distinct states of mind: Knowing what’s going on, and not knowing what’s going on. I very much prefer the former. Before I go somewhere or do something, I like to check all the details and make sure I know exactly when and where to do things, how to get there, and so on. I always try to figure out everything I’ll need to know beforehand. I don’t like diving into things without a plan. This is the way my life usually is. But then come the inevitable times when I don’t know what’s going on, and everything just happens without any planning or foreknowledge of how things should go. A prime example of this was Saturday night.
Around 8:15 Ruth IMed me. She said she was back in Rochester (from co-op near Syracuse) for the weekend, and asked if I’d like to go see a movie. She didn’t give much detail about her ideas at first, but I eventually found out that the projected venue was a drive-in theater about half an hour south of here. The movie Cars was on the menu, so I agreed to come. I’d already seen it with my family, but it’s a Pixar movie, so it deserves to be seen again. By that time it was getting late, so I quickly grabbed directions from Google Maps to her (aunt’s) house and ran out the door. Me being the inexperienced driver that I am and not being too sure of where I was going, I missed a few turns and had to backtrack. I was slightly confused about the road names when I got to the last turn, but thankfully I recognized the house from being there on the way home from the IV camping trip (though I wasn’t quick enough to avoid driving right past it the first time around).
Ruth and Jackie, her friend from across the street, were waiting for me in front of the house. We decided to go in my car, partly because it fits me better than her little 2-door hatchback, but also despite the fact that I’m not used to driving much. We left around 9:20, with Ruth, the back seat driver, giving me directions. Even so, I managed to miss two turns by not seeing exactly where the roads that I was supposed to turn onto were. (Note to self: I need new glasses.) These mistakes were, however, easily rectified.
When we arrived, I really had no idea what was going on or what we were supposed to do, so when we paid for our entrance I ended up leaving the talking to Ruth in the back seat. Apparently they show two movies in a row on three different screens, which I wasn’t aware of beforehand, so we opted for Superman Returns. The next task was to find a parking spot. It was kind of hard to do this while driving in the dark along gravel roads with unknown destinations, and having no idea where I was supposed to go or what would be a good place to park. In situations like this I tend to look to others to tell me what to do, which wasn’t always very helpful seeing as Ruth didn’t have too much better of an idea than I did. We did, however, manage to find a parking spot, and set up our chairs nearby. We missed the beginning of the movie, which probably explained a little more about the plot, but I managed to follow most of it despite the distractions incumbent with an outdoor viewing. Ruth had brought some cans of three Coke varieties, so we consumed those as well.
At the conclusion of the movie, we folded up our chairs and went back to the car. I, however, managed to forget that my unfinished Coke with Lime was still in the cupholder on my chair, so it spilled. When I noted this, Ruth asked if it had gotten on anything. I responded by merely saying, “My foot’s wet.” (But I was wearing flip-flops, so it was fine.) The plan was to watch Cars next, but that was on a different screen, so we had to move. Jackie was cold and wanted to watch from the car, so moving the car was therefore also necessary. We did so, again driving without knowing where we were going, and eventually found someone else to follow who seemed to be going in the right direction. We parked in a spot rather distant from the screen, but one which was near the bathrooms, which we then visited. When I came out Ruth said Jackie was waiting for her food order, so I walked out to scout for a better parking spot. (Meanwhile, the movie had already started.) I found a semi-vacant spot in the second row (and by that I mean there was merely a metal post in the way, for marking the rows). Having found it, I went back to the car, carefully moved it into position next to the stake (someone in a chair was willing to move a bit), and walked all the way back to get the others and bring them out. In contrast to the rest of the night, I was happier about this move than the others, because I was able to plan it out ahead of time by planning it on foot first.
Cars was good, naturally. This was my second time seeing it, but the girls’ first time, so I had the pleasure of knowing some of the funny things that were coming ahead of time, and then seeing their reactions. I tilted my seat back a bit, but it still wasn’t as comfortable as a regular movie theater. On the other hand, Ruth lay across the back seat, so she was probably less comfortable (though she didn’t complain). Some people left slightly early to beat the rush. I pointed out that the credits were good (not just scrolling text), so we watched them to completion and got out with no trouble at all.
The trip home was uneventful. (I didn’t miss any turns.) Ruth asked if my parents would mind that I was out so late (it was around 2:30 at this point). I said no, and recalled that the last time I had been out this late was when I was playing Scrabble with her and her boyfriend until 2 AM after IV a few months ago. Once at her house, I asked Ruth for the best way home, which was easier than the way Google gave me to get in. I got home almost exactly at 3 AM, the latest I’ve ever been out on my own (that I can recall).
I’m not spontaneous very often. But this was fun, despite being frustratingly contrary to my orderly nature. Hopefully I’ll find more opportunities to do things with friends in the future, now that I’ve actually got a few in real life. (Of course, Ruth is still on co-op for another quarter and a half, so it would be hard to do things with her, if I so desired.)