Friday was a big day. Not one but TWO things on the agenda. Whew.
First up was volunteering at the humane society. When I moved down here, one thing that was important to me was getting back into volunteering. In high school I volunteered frequently and even started a clothing drive for the homeless. But once I got to college, I discovered the wonders of alcohol and it was all downhill from there. Once I graduated and became submersed in corporate america, I just didn't have the energy to do anything after work (except of course, happy hour). And weekends were a time to decompress from the stress of the week. (Drink). So, since I finally escaped the cubicle, I wanted to use my free time to try to contribute
to society.
A couple weeks after we arrived, Chris and I signed up to volunteer at the Greenville Humane Society in the areas of pet therapy and dog walking. Pet therapy involves taking puppies to nursing homes and assisted living facilities to spend time with the residents. I've always loved working with the elderly so I'm eager to get started. For now we haven't been scheduled for pet therapy but they had an available slot for dog walking on Friday from 4-6.
Dog walking was fun. Some of the dogs were so excited to be outside they barely noticed me and some didn't want to walk, they just wanted to be held (my kind of dog - I like em needy). I'm still impressed that I didn't take an entire litter of miniature pinchers home with me. It's sad to read about how the dogs ended upthere but gratifying to know that they're in a better place now.
After dog-walking we headed to the bowling alley for our second attempt at a "meet-up", this time at a bowling alley. When we arrived there was a group of people our age standing in the lobby. I quickly discovered that this was not one of those swanky Manhattan bowling alleys with leather couches, crystal chandeliers and cocktail waitresses that look like Kim Kardashian. No. This was the bowling alley you went to for a birthday party when you were 11.
The first words out of my mouth were "Is there alcohol here? Hi, I'm Zina." Thankfully the answer was yes. Once we'd done our introductions, rented shoes, and put in an order for a pitcher of Miller Lite, we made ourway to the reserved lane. The first person I met was a woman named Christine. When I mentioned I'd moved down with someone else she perked up and said "ooooh, you got a husband?" I pointed at Chris and jokingly said "Nope, I moved down with him. We're living in sin." She looked horrified. I decided to ease my way out of the conversation by moving towards my seat and saying, "Well, feel free to help yourself to some of our beer!" Turns our she didn't drink. I'd be willing to bet that Jesus told her not to. After that awkwardness I was concerned how the rest of the night would go. But everyone else was friendly and easy-going. And despite bowling the worst games of my life, it was a fun time. Met some new people, shared some laughs, downed a couple pitchers. And got to watch Crystal's head nearly implode when someone mentioned being Jesus for Halloween. Ah, memories.
After bowling, some of us headed to a bar called The Irish Pub for a few drinks. Inside was a small dive bar and outside was a large area with corn hole, a sand volleyball court, and a karaoke stage. We sat outside and drank and talked about life in Greenville.
It started to get chilly so eventually we moved inside. It was the right decision. Inside was where the older locals were and the locals are who I love. No matter what city or town you go to, you can alwayscount on the locals at the dive bar for entertainment. Towards the end of the night, I casually asked one of the them if he'd ever eaten at the food truck outside. He informed me that he didn't eat at that truck because he'd been to Iraq and once you've been there you won't eat food made by Middle Easterners because he didn't trust them. I decided it wasbest not to mention that they were in fact Brazilian.
Oh Greenville, we'll get along just fine.
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