I'm listening to Ted Leo and the Pharmacists through my headphones right now. It's totally rad! I'd never heard of him before yesterday, when I was at Annie's house for her birthday party. She burned a CD for me, and it's freakin' awesome. As was her party!

I was nervous on my way over there. Not only because I'd be socializing with complete strangers, but because a certain dog was going to be there. There aren't many dogs in the world that I'm afraid of. But Moby is one of them. Moby is a big, golden, lab/mastiff looking dog who somehow got into the rather frightening habit of terrorizing me (and only me) when I worked at the animal shelter (he was adopted by one of my co-workers, who often brought him to work). Everyone agreed it was weird. I think he knew I was afraid of him, after startling me one day, and then it became something of a game for him. He's not dangerous. He's just big and freaky.

As it turns out, when he came over to Annie's house with his people yesterday, he didn't even notice I was there. He was great the whole afternoon, and I even pet him a few times. And now I feel a lot better around him! What a relief!

I also got to see Annie's dogs, who are so incredible, it leaves me speechless. I adore them! She had to take one of them out for a potty walk, so I grabbed the little one and his leash and took him out, too. It was fun. It had been a while since I've walked a dog. The little one is a chihuahua mix, and is incredibly cute.

It was great hanging out with Annie. We talked about the possibility of her buying a house (!), music, piercings, work, travel, etc. The whole atmosphere was great. There was beer and lots of people who are all pierced, dyed, and tattooed. Smokers and non, vegetarians and meat eaters. All music lovers. Cool music playing. Plenty of animal lovers. And of course, plenty of animals! I got my fair share of doggie kisses and cuddles (and a few muddy paw prints on my jeans!). I got to hold a cockatiel named Chicken, as well as an albino king snake and a bearded dragon. A few people even asked me about what I do at the wildlife center, so we talked about that for a while, too. It was a lot of fun!

I can't explain it, but I just felt so comfortable with all of them. I felt like I could chill out and be myself. I felt like people found me interesting and liked me. It was such a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Through our many conversations, it seemed to me that most, if not all of them share a philosophy of having fun, enjoying life, and just doing what you want to do, no regrets. I found that rather inspiring, because I tend to overthink things, and hesitate to change, even when I want to. For instance, I've been toying with the idea of dying my hair for a long time, but have worried about whether or not I'll like it, and if people around me would like it. I've wanted to pierce my eyebrow for a while, but have worried about it leaving a scar. And, I don't know. Hanging out with all these people, who are seemingly so much more relaxed and easy going than I sometimes am, made me realize I should just go for it. I should just be myself by doing what I've been wanting to do and not worrying about it. Why not, right? What do I have to lose?

So yeah, I had an incredible time there. I felt like I fit in with them, which is weird (and great!), because I don't feel that way in a lot of situations. It's so nice to be reminded that there are people who I can feel at ease around and have a lot of fun with. It was a great day, and I can't wait until I can see Annie and her friends (and her dogs) again, so we can share more laughs, more music, and more muddy paw prints.