A one night stand-- raising expectations

I've been on vacation for the past three weeks. I'm an American but  I haven't been back to  the states for four years. Hence the lack of posts.

I got back just shy of midnight on Wednesday. State side this would be around 11 P.M. Tuesday.  Due to a combination of sleep deprivation (insomnia  respects time zones not) jet lag and time differences, all of Thursday involved sleep. I tried to get up, I swear. Friday involved unpacking.  Today  involved lunch with Lana and her friend Daniel. This turned into debauchery at some bars. I wore a pretty black dress with pink flowers, plenty of cleavage as this is one of my assets. Both Lana and Daniel are skinnier than me but as long as the guys are comparing the ladies and not at our waistlines, the I have a leg up on the playing field. The first bar was  warm up drinks and meeting up lots of people I didn't know.

Any good debauchery  starts with  plenty of alcohol. I 'm not a drinker-- my friends laugh at me because, as writer, my drinking habits are pitiful. I like to write  with a glass of cold diet coke. Anyway, after two tequila sunrises and Jager Bomb, I ordered a round of Bacardi Rum shots. Not what you expected right?  In all fairness I didn't know that Bacardi was rum. 

The night was  off  to a good start and as we wobbled over to the Blue Monkey for  more drinks and dancing. The music kind of sucked but I fixed that with a request  for Pit Bull and the three of us took  to the empty dance floor. I wouldn't call my friends and I trend setters but soon the floor began to fill  up and this seemed to put the DJ  in the mood for better song choices. Also, I soon had a handsome dance partner. By this time I was also drinking water.  I don't drink often but I've discovered significant tolerance. I could have had a few more safely. Probably my family's German genetics. Even so, I've never been much more than buzzed-- why would anyone want to go home puking? Exactly.

So there we were dancing, having a good time.

"Can I come home?" Mr. Handsome asked.
"What?"
"I want to stay with you tonight."
"No."

Look,  I'm not coming from some place of moral conduct or religious virtue. But here's the thing about one stands. They suck. This applies to men as well as women. They almost always involved too much alcohol. Drunken sex? Oh, Baby, gotta get me some of that. (Insert eye roll.) But it's more than the guarantee of bad sex.

Are you throw away? Disposable? What about the person you're with? I'm knot talking about the act of sex, but the act of choosing how will are willing to be treated or to treat others. I have friends who have ended up dating their one-nighters, but the relationships never work.  Is it no wonder when their very first social contract involved at least one person thinking the other person was disposable.  Believe it or not first impression set the tone for how you're willing to be treated. Skinny, fat, short, tall. It doesn't matter. People treat you how you let them treat you. Maybe you're thinking "you don't know what I'm talking about."

The line in Apocalypse, (Midday Musings) about being punched by students in front of the teacher is not entirely fictional. I was picked on relentlessly and it took me the longest time to realize how much of it was actually a result of accepting the way I as being treated. At the time it didn't seem that way.

In case it isn't clear, I'm not really talking about one night stands-- that too, but use it as a metaphor for whatever you like and remember you are not disposable. You are valuable.  You're contribution to the world, whether it be telling story, or rescuing dogs, or raising your kids. This is true of parents, spouses. friends, and strangers  as well.