I'm sorry, Crazy Aunt Purl!

It's official! I've gone from Normal Everyday Cute Stalker to Bonafide Scary Stalker ..... and I didn't even mean to! No, no ... really!!! I SWEAR!

Here's what happened:

So I go down to Los Angeles this past weekend for a very last minute trip to visit my mom. I mean, I didn't even know for certain that I'd be heading down until Friday afternoon. And I flew standby at o'dark hundred hours on Saturday morning. It doesn't really get any more last minute than that, right?! Right! (work with me, people! :))

I'm hanging with mom Saturday afternoon and decide to call my friends to see if they will have any time to meet up with me during the couple of days while I'm down there. As luck would have it, my friend L is available for a late dinner that night!

She calls our friend V to see if she is available as well and AGAIN, the planets were lined up just perfectly, V had time to play. Without the kids!!! (I'm tellin' ya ... it was fate!). They ask what I want to do and I say I'd love to go down to Hollywood area for dinner like we used to!

I head over to V's house to meet up with them around 6:30 pm to find them gathered around the computer trying to figure out where to go. I hear that V ruled out Chin Chins (sigh ... I love that place!) but they were talking about some place called The Abbey! I think SWEET! But L calls the restaurant and there is no hope of getting a reservation. Late Saturday night and the Abbey is all booked up!

So they ask where I want to go. I have no idea. But The Stinking Rose (which Crazy Aunt Purl (CAP) had mentioned on her blog) pops into my head and I laughingly say "have y'all ever heard of The Stinking Rose?". They immediately glom onto this idea and are all excited with the prospect because they've been meaning to go there but have never made it. I quickly say "no, no ... but we can't go there ... I was just joking. See, there is this blogger, Crazy Aunt Purl, and she's going to be there. So if I go I'll be a bonafide stalker ... and I don't wanna be a bonafide stalker!".

They stared at me with utter confusion and said "A blogger? You'd be a blog stalker?? We don't get it."

I tried to explain but they just poo-poo'd me and said "it's a big place ... what are the chances you'd see her anyway?"

Uh yeah.

So we go! And the place is a HOOT! And I see right off the bat while they're seating us that there is no CAP in sight. I breathe of sigh of relief!

Until much, much, much later in the meal. When one of them asks "have you seen if she's here yet". Without thinking, I quickly scan around and see CAP sitting at my 4 o'clock. It was only a quick glance yet .....at the exact same moment .... CAP seems to see me looking (argh!). So now I FEEL like a real stalker and can't think of how I could casually approach her without The Guilt Of Bonafide Stalker etched on my face. Even though I was still clinging to the theory that I DIDN'T MEAN TO STALK!

I mean, really, what were the chances that I'd be in LA that weekend, that my friends would just happen to be available that night, that they wanted to go to The Stinking Rose, that we would be there at the same time as CAP, and that CAP would get seated near us??!! I mean, COME ONNNNNNN!

So then the "OMG .... Crazy Aunt Purl ..... RIGHT THERE!!!!!!!!!!" ... started to seep in. And I snuck another glance behind me .... only to find, once again ... CAP seeming to see me looking.

So now, it's official. I've got Stalker written all over me!

BUT wait, it gets worse.

So there is truly this line between Casual Stalker ... and Scary Stalker. And I crossed it ... oh yes I did! Because you know me and my camera .... must take pictures! MUST. And so I errr ...... tried to figure out how to sneak a picture of CAP. (I KNOW! I told you ..... I've crossed the line)

Unfortunately, my back was to CAP so I couldn't do it on the sly. So I wrangled my friend V to try to sneak the picture since she was sitting facing CAP. But V kept saying "it's too dark ... it's too dark, switch places with me " ... and so I switched seats so I was facing CAP. I had L and V pretend like I'd be taking a picture of them but really .... they kept blocking my shot! So I had to tell them to get out of the way and I snuck a picture* of Crazy Aunt Purl. Well, I say "snuck" ... but really, when a bright flash of light goes off in a darkened restaurant ... and you've got three women giggling like schoolgirls .... how "sneaky" is that?!! Yeah, not really, I know!

So yeah, it's official ....... stay tuned for invitations to my house-warming party for my new home in Scary Stalkerville!

And you know, it wouldn't have been AS bad had I simply approached her after dinner and told her what a fan I was. But did I??? NO!

I like to blame my wussiness on the fact that she wasn't with her group of blogging girlfriends who would have understood the "OMG! You're Crazy Aunt Purl!!!" blabberings from a total stranger! Instead she was on a date (with a mighty cute man, might I add!)! And so I didn't want to intrude! Because, what if she didn't tell him about the blog?? And and ......... what would I have said anyway?? Nothing coherent I guarantee you! (And whatever it was would have been mighty garlicky too. Just sayin'.)

So instead I slunk out .... which really kinda cements the title of "Scary Stalker", doesn't it?!

Yeah, I'll be expecting the restraining order in the mail any day now...... :)

*I'd post the picture for all y'all but apparently V was right when she said "it's too dark"! ...lol. And the grainy mess that came out simply does not capture the gorgeousness that is CAP! Sigh. I was SO hoping that picture would work out. But now I've crossed the line to Scary Stalker without being able to post any proof! (but WAIT! ... maybe no proof means I can still lay claim to "Normal Everyday Cute Stalker"??? Yeahhhhh, that's the ticket..... :))