Happy Hour

I'm not one to hang out at a bar or pub after work. I'm not a big sports fan, so 'sports bars' don't hold any interest for me either.
And it's not because I don't care for beer (never really could get a 'taste' for it), but more like I could find other ways to spend my time.
I don't have a problem with it. Some folks need a way to unwind after work and sometimes hanging out at the bar with other like-minded folks does the trick for 'em. That's cool.
Just not my bag is all I'm saying.

On weekday mornings, Hotness gets coffee at the local coffee shop on her way out of town and meets the same group of people on their way to work and they stand around and talk for a while before going their separate ways.
On the weekends, she'll even get up early and make a special trip into town just to meet with some of them and they'll sit around and talk about all manner of topics for a couple of hours or so. Kinda like being at the pub... only with coffee. And in the morning.

However, there is a place I like to hang my hat once a week and if I'm lucky the usual group of people are there about the same time I am doing pretty much the same thing.
I'm talking about the comic store.
On Wednesdays, when the new comics arrive, you can usually find me there getting stuff from my box, browsing the racks, and just standing around taking up space talking about nothing in particular (but usually about comics).

I look forward to Wednesday evening almost as much as I look forward to the weekends.
Sometimes I even stop by on Tuesdays just to break up my week a little early.
I can hang out with like-minded folks and unwind. It separates my workday from everything else. And if I'm lucky, it's a regular geek party.

Yesterday Hotness called me from home (where she was working for the day) and asked me if I'd like to have her go to the comic store with me last night. She doesn't make as many trips there as I do anymore, so it was nice to have her there.
Last night some of the regulars happened the be there and as an added bonus... we got to have cake! (See, I told you. It's like a geek party sometimes!)
We sat around and talked, ate some cake, and just had a good time.
Other folks dropped in once in a while to say hi and chat for a bit and then went about their business.

After a while we all decided to go do the other things we needed to do (Hotness had to go return some stuff at REI, a couple of others went to get something for dinner, etc...).
On the way out another Comic Stop regular came in and we talked for a few minutes before taking off.

So for me, it's kind like happy hour at least once a week.
I don't always see the same people, but I can still have a good time when I'm there.