Ramble On

Making More Effort

I haven't posted in so long, I need to start making more of an effort if I am going to keep this site. Yep, there are a lot of areas where I need to make more effort. I have become too complacent about staying up with friends. For instance, I consider Tish to be one of my best friends. We went to the same college, lived together after college (and hung out together on many dateless nights during that time), have taken trips together...we have an almost 20 year history together. Yesterday I went to her house for a birthday party for her two-year-old twin daughters, and we realized we haven't seen each other in 14 months. Even though she lives only 10 minutes away. I have another good friend who lives in Asheville and I realized it had been so long since we had talked that she didn't even know I had moved or gotten a divorce. Other friends only know what is going on with me because they read this blog.

I am so fortunate that I have over the years made some really wonderful friends with whom I have shared many great experiences. These are people I would do anything for if they needed me. I think about my friends all the time, I am just bad about picking up the phone and calling or making plans to get together. Part of it is that I get lazy and don't plan anything in advance. It is easy to get together with Su R and Joe or Jen and Su F at the last minute because they don't have kids and can meet for food and drinks with 20 minutes advance notice. But my friends with kids require advance notice for babysitters, or they have to work around nap schedules and such. But... that is no excuse and I promise to do better.

This and That

I know I haven't been posting much lately. So, here are some quick mini-posts:

-Attended Va-Hi Summerfest this weekend. I like outdoor neighborhood festival events. It was a great place to go hear bands, see good artwork, enjoy a festive atmosphere, I mean, see what happens when frat boys have turned 40 and have learned no new social skills. I tried to listen to the band, but kept getting confused and thinking I was back in Athens circa 1986, watching a bunch of frat boys being loud and obnoxious at the 40 Watt, oblivious to anyone else around them. Not that I am ragging on all fraternity people, because I did know some cool guys in fraternities back in the day. But you know the type.

-Discovered the great bargain that is Thursday afternoon happy hour at the Sweetwater Brewery. For six dollars, you get a Sweetwater beer glass (to keep, in case you like freebies) and tickets for 6 fill-ups. A band played outside but we stayed in where it was cool.

-Nephew Sam, who will be two in two weeks, thrilled his mom beyond belief by announcing yesterday that he had to poopy, so they plopped him on the toilet and he did his first "poopy in the potty". Really, you would think he had just single-handedly found a cure for AIDs from the way Dana was carrying on about it. He is a little young for toilet-training, and Dana and Grant aren't really pushing it. But since he got moved up to the big kids class extra early (the school directors thought it might help curb his biting if they placed him in a room with bigger kids -instead he just sees them as meatier victims.) he watches the big kids and tries to imitate them. Sometimes he likes to just go stand in front of the toilet and hold his wee wee, even though he doesn't appear to really grasp the concept. Just likes the holding the wee wee part. Hmm, don't expect that to change.

-This morning while jogging my iPod randomly played, out of a couple thousand choices, Billy Preston's "Blackbird". Coincidence? Or is my iPod psychic?