Staying In Touch

The longer you are away from a group of people the more, I think, you realize the people you really want to see, and the people who you feel a little more indifferent towards. I don't know why it works out that way, but the further you are removed from people the more easily it becomes to differentiate who you really miss.

Tonight I got to see some old friends and while I do appreciate and miss everyone collectively, certain people just stand out more and luckily tonight it was a small crowd and it was pretty much the people I'd really want to see. I still wish a few others had made it, but it makes it easier to catch up when it is a small group. When you only see people every 6 months, trying to catch up with 10-15 different people at a restaurant during happy hour is tough. Typically you end up covering very little and repeating yourself a lot.

I have had many encounters like this and was pretty much prepared for that tonight. Instead, we had a small crowd, it wasn't loud in the place and we just really all got to talk and catch up for a solid 2 hours. I am really happy with how things worked out and I am glad I got to see some of those friends.

Hunger Can't Wait

When I was younger I used to wonder how my parents could go out to dinner with friends and be out for 3 hours. Even now, when I go to the diner with friends, we very very rarely spend that much time there.

Tonight I was joining some old co-workers to celebrate the 40th birthday of my manager from a past job I had. We were going out to the Rose Tattoo in Philadelphia which is only blocks from where I work. Dinner was at 6.

Today I woke up hungry, was hungry for lunch by 11:30 and wanted to eat again by 5. Well they all hit traffic and we were not seated until 6:30. We put our orders in at 7:20 and were not eating until 7:45. When you wait to eat a meal that long, conversation, and even the meal itself, are not enjoyed. The food tasted great, and once I finished eating and my stomach stopped hurting from hunger I was glad to be there. But the hour long conversation and indicision prior to ordering our food was a struggle to get through. Even some other people were complaining of hunger before the waiter returned to finally take our order. Note to self, when the waiter asks if you need more time, say no and think quickly. Otherwise, you could be there awhile.

As such, I am postponing the Go Mississippi blogging. Those entries take awhile and it is too late to get started. Friday of that week was a big day and I don't want to cut it short because of the time I am writing it. I will resume those tomorrow.