The past few weeks have been jam-packed with non-stop dinners and concerts and festivals and visits with friends and family, and I'm exhausted. Don't get me wrong--it's been great fun and so wonderful to see everyone, but I feel like J and I've barely had a moment to sit and relax. There's so much that we want to do and see, but more importantly, there's so much that we *need* to do. Next week will also be super busy, what with pre-wedding counseling with Dr. Dent on Monday, an Evangelism Committee meeting on Tuesday evening, a wedding dress fitting on Wednesday afternoon, and then off to Nebraska on Wednesday evening (I'll be working remotely). Phew. At least we'll have some quiet time on the ranch...I hope.
I'm not accustomed to this pace. Usually, my weekends are free for doing laundry, cleaning the apartment, cooking lunch for the week, and catching up on writing and books and knitting. But J's arrival has altered my weekends considerably and what with the wedding date coming ever nearer, there's too much to be done and too little time. At least my work schedule has eased up considerably ever since I moved departments within my company. I do feel a bit ragged though; hopefully, life will settle down for us soon.
Last night, J and I met up with my friends SG and CC (and their friends) for some yummy Mexican food at Lola. SG and CC are a cute married couple who met during their college years at Princeton and who currently reside in New York City. Six years ago, SG and I worked/toiled together at a think tank run by a Nobel Prize winning economist--I won't say which one, but let's just say that this particular economist had some rather quirky grooming habits and leave it at that.
It was so great to catch up with SG and CC and swap funny stories and be able to connect on a myriad of things, as if mere months rather than years had passed since we'd hung out. That's what I love about so many of both J's and my close friends--they're laid-back and easy to talk to, open and welcoming, always genuinely happy to see that each of us has found happiness and eager to know our story. Seems like the ingredients of friendship should be obvious, but they're really not. Over time, I've discovered that friendship can be complicated (especially among women). I've discovered that there are varying levels of friendship. I've discovered that friendship can be lopsided and dysfunctional, and sometimes not worth the effort or emotional energy. True friendship, in my mind, is immutable and sincere and joyous, never self-conscious or awkward, never judgmental or competitive. Or as my friend and former Specter coworker KA wrote in his departure email, "Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings." And if it's not true friendship, you won't get that warm feeling.
J and I followed up our dinner of guac and lobster enchiladas with peach cobbler ice cream from Little Man Ice Cream (SG and CC tried but couldn't finish their salted Oreo ice cream) before saying our good byes and heading back to the Hill. I should point out that prior to dinner, J and I spent happy hour at Ocean Prime scarfing down 24 oysters on the half shell--or rather, J ate eight oysters and I scarfed down sixteen. Though we were exhausted by night's end, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. If only we could sleep through today and stay in tonight...
...except that J and I went for an early run/walk this morning and are headed to Strasburg, CO tonight after work for the town's Hometown Days. The opening night's barbecue and fireworks are put on by Strasburg's volunteer fire department, of which J is now a member. Yep, that's right--J's a volunteer firefighter...after he finishes his training, that is. Still, I think it's pretty hot. And tomorrow, we're off to the Denver County Fair. On Sunday, they rested. Maybe.
Pictures to come, bien sûr.
Little Man Ice Cream -- I LOVE the giant milk can
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