Friends: Old and New

With all this time on my hands, I’ve actually been catching up with some a lot of old friends. Not that they’re old – just that it’s been a while since I last saw some of them.

Tina is a girl I went to high school with. I ran in to her on facebook a while back and finally arranged to meet up with her for coffee/tea at Terra Bella’s. I hadn’t seen her for well over 25 years!

I have to admit we didn’t really hang out together back then. I was the silent, shy type with only one or two close friends. But Tina is a very nice person, and I truly enjoyed talking with her. We managed to sit there and chat for over 2 hours!

Another old friend I ran into on facebook is Joe. He and I worked together back about 15 years ago. He’s now married and has several daughters – but back then we were both single and flirted unashamedly the entire time we worked with each other.

I was a little nervous about meeting with him, I must admit. I wondered if the attraction would still be there, and if I’d need to worry about anything on that account. But – again – it was great just to sit there and chat with an old friend for 2 hours (at Kaladi Bro’s, not Terra Bella’s).

Don’t get me wrong – the attraction is definitely still there! But the nerves dissipated almost immediately after sitting down. He is a great guy, and very easy to talk to. He loves his family and thoroughly enjoys being both a husband and a dad.

I’ve even managed to make a new friend – an accomplishment for me, considering the fact that I used to be such a shy loner!

Lorna is a photographer that I met at one of the Earthwatch presentations I gave a few months ago. She likes to take close-ups of insects = just the sort of photos I would take, if I knew how. She has very generously offered to take me out to the flats come springtime (oh, will it EVER get here?) to give me some pointers on how to use my camera.

I want to get better at photography so that when I’m in Africa I will get some great shots!

Just yesterday she and I spent a couple hours at the zoo, chatting and visiting all the animals there. We had lunch together afterwards at the Tap Root Café and made some plans to get together for shooting later on. She’s a slope worker, on a two-and-two schedule, so we have to wait till next time she’s in town.

Added to time spent with old and new friends, I’m also spending time with family. I head out to Palmer about once every other week for lunch with Mother, walking with my sister, brother, and anybody else who happens along, as well as just hanging out in the valley (a nice change from big city life).

Family has also been coming in to town to spend time here: my sister has to take her daughter to the doctor’s each week, so I’ve met up with them each time for lunch afterwards. My sister-in-law has been in a few times, bringing her beadwork along. We sit and do our crafts for a couple hours, then go out and walk somewhere or maybe do some window-shopping. And just the other day, Mother came in to walk with me and my friend Elizabeth, looking at houses for sale downtown.

Unemployment sucks, don’t get me wrong – but I have to say I’m enjoying time spent with good friends and family!