I know... I know... I totally suck. I haven't posted in ages. Life has been so busy.... or rather, my job has been sucking the life out of me. That is more like it. Seriously, by the time I get out of here and work out and finally get home, all I want to do is eat and sleep. I wish I were kidding. I usually don't want to get on the computer after being on it 40+ hours a week. So, here is an update of the past two weeks.
* We celebrated Jon's parent's 35th anniversary last weekend.
* I went golfing for the first time. FUN!
* A group of us went Cosmic Bowling- never done that before. Scored a 77.
* We drove down to San Diego in the pouring rain and saw an accident every 5 miles.
* I got a Starbucks Gift Card at work for having the highest sales and best week out of my group! (thusly, the hard work all week)
* I threw my work ID card into the trash accidentally, freaked out for a few days, and then Jon found it!
* Tried to do a fruit and vegetable fast.... got through breakfast and lunch... and made pasta for dinner.
That is about it. Not much to see here.... move along now. More to come....
I went to work this morning, like a normal Monday, but I ended up leaving two hours later. We got a call this weekend that one of Jon's Aunts passed away. She wasn't really his Aunt, actually a cousin.... but he called her Aunt Patty. That's how my Uncle Jack is. He's not my "real" Uncle, but for some reason, we always call him Uncle Jack.
Patty and Bill were Jon's dad's cousins. They always sent Jon $15 for Christmas and were a strong support for Jon's dad when he was growing up. Apparently, Aunt Patty had been sick for some time.....she was around 70 years old. She had died on the way to the hospital last week from congestive heart failure.
I never met Aunt Patty but wanted to go with Jon today to the funeral in Riverside to be supportive to his family. My boss was totally cool and said I could make up the time this week so I didn't have to take a vacation day. I was so appreciative of her understanding.
There was a short ceremony at the gravesite and then a longer ceremony/service at the Church. Even though I am not Christian and did not know the hymns everyone was singing, I sat there and thought about those important to me that I have lost. I thought about my grandma Gert that who died while I was in New York. I thought about my grandpa Ben that died almost 6 years ago (although it feels like just last year). I thought about friends that died.... my friend Kelly, that died of AIDS when I was 16.... and my friend Kim, that died in a car accident from a drunk driver. I started to think about all of the things that I get cranky about ...... when I have so much to be thankful for.
After the service, I met some of Jon's family that I hadn't met before. That was really cool. Then, Jon's parents took us to the Spunky Steer restaurant in Riverside for some food. Jon and his Dad caught up on a bunch of stuff while his Mom and I dove into religion. I asked her how she felt about different things.... reincarnation, symbolism, etc. We talked about similarities between Judaism and Episcopalians. I mean, seriously.... there is one big difference, but when you look at the basics and morals and values... it's all the same. We had some good food, good conversation, and good hugs... then we hit the road to get back to Pasadena.
I know it sounds cheesy, but hug those you love... and tell them how you feel about them. You just never know....
Last night was so much fun. Jon and I rarely go out these days. Work has been such a pain in the ass lately that we usually just go to work, work out, have dinner, and then either rent a movie, or have some friends over. We haven't gone "out" in a long time.
So, I get this e-mail from my online friend Keith , whom I hadn't ever met in real time before...... we've chatted online though for quite a while. He tells me he's having a party for 100 of his friends at Howl at the Moon in Universal City Walk and would I like to come? You get in for free and get a bracelet for cheap drinks all night. I had numerous feelings about it. I thought:
A. Would this be really weird? I've never "met" this guy before?
B. I definitely won't go by myself, but will Jon go for it?
which led to C....
C. What will I tell Jon?
Thinking with my logical side of my brain, honesty can't hurt! :o)
So, Friday night, I tell Jon, Hey, there is this party I want to go to on Saturday night at Howl at the Moon and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me? It is for my friend Keith, whom you've never met..... and I've never met either. That is where I paused for a reaction.
What?
I've been reading a book on communicating with your lover/spouse and thought this would be a perfect time to work on those skills. I went ahead and put it all out on the table.
You know how I have blogger friends right? Well, Keith and I have been chatting online for a while now. You know he said he went to school in Boston too? I thought that sounded good because I was letting him know I talked about him as my boyfriend who also went to school in Boston. I paused for another reaction.
Do you know what this guy looks like?
Yeah, I've seen pictures on his website. He lives in LA, works for a radio station..... I think it might be really fun and I won't go by myself. I was really hoping you would want to go with me.
Basically, he wanted to think about it.... which was totally ok with me. I tried putting myself in his shoes. I would have to think about it too.
Saturday afternoon, still not sure if we were going or not, he said, So, what time is this party tonight?
Stoked that we were going, I said, We have to be there before 8:00.
Besides having to pay 8 bucks for parking, we had a blast. Jon ended up knowing one of Keith's friends from college, Bill. Bill and Jon did the show Saturday Night together in Boston! How funny is that?
I met Keith finally. YAY. We all hung out.... had some drinks.... had some really bad food..... met some great people.... laughed a bunch.... listened to the duling pianos and singers.... watched a bunch of drunk old people get up on stage and do the Hokie Pokie.... and then Jon and I took off. We are so used to going to bed early these days....like the old farts that we are. But, we had a great night out. Thank you, Keith for inviting us. New friends are sure hard to come by in LA.