It was too loud; I must be too old

So, just to start the post with a little humor, I got increasingly nervous as I got in my dad's car to drive into the city, trying to take big deep breaths and futzing with the radio the whole way. To make matters worse, I had so filled my last half an hour with things to distract myself that I was going to be late and I had already decided that being fashionably late to an event like this was silly. So, I walked into the bar, found the little area where people were and scanned faces in a sort-of detached Terminator way: the names and vital stats registering in my crosshairs, but nothing else in my thoughts or my emotions reacting. None of the faces were people I was comfortable walking up to with a "Hi! How are you?" and a hug. So, finally, I see Ben M. with relief and go talk to him for a little while. However, there were the people standing around him to greet and in the flurry of half-recognition, I hugged the small Slavic waitress with my shaky hands. She was so nice. She just smailed and said, "You don't know me," smiled again and explained that she was, indeed, the waitress and could she get me a drink. I nearly kissed her but settled for ordering a gin and tonic. Things got eaier after that.

So, the final statement on the reunion is that it was a very pleasant way to spend the evening. There were no great epiphanies, no one was killed Gros Pointe Blank style and no one made any sort of fool out of themselves in such a way that a great story would be made. I did compare leg hair with Josh M. (he shaves his to bike faster and I just kinda stopped shaving mine without even really thinking about it until one day after yoga I felt the wind rustle through it) and told Mike A. that I had a dream after I received the invitation that he was still hot and was interested in me. I also told Nicole L. that she and Doug had been in my dream three nights ago, so I wasn't being totally desperate in the Mike A. conversation.

I did not stick to my plan of sitting in the corner and observing because it just wasn't that kind of place. It was actually a pretty bad venue for the event. Very loud music made it hard to do anything other than catch up on the very basic level of where-are-you-what-are-you-doing? That's too bad. I would have like to sat at a table with Kathy S. or Nicole or Josh or Tiffanie L. and really had a conversation. Even if they were nostalgic conversations, they would have made the evening just a little bit more worthwhile, given it a little more depth. As it stands, it was fun to immerse myself in the faces that I grew up with. It felt good to tell people that I live on Orcas Island after they told me they were loan officers. (Is that little of me?) I made a couple of connections with people to see them more once I moved back. (Dave said he'd be my friend, if I wanted a high-maintenance friend. Woohoo! I do.)

My mom just asked me if I think I "wow-ed" them. I don't know that I did. I don't know that I didn't. It wasn't really that kind of evening. Everybody looked good. Everyone sounded happy with their lives. I guess people were putting on a good show, but we didn't talk about each other in that way that sometimes happens (Oh, look how big she is or wow, he looks better than he ever did). At least, I didn't. I like that energy. So, it was a very pleasant way to spend an evening.