Friday Five - Friends

As Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote: "The way to have a friend is to be a friend."

So today let's write about the different kinds of friends we have, like childhood friends, lost friends, tennis friends, work friends, and the list goes on. List 5 different types of friends you have had in your life and what they were/are like.

1. The Best Friend: There are many variations of a "Best Friend" (childhood best friend, current best friend, lifelong best friend...etc.), but they usually share the following traits: can make you laugh just by saying one word which refers to some crazy incident of years past; cry with you at life's worst imaginable moments; sit with you in the emergency room in the middle of the night; straight-up tell you what you *need* to hear - even if it's not what you *want* to hear; they can read you like a book (and vice versa).

2. The Artsy Friend: I wade through many different social circles - the arts constituting one of the bigger ones - and a great portion of my friends fall in various places along the Artsy Friend spectrum. (And I fall into this category for some friends.) The Artsy Friend: is unique and has a treasure trove of experiences solely as a result of them being "in the arts"; provides reasons to go out and 'get cultured' for their other friends; generally marches to the beat of their own drummer; has a penchant for scarves, bangles and/or other excessive accessories - depending on their particular art.

3. The Travel Buddy: Some friends make better travel buddies than others, and often, one finds this out AFTER the trip is said and done. A true Travel Buddy compliments your own travel style, as conflicting travel styles lead to clashes, hurt feelings and possibly even severed friendships. Good Travel Buddy qualities: flexibility, humor, curiosity and the same tolerance for togetherness/independence as yourself. Extra bonus points if they can read a map and/or speak other languages.

4. The Family Friend: I have some wonderful family friends - people who have known me my entire life and are some of my biggest cheerleaders. They are, for all intents and purposes, part of my extended family, and are often called "Aunt," or "Surrogate Mother," "brotha from anotha motha" etc.

5. The Friend-of-a-Friend Friend: These are the folks you run into at mutual friends' birthday parties every year, the annual alumni wine tasting event, or other such similar social gatherings. And then it happnes: you end up connecting over something random ("OMG - you're taking Arabic, too?") or run into each other at a party sans mutual friend ("I'm so glad to see you - I don't know anyone else here!"), and you become *actual* friends all on your own. And when that happens, it can be a lovely thing.

It was really funny when it happened

(Caution: contains spoilers for the movie In Bruges…which, if you *still* haven’t seen it…stop reading my blog and go watch it, already!)

A recent textversation:

R: Does colin or ken get killed in in bruges??

Me: what??? have u seen it?

R: Watching it right now!

Me: oooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh it is such a good movie!!!! i am not going 2 tell u anything!!!! heheheheh

R: TELL ME

Me: hahahah nope!1! (well….some of it stems from the fact that I cant remember….hahahahahhaha)

R: Does ken die?? does harry kill him for not killing ray??

Me: omg already….just watch the effen film!!! u don’t have to go to work tomorrow so just enjoy the movie!!!11 hahahahahahahahah

R: I can’t! i hate it! im too anxious!

Me: hahahahah…..dont be anxious…it is.a.REALLY good movie :)

R: NOT IF HARRY OR RAY DIES!

Me: hey my friend A is looking for a place to move to in da city…maybe into your place?? she is very cool.

R: HARRY DIED, YOU BITCH!

Me: which one is harry?? Colin farrels character or the other guy? bcause really-i cant remember!

R: The other guy! ken, i mean! colin is ray!

Me: that’s rite! sorry love! :)
Me: put on your big girl panties and deal with it!

R: One of the most loveable movie characters commits suicide by jumping off a building and you FORGOT???

Me: yes. yes i did.

R: im already on my third pair! hahahahahahah

Me: hahahahahahhahahahahahahhaha

weekendelements

seeing.fondue.hibachi.doggies.toddlers.family.janeausten.loves.
friends.laughter.pictures.freezing.church.worship.dvds.singing.
playing.dancing.cooking.hiking.visiting.shopping.facebookpoking.
catchingup.teaching.listening.giggling.french.coloring.borrowing.
lending.reminiscing.meeting.inviting.encouraging.sharing.enjoying.
notsleeping.reading.telling.solvingtheworldsproblemsfromthecouch.

being.

precious metals

Make new friends,
but keep the old,
one is silver and the other gold!

(Shout out to my fellow Girlscouts out there - if you were one, you know that song.)

One of my best college friends has proposed a yearly get-together for our little group of four musketeers. We are spread out across the country - one in each time zone, in fact - and rarely get to see each other. In all actuality, probably the next time we'd all four of us get together would be (I'm assuming?) my wedding.
Which . . . well, let's just say that that's further in the future as to be at an as yet undetermined time. Anywho! Three of us have managed to work out a potetial plan via Social Networking Site, and yet the fourth, our Georgia Peach, is M.I.A. (She is not a subscriber to said Social Networking Site).
I just hope it all pans out, because it would be so much fun to get together again with these women who were - and continue to be - such a wonderful part of my life.

Surf's Up, Dude

So, yes, we ended up going down to Mavericks this weekend - and it was awesome!
Got down to Half Moon Bay around 9:30pm Friday night and as I rolled into the hotel parking lot, there They Were: blond, blue-eyed skinny surfers...three of them in the lot, clearly ready for the day to come. (lol...it was a running weekend joke that the Queen had dated two of these types of guys, and I never have).
Anyways, I knew I was in the right spot!

We woke up at o'dark thirty to make our way North to the beach. We rolled up by 6:30 and actually found free(!) parking. Loaded with our gear (blankets, picnic, water, binoculars, coats, hats, gloves, etc) we made our way to the so-called shuttle. (There was - supposedly - a shuttle running from the Half Moon Bay airport to the beach site...we never found it). So we made the hike ourselves - and it was beautiful. Watching the sun rise over the bay, making our way up the hill with a hundred some-odd of our "closest friends" felt like we were part of some really-cool, underground event.

Now the think about Mavericks is . . . if you stand on the beach you don't see any of the action. The big waves (read 30-40 footers) break about half and mile out, and if you're standing on the beach, you can't see over the waves breaking on the shore. So, the place to be is high up on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. This is where we were headed. Our path was cold and muddy, but the reward was an amazing view. We picked out our spot, set up camp and waiting for the 8am start time.

And we were not disappointed. I can't believe the waves that these guys tackle - they are HUGE and dangerous! One guy's board snapped in half one of his first times out. Crazy!

We ended up staying there until 2pm (having arrived at 7:30). By that time, most of the biggest waves had already made their appearence. All in all, it was a great time - lots of cool people, big waves and beautiful scenery made for a memorable Saturday. I look foward to going back next year!

I took a few pics - none of them had the big waves, though...! However, you can check out these pictures here from SFGate.

A world away

My good friend (and Ty's cousin) P called today. He ships out for the Middle East on Monday with the Army. I'm really glad he called - it was good to talk to him for a little bit. It's weird to think that for 15 months (at least!) he's going to be in the desert somewhere, with his life on the line.

Living in SF, where there is a monthy protest against The War, I find I can be desensitized to the whole thing...I just don't even think about it anymore, because I feel like I'm constantly surrounded by anti-war, anti-American, anti-almost-everything ALL THE TIME. I guess personally, I am not *for* the war - but I *DO* support the troops.

Knowing people involved gives some perspective. Another close friends' husband is in the USAF...He is safely home - praise the Lord - and about to welcome their first child into the world!

So. I will do my best to support P as he's out there a world away . . . all we can do from home is pray, write letters and send Fudge (well - my mom's going to send fudge!). I encourage those of you who know folks in the forces to do the same...

like sand through the hourglass...

...so are the days of our lives.

not that that has anything to do with this post..really...except maybe for the late hour, and how it keeps getting later and later and I need to go to bed...but first i wanted to write down a few thoughts.

Tonight was a night of connections - old, new, established...all around it was good. I love people. I love loving people. It can be hard, sure...but the benefits greatly outweigh the detrimental parts (most of the time). And yes - I still need my "alone" time...but you get the idea.

Some of those connections happened at our first sitzprobe tonight for Pinafore. The orchestra sounds amazing - they always do, actually, with this little company. Got to see a familiar face from last year (we'll call him "junior") who plays the viola. He's the image of his father (2006's conductor)...and it's so fun to see them together. Actually, they were both there tonight. It had been a long time (a year, in fact) since I saw Jr. anywhere other than [insert social networking site here], and he always makes me laugh. Kid is funny. And his dad - well, he just always knows the right thing to say. He's very much an encouragement/encourager to me as a musician, and I am just very grateful for him in that way. I respect him and his opinion immensely.

Fast Forward to post-rehearsal. My favorite Romanian tenor had a good-bye party tonight. He leaves to move back home to Brasov on Tuesday. It was a small party, and we had wine, vodka, food, just chilling. I will miss him a good deal. We've not been friends, really, except for this year, but we just connected very well and easily. I look forward to a trip to Romania...! Also, at his party, was this mysterious girl, "Irene"...who looked too familiar. Finally, it comes out that I went to grad school with her FATHER (she's 17), and she is just here visiting the states on holiday (he is also Romanian). When I realized who she was, I just about fell out of my chair....I had heard her dad talk about her - but he moved back to Romania a couple years ago, and we've not spoken in a while....so, to see her sitting there...with her father's eyes. It was crazy. Truly - and I could only feel like this joy bubble up in me...just happiness at getting the chance to meet her, and share with her about her life, her dad, etc. It was amazing, actually.

So. Now it's 2:15am. I am truly mindblown, happy, and sad all at once. All because of love and relationship with other people. La vita e'bella....si?

No Relation

Friday night, one of my friends from college came through SF on a tour of the West Coast. And, even better, our other friend, L who now lives in Sacramento, drove out for the show. L and I were reminiscing, remember funny stories fromSMU and our time in France together (we were
all three there at the same time)...and realized that we have all known each other for 10 years. CRAZY.

Anyways, David Karsten Daniels (no relation) is a brilliant songwriter and musician. On the notes to his new Album, Sharp Teeth, he's credited with the following: vocals,acoustic and electric guitar, bass, piano, organ, drums, tambourine, glockenspiel and cello. And it's true - I've heard him play all of those (just not
at once)!Hahahah.

The gig was at the Hemlock Tavern on the seedy end of Polk street. If you've never been there, Irecommend going sometime. It is the exact opposite of any bar you'll find in the Marina, and is filled with nerdy, alt-emo-loving, tragically hip folks listening music, drinking beer, and
comparing eyeliner. But I mean that in a good way - it was a friendly crowd.

After David's set and when he and the band finished tearing down equipment (he is on tour with three supporting musicians), we walked up Polk in search of food, counting the number of hookers we saw in our 4 block trip back and forth, and laughing a lot.

It was a great night.