Old friends, best friends

One of my college roommates, Laurie Gregg, rolled through town with her family en route to a Texas ranch wedding. Although I had to work, I escaped for a fantastic lunch with her parents and brother...at which time the Gregg kids vowed they wanted to "hit up Sixth Street" for the quintessential Austin experience. I was thinking to myself, "They're going to be so tired and over-served after that wedding, there's no way they'll make it"...but, in true Gregg fashion, the duo called me at midnight and I headed downtown. We managed to pack a lot into three hours...highlights include dancing on stage at Lucky Lounge and making new band friends at the Speak Easy where I won $5 by playing the drums after the band finished its set. I introduced Laurie to Roppollo's pizza...a delicious dish for those 3 a.m. post-bar-hopping nights. Lo and I reminisced about Wazzu memories and crammed some post-college memories into the shortest and sweetest night out.

Just a week prior to the Women of D Street Reunion, I surprised my mom for a late Mother's Day treat. She had no clue I bought a ticket home, and our time together was just what the doctor ordered. I came back to Austin 5 pounds heavier after her home cooking (naturally, it was worth it). Also, I got to spend a night out in Portland with three of my nearest and dearest: Kelley, Mariel and Katie. Thanks to a long-overdue favor, I scored us behind the plate tickets to the Portland Beavers game, and in grand tradition we toasted to friendship at the Marathon Taverna (a Joe Benz fav). Being with old friends is one of the most comforting feelings, and I was thrilled the three of them were in town on my short holiday.

Another meet-cute

Have you seen the movie, "The Holiday?" You know how Kate Winslet's character meets her elderly neighbor, a former famous screenwriter, and they discuss "meet cutes"...the classic first meetings of women and men that seem to only happen in the movies? Well, as if the Amy's Ice Cream story wasn't enough of a meet-cute...I met another fella recently in a coffee shop. We were standing in line and he told me he liked my skirt (knee-length, colorful, floral)...and then we met again at the condiment bar...and then as my friend and I were chit-chatting away a few tables away from this stranger...he interrupted our conversation. To his credit, I have a terribly loud indoor voice, so I don't blame that he overheard, and I didn't find it creepy that he said he overheard me mentioning the airport. He asked if I was from out of town, and I said, "No, I live here, but why?" He proceeded to tell me he was going to offer me some suggestions as to fun things to do around town. After he told me his first tip, I asked him what else he had in mind. To this he replied, "Well, I didn't really have any other suggestions, I was just trying to find a way to talk to you." Kudos for honesty, eh? I'll spare the details, but we exchanged numbers and went out on a date. On that first date, the two of us got caught in one of the worst storms in recent Austin history. We're talking green lightning, 4-inch hail, power outages, massive wind gusts and falling trees. Isn't getting caught in a storm a common romantic fantasy? I think so. It was terribly cute. I should probably mention that his name was Fernando...a real cutie pie from Argentina. But no, there's no future for us. Sorry to get your hopes up.