a weekend well spent

[2eclipse]

i spent this weekend in chicago visiting with skia  who was celebrating his birthday.

little did i know to expect cinderlou , pam, missy, bill, jere, bec, louis and brenna in addition to kfringe  who caravaned the six hour drive with me.
it was truly lovely to see them all and meet brenna for the first time (and of whom i had heard stories of craziness about).
it made me miss mitchel, goree, kelly-o and sprout; the other traditional members of that crowd of friends.
we had wonderful mexican food the first night, played with josh's wii (and made LOTS of inappropriate jokes suited to the word,"wii"). i stayed up WAY too late talking to louis. we went walking around josh's hipster neighborhood and stopped in a yarn store (where i'm proud to say i bought nothing) and went out for pizza with his folks.
perhaps the most amazing thing was that on the way home from the bar we hit afterward, bill, missy and i were surprised by 200 NAKED PEOPLE ON BICYCLES!!!
apparently this is a yearly thing. they were trying to raise consciousness of biker vulnerability, ecological transportation options, and positive body image. i don't know how they didn't all get arrested for indecent exposure, but it was quite the surprise, especially given the conservative stereotype i have of chicago.

i stopped at my aunt's house on the way back and she only guilt tripped me a little bit. mostly we had a very nice visit. i got in around 1am last night and was very glad to sleep in my own bed. sometimes a weekend with friends and travel really makes you feel like yourself in a way that you don't otherwise experience.
i think that i've been living in the land of endless job-searching and resumes so long that i forgot that i can be fun and have fun. i feel like i have more energy and just....more of myself to bring back to my resumed life and my relationship with ross. it is a good thing.

Comments

[crowyhead.livejournal.com]

Hey, I wanted to say hi as I've just added you to my Flist at kfringe's behest (I generally trust his taste in a) people, and b) music, if nothing else *g*).

[2eclipse.livejournal.com]

greetings kirsten. will you tell me a little about yourself?
mal is a weirdo, but a good one. i generally like his friends.
where in the philly area do you live? i spent a year each in ardmore, bryn mawr and media. i came to love the area before i left, but not enough to stay.
if you could have one wish and it had to be for yourself alone, what would it be?
what is your favorite thing to do with shaving cream?
what is your opinion about the best place to get a cheesesteak?
if you could personally appoint the next president, who would you choose?

[crowyhead.livejournal.com]

Hi! I shall endeavor to answer your questions.

where in the philly area do you live?
I've been living in West Philly for about five years; before that I lived in Alma, Michigan. I'm a children's librarian here. I love my neighborhood, and I'm kind of intensely sad that I will probably have to leave it in a year or two -- my partner, Dave, is a PhD student in computer science, and thus when he graduates we will probably go where the geek jobs are.

If you could have one wish and it had to be for yourself alone, what would it be?
Practically speaking: a ton of money. Enough to pay off my debt and support myself in a manner to which I would certainly become accustomed.
Less Practical: Being able to fly would be AWESOME.

what is your favorite thing to do with shaving cream?
Most of the time I just ignore it.

what is your opinion about the best place to get a cheesesteak?
I don't really eat much red meat, but I've always been fond of Tony Luke's, especially since he has the world's most bad-for-you vegetarian sandwich on his menu... I think it's called the "Uncle Mike" or something like that.

if you could personally appoint the next president, who would you choose?
I have a dozen smartass answers, but honestly? I've always been extremely fond of Winona LaDuke. I met her when she was running as VP on the Green ticket, and was very impressed. Not enough to vote Green, but I thought she was way cooler than Nader. So I'd be pretty happy to back her as president, I think.

[kfringe.livejournal.com]

You don't eat much red meat?

I knew that there was something wrong with you! You're one of them communists, aren't you?

[kfringe.livejournal.com]

She didn't tell you that she has socks that are even uglier than yours.

[silvertongue1.livejournal.com]

Naked people on bikes? Zomg. That is the most wonderfully hilarious random-yet-yearly thing ever.

And randomly, did you want a postcard from China? If so, email me your home addy (gandalf_ak[at]hotmail.com).
~Amanda

[2eclipse.livejournal.com]

COOL! yeah. i'll send it.

[spiralshell.livejournal.com]

YAY! I am so glad we all got together! :)
It was awesome to see you and your cool socks :)

[2eclipse.livejournal.com]

good to see you too, toots. hope you got home safe.

i have finished the heel on that second sock, but i had to frog part of it and re-do it because i dropped a stitch and it was too far back. still, my triumph draws near......

[sunmother.livejournal.com]

I wish I had seen all those naked bikers!

[kfringe.livejournal.com]

I'm really happy that I missed them.