Coming back to life

I'm still alive. Really. I know I haven't posted for two months. I was in "keep my head down and maybe I won't lose it" mode. Things have been a bit insane and until the personal earthquakes finally stopped I just focused on making it through each day.

Here's a nice summary list of the major events since July, in rough chronological order, handily organized by month.

July
*My cousin gives birth to a baby boy! Welcome to the family! My grandmother can now stop putting pressure on me about having her great-grandbabies before she dies (for some reason she was fixated on me being the one to have the babies). So thank you to my cousin. :)
*I take a long weekend and drive up to Boston, MA for a friend's wedding reception (YAY for LHK and WK!!) and to visit a good friend from grad school. Flickr pictures of the reception and my friend's garden (BF is an amazing gardener!).
*I move mid-month.
One week after moving the following events occurred:
*Visitors! My good friends LC and SB!
*Ozomatli concert! (the reason for my visitors)
*A leak appears in the ceiling in my bedroom closet, forcing me to take all the clothes I had recently unpacked and put away back out of the closet again.

August
*The leak in my closet ceiling is due to a leak in upstairs bathroom tub faucet. During repairs, the leak spreads to middle of my bedroom and rains all over the clothes I had removed from the closet to protect them. Dammit.
*Bike tires meet trolley rails. Ouch!
*Mid-month my mother arrives for a visit! YAY!!!
*One day prior to my mother's arrival, my landlord has a disagreement with the gas company and they turn off the gas service to the property. The gas powers the heat, hot water, and my stove. So now I can't shower or cook. Fortunately it's August so I don't have to worry about the heat just yet.
*My landlord replaces the gas hot water heater and my gas stove with electric appliances (note the furnace is NOT replaced at this time). I spend FIVE DAYS while they do this without hot water or the ability to cook anything. My mother suffers with me. Great visit, no?
*My mother fortunately is able to extend her visit by a few days so we can enjoy each others company once we've showered. :) She helps me finish unpacking and settling into my new apartment.
*My sister comes for a visit to attend the Nine Inch Nails concert with me!! w00t!! A truly incredible concert. We had a wonderful time hanging out together the rest of the weekend too.
*In the midst of all of this, things continue to change and move forward into an uncertain (yet encouraging) future at work. My new library school intern also started work the second week of August and I spend much of the first part of the month training her. Fortunately she's a quick study.

September
*Work is crazy. The students return and the semester begins. Additional organizational changes at work are announced.
*Mid-month I take a few days vacation that don't involve a pet emergency/drama, apartment drama, or some other drama. I enjoyed several days with no internet spending time with a really good friend just hanging out and relaxing. It was wonderful. Then I returned home and opened my email. Yikes.
*Upon returning from my [far too brief] vacation I adopted a cat to bring my total of four-legged furry children to two. Yes, a cat named Capri (pics on Flickr). And she and the dog get along just fine, thankyouverymuch.

October
*Work continues to be insanely busy.
*The month starts off badly with me getting sick with a fever for two days after getting soaked by rain.
*One of my best friends from college gets married in Louisville, KY. YAY for EH and KD!! Congrats!! KD, you are a very lucky woman as EH is an awesome guy. I'm so glad I was able to attend and had a blast at the wedding (photos I took at the event are posted here on Flickr).
*It gets cold. Since my landlords have not replaced my furnace or gotten the gas turned back on, the temperature in my apartment drops to 62 degrees, sometimes dipping a bit below that during the night. I start sleeping in my long underwear (normally reserved for camping) and wool socks.
*I get sick. Again. With the cold from hell that lays me up for nearly a week when my asthma kicks in and breathing becomes work. For several days after I start recovering I continue to sound like a husky lounge singer.
*The Phillies win the World Series! The city erupts in chaotic celebrations. Mayor Nutter reminds everyone: "You can be joyous. You cannot be a jackass." Fabulous!
*A new leak appears in the ceiling of my bedroom...this time in the middle of the room. I have to move the dog bed so plaster doesn't fall on her head.
*At the end of October I still don't have heat. After 3 workmen give estimates about what it would cost to convert to electric heat, my landlord decides to make a deal with the gas company to turn the gas back on so they can fire up the furnace. Mind you, access to the furnace for the building is through MY apartment...so each new workman means another person in my space.

November
*On Monday, Nov. 3rd, after 3 more days, a visit from the gas company to replace a meter (also in my apartment) and turn the gas back on, and visits from THREE different handymen, the furnace is finally turned back on and my apartment has heat! Just in time for a warm spell...oh well.
*The handymen on Monday kill two birds with one stone with their visit and fix the leak at the same time they get the furnace fired up! Efficiency is a beautiful thing.
*History is made and we elect Barak Obama as our next president. I am ecstatic!!

And I think that brings us to the present.

Wedding festivities!

The person I've been friends with the longest, HF, got married on Saturday night! We've known each other since before we were three (we figured that out this weekend). Hard to believe. I was so happy and honored to be invited to her wedding. As you all know, I had the R.S.V.P. conundrum, but in the end decided to go ahead and go it alone and not worry about having a date.

The wedding was down in Baltimore, MD, about 2 hours drive from Philly at the Baltimore Museum of Industry on the Inner Harbor. What a beautiful setting!! Since it's high season, I had a difficult time getting the dog into a kennel (either they had no room or wanted a minimum 3 day stay), and since it really wasn't that far away, I decided to just drive down and back without staying over. Yes, people, I'm crazy. Haven't you figured that out yet? Anyway, I made it down in time for the wedding, despite nasty traffic and construction. For awhile I thought I might be late! But the gods smiled on me and I made it.

The ceremony itself was outside on the back patio of the Museum, with the Inner Harbor as the backdrop. It was beautiful. As people arrived, the were given the opportunity to wander around the place until it was time to head outside for the ceremony. The first person I saw when I walked in was my friend's little brother DF! I didn't recognize him at all! Fortunately, he recognized me (apparently I haven't changed that much). The last time I saw him he was shorter than I was! Now he's definitely all grown up, and has a beautiful baby girl with his girlfriend. It's so incredible.

After a brief wander, they ushered the guests outside onto the patio for a very brief ceremony. JL and HF wanted to keep the ceremony short so we could move on to more important things...food, dancing and lots of fun! And you wonder why HF and I have stayed friends for so long...we both know what's really important in life. HF was gorgeous and grinning from ear to ear. Their vows were wonderful, and included a clause about being serious only when necessary and completely silly the rest of the time! I love it. So perfect for them.

Once the ceremony was complete (and brief it was!), we all headed back inside for the reception. The room the reception was in was huge, with floor to ceiling windows looking out onto the patio and the Inner Harbor beyond. As the sun set and all the lights in the Harbor came on it only became more beautiful. An incredible setting for the wedding and the reception.

We discovered various gambling tables had been set up (poker, blackjack, and roulette), and each guest received a certificate for $100,000 to play for fun. Of course, there was a big grand prize at the end of the evening for who won the most. I was tempted to play some blackjack (the only thing I have a chance in hell of actually winning a hand or two at), but I watched a 10 year old for awhile and he was cleaning house! I decided maybe I wouldn't be playing any games that evening. So I passed my certificate on to someone else that did want to play and migrated back to the other end of the room for food and dancing.

The food was fantastic! A beautiful selection of flavors from all over the world. Once food had been had, there were the usual toasts and dancing. HF's little sister MF was her maid of honor, and gave a great toast. Made me tear up. So did watching HF dance with her dad. It was so good to see her family. I've known this family my whole life. It had been about 10 years since I'd seen them last, so it was wonderful to catch up. Hopefully it won't be 10 years before I see them all again!

After all the toasts and dances were done, we got down to some serious dancing! The DJ was excellent, playing a blend of music that everyone could enjoy. HF's grandmother was unstoppable! That woman can cut a rug and anyone was fair game for her to snag and dance with, including me! She wore dance partner after dance partner out all evening. We all had a good time. I reconnected with people I hadn't seen since we were around 11 years old, and we laughed about all the various sleepover escapades we had as girls.

Fortunately for me, I wasn't the only person there without a date, and I ended up with an excellent dance partner for the evening. RM is a great lead and a fine dancer, with an abundance of energy. And he's funny on top of it all so there was plenty of good conversation during dance breaks. He moved to the area about the same time I left, so we actually hadn't met before, even though we both knew all the same people there! He's now out on the west coast. What a random world. Anyway, we danced up a storm and had a blast.

After dancing for awhile, it was time for dessert! The cake was delicious. Layers upon layers of chocolate. So good. Then it was back to dancing.

As things wound down, it was revealed that there was a plan for an after party at a nearby bar, Little Havana. A bunch of us wandered down the way to continue the dancing and fun. The bride and groom joined us, giving them an opportunity to hang out with their friends (kind of hard to do at the reception with all that family to talk to!). Once the bar closed down, we continued socializing back at the hotel (also only a few blocks away) for a few more hours. And we got some food (we were starving!). Fortunately, HF's friend M lives in the area, and knew a few places to get late night snacks. Who knew bad pizza could taste so good at 3:00AM? [And a big thank you for RM for treating us all to pizza and soda!! Very kind of you.]

After food and laughter and telling more stories about each other, we all finally headed out. I'm amazed JL and HF didn't kick us out sooner, but we were all having a good time. I started my drive back to Philly at 4:00AM, and made it home safely about the time the sun was coming up. I don't remember the last time I saw the sunrise after being up all night, but the all night party was worth it. I was so much fun to see everyone and catch up and dance and whew! I'm still exhausted, even after sleeping most of the day today. And sore. All that dancing worked muscles in my legs I had forgotten I had! Needless to say, I'll be going to bed super-early tonight. And not to worry, the dog is fine after being left alone all night, no problems at all. My dog's ability to roll with the punches continues to amaze me. But I won't be making a habit of it, I assure you.

So CONGRATULATIONS to HF and JL and thanks for an awesome party! I wish you many many happy years together filled with love and silliness!!

Oh, and photos from the evening can be seen here on Flickr. Enjoy!

a R.S.V.P. conundrum

The person I've been friends with the longest is getting married this summer. HF (soon to be HL?) and I have known each other since we were three years old. Our mothers share similar parenting philosophies regarding food and TV watching, so we spent a lot of time together. Somehow we've managed to stay in contact through my many moves with my family, both of us in college and grad school, she in med school (PhD/MD program!!), and both of us moving several times since college and grad school. I have letters in a box dating back to when we were around 8 years old. I met her fiance (JL) a couple of years ago when they made a trip to the city I was in then. It's amazing how with some people it's like time never passes. We just pick up where we left off as if nothing happened in between (minus some catching up of course). She's just one of those people and I can't imagine us not being friends.

So she and JL are getting married this summer. I'm so very excited and happy for her and him both! They are an adorable couple and balance each other beautifully (and he helps her lighten up). But wedding invitations present an issue for a single person. How do you R.S.V.P.? I have two options, neither of which is without problems or potential problems.

Option one: R.S.V.P. for one. I'm single. This makes sense. But for weddings you have to reply over a month in advance. This is where the problem sets in. What if I start dating someone and I want to bring them? Do I call and add a second person to my party attending? And then there's the "single person at a wedding" problem. If it is just me, and I don't really know anyone besides the bride and groom and the bride's family, it could make for a very long evening. But, conversely, HF and JL met at a wedding, so who knows, being there alone could work in my favor. Or I could feel entirely out of place. But I'm capable of talking to just about anyone and having a good time no matter what, so it could be OK. Sigh...flip...flop...flip...flop...there is no answer and I won't know until I'm there. But that security of having someone with me that I know to talk to is very appealing because then I wouldn't have the "single person at a wedding" problem to deal with.

Which brings me to option two: R.S.V.P. for two. This means I have the pressure of finding someone to go with me. Granted, this could be a friend (I've done this in the past) or it could be an actual date. But it's still pressure to find someone. And what happens if I don't find someone, friend or otherwise, to go with me? I'd have to call and say "sorry, it's just me now" which I'd just rather not have to think about doing.

Sigh...I have a few weeks before I have to mail the R.S.V.P. card, and I'm sure I'll be weighing my two options right up until I put it in the mail. Sometimes being single is a real pain in the butt.