Catching up

I need to get better at writing this thing. Some highlights from the last couple of weeks:

- Went home to FL a couple of weeks ago to surprise my friend Stu whom I haven't seen in almost 3 years. She lives in Denver and was back in Jax for a family wedding. Stu, Kelly B., Tiffany and I all met in the 6th grade at George Washington Carver Sixth Grade Center. On Monday, the day I left, we all met for lunch and I started to cry because it was the first time since high school - maybe even junior high? - that all four of us had been together. I was the only one who graduated from Stanton - Stu went to DA, the school for the arts, Kelly left junior year to go to her neighborhood school and I think Tiffany left sophomore year. So, we all made different friends yet we all stayed in touch, some better than others and at different times in our lives. That day, as I looked around the table over 20 years later, I was just amazed. We are women, mothers, wives, homeowners, artists and just good people. It was a great trip and I will certainly be posting some photos soon but here are a few:

This is Madison, Kelly's 6 year old. We were on our way to the pet store to buy presents for the family pets because April 1 has been designated all of their birthdays (2 dogs and a cat)

















This is Cameron who's 4


















The beach!

















My mom and "little" brother (24 years old and at least 6 ft. tall)




















- Had another great celebrity sighting: Dean Wareham and Britta Philips. Many of you probably don't know who they are but Dean Wareham was the lead singer for Galaxie 500 and one of my favorite bands, Luna - both of whom are no longer. I was lucky enough to see Luna live a few times, most recently in 2005 during their farewell tour. Britta Phillips joined the band at some point and my friend Ali says she pulled a Yoko and is the reason Luna broke up so she hates her. For a pop culture reference, if any of you saw the cheesy Justin Bateman vehicle, Satisfaction, back in the 80s, Britta played the coked up blond in the band. ANYWAY, I nearly had a heart attack as I passed them on the street and I kind of wish I had stopped them and asked for a picture but I'm also kind of glad I didn't because that would be SO uncool (yes, I'm 31 years old and I still care about looking cool to people I think are cooler than me).

- My friend Jason came to visit. Jason is a friend from BU so I have known him for about 10 years. He lived with Kelly Kerrigan and me our senior year. He lives in San Fran and has been there for about 8 years or so. It was great to have him here and get lots of time to catch up on each others lives. The last few times we have seen each other it was for a few hours at a time at the most so this was terrific.

- Neko Case and surprise guest. Karen, Rich, Jason and I went to go see Neko Case at Webster Hall last Friday night. When we got there, she had already started and the place was packed. As I tried to pick my way forward a little, barely looking at the stage, Karen grabbed my arm and squealed "That's Kelly Hogan!". And sure enough, the woman we have worshipped since we were 15 was standing on stage singing with Neko. They do sound great together but I will admit it was difficult to have Kelly there and not be center stage. Her voice is smooth as butter but powerful enough to pin you to the wall. If I could be granted the singing voice of anyone I could choose, it would be a toss up between Dinah Washington and Kelly Hogan. It was so great to see her again and by the end of the show I had a headache from smiling so much.

- Brunch in Williamsburg with a bunch of former FSU people. Some of them were people I had met and others I was meeting for the first time but through whatever friendship cross-pollination program, everyone there had lived in Tallahassee at some point. We had a waffle extravaganza prepared by Kristin and her boyfriend, Jordan. Bojo was there and it was great to see him after a million years. After brunch, we went back to Amre's place and got her dog, Rayna, and took her for a walk. It was a gorgeous day and everyone was out - holding hands, playing soccer, tossing a frisbee, reading in the grass, etc. It was an awesome Sunday afternoon. Here's Amre & Rayna:




-Spring has finally arrived. No more freak snow storms yet this week which is a relief. In fact, today I wore my flip flops for the first time. Springtime in New York will be glorious.

I think that's a pretty good summary of the last couple of weeks. Tomorrow Rich and I head to Connecticut to spend the weekend with some family. They are great people and Rich's cousins are fun to hang out with so we are looking forward to it.