2010: The Year Of Tying Up Loose Ends... & Retying of Important Knots

This would probably have to be updated much later (like the end of December) this year... but I am fairly pleased with how 2010 is panning out. Usually everyone meets new people, and this has been true for me so far as well. I've met so many new and amazing people so far, and the year isn't even halfway through! BUT... the most amazing part of this year has been reconnecting with old friends that I have not seen in ages.....

It started in Seattle, where I went for my birthday, to see one of my favorite people on the planet, David. We had not stood in each others presence since the late summer/early fall of 1989....

but in January 2010 we could finally sit there and laugh without phones stuck to our ears to do it...

Then came Chicago... it had been 11years since I had seen a bunch of friends there. So I stayed with my friend Barb (& met her boyfriend Thomas) at the apartment that will eternally feel like home since she currently lives in the best damn apartment in Chicago... and it has always been lived in by someone we know...

Also got to see Barb's twin sister Beth.....

.... and my friend Ian (now Beth's husband).....

.... and Jason... who has gone on to become an author (you should go buy his book right now!)









THEN... I got to see my friend Al who I had not seen since our friend Lindsey's wedding in New Orleans in 2006.....

(this picture cracks me up for some reason... 

actually I know the reason... SAME DAMN HAT!)

ALSO... Lindsey! ♥ (hadn't seen her since her wedding either!)

Next up was my friend Derek... we had not seen each other since our sophomore year of high school (1988).......and he just happened to be living in the Chicago area, so he & his wife drove out to the city to meet up with me one afternoon.

Next up was a trip to New Orleans to hang out with one of my dearest friends, Graham. I have now taken to describing his friendship as follows: You know when you are stuck, for whatever reason, in a seemingly endless tunnel of darkness and feel there is no way out? He's the one that not only tells you there is a way, then keeps you company while you find it, but he also turns out to be the one holding the lantern at the other end so you can find that light to follow out.  People should be so lucky to have a friend like Graham.

...plus he's super fun to take pictures with :)

 (ooooh... look how scary!!! haha!)

Annnnnnnnd...... while I was in New Orleans..... I finally got to see the person that was one of my very best friends in college, as well as the reason I got to go to New Orleans in the first place back then, fall in love with the city, and move there....alas... he & I parted ways in 2000 and hadn't spoken a word since. That's all fixed now :)

 (I gotta admit, I missed the scowling face...)

Then came the "reunion" that tends to freak more than a few people out... my ex-fiance & his family. We're still close, and I still adore every last one of them. We don't really get to see each other all that often, in fact I believe the last time I saw most of them was in 2006... but I was beaming from ear to ear and not really giving a shit that people think it's strange I consider my ex one of my favorite people. (C'mon, he's happily married now and the love we have for each other is like that of family.... why can't more people be that way?)

Anyway, I got to see Brett (that'd be my ex) & his sister Brandi

... & his niece Hannah (who is like the coolest girl on the planet and I'm still more than a little sad to know shes growing up so fast.. yet so pleased with what an amazing woman she is becoming)

I even got to hang out with two of Brett's best friends that I always loved, Nick & Abe... and the whole seeing Abe thing was totally coincidence. They (Abe & his wife) just happened to be at The French Quarter Festival and walking out of the French Market just as we were walking in. To say I was pleased would be a HUGE understatement! (hence the really stupid grin on my face in this picture...>>>>>>>>>>>)

and relaxin' in the grass by the river, 

while live jazz music played, with Nick...

Next up is the trip down to Connecticut to hang with my friend Doug, and go to a St Judes Charity event that our friend Kelly helped organize. Now, Doug & I have not seen each other in person since last September...

(he was one of my "hot dates" for my friend Dani's wedding.... see pic to the left of last Sept and you can witness how serious Doug and I are about our pictures being taken.)

BUT... Kelly & Doug hadn't seen each other since High School, so this night was super fun for us... as well as it being a REALLY good cause.

THERE'S MORE!!! I ALSO got to see my friend Nelson. We had not hung out since right before I left for college in 1992 (yes, I took 2 years off after High School, a lot of good that did me... since I ended up staying in college till 1999... that's a whole other mess of stories right there...) Anywayyyy.... Nelson... yeah, Nelson. That guy has been through a lot. Some of it I was around for, much of it we were out of touch... but we're back in touch now and I intend to stay that way 

(PLUS, his wife, Sandy, is freakin' awesome!!)

So.... yeah... as of today (April 26th 2010) I'm thinkin' this year is pretty stellar so far. I've left out so much... (SO MUCH!)... but there's still time! The year ain't even half over and I could write pages upon pages about everything that has happened since January 1st 2010 up until today... but I won't. I am, in fact, going to bed. G'nite!

-Gillian