Wow, what a stimulating weekend!
*
Thursday was, of course, brilliant. I very much enjoyed cooking; I very much enjoyed hosting my friends; I very much enjoyed laughing and drinking and carving and relaxing with many of my favorite people in one room. Henri B. Stendhal wrote that "to describe happiness is to diminish it," and for that very reason I'm not going to write another word about it.
*
Friday was odd, mostly because I slept for 3 hours before getting up - at 3am - to work. Sleeping for ALL of Sunday and Monday + napping on Thursday night = a very confused Kelsey. I felt like most of Friday afternoon my body was kind of like, "Seriously? Seriously?! What the hell are you doing?!" I rallied in the evening, which led to three distinct interactions: a) a delightful long-distance phone date with MH; b) an awkward (and short) stop by JN's birthday party; and c) a beer date at the Crown Pub with LM. The last one was a treasure - we decided (over a particularly inspirational Easy Street, natch) to take an extended trip to southeast Asia next summer, volunteering and traveling together throughout Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and maybe Indonesia. And we mean it. (I don't think it really hurt matters that CN was working. For some reason, watching him wash glasses inspires me to live a more adventurous life. :) )
*
Yesterday was kind of a bust, and more than anything I want to talk about today. Just a couple of notes first:
a) The Rams won, the Huskers won, and the Buffs got DESTROYED. Huzzah!
b) LY's homecoming party was pleasant. Honestly, it made me really miss AJS. And I had a decent conversation with JG and LY's new girlfriend about how and why some guys act very differently around their girlfriends than they do in normal society.
c) I stayed up obnoxiously late for NO reason. Stupid. Stupid.
*
To make a long story short, I skipped Christian's confirmation this morning to see Barack Obama speak at the CSU oval. (The thought process going into that decision affords its own blog entry. Look for that later.) I went as a guest of LT with him, his parents and many of his wonderful friends, and the day as a whole was extraordinary. It wasn't life-changing, but it was definitely once-in-a-lifetime.
I showed up at LT's house around 10:15 armed with a 4-shot Americano and my standard attire (blue Patagonia fleece and Chaco flipflops). Unbeknownst to me, he had assembled a veritable army of Obama supporters, and a few moments later I was Oval-bound with LT, his parents, his roommate BB and BB's mom, the girls KS and KB and KB's boyfriend SH, NP, her mom, and her boyfriend JS, and GD and his brother. Things were awkward for about 16 seconds when I realized that everyone there had known each other since fourth grade and I was "oh, THAT girl!" whom the whole group knew a LOT about (thanks LT), but everyone was warm and friendly so the awkwardness passed.
When we got to the front of the library we were joined by SK, his dad DK and his girlfriend MD. JH - whose relationship with LT KS and I speculated on all day, but never nailed down - was our connection for getting to stand in the bleachers, so we found him just as he was briefing the group. Obviously we had a big crowd, but we were part of a much larger group (maybe 300 people), so as JH read our names off of a list we stepped forward for our gold stars. From there, we walked down University Ave to the special spot where people with gold stars were supposed to wait for security checks and more briefing. (They told us that because we were going to be on TV they were going to "arrange us" on the bleachers according to what would look the most attractive behind The Man.)
At this point we waaaaaiiiiited. And waited. And waited. We got to the corner of University and West (just south of the oval) at about 11:10am and we didn't move until 2:50pm. Needless to say it was a long, long, long wait, and it was rather cold outside and we were rather bored and hungry. Mercifully the anticipation of standing directly behind our next president was enough to suppress most of our small irritations. Once we decided that we couldn't order pizza to the corner of University & West because of the insane Secret Service presence, the boys + NP + LT's dad played hacky sack while KS and I chatted up LT's mom. (At one point we had her in tears after telling her how much we love him. It was sweet.) Parts of the group came and went; LT and his parents and I spent about an hour snuggled up in the grass trying to stay warm. I saw LM and her parents, and I started feeling REALLY anxious because LM said that Obama was running 1.5 hours late due to travel delays - and since I knew I was working at 5, I thought I was going to miss him altogether (after having waited 4 hours to see him AND skipping my own brother's confirmation!). Alas, my anxieties were all in vain.
Once they started moving us through security and up to the bleachers, announcements were being made that the man of the hour (or, more accurately, the year, the decade, our lives, etc) had arrived on campus and would hit the stage shortly. I was BESIDE myself with excitement, as can be attested by LT and his parents. Later I'll post pictures of what the following half hour looked like; suffice it to say it was SO much fun.
And then he was on stage. Right in front of us. Right in front of 50,000 people. Right in my backyard.
I dug his speech. Like I mentioned, it wasn't life-changing, but I probably wouldn't forgive myself if I'd missed it. He hit on all the usual talking points - healthcare, economy, tax cuts, McCain's stupidity and ignorance - and encouraged us to vote early and have our friends do the same. He joked around a LOT, which thrilled the crowd, and at one point said something like "college kids aren't a special interest group, they're our future!" so of course I looked at LT and declared, "HE BELIEVES IN US!" and we dissolved in giggles.
And then just like that, he was gone and we were headed home. Of course, as I reflect upon the day, the undisputed best part was sharing the experience with so many people. My little nuclear group alone - just the people I've referenced in this blog - numbered 17; the crowd in the bleachers numbered 300; and looking out upon the packed oval, we numbered 50,000+.
I was reminded why I call LT my "therapist." We met four years ago in a physics class, and yesterday I repeatedly said silent prayers of thanksgiving for his friendship. He is one of my most true friends - he's kind, he's affable and gentle and congenial and sincere, he has a heart of gold and I am so lucky to call him a friend. I'm going to name my firstborn Loren after him. And I wish I could be the kind of friend to other people that he is to me.
*
God is love. I have a lot of love in my life. I have a lot of God in my life.
*
At work ANOTHER of my coworkers thought CF was my sister. Which reminds me that I need to write at length about my adopted siblings - AB, CF, KH and many others. Again...I'm so fortunate to have these people in my life.
*
Thursday was, of course, brilliant. I very much enjoyed cooking; I very much enjoyed hosting my friends; I very much enjoyed laughing and drinking and carving and relaxing with many of my favorite people in one room. Henri B. Stendhal wrote that "to describe happiness is to diminish it," and for that very reason I'm not going to write another word about it.
*
Friday was odd, mostly because I slept for 3 hours before getting up - at 3am - to work. Sleeping for ALL of Sunday and Monday + napping on Thursday night = a very confused Kelsey. I felt like most of Friday afternoon my body was kind of like, "Seriously? Seriously?! What the hell are you doing?!" I rallied in the evening, which led to three distinct interactions: a) a delightful long-distance phone date with MH; b) an awkward (and short) stop by JN's birthday party; and c) a beer date at the Crown Pub with LM. The last one was a treasure - we decided (over a particularly inspirational Easy Street, natch) to take an extended trip to southeast Asia next summer, volunteering and traveling together throughout Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and maybe Indonesia. And we mean it. (I don't think it really hurt matters that CN was working. For some reason, watching him wash glasses inspires me to live a more adventurous life. :) )
*
Yesterday was kind of a bust, and more than anything I want to talk about today. Just a couple of notes first:
a) The Rams won, the Huskers won, and the Buffs got DESTROYED. Huzzah!
b) LY's homecoming party was pleasant. Honestly, it made me really miss AJS. And I had a decent conversation with JG and LY's new girlfriend about how and why some guys act very differently around their girlfriends than they do in normal society.
c) I stayed up obnoxiously late for NO reason. Stupid. Stupid.
*
To make a long story short, I skipped Christian's confirmation this morning to see Barack Obama speak at the CSU oval. (The thought process going into that decision affords its own blog entry. Look for that later.) I went as a guest of LT with him, his parents and many of his wonderful friends, and the day as a whole was extraordinary. It wasn't life-changing, but it was definitely once-in-a-lifetime.
I showed up at LT's house around 10:15 armed with a 4-shot Americano and my standard attire (blue Patagonia fleece and Chaco flipflops). Unbeknownst to me, he had assembled a veritable army of Obama supporters, and a few moments later I was Oval-bound with LT, his parents, his roommate BB and BB's mom, the girls KS and KB and KB's boyfriend SH, NP, her mom, and her boyfriend JS, and GD and his brother. Things were awkward for about 16 seconds when I realized that everyone there had known each other since fourth grade and I was "oh, THAT girl!" whom the whole group knew a LOT about (thanks LT), but everyone was warm and friendly so the awkwardness passed.
When we got to the front of the library we were joined by SK, his dad DK and his girlfriend MD. JH - whose relationship with LT KS and I speculated on all day, but never nailed down - was our connection for getting to stand in the bleachers, so we found him just as he was briefing the group. Obviously we had a big crowd, but we were part of a much larger group (maybe 300 people), so as JH read our names off of a list we stepped forward for our gold stars. From there, we walked down University Ave to the special spot where people with gold stars were supposed to wait for security checks and more briefing. (They told us that because we were going to be on TV they were going to "arrange us" on the bleachers according to what would look the most attractive behind The Man.)
At this point we waaaaaiiiiited. And waited. And waited. We got to the corner of University and West (just south of the oval) at about 11:10am and we didn't move until 2:50pm. Needless to say it was a long, long, long wait, and it was rather cold outside and we were rather bored and hungry. Mercifully the anticipation of standing directly behind our next president was enough to suppress most of our small irritations. Once we decided that we couldn't order pizza to the corner of University & West because of the insane Secret Service presence, the boys + NP + LT's dad played hacky sack while KS and I chatted up LT's mom. (At one point we had her in tears after telling her how much we love him. It was sweet.) Parts of the group came and went; LT and his parents and I spent about an hour snuggled up in the grass trying to stay warm. I saw LM and her parents, and I started feeling REALLY anxious because LM said that Obama was running 1.5 hours late due to travel delays - and since I knew I was working at 5, I thought I was going to miss him altogether (after having waited 4 hours to see him AND skipping my own brother's confirmation!). Alas, my anxieties were all in vain.
Once they started moving us through security and up to the bleachers, announcements were being made that the man of the hour (or, more accurately, the year, the decade, our lives, etc) had arrived on campus and would hit the stage shortly. I was BESIDE myself with excitement, as can be attested by LT and his parents. Later I'll post pictures of what the following half hour looked like; suffice it to say it was SO much fun.
And then he was on stage. Right in front of us. Right in front of 50,000 people. Right in my backyard.
I dug his speech. Like I mentioned, it wasn't life-changing, but I probably wouldn't forgive myself if I'd missed it. He hit on all the usual talking points - healthcare, economy, tax cuts, McCain's stupidity and ignorance - and encouraged us to vote early and have our friends do the same. He joked around a LOT, which thrilled the crowd, and at one point said something like "college kids aren't a special interest group, they're our future!" so of course I looked at LT and declared, "HE BELIEVES IN US!" and we dissolved in giggles.
And then just like that, he was gone and we were headed home. Of course, as I reflect upon the day, the undisputed best part was sharing the experience with so many people. My little nuclear group alone - just the people I've referenced in this blog - numbered 17; the crowd in the bleachers numbered 300; and looking out upon the packed oval, we numbered 50,000+.
I was reminded why I call LT my "therapist." We met four years ago in a physics class, and yesterday I repeatedly said silent prayers of thanksgiving for his friendship. He is one of my most true friends - he's kind, he's affable and gentle and congenial and sincere, he has a heart of gold and I am so lucky to call him a friend. I'm going to name my firstborn Loren after him. And I wish I could be the kind of friend to other people that he is to me.
*
God is love. I have a lot of love in my life. I have a lot of God in my life.
*
At work ANOTHER of my coworkers thought CF was my sister. Which reminds me that I need to write at length about my adopted siblings - AB, CF, KH and many others. Again...I'm so fortunate to have these people in my life.
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