Retro Weekend Part Two

After going through the Reader's Digest summary of our life since HS, we decided to go eat dinner. There are no restaurants in the downtown Bham area. So, we drove about twelve miles to The Summit. For Bham, the traffic was not bad. But I am not used to big city traffic. Here, if you have to wait two whole light changes, there is swearing, growling and general gnashing of teeth. The Summit was packed and the PF Chang's wait was 75-85 minutes! There seem to be a awful lot of teenagers dressed up (prom, sports banquet, cotillion?). So, we prowled around the bookstore and then sat on the bench out front. We went to check on the wait (surely the wait time was exaggerated?). The people just coming in were being told it was a three hour wait! Are you serious? Somewhere around 60 minutes, we seriously began to wonder if we would starve to death. We didn't. The food was awesome, the service excellent and totally worth the wait. I think that the wait made the food tasted even better. The Crab Ragoon appetizer was the best!! Smarty Pants got her usual: the honey chicken. Ya know, for being a world traveler, she is not very adventurous in her food choices. I ordered the spicy chicken. We ended up sharing and both dishes were excellent. While waiting for our food, we decided that neither of us would make it as a waitress. One waitress had at least ten GLASS drinks on a tray balanced on her shoulder. For me, a recipe for disaster!!

Then we went back to the room. We Google-d a few former classmates and talked about our high school experiences. I was disappointed that Goggling myself did not produce better results! Ha ha!! And, of course, we made plans to attend the next reunion (in two years). By then, we will look totally more fabulous than we do now! :-)

Retro Weekend Part One

Too bad it doesn't say age limit 27. I felt like I was in an '80's flashback all weekend! Saturday morning, it was a gawgeous 80 degrees. (Much better than last weekends fake snow storm). So, I road tripped to B'ham, even though the "magic" city is usually not my fav place. I-65 was less crowded than usual and the travel a breeze the whole way. I found a great '80's radio station and sang loudly in the car. I got through the 65/20 interchange with minimal swearing. I parked downtown near Linc park, the civic center and the hotel. I thought if Smarty Pants was not yet available, I would hang out in the park and take pictures. Um, maybe not. This guy decided that he liked me or probably he just wanted money. I noticed that there appears to be a good number of homeless people in the park during the day. Anyway, he followed me from my car to the hotel. By the end of the 2-1/2 block journey, I was running IN HEELS. Quite the sight, I assure you! The hotel desk manager seemed totally unfazed by the fact that I was completely frazzled and out of breath. I guess he is used to that kind of behavior?? Thankfully, Smarty Pants was in her room!! And I saw no more of Mr. Creep!!

I must admit that I would have recognized her anywhere. She looked great and has not changed a bit. I really should post her high school pic and show you. Ha ha. Better not! She'd kill me and artfully hide the body! I brought my Wheat Ridge Farmer yearbook and we reminiscing and catching up. Did I mention that I have not seen her since high school?

The Next Tiger?

As part of the basketball end of season party, they guys got to go to the driving range. I'm thinking that Tdawg might be a natural. It was his first time and he hit it over 200 yards and straight!! The golf center owner told me "you need to have that boy take some lessons!" The owner also told me that at the local university, they require their business students to take golf. I guess they figure it is a good networking tool. By the way, don't ya just love the size 15 shoes?? He has grown another inch since Christmas!!

Lunch with some of the work chicks. This time I didn't drive (can ya blame me?) and no accidents! It was fun talking to the younger chicks. We were discussing break-ups with boyfriends and how to tell your friend that her boyfriend is a loser. They are so part of the computer and texting generation. When I was in high school, I used a rotary phone (big, black and heavy) to dial in and then I put the handset of the phone into a modem cradle. The world has progressed a bit since then!!

Knit Wit II

Well, the poor underprivileged child in NY is going to be eligible for Social Security by the time I finish knitting this scarf. But I am making some progress.

Knit Wit

Well, I was gonna be a hooker (crocheting, that is)...but I guess I'm going to be a knit wit instead. BR at work asked if we wanted to donate knitted items to underprivileged kids in New York. Several said they'd love to...but we don't know how to knit. So GJ offered to do a lunch and learn. So five of us tried to learn how to knit today at lunch. Poor lady had no idea what she got herself into when she volunteered to teach. We all had two left hands and too many thumbs. I was going to take pictures, but it was too sad. I understand that it is supposed to lower your blood pressure. It was incredibly comical, but my blood pressure was going up, not down! I'm so slow that I think my scarf will be finished right before I enter a nursing home. I have two and a half rows done...I'll keep you posted. I think I am going to end up like V with too many irons in the fire.

Circus

the elephant is painting!

this man is crazy!

Buddy and I had an awesome time!

We got to go down to the arena floor before the show. And then our seats were on the second row. It was truly the Greatest Show on Earth. I did not realize that there are different shows. The circus we saw a few years ago was completely different from this one!

Tdawg Update.

Tdawg lifting weights after school as part of preseason football conditioning. He was lifting 225 pounds and doing squats, when he heard his knee pop. It swelled but otherwise did not look too bad. But when the swelling did not go away, I took him to our GP. I expected some anti-inflammatory medication and see ya later. No, he said he thought it could be tendon damage and sent us to a specialist. Thankfully, the specialist said it was minor damage to the meniscus. He prescribed an anti-inflammatory and said see ya later. I am thankful that there was not damage that would require surgery. Tdawg is very happy that he can continue and hopefully make it as a starter for the football team. I admire his tenacity!

Snow

We finally get some snow. I know it is only a dusting. But we won't see any more for years. Too bad it was not during the week. It is so crazy here that they'd actually close schools for this! It really makes everything look serene. Too bad it was gone by noon.