Reunions, Weekend recap

Paul and I went to a family gathering-of-sorts yesterday for an uncle from California who has a house outside Memphis and visits a couple of times a year. I wasn’t expecting to see my cousin, Ashley, who’s in town for her 10-year high school reunion.

Looks like I’ll be missing my own 10-year reunion by a measly week. Paul’s school is having an alumni Mass May 22 – the same week we’ll be visiting Charleston. It’s kind of funny how we both skipped our proms in favor of going to the arcade (we're very cool), but we had actually considered going to our 10-year reunions ... and now we can’t go. Meh. I’m not that hard to track down if anyone cares ... and I’m pretty sure they don’t.

Anyway, Ashley teaches theater stuff at University of Tulsa – exotic things I know nothing about, such as costume and scenery design. Being our age and having just gone through a teaching-related move a year ago, she gave Paul some practical advice on being a professor and gave me some advice on meeting people after we move. (This, of course, is much easier for extrovert theater types.)

She’s only nine months older than me and shared a lot when we were kids, but we ended up in completely different places: She’s artsy and outgoing; I’m overly practical and quiet. (This blog is about as chatty as I get.) I look up to her for her complete individuality. Blue highlights in her hair? Cool. Fourth lizard tattoo. Very cool. Living on the 19th floor of a high-rise that’s also home to a fallen-from-grace child star who I’m not supposed to name? … Well, I guess that’s not so cool, but it’s definitely a kitsch boost.

She’ll be back in Memphis in early June, right after we get back from Charleston. Hopefully I get to see her for longer than, like, three hours.

Other weekend stuff: played Rock Band; played Rock Band with Paul and Matthew; played Rock Bank with Paul, Johanna and Matthew; played Rock Bank with Paul. Wanted to go bowling but was vetoed. Tried to convince Matthew to go to the NIN concert in Knoxville with me (he emphatically declined). Broke the land speed record. Had a lot of fun.