Old Friends

...as in friends I have had for a long time, not 60-year-old companions.

Isn't it great when you spend years apart from an old friend, and when you finally reunite, you pick up right where you left off? Sometimes you meet up with someone you haven't seen in a while, and it is just awkward. You interests have taken dramatic turns away from one another, your lifestyle or beliefs have drifted worlds apart, and trying to recap the years in between becomes more of a chore than a natural-flowing conversation. Luckily, I have had a couple of long-lasting friendships that emulate the former.

I am not always the best at keeping up with friends. I do enjoy talking on the phone and catching up with people, but more often than not, one has to call me for that to happen. Maybe it is part of being an only child that doesn't have me itching form immediate human communication when I find myself alone for an extended period of time. Luckily, I think many of my friends are the same way, so it isn't taken as a big offense when I haven't contacted them in a while. Plus, it makes for great conversation fodder when we do reunite. Blogging has also been a way to keep in touch with people, especially when they have blogs I can follow as well. In fact, that is definitely the number two perk of blogging, next to the cathartic experience it provides.

When I went to Lollapalloza last year, I met up with Jessica, a friend from High School who was living in Chicago for the summer. Despite the radically different surroundings we both found ourselves in, and despite the fact that we certainly have changed, I found myself slipping back into old mannerisms and cracking the same kind of jokes I would have 6 years ago. The conversation just rolled between us as we talked about everything we might have in the past. It had probably only been a short time since our last visit, but every time we are separated, we seem to go right back to where we left off.

Last week I went to Akron with Kim to visit Lizzy, one of my closest friends and former roomates from undergrad who has been jetsetting about the world, making it hard to always maintain contact. She moved to Washington for and internship, and it feels like she has been gone ever since, moving to Portland, OR, then Costa Rica and now Colorado. I got to visit her last spring break in Portland, and just like these other cases, it was like we were never apart. She met me at the airport with a hot chai, and took me around Portland to show me her life there. I spent time with Audrey as well, another good friend and roomate from college. It is so refreshing to know that these friendships can continue to thrive, despite time and distance apart. Visiting Lizzy in Akron-well, technically Bath, OH- felt just like it did when I went there all those years ago. Lizzy played the part of the ever-so-capable-stick-shift-driving-chauffeur, and even though we had never previously been to a Cleveland Indians game together before, she, Kim and I rehashed things just like old times.

Yesterday I met up with another friend from middle/high school, Leslie. I hadn't seen Leslie for about 3 years, and that was only one evening. Before that, it had certainly been another 3 years since we had really been together. She greeted me by saying that I looked the exact same as 3 years ago (and I get that a lot), and I would have to say she hadn't really changed either. It took a minute to negotiate where we would go, now that we're all grown up and back in Columbus. We decided to head to Surly Girl Saloon in the Short North, a place we had both been introduced to only recently. Go there, by the way, it is incredible. Definitely has a feel like the cantina Dandy del Sur I visited in Tijuana, (here's a song about it by Nortec Collective) but obviously a bit more high brow. A local street fest rendered that space insane, and we found ourselves wandering around, looking for another place to go. We ended up at Bodega, a bar/cafe in the Short North that serves a scrumptious beer selection. After one glass of liquid courage, we were chatting away like old friends once again, about anything and everything. While we tried to steer our conversations about the new happenings in our lives, we would inevitably make connections to the old times, which led to a lot of laughs. Leslie and I came together in our formative years, and I believe that we had a lot of influence on one another and how we have turned out to this day. It was so nice to feel at ease with her, instead of sitting awkwardly, searching for things to say. And since I am trying to make my way out west, it looks as though we might end up closer than we thought if her LA and my San Diego plans pan out.

And speaking of old friends, I will be going with Leslie tomorrow to see Alix in the hospital. Alix is still in similar conditions that I described in an earlier post, after stray gunfire hit her in the neck and spinal cord. But I keep hearing that she is in good spirits, and I am excited to go visit. I know it will be emotionally draining, but it will be good to see her. I hope I can come up with something nice to bring for her.