Sunday, January 22, 2006

 

On the nature of friendship

J and I have been discussing friendship lately. How much does one do for a friend? How long do you hold of to a friendship where you're the only one doing the "work"? When does a friend stop being a friend?

What would you do for a friend? What's your max? Help them move? Co-sign a loan? Buy them really expensive presents?
How do you deal with friendships that change? I've been friends with L. since we were 5. In high school, we were inseparable. But now I'm quite liberal (not that I haven't been my whole life), live a couple of hours away and she's a big Ann Coulter fan. I see her a couple of times a year and hope that she won't offer to let me borrow any AC books (I'm more than a little concerned that they'll melt in my hands). I still have a strong bond with her, but I know that there are things we'll never talk about, that we'll never be as close as we used to be.
Then there's D. I met her in college and we bonded instantly. We had plans for the rest of our life and retirement. Then she moved away, met a boy and because he didn't like me, I was dumped. I wasn't the only friend who didn't pass muster. Her boy is a big homophobe, so our gay couple friends got the ax as well. She knew that it wasn't rational or good to have to give up friends "just for him", but it didn't seem to slow her down any. "He's there when I go to bed and he's there when I wake up in the morning." Yeah, that's because you two live together and might I remind you, YOU'RE the one who moved to the other side of the continent. Sigh. That one was painful. So much so that I didn't talk about it for a few years. I'm not sure that it's better now, but it's further away.
Then there's D2. I love her. I really do. She's much more sophisticated, worldly and lots of fun. We don't see each other much and now, much of our conversation is dominated by discussion of her little one. I've always thought she would be fun to just "hang out" with, but we rarely ever have. We have great conversations, she "gets" things about me that no one ever has, but I've always spent a lot of time with close friends...just not with her. The Boy often doesn't understand why I "stay" friends with her. I admit, I do a lot of the "chasing" in the relationship.
Then there's B. She too "gets" things about me and we "click" on so many levels. When we worked together (directly across from each other) we were inseparable. She has a much more active, on the go job and I've literally had 2 phone calls from her in a year. I'm not bitter, but I do miss my friend.

So, how much is "too much"??

Sunday, January 15, 2006

 

Wow....

What a game! Unlike last night's game, I'm almost a little sad that someone had to lose the Pitt/Indy game. And what a game it WAS! Pitt's going to blow them out! Manning helms a scoring drive that took just over a minute! Colts give it up on downs at their own 2! Brackett knocks it out of Bettis's arm! Vanderjagt misses a 46 yard field goal!

Whew. What a game. I think it took 3 years off my life. If you're a football fan, you couldn't ask for a better game. Great defense, exciting offense. Damn, what a game.

If I went through all that and Pitt loses to Denver (who I hate), I'll cry. I think I'd have preferred to see Pitt play the Patriots. Especially the Patriots who played last night. I'm not sure who that was, but the Pats who played last night were NOT the same team that played Jacksonville. THAT team would have whipped Denver...and I would have laughed like a little girl.

Saturday, January 14, 2006

 

My kingdom for an offense...

although I don't have a kingdom and all my personal assets aren't enough to pay the league minimum. Damn, Washington needs a better offense. I'll keep Clinton Portis, most of the offensive line and Santana Moss. But both Mark Brunell and Patsy Ramsey have to go. Mark--you can't sit in the pocket and read a book. When you need 20 yards for a first down, a short pass up the middle to a guy who is about to get creamed by 2 other guys is NOT the way to do it. Sigh. At least I still have Chicago and I can live with Carolina if that's how the NFC shapes up. And if it IS Seattle, well, that Grant Wistrom is a cute guy and former Razorback Ken Hamlin played for them for a while.

On the AFC, it's just my Steelers. The Bronco/NE game will be fun for me simply because I get to watch one of them lose. Indy and Pitt will be a good game, even if it's Jerome Bettis's last.

I'm a little scared by Jimmy Johnson's hair. I'm watching the Fox post-game show and it's way too fluffy and spiky....or at least too much so for HIM. It almost looks like a toupee. Jimmy, you're not a young'un and we love you....still. Tell the hair/makeup folks you have enough game about you to keep the helmet hair thing.

Sunday, January 08, 2006

 

I heartily dislike the Patriots

I can't really say that I "hate" them. All in all, they're not bad people, it's just that I'm a Miami fan and I can't have any actual affection for New England. Respect? Sure. What's not to respect about such a well-run, well-coached, high-performing team? From a QB who is willing to take less money so that they can address other team needs to a coach who can turn a window washer into a star player, to the owner who stays out of the way, they're a great organization. They certainly deserve their success, but I can't cheer for them.

Washington wins and keeps their season alive for a bit longer. And suddenly, LeVar Arrington says he might stay another year. He's great when he bothers to care about his team. LeVar, if you're willing to be a team player, I'm all for keeping you (not that I get a vote). If not, move on.

So the NFC turned out exactly like I'd wanted: Washington and Carolina advancing. The AFC isn't looking great. I'd have prefered that Jacksonville would have beaten New England, but they made too few mistakes and Jax made too many. I don't dare speculate about Cincy and Pit. Let's just say that I started watching football in 1976 and I don't like Dallas.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

 

Welcome 2006

So far, 2006 is quite nice. Had a WONDERFUL dinner last night at Acadia with The Boy. How do you not love "Fresh romaine lettuce tossed with a creamy sage caesar dressing with sauteed smoked duck, asparagus, and toasted almonds" and "Pan seared sea scallops with sour cream grilled vegetable ranchero sauce and cumin-cilantro soft baked polenta"?? Even the creme brulee was perfect...sugar on top was carmelized perfectly. I know, fluffy-sounding food, but it was darn, darn good. The salad was fresh and crisp and the duck was perfect. I have got to get over my fear of cooking duck. The cumin in the scallop dish was a little heavy-smelling, but the flavor balanced well. The sauce was great, the polenta wonderful. The scallops--a fav of mine, especially when done as well as these were--were the least interesting part of the dish.
The whole experience started out odd, but well. I had a DVD to take back to Best Buy, so we went early. But Best Buy closed early, so we drove around for a bit. Downtown was lively and the Peabody was covered up. We got to Acadia 15 min before our reservation. The Manager said "Hi" to us, I said hi to a guy I went to college with, then less than 5 min later, we were seated. The Boy asked how WE got seated early when other folks were waiting. I wasn't sure. Then as we're eating dinner, Manager stops by to tell us about a wine he'd gotten for way under it's normal cost and asks if we'd like a bottle. Sure we say. It was a bottle I've seen, but haven't bought because a half bottle is expensive. It was as good as I'd thought it would be. We were in the party room of the place, fairly small, so I could look around and see that we were the only ones with this wine. The Manager stopped to talk to other folks, but WE got the wine. Yes, my Pimp Hand was strong last night.
Came home and had champagne with The Boy. Very nice. Put black eyed peas in to soak last night and they cooked up pretty quick today. Washed and chopped some collard greens and the boy gave them a quick saute. So I've had my traditional lunch. Hopefully good luck and money will be plentiful this year.
And I certainly hope that for you as well, Gentle Reader.....

Monday, January 02, 2006

 

Random thought #1

A little ironic to me, that the last day of the regular season in the NFL is on the first day of the year. Oh, well, it was good football. Miami and Washington won, WSH and CHI are going to the playoffs.....

Sunday, January 01, 2006

 
testing, testing (I've had issues getting a post to "take")

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