so i’ve been getting into the habit of meeting with people i hadn’t seen since high school and beyond. coffee here, lunch there. and it’s been surprising how similar everyone is to their former selves. physically, conversationally, and just plain essentially.
i mean, you’d think we’d change after all these years, right? i guess we have, just not in the stereotypical high-school-reunion-look-at-me-now sort of way that i was hoping for.
so, shall we?
the rare chances mike comes by with the baby are important- seeing this little girl, in pretty much the same mold as her father, learn and adapt and communicate, is startling, comforting and fascinating all at the same time. she’s my first direct niece, and at only 1.3, she’s already acting like a 3yr old. and pronouncing words.
i briefly joined in julian’s bachelor party that week as well, though before the, um, ‘paid’ portion of the entertainment began. presidential suite at the hyatt, lots of booze, it made for an interesting night, though i’m pretty sure it got more interesting after i left.
the next night i actually stayed through the interesting part. five friends of mine had birthdays concurrently celebrated at bruno’s, alongside a friend’s sister’s bachelorette party. the pictures can pretty much explain it all. pretty much.
the next afternoon i documented the team’s preparation for the next week’s barbecue. despite the criticism for a “lack of participation,” i pretty much stayed away from the painting area and did the job i signed up for.
i left the climes of junipero serra blvd to see the old prom date at the RockMake fair. the mission/Harrison area had the lion’s share of the city’s sunlight, and it was interesting to see more of the handmade community’s work. i also picked up Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein for a couple bucks. unfortunately, not everything was as cheap as a book from the friends of the sf public library. the hipsters didn’t help, either.
after another week of practice, the team had its ‘homecoming’ barbecue, named so because it’s their chance to welcome back a lot of retired members and partake in a high-school-esque king & queen vote. that made things interesting. but the food was good, the weather even better, and we had at it, though the human knot likely wasn’t the best idea for a quick icebreaker.
i drove down to ‘the cupertizzle’ that monday to get dave a beer for missing his birthday. though the parking lot at that particular BJ’s brewery is as big as a shoebox, we managed, and i had a great time with em, jacinda and the southeast bay ‘azn pryde’ crew. represent.
that sunday i spent driving up into marin to shuck oysters. it was a good two hour drive in, great weather and lots of interesting scenery in ‘the other 415.’ the weather was actually nice out there in the boonies, and getting fresh air for the first time in a while is always good. the drive back took an hour more than necessary, but that was expected since they shut down the bay bridge that weekend.
i was back on the road for labor day, having a small barbecue with the family in half moon bay. it was mostly spent staring at claire and making sure she didn’t put rocks in her mouth. but it counts.
and then came the interesting week with my cousin ian, visiting from london. as soon as his plane hit the ground, i took him all over the city, from usf to coit tower, to a baseball game or two and nothing but the local flavor. even with a taste of dragonboat. we can also conclude that him and harvey’s accents were useful at the club for jasmine’s birthday.
ian’s last days in america were marked by some more trips back up here, and some fun with an old neighbor from london and the sheilas in san jose.
[speaking of which, i think i finally learned how to drive down there]
i took some time off to make sure he had the best sf visit ever, in part because my first epic vacation taken alone happened when i was right around his age, and i was gonna make damn sure that his would surpass mine by leaps and bounds.
i guess it made me feel young again to just be around him and his friends. from their perspective i’m the old geezer. thing is, i’m not exactly grasping backwards for my youth. i had my fun, in the exact same situations, sans the english accent and preference for earl grey tea.
so the cycle has really completed itself. things are a bit different now. instead of bubble gum and popcorn, we’re all drinking alcohol and buying overpriced dinners. we’re talking work and retirement, instead of girls and video games. and none of us at this age seem to mind.
alright fine, maybe we’re still talking about girls. but otherwise, we’re all pretty much the same.
