Make New Friends, but Keep the Old

Busy, busy weekend. Marley officially hates me for spending no time with him.

So Friday after work, I felt winded running 6 miles. It was painful. The first three, I kept wanting to turn back which I only consider if I am really struggling. I forced myself to push through and when I'd completed three miles, I finally seemed to get in the zone so it was all good after that. It's usually not so much of a struggle which is evidence of my slacking.

That evening, a girl friend and I made plans to have a reunion of sorts with a guy friend of ours we hadn't seen since fall. We first met at Tugg's, but it was really crowded so we walked to Whitey's in NE Minneapolis. A friend of mine from work came with a couple of his buddies as well.

It was good to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. Whitey's is a very relaxed place so there was no craziness going on -- no stripper pole in the middle of the dance floor. Not even a makeshift (i.e. move the tables and chairs), designated dance area. Good conversation, and that alone, is responsible for providing the entertainment.

After Whitey's, my girl friend and our old pal (my work friend went home) headed over to Grandma's to meet up with her friend from nursing school that was in town. Given my friend and I used to work at Grandma's, it is always an experience to go back there. I often feel overwhelmed by a flooding of flashbacks. However, the place was absolutely dead. Even on $1 beer night! That says a lot. The bartenders still hook us up so that's always a positive, but it was kind of depressing to see the lack of patrons. It was so dead they hadn't even bothered to turn off the lights in a place that used to be a major meat-market -- lighting is NOT conducive to random hook-ups!

After a two-week break from alcohol, my tolerance noticeably lowered. The two drinks at Whitey's were STRONG. I barely had anything at Grandma's, but I felt really drunk. Unfortunately, going to Grandma's turned out to be a buzzkill. By 1:00 am, all I wanted to do was go to bed and go to bed, I did.