Friday Hodgepodge: Take Two

I called this Take Two because I did you the favor of deleting the total pity party that I wrote on my first draft of this mofo.

I was trying to articulate how I feel changed. It's different, this post traumatic life.I have gained the benefit of perspective, and that is good. Yet my day to day life remains the same, and the people in it have tragically not gained perspective, so they somehow still think that their bullshit is important. So it's like my perspective is tainted because I no longer have any tolerance. My new enlightened personality bears an uncanny resemblance to that of a big, fat, intolerant asshole.

But this is take TWO, the lighthearted one! Yay!

It's Friday, and Thursday night was definitively awesome. I got to have dinner with my girl Beth! We were horrified to realize how long it's been, I've seen Ellie more than I've seen Beth this summer, and she has a 3,000 mile handicap.

Beth and I have a lovely tradition of eating sushi together. I love Beth, but I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE sushi.

I thought I'd hodgepodge poetic about our sushi rituals,but I kept forgetting to document the bounty because I was talking and talking and talking... I hadn't seen Beth since my return from Connecticut, and all she knew of the details about Dad's death was what she'd read here on the blog.

We had lots to talk about.

I did manage to pick up the camera every now and then. So let's commence with the hodgepodge now, k?

Here's how to have sushi with Beth.

Step 1: Order a giant beer at our favorite sidewalk joint, and clap wildly while the waitron pours it for you with flourish:


Step 2: First Round. Edamame, two orders of salmon nigiri, one spicy tuna roll. Soy sauce? Green label. Wasabi? Much.

Step 3: talk and talk and talk and talkandtalkandtalkandtalkandtalk... then order the piece de resistance, the lemon roll, but forget to take a photo until you've eaten half of it, so use a tricky zoom maneuver to make it look complete.



Step 4: nothing left but the fortunes


Fortunate fortunes

Step 5: return from the bathroom to learn that Beth has a list of intended neighborhood visits, and tonight is the night to cross off the place with the sign:


Step 6: Climb the stairway to heaven:



and find a lovely secret spot!

Step 7: Photograph said lovely spot poorly:


Step 8: Vow to do this more frequently, this cathartic time with a friend so great that no filters are necessary and there's no need to wipe away the tears as they fall.

Step 9: Apparently there's a Habitat for Humanity resale shop that needs to be crossed off the list next. I'm game, as long as we stop at the Firehouse Brewing Company first.

Thanks, Beth. mmmmmmmmmmwwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!