Amy and me at Standard and Pours
Me getting ready for a night out...yep, those are stilletoes (thanks to Dutch's Sarah and our wild, Georgian shopping spree at Target)... I'm finally embracing my feminine side, as opposed to my skinned knee, tree climbing, hockey loving side.

Finally! It's the week-end. I wasn't sure I would make it what with research library day, grades due, and litmag submission DEADlines. Thank God for nights out on the town. I love to get a little sassy and head to Dallas or Ft. Worth so that I can pretend that I have lifestyle (flip phone and sun glasses required), and that is exactly what we did last night. Only last night was extremely special because I got to reconnect with some folks who are very, very dear to me, friends Amy and Neal! The evening started with a tour of nations at Trinity Hall, one of my favorite places to hang out. When I say tour of nations, I mean there were dueling musicians; outside of the Angelica there was an awesome samba/salsa/combo group and inside of Trinity, we had the typical Irish music, complete with River Dancing. (Which reminds me of the time my 7th graders were getting up too often and I made them River Dance when they did get up to sharpen their pencils or ask for a bathroom pass. This was an effort to keep them seated (because who would really River Dance in real life, right?), but instead I spent most of my day laughing at/with the little guys who took the instruction seriously and who really worked hard at dancing with their arms straight and furrowed brow over to the pencil sharpener. 7th graders don't always get sarcasm...) This would have been pretty fun, except the place was so packed that you pretty much had to stand over people while they were eating (literally get in their personal space)to make them uncomfortable enough to hurry so that you could get a table. How rude and, again, could be fun. Actually, this is how I sometimes meet people, but this evening was special and we had plans that involved timing. So, we ended up at Campisi's, Dallas's oldest pizza parlor for dinner. It rocked, as did the conversation and reconnection! After dinner we headed to a place called Standard and Pours where we heard one of Amy's college friends, Becky Middleton, sing. She was amazing!! I so enjoyed getting to hang out with Amy who actually is the friend I've known the longest. We often joked that she is 30 days older than me and those are the only sad, dark 30 days we haven't known each other. I want to kick my own ass for not keeping in touch better (has it really been 8 years?), but maybe now we can continue to hang out. So, we had a night out on the town... Mostly we had a night of reconnection. If I truly buy into the idea that the most valuable thing about this life is the human connection, then I need to be a better friend. That involves making more time for people (as opposed to the job!) and writing statements like, "I am too busy to talk now," less!
Amy and Neal, thanks for a fun night! I look forward to many more!