Suzy Says

We are in the throes of the annual fundraiser, and as you know, nothing annual is ever good. This is no exception. There’s a week left to go, and I just have to get through it. I’m the Little Suzy That Could!

When things like this are going on, I feel less like doing things like meeting my friends after work, but this is exactly when I need to do it. So I’ve given myself the gift of time with my friends despite all the fundraising madness. One evening, I met my friend Richard at a lovely bar in Hooterville, overlooking the wintry ocean:

You can see the rain out at sea, and it stayed there as Richard and I caught up with each other’s news. We used to work together at the jobette, and now neither of us does, and we are both better off for that change in Fate, even if we couldn’t see it at the time.

As is his wont, Richard has been traveling, but it’s been more domestic than international. His wife recently retired and spent a couple of months with her very aged father, who used to play major league baseball for the Chicago White Sox. He lives on a plantation in Louisiana:

with his dog named Snack Bar:

This is the twelfth dog with the same name. They are all the same breed, too.

Richard retrieved his wife and they drove back to California together, taking the southern route since it’s winter, stopping along the way to spend New Year’s Eve with yet another former jobette alumnus in Tucson, of whom I am quite fond, too. We had a great time together. He is so positive and caring and has such interesting perspectives on everything.

Last night, I stopped off to meet my friend Erin in the Village. Like Richard, she too used to work at the jobette, and like us, she has now gone on to (much) better things. I’m lucky I met such great people there and that we are still good friends.

Our original plan was to have a drink in the bar of the historic hotel, but we discovered that the bar was closed until much later due to the winter season. One thing about living in a resort area is that it tends to quieten down quite a lot in the off season. So we repaired to a restaurant down the street, where we had a stunning view of the still stormy ocean.

Time flew by until it was time for Erin to pick up her son from basketball practice. We promised each other that we would get together next month, at Erin’s house. She has been making changes to her kitchen and I am dying to see it. Maybe spending more time with my friends this year is a resolution I will keep!

On my way home, I was delighted to notice a rainbow arching into the pink clouds over the Ridge:

It was the perfect end to the day.

A YEAR AGO: The power was off! And on! And off again!

FIVE YEARS AGO: Leaving the jobette. It was hard. But I’m glad I still have my friends from working there.

TEN YEARS AGO: Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening me.

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: A little quiz about me. Fifteen years later, most of it’s still true. Is that good or bad?