Old friends revisited...

I had my day out with my old college friends. No matter how much time passes, we pick up right where we left off and it's as if we were never apart. I can honestly say I love these guys. We met at Linnea Bakery for coffee and sweet rolls. It was a beautiful sunny day so we sat outside and the laughing began. I never laugh as much as when I'm with these guys! We ended up sitting there for quite some time and before we knew it  it was time to go to Parkside. I had arranged for a tour of the new theatre. Another old, dear friend who now works at Parkside met us and was our tour guide. Wow! Has UW - Parkside changed. The main theatre is still there and still looks great but there is a new smaller space too and two or three rehearsal spaces. The costume shop, where I spent many long hours, is no longer in the basement but has a beautiful new main floor home. It was awesome!

After our tour we headed back downtown and had a drink at the new Rustic Road Brewery. I had a killer Bloody Mary! Soon, it was time for dinner so we headed over to Ashling on the Lough for some authentic Irish food. This is probably my favorite restaurant in town. We were going to go to the Hob Nob but at the last minute they decided it might be too expensive so we changed it up. At Ashling, my god, we laughed. These guys are the more naturally funny people I know. I had tears in my eyes from laughter.

Next time, we hope more of the group can make it. We're going to pick a date and hope it's far enough in advance that everyone can be there. In the meantime, I have some great memories and Sunday just added to them. Old friends are really the best.

What? Me? Embarrassed?

I overheard someone say "that was the most embarrassing thing ever!" and I started thinking of when I've felt truly embarrassed.

I recall one time when I was a teen. I was at a local McDonald's with my best friend Liz. We had been out shopping and goofing around and were now ravenous! This was just at the time that McDonald's introduced those character shaped cookies. The place was quite crowded and Liz was just in front of me. She ordered her food and at the last minute also ordered some of the cookies. She stepped aside to pay and I stepped up to order. So, I ordered my food and then ordered the cookies too. I nudged Liz with my elbow and in a seductive, joking tone I said, "Heh heh, I have cookies too!" It was then I realized Liz wasn't standing next to me anymore and I had actually nudged a strange man who now had a very frightened look on his face. Liz was waiting, with her food, behind me. She had seen the whole thing and was laughing her ass off! I was so embarrassed!

Another equally embarrassing moment was also brought on by me doing something completely idiotic. I was at Parkside and in a show. There were evening rehearsals and I would get there through the generosity of my best friend Scott. We were always doing such strange, goofy things that made us laugh. We made up this weird song on the way to school one night. It went like this (in a falsetto voice):
Mama...gimme a kiss, Mama....gimme a kiss, Mama....MamaMamaMamaMamaMama...MAMA!

That was it. And each time you sang it you got louder, screechier and higher! For some reason this cracked us up. So, one night on the way to school we were singing that song off and on. We got to Parkside and were headed toward the Comm-Arts Building. I was singing/screeching that song at the top of my lungs since we were the only two people around. Scott was in front of me and all of a sudden he started walking really fast. I kept dancing around and singing and screeching. When I got into the building, just inside the door, another student went past me and up the stairs. Turns out he was walking behind me the entire way from the parking lot. Also turns out that Scott knew he was there and that's why he started walking so fast. When I got inside, Scott was around the corner laughing so hard he was almost peeing himself! I was so embarrassed!! Acting a total fool catches up with me every single time.

Oh there have been other times too. Now that I think of them, almost too many to want to talk about! I'll leave you with these two and keep the rest to myself.