What A Week, What A Year

It's been crazy-humid in San Diego this week. That's really put a cramp in my training style. When it's muggy, it's very hard to get me to workout. All I want to do is lie on the bed and let the World's Most Powerful Fan™ blow on me. In fact, that's what I'm doing right this minute. In spite the humidity, it's been a good week - went to my first Padres game, had the best training session evah, even my work has been manageable.

I'm coming up on the first anniversary of my move to San Diego. My brain swings between thinking a year already and only a year. When I left Dallas last August, I comforted myself with the knowledge that I could always go back there.

In Texas, I was blessed to have two groups of incredibly close friends: the Tribe and the CoolGirls. None of the Tribe members were in serious relationships and we had a standing date for Friday night Mexican. Some of my favorite memories of Dallas will always be sitting in the back room of Avila's Restaurant and laughing. Laughing at Carla's ironic, intellectual musings, Ray's sage take on the world, Leia's naive wholesomeness, Ru's Scottish charm, Blyss's outrageous rampages for booty, Roger's vengeful colon and Tina's "terrorist" attack in Lutin Aiport.*

The CoolGirls are a group of women friends that bonded with a complete lack of bitchiness. We have nothing in common - age, marital status, background, but we love and defend each other. We met every month and laughed until we cried (and occasionally cried until we laughed). Through divorces, first dates, misdirected love affairs, jobs, kids ... we hung together. Fueled by Crown and Coke, Nicotine and low-carb diets we had these marathon gab-fests. We'd spend so long chatting, that people would fall asleep on the floor, then wake up and resume their part of the conversation.

Over the course of the last few years, both the Tribe and the CoolGirls have changed. People have gotten married which expanded the groups, but also diluted us. They've conceived children, moved across the country and across Oceans. This weekend Jim and Leia are moving from Dallas. It's hit me very hard. I could go back to Dallas as a place, but not as the community that I miss.

Of course, then I look at my adorable neighborhood in California, the friendships that I'm building here, the Ocean and I realize that things are good. I'm still incredibly blessed.

*There were other people that made my life in Texas special - Tony, Nick, Moni, Annella, Josh, Jim, AB, Lyn, Vanessa, Michele, Erica, Ashlee, Nat, Jon, Natalie, Karen...I missing tons of people and I love you all.