Recent Events, part 1

The past few weeks have been particularly hectic. I've explained it to several different people in several different ways by omitting several different details, but I guess I'll finally compile all my thoughts on the subject and use this as the definitive repository for those details. I believe that was actually one of my motivating factors for creating this.

Gainesville, Florida - July 29 - August 7
I had an over-night flight back home. Layover in Dallas or something. The flights were pretty uneventful. I was stuck between two people the first flight and on the second flight I could have sworn I was sitting next to Helen Mirren. After landing and waiting outside in the stuffy heat, my mom finally picks me up. We then go run a bunch of errands around Jacksonville. I was fine at first but lack of sleep was making me antsy and I guess I don't remember too many other details after that. I don't feel like going through events day-by-day since most aren't particularly exciting so instead I'll summarize the activities.

• I hung out with the Get-Fresh crew a few times. Once at Brophy's pub, where Greg was completely out of control and somehow I was spilling all these drinks despite being sober. I also got to see Suresh there. He has a boss-fight to implement and only a few more weeks to do it. The other time was at Ryan's, and we played Soul Calibur 5 and ate donuts.
• I hung out quite a bit with Laura. This involved watching TV and a movie at her place, going out to some bar a few times, meeting up with some friends of mine, and a few more things that I'm not going to admit to since this is technically a public forum, and not that it was that bad but I'm a gentleman and don't share secrets.
• I saw my dad a few times, either for dinner/lunch or to help him manage his automobiles. We ate at El Norteno on one day and the last day at Mr. Han's. He was nice enough to let me borrow his car, which allowed me a bit more freedom than I was expecting, especially since I was hoping to go out of town a few times. He may be moving soon to the Panhandle of Florida, meaning he won't be "home" anymore.
• I visited Taylor and Kristin in their home in Orlando. They live near downtown near Lake Eola in a neat little house by a neat little pond. They're both doing really well, and really into Crossfit, which seems rather fun and is something I'd like to try eventually. On the drive back I somehow had missed the gas station I always go to before getting on the Turnpike so had no money for tolls, forcing me to write a check for $2.50.
  
• I was an esteemed guest at the wedding of Jamie Marks in St. Petersburg. I had no idea what to expect. I came in with expectations that it was going to be very awkward for me since I don't know her friends all that well. Most of the guests were not her friends but rather friends of her parents. It ended up being rather nice. The ceremony was nice, bi/tri-lingual with some Cherokee rituals involved. Then there were cocktails while the dinner tables were being setup. At first I was just sitting around, finally got a drink, sat some more, got some crackers. I was soon approached by Tracy, a friend of Jamie's from highschool and chatted with her and two of her friends for a bit. Then I ran into Bethany, another friend of Jamie's who I was in Jamie's student film project with. I ended up spending most of my time with her, especially since we ended up sitting together for dinner. At one point she asked if I had a hotel room and mentioned she was sharing one with some of the bridesmaids, and I enjoyed briefly relishing the ever-so-slight chance at that being some sort of come-on. Needless to say even if it was a come-on, my skill at missing such obvious signs ensured I wasn't going to be ensnared. Jamie was beautiful, and unfortunately and understandably could only devote a few minutes to catching up with me. I never got the chance to meet Pau, though. I left during the dancing and made it back to Gainesville early enough hang out with the guys.
• I rode and attempted to fix my bike. It was in pretty bad shape with the not-having-been-ridden-in-over-a-year and the chlorine fumes that make anything rust. I'd have done Hawthorne trail but I still had no idea where it was. I need more spontaneous-bike-ride friends, both here and in Florida.
• I had dinner with some former co-workers at Ichiban. It was good to see them, and good to talk about nerdy things that I thought I could only talk about with people here in Washington.
  

Things I didn't do that I wanted to include eating at various places I enjoy, such as Satchel's, Burrito Brothers, and El Indio. I didn't go to any of the old haunts like Common Grounds or Atlantic, and it would have been nice to do so and run in to some old acquaintances I met through Heather. I also didn't really connect with my brother. In fact I barely saw him but once. I'd like to try some day to talk with him, despite having lived under the same roof we're pretty much strangers. Finally, I didn't see Stephanie. I think I would have liked to, and I think I'm "ready" to see her happy and have that remind me of everything I did wrong, but time didn't permit.

On August 7th, I flew out from Jacksonville airport to Chicago.