So my "little brother" is 30 today.
Did the pub crawl w/him and the gang last night. It was a great time, even though I had my reservations at first...not being the most sociable or comfortable w/strangers so much these days (years). (Work is COMPLETELY different...)Thankfully I hung in there and got to help celebrate his birthday the way he wanted to.
I met Ryan about, 8 years ago I think. We were both working at a credit union in Fridley. I don't quite recall how it is that we started talking but talk we did because it turns out he was -at that point -a JW and was thinking about leaving it because he was wanting to pursue a relationship w/someone who wasn't. This combined w/his being generous enough to give me a ride back and forth to work (and out for lunch) for a while when I lived in Uptown and without my own transportation turned our acquaintanceship into friendship.
I've been able to give him a post-JW perspective throughout the years as he's continued to grow into being the great man he is and is going to be.
Oh sure, he's a grown-up, done grown-up things, but like most JW's, is still innocent and naive about how this crazy world works. I say naive w/love. When you live a very sheltered life, live in bubble like you do when you're a JW, it can be a tough transition to be suddenly out in world you were warned strongly against...living in. He's done his share of fuck-up's but he's also learning from those mistakes just like the rest of us.
He's had quite the ride the last couple of years as he's dealing with a lot of changes in his life but he stays positive and optimistic and still keeps on keepin' on.
When we really started to become closer friends, I felt this huge sense of relief that I had found friends I could truly be myself with ..I was already me and they didn't know earlier versions of me (aka REALLY fucked up) and we just ...were... with each other. I have lost a few close friends over the years and making new friends was tough but this happened and it's been one of the best things to happen me in the last decade.
He gets that I have to have my "me" time but isn't afraid to poke me out of doing the hermit thing.
I always enjoy hanging out with him and really should do it more often. He's a great person to do anything and everything with. Chill nights w/movies, playing cards, eating good food or going out on the town or bowling...he's up for any of it. And he keeps introducing me to really great people...and though I don't talk to some of them so much anymore, they remain close to my heart.
He's so easy to be with. (And y'all know how important that is w/my "drama queen" tendencies!)
I'm looking forward to seeing him continue to grow and learn and be the best he can be.
Happy Happy Birthday my dear friend. I love you.
Musings from a big and beautiful sometimes "drama queen" on her current state of existence
What's It All About?
"The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates
While you’re here, in this time and in this space, you are beautiful and you are perfect.
You are right where you need to be to get to where you want to go, so start asking yourself where you want to go.
Noire
She'll be 2 years in 2 months! Time flies!
Things I'm grateful for everyday....
- My family
- My friends, old and new.
- A roof over my head.
- My computer & internet access
- Being employed (even if I don't always like things about my job)
- The public library and the joy of borrowing books with/on/for my Kindle
- That I can walk on two legs, use 2 arms/hands, have ten fingers/toes, can see and hear, etc. (uh, no offense to anyone who is physically challenged)
- Other people's creativity and efforts
- The love of a good man (he IS good)
- My friends, old and new.
- A roof over my head.
- My computer & internet access
- Being employed (even if I don't always like things about my job)
- The public library and the joy of borrowing books with/on/for my Kindle
- That I can walk on two legs, use 2 arms/hands, have ten fingers/toes, can see and hear, etc. (uh, no offense to anyone who is physically challenged)
- Other people's creativity and efforts
- The love of a good man (he IS good)
Current Favorite Quotes
“Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” - Lao Tzu
"The privilege of a lifetime is to be who you are." ~ Joseph Campbell
"Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some." ~ Charles Dickens
"We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same." -Carlos Castañeda
"..there’s something lovely about knowing that when it’s right, you really know it’s right because you’ve already been through all the wrong." ~ Sade
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." ~ Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss)
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." —Mark Twain
(This bit not so much as a quote but somethings I wrote down that I want to keep and this looks like a good place to do it)
7-25-07
1. Almost everything comes from almost nothing.
2. The best way to predict your future is to create it.
3. Leap and the net will appear.
"The privilege of a lifetime is to be who you are." ~ Joseph Campbell
"Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some." ~ Charles Dickens
"We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same." -Carlos Castañeda
"..there’s something lovely about knowing that when it’s right, you really know it’s right because you’ve already been through all the wrong." ~ Sade
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." ~ Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss)
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." —Mark Twain
(This bit not so much as a quote but somethings I wrote down that I want to keep and this looks like a good place to do it)
7-25-07
1. Almost everything comes from almost nothing.
2. The best way to predict your future is to create it.
3. Leap and the net will appear.
Facts of Life (per Sonya Friedman)
- 1. No one can bring your life to you
- 2. No matter what you do, someone important isn't going to like it
- 3. Though painful, rejection won't kill you - it may even lead to growth
- 4. Every choice means giving up something different
- 5. Some people aren't capable of giving you what you're trying to get from them
- 6. The way you treat yourself sets the standard for others
- 7. There are no quick fixes that can permanently change your life
- 8. Life is on a rheostat, not an on/off switch
- 9. Some problems cannot be solved - but you can make peace with them