Another Friday night in the 215

Last Saturday night (March 29, 2014), I got an unexpected message on facebook from my old college friend, M. Lorge, saying that he and his wife were in Philly, but since the Phillies game was rained-out, they were free and wondering what I was up to.  After checking with Jeannie, who was 39 weeks pregnant at that point, I invited Lorge and his wife to come by our place for a visit after they ate dinner.  We had a great time.  I was so happy to see my old friend, who I hadn't seen for about three years before that.  We hung out for over 5 hours, from 7pm until almost 1am, and went through nearly 3 bottles of wine (Jeannie didn't drink).  It was great catching up with Lorge and after we'd caught up and also warmed up a bit on wine, we got to the fun part, which was going over old stories from college.  I definitely intend to write as many of those stories on to this blog, but I'm going to hold off for now.  The point for now is that it was a great night, and I felt the happiest I've felt in a while.  Although Lorge doesn't live more than about an hour away, it's tough because he has a young son and three stepsons, in addition to running his own business.  I wrote him a follow-up message earlier this week, saying though that we really need to get together at least twice per year.  And he replied to agree.  I hope to see him again some time this summer.

I've made a lot of friends over the years and I recognize (since I've said it before) that things change and thus relationships change and evolve.  For instance, I'm not as close with Paul and Evan as I was when I was in my early to mid 20s, for reasons related to different socio-political beliefs and also due to class.  It's sad when some relationships change.  But it's also part of life.  And some people, even though they're close by and they're good people, I just don't fully connect with, even though I don't quite know why.  A perfect example of this is Corey, here in Philly.  He's a good guy, and I enjoy catching up with him every once in a while, but I also don't see myself becoming better friends with him than I am now.  I can't say what it is; maybe the slight difference in age is enough to create that relationship gap; maybe it's that I never got a great feeling from his wife, Laura; I can't say for sure, but I'll accept reality.  Coming back to the point, though, I'd love to deepen at least one or two friendships.  Besides my wife Jeannie, I want to feel like I've got someone who's got my back, someone I can hang out with and connect with, and someone to look forward to seeing and spending time with.  With Jeannie and I starting a family, is that going to be difficult?  I don't know.  As I sit here at the computer, and look to my right down the length of this floor, I see the glass doors leading out to the patio.  I think back to last summer, when we had a handful of get-togethers, and I believe it's very possible that we can invite friends here to hang out and spend time.  The main X factor now is how we'll feel doing that after the birth of our baby girl, which can happen any day now.

Last night, Jeannie and I had a date at Seafood Unlimited.  We took a cab there.  We started ordering drinks: a lemonade for Jeannie and a glass of malbec for me.  I ordered a shrimp bisque to start, which was good, although not warm enough.  Then, for my entree, I had a crab cake with cajun remoulade, and a baked potato and mixed vegetables on the side.  Jeannie had seafood empanadas and a salad.  Overall, it was good, but not overwhelming.  I liked the vibe, though, especially since I know that Jeannie didn't want to go anywhere too fancy.  The Sixers game was playing on the television behind the bar (they beat the Celtics).  The lighting throughout was a warm blue-green.  And of course the front room was characterized with the beautiful Isaiah Zagar mosaic mural (see here for photos).  Overall, it was a nice time.  We took a cab home and spent the night watching the movie Joe Kidd, starring Clint Eastwood, while flipping to the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets game during commercials (the Rockets won, behind a huge game from James Harden, though Kevin Durant tied Michael Jordan for 40 consecutive games scoring 25+ points).  It was a good night.  I thank God.