Ramble Zone

I must begin this post with an apology. My sister read the last post and was miffed that I left her off my list of people. So this is for you - sorry. Forgive me? :-)

Ah, now that's out of the way. I actually am not sure what the subject of this blog will be. Let's just see where the whimsy takes me...

Tomorrow I'm meeting a friend from university. We met up around this time last year, so figured we might as well have another catch up. He doesn't actually live that far away so we could probably meet more often, but you know how these things go. You say you'll meet, time slips by and you don't. Before you know it a whole year has gone by. So we're meeting for lunch tomorrow at a sort of halfway point between our towns. Only seemed fair really. Last year we met in Southampton because that's where we went to uni, then realised we should have met somewhere closer for both of us. Duh.

It's nice to catch up with old friends. It's funny, I don't keep in close contact with the people from uni that I thought I would. One of the girls I thought I was good friends with 'de-friended' me on Facebook a few months after we left uni. Bit weird, but I figured it was her loss. I keep in better contact with people I went to college with. We usually try to have a get together at least once a year. Last time was at the local bowling alley. Hilarity and madness ensued, as it does when the college clan gets together. There's a small group of us who stay in regular contact, mostly through Facebook, if truth must be told. But when we make the effort to meet up it's always worth it. There's an Avengers plan being cooked up. We're all fans of the great Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy, Angel and Firefly for those not in the know. Shame on you). So it seems fitting that our next shindig should involve the new Avengers movie.

It's odd how people drop out of your life. Even those you were once close to. Like at school, I had a very tight group of friends. We met up every break and sat in the same seats at lunch. We had countless sleepovers, watching Clueless and The Lion King over and over. Playing truth or dare and making up totally crap dance routines to the likes of Five and Steps. Cringe. But we were young and having fun. It could have worse. We didn't smoke or take drugs. But the group started to break up after year 11 when some of us stayed for sixth form and some left or went to college. Then there was life after school. A couple of our group went to uni, and I got married a year later at 19. Life goes in different directions and it becomes difficult to stay in contact or even identify with those friends any more, at least not the way you used to. We had a little reunion last year when one of the girls, who had moved to South Africa, was back visiting family and messaged us asking if we wanted to meet. It was our first meet up in years. It was good to catch up and reminisce about the old school days. It's funny how you slip into the old familiar ways of chatting. I hope we continue to have those reunions, as it helps keep us connected.

There are people I should keep in better contact with. A good friend from school who has lived in Derby since attending the university there, we dip in and out of contact. A couple of years ago we had both gone through a rough time emotionally and we re-bonded over that. That, Bill and Ted and The Big Bang Theory :-) We always manage to pick up wherever we left off; it's as though no time has passed at all. He also introduced me to the delights of La Tasca. And for that I shall be ever thankful. But, as he recently pointed out to me, it has been well over a year since we last met up. Inexcusable really. So this must be rectified. I partially blame myself, as so often when you get a new BF, other friends can become sidelined. (It doesn't help when said friend lives halfway up the country. Or wherever Derby is. My geography is not good). Geographical location should not be an excuse however. It isn't in fact. There is no excuse. There are sketchy plans for a catch up :-) I hope it becomes a reality.

It is difficult maintaining friendships. If we are honest with ourselves, we only have so much to give. Maybe we need to stop spreading ourselves so thinly and concentrate on the most rewarding of our relationships. Facebook (yes that again) and other social networks give the impression we all lead such varied and exciting lives, all of us competing to look the most popular and/or interesting. Why do we work so hard to portray that image? I admit to posting a lot of pictures, but that's usually just to share them wih the people I was out with. If anyone was to look carefully, the same few people pop up in my photos. I like to see what people are getting up to, don't get me wrong. And I'd like to see more of some of my old friends, people I was actually friends with in Real Life. Some of them have been kind enough to let me know they read this blog and enjoy it. So thanks to you, old friends.