Friendsday

I played hooky today and went to New York to visit friends. I hardly ever get up there anymore, although I'm sure that will change this fall when Mikey goes to NYU. So I said to myself, "Self, I should go up there and visit," so I did.

My first stop was to Fleur de Sel for a delectable prix fixe lunch with Mighty M. She's been working hard, coming out with a skin care cosmetics line, which, I have to say honestly, is really good. Check it out at www.juaraskincare.com. I was a little daunted by the price at first, but then I realized that it's actually pretty much in line with anything else you might get out there from Aveda or Origins or Bath & Body Works. I've been an avid Aveda fan for a while, but -- and now I know I sound like an infomercial, so I'll stop in a sec -- I think this stuff is better than Aveda. There, I said it. Now I'm done.

After lunch, I had an hour or so to kill before my next appointment to meet Amy. I found myself on the street where Witold lives (stop me before I turn into a musical!), so I called to see if he was home, and lo and behold he was! It was such a fun, spontaneous thing to do, and I'm so glad I got to hang out, because I haven't seen him in a little over a year. He's been busy, too, putting up a web site at wyoga.com, teaching, and writing. My only regret is that I didn't stay longer, but I had to meet up with Amy.

Amy and I were going to go see Revenge of the Sith together (me for the second time), but it turns out we weren't actually in the mood to see a movie, so we ended up having dinner and chatting. All in all, it was so nice to catch up with everyone. And I think I really needed the restoration of the spirit that comes with hanging with friends.

News From the Home Front

Yay! My brother is definitely going to NYU next fall. He was a little conflicted deciding between colleges, but he's decided to come to the Big Apple, and I couldn't be happier.

Meanwhile, my Dad's been in Thailand doing tsunami relief work for the Crisis Corps. He says he's literally in the jungle where he is, and it rains all the time. I'm so proud of him, and of the fact that while almost everyone has contributed money to the relief effort, he's doing more than that and contributing his time. He won't be back in California for my brother's graduation, but he's going to fly my brother out to visit him in Thailand after graduation for some scuba lessons. I think that's a nice trade-off.

Mom's still living in Hawaii and loving her semi-retirement there. I've already promised to come visit next year (hopefully by that time I can gather enough funds to fly out there), so I'm looking forward to that.