Gush Part 1

It's (a little) late right now, but I'm wide awake thinking about how great my life is right now. Sure, I wish I had a member of the opposite sex to take me out on dates and tell me how awesome I am all the time, but I'm okay with the fact that I don't. My friends are pretty great & that's enough for me. Wait, that sounds like they're a consolation prize or something.

They're not. At all. They're amazing, which is why I'm taking the time to write this post to gush about them a bit (and because I'm not ready to start catching up on season 2 of "Glee" yet--yeah, I know I'm way behind).

I started hanging out with this one group of friends--three strong, funny, beautiful ladies and two dudes (just kidding--they're strong, handsome & hilarious, too) when we got together to play trivia during the summer. My entire summer was pretty rough because I had barely any cash coming in & my food pantry supply was dwindling at an astronomical rate. I thought I'd never crack open the 36 pack of Ramen noodles (bleh--I hate Ramen), but I did. I also thought way more optimistically about my cash flow situation because I gave the entire box of Ramen to a homeless man when I was only about three packs in. I thought he needed it more than I would, which wasn't exactly the case when I was staring at my pantry midway into the summer at only a can of kidney beans and a can of tuna. Okay, I actually had a roof over my head, so he did need the Ramen more than I did, but those ended up being some hungry days for me...

...until one of my friends stepped in. This friend (K) started inviting me out to dinner with her & her boyfriend (S) after we got off work some nights. I had known K since I moved here (she was actually one of the people who convinced me to come to KU), but we didn't really hang out much. I knew K & S were into sports and they had talked about going to some Chiefs games, so I figured we'd start hanging out more. Long story short, K ended up working this awful summer job with me. The only upside was that we got to know each other really well. K & S did everything for me to make sure I didn't starve that summer. I'm not kidding. They bought me lunches, dinners, gave me gift cards to eat. They helped me out immensely, despite the shame I first felt when I genuinely had to take them up on their offer(s). The shame quickly turned to gratitude because they never, ever made me feel guilty for the situation I was in. Their kindness is something I will never forget. I'm actually getting teary-eyed now as I think about what all they did for me during that time. Also, we share a love of chicken finger subs; if that doesn't say friendship, I don't know what does.

Which brings me to one of the other things they did for me: introduce me to their trivia crew. Oh. My. God. These are some of the funniest, smartest people I've ever met. Let's start with Lady L. At first I thought she didn't like me, but that's probably because I get really insecure around super smart people. And this woman is smart. I'm glad my feeling of shy awkwardness went away fairly quickly with her because she cracks me up. There might have been a time that we might have had a few drinks and might have been dressed in ridiculous (or awesome. or ridiculously awesome.) costumes and we might have eaten off the same popcorn ball a-la-Lady-and-the-Tramp that some people might still remind us about. Maybe. Ahh. Always good times with her.

Then there's Dude L. So. funny. I heard that he wasn't genuinely friends with a person until he got a little sassy with you. A few weeks after that, he got sassy with me & I've felt closer to him ever since. Although I admittedly don't know him nearly as well as K & S, the whole group gets closer during our bad movie nights and random get togethers, which means I'll get to know him better (let's face it--that makes me one happy lady). He's super nice and makes me laugh--hanging out with him & the rest of the group is always the highlight of my week, especially when he brings homemade delicious, amazing, chocolatey things to our get togethers. I had a workshop class with him before I got to know him outside of class & read some really strong, well-written pieces that were so heartbreaking/funny/real. I hope that someday my writing will evoke emotions the way that his does. (Yeah, all my friends are super talented. Jealous?)

And finally there's J who--nearly everytime we meet--makes me laugh so hard I pee a little. There. I said it. I hope to be half as good a teacher, mother, wife, and friend as her in my lifetime. I know I'll never be as funny as she is though (or even half as funny). One thing that I first noticed about J is just how confident she is at everything, which is why I frequently go to her for teaching advice (and pretty much advice about anything). I've gotten closer to her family as well--she's got two adorable children that I love to babysit. They're both quite a riot--super smart, funny, and beautiful. Just like their mom.


My birthday is next weekend. I'm having a music video themed birthday party & I know that these five peeps will bring it with their costumes. Yet another reason why I love them so much.