Nostalgia

It's become increasily more difficult to find the strands of my past in the fabric of my current life. I know they're there, but they've become just a few of the many woven in. Finding the time to single them out and follow them back offers a glimpse into who I was at the time and how much I've changed.

This morning I've been somewhat nostalgic. There are a few reasons for this, the first of which is my old roommate Chris. Chris and his wife Cindy moved to Indianapolis well over a year ago, and will be having their first child very soon. I thought when my friends got married it blew my mind, now they're having kids and becoming full fledged adults.

Chris was my step-twin since college. Drinking, checking out girls, grilling enormous steaks, watching sports and did I mention drinking? These were the things that we did with our time, and we generally did it together. But now he's married, to a great girl I might add, and now he's going to be a dad.

I haven't talked to Chris since we all went to Chambana for the OSU game. With everything that has been going on in both our lives we've both been stereotypically guy-like in this regard. There's the occasional e-mail and I'm sure I'll call to wish them congratulations when Ben/Emily is born. Clare and I definitely need to make it out to Indy for a visit, but probably not until things have settled down a bit for them.

Another reason for the nostlagia is one that stretches all the way back to junior high. I found out at Christmas that one of my oldest friends, Paul, moved down to St. Louis. I've probably talked to Paul once in the past year, so why I was surprised that I hadn't heard he moved I'm not sure.

I've known Paul since seventh grade and he was one of my best friends in high school and college. After numerous road trips for youth group, hanging out on weekends, and years of joking around, I'm finding it difficult to zero in on any one specific memory. Whether it was the "Ross & Rachel" like crush that lasted between him and another member of our youth group, that he strapped a video camera to his head for one summer trip, or the mohawk that he shaved into his head before junior pictures,* there are just too many to choose from.

After I moved into the city, Paul and I saw less of each other. It's weird how far 30 miles can be at times. We went from hanging out all the time to seeing each other once a month, to every couple of months, to just at holidays, to where we're at right now.

With all the current demands on my time and attention I live firmly in the present, but at times it feels like I've been cut-off from my past. But that's never really true. True friends, like the ones I've had and currently have, never truly go away. One just needs to find them time to follow the strands back (or make a phone call every once in a while).

*Nohawks can be fun, even as a joke. Paul shaved one into his head at the start of soccer practice junior year. The plan was to keep it for the week and then shave it off for his yearbook photo. Well a week of outdoor practice and no sunscreen later you can imagine the results. Paul looked like a skunk. I think we finally got him some spray on tan, but the look on his face when he took off his hat the first time to show us was hilarious.

It's been so long I think I've forgotten how to do this.

It's been a while since I last updated so to catch everyone up I'll just bullet point the past few months out.

• Thanksgiving: I ate too much and had fun with the family.
• December: Went by entirely too quickly
• Dad's birthday: Woo-hoo! 61 years under your belt. Way to go Dad!
• Christmas: Clare and I spent it together at my parents' house on Xmas eve and with her family in Evansville on Xmas day. Lots of great presents, lots of time in the car, lots of family and no major arguments...not too bad in my opinion.
• New Year's Eve: Before leaving for Florida, Clare scored tickets for the Bears game. After watching them lose I think I can think of better ways to spend that $75. Still, it was fun to have something to do that night other than gourge myself for another day.

Whew, with the major stuff out of the way I can elaborate on a couple of things that have been going on. First, I know I haven't been writing much here but I've been a bit wrapped up in The Show and the related goings on there. Once the football season is over I should get back into the swing of things over here at the FooTasian. That sentiment actually leads quite nicely into my second point, New Year's resolutions.

I'm not the type that usually makes New Year's resolutions. I've tried a few times to varying success. Also, having worked at a gym for the past few years I've seen waaaay too many people that have set unreachable goals for themselves. So put that all together and my excitement for the idea is lackluster at best. For some reason though, I've decided that I'll give it another try.

To that end I've decided on the following resolution: I will make 12, one month resolutions this year. I know, it sounds like cheating, but in the end I don't care. Trying to hold yourself to a year long goal can be daunting, so better to break it up into smaller parts and go from there.

What's my first resolution you ask? Well, I'll tell you. I've decided not to eat out for dinner more than once a week. Additionally I can't repeat a restaurant unless I've been to two others since the last time I went there.

I figure this resolution will kill many birds with one stone. First, it helps save money since I was going out to eat waaaaay too much. Second, the restaurants I had been going to inevitably ended up being the same ones I always went to. And last, this will encourage me to stay home and cook more, leading to leftovers, which lead to me not eating out as much for lunch either. All in all, not a bad deal. Plus Clare and I get to go to some cool restaurants along the way.

We'll see if I stick with this one after January, but so far things have looked promising. That's all for now. I'll check back in after the Bears win (crossing my fingers, knock on wood) this weekend.