Flashback: New Years 2007

I’m an extremely nostalgic person. What does that mean, you wonder? Like, for example, you know those movies that portray a progression of time, and then at the end flash back to when things were good and everyone was happy? (like Brokeback Mountain, for example). Those movies KILL me. Like, rip me apart.

But anyway, I got myself into this really nostalgic mood today. A nostalgia-tizzy, if you will. It ended with me looking through the first blog I ever kept, on another Six Apart platform called Vox.  I noticed so many curious things... My writing style was SO different. All my posts were so personal. I couldn’t really believe it.

Then I found a post from almost 2.5 years ago, which made me feel even more nostalgic. But in a good way. I wanted to share it here with you, as kind of an ode to friendship. Because – and it has become increasingly clear with every day that passes – without my friends, I’d be completely lost. I'd be a totally different person.

In any case, here's the post.
Dated January 2, 2007

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I believe that life is based by and large on luck.  Sure, we've got some say in how everything turns out, but you'd be surprised how much of your life is really dictated by the randomness of the universe.  Your freshman roommate, summer reading list, crappy 4th grade teacher, parents... all these key factors in life come to you by chance.

Most people believe that great friendships spring from college dorms, but with luck on my side my soul mates came to me much sooner.  They all showed up somewhere between 7th and 8th grade at a Quaker friends school in Pennsylvania.  As time has progressed... through semesters abroad in Senegal or Barcelona, years spent in Japan, messy hook-ups and break-ups, jealousy... we've managed to become closer over the years.  Imagine that.  And here's why:

My friends don't give a damn.

They are the funniest people I've ever met.  Here's a few tidbits from the archives:

• At a talent show our senior year, my four closest friends and I sang an a capella rendition of "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair."  In the middle of it, my friend L stopped singing and hollered "POOP!" and then we all ran off the stage.  No one really laughed or even clapped for us, but that just made it funnier.
• My friends L, J, and I came home early from school one day to "record our tracks."  We sat in front of my Super Woofer boom box, and then and there L and I created the worst freestyle hip-hop tape of all time.  We called it The Cup and here's a line from it:  "I get my candy from Willy Wonky, my ass is a donkey."
• The nicest thing my friend C ever did for L:  Drive her crappy 1988 Honda Accord (which L named Sheila) in a blizzard so that L could stick her naked butt out the window.  As L put it, it was "the most refreshing feeling" she'd ever experienced.

The most recent stunt occurred 2 days ago as we rang in 2007 in NYC.  Everyone primped and primed and greased up to fit into mini-outfits.  We all emerged to take on the town smelling great and feeling even better.  And J - the person who's laugh makes me convulse with giggles - claimed his outfit was by far the most stunning.

I am so lucky to have a friend so wise, so manly, so secure that he revels in the opportunity to wear a dog suit through New York on New Year's Eve.   And even luckier to have a group of friends who encourage such unabashed personality.

Cheers to a New Year!

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Oh boy. 2007. So long ago. So much has changed. So many things are different. But one thing has remained the same: when it comes to my friends, remembering our shenanigans will always bring a smile to my face.

So I guess some nostalgia doesn’t kill me. Sometimes a “flashback scene” has the power to remind me how awesome life can be when I find myself forgetting.

Comments

[J]

i'll never forget all the heinies i - WE sniffed that night. aaah sweet nostralgia