Now that SXSW is over, I had thought that my life would settle down for a few weeks at least. While I had a lot of fun running around, listening to a bunch of live music and discovering some new bands, I’m not going to lie – SXSW is not a time where you get to relax. And I’m paying for it – fatigue and headaches which I really hope are nothing more than a result of sleep deprivation and spring allergies joining forces. But, I had made plans months ago without realizing the weekend after SXSW should be blocked for nothing more strenuous than going to the couch, but it’s for a very good reason…
This weekend, one of my few friends from the time I lived in San Antonio is coming to visit. I miss her and have been looking forward to seeing her for months. I am ashamed that I haven’t seen Lauren in over a year. It’s because of my schedule that she hasn’t been able to find a weekend until now to come up. And I just don’t make the drive down to San Antonio. I know I covered previously how I never felt at home in San Antonio; but the traffic getting down there is a pain in the ass as well and for someone who really doesn’t drive much anymore, it’s super stressful more than a fun road trip (plus she much prefers to come here because here we can hang out in downtown Austin rather than her place out in the hinterlands and have to drive or Uber everywhere).
Although I’m still just really run-down, I know I will rally to make sure Lauren has some fun while she’s up here. Hopefully, maybe she’ll want to take a nap or something tomorrow afternoon… And I don’t really have much time to rest because on Wednesday night, I’m headed to Miami to hang out with my college roommate again for a few days. I am so grateful I had the chance to reconnect with her as well. In many ways, being around her just feels like home. As someone who has only a very small circle of close friends, I don’t often get to hang out with a girlfriend and have those long, meaningful talks while sipping cosmopolitans that apparently the rest of my gender enjoys on a regular basis. And I can be weird and silly around her without any embarrassment because she lived with me for two and a half years in college when I was basically a feral animal. (Not that I was an unkempt creature living in filth, far from it; but more like an unsupervised hormonal teenager who was actively trying to avoid becoming a responsible adult and realizing that after university, you can’t continue to do goofy things like sitting on Santa’s lap outside of a Publix for a picture when you are a functioning member of society – at least you don’t if you don’t want to endure side-eye for the rest of your 20s and 30s…although funny thing about full circle, I’d probably do it now if I didn’t think I would crush the poor guy…)
We’re going to be cruising around on their boat, which means I need to pack a bunch of sunscreen. But I do love being on the water… and they have a sweet-ass boat. I look at how we both grew up – poor family with blue-collar jobs who had pretty much nothing extra – and see how far we’ve come from our humble beginnings. It’s a reality check for me when I sometimes don’t feel like I’m doing enough, earning enough, and realize that I’m being completely idiotic. Based on the way I grew up, I’m not supposed to be living in a beautiful condo in downtown Austin, I’m not supposed to be traveling on a whim to places, I’m not even supposed to be able to go out to eat when I’m too tired to cook… my family didn’t have the luxury of doing anything more than try to keep a roof over our heads and some food in the kitchen. Same for her… And then Lydia and I will be on this gorgeous boat (can I call it a yacht?) of hers and laugh ourselves silly because we really aren’t supposed to be able to enjoy this beautiful life – despite how hard we worked to get here because the American Dream is often just that, a dream. And since we both had health issues that might have prevented us from enjoying where we are now, it’s even sweeter to celebrate with her.