l Ode to the Internet l

| March 14, 2004 || 4:16 p.m. |

I am sitting here in a daze. I received a response again from my friend & this time she included a telephone number. I was a little hesitant to call as it has been so long since we've talked but again there has always been that wonder about her all these years. I hear a little bit here & there from my TX friend but she doesn't talk to people that are associated with the same people any longer. My curiosity got to me though as I knew it would. Her & I were kind of fair weather best friends for years way back then. We went through a lot of 'unnecessary' drama together but some how or for some reason we always ended up friends again. It was middle school so there is a lot of unnecessary drama that occurs, especially when running with the "in crowd". Thank goodness we have all grown past that & we no longer have deal with those 'crowds' now that we're adults.

She sounds that same voice wise but I can hear the maturity, the life experience. We've all grown up, the only thing that differentiates us is whether or not we chose to make a difference & create a better life for ourselves by letting that growth occur. So many of us from our town might have left Alaska but few have stayed away. I am one of those proud few & apparently so is she. I am extremely glad to discover this.

There are certain people that come into your life that you learn from & others you teach. I can't really think or say that we had a specific designation. I think we taught & learned from one another. So we talked for a while & she said she'd call me later tonight, as they were off to play pool. I did make plans with her to meet up in Vegas the weekend of the 9th. It's exciting to think about seeing her again. I still picture her with those crispy bangs [we all had], blue mascara/shadow & pink blush. She was so tiny, tall but so damn skinny.

I miss a lot about that time, mostly the roller-skating & the lock-ins. I tried so many ways to get to go to one of the lock-ins. In fact I told her I was staying with this old friend but it backfired like always with my mom. She never let me get away with anything dammit. But I am thankful for it now.

I am a little nervous about the Vegas reunion, not cause of meeting her but she will be there with a few of her girl friends & I don't want to be the third or actually five wheel. On the other hand if her & I were to spend most of the time reminiscing I wouldn't want her friends to think I was monopolizing their girls vacation get away. I might just talk to her to see if she was cool with me bringing a friend. Not really sure who but maybe even S might want to go. Would that be even stranger, bringing him to a girl�s weekend?

I have a little time to think about things & decide what I will do. I am definitely going to drive out there though. It's funny to think about her getting off of the phone with me & then talking to another friend of ours back in Alaska. I'd love to get in touch with the mother of my former stepbrothers son. She was my best friend before I moved. I worried about her so much when I left. I want to see what would have been my step-nephew had the bastard not been a... well bastard [step father].

Another thing is how are we going to fit over a decade worth of catching up while in Vegas, or over a day for that matter? My mind is still reeling from just the thought of it. Thank you Classmates.com.