Arts Festival Update

So here's this needless update from State College, PA, at the Central Pennsylvania Festival for the Arts:

AMANDA IS HERE!!!

For YEARS, I've been dying to get Amanda to the Arts Festival. And now, she's here! SHE! IS HERE!! I haven't seen her since March, and before that, July of 2007. And who knows when I'm going to see her after this. But who cares!? My best friend in the world, my other brain, my mind twin, and all that other jazz, is here.

I hate going too long without seeing the people I care about. That's what made Wisconsin so hard. Being away from my family and close friends. I did make some close friends while I was there, Mark and Lizzie. I haven't seen Mark since February, and I haven't seen Lizzie since late December, before she went to Dakar. It kills me, because they were such bright spots in my life for so long.

Seeing my friends refreshes me. (Talking on the phone with Amanda refreshes me as well, but she's the only one.) Seeing Meredith was like a giant Red Bull to my life. Having Amanda here? Is positively revitalizing. I'll see Matt at the end of the month, and Lizzie at the beginning of August when she's back in Boston for a few days. I don't know when I'll see Mark! So sad.

Having my friends, the people I care about, scattered to the four winds of Wisconsin, DC, Virginia, and Boston (and now Kansas as well, I believe) is tough. Being back on the East Coast definitely helps -- it's not something I'd want to change for the world. But not knowing when I'm going to see them gets to me sometimes. This is why having Amanda here is so special and amazing. The time we have together is so precious, because we have so little of it. And that's the same for all of my close friends.