Visit from an Old Friend

Jennie was here over the weekend!

Jennie and I went to college together. We bonded over Depeche Mode after we figured out we were at the same concert that previous summer. We were roommates junior year, in a run-down house with old mismatched furniture by the stadium - close enough to hear the band practice during football season.

Jennie and I weren't the types of girls that joined sororities and went drinking. We'd spend most nights going to movies at the Michigan Theater, or hanging out at home playing Penta or Tetris. Sophomore year, we formed SWA - Single Women Anonymous. We had a sign that we displayed in the lounge outside the library of our dorm, and there were freshmen who actually wanted to join, even though they didn't know what SWA stood for. We semi-stalked guys we liked even though we didn't know them, so we made up names for them and referred to them by these names even after we learned their real ones. We made up stupid songs set to Nirvana tunes. We were known to chase down ambulances just to see what the ruckus was about.

Jennie went to grad school in NYC right after graduating (a semester early, Ms. Achiever) while I bummed around Ann Arbor for a few years before getting my master's at our alma mater. Jase and I fell for each other, got married, and moved to California. Jennie was my bridesmaid.

So now, almost 18 years after starting college, Jennie came to visit, and we had a great time. We went outlet shopping - Jennie scored big time. Then we went to the World Famous San Diego Zoo and saw sleeping pandas and MEERKATS! That night, we went to Outback Steakhouse (inside joke involving K-Dramas and a certain person's One True Love) but Charlie had a meltdown and we had to get our Bloomin' Onion to go. We went the next day to Beverly Hills and West Hollywood to scope out celebs but saw NO ONE. We even went to Perez Hilton's coffee shop to try to meet the famous celebrity blogger but even he was elsewhere. Then it was time for Jennie to leave, so we went to Cabrillo National Monument, grabbed a sandwich, and dropped her off at the airport.

It's bizarre - so much has changed. Jennie's a homeowner. I'm a mom. But we still laugh over the stupidest things that probably no one else would find funny but us. We're older and different. But basically, we're still the same girls that stayed up all night making mixed tapes and talking about our crushes that didn't know we existed.

Thanks for coming, Jennie! And thanks for all the presents you brought - especially the Lush bath bombs and bars. I've been soaking every night.

Check out the pics!