I’m out west (Portland) for a few days to attend a college friend’s wedding. She’s a little bit of an odd duck and our meeting was one of odd coincidence. I met her on matriculation day to my undergrad program in MN. Surprisingly, she had attended high school in Ridgefield, WA with two of my cousins. Ridgefield is a small town just north of the Portland/Vancouver metro who’s only claim to fame is to be the home of one of the country’s weirdest high school mascots, The Spudder. Now, the fact that I was related to my cousin’s was not a point in my favor with her, but it didn’t take long to see that I was neither of my cousins. It’s intresting how a, while neat, but inconsequential coincidence can result in friendship. It helped that we had a couple of classes together as well. A freshman seminar and “Introduction to Religion”. She was a Religion, Asian Studies and one other I can’t remember triple major. I was a Physics and Mathematics double major. Thus, our path’s didn’t cross much in classes beyond freshman year, but we remained friends.

After college she moved overseas to Taiwan, then New Zealand. I got married and moved off to California for graduate school. We stayed in touch and she even came to visit us when home on break one summer. It is ironic that she, and a number of other friends are getting married just as my marriage is ending.

Her wedding presented a good opportunity to get away. I jumped on it and it has been wonderful.  I have an aunt and uncle in the area and they were more than happy to give me a bed. I’m getting to meet and know my second cousins who are the same age as my kids. I’m getting to play a little golf. I have a friend who owns a brewery up in the Seattle area and plan on checking it out on Monday. I had a near connection with another classmate who is in Vancouver, BC for work. She’s single, lives in MN and would actually be a candidate for dating if I was ready for that (a still have a number of metrics to complete and need to put some distance between me and the divorce and let “new normal” set in). Most importantly I’m getting to get away. Surrender my schedule and not worry. Interestingly, it’s really bolstering my desire to write. Hopefully, I’ll keep some of the momentum :).