Monday, August 06, 2007

Only 312s and 773s need apply, please

Some way, some how, the impossible-to-get ticket gods were smiling on me this past weekend as I was GIFTED two fantastic seats to the Cubs/Mets game on Saturday. Seriously folks, this was a game where a woman could rent out her uterus and not get a ticket and here I was with TWO TICKETS!!!

Whom to invite???

Firecracker would normally be my first choice as we've been partners in Wrigleyville crime for a few years now, but NOOOOOO!! She had to up and move to the Great White North...and before the end of baseball season, no less!!

Okay, next choice would be a pal from my volleyball team, another fun, single gal who knows her baseball. When reached on her cell, she was halfway to middle earth hoosierville to visit her family.

Next?

How about a client/friend whose foot I accidently drove over at a Cubs/Brewers game a few years back. Yes, he DOES still talk to me!

Nope - family obligations.

Left to scroll through my cell phone directory, it occurred to me that most of the people in my cell phone live in other cities, not to mention other countries!!!

Geez! I've got to make more friends in Chicago!

Ripple affect

You drop a pebble into a pond and after the kerplunk!, the water ripples away from the point of impact, settling into larger and larger concentric circles until the water is once again as smooth as glass.

But what happens when the ripples go backwards? When people who would normally be considered part of the very largest and most subtle circles of my world have more than the expected affect?

I've been trading text messages with Tall Southern Gentleman for a few days now and I was very happy to receive an invitation to dinner when he's in Chicago next (probably a few weeks). So, yay me! He emailed a photo to me and asked me to send one to him.

I sent a photo of me in Sydney, Australia (to give a hint of the as-yet-untouched topic of travel).

Two days go by. No texts. No calls.

Insecure little me starts thinking of scenarios where he wouldn't contact me: maybe he got the photo and thinks women that travel are snooty, rich bitches; maybe he's one of those divorced fathers that spends every other weekend with their kids and NO ONE ELSE!

And then, today, I got an email from him (sent on Saturday, my bad!) that says that his best friend and wife got into a terrible car accident on Friday morning and the wife didn't survive. The woman was like a sister to him and he's very upset by the whole thing. He wanted to let me know why he might not hear from him for a while.

On top of that, I discovered that the mother of another 'outer ring of friends' died late last week of lung cancer.

I just hope the circles don't get smaller.