My friend Dianne and I were chatting yesterday and I told her about the letters I dug up. She said she too has a collection of letters and suggested they were blackmail opportunities...until I started quoting to her from some of her own letters.

We're going to celebrate our high school reunion (since it doesn't look like there's an official one; or if there is, neither of us has been invited) this October by meeting in San Francisco, spending the day at a spa and then burning the letters.

We do not ever want our cherubs to know what naughty girls we were back then. :D

I sat out on the patio for a while, cooking myself. My usual sun protection: lip gloss with spf 15. Probably I am working my way toward an untimely cancerous demise, but I wanted to just relax and not do anything.

Back inside, I ponder again the colors on my new blogger template. They aren't so far from my old colors, actually. Thinking about colors made me think of the Color Quiz, so for kicks I took it again and was surprised. It's pretty spot on for this moment in my life.

Your Existing Situation
Insecure. Seeks roots, stability, emotional security, and an environment providing greater ease and fewer problems, but is either unwilling or unable to exert the effort.

Your Stress Sources
Wishes to be independent, unhampered, and free from any limitation or restriction, other than those which she imposes of herself or by her own choice and decision.

Your Restrained Characteristics
Willing to participate and to allow herself to become involved, but tries to fend off conflict and disturbance in order to reduce tension.

Feels that she is receiving less than her share and that there is no one on whom she can rely for sympathy and understanding. Pent-up emotions and a certain egocentricity make her quick to take offense, but she realizes that she has to make the best of things as they are.

Your Desired Objective
Seeks affectionate, satisfying and harmonious relationships. Desires an intimate union, in which there is a love, self-sacrifice and mutual trust.

Your Actual Problem
Does not wish to be involved in differences of opinion, contention or argument, preferring to be left in peace.

Friends are a wonderful thing. Sometimes I feel like I don't have any friends in California, but I do. Even when they're not right here, I can always reach out and touch someone.

Thanks, Sushi :) I don't know what I'd do without you!

I've always been lucky enough to have a lot of friends; one of those kids who always had a group of other kids around. Still, I always had at least one "best friend" with whom I could share secrets, snacks and whatever else we were into at the time.

My first best friend was Diana Kessler. She changed schools after 3rd grade and I've never seen her since. After Diana, I was best friends over the years with Ford (we were a particularly naughty pair, at least till he was expelled in 4th grade :D), Deanna, Wendy, Dianne, Ruth, Angie and Lisa until I graduated from high school.

After high school, though, best friends seems like an oddity more so than a regular occurance. As an adult, my 'best' friends were women I worked with, like Diane, Lynda and Melani. Or, they'd be women who lived on the same Army base that I did, like Louise and Cheryl. Where I work now, there aren't many women with whom I have that sort of bond.

In a lot of peculiar ways, Matt's my best friend. Although unlike a girl best friend, he accidentally started telling someone something I'd told him...something a girl would have known was a secret. Fortunately, since he isn't a girl, I could backhand him to make him shut up. Maybe it's a good thing he's not a girl. :)

The true benefit of the day was the realization that I am not a roller coaster girl. Since I spend so much of my life terrified about normal things, I don't need to pay someone to frighten me.

We rode the "wussy" coaster Ninja first. I opted out of the next one, the Deja Vu. We waited in line for the Riddler coaster, but when Taylor and Matt were happily strapping me in I lost my composure (to put it mildly) at the thought of being restrained and scurried off the ride. :/

Matt made me promise to go on the next one, so I did. Frankly, I was so terrified that I started welling up in tears at the thought of having to go through with it. Unfortunately, when we got into the cars, I was unable to make the same hasty and frightened retreat as I had from the Riddler. My eyes were shut the entire time, aside from periodic peeking. A 250 foot drop followed by exciting speeds of up to 85 miles per hour. Whee.

My favorite ride of the day was the very last one. We went to dinner and then stopped by the Brookstone shop where Faith and I sat in the massage chairs. Those are just my speed.

Sometimes one person in one moment can change your life.

The first time Matt drove me anywhere in his little sports car, I spent the ride laughing hysterically, calling him names and screaming in terror. The other day Matt was driving us to and from lunch and I realized on the way back that I wasn't screaming. Matt said something like I'd be ready to ride a roller coaster.

I told him definitely no because I'm afraid of heights and speeding, then he pointed out we'd been doing more than the speed limit and I'd survived. He said he'd been afraid of heights but he confronted his fear and now he's over it. And suddenly, I thought, "You know, I can do this. I'm old enough to get over this." So I agreed to go with him sometime; that's when my life changed.

Sometime is tomorrow :/ Matt, his girlfriend Faith, his roommate Taylor and I are driving up to Six Flags. Sometime is so much better when it's a nebulous time in the future.

I'm watching Realm of Fear right now. I figured it would be timely :/

I'm home now. Mittens and Melody are perched at my feet, giving each other stink eye but otherwise being cordial. I am, of course, lounging in bed now because I am exhausted.

One thing I hate about Las Vegas is the fact that folks can smoke indoors, so they do. While the Hilton's casino area had reasonable air, the conference side had terrible circulation. Poor Matt caught something or other and was unusually subdued. It was kind of freaky to see him so quiet for the majority of the trip. Of course, the two warp core breaches he shared with one of the other designers might have hastened his illness. :)

I had a pretty good time, overall. Disconcertingly when someone introduced me at one session, a group in the far corner went, "Ohhhh...that's Owlchick." Eep. To which I could only reply, "Yes! And I'm an actual chick!" I don't know that I actually met any of these folks, though. I hate being so bad with names, but there you go.

More some other time. I fell asleep at 3 and woke up at 5 this morning (Broos, be grateful I didn't call you then). :/ While I went to bed at reasonble hours all the other nights, I don't sleep well in hotels so cumulatively I've lost more sleep than I can handle.

Hot Rocks is on the air again! Come ye and listen to the accent that makes my heart swoon. :)