So, while David flaked out on me... I must say that I have the most fantastic friends EVER and the universe is pretty OK after all.

I didn't sleep well Thursday and came into work early on Friday. I was hopped up on caffeine ALL DAY and had eaten very very little.

After work, my boss took me and Krispy out for beers at the Oldfather Inn. Others from the QC lab were supposed to join us, but signals got crossed and they didn't realize we were going and so it was just the three of us. Jennifer (my boss) bought the first round, Krispy the second round, and I bought the third and final round (though I only had two beers myself). It was a combination farewell to Krispy (she's in R&D now) and cheer-up for me (Jenn and Krispy were very kind and sympathetic about the David thing).

THEN I went to the hospital, getting there about 8 to volunteer. I apologized to Curtis for being late; he gave me a big hug when I told him why (going out with coworkers because I was depressed) and so he said to me, "we need to go out and play... have you ever been to a gay bar?"

So Curtis, his boyfriend Mike (not to be confused with the Mike with whom we also volunteer) and their friend Kevin took me to IBT (the aforementioned gay bar) and filled me with alcohol, but not before filling me with alcohol at first Mike's and then Kevin's house. So, I was nicely toasted and had a lot of fun drinking and prancing around with Curtis, who kept introducing me to people as either "his woman" or "his hospital bitch". We'd left my car at UMC, and afterward Curtis drove me home in my car while Mike followed in Curtis's. All in all, those boys took good care of me and lent a truly sympathetic ear.

The next morning Deanna and I whisked ourselves off to Chandler (Phoenix 'burb) where our friend Grace was housesitting for her parents. It was a day filled with shopping at a massive mall that I called "an advertiser's wet dream" where we made fun of other shoppers and had fun playing dress-up with various tiaras and beauty-pageant-esque sashes. I don't think the sales clerks were too pleased with us, but that made it even more fun. For me, anyway.

The evening was spent watching "chick-flicks" (kind of a bad idea since many scenes were eerily and annoyingly similar to certain events that happened this summer... in particular those scenes where a couple is standing in the street at night just after a rain, or in the mist, and the guy says to the girl, "dance with me" even tho' there's no music...). We laughed about how some of the movies overlapped actors and even soundtracks. Hee hee hee.

Today I spent at Nalco catching up on hours and work. I have been so busy I haven't had time to sit still long enough to let things sink in and get depressed. I know it must happen sooner or later, but I don't feel like dealing with it right now. I know that's probably a bad idea, but right now I just don't want to think about it AT ALL. I'd rather focus on how lucky I am to know the people I do. The people that really care and treat me well and take care of me when I am down. I made a QT thing on that theme (friends helping me through the tough parts) a few months ago, and I am reminded of it now. You can find hit here. I should point out that the friends that appear at the end are ones from home, but if I had it to do over, I would include everyone from here. I honestly don't think I would be sitting here at Nalco with dry eyes had it not been for them. So a huge, huge thank you. It means so, so much.

Sappy, sappy Olivia... I may cry anyway. But cry from the sappiness of my mood, not because I'm depressed... and that's good

Right now I am listening to "fresh aire weekend" and am feeling grateful.