This weekend has been quite something else.
Friday 4th February.
Judy was back in town to pick up the last of her stuff, so a group of us did dinner at Perkins which was fun. Then I came home to change and get ready to go out. First however I talked to Mum for an hour, then I took some “personal time”, and finally I talked to Bonnie. I finally walked over to Ryan's about 9 pm. I got there and was chatting with Darla for a long time, Depu dropped by to say hello, and Ron did as well. Then about 11 pm we headed to the Molly with Ryan, Brandon, Judy, Darla and myself. As Judy and I were about to walk in the door, she told me that Tiffany was in town. I was hit pretty hard by that and for a second I almost didn't believe it. But there she was in the bar talking and drinking with her brother. I hadn't see her since May 31st 2004 when she left to go work for Raytheon. Our conversation was ok, she hasn't changed very much at all, I thought she might have cut her hair but she hadn't, and she's still smoking as well. I had some double rums after that. She showed me a picture of her boyfriend Dave, and told us about her multiple polygraph tests. She's very paranoid about being watched, which is somewhat understandable. It was a nice night with a variety of people to talk to. At one point I talked to Brandon Schmidt (Tiffany's brother) about nihilism, a dead end philosophy in my opinion, but interesting to him (albeit probably in a sophomoric way).
The bar closed and we left about 2 am. Brandon and Tiffany went their separate ways and so I said goodbye to them. Their mother was in town, and her sister's (Tanya) husband (Brain) was arriving that night by plane, so it was somewhat of a family get together for her. I dropped by Ryan and Brandon's place for a while, and then Judy gave me a lift home. We talked and I told her about my upcoming surgery. Then we walked the dog and talked some more before I saw her off. I phoned Bonnie at about 4 am in the morning to talk with her. I was really tired and somewhat drunk, but I needed to hear her voice to find some heart-felt relief.
Saturday 5th February.
I woke up about 8 am, but when back to sleep until about 1 pm. I showered, got dressed and talked to Bonnie briefly when Brandon called. Judy, Brandon and I went to a chain restaurant for lunch. That was nice, and afterwards they dropped me off to get coffee (~3 pm) as my head was hurting and I said goodbye to Judy. She had to drive to Helena to pack her stuff in the truck, and then come back through town about 5 am Sunday morning to pick up Tiffany and make it back down to Colorado Springs that night so she could start work on Monday morning.
I walked to work and then went home about 5 pm. Later Katie and Johnny were playing at one of the campus Christian events. This was the same pastor who had spoken at our “Spirituality and Sexuality” Forum, so he was very cool, and did a homily which was much more like a stand up routine. The music was good, and I had a good time (!). Afterwards I cycled over to return some DVD's and rented some more out. I grabbed some groceries and came home to watch “Band of Brothers” and sit in bed.
Bonnie called about 11 pm, and we talked for over 3 hours. She didn't tell me that she had had a very rough day with PMS, and I wasn't as sensitive as I could have been. When I found out she'd been crying or angry for much of the day, I did what I could to make her feel better. *hug* We didn't get off the phone until quite late.
Sunday 6th February.
Today I got up about 11 am, and after getting ready I went over to work. I called Bonnie briefly about 1 pm to make sure she was ok, and then tried to do some work. At 3 pm I went home, and Brandon called saying that he, Ryan, John and Ron were going to another chain restaurant for the Superbowl. The last three years I have always missed the game itself. Last year I was returning after my visa debacle, the year before I'd arrived in Bozeman and didn't have a TV, and the year before that I'd arrived in Miami and didn't know anyone.
So, we hung out at this restaurant and ate lots of food and drank plenty of beer. I took part in a ball throwing competition, and at half time Ron took part in the “all you can eat chicken wing competition”. He managed to eat 26, and tied for first place before having to go throw up in the bathroom. I got a ride home with Brandon just after half time, and shaved my legs before crashing out about 7 pm. At about 10 pm, I headed over to the lab to check email and turn off a reaction. Then I talked to Bonnie and we shared our day. I came home a little while ago, and finally started on this.
The weekend was like, wow… I saw Tiffany for the first time in 8 months, and I am sad to miss her friendship. But I know she is just as negative as always, and so in some ways I am happy to be with Bonnie who uplifts me and challenges me in a good way. I hurt because of what Tiffany and I had, and how she treated that love in the end. I'm sure it will be a busy therapist appointment on Thursday.
Speaking of which, I think I might ask my therapist for a recommendation letter. I know I don't need one for Thailand, but it wouldn't hurt to get one. It is about 18 days until the big (ch)op. My boss was supposed to be back on Saturday, so I am hoping he will get in tomorrow so we can meet.