*cue music* mem-ories..... what an odd day yesterday was. early on went to a bbq/housewarming party/engagement party for two old high school friends of mine. they bought this gorgeous house up in the more rural area of where i grew up; on a large plot, and it even has a stream running through it. they've done a fantastic job (in just two short months) of decorating on a shoestring budget. that combined with seeing my old roomate's two-week-old house down in lovely ewing, nj has started me thinking about how nice it would be to be a homeowner. the idea that you could invest time in repainting, refinishing, etc. that would not just be until you moved to a bigger/better/differently-located apt., it would be until you _wanted_ to move, which could be never.

also, the more i think about it, the more comfortable i am with the idea of spending a good chunk of future time in pittsburgh. it's really not a bad city; it's clean, safe, relatively cheap. the recent climbing trip to denver helped cement it further in my mind; denver was a very pretty city, and rifle was fun for an alternative to the new, but i really, *really* like the climbing here, both the quality, and how close it is to civilization. the other options for a new place could be SoCal, or the pacific northwest (i'm still in love with seattle).

anyway, after the bbq, my good buddy john and i headed down to the trashy bar right across the lake from where my dad lives. ran into a handful of high school classmates; and oh, what a mind-fuck that was! the whole thing was almost surreal; people coming up to me, recognizing me instantly (although i think i look awfully different from 10 years ago, more metal and less hair). first of all, let me just say that i am *terrible* with remembering names and faces, so last night's encounters were the sort that give me terror-sweats. everyone (well, _most_ everyone) looked so different. almost all the girls i talked to had at least one kid. some of the people (male and female) had almost a funhouse quality to them... i remember them being so thin, and some of them had put on weight, which is hard to wrap your brain around; seeing someone that you so clearly remember in your mind as looking one way, that now looks like they've been attacked by a lunatic with a bicycle pump.

well, if anything, it's prepared me somewhat for my 10-year reunion, which is at the end of this summer (eep!).

also found out that there is a relatively crappy crag not 5 minutes from where i grew up. wonder what would have happened if i had discovered that earlier