Goin' Back to Indiana...

My Parents: 'What do you want for your birthday?'

Me: 'To see my friends...'

And, this is how my weekend trip came to be.

While my birthday was almost two months ago, the trip needed decent planning time. I wanted to make sure everyone could write me into each of their little black books.

As the song by Jackson 5 indicates...there was plenty of soul.

I first arrived in Bloomington, post-early morning flight and hour shuttle ride (with most of IU's potential freshmen and their parents). I walked through the beautiful campus full of many fond memories and sat down at the Starbucks on Indiana. A few people stopped by, including an old professor of mine.

Jacked-up on caffeine and adrenaline, I proceeded to my friend's apartment to change for dinner. We met up with a few other girls from our sorority and had a fun dinner at Crazy Horse. We spent the rest of the night drinking, criticizing underclassmen, and waiting for hunger to set in, so I could have my anticipated slice of Rockits' Pizza. Sitting at the bar made me aware of my age, and our discussions made me aware of our maturity. It is amazing how much we have all changed, since graduating nine months ago. In truth, it is both scary and phenomenal.

A side note, for occurrences later in the trip:

I did see my ex-boyfriend...only from behind. He was high-tailing it away from me. Not exactly a positive response, but avoiding confrontation is positive?!

The next morning a few of us headed to a much needed breakfast at Scholar's Inn, another one of my favorite Bloomington haunts. I saw a few more people, and then headed back towards Indianapolis.

In Indianapolis a friend of mine picked me up off the street. Literally.

She recounted the story later as seeing me standing on a street corner in downtown Indianapolis. I was jumping up and down with my duffel bag trailing behind me, running to her car, swinging the door open, and almost getting hit by oncoming traffic!

Once inside safely, I was given candy (because she knows about my 5 year old within) and told to sit and listen. She became my tour guide as we drove around to see sights, neighborhoods, her high school, and more. We stopped in an area called Broadripple to shop and walk around. You know your friends know you too well when they anticipate your arrival with trips to vintage shops and book stores. Man, I'm a nerd. Or, a hipster?

We arrived late that afternoon where I would be staying that night (another friend's apt), and where apparently nearly eleven other people also caught a few Zs. Try fitting eleven people in a NY apartment! Let alone all of them having somewhere to sleep?!!!

A large group of my friends came over and we watched the Colts game, obviously. With a Saints and Colts win, we were all ready to celebrate and spent the rest of the night out in Broadripple, also the location of many bars. We ran into other alumni at one bar and danced our hearts out at another. Minutes before leaving, I saw one of my ex boyfriend's band-mates. While in the cab home I got this text from his friend:

'Wait, Where did you go? **** wants to say hi.'

My Response. 'Too late. I just hopped in cab.'

Justice has been served. I never told him I was coming, but I'm sure he knew. I also never asked about him, or why we weren't going to see his band play. However, he had his chance to see me, but ran away. And, he is the one who stopped contacting me. So, having him admit to thinking about me....and then not getting to see me even for a moment. Well, let's just say that, plus not relating to the Bloomington-lifestyle anymore, equals justice. And relief.

We got back to my friend's apartment only to be met by her room mates and almost all the people we went out with! I haven't stayed up that late since college, let alone staying up past 2 am two nights in a row!

My last full day spent in the Indianapolis zip code was largely spent with a friend of mine who drove 4 hours south just to see me. We had lunch, went to a movie, and stopped at Target, where I wasn't charged for everything in my purchase. The night before I found $5.00 in the cab, so I think I was on a roll?!

Sunday night I enjoyed a lovely dinner with three of my friends. I ate my Midwest Meat, the usual rare burger (see earliest posts). What I enjoyed most about dinner is what we all had to drink. My friend 'S' had a beer. She is laid-back, girl next-door type who likes to watch football. My friend 'L' had a sweet tea, which I consider to be a southern drink, complimenting her gentile and hospitable manner. My friend 'J' had a white Russian, which is a cocktail with a some flash and very sweet. I had a glass of red wine, a cabernet sauvignon actually. It is classic, sophisticated, and a little masculine. Needless to say each of these describes each of us, and I found it absolutely comical at the time. How often do you think we make subconscious decisions that also describe our nature or behavior?

The next morning as my friends dropped me off at the airport, I couldn't help but wonder when the next time I'd get to see them would be. A wedding is a little over a year away, but I pray it won't be that long. I waited until I got through security before I let the tears drench my face. It was when I called to let my mom know I was at my gate that it happened.

She asked, 'How was your trip?'

And, I answered, 'It couldn't have been any better.'