Three long-lost folks reemerge

Yesterday did not get off to the best start: I took my first spoonful of Cocoa Pebbles and had to spit it out due to the fact that the milk was spoiled. I then decided this was my sign to be healthy, so fixed myself a bowl of cottage cheese--also spoiled. I then settled for the old stand-by of cheese and crackers (Laughing Cow cheese....that stuff never dies). It was then off to work where I briefed a very unreceptive audience.

I got back to my desk to find the guy who was supposed to buy my Rolling Stones tickets then backed out over email (anybody need two?). However, I then received a call from a number I did not recognize...it was Irene, a woman I worked with while at Context Integration whoh was my first female mentor. She actually had a large effect on my professional life, and it was so wonderful to hear from her. Yay!

The day then dipped back into the doldrums a bit, with another briefing...sigh....and trying to schedule mroe briefings. At the end of the day, I left and went to meet Matt, Dave, and Jeff for dinner at Cheesecake Factory, but arrived just as they were about to leave the mall.

So I left there to meet up with Andrew, and the two of us went for dinner at the brand-new Nebo, which I would not recommend. Forty bucks a piece got us each a pizza and one drink. I"m not even kidding. And the shrimp on Andrew's pizza was not fresh. That place won't last.

We left there and went where everybody knows our names: Warren Tavern. Unfortunately, Justin wasn't playing, but we still had fun. While we were talking to Danny and Greg, I heard a woman say, "Ilana?" I turned around and there stood Valerie Bennett, a fellow Sharon High grad, a year younger than me. She had not aged a day. When I told my mom, she said, "Valerie was always such a gorgeous girl...how does she look now?" "The same!" "Wonderful." It was great to see her....she is also a single gal in Boston, so hopefully we can hit the town soon!

As I was talking to Val, a handsome blonde man started staring at me and smiling...it was Todd Ingrewsen, a guy who graduated with me from SHS!! When I first moved to Charlestown (we're talking that very night), I went by myself to Warren Tavern and saw Todd and his mom, a wonderful woman who was the cheerleading coach in school. It made me feel a lot better about my decision to move to Charlestown. I hadn't seen him since then, so it was so great to run into him. Val and I tried to convince him to get his wife out, but it was too late in the night by that time.

The three of us talked and had ourselves a mini-reunion until the bar shut down. It was awesome! The bar was also crawling with my friends from the Warren Tavern softball team. Too much fun! What a great night.

Now I am in my last Systems Engineering class. Woo hoo!!!