of eyepatches and such.

So far, all of my blogs have been about folks that are here in the Twin Cities..  I'm going to tell you now about two very special guys.  One from Fargo and then one who is a transplant to St. Paul.  To begin my tales of Cody Trautner, let me begin by telling you a short story.

When I was working at Outback Steakhouse in Fargo, ND, I was living in Moorhead with my partner at the time.  The weekend previous to this particular Monday, I had gotten my hair cut.  I hadn't shared my plans with my partner, I wanted it to be a surprise.  Apparently, it was such a surprise that they didn't even notice.  As the hours and days passed by without recognition of a difference (it was considerable, and styled completely different from the norm) or a single compliment, I got more and more depressed.  I went to work that Monday, to open the restaurant, and I'M the one who got a surprise.  Shortly after hitting the buzzer in the back to be let in, the door opened.  I pushed my way through the plastic dangly things (to keep the bugs out) to see Jory, one of our cooks standing there holding the door.  "Wow Anddi.  You look really nice today!  Did you get a haircut?"  I. Was. Flabbergasted!  I thanked him and went to the bathroom to put away my bag.  I came around the kitchen corner and Cody was standing there cutting "Bloomin' Onions" and he looked up at me as I said "Hi " to him.  "I like your haircut, Anddi.  It looks really good on you."  I teared up, and he could see I was upset.  He walked around the counter, and being careful not to put his onioney hands on me, gave me a hug.  "____  didn't notice..  Did they?"  All I could do at that point was shake my head.  I was simultaneously touched by the sweetness of these two coworkers, and hurt at the lack of attention that was paid by my partner.  "You deserve better, Anddi."  He said.

That is one of my top 5 all time favorite memories.  I can't talk about Cody, or Jory for that matter, without telling that story.  Now let me go back in time a bit, to when I first started working at Outback...

Cody scared the SHIT out of me.  He is the A-typical badass.  Well...  He LOOKS like the A-typical badass anyway.  His hair was much longer than mine, he had facial piercings and a glare that could shatter Italian marble.  He intimidated me.  I don't get intimidated easily.  Eventually, I stopped taking the shit he gave me, and gave some right back.  At one point, I mouthed off to him when he got snarky with me and he was so taken aback that he laughed.  From then on we were friends.  I was always respectful and polite, and he paid me the same courtesy.  I even think that sometimes, my food came up before other peoples' because he liked me better.  At least I like to think so.

I came to learn, later, that while Cody did love his fair share of punk rock, he also had a soft spot for jazz music.  He was going to school for ceramics (and now that I have seen his work, thanks to the Facebooks, I have confirmed what I always assumed) and he is incredibly talented.  We had great conversations because he listened and engaged when we talked.  I used to french braid his super long hair when we had a slow shift with nothing to do.  If I ever needed help, Cody would drop everything to help me.  And one day, I came into work, and in the hallway by the employee restrooms there were 2 clear plastic file holders attached to the wall.  In one of them, there was an envelope with my name on it.  Inside the envelope was a little plastic party favor eye patch.  No note.  No explanation. So I put it on!  I did all of my opening duties that day with one eye.  Our district food tech was in that day, and he couldn't stop giggling.  But my philosophy was that if someone saw this and thought that I needed to have it, I was going to wear it with pride.  I actually still carry it with me in my back pack, and whip it out on occasion!  I had it with me at the Duluth Tall Boats Festival this past summer, and I always wear it when I am feeling particularly piratey.  Oh yeah..  I found out a few days later, that Cody was the one who left it for me.

One of the very last times I saw Cody in person, was the day we found out we were fired.  We had had a meeting scheduled for the Sunday after the mullet fest that was the Bon Jovi concert.  I showed up in a GREAT mood.  I didn't actually have to work that day AND I had my favorite Chai Tea to drink during the meeting.  Being the paranoid person I am, I showed up early, and the managers and our current and former district managers were having a meeting on one side of the restaurant.  So I went to the bar side to wait for our part of the meeting to start.  The night before had been a disaster of epic proportions.  It was the night of the big Bon Jovi concert and we were packed and on a wait (meaning we didn't have enough tables for all the people who wanted to sit down) for 3 hours or so.  About an hour into dinner service, we started running out of things.  Food things.  We were running out of steaks.  We were running out of shrimp, and bread and chicken..  We would have to go back to our tables multiple times to retake orders, as we would find out we were out of part or all of what they ordered AFTER we had ordered it on the computers.  Most of us were in tears at some point, because it was the most stressful night of work I have ever had.  To this day, it has not been topped.  Even Kyle, the one cook I just couldn't get along with, told me that the managers owed us an apology for all the shit we went through that night.  Some of my coworkers went out and got wasted that night.  I didn't.  I was chipper, and not hungover, and excited that I got to go home after the meeting.

If the concert hadn't tipped me off as a precursor to disaster, then me spilling my entire glass of chai probably should have.  It didn't.  Jory showed up, so hungover I thought he would throw up in the booth he laid down in.  Shortly after I cleaned up my mess, my manager came running over and grabbed a pile of paychecks from where they were sitting on the bar and some other papers and made a beeline for the manager meeting.  I thought it was odd that she had the paychecks ready 5 days early, but again, no red flags in my brain.  Finally everyone was there.  Cody was standing stoically on the other side of the bar from where I was.  I waved at him, but he didn't look to be in the mood for my spastic personality yet, so I stayed where I was.  Then, all hell broke loose.  I can't remember the exact words of our new district manager, but here's the gist of it..  "Last night was your last shift, here is 2 weeks severance pay, good luck."  Everyone was so stunned we thought it was a joke.  When I realized that it was for real I started sobbing, and looked across the room at Cody.  He looked as hurt as me, without all the ridiculous blubbering, of course.  I ran into the arms of my manager's girl friend, whom I was very close to at the time.  She was standing next to Cody and I grabbed him too.  He put his arms around me and squeezed.  Soon everyone was hugging everybody else.  That place was our second home.  The only friends I had in Fargo that were MINE were in that room and we were all hurting.

Later, I passed Cody on the freeway, on my way home.  He didn't see me pull up next to his pimpin white mini.  His head was dropped back onto the head rest, and I had never seen him like that.  The sight of him, that upset broke my heart all over again, and I eventually had to pull over to calm myself so I could drive the rest of the way home.  I haven't seen Cody in a few years, but I think about him all the time.Everytime that eyepatch he gave me comes out, I smile.  Every time I want to knock out one of the cooks at the restaurant I currently work at, I think about how much I miss my line guys from Outback.  Everytime I think about Outback, I remember how much I love that guy.  The thing I miss the most is braiding his hair during a lull.  I've never actually been the kind of girl who just braids people's hair..  But it was different when Cody asked me.  I miss you Cody Trautner.  Very very much.

Moving on, now, to a guy I know from St. Paul via Kansas City.  His name is Joseph.  I sometimes call him Mr. Ye.  What can I say about Joseph?  He's amazing.  The first time I met him, Bonnie dragged me to one of his shows.  She had met him at a Gogol Bordello concert, and fell in love with him.  On a break between sets, we went to say hi and went outside so Joseph could smoke.  Bonnie introduced me to him and he threw the one arm that didn't have the cigarette in it around me, hugged me and kissed my face.  A guy.  Hugged me, and kissed my face.  I fell in love with him too.  It's hard not to.

Joseph started coming to things, and we attended more of his shows.  He plays piano and accordion in a band called Cantankerous Folk.  I love every member of that band dearly, but each of those boys will have their own blog.  This one belongs to Joseph.  He came to my Mad Hatter Tea Party (my 29th birthday party) and started coming to other parties.  Joseph is a riot, completely ok with being silly, and incredibly affectionate.  I love this about him.  I can tell him I love him, and not only does he not get grossed out or embarrassed, but he says it back!  In FRONT of people.  I'm a hugger, and he's always good for hugs.

He also doesn't have "the dude wall".  By "dude wall" I mean that safety mechanism that slams down when you get too close to a guy, or he's hiding something.  You know, when you look at someone, and you can't see what they are really feeling, and you feel sort of shut out?  Joseph isn't wired that way.  If he was, I wouldn't love him nearly as much as I do.  I never feel like I am being shut out, and he doesn't have anything to hide from anyone, least of all me.  He's open, and honest, and talented, and hilarious and awesomely nerdy.

It is a rare occasion that Joseph shows up to any event and doesn't present me with a bottle of alcohol.  Namely, rum.  I love rum.  Almost as much as I love Mr. Ye.  He's the life of the party most of the time, and even though he swears that he can't dance, he usually ends up dancing with us anyway.  And, for the record, Joseph is a very good dancer.  I would also be quite concerned, and downright upset, if there was a time that I saw Joseph without him kissing my face, or 'nom'ing my cranium.  I can't be in a bad mood around that guy. It's damn near impossible.  He's always cracking a joke, and making me choke on my drink, or tickling me, or hugging me, or petting my shoulder..

Speaking of shoulders..  For someone who is not a trained massage therapist, Joseph gives AMAZING massages!  We do trades just about every time we see each other.  And that boy has a lot of knots.  A lot.  And they are big ugly crunchy ones, too.  One of the first times he was rubbing my shoulders, he started massaging my scalp and then gently tugged my hair...  Puh...  Dddllllee...  There aren't many people I trust enough to allow them to do that.  #1, sometimes people do it too hard and it hurts..  #2  Well..  That's none of your business!

Joseph is attempting to teach me piano.  This is going to be difficult for a few reasons..  I have never played an instrument before, I am nervous trying to play something that someone else does really well IN FRONT of them and I can't read music very well.  Ok..   I can't read music at all.  I am too ADD and the logical side of my brain doesn't work all that well.  My goal is to be able to play Moonlight Sonata.  Joseph warned me that if he was going to be teaching me Beethoven, he was going to be, and I quote "an asshole about it."  Oh dear.  I AM practicing, and I am actually getting better.  Even though the only things I can really do are sounding things out that I already know by heart and playing scales and a few chords..  Better than before I started anyhow!

If I haven't told you that Joseph is nerdy, yet, he's really really nerdy!  We marathoned Star Wars one day/night (12ish hours) even though I was the only one awake past the first half of Empire.  We watch Gargoyles and have arguments about the merits of Jar Jar Binks..  You see, I LOVE Jar Jar, and Joseph hates him.  Joseph likes Star Trek, I do not.  I think it evens it out.  A bit.  He also gets terribly upset when I remind him that I am neutral when it comes to Dr. Horrible.  Yes, I am putting this out there for all to see.  I do not love Dr. Horrible, but I also do not hate Dr. Horrible.  But I feel the need to point out that I do love Repo: The Genetic Opera, and Joseph thinks it's stupid.  Apparently, he is not as dark and morbid as I am.  We talk about comic books, and nerdy t.v. series, and he laughs at my nerdy t-shirt collection.  We've explored one museum together, with Whittney, so far, and I am planning many more nerdy adventures for us in the future.

Me, on the HMS Bounty in Duluth. Minnesota wearing the eye patch from Cody :)

Me and Mr. Ye

I just have to say, that I love having Joseph around.  My life is so much better and more fun with him in it.  Now that I am friends with Joseph, I can't imagine what my life would be like without him.  I am so thankful that I got to meet such an amzing person, and without knowing him, I probably wouldn't know a bunch of my favorite people.  I love you, too, Joseph Ye.  More than I know how to handle or to describe in cyberspace. Thank you for being my friend, and loving me, even though I love Jar Jar Binks.

Me Scallywags

I'm going to tell you about a few more people that I know.  I think I am going to start with Katie Jones.  She may be related to Davey Jones, but this is, as of yet, unconfirmed.  Regardless, this lady is the Bomb Diggety Shit.  She's the kind of Gal who can be so responsible as to not contact the rest of us for a while.  She works full time and is in Nursing school full time, and she KNOWS that if she listens to us, she won't be able to resist coming out or coming over..  Then papers and homework will not get done.  So she is well practiced, an expert really, in avoiding peer pressure.  I admire her stubbornness in this area.  I am too ADD and to hyper active to say no to an adventure or to a party!  Now..  She may be a million times more responsible than the rest of us, but she is CRAZY FUN!  This is the lady who gave me UniCorn holders for my birthday.  She enjoys discussing crafty things with me, can dance her ass off, will join in on a musical jam session and go on a silly outing to the zoo.  She has amazing, contagious energy, and we ALWAYS notice when she is not there for our shenanigans!  Maybe the party animal in all of us should take a lesson from Katie in task management!  We could also, then, take lessons from her on how to be silly and have a great time.   All in all, I love the hell out of Katie Jones!

Now Jay, is your typical quiet type.  This may be a Rufledt family trait..  He is also a listener, but can jump into the craziness at any time and have it not look out of the ordinary.  I don't know Jay as well as I know some of the others in the group, but I am always glad to see him when he comes out with us!  He fits in perfectly to our very diverse and well balanced group of awesome!

Gabi is a party animal.  Ok.  SOMETIMES Gabi is a party animal.  She can rock pink pleather hot pants one day and a bathrobe and zombie blood another.  She's always ready for an adventure, and is another one of those people who not only bears with me when I have themed parties, but actually gets INTO it!  She's a dancin fool and she laughs almost as much as I do.  For the record, laughing as much as I do is really hard to do..

Technically, I could have talked about Derek in the same blog as I told you about Deej, but then again, I didn't meet him until after most of the other people I mentioned already.  So I guess we're going in the order of how I met people.  Let me start by saying, Derek makes me crazy.  But in a good way.  He fits in well as he is incredibly nerdy (we really do have a LOT of nerds in this group!) and he's a balancer as well because he's really really quiet.  Until you get to know him.  Then he will argue with you about things he knows about until the cows come home and he has a knack for bringing up U2 (his favorite band) every ten minutes or so.  This is a guesstimated average, but I am quite sure that it is fairly accurate.  Derek is like me, in the way that he collects, stores and sometimes uses an insane amount of useless facts.  Me?  I'm not sure where I get some of the stuff I know..  Derek, watches documentaries, the Discovery Channel and Googles on a regular basis.  If he has a question about something, he doesn't stop until he knows everything there is to know about that subject.  I introduced him and Deej to Roller Derby last year, and now I think he knows the rules better than the NSRG officials.  He's a dork but I <3 him.

I find myself re-reading and re-writing a lot of the descriptions I give before I post them, because it's hard for me to know how someone would feel reading them that doesn't know my friends.  It's really hard for me to describe how much I love this marvelous group of people electronically.  You have to BE there.  You have to see the shenanigans first hand to know how wonderful, amazing, talented and utterly hilarious my friends are!  My wish for all humankind, is to, even for a short while, have a support system of incredible people to brighten and enrich their lives.  This may sound sickeningly sappy, but if everyone felt as much love for other people as I do for my friends, I think the world would be a much better place. One social circle at a time.

scurvy knaves

It's been a while since my last post, and I know all 2 of you are just chomping at the bit for more of my musings..  I'm going to continue on with my portraits of my friends, so this post might get a wee bit long.  Deal with it!

One of the first people I met through my roomies was Merritt.  Not only does she have an awesome name, but she's an awesome lady!  The very first time I met her, she threw her arms around me and kissed me on the cheek!  And as we parted she hugged me again and said "I Love you!" before walking away.  2 things.  First, I am a very touchy-feeley person.  I often cuddle with friends and family, because it is in my nature.  I cuddle most often with men, because, let's face it, some ladies are uncomfortable cuddling with their queer friend.  I don't like to put that discomfort on my lady friends, so if they want to cuddle they come to me.  It is much more natural and socially acceptable for a girl to be cuddling with a boy.  Even if that boy and girl are in no way "sexy cuddling."  I'll come back to the difference later.  I have NEVER, in my whole life, met someone as open and free with affection as Miss Merritt.  Even some of the friends I have had for years get a little uncomfortable when I tell them that I love them.  So I was surprised when someone I had just met said that to me and meant it.  Second.  People say "Oh I LOVE you!"  way too often nowadays.  It's become a phrase that has been so overused as to not have as much meaning as it used to.  It's a natural part of the vernacular  now, and it's second nature for people to say it, even to complete strangers.  When Merritt says it, she means it.  And you can tell.  Remind me to tell you about the thing I can do with energies..  Merritt is well read, quirky, intelligent, hilarious, creative, nurturing and spastic.  In a good way.  She's one of those characters who participates and GETS INTO whatever it is she is doing, whether it be making giant May Day puppets or dressing up for my Mad Hatter's Tea Party birthday.  She's beautiful and active and loves to try new things and then share that experience with others.  She's pretty fantastic.

Now most of the people I have met through Eric and Bonnie I have met at dinner parties or barbeques.  Scott L. is one of them.  Now Scott..  He's a hard one to describe.  Just when you think you have the guy down, he cracks one out into left field.  He is KING of the nonsensical.  For instance..  We could all be sitting outside eating delicious mercado style corn on the cob, having a serious discussion about (This is a made up example..  He does it so often it's hard to remember specific instances!) the light rail they are building in St. Paul.  Scott will interject with something completely off-topic, sometimes gross and sometimes inappropriate..  "Did you know that goat testicles..."  "So I was looking for pictures of poop on the internet..."  At first I didn't know what to make of Scott.  But it's just his very unique brand of humor.  He's an excellent cook, good for a laugh or a bit of silliness and an avid all you can eat buffet consumer.  Seriously.  This guy can eat.  He has actually been kicked out of buffets for eating too much.  I think if they ever made a competitive eating sport where first you cook it and then scarf it, Scott would be the all time champ.  If your party is getting a little stale, or your dishes aren't interesting enough, invite Scott over.  He is sure to bring his wit and possibly a jar of Chinese powdered army pork..  Mmmm  *gag*  delicious!

If anyone in the group is as technosexual as Deej is, it's Andy W.  (You will find that my nucleus of friends has  Andy, Anddi, Scott and Skot.  Cuz we're awesome.)  If I want to geek out comic book, or foreign film style, Andy is one of the guys I go to.  Even Deej has to call Andy every now and then with a tech question.  Not often, but sometimes.  He has a fancy phone, lots of gaming systems, loves dinner and movie theme nights  and has helped save the party more than once.  He's reliable and trustworthy, helpful, calm and patient.  Andy is married to Wendy.  They make a great team.  Wendy is another person who has saved the party once or twice.  If we're running low on something, or there's stuff that is needed, Andy and Wendy show up, like superheroes, with bags full of what was needed and then some!  Now where Andy can geek out for an hour and talk the night away about such-n-such a phone or some new tech advance, Wendy is a listener.  I swear, the girl could be a journalist!  Not only does she like to ask questions, and get to know people by doing so, but she is actually interested in the answers!  You will never find Wendy being a wallflower..  She will be over here, then over there, just talking to people.  Listening to stories or asking about work or school or family.  These two also have two adorable little shitzus who are my friends.  Mao Bi and Mei Mei are awesome.  They are my pals and both appreciate the puppyssage.  Especially Mao Bi.  They are good cuddlers, and also like my parties!  The whole Wang-Rufledt household is pretty amazing..

This is my Mad Hatter's Tea Party  From Left, Wendy, Me, Bonnie, Deej, Grif, Kevin and Merrit

Anddi and Andy

Scott and Eric randomly running around the grill.  And Bonnie is kicking them :)

So there are 4 more of the wonderful people I know.  I am very blessed (and, yes, I WILL keep saying this!) to have all of these people in my life.  Thank you to all of my scurvy knaves!  Those I have mentioned and those yet to be written about..  I love you all!

First Mates

Well, since people have always been a huge part of my daily existence, I'm going to roll with that theme.  Some of my biggest and best adventures have happened with friends..  Seeing as I already said that I have an amazing group of people here in "The Cities" I will tell you all how I met all of these amazing folks.  But the beginning of every story is the ending of another, so let's start there..

I had been living in Fargo with friends for almost a year after the California "incident", and I didn't feel like there was much keeping me there any more.  My relationship with Dane had ended, although we are still friends, the drama of the Fargo-Moorhead Derby Girls had caused me to quit, and my job wasn't anything to write home about.  I mulled it over for a few weeks and then I started telling people that I was moving.  I have this thing.  If I tell myself I'm going to do it, it usually doesn't happen...  But if I tell others I'm doing something, I HAVE to.  I don't want to look like a liar and a big talker.  I had my goodbyes with my roommate and her daughter, and a goodbye dinner with Dane.  I said goodbye to my "best friend" Kimmie, we exchanged gifts and promises to visit and to always have a great adventures.  So my friend Sarah came with her Jeep and a trailer and took me, and most of what was left of my worldly possessions and moved me to the cities.  Of course..  On our way out of town, we ran to Dilworth, MN (literally right next to Moorhead) so I could get the tattoo I had been trying to get for months.  So as I was closing a huge chapter of my life, I got a tattoo to commemorate the occasion.  "YAWP" is what it says.  Just one little word, but it has a huge meaning.  It's from Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself".  The lines say, "I too am untamed, I too am untranslatable.  I sound my barbaric YAWP over the roofs of the world."  I had decided after California, that I was going to live for myself for a change.  I wasn't going to let someone else run my life or dictate how I should live it.  I was going to YAWP everyday.

Before I had left, I had contacted an old high school friend, via the Facebooks.  I asked him if he knew anyone renting a room in their house.  I may have wanted to be independent financially and romantically, but I have never lived alone.  Ever.  It's always been in a dorm with 200 other girls, or with roommates or significant others in apartments.  Just thinking about living alone in a city that is, basically, new to me was a terrifying prospect.  At first, Bryan couldn't think of anyone, but one of his friends saw me post on his wall and contacted me directly.  Apparently, she had been minutes from posting the room for rent on Craig's List and saw my post.  She asked if I wanted to come see the place and gave me some details about the house, the arrangements and the like.  I told her when I was coming down, and we set a date for a meet and greet.

I proceeded to temporarily reside in the house of my friend, (who is apparently not my friend anymore?) Sarah's house with her partner and their two dogs and foster dog.  I took a couple buses to meet Eric and Bonnie at Cafe Julianna, on he prearranged date.  I was early so I had a bar (I have a pretty excellent Minnesota accent, so saying the word "bar" makes me smile!) and a tea, and shortly thereafter Bonnie and Eric walked into the cafe.  I actually can't remember what we really talked about, all I know is I was nervous and really in need of a nice place.  So we walked down the hill to the house to check it out.  Within seconds of walking in the door I saw Bonnie's cat Caixa.  I have a soft spot for animals, and immediately picked her up and put her on my shoulder (like I would with a baby) and petted her.  She was ok for a minute, but then climbed up the rest of the way and draped herself across my shoulders like a scarf, and just hung out there for the entire tour of the house.  When I picked Caixa up, Bonnie gave me a weird look, which I took to be a bad sign that I had crossed a line somewhere.  I was thinking "great...  I  grabbed her cat and now she has NO intentions of letting me live here."  Turns out, that the look was more of shock.  I guess Caixa (at the time) really didn't like people.  ANY people.  I like to think that Caixa clinched the deal for me, because I moved in the next month.  Caixa and I have a love/pretend to hate relationship.  But she loves me.  Most of the time!

Bonnie is an incredible lady.  She has vast amounts of energy and can party like a rock star.  She is a foodie and I, while never a picky eater, have been introduced to quite a few new eats since knowing her.  She's a classically trained percussionist, she teaches drum lessons, is in 12 bands (ok, 2 bands, but it seems like 12 sometimes!) teaches little ones at a day care and throws one HELL of a dinner party!  She's an amazing friend and confidante, and I love her dearly.  We've been through a lot together.  And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT!  I've been to more shows, and had more adventures with her in the last year and a half than I have in my whole life!  We've had nights from hell, movie nights, discovered new awesome places to eat and linger and she's always up for shenanigans.  She's also a good sport.  We screw with her a lot and she takes it like a champ.  She's kinda ticklish.  And when I say kinda, I mean CRAZY ticklish.  I wouldn't trade her for anything.  She no longer lives in the house, and I sincerely miss my Bonnie time.  There are a lot of moments where I think "I have to go show Bonnie!" or something of the sort, and then realize she's not here.  Get us together, and the unexpected happens.

Eric's parents own the house we reside in.  So he is my roommate, and technically my landlord.  I have never lived anywhere, other than my folk's house, longer than I have lived on Ohio Street.  He is also a classically trained musician, specializing in the Bass.  He seems like a mellow guy, but that just gives him the element of surprise.  This is the guy, who, calm as can be, will walk down the soup isle at Trader Joe's, hear a song he likes and stop in the middle to jam out and dance.  He rearranges words in songs to include the names of the cats, to sing to them while he pets them.  He's not the partying type, but if you get him going, it can be quite hilarious!  He's the first one to volunteer to help when I need a favor..  Usually this involves vehicular favors, as I do not own one and sometimes getting places can be difficult.  Hell, the guy drove me down to Rochester so I could see Alice Cooper last spring.  He sat in a bar, by himself, while I was stuck in a mosh pit for 3 hours.  I also have issues in the morning every now and then..  Meaning I am not awake until maybe my 3rd table sits down at work (I wait tables.  Glamorous, huh?).  So sometimes I miss my bus or set my alarm for the wrong time.  Then I have to sheepishly ask Eric for a ride downtown.  He just laughs at me and takes me downtown.  I'll bet my roomie is cooler than yours.

Now these two are awesome people.  And it's through them, that I will meet a plethora of other awesome people.  The best part is, they are all different, and awesome in their own ways.  I have never been in a group of such diverse human beings before.  Usually people hang out because they work together, or they have something huge in common like acting, or church or knitting..  Our group isn't like that.  Our group is pretty unique and special.  To be continued...

Setting Sail

At what point in a life's timeline does one start when beginning a Blog?  I've been contemplating this for the past few days, as I have been toying with the idea of actually keeping a Blog.  Well, first things first I guess.  I am actually pretty lucky that I even figured this stuff out.  I usually have to wait until I see my best friend, Deej, so she can do these things for me.  Granted, I DID call her..  And I may have even had an IM conversation on the Facebooks with her.  But I did it all by myself.  Well...  Mostly.

Most of you know me as Anddi or Andrea or even by my Derby name, Black Pearl.  I'm short in stature, I have green eyes, I love Star Wars, good music, tea, adventure, and I am pretty freekin hilarious.  My life has been a series of fortunate and misfortunate moments filled with craziness, awe and amazing people.  I have an incredible ability to attract insanity, sometimes in the form of really strange circumstances and sometimes in the form of really strange people.  I have been lucky, in my 29 years, to have found and held onto a handful of amazing human beings, but it wasn't until recent years that I have found myself surrounded my a multitude of diverse, interesting, kind, adventurous, delightfully crazy awesome people.  Seriously.  In the last 2 years, I have made more "Best Friends" than I have had in all the rest of my years combined.  In fact, I have so many Best Friends now, that there is only one I actually give the title to anymore.  Deej has been my friend for more than half of my life.  She has put up with my insanity, my love sickness, my addiction, my bitchiness, my stupidity, and rescued me more times than I can even remember.  she totally deserves the title.  Well..  I guess it looks like we are going to be talking about my favorite people for a minute.  I hope Skot doesn't mind that I copy him.  Lets start with Deej.

I met Diana when I was in the 9th grade at WBL High School.  I was dragged to an after school meeting for a theatre group called F.A.C.E.S. by my friend Heather.  I subsequently met a group of people who would, for the next 4 years, make my life miserable, exciting, dramatic and interesting.  If any of you have ever been in theatre, then you know what I am talking about.  Deej was a little more grounded than the rest of the WBL theatre group.  She wasn't as melodramatic...  In fact (as long as there wasn't copious amounts of Cherry Coke involved) she was pretty mellow.  This is why upon first meeting me, she didn't care for me that much.  Allow me to explain.  I'm hyper.  Really hyper.  I may even be borderline to full on ADD.  There are times when I am consciously aware that I am being obnoxious and completely ridiculous, and I just can't control myself.  Suffice to say, it took a while for Deej to warm up to me.  Our group became incestuously close.  Looking back, it was kind of nasty.  For some of the people in the group, I think being IN the group was a secret plot to torture each other.  There was boyfriend/girlfriend swapping, so so so SO much drama, back stabbing and gossip...  We were more like enemies who hung out together and played stupid theatre games at parties.  Deej and I were more to the outside of the chewey melodramatic center, so we could relate to each other.  Don't get me wrong, we were teenage girls, and you bet your ass we participated in some of the shenanigans, but we could actually see and understand how stupid and futile it all was.  That in mind, we were not "Best Friends" in high school.

We had our own best friends, but we always had a good time when hanging out together.  Whether it be at a party at Josh's, out and about in Deej's hoopty, Tyrone (rest in pieces, sir) hanging out at Maplewood Mall (it makes me ill to remember doing that) or chillin in the theatre after school, we always had a good time together.  After she graduated, Deej and I lost touch.  I really didn't keep in touch with anyone when I went away to college either, so no one is to blame here.  And then something very strange happened.  I was living in Duluth at the time, and taking general credits at Lake Superior Community College.  Because I failed and dropped out of UW-Superior a couple times..  I was at my first class for that semester and I was sitting in the seats of the very tiny tech college theatre, when I looked up and in walked Deej!  "D.J!" I yelled at her.  She almost peed herself, well, maybe not..  But she WAS surprised!  We spent a couple days in class together getting back in touch, until life happened and we lost touch again.

Shortly thereafter, I was working as a cashier/event coordinator at Michael's Arts and Crafts in Duluth, when in walked Deej!  I think the universe was trying to tell us something..  To make a long story less long, I eventually moved in with Deej in Superior, until she moved back to the cities, and I moved to Fargo (this is skipping some big events in my life, but that's for a different day) we briefly lost touch, but thanks to the invention of social networking we found each other again.  We kept in touch mostly online for a couple years, and then I "moved" to California.  Another long story I will save for a different day.  Eventually I had to come back to Minnesota with my tail between my legs, on a four day bus trip, financed by begged for money from my Daddy (who also bails me out more than I deserve) and $40 that Deej deposited in my account so I had money for food on the way back.  Deej gave me my first "big girl bed" when she left Duluth, bailed me out when I left California, helped me move back to the Cities, carts my ass to and from Roller Derby Bouts and crazy adventures (remind me to tell you guys about Brandon, Minnesota sometime!) found me a new "big girl bed" when I moved to St. Paul, let me cry on her shoulder a thousand times, knows my deepest darkest secrets...  Deej is as nerdy as me, knows how to tell me to shut up, knows how to have a good time, and I seriously couldn't live without her.  For cereal.  She knows me better than anyone does.  And I don't have to tell her how I feel about anything.  She just knows.  At this point, she's more my sister than my friend.  I love you Deej <3