A Few Quick Notes 378

-We are in the midst of a period of rather nasty weather in St. John's. For the past few days things have been generally wet and overcast, with intermittent periods of snow, just to mix things up a little. Unfortunately, it does not look as though things are really going to get much better in the immediate future.

-Last night, with my friend Greg, I made my triumphant return to George Street. We started things off at Trapper John's, where Greg's younger brother playing. Before things got started we were standing at the bar when I noticed that our high school chemistry teacher was standing just a few feet away (she didn't look as though she was in the mood to talk to former students) We then made our way over to The Martini Bar, an establishment that is typically too upscale for me, to see a friend who was doing the band's sound. Eventually, or once things began to wrap up at The Martini Bar, we made our way back to Trapper John's to catch the end of the band's show. Just before the band finished up Greg realized that we were just feet away from another former teacher of ours from junior high. Though we hadn't seen this guy in almost 15 years he immediately remembered both how he knew us and also our names. I was quite impressed.

Probably at about 3:00 we decided to head out. While I was fine with walking, some others in our party were interested in taking a cab, so we decided to take a cab. Not surprisingly, trying to get a cab as all of the bars cleared out did not turn out to be a particularly easy task. The process was complicated by us going to multiple strange locations. Fortunately we were able to eventually get a cab and make our way home.

While nothing particularly spectacular happened, I had a great time (though I don't know how many more similar nights I will be able to handle this trip).

-This afternoon Kirsten, Neil, Rebecca, and I all went to a former co-worker's house for brunch. We had traditional dishes like bacon and sausage, but also a great grits dish. The afternoon was really quite fun. I think Kirsten really liked playing with their small dog.

-Later this afternoon, maybe it might even be safe to say that it was early evening, Neil, Rebecca and I decided to try to do some Christmas shopping at da Mall. Unfortunately, not only was the place maggoty, but none of us really found anything that we were interested in buying. In general, though this is not meant to reflect negatively on my companions, it was a pretty unpleasant trip.

-Yesterday evening, after putting in quite a few hours, I was finally able to finish my exam grading. Already I feel more relaxed and able to enjoy things. I am particularly looking forward to tomorrow as I will be able to sleep in without guilt and then spend the better part of the day resting, relaxing, and reading (at least that is my plan).