All I've got is a photograph, but it's not enough...

I've been organizing in our office and finding a lot of "treasures" that have made me laugh, cry, and smile. Magazine articles, programs from funerals, autographs from favorite bands are among the few things I've come across. A lot of the items, especially those from college, make me feel my age, but it's not a bad thing. I was amused by this photo from August of 1995:

The 12 of us in the photo, along with the person who took it, were gathered for a joint wedding shower for two of the women. This snapshot captured a group of amazing women and I feel so fortunate to have known all of them. At this moment, a little over 13 years ago, we were all co-workers.

Some random facts about those of us seen, and not seen, in the photo:

• 5 of us still work together. Yes, at the same company.
  
• 4 of us do not have any children (yet we all still work with kids).
  
• 3 of us (+ the photographer) attended the out-of-state wedding of another in the picture ~11-12 years ago (and had a blast!)
  
• 2 of the women are mothers of twins.
• 1 person died 5 and a half years ago.

Lots of memories, along with some harsh reminders about the unfairness and brevity of life. I met up with the dear friend of mine who took this old picture for coffee this afternoon. It was awesome to catch up with her and her sister, who I'm also close to. We won't wait so long next time.

I suppose this post is a reminder to myself to keep in touch and nurture friendships. People's lives changes, they move on and away, so it's often not easy. Sometimes all you have left is a photo and it's just not enough.

Little Guy Update, Post Op Day 14

It's kind of hard to believe that it's already been two weeks since Little Guy's surgery. It's even harder to believe I'll have to go back to work on Monday. He saw the surgeon today and had his sutures removed. The doctor was very pleased with how his incision is healing and said the 'knee' felt good. Along with that came the strong reminder that Guy's activity must be strictly limited for the next six to ten weeks, which will be challenging.

I took the above in the parking lot at the vet. Little Guy was very happy that we were leaving and that the doctor told me he could keep the collar off. Well...that didn't last too long and he's back in the collar. He was good for a while, but then started really licking the incision. In the interest of protecting the healing he's done and not opening it back up, we had to take action.

So, yeah, he's coming along nicely. We just have to keep him quiet and inactive as much as possible. Hopefully the collar can really come off soon.

Sometimes I wonder where you are, probably in L.A. That seems to be where everybody else ends up these days

Based on my calculations, last Thursday's Fountains of Wayne show was my fourth. Also, it just might have been was the best. The House of Blues (07/03) show a few years ago was...meh. Uninspired, kind of flat, just 'off.' However, we didn't give up. The show at the Wiltern (05/05) was pretty good, much better than the one at HOB at least. Next, they opened for Squeeze at The Greek Theatre (08/07) and were FANTASTIC!

Okay, if you made it this far and have no clue who I'm talking about, you probably heard a FOW song in a holiday ad in 2008. "Valley Winter Song" was used in this L.L. Bean commercial. Ah, yes, now you know who I'm talking about, right? They joked about the ad, as their song is really about how depressing the winter in New England is (I've heard it's about Seasonal Affective Disorder) and now it's supposed to make you want to buy slippers!

This recent appearance was at Largo 2.0* and the 'acoustic' set of their infectious pop songs, in combination with such a kick-ass venue did make it the best yet. I was pretty impressed by the openers, Mike Viola and Kelly Jones, who meshed well with the headliner. I get annoyed when that doesn't happen and the audience doesn't get pumped up for the main act.

The guys were relaxed and quite solid. They treated us to several new tracks, including a "road song" with a line about not singing it as well as Steve Perry (which made me laugh out loud), as well as crowd favorites from their catalog. The slow-tempo version of "Stacy's Mom" that they did was hilarious! A few audience members joined the band on stage to play percussion on "Hey Julie," and they all looked like they were having a blast.

This was the closest I'd been to FOW and I have to admit that it was fun to have such a great view of the talented lead guitarist, Jody Porter. He is an amazing musician, but in some ways seems like he doesn't fit in with the rest of the group. The other guys have sort of a preppy/nerdy/hipster/dorky vibe, whereas Jody is all rock 'n roll and quite quirky. I got the impression he's kind of shy too as he didn't join in the banter until later into the concert. Once he did though, he was pretty funny.

So, as usual, I am now obsessing on Fountains of Wayne and listening to nothing else. This is my typical pattern after seeing a great live show. If my calculations are correct, it will go on for just about the rest of this week.

[Fountains of Wayne @ Largo 1.22.09]

*Largo 2.0 is just my silly nickname for 'Largo at The Coronet.' I miss the original, but the new venue is a great place to see an intimate show.