My dad was a remote control hog. Rarely could we persuade him to watch anything he wasn't interested in watching. As a consequence I grew up watching a lot of Star Trek and Doctor Who and National Geographic specials.

When I got older Dad and I would sometimes go to the movies together. My last visit home with him last year it was fun to go see the new Indiana Jones Movie with him (having enjoyed all the previous movies with him and having once bought him the boxset as a present).

The new Star Trek movie is amazing and exactly the sort of movie Dad loved. I really wish I could watch it or discuss it with him. I know he would have had all sorts of small insights and correlations I didn't notice. I can just picture the smug expression he would have had on his face looking as if the whole thing was his idea.

Miss you Dad!

Jon's Wedding

Was spectacular... and it was wonderful to see so many old friends....and their children.

There were 3 children there (Michelle & Hooman's, Jessica Rezin's, and Mercy's) that were all within 3 months of the same age, and all of them of interracial background they were all beautiful children. I played more with them than with their parents I think. I also played with Renee's daughter and Rebecca's son (who were within a year or so of the other children's ages.) It was SO much fun. I forgot how much I love children. When do I get mine?

It was also great to bring out old photos and have everyone go through them, laughing, talking, remembering, and updating everyone else on people's whereabouts. My dad sent me home with a scanner, so as soon as I get a new monitor (mine died on Thursday last) I will be spending all my freetime scanning old photos and uploading them to Flickr. I have negatives on a lot of them and I'm thinking of checking out costs and sending in the negatives to have CDs made.

Nostalgia is so much more satisfying in person.

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Time moves on....quickly

I was link surfing today and came across in this blog:

You ever get the feeling that someone just doesn’t want to be your friend anymore? Not in any antagonistic way; just in the “I’m moving on and you don’t fit into my life anymore” kind of way?

I was thinking about that, and about an email I haven't answered yet and wondering if I am The Someone...not the blog posters per se, but The Someone who moves on and leaves others without notice or goodbye. There have been a lot of friends in my life that I've wondered what happened to them and when I found out I was content. I did not want to go back and re-connect or re-establish or re-new. I just wanted to know they were well and where they were.

The email I haven't answered yet is from someone I knew 10 years ago, and although I was really excited to hear from them, once I replied and received a second email I found I had little to say in response. I don't know who I was 10 years ago, or what the dynamics of our friendship were, so I feel like even though I still care for the person as a friend, I do not have any connection to them in my current life. The girl I was then is not the woman I am now, and I care for that girl I was the same way I care for all of her friends...from a bit of a distance. And although I believe that any friendships or connections I had in the past could still be there, I don't know that it is worth the effort or time involved.

How do people maintain not just the love and caring, but the actual relationship with old friends?

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Nostalgia: a potent thing

So this week I've been updating my MySpace.com profile & friends and it has been an amazing week. I've been in contact with many people that I haven't seen or heard from in 10-15 years! I've heard about their jobs, their lives, their families. I've seen pictures of them and their friends and their children! I've been reminded of all the close bonds I have had with people that I can't see and don't know much about anymore, and realized those bonds aren't any less strong for our distance and time apart. I love them no less and care for them just the same.

Sometimes it amazes me how much loving other people can be more important than being loved. Maybe it's not about how much is given, and how much is received, maybe it's just the sum/total that counts.