barry burton
the Party
I thought I was to be in Washington, D.C. this past weekend, but at the last minute that fell apart, so the District continued to sleep alone, without me, for the time being.
On Friday, near Shackleford Point, I found an amazing tree with a gigantic horizontal brach perfect for sitting. It is at the end of a ridge, so there are steep hillsides down on three sides, making for nice views of the valley below when perched on the branch. I like it alot. I would also now like to amend my previous comments about times for running. While sunup and sundown continue to provide a magical experience when combined with lengthy doses of running, there is also something about the heat and brightness of midday. I think I can feel my skin making vitamin D, though this could be due to the contrast with my typically sun starved existence. I think I really feel as though something has been accomplished when I finish a run ridiculously overheated and completely drenched in sweat. The flashing and shimmering of the green leaves and the brown ground as the wind alternately sways and strobes spots of light is interesting to look at as long as the run is though stands of trees.
McGavock’s engagement party was Friday night, and I had been looking forward to it for a while. I was disappointed indeed when I realized I would have to miss it because of traveling to DC. I end up being a crappy friend when I don’t live in the same place, so I hadn’t seen Mac in at least 4 years. Maybe longer. It was great to finally catch up with him and get some current contact information so that we don’t have to go through our parents to get in touch. I liked his fiance, Ann, which was nice — friends marrying cool people always makes me really happy.
Attending a social event alone is a feat of some sort of strength in itself (for me). I almost bailed and just drove straight by the house the first time, but I turned around and made myself pull in. Then everyone walking in were all couples so I felt like an idiot. Then I was inside and surrounded by old people and young people, none of whom I knew. Feeling like an idiot take 2. Finally I made it to the patio behind the house, where I saw the familiar faces of 5 or 6 people from my high school class, but having never really talked to them when we were in school together, it seemed odd (impossible?) to try to talk now. I stood there, alone, in the sea of conversing party goers, trying to act casual and cool while quickly beginning to panic internally. Feeling like an idiot, take 3. I tried not catch anyone’s eyes as I scanned around, hoping to find a friendly face.
After a few minutes, which seemed like an eternity, I finally saw McGavock. I made my way over to him, where he was already being questioned by a group. Being the reason for the party, I at least didn’t feel awkward standing there waiting to talk to him. After chatting a little with him I managed to spot some cross country folk and smoothly seg into conversation with them. There were not near as many guests at the party from my high school class as I thought there would be. I also found that unless I forced people to stare at my face for several seconds or told them my name, that they did not actually recognize me. That made starting conversations with old acquaintances even more difficult. There were a few other instances where I would find myself alone with strangers, but these were short lived and I didn’t screw up too bad. There were plenty of old friends — Ben, Lizzy, Ashley, Hunter, Meredith — from the cross country team, so the rest of the night felt good and I actually didn’t bail early.
Oh, Rainer and Andrew were there. They were sure that I was stalking them. Or so they claimed. In fact, I think they are stalking me.
Actually, I was quite proud of myself — not only did I not bail, but I also had a pleasant and more than civil conversation with a stranger. Unthinkable, yes! Looking back it wasn’t as impressive as I first thought, but baby steps I suppose. The stranger was Chris, Mac’s friend and roommate from college, so I suppose that would even stand as evidence that we would have somewhat similar personalities. However, he also studied Physics undergrad at UVA and is in law school at Vanderbilt and wants to specialize in patent law, so our fields of interest overlap quite a bit. All of this to say that odds are quite against finding myself in the situation of a random stranger being anywhere near that easy to talk to, but the important thing is that I did it this time. :)
It made me think though. Some people are defined by what they do, and other people are defined more internally. Of those people who are defined internally, some do something completely unrelated to who they are, only allowing their true self to come out during periods of avocation, while others let who they are determine what they do. This is getting complicated, but point is that the last group are the people I generally think are interesting. I should be more like that.
The party itself was amazing. Valet parking (yes at a house!), plenty of drinks, and a live jazz band. I even recognized one Miles Davis song. Lest I be mistaken for a jazz connoisseur, it was a song off of Kind of Blue, and actually I have no idea which song. There was a buffet style dinner served, which was catered by Taziki’s. It might have been the first party food I’ve actually liked.
Saturday it was very hot. When I drove by the McWane center, the fountain literally had steam rising from it. Midday sun on the black rock. Then I was in the same room as the World Cup on TV, hung out with Mocha, ate at Cafe Ciao, and saw Cars. I think maybe my least favorite Pixar, but still really good. I think this is the first Pixar movie that lacked animated people, the entire world was made up by humanized cars (well and bugified ones too). I think this extra make believe was just harder for me to get into, because the story and characters were good, and there were plenty of the funny little Pixar jokes for grown ups.
Sunday was yard work. When I came in for a break at 4 in the afternoon, the thermometer read 100℉. That was in the sun, but I was in the sun too, so I’m counting it. :) I’m sure it was even more outrageous earlier in the afternoon, at 1 or 2.
