It's funny what happens when you decide to talk to people. I called Jackie, a friend from high school, and we had a good chat, and she's happy to have my number so that she can call randomly as well. She's at school in Chicago and loving it, having as much of an adventure "up north" as I did. Also, I was randomly messaged on facebook by Melissa Meyer, now Melissa Knapp, who "adopted" me as her little brother, and whom I "adopted" as my big sister, since she was the youngest and I was the "oldest" (my twin brother doesn't really count, since he only started acting like an older brother when we were both adults). We were friends of friends at Kenyon, and we became friends, then drifted back into our own lives, as often happens with me. She's now married and getting another degree, her first in math, this in environmental science (civil engineering). Good luck! I don't find that stuff exciting enough to major in, but she does. Heck, I know a friend who's excited about accounting! [laughs] Something for everyone, everything for someone.

I had my first interview with someone, a writer for Creative Loafing named Brian Ries, also owner of a comic book store. He lucked out, moving from the restaurant industry straight into the restaurant reviewing industry in a single bound. His primary advice was to write, because there's no way to get into editing without being a professional writer. To become a professional writer, one must come up with some great ideas, make contacts among editors, and sell that idea to one of the editors. Then, all you have to do is get the writing done [laughs]. He was really cool, and I look forward to seeing him again.

Also, in the same spirit of keeping connections alive amongst people I know and like, I started writing back and forth to Judy Pokras, whom Lara and I met while dancing a long time back. Besides being the editor/founder of several publications and online publications, she's a raw vegan. I'm not sure what entails raw veganism, but her words are:

"Raw foods cuisine is made with fruits or vegetables combined with nuts and seeds and/or herbs and spices, and never heated over 118 degrees Fahrenheit."

I'm not completely certain of what reasons one might have for choosing raw veganism. On the health side of it, I know that cooking anything, be it meat or vegetables or grains, causes some of the nutritional value to be lost. I'm sure that I could get my total nutritionally-complete diet using raw vegan recipes, but it would be a large leap from my current diet of almost everything. I'd be thrilled to learn how to cook raw vegan cuisine, but if Lara can't even convert me to simple vegetarianism, I don't think there's any chance whatsoever of converting me to a raw vegan lifestyle. [grins] But things like cookies that take a couple days to dehydrate, and pasta made from coconut (I even have one right now) are very compelling. You know how I am about learning things [grins].

Anyway, I have a dinner party tonight, that I'm Not cooking for (for once), and then having dinner with a friend named Brook. The plan was for me to meet her significant other (John), but right now he's being slavishly abused by his employers, being in limbo waiting for a transfer, and so he's trapped up in Boston and had to cancel his plans to visit. [sighs]

Lastly, I joined a book club today. Wasn't I at work? Why, yes I was. I got to serve the first meeting of the Sarasota Book Club, and I chatted with them, got the website and the reading list, and hopefully I can make it for the next meeting. [laughs] I can always make time to read. I don't Need milk or peanut butter. [laughs] Wait, yes I do. They're the staples of my diet. Darn it! So I have to grocery shop soon.

Blah blah, I do go on, don't I? Au revoir, blogger.