A weekend of suprises...

Should I be blogging now?  No.  But when it gets to the point that my own Mom asks me why I haven't been blogging, I take it as a sign that it's time.  I have SOOO many things to write about that I can't even remember them all when they pop into my head.  Seriously.  I'll do my best to catch you all up now that my week is a little less hectic.  Be warned, this is going to be a looooong blog.

It all starts this summer, in my favorite place in the world, Medora.  (Yes, I like it even more than Boulder.)  One of the kids who I met there is Keith.  Keith is from Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh to be exact, and his role in Medora this summer was not only pizza boy extraordinaire, but also a chaplain with the Christian Ministries in the National Park (CMNP). 

Keith and me in front of the Painted Canyon

At some point during the summer, one of the people in the national office for the CMNP came to Medora and met Keith.  As I understand it (though I could be wrong), he basically offered Keith a job with the national office as a recruiter beginning this fall.  The home office is in Denver, which most of you know, is only about 30 minutes from Boulder.

Keith and I have kept in pretty good touch, mainly via text, since I've been in Boulder, and he has been telling me about his upcoming interview in Denver for weeks. His interview was scheduled for the weekend of the 15th of October, and we planned on hanging out while he was here. (My good friend Katie Ryan is coming that weekend, too!  WOOOT!!!!)

I was planning to attend a conference at my church on Friday evening and Saturday day, and Keith had texted me to tell me that our friend James, who works in Medora in the summertime and in Arizona in the wintertime, was swinging through Boulder to visit his brother who lives here on his trek to his winter home.  I was pretty excited to see James, because he was one of my favorite bartenders this summer.  Later that afternoon, James texted to tell me that he would be arriving at about 9:30pm and mentioned drinks.  I was totally down, and the conference was scheduled to end at the same time, so it was perfect.

I went to the conference, and it started late, so it wouldn't end until about 10:00.  I was a little worried about keeping James waiting, until he texted and asked for my address, saying he wouldn't be arriving until 10:00.  Again, perfect.  I replied, telling him that I don't really have an address because I live in a dorm and heard nothing back from him.  So at 10:00, when the conference ended I called James, but he didn't answer.  I left a message with a description of where I lived along with the best way to get to my apartment, and asked him to call me.

I got home at about 10:15 and still hadn't heard anything.  I was just hanging out, waiting.  And waiting.  And waiting.  And waiting.  I even considered putting on my PJs.  Then, at about 10:45, he texted, asking me for my address. 

I thought to myself, "Seriously?  I've told you twice now that I don't have one, and have given you directions.  What more could you want?"  I replied, saying that I don't have an address, but gave him the street name that my apartment is on and asked how long it would be.  He said he was just going to plug my address into the GPS and would arrive momentarily.

So I waited.  And waited.  And waited some more.  Finally, I got a text saying, "Meet me outside."  I thought that James was here here, so I quickly gathered my stuff and went outside to find James.  I didn't see his car anywhere, on any side of my building.  So I texted back, "Are you here?"  He said, "No, I'm still in the taxi."

Wait.  What?  Taxi?  Why?  James drives.  He has a car.  Confused, I asked, "Why are you in a taxi?"  I also texted Keith saying, "James is picking me up to go out in a taxi?"  Nothing was making sense at this point.  Keith must have agreed, because he called me and said, "What?  Why is James in a taxi?"  I suggested many potential reasons: he was drunk, high, tired, dead.  I don't know.  Keith was also a little confused by the situation and he asked if I was outside.  "Well, yes, I'm outside.  He told me to wait outside.  I've checked out every side of my building and can't find him." 

Keith said, "Well, maybe you should turn around."  I did.

And who was standing there, but Keith himself.  I shouted some expletives that won't be repeated here, because it was such a surprise to see him.  And because I was expecting James.

Keith explained that there wasn't anything going on in Medora, and James was migrating, so he called CMNP and asked if they could move up the interview.  They agreed, so he hatched this plan to surprise me.

He succeeded. 

So we went out on the town, to my favorite place (so far) in Boulder: The Dark Horse.  We had a few too many teas, called a taxi, and made plans to have breakfast or lunch the next day.  Unfortunately, Keith left earlier than planned, and we didn't get to dine on Saturday.  But he may be coming back if he gets the job, so we can do it then.

----------------------------------------------

Yet another surprise:
In the past few weeks, Christina has been planning Jedd's 30th birthday party.  It was actually Tuesday, but they planned on celebrating the Saturday before.  Then, Christina's aunt died, and she headed home for a week, sincerely apologizing and telling Jedd that she wouldn't be able to be back for his birthday party on Saturday. 

She lied.

Her plan the whole time was to come back Saturday and surprise him.  So when she got back on Saturday, five of us headed down to Jedd's town to surprise him. 

And boy did she ever.  It was cute.  The night culminated in one too many long island teas (again) and dancing with one of Jedd's drunk friends.

==============================

That, kids, along with the two tests and papers I had due this week, is why I haven't blogged in a while.  More blogs to come.  Soon, I hope.