My wild crazy weekend

Last weekend, I had to make a business trip to Fort Smith to tend to some rather stressful business. Since I’ve never been to that part of the state and have tons of friends who live there, I thought I would make it a “big fun weekend” Okay to be fair, the stressful business was originally scheduled for Tuesday but God intervened with the big block of ice.

Anyway, away I go to Fort Smith on Friday. I don’t put enough money in the meter and get a parking ticket. SCORE!

Meanwhile, I’m trying to get coordinated with friends via facebook from Kinko’s because I’ve never been to Fort Smith and don’t know any free wifi places.

I am supposed to meet up with Jennybee later that day. I’ve known Jennybee since high school, which was . . . TWO YEARS AGO! Yes. two years ago. Anyway, a lot has happened in those two years. We’ve dated some losers. Got married, divorced, moved to other states, moved back to Arkansas and a whole host of other things. Hey those were some busy years.

Well I was typing at Kinko’s and pop. There she is. I say “Hi Jennybee” and go back typing.

Yes I’m a dork like that. Then I got up and got all excited and we hugged and acted like 12 year old girls.

One of the fascinating things about seeing someone from your past is that you are instantly reminded of the person you used to be. You see how you’ve changed and how you haven’t.

I got the tour of the house and looked at the shelves and shelves of books and movies. I met the dog and the cat. Both were absolutely adorable. Of course, they loved me. The animals always love me. I emit a scent called “she who gives treats”

We ended up eating at Papa’s Pizza. (YUM!) and I finally met her husband Ben. Ben is a writer. He loves words. In fact, when I told him that Dork was a real word meaning Whale penis, he asked me if it was slang. (well looking it up, I find vulgar slang for “penis” Although someone who is not me at yahoo answers put that it meant whale penis as well. hrmm.) He is also perfect for my friend. Oh and he’s a beer aficionado.

There was eating and chatting. Then we went to their house and more chatting until I just popped out vegging in front of the TV.

The next day was scanning old pictures. More chatting and then they had to work and I had to go.

It was off to the Postsecret exhibit. There was still ice on the ground in Bentonville which was odd since I didn’t get ice at all. The roads were ice free

As I was driving to Bentonville, I got a call from Renee who was sick and would not be eating dinner with me. boo.

For some reason I didn’t take any pictures of the exhibit. I don’t remember a sign up saying that I couldn’t. It seemed a little intrusive to take pictures of these secrets even though they had already been posted up on the internet. They were still fascinating little bits of humanity hanging on a wall. It’s amazing how the adage that “the most personal is the most universal” seems to be true. There were secrets of fear, loss, shame, infidelity, and unmentioned crimes. No matter how odd and out of sync with the world you feel, you can find yourself somewhere in those postcards.

After that, it was a trip to SEPHORA. I love Sephora. It’s a store that sells nothing but beauty products. Yeah I know that I do not necessarily look like a person who would be all giggly over a beauty products store but I am. Sephora has testers of each and every product they sell. Oh the smelling and the testing. I had way too much fun testing lip gloss, tinted moisturizers, blush . . . you name it. I ended up getting the famous Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (the tinted style). Bellesouth did a review of that stuff and apparently, it does make your eyeshadow last all day.

After that I ended up making attempts to get in touch with Peter which failed and I ended up eating dinner at Doe’s Eat Place in Fayetteville alone. It didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would since I had so many plans to see so many people. The ice storm threw people for a loop and other people, like Ms. Bellesouth, already had plans for the weekend penciled in weeks in advance.

So it was a good trip. It was nice to know that some of the friends you make will last. Also, I’m stronger and more adventurous than I thought. I do eventually get over it, no matter what “it” is. I was pleased to learn that my Garmin does work and is quick to becoming the most prized possession in my car.