Interacting on a different social plain (one crowded with gnomes)

Family is great, but I find that often times being around the same people day in and day out becomes very, very draining; and with my work schedule and my friends' schedules, it has become difficult to hang out on a day-to-day basis. This past Saturday, though, I was able to go down to La Crosse to attend a friend from camp's graduation party. It was fun to just be able to hang out with people that I haven't seen in a long time. It was fun, well, because they're cool people, and I hadn't seen them in a while, but it was also fun because I got a well-deserved break from my family, and just generally got to interact in a different social plain than the one I have been floating in for the past three weeks. Or maybe that's not it, I don't know. I'm just throwing stuff out their, attempting to sound intellectual.

Anyhow, at one point during the day I decided to go drive up to Grandad Bluff and shoot some pictures. The lighting wasn't as good as I thought it would be, but I decided to take some anyway. As I was getting into my car to leave, a different car (not the one I was getting into... don't get confused here) pulled into the stall right next to me. The doors opened, and two extremely familiar-looking girls climbed out. I was like "Woa, that really looks like Katie and Emily... but it can't be." So I waited until the one that I thought was Katie turned around again, just to make sure. Well, it really looked like her... but it would be too incredible to run into her in La Crosse: about a hundred miles from my home, and about 400ish from theirs. I thought to myself, "Well, it totally looks like her... but I'm probably going to make a fool of myself. Ah, what the heck," and I opened my door and said, "Hey, do I know you?" She turned around, and looked at me funny for a couple of seconds, and then: "Goo, is that you? Oh my gosh! I didn't recognize you without your hair! What are you doing here?!" Yeah it was pretty much the randomest meeting ever. It isn't like we met in either her home town or my home town, we were in a totally different location.

Now, if that isn't crazy enough, as we stood their chatting, another car rolled up, and two people got out of it. I was just like "No way." The people in question were two from my hometown, that I sort of knew, but not well enough to have told that I'd be in La Crosse that weekend. I think this whole situation qualifies as the coincidence of the century.

Anyhow, after that I got to go Starbucks with the friends that I had come to La Crosse to see. Mmm, Cinnamon Dolce Latte goodness. We just chilled for a couple of hours, sipped coffee, and talked. It was good, it was really good. All hail chill-time.