Open your eyes, put it in drive, get on the road, and just go.

This song exemplifies my weekend.



I hopped in the Mini Cooper Zipcar that lives next door to me, and headed northwest to Midland Ontario, the small town that my always friend/former colleague Nancy moved to about four years ago.

I'm from a small-ish town, and as such, I love a roadtrip out of the city to another small town.  I feel great driving away knowing the city is behind me, and that I'm going towards something quaint, quiet and small.  I always get excited when I get off onto the highway and onto a road (County Road 93 in this case) that only has two lanes: one in either direction.

I pulled up to Nancy's house to have her run out into the driveway, give me a huge hug and say "you're right where I left you."  I hadn't seen her in exactly two years.  This happens in adult life: time speeds along busily, and it's hard to see friends especially when distance separates you.  But, when you see each other again and you are exactly where you've left off, you know it's a great friendship. (Literally, though, she had left me in her driveway the last time I saw her at her baby shower in November 2011.)

We had a great time drinking wine, catching up, and heading downtown to catch Hawksley Workman at the Midland Cultural Centre.  It was an adorable small and intimate space, and he put on a great show.  He played a couple of Christmas songs, and lots of old favourites.  I couldn't have asked for a better show.  I've probably seen Hawksley at least 25 times, and seeing him again is like reconnecting with an old friend, so it was a perfect show to watch with an old friend.

After the show we went to the local pub which was low on ambiance, but pretty high on delicious nachos.  I totally scarfed those down.  We took a cab back to Nancy's house, and in the morning, she took me to her CrossFit class in a friend's garage.  She gave me every opportunity to wimp out, but I insisted that I felt fine.  However, as my head was spinning a little during a 2 minute plank, I took back my feeling fine remark.  I managed to make it through most of the workout (except for doing handstands), even though skipping rope and then doing sit-ups wasn't the best on a hangover.

We grabbed some coffee, and then I had to sadly head back to the city to return my car on time.  Autosharing turns you into a Cinderella, somewhat.  However, I pointed out to Nancy that when I'm a guest, I always like to leave my hosts wanting more and that's what I did.  It was a great visit, a super rock show, a crazy workout with a hangover, and I had a pleasant drive home in my adorable car.

On Saturday night, I met up with my friend Karen to see another musical friend, Hayden, at the Danforth Music Hall.  I've seen Hayden, oh, maybe ten (?) or so times.  I've been listening to Hayden since high school, and I love his music.  Even though his music can be slow at times, he puts on a pretty good rock show.  I had a great time, and my favourite part was the encore, when he brought out all the openers to sing along with him to "Don't Get Down".

Today I met up with my friend Wendy for breakfast, and then my friend Eric for dinner.  Both of these were enjoyable meals, and yet again I was thankful for time to catch up with friends that I don't see very often.

One thing I appreciate about myself is my ability to keep up with my friends. It's great to have so many people in my life that remain just where I left them.  Even though it's been awhile, we can always pick our friendships back up where we left off, and the banter and support remains in tact.