Memphis Trip, Recap 1

As I noted, my trip to Memphis was pretty great. I still think I'm reeling in how good it felt to reconnect with so many great people. My first day, Thursday, was an extremely relaxing day. I woke up pretty darn early to leave for the airport at 6:30am. I arrived in Memphis around noon, and was greeted by a shining sun, a cool breeze and my friend Sebastian. The southern air was crisp and I enjoyed the feeling of flip flops on my feet.

Sebastian and I had lunch at one of my favorite Mexican joints. Central PA just doesn't have these types of options, and I was craving some spicy salsa and lunch fajitas - the meal did not disappoint. After lunch, I dropped by the old office to say hello to my former coworkers. I gotta say, it was nice to see the people, but I sure as heck haven't missed that place one bit. I didn't have any sense of nostalgia, and that reaffirmed that I know I made the right deciscion to leave when I did.

I headed off a little later to the practice fields to hang out at soccer practice. I used to work with these guys so I wanted to see as many of them as I could. Practice seemed to be a good option. It was a beautiful day to be outside. When I arrived at practice, they were already in the midst of a drill. Their faces were funny because most of them were shocked to see me but they had to stay focused on the drill at hand, so there was no crazy reactions. After the drill, though, I was greeted by a round of hugs and high fives. Just being around these guys again gave me a great feeling. I really do love a lot of them like family. It's nice to see them working hard and enjoying their sport.

Later in the day, I had dinner with three of the seniors on the team. These three absolutely crack me up. They were three of the first students I worked with at Memphis so we've been through a lot together. I absolutely adore each of them for their own individualized crazy lives and I love spending time with them. I'm excited for each of them and what their futures hold.

After dinner, I met some friends out at my favorite Memphis bar, Celtic Crossing. God, I missed that place. And it was so nice to be able to sit outside at night and drink a few without freezing. I'm over the fact that the golfers promised to go out with me and then bailed at the last minute, I think because Rachel came through in the clutch - she's a champ. More on that later.

Anyway, it was a pretty great relaxing stress-free day in Memphis. Who knew such a thing existed?