I got the sleep catchup that I wanted finally... but not when I wanted it, naturally. I was unable to nap yesterday afternoon, but I did go to bed around 18:00 and then I slept until 09:00 this morning.

I can't even remember what I did yesterday afternoon, it's just all foggy with fatigue.

This morning, however, I got up and checked my mail and wrote my entry for the Diary Collaboration Project. Said entry will not be available until Sunday, of course, in accordance with the rules.

I am still unable to get the nilky-l notification/reminder list going, but I am keeping the names and addys of those who attempt to sign up. This is all very discouraging. I'm not quite ready to go back to the old way yet, though. I do want to initiate and maintain several lists eventually, so I have to learn how to do it.

I am really looking forward to Karen's reunion... she went to school with a lot of pretty neat people. We will be staying at her best friend's house while we're there, as will a few others of her classmates. Additionally, it'll just be nice to get away for a coupla days.

Also, tomorrow is Karen's birthday... and I have yet to get her a present or write her a poem... I'd better get busy here, I guess.

She'll be getting off shortly, so I better get the kitchen cleaned up and throw some clothes in a bag, so we can get on our way...

Don't count on another entry until Sunday...

Parsons, Kansas.

Long, hot drive down here. Karen and I, another couple, and a single lady are all staying with Vicky, a classmate of Karen's, and Jack, her husband.

They're having a barbecue at the country club tonight, and a brunch tomorrow and then a dance at the country club tomorrow night.

We got into Parsons a little after 16:30, and none of the other people were there yet, and Vicky was getting worried. They were coming from Topeka via Lawrence where they were picking up Suzie, the other lady.

They finally arrived about 18:00, which was OK, since nothing was really planned until 19:30 anyway. So we all sat around and got acquainted until it was time to leave.

We all rode out to the country club together in a suburban that belongs to the state... Jack has the use of it on the weekends... and I decided before too long that was an error.

We were given name-tags upon our arrival and we proceeded to mingle. Luckily for me, Suzie is a smoker, and we were able to use that as an excuse to break away from the crowds occasionally.

And Karen remarked upon this before anyone else did: "These people are getting OLD!"

But Karen's classmates seemed to be, without exception, very nice people, or at least they were on their best behaviour. I really enjoyed the evening... I wandered out onto the golf course several times, just to get away from the noise and bustle. Parsons is a very small town, and the stars were very bright. The first time that I went out I saw several meteors, one really impressive one. I must've stood there ten minutes with my face to the sky, waiting for another, but it was not to be.

The crowd dynamics here were different that other parties that I had been to; it seems that most of the time, there are some "popular" people that always have a crowd around them and others that never do... the wallflowers. There seemed to be neither tonight, unless you count me, and I won't let you do that.

All of the people there seemed to like each other and to be interested in each other; there were about 90 people there and at any one time there were maybe ten groups ebbing and flowing. It was interesting and rather nice eavesdropping on everyone...

As some of you may have noticed, there was a blurb for Ginkgo in yesterday's entry, and I will repeat it again today and for the next week. This is Ginkgo Week in some parts of the journalling community... most parts. Ginkgo has a very fine site with lots of original grafix and really heart-felt journal entries. She's one of my favorite daily reads, and a bunch of us (I was a johnnie-come-lately) have decided to celebrate her this week. She is a very creative and warmhearted person... go visit her site.