I Miss Manhattan Bagel

I'm feeling rather nostalgic. This morning I ran the Fun Run. In the "glory days" of youth, the four of us (Heidi, Becky, Christie, and I) would assemble in the upper lot, run/walk the field test, collapse, and then go out for a celebratory breakfast at New York Bagel (which eventually renamed itself as Manhattan Bagel). Yum.... Best bagels EVER. Also a great place to eat breakfast before morning choir concerts, but that's beside the point.

Today was different in so many ways. It was just me (well, and 4000 other people). Nobody to run with. And even worse, no bagels afterwards because the bagel shop closed down a few years ago! Free gym socks, though. I'm not joking.

The actual run was fantastic. If I judged accurately, I did 2 miles in 18 minutes, which means that I ran about 1 minute per mile faster than I've clocked myself doing previously this semester. I think it was the competition of the other runners. Particularly because I wasn't trying to stay with anybody, I determined that I would "beat" everyone I could till the end of the race. And (like Forest) I just kept running, and running, and running, and I somehow kept passing people. I suppose it doesn't hurt that I've been training at 4 miles and the Fun Run is only 2 miles.

Then I went home, listened to my neighbor tell me her horrific life story, and mowed the lawn just before the rain came. And do you ever feel like someone is out there trying to "witness" to you? I did with my neighbor. I wanted to just say, "I'm wearing an ORU shirt. You don't need to convert me." But I didn't. :) She seemed nice...maybe lonely, too. And more normal than the other neighbors (the ones who don't understand why I would have the self-motivation to weed the flower beds when I could be watching the "TEE-vee").

I just feel a little lonely today. Not because I'm alone (had lunch with Becky, am currently working, and will be out to a movie later with Weltha--who I haven't seen in ages). I think I just miss the old days a little bit, and I know we can never go back to them. I wouldn't want to, really. Ultimately. But I miss the carefree comraderie of those days, even though those days weren't really as "carefree" as I want to paint them now.

And what is up with everybody on the face of the planet hooking up with someone??? I'm so happy for them, but when is it going to happen for me? Is that a selfish question to ask? I'm tired of hoping, and I'm tired of being the girl who waits for the guy to ask her out (when he never does), and I'm just tired of it all. Bah, humbug!