October 1, 2006

Sixlandia

I recognized her from the back: a logically impossible feat because, as Kerri observed moments later, there are no butt shots posted over at Six Until Me.

Maybe it was the hair. Maybe it was the “oh crap, I’m looking for someone I’ve never met in Grand Central Station at rush hour” posture. Somehow I just knew: here she was, the gifted writer and sensitive, hysterically funny soul whose blog has enriched my life for what must surely be hundreds of posts by now.

I hurried over and said her name. She turned. “Violet?” My name isn’t really Violet, as K knows, but who I could really be other than Violet, to her? (For me it was a moment of secret wish fulfillment, as my nom de keyboard is what I would have named myself, had the choice been mine.)

Being of a quiet disposition, I had wondered if this meeting would feel awkward. No such thing. We hugged and babbled and laughed as we forged our way through the crowd to an exit. Wandered down Lexington, found a diner. I was on Day Five of my attempt at vegetarianism, so I ordered a portobello mushroom and cheese sandwich. For the balance of the evening, I glanced enviously at the bits of turkey on K’s chef salad. (I made it, for the record, to Day Seven, then capitulated to carnivorous longings. Last night I actually dreamed of steak. Medium rare.)

We talked and talked, nonstop. I described the Winter, Spring, and Summer of My Discontent and their numerous reverberations. We discussed the challenges of moving to a new place. We pondered the exhilarating weirdness of New York. We talked about blogging, what it means to each of us.

And of course we talked about diabetes. K had received bad news. I admired her attitude: frank, honest, unsettled but absolutely unwilling to be defeated.

The legendarily cool and compassionate Chris joined us for the last half hour. He’s real, girlfriends! My gosh. It’s not often in my current life situation that I’m around people whose love for one another simply shows in all their words and gestures. K and Chris are two such people. Meeting them both was a gift, a warm and heartening interlude during a time that’s been, often, less than reassuring about the questions that plague me around true love (is it even possible, does it last, how will I ever find it for myself, etc etc, ad nauseam).

Isolation is one of the hardest aspects of this disease for me. Here’s to its eradication.

8 comments:

  1. Sounds enchanting, Ms. "Violet."

    I had the pleasure of meeting Kerri a while back, too, and she sure is a special and warm person.

    Here's hoping for another D-bloggers Meet-Up at some point.

    - AmyT

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  2. V,

    You are way too nice. I had such a nice time, too. I do agree that Chris is real (and wonderful), and that the conversation was extremely easy and comfortable, despite the fact that we had never met in person before. Damn this internet - it really does work!

    The pleasure, I assure you, was all mine. There's nothing like being recognized (HOW?!) from the rear. :)

    Waiting for a fogless day for the view,

    K.

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  3. How cool.

    Violet, why the veggie kick? Is this really a new lifesytle? I think I would be longing for turkey too!

    There are more of us out here. I want this thing eradicated too, but know that we OCers are here for support, if needed. :)

    All the best,
    Johnboy

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  4. Way too cool!!

    And it sounds like you guys had a fabulous time!

    For the record - I totally think of you as "Violet" rather than your "government name". :-)

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  5. That's cool. I've met Kerri, too. She's pretty freakin' cool.

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  6. Gosh you two are lucky!!!!!! Meeting another OC person. I am GREEN with envy. I too would love to meet Kerri , and you Violet, and Amy and Scott and all the rest......

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  7. V -

    I'm insanely jealous because

    a) I want to meet you!
    b) Kerri is closer to you than to me now - given the move.

    That is all! Good luck with the vegatarianism - I could NEVER pull it off, so I'll have one more reason to be jealous should you succeed!

    All Best, N

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  8. Thanks for the comments, all. Twas a warm and fuzzy event, indeed.

    Johnboy, the veggie business...argh. Part of it is health; I have myriad factors pointing toward heart disease risk, and I need to get serious about that. A veggie and in particular vegan diet has been proven *incredibly* effective at warding off heart disease.

    The other part of my interest is related to things I've been learning about how the vast majority of food animals live in the U.S. I don't want to eat animals anymore if I can't feel confident that their lives and deaths are of a sort I could stand to personally witness, and from what I've learned this seems not to be the case even for many free-range animals.

    But I can't seem to pull it off. I LOVE meat. Sigh. It's an ongoing project. Except when it's not.

    Nicole, I would love to meet you and many of our other compatriots. I feel sure it will come together one day. Please drop me a line if you ever find yourself near NYC.

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