Talk about a small town...

Seven years ago this week I packed up my Volvo sedan, scraped the muffler on the driveway as my dad and I pulled out of the driveway and took off for good, ol' Darien, Connecticut. I was running away from the confining social circle that was, and apparently still is, Portland, Oregon. Once there, I defended Portland's size, but in my heart knew the truth. I had long been experiencing the ultimate in small world/town situations.

After graduating from college I found myself back in Portland, living at home, and trying to find my way socially and career-wise. Career-wise, I decided to go back to school the following spring; talk about easy way out! My social life was a little more complicated. I was still close with my ex from college, and had become good friends with many of his friends; those of you who know me well know I don't believe in making anything easy for myself. During that year and following years, I found myself dating/hanging out with guys who had varying degrees of connections to this small social group. After dating the step-brother of a close friend, I realized I needed to get the hell out of Dodge. That's when I decided to run away to the East Coast.

Unfortunately, seven years later, things have not improved. The circle may have expanded, but old habits die hard. Last night I met up with a couple of newer running friends I hadn't seen for a while. When I walked into the bar, I ran into an acquaintance, who happens to be friends with the aforementioned group and a different group of friends. I say hello, we catch up for a bit and he lets me know that a couple of the other guys from the group will be showing up...one of which I had been previously hanging out with, but hadn't seen for a while. Awesome. This was made even more awesome because one of the friends I was intentionally meeting up, was also someone I had been hanging out with earlier this year. (I really love the vagueness of that phrase!). So, here I am catching up with a good girlfriend and a guy I had a major crush on, when another former crush walks in the door. Not a bit awkward, not a bit.

The best part of this whole situation was that, originally, neither of my running friends knew my connection to these guys. They thought I was just getting hit on by these three random boys...ha, ha, ha!

The three of us finish our beers, and May (not her real name), Manny (not his real name), and I head out. May and I are now off to a party on a boat, and Manny is off to meet up with other friends. As May and I head off I fill her in on the specifics of what just happened at the bar, and that we are headed to a party being thrown by a guy I used to date.

If there ever was a reason to move again...