I could use a nap

It was great to see my pals tonight, but man, I feel wiped! I really didn't eat that much, and I only had two small beers and no wine, so maybe it was just the talking and laughing that got to me. I've mentioned before that because I'm an introvert, I feel exhausted from social encounters rather than energized. This is so weird to me, because I didn't feel like it was any sort of "effort" tonight--I was genuinely happy to see those who were there, and had a ball talking with them and hearing how they're all doing. Isn't it odd how that works?

We met at Papa Vino's, an Italian place that I think is a chain. When I got there, Teresa (Happy Birthday, Teresa!) was sitting outside, so I sat and we chatted for a bit. No one else was showing up, and we wondered if a meeting ran late or something. Then we heard a tap on the window--from inside--and there was Mary with an expression of "What are you two doing out there?!" Ha! We went inside, and there everyone was at a round table in the corner. Whoops! Despite the late start, it was a fun time, and it sounds like nothing much has changed at the lab. A few new faces, the usual suspects, and still plenty of work and plenty of phone calls. (I asked about the swine flu thing, and they said it was crazy. Hourly updates from Administration, constant phone calls...I had a feeling it was like that! Anytime there was a news story about any sort of infectious agent, we could always count on almost a panic from the media, the public, and some doctors--not all.) Cousin Erica was there, too, and it was good to see her.

A special treat was that after we'd gotten our meals, my pal Jimi showed up! (He's the one who plays guitar and I've linked to his songs here.) I didn't think he was coming, so I was so happy to see him. I got some pictures, and I'll get those up tomorrow (I hope).

Of course, I ordered Eggplant Parmigiana. They all laughed, because they know it's my favorite, but I can only fix it when Ken is on business trips! Mary asked how it was, and I said, "Mine's better." It really is. I use a light batter of egg and then flour--they use breadcrumbs, which was a little too heavy and somewhat burned. Disappointing. As soon as Jim sat down by me, he said, "Eggplant, right?" I'm so predictable! I still remember this weird conversation that Jim and I had once:

Jim: Do you like eggplant, like eggplant parmigiana?
Me: Why? What have you heard?

It still cracks me up that I reacted that way--"Why? What have you heard?"--but by that time, "eggplant" had become a bit of a joke between me and Ken. When we met, I was in my experimental eggplant phase, fixing things like ratatouille and other eggplant dishes. On our first date, he brought me a little present, and when I opened it, it was an eggplant (a very nice one, too). On our wedding day, I got another box, and another eggplant. So I guess when Jim asked me about eggplant, I wondered how he knew about the eggplant deal between me and Ken! Turns out his Mom had made some, and he was just wondering if I’d ever had it and if I liked it. Ha!

I'm getting my second wind. Yay! This is way too early for me to be tired. Oh, and there were about five minutes in which we talked books, because this was a book club meeting, after all. I'm seriously behind on the list, but I want to get busy and get caught up with everyone. It really is fun to post on our group site and get others' perspectives. So I've got some work to do! Hey, I wonder if any of these books are online, like at Project Gutenberg? I might be able to get a start until my copy comes into the library. Sorry, thinking out loud. Shutting up now.