baby steps

It's amazing how things change in a year. I'm living in St. Louis working at Employment Connection excited about baseball wondering what I'm doing with my life.

Ok, that doesn't sound very different at all than when I started this sucker last May.

Story time then! This weekend the poker part of our poker night was a little bust (ahem, Eric...) but we had fun regardless. Good to see you again Rich. Anyway, the point here is that when Eric and Nikki (sorry, don't know how to spell that) were leaving, I was screwing around and spun around or something on our hardwood floor and Eric exclaimed oh my goodness, what are you doing Nate? (Yes, most of my college friends won't call me anything but Nate or Nathan, but that's neither here nor there.)

The point was that I got called on doing something silly and very not me! Tal, whatever you put on that CD, it must be working. You better watch out Kim, by the time you and Andy get married, I'll be ready for that dance...

Anyway, this blog has followed the big things in my life over a year of relative constancy. But the little things, where life is really lived, have changed oh so much. Yippee. It's too harsh to say I feel abandoned, because we always knew most of us would spread out across the country after school; Wash U isn't exactly a place people come to settle down. And it's very exciting, Adrian and Alex already off at school, hopefully Doug and Kelly not far behind, Brad off his butt and off to Cali for work, hopefully Lauren enjoying a job that lets her travel, Viraj, Raych, Jer, Sheena, and so forth. But that doesn't make it any easier, because I'd be lying if I didn't admit it would be wonderful if college could go on forever, without the need to pay those bills.

But I'm usually at my best when pushed, and without Doug to take to the Fatted Calf every other day and Adrian to play ball with, well, I've found an even better exercise and dinner date (hmm, I wonder if she has found Stay Curious yet?). No offense guys, of course. And with nothing to lose, no one I know to see me struggle, I'm off exploring the weird weird world that is social dancing. I'm certainly not into it the way that most of them are, but my curiosity is still engaged, so who knows how long I'll be with this most entertaining crowd?

As far as stay curious itself, I'm not sure where it's going; there's no plan or anything. Right now it's me letting me spend time on me. Most of my life is about other people and what I want to do in and for the world; this is a familiar, safe place to think about and be absorbed with myself.

That's not to say, of course, I hope you do anything but enjoy the ride!

How do I measure a year? How about 239 posts.

And praising every day my sister waits after today to get her license. That's one of those things that will make me feel really old, my little sister driving.