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“No Woman, No Cry…No Woman No Cry” I had to do something this morning, the first official day of Spring to make it seem like was actually the time for April Flowers and May Showers. I had to because Mother Nature was certainly not doing her part. I don’t usually through on my iPod for the walk to work, only because I listen to it all day while at my desk, but I certainly did today. I think I may make a habit out of it though, it’s like having a soundtrack to your own movie playing for only you to here…

The walk to work was a bit brisk, but what was more distracting was the battle field that was left from what looked like one hell of a weekend. The streets were packed all day and all night on Friday because of everyone’s favorite green holiday. I am half Irish, so of course I was one of the thousands of people drinking more Guinness than I would normally do in a month, in one brief night. It’s just like drinking Corona on Cinco De Mayo, it just makes sense.

I actually stayed in the neighborhood and bounced around from bar to bar for most of the night. My usual stomping ground, Third and Long had been taken over by a million people I’ve never seen before. It was like a home invasion. “Who the hell are all of these people,” I yelled to my friend the manager/bartender/bouncer/guru/writer. But, was St. Patty’s day, everyone is Irish for the day and everyone is a big drinker for the day. (Wait, aren’t they the same thing?)

For as good of a night St. Patty’s Day was, I felt like something was missing as the night went on. I don’t know if I realized what it was until the next day, but there was definitely a void. I was with a group of people that I work with, and have gone out with a million times before. Most are now good friends, who I also happen to work with…something I know I’m lucky to because I’ve heard a million horror stories from friends about coworkers.

However, for as much fun as they are, I’m the baby of the group. Again, not something I mind, but I wish I was not the low man on the Totem Pole, professionally speaking. The crowd is older, and I don’t mind it a bit. I have usually, no matter high school or college, always run with an older crowd. But for some reason, I felt like I didn’t have a “crew” or friends that were just my friends and not people I know from work this weekend. I don’t know what made this weekend different from any other before it, but it was, I knew it was…

This July will be my two year New York City birthday. Something I’m very proud of…it’s like making it through your freshman year at Arizona State – not many people do! I have a lot of friends in the city, they are all different pockets of friends scattered from West End to York St. All of these different dynamics are unique and I love them for that exact reason. Some groups I know from school, some I know from my Improv class, and some I’ve just met randomly at bars.

The problem with this is that I don’t feel like I have a set group, a set line up, going into every night or weekend. I have said before that I am not naïve enough to think I will somehow replace or transplant the group of friends I had in college. Those friends are one of many aspects of college that will never, and I mean will never, be duplicated. However, that being said, it would be nice to have something similar to that group. I think differences and diversity in a group are great and usually essential to having a well rounded crew, but I also think having some commonalities within the group are necessary too.

So I guess I have come to a couple conclusions at this point. One, I have a group in Chicago, I feel for whatever reason I would easy slide into and become part of...They are mostly good friends of good friends of mine. I also have family there…aunts, uncles, cousins, the whole works. I have written about how I love Chicago, but not yet, I’m not leaving this city. This is the toughest city in the world with everything from Fashion to Finance holding their headquarters here – and until I feel like I’ve made my mark on Manhattan, I’m not going anywhere. I’ve just got to keep being me, getting involved in different groups, whether it’s softball or writing, just getting out there, making my mark.

Thanks for listening