A few days ago, I stood in the spot where, once upon a time, my life changed. Of course, I didn't know it at the time, which may explain why I calmly told the man that I'd be delighted to have him on my dart team, but his name was not going to appear on the roster until he paid me the dues and fees. Pretty reasonable, I'd have thought, seeing as I just met him and had no way of knowing whether he was good for the money. I believe I even insisted on cash.

Hey, how was I supposed to know I was destined to marry the guy?

It's changed, this bar where we met. It used to be a rather nice place, but now they've put a tacky looking stage where the dart lanes used to be, venue to what I've been assured are mediocre to achingly awful bands. The dart lanes have been moved around to the side, and The Spot in question is now occupied by a couple of pinball machines.

There may or may not be some symbolism there, but I'm not inclined to ponder it at this point.

So, we enjoyed our trip home. It's been over three years since we've last been there, and more lives than ours have changed. Trixie has extricated herself from her business dealings with her ex-husband. That always used to fascinate me, as they seemed to get on amazingly well for a divorced couple. But now she's running her business on her own, and although it's apparently been through some rough patches, things are going fantastic now. She's got herself a new man, too, and he seems to be a good'un, at least from what I've seen of him.

Prada Girl has filed for what is sadly an overdue divorce. The divorce is the only thing she's happy about at the moment, as she's also bought a house, had major problems with it, and lost her job. Her arrogant deadbeat of a husband, of course, has no job and contributes nothing financially to the situation. He's moved back in with Mummy, it would appear, although we didn't really discuss him much. She's interviewing though, and with her qualifications and personality, it shouldn't take her long to find a new job. You can't keep Prada Girl down for long: fun is her business, dammit.

Ms. Amelia is back in the US, repairing the damage caused to her home by her tenants, and trying to get back to Europe.

Hockey Boy is, well, playing hockey. He's put on quite a lot of weight, and is now the proud owner of a neck the approximate circumference of his skull, which certainly must come in handy on the ice. He's also quit smoking, and turned into one of those hypocritical and highly annoying anti-smokers. Well, maybe not highly annoying-- I've certainly seen worse cases. He seems fairly happy, which is the important thing.

Darlin' has had a banner year as well. She finally got rid of her arrogant deadbeat of an ex-boyfriend several months back. He actually managed to get his own apartment (thanks to a tasty personal injury settlement), and is currently looking for a job. Guess that PI money didn't stretch as far as he thought it would.

Darlin' has a new roommate, a friend of hers who is a bit of a homebody and has been busily redecorating D's house. She's also got a new job, which makes up for the lack of intellectual stimulation with some damn fine benefits. She's also got herself a fabulous new man. I'm certain of it, as he's a friend of ours as well. He has, apparently, been biding his time until Darlin' came to her senses and extricated herself from the Arrogant Asshole Deadbeat Boyfriend situation. He would have been happy to help her do so, as would HB, but that's a different story and one I won't go into here.

In any case, it's about time Darlin' got herself a decent man that will treat her right, and it's about time that Brewer got the same in a woman. The only problem from our perspective, as Dutchman pointed out immediately, is if something goes wrong. These are both people we care a lot about, so keep it amicable, you two.

Personally, I'm pulling for the Happily Ever After scenario. It happens, you know, and it would be nice to see a bit of Disney after all that Nightmare on Elm Street crap.

It was great to see all my friends again. Their lives have changed, for the most part, but they're still the same people I know and love. I hadn't really realized how much I missed them until I got back and saw them again, and now that we're back home, I miss them even more.

Aside from hanging out with friends, we spent a lot of time running around collecting bits of paper-- medical certificates (passed), marriage certificate (still legal), criminal reports (clean as a whistle), etc. I got new contacts and new glasses, and can now see in most situations, which is definitely a Good Thing. We drank wonderful margaritas and ate yummy Tex-Mex.

And we shopped. We got general supplies-- chili powder, sponges on sticks, levi's, my favorite lipstick, pantyhose. (Take it from me: Nobody makes pantyhose like the Americans.) Elvis got new darts. I got Doc Martens. I haven't had a pair for... well, for over a decade. I abandoned my first pair when I moved to Texas, basically because I didn't have the time or inclination to clean them up to move. I always thought I'd replace them, but never got around to it because they just weren't necessities anymore. My new ones are great, just what's needed living in this town. No slipping on the mosaic pavement, nor twisting my ankle on the wavy bits. Going up (and down) hills is a breeze, and after yesterday's constant rain and flooded streets, I can now report that they are absolutely waterproof. The only drawback is that when I glance down at my feet, they seem to have been replaced by Daisy Duck's. These boots are a far cry from the elegant, high-heeled, pointy-toed wonders that I'm used to seeing. I'm sure I'll get used to it. In time. I lined them up next to one of my favorite pairs of über-points, and the doc's are actually shorter, so it's clearly a visual thing.

Calliope is glad to have us back home. She wasn't pissed off and bitching at us when we walked in the door, which was nice. Miss Kitty took good care of her. Somehow, our VCR decided to reset it's clock while we were gone, so I only recorded two episodes of EastEnders, which is annoying, to say the least. Then again, since that's the only thing that appears to have gone wrong, I can deal.

Everything is unpacked now, and put away. Went to Jumbo today and bought food. I made soup this evening, and I'll make some stew for Elvis tomorrow. I'm still behind on my email, my diary, and everyone else's. I can't wait to see what everyone's been up to-- I've missed that. I did laundry today, but there's still a big pile left to do. The more things change, the more they stay the same, I suppose. At least it's not teetering.

Normal service can now be resumed.