Was Thomas Wolfe right?

This weekend was, I'm sure, a strange one for a friend of mine. She moved away some 6 months ago, and came back this week for almost a week. She and I were not particuarly close while she was here, occasional drinking buddies, and she was in our poker circle. But after she left, she discovered this blog, and now knows so much more about me and how I think and feel. And her blog is one of the two that I follow regularly (ok, I usually check it daily, and she's usually pretty good at posting several times a week.) As a result, I now feel closer to her than we ever were when she was here. Too bad it took her moving away for that to happen.
But I've started thinking about homecomings. For her, she's now thrust back into a family that's changing and evolving in her absence. Friends are changing and moving on. Old haunts may be just full of old ghosts, and no new memories. When it happens to me, I always find it strange to discover that people and places that were so stagnant when I was there, have changed so much in my absence. Anyway, between the sheer number of old friends and family that she had to see, and the short length of time she's here, I'm glad that I at least got a chance to have another drink and chat with her. It wasn't the big deal I was thinking (and hoping) it would be, but it was also nice to be able to chat about things I've mentioned in this blog that local friends are unaware of. It usually takes a trip like this to discover where your home really is.

I've been fighting a cold this past weekend, and think I've succeeded in staving it off, despite having to work all weekend, both Alice and closing out Greetings, and doing some loathed shopping. I have also, likely agravated by my feeling crappy, been antisocial again. I realized on Sunday, that I've been particularly negative on headset, the only contact I've had with co-workers. As I've said, part of it was feeling crappy from my cold, but part of it is also feeling crappy from the attitude and treatment of co-workers. And part of it is probably just this damned season. I love (please note the dripping sarcasm here) going out in this 'joyous' season of goodwill towards others, and seeing everybody shopping and driving, all self-absorbed and oblivious of other people and their feelings.
Anyway, I'm going to try to make more of an effort to not let my negative attitude show. Hipocricy: a holiday tradition!