I hadn’t gotten any ZENIT news in my Google Reader for the past several days. At first, I thought I might have accidentally skipped a hiatus announcement, but then I realized it must be my feed. I was using a hijacked method of sorts to get the feed, since ZENIT didn’t offer one directly. Ironically, that made me miss the new site design, which not only changed it on its face, but also revealed much better organization, a search engine, and an official RSS feed. Now I can keep up with Catholic news and be totally legit about it.
Yesterday evening, I went to Jess N., Mary, Lacy, and Cathy’s house for dinner with all of them, Mikey Mac, and Alex. (Sierra lives there, too, but I don’t know her very well, and she wasn’t there yesterday.) Jess had invited me after Mass to celebrate Corpus Christi. I was unsure about going at first. Then I decided that I’d rather not be at home and lonely.
I think I became an extrovert when I wasn’t looking. I took Bloginality‘s super-short Myers-Briggs Type Indicator…oh, a good couple of years ago, and tested ISFJ. I took the same test a few months ago for HONR 100, and tested ESFJ. I and E and introvert and extrovert, respectively. Reflecting on it, I can understand that. I used to be much quieter than I am now. I would never have thought I’d be a retreat leader, or be able to debate against Roe v. Wade, or any number of things I’ve done. I still get nervous a lot, but I guess I’m not so quiet.
Last night was a case in point. Introverted Lindsay would probably have gone for the quiet evening at home. I’d only been to the girls’ house once before, and that was for Pat’s birthday in August. A small dinner would have meant talking more intimately with people I don’t know all that well. However, New Extroverted Lindsay realized that she really didn’t want to be alone, and that she can’t get to know people better without spending time with them one-on-one (or seven-all-together, as the case may be.)
I’m so glad I went. I pulled up right after Alex at about 6:45pm, but I turned my car around before I parked, so he wound up answering the door for me. Jess was in the kitchen frosting a cake. I thought it was a fish, but it was actually a monstrance. I couldn’t see the decorative handle/stand part. Cathy showed off her new books (I remember when I had time to read…), and then we all gathered around the table to eat. Jess’s chicken, bruschetta, and salad were delicious. The table was a bit too small for seven of us, but we managed just fine. And the monstrance cake was yummy, too. Cathy ate the Eucharist slice. It wasn’t quite the sort of Eucharistic adoration the Holy Father encouraged in his Corpus Christi Angelus address, but we like to make our faith personal.
Between dinner and dessert, Mike, Alex, and Jess started talking about philosophy. Jess quickly moved on to yelling about philosophy. I tried to follow along and not get caught in Mike and Jess’s crossfire. Alex turned it into a more literary discussion (I met him in ENGL 301 my sophomore year), and we somehow wound up discussing the difference between nerds, geeks, and dorks.
As it got later, Mike wanted to go watch the NBA finals on his big-screen TV at the guys’ house a mile away, so we just moved the party over there. It’s a really cute house. I love the pink bathroom in a house of six guys. We talked for a while more, and I sent myself home just after 10, giving Cathy and Alex a ride back to the girls’ house on the way.
I can’t quite articulate how I felt about this alternate Sunday night dinner, without my usual crowd. It was…different. Good different. I love both groups of friends, but there is a distinct difference between them, besides the Catholic/non-Catholic part. It’s something to think about.
