neighbs

for some reason b and i have been really lucky when it comes to neighbors. this however doesn't apply to our first apartment in LA where our only options were the loud mariachi people and the crazy dreadlocked homeless guy who dug through our trash everyday.

then we moved to pasadena and after living there for a few months we noticed a new car parked on the street with utah license plates. we joked about how that could belong to some new friends, since everyone knows most utahns are mormons and therefore we'd meet them soon. cut to a few days later and what do you know, we were right -- the private-blogger mcmullins moved in right across the street. we had dinner parties and watched football and on one memorable evening we painted dinosaurs during craft night. we played with their baby henry, bonded over political activism, and b & jeff still play scrabulous against each other on the computer, a thousand miles apart.

this summer in denver, we saw a car parked outside our apartment with california plates and BYU parking stickers. could we have the same luck? yes. turns out jaran & deborah lived right across the street -- i could see into their living room from my kitchen window -- and we became fast friends. we watched the NBA playoffs and went to cold stone and played with their dog and bbq'ed. oh, and they pretty much let me borrow half their kitchen when i found myself lacking in baking appliances. we were sad to leave them behind.

then, while i was in denver, jesse & leandra moved into our utah apartment complex. leandra was a co worker at american crafts, and they were looking to move just before i quit. i like to think they came here because of my recommendation, but really i just feel guilty now for conning them into moving to this semi-ghetto establishment. anyway, one day in denver i got an email from leandra saying she'd seen a toyota with california plates outside and wondered if it was mine -- turns out, they'd moved right next door. i'm so so lucky to have them here, especially because with jesse working at night and b traveling so much, leandra comes over to hang out with me and jack a lot. like last night, when b got a last-minute ticket to the utah game and left me stir-crazy at home, again. i think i'd go nuts if she weren't here.

so there you have it. i love having good neighbors. who know where we'll move next, but you better believe i'll be keeping an eye on the street for clues to a not-yet-discovered friend's car.