finding good friends at the other side of the globe

i started working with jessica when during the infamous IE reorganization a couple of years back and we've developed a friendship having worked on numerous projects. i met morgan during part of the systems explore efforts last year only but it didn't take long for us to hit if off seeing he was already friends with jessica and mindy. morgan's invitation to come to portland came two weeks prior and it wasn't a hard decision to purchase a $218 roundtrip ticket to portland seeing that jess and her husband reuben was going to be there to spend the weekend showing me around.

i was expecting already a great time ahead but the real bonus to the trip was really getting to know the real jessica and morgan - the "them" outside of work, the "them" that you get to talk to about everything and anything under the sun (or the lack of it in portland). people can and will surprise you if you have the time to talk to them. i never realized morgan was philosophical, that he was into books (yes, i will check out the Celestine Prophecy) and that he knew or even heard of the gnostic gospels. i knew he was well traveled having spent a good year roaming around asia and parts of europe and it was really a part of his life i was quite intrigued with. one-way ticket to asia, selling all of his properties back here in the US - basically leaving your life behind and venturing into the unknown. that is truly remarkable and i don't know if that is something i will be able to do - in more ways than one, i like having a security blanket. can i live life as simple as he does, not crave for so much clothes, and so much of the good stuff? i probably should and then maybe i can finally save enough money to go and travel around europe like i always wanted to.

jessica, nothing much to say about her except i love her. she's one of the few people in the group i'd trust with everything. she's exceptionally chatty which makes for good conversation, can be highly opionionated and somewhat bitchy if you don't give her her morning dose of caffeine. in portland, it was the first time i met jessica's husband, reuben, and they make for a lovely & attractive pair. Reuben is goodlooking and jessica has always been quite fetching.

i hope both jessica and morgan have a trip to manila soon so i can take them out, bring them to boracay or something. jessica can get a good, cheap pampering at the foot/nail spa and both of them can get a great full-body massage at sole-2-sole. it will be fun to hang out with them in boracay.

this weekend made me realize that i've found really good friends on the other side of the globe, not just acquiantances but real friends. i don't expect to see them that often or hear everything that's happening in their lives but i know that when next we see each other, the friendship will always be there.