BOTH SIDES NOW
I hit the wrong publish button, and now I have this orphan "sign my guestbook" which looks rather pathetic and attention-whorish without something written above it. So here I am again. (CandyGram!) .... Sorry.

Today I am going to write a few emails to people I haven't heard from in awhile. It's the great / terrible thing about email. It's the ease of keeping in touch with so many people vs. the guilt when I don't do it. I suppose the guilt isn't necessary, but when emailing is so easy, I can't help but wonder why I haven't done it in awhile. My rational side knows that being too busy is a valid reason. My guilt-ridden irrational side thinks it's a crappy excuse.

I've looked at email from both sides now,
From sent and received and still somehow,
It's email illusions I recall,
I really don't know email at all.

Gah. That didn't translate too well over the years, now did it? No bother. Here is my email list of candidates:
The Cheese The cheese is a special case, because I've certainly emailed him more recently than anybody else on this list. It's probably been a week or two, so I think I'll check in, say a quick howdy and see how his new job is going. It will be entirely non-threatening and non-committal. Just like us. *Yawn*
The Veep I realized today that I haven't heard from or written to the Veep in well over a month. Maybe two. This isn't good. This will have to be a partial apology letter for my lack of correspondence. The Veep is that way. We will rapid-fire email for a couple weeks, and then we'll both drop off the face of the earth for a while. Somehow the decline of communication is always my fault, whether that is real or perceived. I'll accept my half of the blame, but that's it. It would be good to say howdy, see how life is going. The last time we had a major lull in conversation, he turned around and had another kid. That was really, really weird. I wonder if it has happened again.
The Rev I have a very special place in my heart for my dear friend, The Rev. The Rev is an old college buddy of mine from way back. The Rev lives in California doing all sorts of musical type things. He is one of those people who knows everybody, knows everything, and knows he knows it, so like the true tenor he is, he can be a little overbearing. But I adore him anyway. My friend The Rev has a suitcase full of degrees from all over the country, and to the best of my knowledge, isn't actively using a single one of them. Except in reality I think he is uses all of them, all the time. I most often think of the Rev during natural disasters, which leads to more guilt. Why can't I think of him when skies are sunny? Why does it take an earthquake or a fire to spur a "jeez, I should call the Rev" kind of thought? He and I joke that I only call when there is an earthquake -- and honestly, it's true. "Heard there was an earthquake. Are you ok?" The Rev is one of the few people that I can lose track of for a year at a time, but when I call, it's no apologies necessary -- we pick up right where we left off. The Rev knows I love him.
The Desert Conductor This one is a special case, and I have to approach it carefully. Emailing the Desert ConductorI means first sending a test-balloon email in order to judge the current climate. The first foray with the desert conductor goes something like this "Checking for a pulse. Just wanted to say hi and see how you're doing." Then, much like Punxsutawney Phil, I wait to see if I get a response, or if he crawls back into his hole for another six months. I'm sad about this one, but I know there isn't anything I can do about it.
Tenor Boy I need to send one off to GB to say happy belated birthday. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure none of the current email addressees I have are valid anymore, but I'll try anyway.
The Snowy Conductor I need to try very hard to find an email address for my friend, the Snowy Conductor, who actually lives in the neighborhood of he who shall not be named (I refuse to bow to pressure!) up north in mitten country. Snowy Conductor and I haven't been in touch in several years, which is very sad. No official falling apart or anything, just two people who went their separate ways and got busy with life. I very much want to get back in touch with both Snowy Conductor and my other friend up there, Snowy Fiddler, whose father passed away this summer.

Wow. This is a big list, but it sounds like a good Monday project. I wonder how many answers I might get? I better get typing.
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