I drove from Albany to Buffalo today. I took Paul's estimate of the travel time, but either he misremembered, or I drive a lot slower. (Which I doubt, my little car is zippier than his minivan. No offense, Paul.)

I'm out here to, among other things, visit my "Old Army Buddy" Raul. He joined the Army a few months before I joined the Corps, and shortly after I came back from Afghanistan, he went there. He was in the same area I was, and went to a lot of the same spots. So while we've been in email contact, it was fun to sit down, share photos, and tell tales.

Getting to Raul's apartment was a challenge, though. He gave me directions via streets I remembered: Parkside and Hertel. But when I got here, I realized that in the last six years, while I remembered the names, I could no longer remember how to get to them. That's OK, I've got a GPS navigation system! But Buffalo has a lot of redundant street names, and it took me to the wrong place. So I called him again, and we agreed to meet at Kosta's, a greek restraunt our circle used to eat at. Then I had trouble finding that, until I told my GPS to take me to the specific intersection. All's well that ends well, and Raul and I had a fun evening.

He's working as a stagehand for Buffalo concerts, as well as drilling with the Ohio National Guard. As is typical for Raul, he's broke, so I paid for dinner. He should have more money than I, as he was higher-ranking for most of our military careers, and he spent more time in a combat zone that I. But he has poor control over impulse buying, so that's probably where all his money went. He's living with Adam, another member of our circle, in the apartment that's the second story of Raul's parent's house. So I'm sure they get a good deal on rent.

Posted by: Boviate at 12:43 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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