Yesterday I met up with John before meeting up with Violet. He took off to work in another city. I would have gone with him if I didn't already have plans. He thought I was too dressed up and cute to leave, but I reassured him that I felt the need to look appropriate for the area we would be hanging out in - Hollywood. He suggested that I let down my hair so that I would look more attractive to guys when I went over there. An odd suggestion coming from him, but I took it and let down my hair later in the day. Violet picked me up, and we went to a cute boutique in Hollywood where they sell all kinds of Japanese art stuff like Hello Kitty and Pokemon and Sailor Moon merchandise. It was pretty cool. I ended up getting some fresh ideas for things that I want to do with art, and I bought some cute things for Lily since she loves Hello Kitty. Then we ran some errands around town before we arrived at a Nicaraguan restaurant, where she introduced me to a Nicaraguan feast of food I had never tried before. It was incredible. I ate more than expected, but still not much compared to how I used to eat.

Throughout my time with Violet, I got contacted by John several times. He was missing me and making sure that I was okay. Kenny hit me up too, but he wanted to respect my time with Violet since I had not seen her in several years. I disappeared from Violet and Kenny around the same time. They have both come back into my life unexpectedly, but I'm jubilant about it. I feel like there has been a need for their friendships, especially now, to remind me of who I am and where I actually come from. Kenny decided to wait for me to call him back, but I never got a chance to. I hung out with Violet longer than I thought I would. We were just having too much fun. Eventually, I met up with John again. We got his mom a small birthday cake from his favorite bakery. While we were at the bakery, a woman we mutually know was practically begging the baker to please give her more credit for getting baked goods. She was homeless and hungry. I saw her the previous day washing windows for a business to earn some money. So I went over and gave her enough money to pay her debt and get more to eat. I was humbled by her response. She was very grateful, but I was just happy to help. There are very few homeless people around here that I help out that much, but it's so worth it. Especially when I see them doing better.

We went to John's parents' house and shared the cake with his mom. It was the first time I had ever seen John express deep affection for her. He was quite endearing. It was also the first time she had called me by my name. What was interesting about hanging out with John yesterday was that out of nowhere he started talking to me about fighting and combat techniques to teach me how to defend myself. Stuff that is way different than anything I have ever heard. I found it fascinating and learned a lot. Even he questioned why he was telling me everything he did. Somehow I was meant to learn it. We agreed that martial arts are useless in real fights for practical reasons. I was also reminded of the feeling I would get when Franco would sit with me and talk about his adventures in black ops and things like that. We talked with his mom about John's childhood as a scout and how his mom didn't sign for him to enlist in the military as a teen. He seemed to think that I didn't believe all the things he told me he did or was or had when he was younger. So he had his mom confirm everything. It was funny.

I reminisced a lot with Violet about our old times together. It was nice to spend some time with her and remember things like giving her my manuscript to 'This I Believe' so long ago and talking about the idea of forming my writings into a book. I gave her a signed copy at the restaurant. She's very proud of me. I was just happy to see that we both have come such a long way from where we were years ago.

Lily spent the night at her cousin's house on Friday to go with them to a party at John's Incredible Pizza on Saturday. When she came home from the party, she went with her dad to spend the night there. She'll be coming home tonight to prepare for her first day back at BGE tomorrow. Co-parenting with Miguel for Lily is working out so far. With mediation coming up this week, I don't expect for there to be many surprises. I reassured John about where I stand with Miguel. He has continued to reassure me of where he stands with his own ex. I have noticed that John seems more sure of himself and confident now that he feels better about his hope to get out of the hole he is in. So I'm as supportive as possible. I was able to touch bases with Jose after he seemed to go MIA on Saturday. He ended up feeling really sick and couldn't contact me. So I understood. I'm just glad it wasn't something more serious or even drama-related.

I'm still in the process of transitioning from being with one group of people to reacquainting myself with another group of individuals in my life. I feel like I'm moving forward, but need to cut a few more ties that are holding me back. There are simply some people who don't align with my real goals, nature, and intentions. I'm not a friend collector. I would rather have people in my life that serve as much a purpose with me as I do with them. Otherwise, the relationship feels rather pointless. As I am learning about boundaries from my sessions in therapy and adapting to my medication for anxiety disorder, I feel more stable and thus capable of forming and maintaining healthy relationships.