Moved??

It's real. It's so undeniably real. So real in fact, that I spoke for a total of about 3 hours to Vanessa and Karin today about normal things so that it felt more reality than fiction. The bad news is that my plan backfired a little bit as far as letting that sink in- but I'm actually moved in to my apartment in Manhattan!! Couch, bed, chairs, kitchen- for Pete's sake I have a dishwasher. I made cookies today just so I could use the kitchen. 

I even, wait for it, got a library card. (Insert gasps of awe and oos of amazement) They were a little impressed that the girl who had been there for 26 hours was getting a library card, but I figured that I could check out some movies and chill. As it turns out, the manhattan public library has quite the stash. But nothing on the hordes of books at ksu. Holy shmokes. I just wandered for about an hour. In and out of the stacks, pulling out shelves, taking mysterious stairs, wandering. Mega impressed. Put it this way, from an architectural perspective, the main floor ceilings are high enough that in the center of the floor they devised a split-level style that allows for double the shelf space on one floor. Then the parts of the floor plan that aren't the stationary stacks have to be moveable to maximize space. What is this land. That's all in excess of the "great room" which looks like Hogwarts except without the floating candles. And I'm all about wizards.  I have a feeling that the very empty great room is less empty in the regular school year. 

Stay tuned for the portion of this chaper book that explains how I found the wizards of Kansas. "You can still be with the wizard, what you've worked an waited for..." 

The new routines... Maybe

With new adventures come new tasks and challenges. I issued a challenge to a fellow adventure, miss Shelby, who is taking bold steps teaching in Japan, to blog regularly. I figured that if I could challenge Shelby to do it, then I must be gutsy enough to do the same. As my friendship with muDD as I like to call her might detail, we work best when pushing each other. So as she is my guide to this new season of fun things, I will attempt to keep up. Thus it begins. 

You should know two things about this post: 1) I'm writing it on my phone because the internet is out. And 2) I have no idea what I'm going to type next. 

I have not yet moved out to my new Kansan abode, but I keep thinking about new routines. I was really big on the routine kick as a kid (this should not surprise many of you). For instance, for about 2-3 years I would do 100 sit ups a night. Why? No real reason, thought it would be good for me. Consequently, I could beast the sit-up challenge during my gym class days. Mom used to read to me before bed every night. I used to write a poem (usually not very good) every night. Routines like that made me get from cover to cover in my Bible twice in high school. In college, routine has been harder to follow- that's true. Something about late study nights and roommates. But this grad school gig holds endless possibilities. Mayhaps blogging or memoir-ing or Shakespeare is the new one. I suppose I have to actually get to that new abode to see what it will be. 

Whoops--also grad-crowd-sourcing?

Ok. So I'm bad at the blog thing. I understand that you are mad. I'm going to pretend to hold out my wrist and you can chastise me as would stereotypical nuns in an elementary Catholic school.

Here's the question though:
Is there something (if anything) that you would like to hear in a commencement speech?

This can be a reflection of what you do or do not remember about the speeches you witnessed or gave. It can be a "I wish he talked about that" moment. Or a "She didn't talk about my class at all. That sucked." I'm curious. Commencement season is fast approaching and with it comes the panic of writing, rewriting, or wishing you would have applied to write in the first place, and I'm looking for a little crowd sourcing.  Motivational? Nostalgic? Funny? Serious? Informational? Metaphysical?

Maybe I'll just write a series of haiku.... This is really dependent on your reactions.

Reentry Soliloquy

Here's the dealio. I'm doing a little semester project in my lovely Interpersonal Communication course, and I picked Reentry from Study Abroad.

Surprised? No you're not.

Truth Zone:
I still have dreams about walked around Rome.
I have yet to find a pasta dish that meets my standards.
I am perpetually disappointed in wine.
I miss the ability to be aloof when going for a walk, and smiling at people when I pass feels like a mask that doesn't quite fit.

These are all things that have to do with my time two years ago in Italy.
(Dear God has it been that long?)

So for those of you reading this who have studied abroad, or spent any time in a totally different culture than the one you call "home," know this: it's normal to have those feelings of displacement. Like you don't quite belong where you are, and you just want to combine pieces of both of your experienced cultures because they have become you. It's normal to want to share those experiences and feel isolated when people don't quite get it. There's plenty of research to back you up, and no, it does not go away.

Truth is you've been changed by your experiences and it's not always going to be easy for you to change your surroundings to match. I encourage you to find someone who has been "there" (and by there I don't mean to the place you studied, but experiencing somewhere else) and talk about it. If you can't find anyone, write about it. There are others like you out there feeling the same stuff.

For those of you who don't quite identify with this topic, I encourage you to listen to those who are dealing with this. Let them talk to you, it's not about you or how they should or should not meet your expectations of discussion. They don't really want to talk about how great the food was (although it's often interesting), or if they knew the language. They remember the little things like, what the streets look like when it rains, or the woman who always leaned against the wall of that church, or the sound of police sirens. They are the things that the tourists don't remember, or don't care to, and the things the study abroad kid holds on to with everything they have.

Just a thought for your Wednesday.

Slamily Second Generation-Get on my level

Once upon a time, I posted this beauty of a blog: http://roahg.blogspot.com/2012/6/bet-you-want-my-job-sunday-edition.html and sure that was fun. Hell, it was a lot of fun, like pandas and balloons popsicles and slinkys kind of fun. If you didn't have one of those panda-balloon-slinky kinds of days, I'm sorry but we are both missing out on key parts of our child hood. Drat. 

But here's the second chapter

SLAMILY: SECOND GENERATION

Yes, it's better than One Direction covered in sprinkles. This time 14 kids traveled the long distances (we're talking out of the 14, 12 of them were from somewhere other than MN--that means hella far) to come to our humble town of St. Peter to have their lives rerouted and nurtured from the ground like little baby acorns learning how to become oaks with a purpose. It's actually that amazing to watch these students come together under the direction of the three fantastic poets that are so dedicated to teaching and bringing in the next generation of phenomenal poets. I walk in to take pictures and casually creep on their writing/slamming, and I am propelled out of the water like cannonball from the high dive played in rewind. These kids are going to make a splash.

In case you missed something from last year's post around this time, I will help you feed your poetry addiction by posting some videos here that unashamedly praise the people who make this camp possible.

(I was there when this was filmed... because that's not creepy)

(I was not there when this was filmed... because that's not creepy)

(And now for something different-But isn't he a cool dude?)

Ok, so we've learned a little bit about Sierra DeMulder, Adam Henze, and Khary Jackson, now we shall continue with our story. 

The first night the whimsical three arrived, Karin and I took them out to a local joint fondly called, "Patty's". Now for any poet nerd (cough, me, and phlegmy-cough Karin) this is more than just a magical moment. This is going to dinner with some of the most well respected poets in the land. Super, we're having a wonderful time, everything is dandy. 

Kids arrive, all is well, fast forward to Thursday. This is where things get good. On Wednesday, a Mr. Quentin Q Talley joined us for a little showcase. This is prime. 

Then on Thursday, Karin had the distinct pleasure of going to pick up the St. Paul Slam Team consisting of the following magnificent individuals who are masters of their craft:

Kait Rokowski

Sam Cook

Shane Hawley

Hieu Nguyen

Cris Gibson

Love them all. Just do it. 

Study Guide for the GRE: Gaudy Rhinoceros Exam

Sometimes I read other people's blogs and think.... oh yeah, I suppose I have one of those too don't I..... Maybe I should write something on it...

Well, wish granted, self.  I suppose this is what I've got.

Tomorrow marks the first step in things I should be doing after that fateful day that happens in late May: post grad. For better or for worse, I'm going to spend 4 hours of my life frittering away at a meaningless test that receives it's authority from the people who created it. ETS, you're a scam and you know it. After the SAT way back when I was pretty convinced that I would not succumb to the pressures of yet another standardized test, but alas, consider me sans moral compass. To be clear, I still do not believe in any bubble answer configuration determining someone's ability to problem solve and write, but humans are pretty slow at figuring out better ways. So cheers to those who find better ways to do that.

For those of you taking the GRE, here is my pre test advice to you:

1) Answer the questions. What are they going to do? Hunt you down if you get them all wrong? Nah, they already got their $160 so they'll leave you alone to cry in peace. No matter the question, there's some chance that your random guess will get you a point. So have at it.

2) Smile. It'll confuse the shit out of the people around you and the proctor. And you, smiling, and watching their reactions will be the only entertainment you get for 4 hours. Enjoy the little things.

3) If you need a motivational boost, write yourself a little note on your scratch paper. And draw a smilie face. It might be the only friendly face in the whole building.

4) Hydrate and look smart. Sometimes looking smart is the best you can do. Pull out that monocle from storage and the spats and dust off that British accent. The educated must look educated.

5) Once the test is over, have a dance party. You've earned it and there's nothing they can do about suppressing your happiness now!  Blow 'em a raspberry and a choice finger and turn up the beats.

Keep in mind that none of this is intended to boost your score or your likely hood of being accepted and/or liked by your choice program. It might make you feel better.

Fanciest College Kids You've Ever Met.

What is this!?!?! Blog overload!!! RUN AWAY
No don't. Seriously. Read this. It's full of cheese, danger, and vampires.
Only 2 of those things are true. You have to read to figure out which ones.

The day started out as any normal Saturday would for a summer-existing college student. Except Karin and I have no real concept of what regular college students do on Saturdays.... So we sat in the living room verbalizing our confusion and discontent with phrases like, "But what do we DO?!" and "IS THIS REAL LIFE?" Regardless that we had not had a tooth recently removed, or that neither one of us was named David, this seemed like the only appropriate phrase to use on such a Saturday.

So we formed a plan.

That plan was to craft a remarkably elaborate three-course meal. Why? Just because we had the time. Nothing more. There was nothing confining our afternoon except the limits of our imaginations. Thus it was time to craft a menu, and explore Mankato.

Mankato. What a place. Full of people that we didn't see all the time (and yet we saw the ones we do see all the time anyway). Stop 1: Goodwill. Here we sought a blender for our festive evening planned. And found Ava and Eric... They are not a type of blender, they are a type of person we see a lot. Those are different. We did not find a blender, but we did find a bird clock, an ice cube tray, and some lizard glasses. Those things are important but not to this story.

Stop 2: Thrift Store.  Here we again, sought a blender. But did not find a blender, we found Nick, Carl, and Zach. Again, those are not blenders, they are the kind of people we see a lot.  It also marks the second Cronin we had seen within the hour. Again, not relevant to the story.  But we found hot pads that look like watermelons and a bath mat. So those things are good. But no blender.

Stop 3: Target. Pronounced, Tar-gé. There have always been too many hard consonants in store names.   There we found a blender! A successful trip indeed! Also a cutting board. Those things are important to the story.

Stop 4: Hy-vee. For those of you reading this from the middle of the midwest, this is familiar. MN-ers? Less so. But judging by the number of people milling about, they like what they found. It's a carnival-esq place. There we found supplies.

Then onward home! Where we immediately began preparing our feast of sorts. Feast menu? Let me enlighten you.

Appetizer: Extra-cheesey Spinach and Artichoke dip.
Dinner: Chicken breast with white wine mushroom and mozzarella sauce. With a side of parmesan green beans.
Dessert: Grapefruit and Mint Sorbet.

Go ahead, be impressed. It's pretty normal.

We began with our preparations, chopping, squeezing, dicing, and stirring. All in good time, all in slight chaos. Let me explain. The kitchen in the apartment is not really meant for more than 75% of one person. Therefore it feels crowded with one person and overwhelming with 2. But Karin and I managed to make it work. All the while keeping things a secret from our friend Brittany who joined us for such an occasion.

With the sorbet in the freezer, the dip on the chips, I began working on the main course. This is the part of the story with danger. Heat the skillet, put on the butter, put in some olive oil, salt and pepper chicken. Toss! And scald. Zoinks!  My still red-forearms attest to this lack of judgement. But hungry friends take precedent over very hot substances, and I continued to cook. Stir, flip, stir, put in oven, make sauce, add mozzarella (because the recipe was wrong, it needed mozzarella), and all done!

It may not have been my best move, but it was one of the best dinners.

And of course there are things I would do to change it. Like less mint, more grapefruit. But over all, I would declare it a successful evening. Let the cooking continue.

Humble Abode full of the Food

Holy Shiitake mushrooms and snakes alive!
It's be 45 years since I've written a blog post. I've also had it on my to do list (which is ever evolving and always very long) for that amount of time. It's even written on antique paper.

Let me catch you up in the short version. ie, incomplete sentences fashioned as bullet points.

• Forensics season 2012-2013 ended with a bang. GAC=8th in the country AFA style, 15 quarter finalists, 4 semi finalists, and Shelby as our first persuasion finalist. Boom shakalaka.
• Junior year is over. I said what?
• I have been home for 2 days, came back took a final, and moved into the new apartment a la College View for summer at GAC
• Class of 2013 graduated. I was at baccalaureate and cried more than most of the doting mothers there. It's embarrassing to be me.
• Coached 1 speech camp. Gonna have 3 more.
• Had a s'more. Wanted s'more. 
• Working at Summer Academic Programs again, this reprise with Karin. 
• Living with Karin.

Ok great! You now have the chapter titles to my auto biography.

Now for the interesting things... sort of....

We are going to be supreme chefs this summer. How? you ask? Easy. I'm a boss. 

Let me chronicle these cooking adventures thus far. 

Prior to Perham camp/graduation, I made bruschetta and pasta for those friends sick of the caf.  We're talking the kind with garlic and olives and the other kind with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella. Was it good? It was so good I might make it again. 

Pasta? Red sauce, red wine, other things I found, and mushrooms. You want more details? I am a cook that mixes and matches, somethings can't be taught my son. 

Two nights ago: Grilled cheese with gouda, avocados, spinach, and feta. Karin thought it was so good she almost fell over.  Damn it feels good to be a chef-ster. Sort of. Ok, I'm not that cool. I tried?

Last night: Pasta with white sauce, asparagus, spinach, and pepper. Quite good, but took a 2 in the round compared to the grilled cheese extraordinare vibe I have. I also made some exquisite coffee cake muffins. So that's ideal. 

Karin may be a little paranoid about the air-germs, but over all I think it's a good set up. We're making it work for the best I believe. 

Tonight's menu is far more elaborate than ever before. Why? Because we never have Saturdays to ourselves and don't understand what else to do... so we're going to cook. Updates to follow.

First step: Buy a blender. 

Through the fog and over the ice

Welcome back from our commercial break to this wonderful little ditty that is being typed in a moving vehicle.

Just on our way back from the K-state UNL swing in Lincoln, and what a super weekend it was. We laughed, we cried. We won. I'm do pleased to be part of a team that is passionate about what they do. Not to mention this community. I mean, holy crepes, they're fascinating and I know with a good degree of certainty that these are the people that will change the world. Straight up make a difference. For instance, Jose. He's from Hastings and I'm impressed every time I talk to him about the things that he works to do with his community. You go Jose.

Let's see, other things going on..... Choir tour is in less than a week. I have music to memorize. But I don't have any of it with me for this lovely little ride. So there's that. But we get to leave Minnesota for some lovely weather in California, New Mexico, and Arizona. Pretty ideal if you ask me. So what up world! Bad news is that I have to be packed for that by tomorrow so they don't have to pay baggage fees. Guess I should figure out that nonsense. I hope I remember my contacts-unlike what I did this weekend..... Performing blind. Easy when it's just you. Harder when you have to follow a director. Woof.

Well I think I'll wrap some things up here. I have assumed the role of keeping Cadi awake on this drive. Per usual.

Yee Haw!

WHOA NELLY

Ok, making a commitment to keeping up a blog.. Difficult. STILL TRYING.

HFO:
That's the thing where Hell Froze Over in Peoria, Illinois.  It's basically a giant tournament where a ton of schools and speech kids gather in one place and battle to the frozen death.  A rough sport but someone's got to do it. The team did relatively well, considering the 1,000+ entries and the 40 some odd schools. Placing 5th day 2 is not too shabby at all. Super proud of the little baby team.

Additionally, there was a trophy for that portion that should be mentioned.

HFO is hosted by Bradley University and University of Texas at Austin.  UT Austin are the Long Horns. So what did we get? Yup. Some Long Horns. Which are now mounted above the door in the team room. Class act.

And now I have to get back to work.

The End.

Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot (read: Remembered)

Well good gravy.
It's been about ten years and a day since I posted here. Guess I should make my life count, or at least for the last day of 2012 by blogging today. So that probably includes like the 12+ events of 2012 or something like that. We'll see where that goes.

1) Baby niece Amelia born.  She's so suitably fat now and I'm such a proud aunt!

2) State 2012. I think I cried for the whole damn thing. Every moment and it was super. We get to do that again in 2 months? I'm so ready to cry for several hours.

3) Watching my friend Ch-low Rad-cliffee do what she does at AFA. That was neat.

4) Surviving NFA to the surprise and accolades that we didn't expect. I've never been so genuinely surprised and overflowing with pride for what we speechies do.

5) Baby nephew Pete born. Although he looked like a grumpy old man for a while, he's learning to smile and getting cuter all the time.

6) May 18, 2012. I have a voicemail of Vanessa giggling.

7) Duluth with Lady Chelle Chelle. It was more than a moment, but it was important. It includes the apple pie baking and the porch sitting.

8) Climbing trees. Want a new perspective? That helps.

9) Giving a bike to a new teammate. Warm Fuzzies all over.

10) Oreo died. I forever miss my giant feline who hated snow, loved any holiday with bags and wrapping paper, and took two arms to hold. Now my heart holds you.

11) NCA. Dinner theater. Nuff said.

12) CinCC. I successfully cried in every performance in front of large audiences because that's where you cry. Love me some Guh chuh-wire fam.

Bonus: Throwing Better Cheddars because they're worse, not better. The moments leading up to that one were good too.

Ok so I should tell someone and this is as good a place to tell people as any about my new goal to blog more consistently than this semester.  No point to having a blog that you don't use and there should be amusing things going on in my life that you may or may not appreciate.

To those of you going abroad this semester, blog because you want to read your experiences in full and not through collapsed memories that get compressed and diluted. Do it then so you can laugh about it later. Also, then I won't have to throw Better Cheddars (or rocks) at you.

So cheers to a happy survivable 2013.  Love you all.

There was that thing in Kansas

Oh, hello there blog I've had for over a year that I occasionally ignore in favor of attempting to learn something/get enough sleep to not look like a deranged hungry zombie. That being said it's approaching 1 am on our way back from the first tournament of the year in Hutchinson Kansas. Sorry if three days and about 24 hours of driving total doesn't seem like oodles of fun, you really haven't lived yet. I freaking love those 5am alarms that just get you moving before the rest of the world. The down side is that I have to go to class in the morning, and I'm still in tournament hair. Dear Shakespeare class, sorry about it. I'll be there but I don't plan on being pretty. Deal with it. But the music is bumping, Karin is sleep talking, ad everyone else is just regular sleeping. Pretty normal all things considered I think.

A Blog in Reflection

One year ago today, I left on the adventure of my life.

I packed all of my bags, said "Ciao!" to my friends and family, and high tailed it out of the country. That got me to thinking about all of the amazing places I've been in 365 days and holy crap, there are a lot of them.

You are more than welcome to peruse my adventures as they have happened to me here in this blog, but here's a little (geo)graphical explanation of my adventures: Map o da world. Or if you don't want to see the names of the places, here's just a picture.

But the link should show you all of the names of places too. Granted, I probably forgot some a long the way (like Assissi.... I loved Assissi. St. Francis is awesome)(And Duluth. I was for sure in Duluth this summer), got them out of order, or didn't list every time I was back in KC this year. But the main point is here are the 25 (more like 27 with the ones I forgot because I'm a dumb ass and Google Maps won't let me add more than A-Y) cities that I've considered part of my journey this year. 

I don't know if this year will hold as many cities, or as many "adventures" but I'm glad this one was so thrilling. 

Did Some One Order a Surprise?

I'm going to take the next ten minutes out of my busy busy busy work week day to tell you a little story. I hope it makes you feel warm and fuzzy.

So there's a girl on the forensics team from Mississippi this year. Her name is Elizabeth, and I think she's super swell. Anyway, she had received a graduation present of a bike that was her sort of mode of transportation since you're going super far away to college and you don't get to keep the car. Bikes are great, that's awesome.

Bad news: Some asshole on campus took her bike before she could get her lock from in her room.

Dear sir/madame who stole Elizabeth's bike: I'm a fierce mama bear and if I see you riding on that bike around campus, I will deck you and rub your face into the dirt/snow with my shoe until I think you have suffered enough for being the kind of terrible person you are. You suck. --Sincerely, Kelsey "yabettersleepwithbotheyesopen" Abele.

So this bike hasn't been recovered, and St. Peter is typically a very safe community. Things get returned, and there's not too many people on campus that you don't know, so things turn up.

None the less, being about a gajillion miles away, it's hard to lose something that was a parting gift and a sign of freedom from your community back home. So Kris tells us about this bike problem and a plan is formed. Prove Minnesotans aren't evil, chip in and buy Elizabeth a bike.

So all sneaky like, we find out things like, "What kind of bike did you have? A Schwinn was it? Oh, you like red? Hmmm I'll keep an eye out for it!" And we get her a bike.

Now for the fun part of the story. We decided to surprise her.

So this morning, after warm ups are over, everyone is sitting in their pride rooms working quietly(sort of this is speech), and Elizabeth pipes up, hey my brother might buy me a new bike. Kelsey's thought: oh no he won't. Commence plan.

Brittany, Karin and I go down to fetch the bike out of Brittany's car and wheel her in.

We then go into the team room where Elizabeth is still working. I walk in pushing the bike. Park it in the center of the room. Wait for Elizabeth to turn around. And say:

"The team cares."

That's it. She covers her mouth, says, "Are you kidding?" "Not at all."

She then immediately starts crying and comes to hug me. I'm practically crying at this point, and she's just saying thanks over and over and over again.

"Want to take her for a spin?"
"She's really mine?"
"Sure is."
"Do I get to name her?"
"Of course you do."
"What about, Awesome Team?"

If you're not crying at this point you have no soul.

She called her mom and told her, and for the rest of the day she kept talking about how amazing it was, and how perfect it was, and how she couldn't be happier.

Damn. Good. Day.

Moved In Close

HOORAY!!!! I have survived my last trip through Iowa for the time being and managed to move into my dorm without too much trouble!  So far it looks pretty neat.  You know, stuff on the walls, stuff in the drawers, stuff in the closet. Maybe I should get a large picture of Chuck Norris just to make this place feel a little more Italian...

Unsurprisingly, half of my closet is made up of suits.  So that's the best thing about the room. Oh, and the fact that it's a single. that's pretty swell.

Anywho, work week officially starts tomorrow and I can't wait to be reunited with my soul mates.

Boxes of Things

So basically every thing is packed. The little nitty gritty shitty stuff is left to pack, and I guess most of that is just handfuls of uh, dump that in that sort of not quite full bag over there. There is not so much method to the madness, but rather this method is a byproduct of the madness.  Don't judge me.

None the less, tomorrow I travel north to the great land called Gustavus where I will officially embark on my third year of college (this is the parenthetical where I say something like, "holy shit is that real? third year? Uh.... I'm almost certain they shouldn't have passed me in the first two. I'm likely still a freshman or at the ver least a sophomore.) That being said, I should probably not blink, otherwise I'll be graduating and won't have any idea what I'm supposed to do with my life. Classic.

In other news, I've finished my scrapbook! I think I will bring it with me to the hill where I will allow it to collect dust and I will occasionally force it upon my friends who are sick and tired of listening to me babble about Italy this, and Rome public transportation that. Oh well, it's pretty and I'm fat and sassy. (that one was for you Molly).

I Can't Stand 'em!

This will be short:

Singing in the Rain, is a fantastic film in any weather. It is also very much worth it on the big screen. To everyone who had the pleasure of seeing this movie, you should now join me in a sing along version that will be playing all day tomorrow as I pack my life for my move back to MN.

I Took Notes

I wish that I had some sort of exciting story or experience to share with you about my day so that we could all somehow live vicariously through one person's experience without leaving our laptops.

But, alas, I have had no true adventures this eve, and instead turn to a listing of the things I did learn today.

1) Some news place things that eating 2 egg yolks a week is as bad for you as smoking. This makes for a scrambling of jokes.
2) I'm confident my grandmother still remembers nearly everyone who has lived/worked/played in a 25 mile radius of "the old house."
3) Patience, by definition is building a house from scratch and not only doing it perfectly, but doing it by hand.

And thus completes my learning for the day.

Whirr of VHS Film in Reverse

Fun game: Drive to Bonner Springs and to eat Chinese food and listen to pretty music.

Does it sound like a Monday night flash back from high school? It should, minus the whole Bonner Springs thing, I didn't have to drive there for music or Chinese food.

But the hours spent in the car were well worth it. A mini reunion with people that after years of not talking or hearing from pop out of the wood work and make your day that much brighter. Spring, welcome back. Missed you!

But that was not  the only  surprise of the day! I had the pleasure of not only reunionizing with Allegrians, but with some Barstownians too!  Looooooonng time no talk and suddenly-KA-POW!!!!  Bamalamadingdong there they are catching you up on the oh, say, 6 years you missed in the middle. Woof. So that's my day. A series of flash backs and rewinds just to keep me on my toes.

And I couldn't have imagined a better one.

Even the Owner Has to Sleep Sometime

REUNION! And by that I mean it's been a few months since I've seen dear Phil, but we managed to hold up the tradition of talking for hours. And that means that although we ordered food in plenty, we still managed to talk long enough that even the owners of the Chinese/Sushi place we went to had to close and kick us out... and then we talked in the parking lot for another 30 minutes... It's like neither one of us get's to talk... ever... But it's all good.

And with that, I think I'm going to sleep. Sleep is nice.