nic at night

not having ever been to a demolition derby, I didn't expect the one at the montgomery county fair to be so much fun. it rocked. I could do without inhaling carcinogens for hours on end, but the smashing and yelling and fires breaking out completely made up for it.

we went with jack and beth, expecting to see their friend's brother actually compete. he didn't make the registration deadline, but we stayed for the show anyway. we picked a car to root for each round (or rather, 6 different cars) and got into cheering for our car to smash the crap out of each other's cars. I had a knack for picking cars that stalled within the first couple of smashes, although jack and dana picked some winners.

several funnel cakes and a ferris wheel ride later, we called it a night. but not before we wandered through the animal section and got snarled at by the pigs.

dana is now an official g-man with a top secret security clearance, despite living with an odd canadian and having lots of foreign friends. while this makes his job easier, it makes our lives a little more weird. I could tell you why, but then...you know the drill.

I got an unexpected visit from levi last weekend, which was nice, since I'd missed him in ann arbor. he, mike, and tony were in town for "work." so I got to hang out and "work" with them at the willard, where levi had managed to score a small apartment for the weekend. we also went for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, where we enjoyed ourselves despite a few cutlery mishaps (we were the last people there at the end of what must have been a very long night). we then met up with ed briefly at the local 16, and then hung at the house for a while, with levi and mike nodding off as I scared tony with stories of how to succeed in law school.

all this going out reminded me that I need to hang out more at places like the black cat. or in another city. too many bottle blondes with fake orange tans and protruding hipbones traipsing around on the arms of lugheads, I mean congressional interns. there's only so much adams morgan a person can take in a lifetime, and little dips in and out for dinner are nice, but I just feel older and weirder every time I stay past 11pm.

however, the good news is that I'm feeling great and these rare moments of city-inspired grumpiness are just that: increasingly rare. if I make it through november feeling this good, I'll be living in a whole new world. until then, I plan to enjoy my last summer weekend and chill as much as possible in anticipation of a full-on return to work next week.

since I got back, it's been pretty grey and rainy. my apologies for bringing the weather with me; I hope this means it's all sunshine and cool breezes in canada.

today's rainy day task is preparing for salon. we've been hosting them regularly since february, and we've acquired a core of enthusiastic regulars. tonight will be larger again, with some absent folks returning and at least one new face. it's been a great time, watching salon grow. I have worked to hand it over to the group, and not feel like I'm responsible for every direction it takes. it's certainly taken some interesting turns, though, and reminds me that the sociological lens is not what everyone sees through, as normal as it may now seem to me. I'm curious to see how it evolves in the fall, as we're going to have to generate a new list of topics. I'm interested in talking about our relationships to our work, and how/when we relax (two discussions), and I'm sure other people have some ideas kicking around.

I really like blink-182. and I can't even blame it on my cousin, as I liked them before I spent weeks with him. but, see, there's that scrawny one with the dag nasty tattoo. and they're so....young. and...stupid. you know I can't resist that.

I can still blame sum 41 on andy.

ok, but see, I introduced him to green day, the ramones, and dag nasty while I was there, so I"m not hopeless.

um, yeah.

after 3 weeks on a farm in canada and a raucous weekend at a wedding in georgia, I'm back home for good.

in canada: I picked 300 quarts of blueberries, learned to use an ocean kayak, taught several 14-year-olds the proper usage of such key phrases as "craptastic," and got a farmer's tan.

in georgia: I stayed in a beautifully restored hotel, bought a dining room table, stuck my head in a cooler of ice longer than anyone else, and was told I was a "smokin hot broad!" pretty much nonstop for 2 days. in fact, the groom's brothers were like maryland versions of p.j. mcclimans and the bucks, so there was an instant connection there and we pretty much hung together the whole time.

I also got to spend some time in ann arbor, checking out art fair, going on a trek around town, and of course drinking (iced tea) at conor's. almost everyone there is married or pregnant or both, I'm finding.

just before I left, we also hosted kathy & chris for a couple of days and were happy to show them around the city. it's been a busy summer for visitors, and we're expecting to see mina in a couple of weeks and possibly my brother.