I should be in bed. Instead I'm wishing I could write something real here.

New York City was fun, though Jenn didn't get a chance to come down all weekend. The bus was late getting away from Boston on Friday night, but I still got in at a not-terrible hour. Saturday Lisa and I ate giant pizza, and then headed to the South Shore to ride the (free!) Staten Island Ferry and gawk at the Statue of Liberty (which I managed to never see in all my visits to NYC). We also froze our asses off in the chilly wind until we decided that we could see things just fine from inside the ferry. After that we hung around the South Shore area, going to the little shopping mall there and chilling. There is this cool store there with this butterfly art made from real butterflies, bred all shiny for the purpose of this work. It was cool. After that we went by the WTC site. I had decided not to go there when we were down for the Columbia game in October, because I just felt like I would be gawking. But since it's a non-descript hole in the ground now, I thought it would be fine to go. Nevertheless, I was amazed at the number of camcorders out there, and people taking photos, sometimes with themselves in the frame. I mean, really, it's not a tourist-attraction, despite the presence of people like tourists. Anyway, it was an overcast day, and the sun beat through to the ground screened by clouds. It was weird, the places the sun would shine, where you wouldn't have seen it before.

We then headed to the Village, to meet Lisa's friend and to see another of her friends in a show down there. We stopped by this wonderful store that would have me broke if it were in Boston... loads of cheap but cute and shiny jewelery. Love! The show was not great, but Lisa's friend was funny, and both friends were cool and we hung out. It was a pretty chill evening, and we got home fairly early.

This was good because Sunday we got up reasonably early to go to Coney Island. If they have built anything new there in twenty years (other than the Cyclones baseball park, which I think may be new), it's news to me. Old food-vending buildings, old amusement park rides. The rides were all terrifying, and not in that purposeful, well-constructed kind of way. The Wonder Wheel was a big surprise; I didn't realize "swinging" car meant plummeting toward the center of the wheel on the way up, and plunging back out on the way down. I guess we should have looked at it before hopping on board. The Cyclone looked like a wonderful old wooden roller coaster, but was actually a hellish bout with near-concussion. And near-boob damage, given the height of the "safety" bar. I was seeing stars. It was a trip. Additional amusement for the day was this TV show or something called "Mr. Intuitive" being filmed on the boardwalk. Something involving cheesy superheroes (whose outerpants didn't really amply cover the underpants beneath the tights), and a villain actually named Cheese. Lisa and I stood nearby and made snarky comments and I inspected the script boy for cuteness.

So, overall, lots of fun, and all new stuff I hadn't done before. And sunburn on my upper arms in a bold (but, I think, ultimately unsuccessful) effort to reduce farmer tan.

Happy Birthday, Amber!

So, the kid crew was planning to ditch work early today and go to the Red Sox game, but the weather threatens to suck. Hot and rainy.

I have bus tickets all set for New York City this coming weekend. Lisa and Jenn and I are going to rock the city.

Jessica came back to town today, and Jennifer was still in town through today, and Ifty was kicked out of his usual spot as one of the fellows returned from maternity leave, so there was much not getting of work done today. Though surprisingly I did manage to finish a big chunk of stuff I'd been working on. After work, the four of us plus Hannah, another med student, all went to The White Horse in Allston. It was tasty and cheap, which wins in all my books. But now I am sleepy. All that traveling around in the rain, even if most of it was by bus.

It's really important to select an appropriate background color for your webpage, as choosing poorly may make your readers feel sicker than they already feel due to your content.

I went to bed really early again last night. I'm old! This was good, however, because I got up a reasonable hour today, which meant I was out the door for shopping! The mall is my haven! Today I had good shopping mojo. Everything I wanted was before me. Shoes, clothes, gifts, tacos, everything! Winner #1 of today was Payless Shoes. I haven't gone there in a while, which has been a grave error on my part. They actually sell a substantial number of shoes in 5 and 1/2 wide. No way! It's amazing! I found the exact shoes I was looking for (black flat sandally things for work), and an additional pair which were just cute and comfortable. And they were cheap. Winner #2 of the day, a shocker: Old Navy. I have never shopped there, but for some reason I went in today to find some clothes for work. I got some shirts that looked good. I grabbed XLs, as my busty figure usually demands, and promptly drowned in them in the dressing room. Could it be, I can wear... mediums? No way! Yes. Way. So the store wins by mere flattery, and reasonable prices. And consistency in sizing, which I like. So now I have more clothes. Although no pants because I forgot to try more on. But that is okeedok.

Loser #1 for today: Broadway Market. They sell these delightful porkchops pre-spiced in the tastiest of ways. But alas! None today! Poo on you, B.M.!

Oh! And soon an old friend will be making a faaaaabulous comeback! In red this time. With ruffles! ;-)

The great thing about naptime is that a) it makes you feel better and b) when you wake up all groggy and disoriented, it's like you're drunk, so you don't even feel compelled to catch up!

It's no good to be wicked tired and headachey when there's supposed to be a party going on at your house.

Those were quite the days.

And these shall be quite the days too.

I really ought to go home. Everyone else on the hall has left already, hence, they will have no idea that I have left early. It's not *that* early. But it is bitch-ass hot outside, and it's supposed to rain, so I should book it. I didn't really take a real lunch.

I have to say, almost all my coworkers here are awesome people. For example, this past weekend was great. But it only takes one person to really be a drag (the poop in the punchbowl--a metaphor which had Jessica pissing herself one day). There is this one person here who has been here for ages, and who loves to cite precedent as a guide for how to do things. Which is fine and dandy if the precedent is cited to say, "Hey, we tried a bunch of things, and this was the most effective. Don't reinvent the wheel." But this person cites precendent just because That Is The Way It Was Before. Rar. I'm a big fan of efficiency, of finding little ways to speed up doing things, to streamline them, to avoid unneccessary redunancy. This person seems to find the most drugding method and sticks with it from start to finish. For me, I am usually doing a task somewhat differently at the end of it than I was at the beginning. Not this person. Which would be fine if this person didn't try to help me with things, thereby completely slowing me down. I realize I'm a big control freak, but I also know that I don't get this sense of rage when working with someone like Jessica who is also very good at figuring out how to be efficient. I just hope this doesn't become a major problem.

Despite tiredness, I managed to get quite a bit done tonight. I made tasty dinner, of chicken drumsticks which I figured out how to cook in the oven, and there are leftovers again for lunch tomorrow; I baked and frosted a cake (from mix, so, not so amazing); Courtenay and I collectively did the giant pile of dishes, and I isolated the horrible smell emerging from the sink (scraplings of meat which I would guess were from making patties for the barbecue... nearly two weeks ago). That is all very good.

I hear from my sources in retail that a certain bearded commie is moving back to town. Hide yer wimmin and children.

I wish it would rain and cool everything down.

I think I'm going to be ill.

Oh, but I'm sure I'll be fine. Three years worth of telling myself that can't be wrong.

So, this past weekend. Friday afternoon we leave work around 3. I had originally planned to ride down in Ifty's car (he's one of the summer med school kids), with Jessica (the research assistant I am replacing), but then Paola (one of the fellows) was coming, and so Jessica asked me to ride with Jeff (another med schooler). I was a little nervous, because I know Ifty and Jessica better than I know Jeff. But, Jeff is pretty cute, and BRITISH, and very nice, so I consented rather readily.

So, we start off on our trip. Right off the bat, we end up going in a totally different direction than we had anticipated. But it was okay because Jeff had a map, so we could figure out an alternate route. Unfortunately, Ifty, who was behind us, had no such map, and was wicked confused as to where we were taking him. They called us at some point, and we were like, pay no attention to this tour of South Boston; we have it under control. In our attempts to figure out which way to go, we blew three or four yellow lights. It was funny--Jeff kept saying "sorry!" in that British way of his, even though I was the only one who could hear him. But we made it to Route 1 just fine, and the rest of the drive to the Cape was fairly traffic free.

So, Wood's Hole is where the former director of the group Matt was staying on vacation. He was in this little house on the beach. It was beautiful. The house is leetle, but adorable. It has a sort of tower with just a bed in it, like a window-bed. Love loft, as we called it. Jennifer (the RA doing the Lyme project on Martha's Vineyard right now) joined us at Matt's. Matt fed us appetizers which included a sort of guacamole (avocado is just the best) with chips, and shrimp. I love shrimp. Then we had chicken on the bbq, laughing as we made Ifty grill, and corn. There was this Portugese bread that was fabulous, sort of sweet. Paola made a salad which I must get the recipe for... it had bitty tomatoes and pine nuts and some great dressing. And watermelon for dessert. And lots of wine. Good food and drink, wonderful view, and everyone had a good time and we all teased each other lots.

Paola took the bus back, Jeff went to pick up his "lady friend" (as we called her) from T.F. Greene in Providence, and Ifty, Jessica, Jennifer and I took the ferry to M.V. Dr. Shadick picked us up, and was funny about where everyone would sleep. There are two bedrooms downstairs with one bed, and one bedroom upstairs with three twin beds. Since we're all used to college, we just thought Ifty, Jessica and I would be upstairs, and Dr. Shadick would have the room downstairs. But Ifty is a boy! And we are girls! So she stayed with us upstairs. It was amusing.

Saturday morning we were up early and off to the Farmer's Market. We helped set things up for the Lyme gig, and then Jennifer dropped us off in Vineyard Haven. We shopped for a while, Jessica and I draggin Ifty into clothing stores and other places in which he had no interest. But he said we could go wherever. :-) We had lunch at this deli/candy shop. We partook of the candy. Then Ifty and Jessica rented bikes and rode to Oak Bluffs, a nearby town, and I took the bus and met them. I test rode a bike briefly, but I decided it was too much to try to ride to another town with my lack of skillz. I felt bad then, like I was a big party pooper, but we worked out meeting, and it was just fine.

When I got to Oak Bluffs, I took a quick walk on the beach, which was kind of rocky. Then I went up to the park, where I was when Ifty and Jessica called me. I told them I was over by the pond, which was really more of a wading pool. Later we made jokes about how as a New Mexican I would consider that a lot of water-- an "enclosed ocean"--and how I would have no words to describe the actual ocean. We wandered around looking at the "gingerbread houses," which are just these adorable old houses painted bright colors and decorated like little doll houses. Then we walked along the harbor for a while.

I took the bus back to Vineyard Haven while I. and J. biked back via Edgartown. I went up to the library, where Jennifer and Nancy S. were doing this crazy kid gig with the juggler, Bill. Bill is a pretty good juggler, and a nice guy, but not quite all there. Anyway, I had fun helping the kids make little ticks and gluing them to big Ticonderoga pencils. But no sign of the dynamic duo! Some kid told me that the route back through Edgartown took like an hour and a half! Shore nuff, they never showed up at the library. So, we take Dr. Shadick to the ferry so she can go back, and we drove by the bike place--where they were standing outside! Serendipity!

So we went back to the house, the bikers showered, and Jennifer and I went to the Black Dog bakery to get a cake for Jessica, as it was her birthday. We wanted super kill-your-mouth chocolate, but they didn't have any more, so we went with strawberry cream fluffiness. We came back, ate cake, and then went back to Oak Bluffs for dinner. But before that, we showed Jennifer the place we had found earlier that day--the tattoo parlor/piercing shop. She once had her belly pierced, but took it out when she gained weight and it was rubbing ookily. Now that she's back to her slim self, she has been wanting to re-pierce it. Well, crazy girl, she just has it done right then and there. Now, I am a big weenie, so I would have hemmed and hawed and said I'd come back some other day. But Jennifer was just like, hmm, how bout plans for tonight be a little piercing, then dinner, a drink or two, and bedtime.

While she did that, Ifty and I wandered the streets looking for a place to eat. Most of the places were wicked pricey, but we finally found this pub that had seafood, as Jessica desired, but would not kill our wallets (well, it did anyway, but less than it could have). We had calamari and 24-oz beers and I had stuffed shrimp and we generally gorged ourselves. Then off to outside a restaurant called Nancy's (which was funny given the Lyme project big people include two Nancys) for a drink. Then it was bedtime, as the next day promised another early start.

That was because we were going to do Lyme stuff at the Edgartown Rotary Club pancake breakfast. It was good times. The juggler juggled, we showed people the tick arm and made them feel it, we pointed out the photos of the bullseye rash to little kids. It was goodness. The rest of the day we did nothing but sit around the house and nap and watch TV. It was great.

Ifty and I took the ferry back to Wood's Hole after dinner. Jessica stayed to help Jennifer with another library gig on Monday. We got on a small ferry, and so it was open-topped. Which meant we stayed back with the cars and had a completely unadulterated view of the island as we sailed away. And the sun was setting. It was the most amazing view.

All in all, I underestimated the coolness of the Cape and Martha's Vineyard. It really is super cool. All that time old Everett told me we should do a tour down there and I poo-pooed him, he was right!

The only thing about having such a weekend is that I need a vacation from my vacation. On top of the weekend with my co-workers, last night there was a dinner at another one's house because this other girl is leaving due to Visa issues, which is sad. So it was four days of chilling with the work crew. They're good folks, but it's hard to feel like I had a weekend. I need some time to do stuff around the house. But the coming weekend will be good for that. The weekend after looks like the big NYC trip, hanging with Lisa and Jenn. Summer has become more eventful, though, and that can only be good.

Especially given... given all that. All that badness which would love to fill my brain. I just won't give it the time.

The only thing, though, is that now I am used to exhaustion, and so I never get to bed before midnight, no matter how tired I am. This makes me even more tired! This is also why I need a weekend again, to sleep late.

Wood's Hole and Martha's Vineyard were wicked party times. I think I could definitely stand to spend more time there in my life. And playtime with the work crew is really fun. More when I am not requiring myself to go to bed.

The void is shrinking. I found my backscratcher in my room, sneakily hiding. Turns out the Netflix thing wasn't that they hadn't gotten the first disc back yet, it was that they put a *third* copy of Chocolat on my list, thinking who knows what. So no problem there. But still no book, and now one of my Netflix DVDs is not in the DVD player or in the pouch, which still exists. These things both disappeared around the time of the party, leading my to believe that either overzealous cleaners threw them away, or other assholes somehow made them disappear. People are such dicks.

I started working on a book list for Storey's collective list. Everyone should submit, as it is a good exercise, and it's fun to see what other people like. Currently I have well over 50 books, and I don't think I'm quite through with the brainstorm phase yet... I mildly dread the cutting phase, and then worse, the ordering phase. What is my favorite book? I'm not sure. And some of the books on the list I read a long time ago, but I remember thinking they were the shit. But maybe I wouldn't think that now. Maybe other books I read a long time ago that weren't that appealing would be moreso now. Hrm.

Speaking of books, I seem to have misplaced the one I was reading. It has traveled into the void where my stuff seems to be going lately. I have lost a backscratcher and a pair of tweezers. And the DVDs I *know* I sent back to Netflix only emerged with one return. I already claimed one was lost and I am loathe to claim a second, but I know I put all three in at once.

I was playing with the Google mirror, but then decided to look at my search results, of my name, forward. Turns out I appear in all sorts of crazy places. There's another quote on Kevin's webpage I didn't know about, and a Boston Herald article about Bono and Class Day in which I give a truly *brilliant* soundbyte (""There's something about Bono. He's such an international figure.") and am listed merely as "props manager" instead of Manager of the Whole Fucking Joint. Madness.

Bleargh! I went to bed too late, had trouble going to sleep, and then slept like crap... it was like I was sick or something, the way my brain was mulling nonsensically all night. Craptastic. And I have blisters on the bottom of my feet which hurt. Waaaa.

Well, at least I have a backup ID card, for when all my other transportation passes go off to other states.

So, I talked to one of the UAs coming back on the M2 bus today, and I came to the realization that I am hogging up hours that undergrads could be taking, which they need more than I do as this is their primary job. This was a great revelation, because I think I have been convincing myself since I took the hours that it is a good idea. But it's not! It's a terrible idea to work so much! So, I have released my hours to the world. I would feel bad about telling Kevin I don't want my hours if there weren't such high demand for them. Although now I wonder if they are going to roll back my account expiration to July 15th... I did offer to work random times or during the intersession if needed.

Oh, did I forget to mention that my pants zipper died today? I went to the bathroom, and as I was zipping up, I noted the lack of closure happening. The left half of the zipper had just come out completely. It thought it was a sweatshirt or a coat or something. So, I tottered back to the office, looked everywhere for a safety pin to no avail, and then bit the bullet and went to the Med School COOP. I found a safety pin in the dressing room there, but I decided to buy some shorts anyway because it was hot and I thought shorts would be happy. Which they are, as I am still wearing them, evern though they make me look like a slob. But it's better than open pants.

Mmmm, Band BBQ. I was really mad earlier because someone mangled my new chair, but I got over it. It's been kind of a weird night. But lots of Beirut, which Rowen is the coolest for making happen.

Rar rar.

Hmmmm... oh, the young ones.

Internet slow.... I think maybe it's just me.

Today was goodness. Hung out with Storey and Emily for a while. We went to this not-so-bad Mexican food place, though the lack of chile is always sad. Then we played Trivial Pursuit, and though Emily pulled out into a quick lead, Storey made a comeback and ended up winning. I got schlocked either way. I will be hanging out with them again on Thursday when I go to the Tom Petty concert with them, as they have an extra ticket. Phun stuph. After that, I went over to Matt's, where he cooked dinner, as Kyle could not fulfill his role as food-eater. Lucky for me! Matthew's a wizard with marinade.

Lackow is the coolest. Tonight he introduced Jenn and I to a great Cuban restaurant in JP, which is totally bus-able from work. Then we went to this little jazz bar with no cover and much coolness. A nice night out.

It's like those cars with individual climate control. It makes you think different parts of the car can feel different, but how different could they really be?

Struggling.

The 4th was lots of fun. I didn't get to see the fireworks due to my own inertia, but the BBQ at the Cube was lots of fun. There were many people there I hadn't seen in a while, so that was cool. I also got to see the great tunnel of Somerville on the way home, thanks to Matthew. But it was closed due to construction, so we just went over the railroad tracks instead.

It's already 3. Although bedtime wasn't so late, sleeping was difficult in the heat. And I drank too much beer and was really thirsty, and kept waking up to guzzle water. I slept until 1. Bleargh. I wanted to do yardwork today, but it's still pretty damn hot, so I think I will do the baking I wanted to do, and then see.

After a mundane post-Commencement June, it looks as if things are picking up for July. This weekend should be some good: BBQ at the Cube tomorrow, Band BBQ at our house on Saturday, guests all weekend. Woo party! Then next weekend it looks like I'm going to Martha's Vineyard with the RAs to have Lyme Disease fun and chill out.

WHY WON'T THAT PICTURE GO AWAY?

Mocha Frappucino solves the problems of sleepiness and heat, but it causes me to miss the express bus.

Man, some people are BLEH.

THE BEAST HAS LANDED. Damn, yay for graduation.

So, Work I today did not go as quickly as it did yesterday. I decided for Work II that I was not going to put up with answering phones at the front desk, because I don't want to deal with idiot users face-to-face. I went to bed too late tonight, making me slightly cranky.

The worst thing about today's weather was knowing that tomorrow is supposed to be HOTTER.

The best thing about today: recovering June's webpage! Unix team is the best!

Other best thing about today: Matt entertaining me via other phones while the help phone does not ring.

It's so funny to have read this book about the different ways men and women communicate, and then to read C.S. Lewis's The Four Loves, particularly his take on friendship. "Of course we do not want to know our Friend's affairs at all. Friendship. unlike Eros, is uninquisitive. You become a man's Friend without knowing or caring whether he is married or single or how he earns his living." And so on. While I know many guys who would take serious issue with this idea about friendship, I can't help but say it's such a male way of looking at the topic. Then again, the whole chapter has had this male-centric take on friendship. At any rate, I would say the vast majority of women would never agree that knowing a friend's affairs is unimportant to friendship.

I got the internet to work at my house!!! I knew I just needed to fiddle with it a little bit, and it would work. I zipped around before going to the Help Desk for work II, and the router stopped being bad. Rather, I figured out what was making it so fussy and treated it good like. Woo!

So, I'm at Work II, help desk. It's actually phones at the desk. It's dead down here. Rather, it's mostly dead except for the chain of idiots which trickles in making me and my coworker consistently rageful about the world. But it's cool. It's nice to have a work where I don't feel guilty putzing around on the computer. I can really only do a limited amount of that at work. Not like Work I is that hard. Today I cut 20-stamp sheets in half because we're only giving ten each to the old people who we send our survey. It ruled. The day went by so quickly.

Storey has a very interesting take on the Pledge ruling. I think he's dead on when he notes the larger problems with the Pledge, writing, "Our kids will still be expected to honor a piece of cloth that has stood for death in so many countries & a holocaust in our own, to honor this cloth daily as though it were some body of wisdom. While reciting the mantra of deception that we all get justice here." But I can't buy the argument that "at least in that brief phrase, people all had to admit that the USA wasn't the almighty, the end all & be all of everything. It showed a humility the real country never shows anymore." I'd totally be with ya, Pro, if it weren't for the fact that the phrase was added directly out of a lack of humility about the US, and out of anti-communist crap. And that people say the Pledge in this droning way that indicate that most people aren't getting any meaning out of saying it at all. At any rate, the point remains, the Pledge is worthless for many more reasons than "under God" and the sketchy history that accompanies it.

Shiiiiiiiit. I am braindead. I just killed June's webpage.

If anyone has a cached copy of said webpage, I would love you forever.

It seems Google only looked at me on the 2nd. I have two days of June.

Damn, I got destroyed by bugs last night while painting the little crappy coffee table we found in the laundry room. Today I have discovered a jillion painful little lumps. Usually bugs hate me.

Duh, Unix backup! My file will be saved! June will return!