What's new: three things
1. Back from Europe! As of last Monday, but ran around for a week between New Jersey, New York, and Upstate New York. Moved out of my parents' place and into an apartment last Wednesday - so easy, all the furniture was there already and I was able to transfer my suitcase from Europe without unpacking it - Chrissie is the best roommate ever. :D Funny, good listener, supposedly too lazy to cook or clean but keeps food under wraps with the dedication of someone who has lived in a tropical country where the cockroaches are the size of small cats. We have lots of sauces and fresh vegetables, and two of every sized skillet, but there were no duplicates when we combined our video game collections - which is what REALLY matters, am I right?
Going to be carless starting in August (long story) so I went shopping today and was able to buy lots of July 4th things, like corn, watermelon, mustard and cherries, etc at discount. European/Central Asian spices were expensive but I tell myself it's for a good cause, ie now that I've bought them I'll have to actually cook with them. I also went "shopping" at home - took a plastic bag, my parents didn't really need that much seltzer water anyway.
As for the Forth, I did the traditional thing and picniced. Twice! *g* At the picnic on Saturday, we got our British host to explain cricket to us. Turns out he was at Glastonbury* in the late 60s/early 70s: not just there, but there as a performer! In some band called Big Dick and the Scandals, with a "sister" band called Beryl and the Perils. XD; This thing about all-male acts with associated all-female acts, it's kind of like fraternities and sororities?
At the picnic on Sunday, there was another guy who had been to Glastonbury this year - not for the music festival, but to see the magic stone circle. Glastonbury has a reputation as a Hippy gathering, like Woodstock, but when you can actually dance around a magic stone circle it takes the New Age vibe to a whole new level I think.
*As you might have gathered, this is a major British music festival. There was scandal when Jay-Z headlined last year, ostensibly because he's not "rock" enough. In acknowledgment, he wore a guitar as a necklace.
***
2. Although the first few paragraphs of this entry were about the apartment, tonight will be only my second night here since coming back to the US. Spent July 4 with my parents and the rest of the nights with... did I mention that I've been seeing someone? A girl? Since May. She's amazing. ^^ Thinking about it, the reason it's easy to be out with R** is that when I'm with her I genuinely don't care what other people think.
(Do I sound happy? I'm really, really happy. And why not? No job, new apartment, enough money for rent and to buy train tickets to/dinner in NYC, a girl with principles...)
**Though as I remember I was out to some of you guys back in college, but not acting on it. So I guess this makes it official: I'm out!
***
3. Pictures from Europe are up on my brother's facebook - same last name, and his first name is Alex. All of them are public, I'm just trying to maintain some semblance of web propriety by not linking this journal to my real name too obviously. Here's a decent one of me:
And one of him that I like because it reminds me of when we were kids and I was still taller than him:
I had to stand on a 4-foot wall to take that picture.
Going to be carless starting in August (long story) so I went shopping today and was able to buy lots of July 4th things, like corn, watermelon, mustard and cherries, etc at discount. European/Central Asian spices were expensive but I tell myself it's for a good cause, ie now that I've bought them I'll have to actually cook with them. I also went "shopping" at home - took a plastic bag, my parents didn't really need that much seltzer water anyway.
As for the Forth, I did the traditional thing and picniced. Twice! *g* At the picnic on Saturday, we got our British host to explain cricket to us. Turns out he was at Glastonbury* in the late 60s/early 70s: not just there, but there as a performer! In some band called Big Dick and the Scandals, with a "sister" band called Beryl and the Perils. XD; This thing about all-male acts with associated all-female acts, it's kind of like fraternities and sororities?
At the picnic on Sunday, there was another guy who had been to Glastonbury this year - not for the music festival, but to see the magic stone circle. Glastonbury has a reputation as a Hippy gathering, like Woodstock, but when you can actually dance around a magic stone circle it takes the New Age vibe to a whole new level I think.
*As you might have gathered, this is a major British music festival. There was scandal when Jay-Z headlined last year, ostensibly because he's not "rock" enough. In acknowledgment, he wore a guitar as a necklace.
***
2. Although the first few paragraphs of this entry were about the apartment, tonight will be only my second night here since coming back to the US. Spent July 4 with my parents and the rest of the nights with... did I mention that I've been seeing someone? A girl? Since May. She's amazing. ^^ Thinking about it, the reason it's easy to be out with R** is that when I'm with her I genuinely don't care what other people think.
(Do I sound happy? I'm really, really happy. And why not? No job, new apartment, enough money for rent and to buy train tickets to/dinner in NYC, a girl with principles...)
**Though as I remember I was out to some of you guys back in college, but not acting on it. So I guess this makes it official: I'm out!
***
3. Pictures from Europe are up on my brother's facebook - same last name, and his first name is Alex. All of them are public, I'm just trying to maintain some semblance of web propriety by not linking this journal to my real name too obviously. Here's a decent one of me:
And one of him that I like because it reminds me of when we were kids and I was still taller than him:
I had to stand on a 4-foot wall to take that picture.