Lunas 3, 27.

CONCEPT

COMMENTS:
- What an extraordinary weekend!
FRIDAY , I got out of work at 5:15 after no lunch; no complaints, but pretty busy for a weekday. I rode to Hyde Park and stopped at 57th Street Books to pick up the Michelin Green Guide to New York City. They're far-and-away my favorite travel guide series. From there, I walked two blocks to Uncle Joe's, and ate some vegan rice dice and down a large coffee. Ashley lend me three dollars in the endeavor. I paid her back later that night. From there, I walked two more blocks to the BSLC for the Scavhunt Slide Show, which lasted about fifteen minutes. From there, Jess and I went back to her place for dinner (pizza!) and from there to Colin's for the post-Scavhunt party. The was a volcanic event that began building pressure early (Jess and I arrived around 10:00, and were within the first twenty arrived), mounted to a crescendo over many hours (the party seemed to peak at around 1:00 with well over a hundred), and we rode out the eruption (Jess and I left around 4:00, and were within the last twenty departed). Within that frame of six hours, there were, in addition to every you'd expect of 100+ twenty-somethings (mostly single) congregating at an apartment named Moomers on a balmy Friday night in May, there was dancing, a walk to the point for the Ye Olde Spin N' Sit N' Run N' Hug, a rap battle, toasts, general frivolity, and an extended conversation in Romanian with a member of the Fist road-trip team (his parents were from Bucuresti, and he patiently tolerated all of my misteps. I managed to get a grass stain on my khakis.
SATUDAY, I got out of bed at 1:30. I changed into a clean pair of kahkis. Lunch was more pizza, then Jess and I walked to the Point for Sara's birthday party. A lot of people had gather on the southeast bank overlooking the picturesque skyline of Gary. I got to talk to Yotam and Evelina for the first time in months, and we ate burgers and ribs, and passed some game with only two rules that nevertheless felt extremely complicated. Essentially, one'd have to pass a ball to someone else whilst "it" tried to retrieve it. If "it" tagged you, however, you were frozen until you'd caught the ball. This makes for more difficult-than-you'd think strategy, as on either side you can either go for limitaton (freezing/unfreezing as many people as possible) or simple exclusion (pass-the-ball/get-the-ball). The trick isn't in committing 100% to either approach but to anticipating your opponents change in tactic. I managed to get a grass stain on my khakis.
Whatever. After several hours of such fun, we drove downtown to get Jess' passport, failed at this (because the USPS website had the wrong times posted), and returned to Hyde Park for Cate's birthday party. This party featured many of the same people as Sara's and amazing good food (which is usually something you get when visiting Cate anyway). I hung around for about five hours, and even though the party was going strong, I was exhausted, so I went home an crashed. I woke up briefly later when Jess was going to give Gemma a ride back to Andersonville. I came along for company and the ride.
SUNDAY, I got out of bed at a shimmering 10:00. I spent two hours washing grass stains out of my khakis, and decided to give up the ghost, and miss church. I know! I'm a bad Catholic! Jess and I had a breakfast of French Toast and eggs, than hurried off to Jimmy's for our Harry Potter discussion group, which meets about once a month. We talked about adolescent development in the books, and I left a little early to attend Lisa's first recital. It was a fun experience; everyone was making (what seemed to my virgin ears) bold choices and even though nobody was perfect, people seemed to enjoy performing, whether or not they were used to it. It was also at Lutheran Theological Seminary, which I've walked past for years but have never entered before. The outside looks like some post-industrial spaceship, but on the inside, it's a very beautiful, clear, and clean-feeling space, filled with Lutheran perpendiculars, of course.
After the recital, Jess met Lisa and I at Botany Pond and we took about 200 photos for the engagement announcement. Coming soon to a paper near you. As a 'thank you,' we took Lisa out for a late dinner at the Snail, and dropped her off at her car around 9:00. I had a nice, long talk with my mom, and watched the season finale of Desperate Housewives before going to bed.
- Weather. This week will be pure late May.

CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE DAY
Austin.

WORD OF THE DAY
Pallor.

NEWS OF THE DAY
The New York Times: Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Abortion Case.

PICTURE OF THE DAY
Salamander. Mona Caron - Illustration & Murals.

QUESTION OF THE DAY
Who is your favorite villain from a work of fiction?