(friendswood) mea culpa

i have been negligent of the blog. you see, this is very typical. i can be good and disciplined with something until an entropic event of sufficient magnitude disrupts it, and then the discipline goes out the window. from the day i started the blog until the new year's retreat from civilization, i didn't miss a day. but once the streak is broken, it's hard to find that same spirit. i hereby summon discipline in the blog arena, because this is one of those periods of my life i know i'm going to want to remember later. it is also, not orthogonally, one of those times i'm going to have the hardest time remembering because it's overwhelming and chaotic.

we spent today preparing for and throwing a little open-house-type party for friends, work colleagues, and neighbors. most people stopped by mostly just to make an appearance and stayed for only a few minutes, but i appreciated it more than they probably think i did.

and some people stayed longer. claire and john paul jumped on and then adopted my trampoline. we dismantled it in 15 minutes and put it in claire's golf. we hope they can fit it in their backyard. they might have to adopt also their neighbor's back yard.

my house is now just about as tidy and orderly as it has ever gotten in the 8 months i've lived here, but it's the calm before the storm (or perhaps it's the eye). a tornado is about to hit tomorrow morning as i attempt to sort out what to take to DC and what to leave behind. the logistical problem is still out of reach for me, yet the morning will be here in a few short hours.

will it be the 17' uhaul truck towing my toyota? will it be just the toyota? will i bail on the whole idea of driving altogether and schedule a flight? who's writing this show?

i have to say, today was pretty idyllic. i was filled with nostalgia and all day caught myself pretending it was going to be like this for longer than just a few more hours. i'm going to miss a lot of things about this place and time and condition.

i leave you with a few photos from one of today's adventures called "cleaning the fridge." we started by simply trying to identify items. this was more or less successful, with several exceptions. we're not quite sure what this was,



but we think it was most likely a cucumber. then there was the realization that the thanksgiving leftovers were some of the newer items we were pulling out. the oldest identified item (unfortunately, cottage cheese) appeared to have predated my move to this house by a year and a half. it was unopened. how did it get there?



or maybe that means september 2, 2004? anyway, in the end, we removed mass equivalent to roughly 1/4 my body weight.



the great thing was that it was a fun day. given how much stress and irritation entertaining always brought out in my family growing up, i'm pleasantly surprised when preparing for a party is cheerful and enjoyable. thanks, j. you're the best.