is that a skin ailment, or are you just happy to see me?

This morning, on the train, I saw a man with a beard that was shaved like this.

At first, I thought maybe he had leprosy, or mold, or something alien growing on his face.

Nope. I think this was supposed to be "ironic" facial hair. I mean, I'm all for the Hulk Hogan-esque beard, but it came up a little to high in the moustache region for that.

I hope you enjoy my rendition of the jackass on the train. Sorry I stared, dude. It was scary that early in the morning.

life after marriage

Thus ends my first week in Brooklyn sans Sheena, avec three new roomates (all of whom are pretty awesome). Things are coming together - I finally bought a new hairdryer, put away all of my books, my food, my shoes, etc.

Here's my problem with the new situation (I mean, aside from the fact that Sheena is in idyllic new hampshire, of course): I feel like I've moved back into the dorms. Partly because I'm now living down the hall from Josh again, partly because I've moved into an apartment with three other people, and partly because Josh and Sarah are IN school. All weekend long I had a niggling feeling in the back of my mind that I had reading to do, or a paper to write. It was very weird.

The only thing missing from my college fantasy life is ACDC or similar. Because, as I've told Sheena when she complains about my eating habits: it's just not fun to cook for yourself. I'd prefer to snack all night long. Maybe when we get our new fridge I'll actually make real food?

Also, Sheena - if the hummus has olives IN it, does that count as TWO food groups??

a hen in the forest is worth two in the hand?

Last night was an exciting evening.

It started with an impulse trip to the jeans store (i refuse to name the jeans store because it's embarassing, but they sell the only jeans that fit me. so there.) where i got a new pair of jeans (bringing the grand total of jeans to two (2)).

Then I met up with Seth and Chris and we headed down to The Tank to watch Deirdre's Sweden screening (Package Deals). The videos were all very good - one involved cutting off limbs and having sex with a face (that's the one i didn't love, but it was still entertaining), and there were lots of music videos by The Knife (awesome).

Then Seth and I headed down (sans my umbrella, but that's a different story) or up, to Aquagrill (a fine eatery featuring an awesome raw bar and good seafood). Here is Seth presiding over the remains of our oyster sampler. The dinner was fantastic, surpassed, of course, only by the company. Also, the sommelier was a fawning man with lots of jewelry - as you'd expect - who told us that the wine we ordered was very "minerial".

All of the oysters were fantastic - my favorites were the "widow's hole" (mostly for the name), the Totten Inlet, and the Coromandel (which were creamy and really good). Also good were the Kumomoto, which were smaller and less flavorfull than the large ones, but were still oceany and good. Apparently the chef liked the way in which we roll, because he sent out some salmon tar tar, and I had the yellowfin tuna (with crispy rice cakes that were AWESOME), and Seth had the truffle encrusted cod (very tasty with "hen of the forest" mushrooms. hen. of. the. forest.).

they were delicious.

we finished it up (sheena, we got it for you) with a lavendar-creme-brulee with an orange escence cookie thing. it was astounding. and also, of course, the chef sent out some amuse-bouches for us. because, again, he liked our style.

All in all, one of the best meals I've had in quite some time.

thanks, Seppo!

it's a scary, scary place.

**Sheena, this is for you!**

I finally recovered my pictures from the data card that lived in my now-defunct camera, and was just scrolling through them. Some of you may be familiar with my friend over here. His name is "The Creature", and I made him when I was, ooooh, 10ish? maybe older. maybe I was 12 or 13. I can't remember. Mom? When was The Creature born?

Anyway, I made The Creature in art class. Our assignment was to create a hybrid animal. I may have gone a little over the top. To the best of my knowledge, this is what The Creature is made of:



Head of a Lemur
Body of an Ant
Front legs of a Chicken
Back legs of a Camel
Tail of a Rat
and covered in real and faux rabbit fur.

Also, we had to decide how our animals would procreate. You will be happy to know that The Creature procreates asexually - the knobs on his head pop off and become new creatures (much like in the Gremlins).

So, my family being what it is, the creature has made the rounds of the house - hiding under covers, hiding under pillows, driving my car, sitting on my parents' toilet. usually he makes his move late at night. His back leg fell off a few years ago - so IT has been making rounds independent of the rest of the body.

You'll notice in the picture that The Creature has accumulated some props - namely goggles (which i think are warrented, because you never know when you'll need to see something under water), and a St. Patrick's Day hat (which was a nice surprise for me when I came home last. I think The Creature might have a drinking habit).

Just wanted to give you all a glimpse into the Golden world. It's a scary place. Always be on alert - The Creature is out there.

boy do i need a vacation from my vacation ending.

yes, yes, my friends. please remind me not to come back from vacation.

i just had the most wonderful week and a half away from the real world, and it makes it hard to come back to the land of subways and work.

my first stop was LA, where my sister and I threw my parents a 30th anniversary party, then I had two migraines. Awesome. After a week of hiking, eating, hiking, cooking, eating, sleeping, eating, and watching ultraviolet with Jackie, I headed east to New Hampshire by way of a red-eye to boston. Arriving in Nashua, New Hampshire, at the home of Sheena's Memere, I was plied with coffee and english muffins, and collected by part of the idiot brigade.

The weekend that followed was amazing. I have no pictures, as my camera died in Santa Barbara, but rest assured, there will be pictures. most probably here, here, and here.

there was a fire pit with a fire, a tent, a half-man-half-pig-dog, a very small dog, other larger dogs, six people who make me very happy, sheena's family, chickens, donkeys, a hula hoop, cards, beer, eggs... you get the picture.

Anyway, after returning from said utopia, I find myself drowning in work (not to mention the fact that i have to go home now and pack up my apartment to move this weekend) so I don't really have the time to do this vacation justice. I will try to do bits and pieces.

I will leave you with this - I would like to live in the country.

that is all.