some days it's a good day to eat breakfast. i think i will today, though it's already late for that. but i mean that metaphorically too - it feels like a day for getting my life in order, or at least progressing towards that. here's a to-do list, right now: 1. put my cds and lps away 2. clear out my inbox 3. have a long talk with rebecca, if i can find her - maybe while making and eating a meal 4. finalize the art dept. t-shirt design 5. do a modicum of reading to prepare for one of my 3 remaining papers 6. watch a movie. that seems like a good start. i'll be happy if accomplish those things today. oh and 7. call my mama.

there is still so much fun to do, i'm worried that i'll never be able to have any work. but i know the fun will get accomplished, one way or another. just take it one thing at a time, right?

the last two days were thoroughly and lovelyful, full, especially friday, of wall-to-wall activities that were obligations i had made up for myself right then, rather than had bargained myself in for at some point in the past (such as my gothic final on thursday - which was plenty doable - and the all-consuming theatreworld that finally ended that night - perhaps the most interesting part of which has been talking to folks afterward about how they responded to the play.)

[though while i'm on the subject, a few moments worth preserving from our tiny run: the mostly improvised o'sullivan and oregon trail scenes (consensus favorites) getting an extra energy boost from the audience both nights; the joint-cast impromptu rendition of "a whole new world" and subsequent foot game at warm-up on wednesday; little stinky's spiteful, disillusioned rant during our genuardi's sushi+knish run that night - really just getting to know adam better has been a highlight; those blasted toys finally almost working perfectly on thursday, only to run into snafus from the other end when i had the spool in my hands the wrong way?]

friday started with the art department potluck in the eastern nason quad. i felt a little bad for not bringing anything to pass, but i did have the t-shirt design and a sign-up for that. there was plenty of good food as it was, plus my first ice cream of the day. the open studios were a great idea and fun to explore - rajaa's stuff was the most striking and effective (not to mention intense?), but i liked a lot of the prints and the painting (esp. inessa's and lauren's) as well. i'm so impressed by painting and art. which is maybe why i go to these amazing senior shows and start to get unsettled and insecure about what exactly i have accomplished with my four years here.

i ran to wharton courtyard where i of course couldn't register to vote, not having a permanent pa mailing address (wouldn't that be nice), but at least i had some ice cream. met some of the co-mos in parlors for walking to goodwill but ended up instead riding with jersey joe in his pick-up, as the thunderstruck. bought eight shirts for silk-screening on, so now i really have no excuse.

next was the first success practice in well over a week, at which we decided to give up on lofty goals and play it loose tomorrow night. then sharples for more ice cream. then the re-routed "eight friends" gathering at abis and mark's place, featuring angela's strawberry tart, anna's israeli dessert wine, adam's book of housman, robert's thesis on disney obesity, and bocce in the dusky courtyard. then a highly enjoyable non-surprise party for the loved and lovely louisa lillian, on the science center patio. with bridge (of course), lots of woodchuck, and an unbelievable cake from mali (like my ninth dessert of the day? who's counting.) and then visits with claire, who gave us her baby-bourges-on-board drawing, and hannah, who left the next morning for a long time away (alaska > boston > italy > england) with her goldfish in a nalgene.

yesterday was a "real saturday" according to laura, in that it included an adventure (or by my snarky interpretation, it was a real saturday because all the time you thought you might accomplish something was consumed by frivolous unplanned activites.)

we went cowtown. we is joe, josh, eric, emmy, sophie, laura, and myself, and of course we listened to lincoln on the way there, along with a herman's hermits cassette. cowtown a longstanding south jersery cattle auction turned all-purpose flea market, with miles of rows of stalls hawking knickknacks, household goods, dollar-store junk, swords, shoes, flashing jesuses, factory-reject t-shirts (darn, should've waited to get those to screen), big bottles of spices, 80's-era gospel cds by a suit-wearing candi staton, cheap plastic toy guitars that play make animal noises and "old mcdonald" in whatever key you want, plus candy, pretzels, cheesesteaks, and eggrolls "you really shouldn't think about eating" says joe.

i look forward to going back when i actually have things i want to buy (and when i'm not at the worst possible stage of life to be acquiring new things) - this time i just got some film and an enoch light LP (persuasive percussion one.) laura got 24 colors of bootleg sharpie. on the way back of course we stopped for burgers and shakes (at richman's, in woodstown) which tasted about perfect.

but - aha - the day wasn't over yet. i gave what was advertised as in all likelihood my last performance at swarthmore ever, and was certainly one of the least stressful and among the most fun. success opened for the father fucking pig fetuses at olde club with a respectable crowd (thirty or so) of friends. we started with a reprise spoon cover (S2L42), then played our two most solid and rocking originals ("stop rock and roll" and "rocktown") in my opinion the best we've ever done them, at least with the most energy. it felt really good.

keeping with the whole looseness thing, we had decided to play both of our not-quite-finished songs ("joe's" and "ghost") as a sort of medley, so the first featured me literally making up a melody as i went along, with lyrics cribbed from the poem at the bottom of this site, as well as our countrified post-rock homage, too-fast, and the latter became a wordless theremin feature with manic hoedown backing. we ended the set with one cover instead of two (no kinks), which was slightly marred by joe's amp futzing out and a long (unnecessary?) tuning delay before we started: goofy country blues fakeout intro into "i believe in a thing called love." and yes, i can do almost all of the falsetto bits (just not the "god you're touching me" part or the yelp at the end of the chorus.) with tribute-to-death ending and blistery metal solo tag. hail nauj!

then the ffpigfuckrs spilled fake blood on me, spattered marshmallows, peanutbuttercups, and grass all over the floor, and generally wreaked raunchy pioneer havoc with occasional interjections of tunefulness from ben's half-strung guitar.

i went with em & soph to buy papbooze for the intended bonfire. that became the abortive, no thanks to partypooping public safety, even though drew had such a nice little fire going. instead, people gathered on a blanket in upper olde tarble and drank and grappled with those tough questions, like would you rather have spaghetti hair or potato chip fingernails. so that was not as nice as being in the woods, but it was okay.

started to watch dirty pretty things, and it was really good but i fell asleep not very far into it. and woke up late (even with these full days, i've been getting up before nine nearly every one until today) with strip-poker dreams. now i think it is actually time for breakfast.

p.s. i listened to lolita nation while i wrote this.

cowboys dance with the farmers' daughters
farmers dance with ranchers' gals