where the good lord flung it

After a long vacation we are safe and sound in our surprisingly chilly apartment. We both have the day off and I'm spending the morning catching up on all the latest goings-on in the interweb while xtina is watching 'la haine' in the other room. Unfortunately, our camera (or perhaps the memory card) went completely haywire during the trip and I only have a few photos that I can access without a 'system error' or 'faulty parameter' message which means that while I had the intention of filling this post with stunning photos from our camping excursion and the wedding, I won't be able to do so.

Zach's wedding was fantastic. We're very impressed by kansas city - from what we can tell a hip, recovering urban area with a low cost of living. It was great to see the likes of zach and alex, ben and josiah once again. The road just as exhilarating as I hoped it would be. It had been months since I had traveled faster than forty miles an hour. I never used to get such a thrill out of driving as I do now. I wanted to stop at every oversized plaster dinosaur and tourist-oriented distillery on the way.

Camping went great as well. Highs in the seventies and lows in the fifties made for perfect outdoors sleeping weather. Much of the park was in peak color change season. I wish I had the photos to show you. We hiked over fifty miles and on a couple days hiked over a vertical mile in one hike. We're in better shape than we had expected and are now focused on backcountry camping. We're just a few items short of being prepared to do so. We hiked to the peak of mt le conte despite the mist rushing up the face of the mountain leaving us clutching the wire and on Friday saw a bear in the wild attempting to break into a tent in a backcountry campsite. I was scared and wanted to hide but xtina stood her ground and we watched the bear until it left. We spent some time on the appalachian trail and fantasized about hiking it together. I can hardly imagine how mando felt hiking to clingmans dome, the highest point on the AT and being greeted by senior citizens bus tours and overweight southerners out for a sunday drive in their hummer. Hiking from cades cove to the summit of thunderhead mountain was much more rewarding.

We're back, now, and I can absorb the new radiohead record and get back to work. Today I believe xtina and I might see 'i want someone to eat cheese with' and perhaps I'll see 'the darjeeling limited' with matt and jonathan tomorrow. I'll try and keep you more updated.

Also, while I'm thinking about it; I witnessed an elderly southern woman describe how to use a portable toilet using the phrase 'just let it fly where the good lord flung it.' It was fantastic.

day off

I'm still around, I simply haven't had much to say as of late. The weeks are passing at an incredible rate and we're leaving for our trip next weekend already. Today I had a day off alone. I took the opportunity to sleep in 'til 8am, which is totally refreshing when you're used to getting up at 5am to ride your bike in the dark four miles to work to stir olives. I visited the museum of contemporary art, a museum that xtina doesn't always care for so it's best I go alone. The exhibition right now is 'sympathy for the devil' - pieces pertaining to the intersection of art and rock music. Really, it wasn't so much visual art + rock as it was 'art rock.' If you're a fan of the velvet underground, you should check it out. I spent about three hours in one exhibition (due to all the video installations). Like most exhibits at the mca, it's all concept and very little focus.

I have new albums from beirut, iron and wine, bishop allen, sea wolf, devendra banhart and several others. It'll take me a while to get through them. But that's what thirty hours in the car is for.