land of cornsilk and honey

so we're back, and what better to welcome us to our humble abode than a night on the couch under my dinosaur blanket, fred in tow, eating takeout-BBQ and watching F1. seems flying gets worse every time, in direct to proportion with the amplitude of suckage of the people on your plane.


had a great time - the eye twitch is indeed gone, and i think i attended my first 'fun' wedding; ironically, i knew none of the other guests, and it made me come correct on my pre-travel doubts ("is it possible that anything in the midwest is 'cool'?").


we did an eating and walking tour of ann arbor on homecoming weekend - quite a spectacle; road-tested our 'compact' rental, a wallowing bright yellow V6 mustang pig (andrew left a few inches of rubber on the UMich campus - best burnout ever) - which promptly died in the parking garage (AAA rules); i had OCD-adventures in sleeping arrangements, and passed with flying colors thanks to the tremendous hospitality of andrew's friends; met awesome mini-greyhounds with the soul of my guinea pig; ate the best burgers and veggie chips (my tummy dreams of them still); bought a yoshi shirt and several awesome used cd's (am currently rocking the electroclash in my car); learned how gift registries work thanks to target; saw the beauty of the 'michigan left'; and had ample opportunity to compare east vs. midwest driving style (it really IS all straight out there - a slight kink in the road causes mayhem and lane drifting. but they all cruise at 80+ and won't block your creative moves. they also won't give you any warning before they arbitrarily cut you off without meaning to). similarly, boston pedestrian is to ann arbor predestrian as cunning fox is to blind rodent.


but most importantly, i learned all about TAILGATING!