Empire Sway of Mind

Late at night the streets of NY come alive with Wisconsin fans, especially after a Badgers win.

The Wonder Years

Last week a high school friend of my dad's came over for dinner. They hadn't seen each other since they graduated in 1965, which is a pretty long time ago. There was a lot of talk about the old Newhall, CA crowd, mostly people I'd never heard of. But then the yearbook came out. Finally, I got to see a picture of Mr. Hurd, who we've all come to know for the infamous Dennis/Neil Switcheroo of '65. Also, I got to see all the other stupid stuff that's in a mid-60's yearbook.

Like these hairdos, and those head tilts.

And the stupid brave new world of automation.

And the girls of the month. Dependability might seem sort of backhanded, but really, in comparison to January's Miss Posture and February's Miss Neatness it seems like Cheryl actually did just fine. 

And the Spring Sport Queens. Or even the Sport Queens in general, who obviously weren't actually on the team, because girls didn't play sports. They were just the Queens of them. Here we see the Queens of golf, umbrellas, wooden tennis, and baseball.

And the stupid advertisements in the back. If there's one thing that's going to make me want to buy a cabinet it's the relaxed no-pressure philosophy of Newhall Cabinet Shop. If my calculations are correct,  Don Draper was about an hour away that winter busy finger painting on walls and propositioning his fake niece. I don't know why someone didn't call him up for a little pro bono work. 

And get a load of this personalized service, for men & boys.

Pretzel Day

Wednesday, this happened.

Here, There, and Other Places

This is the story of me taking the bus to Minneapolis, driving to Osseo and then Baraboo, flying to Philadelphia, interviewing for a job, driving to Chicago, driving to Milwaukee, driving to Madison, driving to Philadelphia, flying to Milwaukee, driving to Chicago, going to a wedding, driving to Milwaukee, flying to Philadelphia, taking a bus to New York, getting on a winnebago to Atlantic City, taking the train to Philadelphia, flying to Madison, throwing a party (topped with another party), doing a Sway, loading a truck with all my belongings, having my flight cancelled, driving to Milwaukee, flying to Philadelphia, and then taking the train home. Below, an incomplete pictorial:

Except for the fact that there was a snow storm winding down, the trip started well. I had snacks and coffees, and various other beverages.

Snacks/dranks.

Not to mention maps. Mostly of Maryland, but with a couple pieces of a some more useful ones mixed in too. Like this ⅔ of a Pennsylvania Official Transport Map I found in the door.

Maps/snaps.

By the time I passed Jersey Shore the snow was done. But so was the coffee. And the snacks.

Central Pennsylvania.

And then they shut down I-80. If there's one thing I'm not interested in, it's a truck-jam. Thank god I had that piece of a map handy.

A long line of TRUUCKS.

Chicago offered the Skoczenator, submarine warfare, and a chance to catch up on some of my kreepier correspondences. And then onto WI!

Notes.

I don't really remember anything else until I was at this train station last week, going to the airport directly from work for the second time in a month. This time I was carrying my Bag O'Bags. FYI: it turns out that 8 bags stuffed inside of one really big bag ends up weighing 61 lbs. It was worth the check-in lady telling me I was going to have to spend the night in Cincinnati to avoid the overweight fees she let me slip out of. 

Checked bag.

Enclosed bags.

It was nice to have all of 'em when we stripped my apartment down though. And just in time for Katie's surprise birthday party, followed a ½ hour later by my surprise going away party. Somehow these are the only two pictures from either event in which we don't look grossly unattractive.

Party #1: Happy Birthday Katie

Party #2: Goodbye Whitney

The measurin' wall, after its last measure:

Apartment heights: 5'2"-6'3"

What was left? Just to pack up this comically over-sized truck and send my dad on his way. Three days later he finally made it back to Philadelphia and my things went from filling a ⅓ of the truck to filling a ⅓ of the living room.

The truck of another size.

There's still room for that car I don't own.

Frog legs with a side of pickle.

The Goodbye Sway

I had to say goodbye to Wisconsin. It was emotional, and re-motional. I think I may have let my body slip into her soul; I know I definitely was inside of her at one point. I probably cried a little too.