I've been listening to the Magnetic Fields' newest album "I" a lot lately and am reminded of a favorite (# 9er) from 69 Love songs. It reminds me most of the relationship between SColson5 and the CPA exam, & secondly of that between my eyebrows and women's roagaine. And now, a brief personal update: one more day and then I can't wait for some stewed tomatos. Seriously. And now, a continuation of that brief personal update: I spent a day enmeshed in a crazy real life version of office space. But it was cool, they offered me free cake.

I long to nibble your ears
and do as bunnies do

p.s. the newest working CD I've found on the side of the road is Easy E's "Others" (is it a real album?), which, compiled with the 8 Mile Soundtrack and The Who's "Who's Next" rounds out a pretty amazing collection.

I need to be funnier, and feign intellectual wit no longer. Slobs' recent commentary on the trauma caused her by viewing Bring it On's ugly cousin -- Bring it on Again -- really made me reevaluate my life and the drivel I'm putting on this b-l-o-g. So, today I'll refer anyone and everyone to my newest favorite movie, the ever life-changing and character-shaping AVP. Abandon your children, kill your televisions, throw your toasters in the bathtub, shred your paperwork and go see it right now. NOW!

Additionally, I smell very unique and I don't know what to blame for such an aroma. But i'm going to go for a swim and then I won't have to shower for a week, at least! Or until Monday when apparently I will be reporting to DSI for a week of data entry and fun. Unrelatedly, hopefully by that time my old friend will have been put to rest. Look for an elegy soon. *sniff*

I've been doing situps and pushups and lunges and all that crazy schtuff this summer to augment my running, and it has done wonders* for my speed and endurance. In this vein of heightened body consciousness, then, I've spent two evenings this week doing pilates and yoga with my dad and mom, respectively. Now I feel limber and relaxed and my abs are amazing.* Additionally, I've started ye ole' falltime fast again. I've eliminated freezie pops from the diet, so it's just tea and lemon juice and cayenne and the occasional saltwater bonanza. Nature! Doing yoga while fasting made me feel very spiritual/hippie indeed. I think I'll spend the evening in the lotus position reading Siddhartha, or maybe just watching more Olympic feats of strength.

*exaggerations, both harmless and slight

"Lee went on, 'That's why I include myself. We all have that heritage, no matter what old land our fathers left. All colors and blends of American have somewhat the same tendencies. It's a breed -- selected out by accident. And so we're overbrave and overfearful -- we're kind and cruel as children. We're overfriendly and at the same time frightened of strangers. We boast and are impressed. We're oversentimental and realistic. We are mundane and materialistic -- and do you know of any other nation that acts for ideals? We eat too much. We have no taste, no sense of proportion. We throw our energy about like waste. In the old lands they say of us that we go from barbarism to decadence without an intervening culture. Can it be that our critics have not the key or the language of our culture? That's what we are, Cal -- all of us. You aren't very different.'" -Steinbeck, East of Eden

This is the name of my new lifestyle. Just ask MicVat, he can tell you all about it. I went quasi-vegetarian at Interlochen because of the Pinecrest's lackluster meatatarian offerings, and I felt really good most of the summer -- better than at school, definitely. Perhaps is was the decreased alcohol volume, perhaps . . . but that factor aside, I've adopted this new "lifestyle" that isn't really a lifestyle at all. Here is how I, but 3 minutes ago, described it:

SrtaLutha: i'm down with fish because most fish is fresh fish and that's cool. and fish makes the stomach happy. don't you think? i've always thought. i don't know, i'm not trying to think this whole thing out too much, i'm just going to roll with what feels good. sheer brilliance, really. it's easier than i thought -- lots of chickpeas and sunflower seeds make the world go round. do you really think you need dairy?

It's another experiment in the joys of blog. I kick this baby off while at home wasting time between summer camp (I came home yesterday after an illegal post-camp of movie watching and nacho eating in ASB headquarters) and hopefully teaching in Japan. My start date was just unnecessarily delayed another month, so if I go I won't be leaving until October 13th, which gives me a frustrating two months to do great things or perhaps no things. Then again, maybe I won't go to Japan at all, but will instead discover some other life or year's calling to tide me over until fall '05. Goulet.

It's nice to be home, mostly because Northern Michigan's weather has been chilly in a Birch-Shores-and-ND-football-mornings type of way. Lovely. Though I've only spent one day in the confines of an insulated and carpeted building, I already slightly miss the pleasures of waking up caccooned inside of a well-sealed sleeping bag with the mists and chills or morning unable to intrude upon my slumber. Ok, I don't really miss it just yet. But I will. Or I might. No, I won't. Ever. Carpet and insulation will prevail, always.

Anyway, time to go running (though I don't usually need extraneous inspiration, the Olympics in Athens kicked off their track events today, and then men's 10,000 was incredible) and finish load five of laundry. What a life.