Occasionally my blog pops up when folks perform only vaguely related searches on yahoo, google, etc. Some of the most recent are: "bacterial thread," "australly," "tachikawa immigration office," "bikram chicago" "apocalypse now," "richard gere congress," and "bus to kawaguchiko gogome." My blog gets around!

These pictures illustrate destruction caused by this volcano, on whose slopes J, V, L and I spent two nights exactly one month ago. An ND friend also involved in World Teach's Ecuador Year, in some inebriated yet earnest moments, encouraged us to "sleep with our bags packed and running shoes on" while in its shadow, a warning most others in the know assured us to be extreme. Convinced by the latter group we slept shoeless and surrounded by unpacked piles of our clothes and other belongings (at least I did), but the clarity of hindsight indicates perhaps we should've been a bit more volcano-savvy. Oh well. Living on the edge!

Swamp Thing is on TV and the special effects and hairdos are amazing!

In Jake's stead I get to see Margaret Cho tonight. Comedy!

On the way back from meeting a student in the 'burbs yesterday, I stumbled upon a garage sale Schwinn. Despite its proclaimed need of "a little rustoleum" by the fella sharing the air pump with me at the neighborhood Mobile station, I think it's the most beautiful bike I've ever owned.

Having been in Japan during the onset of S.O.A.P. fever, I just now discovered that it is an acutal movie. Unbelievable.