Land of Lakes and Volcanoes

Today I needed to go pick up something from my boss's house, and he asked if I would bring a bunch of books from his office for him to pack up. I didn't mind at all, but figured this would go better with a cart or dolly. I got a cart, loaded it up, and wheeled it across the Wardlaw courtyard. Sounds genius, right? Not so much. With every bump, at least 1 book fell, and so I kept having to stop and pick something up. I felt ridiculous. There was a girl in the courtyard talking on her cellphone, a bunch of academic types walking all around me, and no one even looked at me with sympathy. I get as far as I can go, to the edge of the curb, about 20 feet from my car. While trying to pick up a stack of books, things started to slide and basically almost all of them hit the ground. there were quite a few people on the nearby sidewalk, all of them just walking by and sort of gawking at me. Finally, two men pass by and asked me if I need help, and not only do they stop the immin

I know I'm behind, but hey this "I was in Nicaragua" excuse should be good for at least a period of time equivalent to how long I was gone. Therefore, I'd like to say that I just really discovered Josh Ritter, and I LOVE him. Some select lyrics from To the Dogs Or Whoever Deep in the belly of a whale I found her Down with the deep blue jail around her Running her hands through the ribs of the dark Florence and Calamity and Joan of Arc I love the way she looks in her underwear I lose my page then the plot then the book then I swear She makes the most of her time by loving me plenty She knows there’ll come a day when we won’t be getting any Oh bring me the love that can sweeten a sword A boat that can love the rocks or the shore The love of the iceberg reaching out for a wreck Can you love me like the crosses love the nape of the neck?

I found it rather difficult to find time to blog during our road trip, and on top of that I couldn't have posted pictures because I was an idiot who left my camera cable in SC. So, here's a lovely photo blog of what we did. Western Louisiana on the way out West. VERY flat, but green. Muenster, Texas. Yes, those doll things do move. The house where my mom grew up. Her street. I find it so strange that my mom grew up in the suburbs in the late 50s/60s. When you hear my dad's stories from the same time period, they were just getting indoor plumbing. It must have been a really strange transition for her. Her street also now has a Buddhist Temple. Pretty, but unexpected. The recreation of the falls in Wichita Falls. A flood wiped out the original falls. The Texas panhandle. Trevor with his new friend at the Albuquerque aquarium. My amazing shrimp picture. The Sandia Tramway. You go from the bottom to the top of the Sandias in about 15 minutes. It's lovely. My mom an