I definitely need to get myself a new cape

It's snowing. Again. I'm supposed to go to Iowa City to start a job (just a temporary thing for just over a week), but I'm not sure if I should try the roads or not. I already had to help my brother get his car out of the driveway, so we'll see. . . Although, I am looking forward to being in the IC again for a little while, I can go get my falafel on and stop by the Java House. Should be good times!

Today's music suggestion is MGMT!! (I think it's pronounced "management," but then again, when talking about them on XM Radio, one of the DJ's said that it wasn't an abbreviation for anything. So who knows!)



I saw that performance when it first aired, was really into it, then started noticing them more and more on XM. They're awesome. They've kind of got a "retro" feel to them, while still putting out their own style. The version of "Time to Pretend" they played on Letterman is different from the studio version in instrumentation - live it was more guitar-driven, the synth is more prevalent in the recorded version. Both are great, though. There's a video for the song, but for some reason, they turned off embedding for it, so I'll put the link to it here. Be sure to check out all of their songs on their myspace page, and if you like, go buy the album!

Like I said, I'll be working the next few days, but I'm going to do my darndest to get posts up in a timely manner, especially tomorrow. It's a special day around these parts!

It's been one of those years

Well, I'm still waiting for the New Year to stop shitting on me. Really, any time now would be nice.



Tuesday night I went to my Erin and Travis' place for some delicious soup and beer and fun board games (isn't that redundant? I've rarely played any un-fun board games) and some PS2. Good times, with some good people. I stayed there, since they live in North Liberty, and I was meeting up with my mom the next day in Iowa City (for those of you unfamiliar with the area, North Liberty is between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, closer to IC than CR by about 10 miles, so instead of backtracking to CR and then back to IC, I just made it easier on myself. So I thought). Plus, I was a little drunk. The plan was that I would get up the next day, hang out a little bit, then meet up with my mom.

Here's the thing about plans: they're nice to have and all, but when one little thing throws everything off, I get pissy. That one little thing yesterday was a flat tire. Flat flat.

Travis was kind enough to drive me to Iowa City where he joined us for the lunch buffet at Old Chicago. Then he took me back, helped me take my tire off (since he had coveralls, I wasn't going to get my jeans and sweater dirty!) in the snow (did I mention it was snowing and balls cold?? It was) and then drove me to the tire shop. They said that they'd call me if there was a problem with the tire that they couldn't repair, otherwise I could pick it up sometime before 5.

Of course you know they called me about 20 minutes later. We had barely finished the front 9 on our game. Tire ruined. Bad. They could get a new one, but it wouldn't be there until the next morning. Plus, there's the whole thing about paying for it ($100 for the tire alone), and, as some of you more dedicated readers may know, I have no job, just moved, and ergo, have no money. Like none.

After some calls were made, the plan was to put on the spare, drive to Muscatine where my mom would help me out with a tire, and I would stay for the weekend. I was going to be coming down anyways to help watch the dogs, so it kind of worked out.

Apparently I should stop making plans, because they just give me flat tires.

As I was leaving North Liberty, after picking up my rim and old tire, I noticed that my car was feeling a little funny as I was driving. I pulled off into a shopping center, and wouldn't you know it, my spare was a little low on air. Since there were a few gas stations in the area, I figured I'd try to make it to on and then air it up. After 3 gas stations with no air pumps, I found one in working order, and started pumping. With no results. My spare was absolutely flat by this time, and not taking any air. Yeah.

More calls were made, this time I found a place that had one of my tires in stock (p205/55 R 16 tires aren't easily accessible, I guess, and expensive. Also, I will not say the name of the place that I got them, because I don't want to admit to spending money there. But it was cheap, so I don't feel too bad. And it wasn't my money). Then I called upon my gracious, amazing sister to pick me up, take me to the place, pay for the tire until she can be paid back, drive me back to my car, then stand outside with a flashlight while I changed out the flat spare with the brand new tire. At least it wasn't 0 degrees out. It was 6. And dark.

Finally back on the road, I head towards Muscatine, to sort of collect myself and lick my wounds. While driving, I realized that I didn't really have anything with me for my weekend. No phone charger, no clothes, no toothbrush, no deodorant. I had picked a car charger for my phone when I was waiting for the tire, but it was missing a part, and was useless. Did you expect any different?

Today, though, I'm a little bit back on track. Still in Muscatine (I'll give you a call soon, KP), I got a new car charger so my phone is functional after dying last night at a very inopportune moment, my tires are looking good, I'm warm, I'm well-fed, and only a little stinky. It turns out I had some clothes in my car, so those are being washed and soon enough, I'll have something to change into after a shower. I even had a pair of underwear in there! Don't ask me why.

Thanks for putting up with all of this bitching. I promise I'll be back soon, this time with some interesting and entertaining posts. A couple of landmark posts will be coming in the near future, so don't miss out on those!

should old acquaintance be forgot, yada yada yada

I hope everyone had a good holiday season, and that the New Year is treating them well so far. After a little bit of a rocky end to 2007, I'm ready for the new year. I always liked even-numbered years better anyways.

New Year's Eve was less than great. I got back to Austin around 5:30, then had to wait for my luggage, then took a bus home. After walking for nearly a mile from the last stop to my place, I made it into the apartment around 8:30. I was a grumpy Flenker. I actually ended up going to be at like 11:15, then woke up when my brother called at 12:05, then I got a couple of text messages, and another phone call at 2. Happy New Year. Had I actually known anyone in Austin, I'm sure I would've enjoyed it more. But I've never been a big fan of the holiday. You would think I would be, seeing as how it's basically an excuse to stay up late and drink, then do nothing but watch football the next day, but for some reason, it just doesn't do it for me. Maybe it's got something to do with the fact that I've only had a midnight kiss once ever. Who knows.

My trip home was excellent, though, I got to see a couple of decent snowfalls, and was lucky enough to get go shovel and use the snow blower!

The view of my house from the back, during one of the periods of snow. It was great. Also, this was the only picture I took the whole time I was home. Oops.

Christmas treated me well, I got some clothes, lots of books, and, maybe best of all, XM Radio. I'm way pumped for it, I just installed it into my car today, and drove around for a little while, just to listen to it. (Something I didn't get was a laptop. I wasn't really expecting one, seeing as how I didn't really ask for one. But, I thought that it could be a good gift for my loyal readers to all chip in to get for me! I don't want a fancy one, just one in the $300-400 range for now. So if every loyal reader chipped in, it would probably only be about $100/person! What a deal!)

It was so nice to be back in Iowa, even if I felt like I needed another week to do everything and see everyone that I wanted. I was able to make it to a Hawkeye basketball game, against Southeastern Louisiana University, a team which features two players at 5'5". That entertained me, even while the Hawks were losing. They ended up coming back and taking control of the game, but it was a little frustrating for a while there. Of course I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures. But our (Marin accompanied me) seats were awesome, right at center court, row 14. Maybe the best seats I've ever had for a game at good old Carver-Hawkeye. Afterwards, we met up witha couple of my friends at the Fieldhouse. Now, if I had to make a list of bars I would go to if I had one night to go out in Iowa City, the Fieldhouse wouldn't be last, but it'd probably find its way into the bottom 5. (off the top of my head, Vito's and the Summit would be fighting it out for the last spot, with Old Capitol Brew Works possibly taking the top spot.) But, since my friends were there, with free beer, I felt alright going there.

The rest of my time was basically spent with family. KP stopped over for a little while, with beers in tow, which was nice. And any time that was not spent talking or traveling was spent eating. I ate a lot of food. A lot. It was awesome. But now I'm pretty sure I've gained a few pounds, so now it's back to not eating a lot. Which is not awesome. Oh well.

My flights all went smoothly, if sitting around waiting for a pilot for 3 hours can be considered smooth. I don't quite understand how we can sit there for that long with the plane sitting just outside the window, looking in, mocking us, while there's no pilot to take it. Then, once that flight left (going from Dallas to Moline), I had the worst trouble with my ears not popping. Or not popping. I don't remember, but whichever it was, sucked. I've never had a problem with it before, but I think since I was in the middle stages of a cold, it made things worse.

All in all, though, it was an awesome trip. I'm back in Texas for the time being, but a week from Thursday I'm taking off again, this time for the east coast. I'll be going to DC to meet up with Marin, then we'll be taking a bus to New York City on the 11th, which just happens to be my birthday. I will be celebrating the 27th anniversary of my birth by going to a taping of Conan O'Brien. I am super excited for this. Then, it happens to work out that I'll be in DC for their "Restaurant Week," a biannual event where all sorts of fancy restaurants have special menus made up for those who go, where a 3-course meal can be had for $30 a person. Not a bad deal. I'm really excited for the whole trip.

That's all I got for now. As you can probably tell, I'm still a little disjointed from the past week, and haven't gotten my thoughts straight, but I felt like I should do some sort of summary of the goings on around Flenker. More (potentially big) news will come soon. Until then, I'll be out enjoying the perfect weather here. And watching USC absolutely throttle Illinois in the Rose Bowl.

The Final Season

A few hours ago, I went to the free screening of The Final Season that a local theater was having. I have been looking forward to seeing this movie for a while, ever since filming started in Cedar Rapids. I mean, a baseball movie in Iowa? Sounds like a winning combination.



Now, you have to understand while you're reading this that I have a big bias towards this movie right off the bat. I love baseball, and have a soft spot in my heart for Iowa, so I knew going into it that there would be a pretty good chance that I would enjoy this movie. And although it falls short of me saying that I loved it, it's a great story, it's got some good-looking baseball scenes, with good acting (especially for a cast made up of a number of locals). Some of the facts weren't 100% accurate, some names were changed, but it stays surprisingly true to the original story upon which it was based. The writing could have been a little better, some of the characters could have been a little more well-developed, but overall, I enjoyed it, it made me want to play catch, and made me a little homesick. Four Flenker Thumbs Up!








I'll be back with a real, non-movie reviewing post soon. There have just been a lot of good movies that I've been seeing, and I figured that without lots of little pictures of me giving a goofy "thumbs up" pose, my loving readers would not know which movies to see!

A weekend of long goodbyes

My last weekend as a resident of Iowa was an excellent one. Between great food, great fun, and great friends, I couldn't have had a much better time. Marin made it into town on Thursday, Jim and Haley on Friday, and Bill eventually made it (after some car issues) on Saturday, as well as Jeff, who made the trip all the way from northwest Cedar Rapids. After some drinking and Wii playing at my brother's place Friday night, Saturday was spent in Iowa City, taking in some of my favorite restaurants and sites one last time before I left. And oh yeah, there was a football game. For those of you who may not have noticed, the Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the Syracuse Orange 35-0 in front of 70,585 (mostly gold-clad) fans in Kinnick Stadium, in only the 3rd-ever night game hosted in the historic stadium. The first couple of pictures were taken from where Marin and I sat for part of the game, the last one was where everyone else was seated. We weren't able to get 6 tickets together, but it went alright with 4 together and 2 others. (I'm pretty proud of the pics, since my camera is broken and all)




The weather was beautiful, the Hawkeyes looked great (it could be that Syracuse looked terrible, but either way, I'm happy with the result), and I think a good time was had by all.

Of course, I had to forget my phone charger at my brother's place this weekend, so my phone died midway through the day on Saturday, and I wasn't able to get in contact with a lot of the people I wanted to, and made things more difficult overall, but we pulled it off pretty well. And it may have been for the best that I wasn't able to get a hold of a lot of people, because then I would've probably been stressed with trying to get everywhere to see everyone. As it was, it was a rather relaxing time with some good friends. We ate at all of the places I needed to hit one last time: Oyama for sushi with Marin, Oasis for one last falafel, Hamburg Inn for breakfast Sunday morning with everyone, The Pit to have some excellent Iowa BBQ (before I get some Texas BBQ, which may be even more excellent), and Whitey's for some wonderful ice cream. (For those of you not from Eastern Iowa/Western Illinois, yes, there is an ice cream chain around here known as "Whitey's". It's delicious ice cream.) Then yesterday I hung out with Travis for a little while before I had to go, then dinner with my dad and step-mom.

There were a few times where I think the air was rather dusty, it made my eyes water up a little. I don't know what the deal with that was. . . But I was so glad for how things went, and for my friends that were here that read this, I hope you all know how grateful I was for you guys to come down and hang out with me on my last weekend in town. For my friends that read this that weren't able to make it, no worries, we'll have more opportunities to get together. Everyone is welcome down in Austin, any time! Just give me a little warning.

Now today is going to be spent washing clothes, packing, getting my oil changed, buying some new sandals (Kenna ate mine last night), and watching a little bit of the 49ers game tonight with KP. I promise I will post one last time before I go, and will post more pictures from this past weekend as I get them from the various people that took them.

Starting my final tour

The past couple of days in Ames were pretty fun! Bill and I basically hung out, we didn't do anything too wild. We watched Superbad, which was pretty hilarious, went to the batting cages, where I was straight-up destroying the pitches (most of the time), and having a good old time. Some delicious foods were eaten, including a tres leches cake that I made Wednesday night. I was a little nervous about how it'd turn out, as it was a little more labor-intensive than the usual boxed cake mixes, but it actually came out wonderfully! Then on my way home last night, I was able to hang out with Captain Crab for a drink or two, which is always fun! Sorry, though, no pictures were taken.

You see, I had a little mishap with my camera while I was at Wrigley Field. It was in my pocket, got jostled around, and ended up with a broken LCD screen. So while it still takes pictures, I can't preview them or actually see what it is that's in the picture while I'm taking it. It was kind of disappointing, especially since I've only had it for a couple of months, but I only spent $100 on it so it's not like it was a top-of-the-line camera. But still. I'll make do for now, like I said it still takes pictures (almost all of the pictures that I posted from the Chicago trip were taken in its current state). Eventually, however, I'll have to break down and buy a new one. Probably after I actually have a job and some sort of income.

Well this will probably be my last post for the weekend, I'll be running around trying to fit everything in and see everyone that I want to see while I'm in Iowa City this weekend. But I'll be back on Sunday and Monday, and will try to have some epic, worth-while posts. This will probably be a little bit of an emotional weekend for me, so there may be lots to report. Until then, go Hawks!!

fare thee well, IC

Well, this is looking like it'll be my last past as a resident of Iowa City. I'm going to be spending the rest of the night and (hopefully) all day tomorrow packing and moving, so my time needs to be spent on not blogging.

I just wanted to thank Iowa City for everything, it's been a great place to live for the past 4 years, a city that I know and love.

There will be a more reflective post later, but I just thought I'd make a quick little post, acknowledging my departure from one great city.

This means that most likely, there's going to be a little lull here around TPoL. Don't fret, I'll have plenty of free time in about a week. Between now and then, I'll be pretty busy, including a Neil Hamburger performance and a trip to our nation's capitol. I'll check in when I can, and there will be a very, very special post coming in the near future.

Until then, enjoy yourselves!

A bit of wind

2 tornado warnings in the past 3 days were fun, especially since I was at work. We herded all of the customers to the back room, and handed out cookies and water while we waited for everything to pass over. A friend of mine and I just kind of wandered around the empty store checking things out. Monday was nothing really, just some strong winds and a reported touch-down somewhere, but not much threatening Iowa City. Yesterday, however, was some pretty intense weather, I was outside watching and saw a huge wall cloud come through, and felt the much cooler temperatures and strong winds that came with it. I didn't see any funnel cloud or rotation or anything, but some friends said that they did, but no reports of anything touching down. Still a kind of exciting time. Today, finally, the weather is beautiful, so I'm going to enjoy it tonight as much as I can.

Other than that, nothing has been going on around here of any note. I've been playing a lot of the new NCAA football game, and love it. I had some wonderful sushi today, and have been running/walking almost daily (when I can between the raindrops). This weekend I'm heading to a party I'm co-hosting at my brother's place here in town, but other than that, nothing exciting on the horizon until the Bix on the 28th. I need to get my ass in shape, or at least to a point where I won't want to vomit after running 7 miles.

Anyways, that's about it for now. Just thought I'd let everyone know that I'm still kicking it in Iowa City, just livin the dream.

Downtown Jazz

Well, the weekend was fun. It was Iowa City's annual Jazz Fest, so that along with the beautiful weather we've been having made it a wonderful time.

Saturday was spent at work most of the day, then kicking some ass at tennis in the afternoon. Later, a friend had a party for a good cause, a "Kegger for Cancer", so I felt ok paying $5 to go, even though I'm usually adamantly opposed to that sort of thing. As long as (some of) the money goes towards something like that, I'm alright. After a little bit, my friends and I headed downtown for a little bit, sneaking into a bar to avoid the cover charge, and then getting free drinks for the rest of the night. One of my friends is the manager of a liquor store, so he knows people in all the bars, and drinks for free. So, we do too. Awesome!

Yesterday Jimbo was in the area, so we went out for lunch at El Ranchero. It was an amazing lunch, cheap and delicious. Any time I can go out to eat and get full off of $6, I'm happy.

(note: photo borrowed from the Cedar Rapids Gazette website)

Interspersed throughout the weekend were trips downtown to listen to some live jazz and to eat some wonderful food. Oasis had a stand setup, but I didn't stop there... They were doing plenty of business, and I wanted to eat something that I couldn't get on any normal day. So Friday night I stopped at a place that had gumbo, and was glad I did. With a little hotsauce, it was tasty. Yesterday I opted for some ice cream. Sitting on the grass of the Old Capitol building, eating an ice cream cone, and listening to some excellent free music is something that I will always love. It's also something that I will really miss about Iowa City. (not that Austin won't have plenty of this, I'm sure I could probably do something similar every weekend of the year. But still...)

Another thing I will miss is running into people that I know everywhere. Iowa City's small enough that I can see someone I know almost everywhere I go. Just ask Captain Crab, I think at some point in our adventures he asked me if I knew everyone in town. Almost, Cap'n, almost.

The incredible, edible potato

Today's been rather productive so far, a stark contrast to yesterday. I've already showered, got one load of laundry done, another going, I went to the bookstore and purchased a couple of books (Running With Scissors and Death and the Penguin, at the used book store for a total of $12.05!), went for a bike ride, and have my attempt at some English-style "chips" in the oven. It's barely even noon! I really should have headed to the gym this morning like I was planning, but I still feel ok about how my day has gone so far. I still have a couple of hours until work, so who knows what else could get done! Maybe I'll put my clean clothes away instead of piling them on my bed, only to have them pushed to the floor when I'm ready to sleep. We'll see, I don't want to go overboard.

It's another beautiful day in Iowa City, I think the city is just really making a push for me to stay here in town come fall. A couple of friends of mine are doing the same, and as much as I like them and love this town, I think it's time for me to go either way. I mean, I can't pass up an opportunity like this, I feel like if I do, then I'll never really have another chance. Not that it would be a bad thing to stay here, but there's so much stuff out there that I need to check out. I just need to remember that when I'm constantly second-guessing myself.

Update on the potatoes: first batch is out, and tastes delicious! They're nice and soft inside, with a little bit of a crispy outside. I cut the potatoes into wedges, almost like home fries, then boiled them for about 5 minutes and immediately placed them into cold water. I let them soak in the water for a few minutes, then quickly dipped them into egg whites and stuck them into the cast-iron skillet that I had put a little peanut oil into and preheated to 350 degrees. Into the oven they went for about 10 minutes, then I turned them, tossed on a little salt, put them back in, and waited. After a quick walk to the gas station to redeem my free cap for a 2-liter of DDP, I took out the skillet, and let the wedges rest on a paper bag, to let them cool and to let some of the oil drain. I ate some of them alone, some with balsamic vinegar, and of course a couple with a little ketchup. I can't really say which way I liked them the best, they were all good. Dang, aren't potatoes amazing?

Well, that's about all from me for right now. I think I'm going to just sit around and read until work, I've got quite the queue adding up for my reading. So until next time, have a splendid day.

As long as I know how to love I know I'll be alive

H just called and sang me a wonderful rendition of "I Will Survive," but not quite as lovely as when I sang it to Bill last September. Like I say, two of the best words in the English language are "Open Bar". Maybe not the best words ever, I could think of some more I'd like hearing, but they're definitely up there.


This weekend in Iowa City is the Arts Festival, an event that takes place the first weekend in June (I think. . . I could be making that part up. It's always around then, though), where art vendors from all over the Midwest set up shop outside, on the closed off streets of downtown. Also, a couple of stages are set up, and live music is performed basically all day. Last year the performers included Ben Lee and Nickel Creek. All for free! This year didn't quite have the name-recognition, but that's a-ok, by me.

What wasn't ok with me was that I worked 9-5 yesterday, then had to work 7-3 today. I was a good boy and didn't go out and do anything last night and was in bed rather early, in spite of the beautiful weather at night and music drifting into my window from the festivities. I probably could have gone out for a little while, but I know that I would have had a hard time leaving. So I stayed in, biding my time until I could go today, after work. Of course it rains today, after work. But not until I'm already out walking around. It was a nice rain, though, not unpleasant to walk through, but still put a damper on some of the fun times. On the bright side, I didn't spend any money on food! Instead I made some black beans and rice burritos, with some Monterrey Jack cheese and a little fresh cilantro. They turned out very well, it's amazing how something so simple can be so delicious. I shared them with Daren, who returned from his tour today. We sat around and chatted a little while, but then I needed to go cheer the Cavaliers onto a victory tonight. Mission accomplished.

Really, it doesn't make for that interesting of a read. But that's how my day was, and I'll be darned if it wasn't fine. Maybe tomorrow I'll feel like writing some more. I actually kind of feel like writing more tonight, but can't seem to focus on any one topic, so I'll just pack it in and try again tomorrow. For now, I'm going to eat some ice cream, watch some episodes of The Office, and eventually try to head to bed. Nighty night folks

Summer, summer, summertime (summertime)

I love this city in the summer. The students are gone, so it's a little calmer all over the place, parking spots can be found, as can a table in a bar. Everyone seems to be a little happier, the assbag level of the town is lower, and I think everyone is just a little more relaxed. It's great. Plus, most of the people that I know around here stay for the summer, so I feel like there's a greater chance that I'll run into someone that I know downtown, just because the ratio is so much higher. Not that I didn't run into people during the year, but, like the rest of the summer, it just feels like a better time. And people are generally more available to hang out or do stuff during the summer, and the weather can be nice, at least in the early parts. When we get to 100+ degrees with 80% humidity in a month or two, I'll change my mind. But when it's like today, 72 and sunny, it can't be beat.

Again, I'm extremely tired, and apologize if I'm rambling or saying some inane stuff. I fell asleep for a little while, but woke up and felt the urge to blog. Unfortunately, I don't have anything interesting going on, so it makes or a dull post. Which is probably the norm around here of late. Really, though, there's not a lot going on for me, even though I'm feeling busy during the days. I read (in the middle of Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, still very good), go for walks, grill, and just hang out. And suffer from the seasonal allergy stuff. That sucks. I can't quite decide if I'm getting a cold or just having allergy symptoms, so I don't know what to take. Lately, I've gone the allergy route and had it work out ok.

Wow, I'm even boring myself to tears, and I love hearing about myself. . . I can't imagine what anyone out there is doing, if they've made it this far. Sorry, I'll come back tomorrow when I'm with it, and make a better attempt at being somewhat entertaining.

And just so you know, I deleted a whole, rather long paragraph about nothing whatsoever. I've been known to do that from time to time; in high school, I wrote full pages in a couple of people's year books, without really saying anything of substance. I really wish I still talked to those people, so I could see if they still had it, and see how absolutely childish I probably sound. Unless I said something extremely profound. But something's telling me that there's only a (very) slim chance of something life-altering coming out of my mind, especially at a time when I was playing the role of the "angst-y teenager." Seeing stuff I was actually trying to write well from that period makes me cringe up enough as it is, I can't imagine what seeing something I was intentionally trying to sound vapid would be like. Possibly an enlightenment. I should find these people. It could at least make for an entertaining post.

Missing May Day

I just got back from hanging out downtown, where a rally of sorts was taking place. It's called "Missing May Day," and is a day full of music, food, fun, and antiwar sentiments. I'm all for it, it's a great idea, and it was a lot of fun while I was there. But the only issue I really have is that it seems kind of redundant to have it in Iowa City. Someone my roommate was talking with said it, too. Iowa City is a great town, and definitely open to these sort of things. If you get a few thousand people to these things, it's not going to be that surprising. It's great, it really is, but I don't know how much it's actually spreading a message. It's like shouting "Go Hawks" at Kinnick Stadium. You're going to get a good response, it goes without saying. Of course when Barack Obama comes to town, there's going to be a huge crowd. People will boo when the name George W. Bush is mentioned. People will go to antiwar rallies. Iowa City is the by far most liberal city in Iowa, and probably one of the most liberal cities in the country, definitely per capita. I'm not trying to bash the event today, it was a great time and I was glad that I was able to go. It just seems like it'd be more effective if they could get people to come out in other cities in the area that are not necessarily so "left-winged." I guess they have to start somewhere, though.

Today is another wonderful day, weather-wise. It's not as hot yesterday, only getting into the mid-80's, and a little breeze makes it feel that much cooler. A nearly perfect day to be walking around amongst a lot of people. Everyone's happy, there was free food and some decent funk/jazz music from a live band, and all sorts of stands, everything from food, to jewelry, to political candidates looking for volunteers. Iowa City's mayor (pictured) was even out and about! He's a short guy, and seemed extremely nice. Not that short people aren't nice, that's not what I'm implying at all. I was just surprised, I had never seen him that close, I always imagined him taller. But if you're reading this, Mayor Ross Wilburn, I think you're a fine mayor. You seem very down-to-earth, and an overall good guy. Thanks!

Well, that's all from me for right now. I'm going to go do some reading before work. Outside, of course. I gotta work on my color. It's almost time for me to have my nice summer red-tint to my skin. You may or may not have noticed, but I have red hair. Which means my skin vacillates between pasty white and sun-burnt red. Thanks Dad.