This is my new favorite webcam.

join hands and hearts and voices
voices hearts and hands
at kellermans the friendships last long
as the mountain stands

and because i'm not sure you guys have it in you (except you, rachel) i'm going to tell you that the correct rebuttal to this post is obviously:

"go back to your playpen, BABY"

I almost forgot. Kabulo contacted me on an OUTSIDE CHANNEL, and revealed that she was afraid she was monopolizing the comment box. NONSENSE! I love comments, even if they totally derail my sinister plans for domination of the internet.

Oh, and the difference between buffalo wings and chicken nuggets/strips is that buffalo wings (named for the city in New York, not the bovine) are spicy.

Kate -- although this is a complete reversal from her earlier position -- has decided that she wants a blog name. Henceforth, my wife will no longer be referred to as "Kate," the commonly accepted variation of her given name, but will be called FRANCES "BABY" HOUSEMAN, or Baby for short. Since nobody (except me) got to choose their NOM DE BLOG, I haven't run this by Baby yet. I hope she likes it.

So, this week has flown by, which is very encouraging. I was afraid that the time between my acceptance to Fuller and moving to California was going to drag, but fortunately it looks like I won't even have to resort to heavy drinking in order to make the next 56 days as INDISTINCT AS POSSIBLE.

On a related note, Baby and I have already begun packing, and we even RESERVED A TRUCK. I'm hoping we get a diesel. If anybody needs anything moved from the Unholy Triangle to Austin (or anyplace in between) on June 21, let me know.

Howdy, folks. I'll get the good news out of the way first: I got accepted to Fuller! Woo-hoo! Kate and I are moving to sunny Pasadena, California, home of the Rose Bowl and my favorite high school dropout, Beck Hansen. If you're going to be in Durham on June 21st, feel free to stop by and help me load up the Penske.

In unrelated news, have you tried those Morningstar soy BUFFALO WINGS? Holy crap those things are good. I had them at Colonel Rhombus' secret hideout, and as soon as I got home I sought them out at Ho Foods. I ended up with some brand called "Health Wealth" (?), but they're JUST AS GOOD. I've rated them a STRONG BUY. In fact, I'm going to go eat some as soon as I'm done with this post.

So, Tuesday was the infamous 4/20. I'm not exaggerating when I say that around 60% of my students didn't show up for school. But the principal didn't show up either, so maybe it was just a massive coincidence.

They call Los Angeles the "City Of Angels." I didn't find it to be that, exactly, but I'll allow it as there are some nice folks there.

Anyway, Kate and I are back from LOS ANGELES, which was (allegedly) once known as "EL PUEBLO DE NUESTRA SEÑORA LA REINA DE LOS ANGELES DE LA PORCUINCULA" but now goes simply by L.A. Kate and I hope that it'll be down to just "La" by the time we get out there.

Speaking of there, I still haven't heard back from Fuller. I think I'll probably get in, but I'm trying not to get too excited. In fact, I'm practicing my moping in case I get a rejection letter in the mail this week.

So, really, Kate and I -- by the way (for any casual readers of this weblog) Kate is my wife, who is not to be confused with KABULO, who occaisionally posts comments under the pseudonym "Kate" -- ahem, Kate and I stayed with COLONEL RHOMBUS and MR BODDY (who himself goes by many pseudonyms) in PASADENA. It was AWESOME. We rocked and/or rolled all night and partied every day. That is, when Rhombus and Boddy weren't staying up all night to write papers on JOHN WESLEY or going to work. We played a lot of spades, I interviewed for a job, we drank Tecate and watched Kill Bill Vol. 1 at some friends' apartment. We went to a hip bar in the city (of angels), we bought some $2.60 gas, and we downed some "elixers" (?) at a trendy zen-like tea room that was overrun by RATS.

Then, we caught the 1:25 AM flight (miraculously) back to DURHAM, a.k.a. "HELL, NOW WITH EXTRA CIRCLE!"

---

The extra circle is not interminably waiting for the airport shuttle bus at Raleigh-Durham INTERNATIONAL Airport that doesn't run on Sunday, as you might guess, but it's actually populated with ALLERGENS. Specifically OAK, which is like strychnine-laced crack for my immune system. There are CAT-SIZED CHUNKS of oak pollen -- this sounds like an exaggeration but I assure you that it is not -- rolling down my street like tumbleweeds. The added torture, of course, is that we know that it's always 70 degrees and dry in Pasadena, with virtually no allergens in the air.

The dog was O.K. Our neighbor and only friend -- who is moving out of this city in ten days, the lucky bastard -- did a good job taking care of her, but she was NUTTY when we got home. She peed with excitement on Kate's pillow when we walked into the house.

Anyway, I've got 38 class days of school left. Eight weeks. To say that I'm looking forward to this summer would be an understatement. In fact, even saying that it's an understatement is an understatement.

I've been in California this week. Los Angeles, Pasadena, and now San Diego. It's beautiful, but COLONEL RHOMBUS, with whom I'm staying, only has dial-up, so no blog for you until I get back.

Hopefully the dog hasn't destroyed our house yet. We baked her cookies and bought her some chocolate croissants and left them on the counter, so she should be good for a while.

In the meantime, keep your feet on the ground, but keep reaching for the stars.

AN OPEN LETTER TO KABULO

Thanks for the e-mail. It was very entertaining. You're right to be hesitant about saying "blog," because the word "blog" is stupid. It's about as cool and un-contrived as "za." But some day "blog" will sound as natural to us as "fridge," "pants," and "flibbertigibbet." Also, thanks for the scientific explanation of your immaculate kitten conception. You lost me with some of those technical words like "antibiotic," but maybe I'll know what you're talking about after I get done with Pharmaco this summer.

And ... congratulations on the big move? Are you just renting a space to paint and store vaccuum tubes, or are you going to be living there? And please tell me more about your tooth implant; I'm dying to know.