Well, it went...

Incredibly good. In fact so good that I will go ahead and ask, "Alysia who?"
But also, in typical Housman fashion there are potentially tragic pitfalls awaiting in the future. She is however: incredibly sweet, surprisingly cynical (this is a very, very good thing), a reader (she recommended "Amusing Ourselves to Death", which I now recommend to all of you), a loyal Dodger fan with season tickets, and quite possibly the cutest girl I have ever seen, all of which warrant a risk of future suffering on both our parts.
Thank you for asking BTW.

I am a selfish idiot

I went to Visalia and Fresno yesterday to attend a grad/birthday party for a cousin of mine whom I have not seen for about 8 years, at a minimum. My other cousins, her siblings, and her parents-my aunt and uncle-were there of course as well. I was nervous as all hell because: 1) I havent seen the cousins since they were small children 2) I remember these people being alarmingly religious 3) I was fearful of conversation turning to politics. As it turns out, they are terrific people, and I am a huge asshole. I can't believe that I have lived with no family contact for so long. We got along great, it was like no time had passed at all. Even more shocking was how much I kind of missed Visalia. I have been there only once since I moved away, at age 13, and as soon as I got into the city I felt like I was home. More than I do at Morro Bay. Even more shocking than the previous threshold breaking shock was how even though the people attending this party, including my relatives, are the epitome of mainstream, mainstreet, red state, conservative America, they were all so damned nice. Everyone was so concerned with each other's welfare, children, friends, etc. If only they could extend that enthusiasm towards the rest of the country and the world. ALSO, my aunt (that I see on a regular basis-not the Fresno one) randomly ran into my Father in Visalia on Saturday. He was apparently extremely interested in me contacting him, which means that I may actually be able to live out my fantasy of playing catch with my dad this summer. I can't believe it, but being in the valley this weekend was one of the best weekends of my life. Seriously.

Never ever again

I'm all finished drinking. Thanks for the good times alcohol, but you have to go.

As demand approaches one and supply approaches zero, price approaches infinity

Hey guess what? Gasoline is still being sold for $2.35+ per gallon. Remember when the price of gas began to exceed two dollars per gallon, and you thought, "surely this will pass." It has not and apparently will not. Yet, I still refuse to give up driving my car. I have again developed wanderlust and very much would like to move out of SLO, but I don't have the money to do so comfortably. The thought has crossed my mind that I could sell my truck, but having no car seems like a one way ticket to the grave.

I wish that you could smell the girl next to me

Today I saw a minivan that was decorated with 4 bumper stickers. 3 of the stickers were variations on the "support our troops" ribbon theme, and the other was a "9-11-01. We will never forget". These people are glad that 9-11 happened. In the way that I was glad that Weezer had happened, and showed it by slapping Weezer stickers on the back of my Ford Escort. I'd be willing to bet that if it were possible (Final Countdown style)to go back in time and keep the attacks from taking place, these people would be against doing so. And not because of causality and the danger posed to the fabric of space/time.