In other news

We have a leak. I woke up this morning, and we have a leak. Water was pouring into our living room on top of our vcr. We have a big lobster pot collecting water, and we expect it to fill up by the time we get back from work. Never trust a man in a toupee. That's a mistake I'll never make again. Although I must say that they seem to be on top of it.

I'm going home on Friday. The Lush and I are going to the IU/Purdue game with a bunch of Region Rats. Should be one for the highlight reel.

I love Thanksgiving, but I'm not too enthused this year. I've been feeling a little smothered, and family holidays do little to relieve that feeling. Really excited to see family despite this. Mom's been driving me absolutely bonkos. Maybe I'll just spend most of my time with Grandma.

I'm reading Menand's The Metaphysical Club at home and Don Quixote during my lunch breaks. I can't say enough good things about both of them. Quixote's just incredible. Another book that can best be described as a miracle. Reading it is like nailing jello to a wall. (Little Russ would say I've never tried his sister's jello. WAAHAHAHAHA! Man is Tim Russert unfunny. Not like my main man Chris Matthews who drives me crazy, but will sometimes surprise me.) Actually, it's like trying to catch a cloud and pin it down. Nope, that doesn't work either. The truth is that not much compares to the experience of reading about Our Man in La Mancha. My perspective and interpretation of Quixote is constantly changing. In some ways it is a mirror on the reader's soul. The Metaphysical Club is just eternally frustrating as Menand distills big ideas in elegant sentences that twist my brain in knots. But it pushes forward with a narrative that is heartbreaking and inspiring and all those things. Who knew scholarship could be so vital?

My friend Rusk and I spent all of Saturday outside because it was beautiful, so we just strolled all through Boston. A truly great day in my life.

The last couple of days have been all too typical of this city. Cloudy, dark, and rainy. The sun's light has barely filtered through the clouds, so it always looks like dusk around here. And I always get home with soaked cuffs. Also, they're doing construction all along my route home, so I'm walking in the street, off the sidewalk, stepping in puddles, getting mud everywhere, dodging cars. It sucks. Why can't they do the sidewalks one side of the street at a time. Why? Because it's Slummerville and they do what they want. Municipal Freedom Gives National Strength. My ass. Municipal Freedom Gives Wet Clothing and a Shitty Disposition.

I loved the election. It restored my faith in this great country and reminded me why I'm an Americanist. That's a term I know Schnocone despises, but it's what I had been in Hist & Lit, and it still occupies my extracurricular mind. That doesn't mean I don't love packing a suitcase and lighting out. That's a proposition that's looking more and more appealing as time goes on. There's something so refreshing about getting along in a country where your language skills are clipped.

That said, Beulah and I are going to go see Volver once we get back from Thanksgiving. I've been waiting far too long to see this movie. Last week I watched Todo sobre mi madre with Bobeena. Loved it all over again.

I'm rambling.