"i cured cancer in my spare time, too"

went out to dinner last night with housemate Mark. he drove me to this little 24 hour Mexican joint right down the street in his enormous Lincoln TownCar. i don't think i've actually ever been in a car that long. the front of it extended a good seven or eight feet from the windshield. Mark told me there's a foot of empty space under the hood after the engine and all the machinery ends. the interior is that strange maroon velour-like fabric. it smells like i remember my grandparents' car smelled.

i find myself strangely tongue-tied around him. actually, i should say brain-tied, because my tongue seems to be in working order, it just keeps spitting out all these generally dumb and uninteresting things. i'm going to chalk it up to severe lack of sleep.

Me: "So, have you ever spent any time up in the Northeast?"

Mark: "Yeah, i actually went to college up there."

Me: "Where did you go?"

Mark: "Harvard."

(!!!)

so, the food was good (and cheap), the conversation good. Mark is a really interesting person, with such a huge range of interests. it's an early impression, but from what i've seen so far, his aesthetic is frighteningly close to mine. almost as close as me and Jeanine's. i have to say that i don't think i've ever met anyone like him.

i also did laundry today at this dismal little place. they call them Washterias around here. after three years of having a washer/dryer in the basement, this is going to take some getting used to. i'm also going to have to start getting rolls of quarters from the bank, too.

today's weird Texas bug. i was walking into the craft center and felt a prick on my arm. i immediately brushed it off (actually, i should say i had a small seizure and squealed like a little girl) and onto the floor where it met an untimely end on the bottom of my shoe. it looked like a large ant with wings. ugh. ugh. UGH. and where it bit me? it actually drew blood. jesus christ.

on a similar subject, there are ants in my studio. they are going away tonight via a bright golden can of death. i also discovered a cricket in the corner (i thought it was a roach for a split second), which i carefully scooped up with cup and paper and deposited outside. i could use some good luck right now.